Your favourite mistake?

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Halfshell
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Your favourite mistake?

Post by Halfshell »

Right, we've all noticed it. Most of us tend to look past the little things, but even the most forgiving reader can't deny that IDW's comics have been plagued with silly little editorial mistakes.

But which is your personal favourite? Please note - criteria for "favourite" are open to individual interpretation.

Here's a few off the top of my head to get the ball rolling (note - herein may lie spoilers).

- Spotlight Ultra Magnus
Duplicated speech bubble for Swindle on the final page.

- Spotlight Kup
An entire page manages to slip through without dialogue. It's testament to Nick Roche's visual storytelling that nobody notices until it's corrected for the trade.

- Spotlight Optimus Prime
Whilst it's possible he's just really quick to catch on, what we can assume is a misattributed speech bubble results in Bristleback answering his own question.

- Devastation #3
The grand revelation that Nova Prime has changed his name is somewhat undermined by his speech bubbles being switched with Galvatron's...

- Spotlight Grimlock
Perhaps the worst/best example. A typo, a misattributed speech bubble, another speech bubble that falls off the page, and some of the dodgiest colouring since... well, Nel Yomtov. All this in an issue that was already a month late.

- Beast Wars Sourcebook
Yellow BB? Tip of the iceberg, baby.

- The Ascending
The identification of random generic background characters isn't normally helped by everybody being the wrong colour.

- Megatron: Origin
Well, just in general innit?

More examples! Oh, and discuss!
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inflatable dalek
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Post by inflatable dalek »

Damn you for preempting my "Megatron Origin issues 1-4 inclusive" gag.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

[placeholder for AHM criticism]

As an aside, I find the idea of correcting mistakes in trades... a bit wrong. If they cared that much, they'd have employed someone competent at editorial level. It basically means if someone wants the story in a ****-up free form, they're going to have to buy the TPB, even if they started out with the singles. They should stand by their shitty mistakes, not make people pay again to have such basic things corrected. Marvel might have been packed full of errors, but at least they didn't use the excuse of correcting them to try and sell people the same piece of rope twice over...
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Blackjack
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Post by Blackjack »

Most of the mistakes are corrected in TPBs. My favorite mistake remains to be... Marvel/Avengers crossover. Egh. It is much more worse than Megatron Origin.

At least in Megatron Origin there is (some sort of) a plot going, somewhat nice art (but very bad placements), and features Transformers. Not bad for eye candy. But still, comparing it to, say, Stormbringer... It sucks.

Marvel/Avengers suck. Nuff said.

In the main continuity, although this may not be considered an error, I like the 'earless' Jazz in Nick Roche's Devastation issue.
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slartibartfast
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Post by slartibartfast »

Halfshell wrote:Devastation #3
The grand revelation that Nova Prime has changed his name is somewhat undermined by his speech bubbles being switched with Galvatron's...
I don't like bashing the hard work that gets put into writing comics. However that begs the question "how?.. wha, I mean really, how the hell did that go unnoticed?" There's so much riding on the last panel of a comic, it's the last image in your mind as you close the cover. I like a comic that finishes with a WTF, but not in that sense. A stab in the eyeball, that's what it might feel like.

:(
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inflatable dalek
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Post by inflatable dalek »

slartibartfast wrote:I don't like bashing the hard work that gets put into writing comics. However that begs the question "how?.. wha, I mean really, how the hell did that go unnoticed?" There's so much riding on the last panel of a comic, it's the last image in your mind as you close the cover. I like a comic that finishes with a WTF, but not in that sense. A stab in the eyeball, that's what it might feel like.

The person doing the lettering is likely an IDW staffer not hugely familiar with the cast of characters. The fault really lies with the editor/s who should be both more familiar with the peeps in the comic and giving it the once over before final approval to spot things like that.

I do like the "Mistake" in WHeelie of trying to pretend Origin never happened (and I may like the seeming contradiction to AHM if that turns out to be cack as well).
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Patapsco
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Post by Patapsco »

not my favourite by any means, and not even IDW but...

my re-print of the TPB of DW's "War And Peace" stops at page 96, the jumps pages 129-144, then carries on from page 113 (reprinting pages 129-144 AGAIN!) to the finish as if nothing had happened.
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zigzagger
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Post by zigzagger »

pandagork wrote: my re-print of the TPB of DW's "War And Peace" stops at page 96, the jumps pages 129-144, then carries on from page 113 (reprinting pages 129-144 AGAIN!) to the finish as if nothing had happened.
Interesting. I wonder if this was a common mistake (can anyone vouch for this?). I must say, I haven't heard of this before.
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LKW
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Post by LKW »

I'm actually rather fond of Skywatch's "CONTROL ROOM put better font" sign, on page 9 of Spotlight: Grimlock....
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Halfshell
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Post by Halfshell »

Halfshell wrote: - Spotlight Kup
An entire page manages to slip through without dialogue. It's testament to Nick Roche's visual storytelling that nobody notices until it's corrected for the trade.
And they've gazzumped it. With All Hail Megatron #1, not just a page, but most of the entire issue slips through missing the speech bubbles.

... what? Oh.
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mechanix81
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Post by mechanix81 »

LKW wrote:I'm actually rather fond of Skywatch's "CONTROL ROOM put better font" sign, on page 9 of Spotlight: Grimlock....
God yeah, I loved that one. Really made me feel the Transformers was in good hands. Professional, caring, fastidious hands.

Or not.
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Denyer
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Post by Denyer »

Out of idle curiosity, maybe we could have a go at compiling a complete list of errors that occurred during the singles? And (where the info's available) what was revised for trade collection?
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inflatable dalek
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Post by inflatable dalek »

I would be especially keen to know if they corrected all of Megatron: Origin. Possibly by replacing the original issues with blank paper to draw and write your own vastly superior version.

With crayon.
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Patapsco
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Post by Patapsco »

inflatable dalek wrote:I would be especially keen to know if they corrected all of Megatron: Origin. Possibly by replacing the original issues with blank paper to draw and write your own vastly superior version.

With crayon.
I think crayon would be preferable. Having not seen the Megatron singles, the TPB makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Did they lose an issue or two along the way?
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Denyer
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Post by Denyer »

Basically. IIRC, the pitch started as six issues. The decision to give the job of whittling that story down to a new comicbook writer and then apparently not edit it for coherence/cohesion wasn't one of the line's finer moments. Putting an artist on the book who has trouble keeping things distinct unless he's given a fair amount of page space, ditto.

Printer problems (everything coming out much darker than intended) also didn't help, but I think those were fixed for the trade edition. Most of the problems are structural rather than repro.

By errors I'm mainly thinking of typographical and layout problems. Serious colour problems would also count, if they cause confusion...
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zigzagger
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Post by zigzagger »

I'm working (slowly) on the review for the Sourcebook. Very text heavy. I've been going over the the original issues with the TPB, noting the numerous changes in the TPB and the errors in the original 4 (also numerous, I'm afraid). Could add it to the list if it helps any, when it gets done that is.

EDIT:On second thought....Errors are a plenty in the original issues, but there weren't as many glaring colour errors as I had initially thought.

.....

So, yeah, nevermind me.
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Patapsco
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Post by Patapsco »

Just got the Spotlight Volume 3 TPB... and the "put better font" and mis-attributed speech bubble in Grimlock are still there! Also in Mirage, there's a duplicated speech bubble. Does no-one look over these things before they reprint them???
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Halfshell
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Post by Halfshell »

Incidentally, I am going to wreak my rewengay on whoever changed my song-reference thread title for no discernable reason.

Just when you think you're safe, I'll get my own back. Crafty shot from a bowel disruptor it won't be.
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Blackjack
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Post by Blackjack »

Yes. The new volume 3 Spotlight TPB STILL has the misplaced speech bubble.

While most errors (put better font doesn't count! In my book anyways.) are repaired for the TPB, this MAJOR error that the editors have apologized for is not repaired, damn it!

Unless IDW meant Scorponok is talking to himself, that's it...

Out of curiousity, which speech bubble is duplicated in Mirage?
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Patapsco
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Post by Patapsco »

Blackjack wrote:Yes. The new volume 3 Spotlight TPB STILL has the misplaced speech bubble.

While most errors (put better font doesn't count! In my book anyways.) are repaired for the TPB, this MAJOR error that the editors have apologized for is not repaired, damn it!

Unless IDW meant Scorponok is talking to himself, that's it...

Out of curiousity, which speech bubble is duplicated in Mirage?
I don't have the book to hand, but its where Mirage and Ratchet are fighting, it's the second and third panels. Optimus Prime is shown kicking someone and saying exactly what Mirage says on the next panel down.
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