Albion Origin.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:38 pm

Well, I'd have prefered another Spider collection but at least we're getting more old school British comics goodness in some form:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1845 ... pe_snp_723

Anyone know if the characters featured are any good or not?

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:47 pm

Dolmann's the bomb - http://counter-x.net/comics/spotlight/dolmann/1.html (more were scheudled for the next update, but that'll have to be on hold until I've got this and seen what they reprint). Great concept, well executed, and it benefited from crash-bang-wallop four page stories (compared to, say, Steel Claw droning on for around 60).

Kelly's Eye is a bit crap - too many storylines hinge on Zoltec falling off the chain around Tim's neck, as you're left screaming "WHY DOESN't HE FIND A MORE SECURE WAY OF CARRYING IT?!?!"

Cursitor Doom's not bad... bit Hammer derivative.

Janus Stark is good stuff - pretty inventive, if a little low on action at times.

Shame that appears to be that for the Spider - great plan to reprint the duller opening stories, and stop before it gets really good. Wankers.

They badly need to get some Robot Archie out, too.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:53 pm

Originally posted by Cliffjumper

Shame that appears to be that for the Spider - great plan to reprint the duller opening stories, and stop before it gets really good. Wankers.

I actually thought that was in the top right hand corner which briefly got me irritated at them including his origin when I already had it, but I assume he's actually one of the others.

Hopefully the slight change in tact (effectively promoting it as a prequel to a Alan Moore comic) will increase sales enough for more to come.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:01 pm

Yeh, that's Janus - clockwise from him that's Eric Dolmann, Giggler, pass on the solider (I'm guessing it's one of Dolmann's mob, but presumably not from the strips I have), the badass Togo, Tim Kelly, Cursitor Doom (

SPOILER! (select to read)
i.e. Danny off Albion's dad[/spoiler) and Mole in the middle.

And yeh, I'm still a bit surprised they didn't ham up the Albion connection for the first brace (especially as they couldn't use the Spider's name) - but then, lovely as they were, there were some commercially unsound decisions made all over those (such as putting them out as oversized hardbacks, instead of shrinking the pages [which also would have made the art look stunning) and doing them as softbacks. But then Titan have never had a ****ing clue with this sort of thing...

EDIT: Top Fleetway source - http://internationalhero.co.uk/i/ipc.htm

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:07 pm

Originally posted by Cliffjumper

And yeh, I'm still a bit surprised they didn't ham up the Albion connection for the first brace (especially as they couldn't use the Spider's name) - but then, lovely as they were, there were some commercially unsound decisions made all over those (such as putting them out as oversized hardbacks, instead of shrinking the pages [which also would have made the art look stunning) and doing them as softbacks. B

I can sort of see some of the logic behind the choices they made- A lot of the original readership who'd be most likely to buy these reprints must be in their 50/60's by now and probably haven't brought comics since they were kids, making them seem like "proper" books would be a way of encouraging a purchase. It doesn't seem to have worked at all (much as it didn't with the Dan Dare stuff, though they've been given a second chance at least).

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:24 pm

Aye, and if it didn't work for Dare (the nostalgic British comic book), it wouldn't work for a character who really only managed a few years... Like I say, Titan really don't have a clue - the only decent TPBs they've ever managed are rebadged US ones (Watchmen, for example). Panini seem much better at this sort of thing.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:47 am

Oh God yes, the Who trades they are just the most wonderful things ever. Even with the 8th Doctor stuff I already had in the Magazine there's a huge improvement in the remastering. Mind, they don't seem to have never thrown anything away as they still even had the masters to reproduce not just the astrip but the entire first issue a few years ago. They've probably still got lots of Transformers stuff down in the vaults somewhere...

It's great they've moved beyond the original brief of just collecting Dave Gibbons work as well, it looks likt the whole back catalouge will be out in the next few years. Of course, it's also good of them and IDW to keep the Iron Legion tradition alive as well.

My main hope with the Dare collections is that they at least get as fare as finishing the whole Man From No Where Trilogy.