bishop2knight

I just picked up Essential X-Factor Vol. 1. This is my second Essential book, the first being Essential Tomb of Dracula. What I'm finding is that I love getting that many issues for so cheap, but once I find myself enjoying a particular issue, I'm wishing it was in color.

What do you think about these reprints? Cheap way to get the stories you want, or are they less than what they should be since there's no color?

Bronkster

I've only picked up one (Essential Avengers #1) because it's a title I never really got into and don't collect, but somewhere I got into wanting to know the history of the team. That gave me the way to do it without having to spend big bucks. Beyond that, I'm way too snobby a collector to ever bother with cheap knock-offs.

kvrdave

There are a number of Elfquest tradebacks that are done this way. I find it to be less than satisfying.

Ky-Fi

I like the silver age stuff especially, but I have to go for the Marvel Masterworks or DC Archives. The price of the Marvel Essentials is certainly enticing, but I gotta have color---that's a big part of the appeal, for me.

kevin75

yeah, there are very few things that i will buy in b&w and usually only if it's not available or doesn't look like it will be in color. i'll gladly pay the extra $$.

calhoun07

I avoid them. I know they are considerably cheaper than the Marvel Masterworks reprints, but geez, I want the comics in their four color glory. There are some great comics that have been reprinted that I would love to own but are only out there in Essentials or black and white collections and I just can't bring myself to buy them.

madcougar

I think these are great ways to 1. get acquainted with a certain book or 2. cheaply fill holes in my collection. I know that the odds of my rereading a single comic book are slim to none. Why go out and spend a fortune on back issues or a 4 color collection, when all I really want is to read the story. This is going to be a preference thing though.

stingermck

I hate them. Id probably buy most of the DC ones, but every time I look at them, its like watching an edited movie or something.

dadaluholla

100% LOVE them. It's a fantastic way to read a LOT of great stories for a crazy low price. I hope they never stop churning these things out, and hopefully more companies get in on the format.

The Antipodean

I love them, and have barely even noticed they're not in color much of the time. They're a fantastic cheap way of getting tons of older material.

The Antipodean

That IS how Elfquest was originally published, though... I personally found most of the "colorized" reprints less than amazing.

bishop2knight

One thing I noticed about X-Factor in B&W is that some of the heroes look like they're walking around in underwear. Without color, it's hard to tell what's supposed to be skin tone and the color of spandex.

Other than that, it's all good. I doubt I'd want to pay more than the $10 I did on these stories anyway.

boredsilly

A good and cheap way to get the story. Sometimes just the content is enough for me.

However, a lot of the appeal of those old school Superhero titles is the wacky psychadelic colors. Where is the fun of that Batman title where he ran around in a rainbow batsuit or really any Superman title from the 60's without color?

I think titles from the late 70's on up work great in b&w because of the nature of a lot of the books.

Paul_SD

I was studying to be a comic book artist for a while, and I've also been a fan of 20-40's newspaper adventure strips, so B&W in and of itself isn't a problem for me. Even though these originals were meant to be printed in color, some artists still tend to be more chiarascuro in their approach. Some stuff , like Tomb Of Dracula with Tom Palmers brushwork wonderfully realizing the nuances of Gene Colans delicately shaded pencils, actually is improved with the absense of color (imo). Other things, like Kanes Green Lantern, suffer since so much of it was left open (also, color is used there as a thematic or plot element, with the presence of yellow especially being significant).

Overall though, I have to say I love these formats for sheer bang for the buck entertainment value. Maybe even more significant to me than the issue of color is the issue of the paper used. When I was a kid, up until about the time I graduated HS, comics used pulpy newsprint. In the mid 80s they experimented with all different kinds of paper stocks, and while some of them were quite pretty, it just wasn't the same for me. I have a huge sensual appreciation for newsprint. I love the way it smells, the way it feels. Also, if you were planning to print your own comics, one color printing on a web offset was by far cheaper for any kind of quantity. That aspect always appealed to me.
Also, the size of these books reminds me of the of the books they used to put out in the early to mid 70s when I first became a comic book nut. The 20 page floppies you buy today you blow thru in 10 minutes, but those 100 pagers would last you a whole summer car ride.

porieux

I don't buy them. I kind of think it's a bastardization; I think they should be as close to the original presentation as possible. Life is too short to read comics with the intended color sucked out of them.

Paul_SD

in that case, they should only be reprinted on newsprint stock, with out of register colors

bishop2knight

About half way through X-Factor now. I'm really enjoying it because these are some of the first superhero stories I read as a kid. I can remember buying the first issue. It's fun enough for me to consider buying some old issues...not to read, but to have in minty fresh condition for my collection. These B&W stories are good enough for the entertainment factor.

By the way, Paul SD, I agree with your assessment about Tomb of Dracula. I love it in B&W.

JasonF

More or less agree with everything Paul SD said. I love Essentials and the like -- in fact, I've purchased every single Essential or Showcase with the exception of Wolverine. Most of the time, I don't find the lack of color to be a problem. I just finished reading Essential Man-Thing, for example, and found the Val Mayerik and Mike Ploog art really works as well in B&W as it did in color. Even in cases where it is a problem -- the Green Lantern stuff, for example, or Challengers of the Unknown, where it's hard to tell the Challs apart without hair color to distinguish them -- I found the problem to be relatively minor.

porieux

I'd be OK with that, if it were true to the original releases.

kvrdave

Sorry, I was talking about the TPBs that have been reproduced and not the original comic.

calhoun07

I would also be OK with that. I'd rather have it on newsprint in color than on premium paper in black and white.

madcougar

Paul_SD you have a good point. I remember getting those original X-Factor books people are talking about. The original printing process and the piss-poor paper stock often meant that the color was for crap to begin with. At a certain point in the last 15 years the printing process and paper stock employed have improved dramatically, but for me at least, that older stuff isn't missing much in B&W.

zombiezilla

I absolutely could NOT read , say, The Fantastic Four classics in B&W. But I can, and currently am, read(ing) The Essential Man-Thing Vol. 1 in B&W and enjoying it immensely; it loses very little in it's translation to B&W (many of the original stories were in B&W), and it's a series I loved as a kid that I wouldn't pay premium prices for to track them down just to (re-)read them. I also plan on picking up the Essential Super-Villain Team-Up volume for the same tight-ass/nostalgic reasons.

I would, however, have easily paid double cover price for good color reprints.

stingermck

Well ive finally caved in. With Google check out, I picked up Showcase Presents JLA for $4 shipped. A cheap easy way to give it a shot.

bishop2knight

That's an interesting analysis. Some books, like old horror, fit nicely in B&W and I'd go as far as saying that could be my prefered method (when you factor in the cost). But it's interesting that I want to pay a premium for good, solid color reprints, or I want to pay next to nothing.

One thing I've noticed is that without the color, I'm not remembering my childhood the way I do with color copies. Then again, just the fact it's in book format may make it hard to relive my glory days.