Series that may not be compiled in trades, worth campaigning for so they will be
One of the ways to rescue DC Comics from the current desecration is to campaign for series, limited and ongoing, to be published in trades if they haven't been.
By this, here's a few of the items I'm thinking of. Ones that were published circa 1983-84, and were very well regarded in their time (in fact, there's quite a lot of very notable output during the very time I cite, and what I talk about below is probably just half of it).
Sword of the Atom. this for me is the miniseries I want to see being published in trade paperback format. It's a very recommended item from the mid 80s, a four-part miniseries and three specials, published between 1983-88, that developed a well written change in life for Ray Palmer and Jean Loring. And it could help to show the real story that went on between the two when they got divorced back then, and show why it was Jean who left Ray, and not the other way around, as Identity Crisis faked it. It should be pretty easy to put together into a 17-20 dollar compilation, and then people could get to know the real story about why Ray and Jean split up.
Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld. This adventure was intended for the female crowd, about a 13-year-old girl who discovers that she's actually a princess from a faraway alien world, where time works differently, so that people are approximately 5 years older on that plane of existence. The first place where I knew about this book, which also saw publications between 1983-88, was in that it bore some connection to the Legion of Superheroes (it actually may have first appeared as a preview in the very pages of LOSH, but did have some connections made later on in some way or other).
A little over a year ago, I read a blogger saying that he'd asked at a convention if DC had any plans to publish this in trades. Turns out that they had little interest or respect for this little gem of its time, which also sums up what they must apparently think of SOTA as well. There we have it then, another item worth campaigning for that DC publish in trades too.
All-Star Squadron and Infinity Inc. I own the 1984 annual of ASS. I own practically none of Infinity, however. I want to own them all both, as it can show not only me, but other people as well, how many of the younger crowd connected with the Justice Society began, and could offer some new appreciation for just about all the characters who ended up being dumbed down in later years. If you were to read Roy Thomas' work in creating a younger generation of JSAers, it could show just how they might work best if done today.
And then, how to write to DC and campaign? The address for that is askeditors@dccomics.com. It wasn't easy to find this, however, as when I tried to look for the exact contact info on their own site, it pointed me in the direction of a publicity news page instead. Fortunately, I was able to find the e-mail by search engining it. And, here's what I wrote:
So, if you're one of those who'd like to know the real story behind some of these things, and to read a really good adventure story as well, from a time when writers didn't obsess themselves with dumbing-down the storytelling, go forth and write to them to ask.
Open trackbacks: The Bullwinkle Blog, Diane's Stuff, NIF, Point Five, Third World County.
By this, here's a few of the items I'm thinking of. Ones that were published circa 1983-84, and were very well regarded in their time (in fact, there's quite a lot of very notable output during the very time I cite, and what I talk about below is probably just half of it).
Sword of the Atom. this for me is the miniseries I want to see being published in trade paperback format. It's a very recommended item from the mid 80s, a four-part miniseries and three specials, published between 1983-88, that developed a well written change in life for Ray Palmer and Jean Loring. And it could help to show the real story that went on between the two when they got divorced back then, and show why it was Jean who left Ray, and not the other way around, as Identity Crisis faked it. It should be pretty easy to put together into a 17-20 dollar compilation, and then people could get to know the real story about why Ray and Jean split up.
Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld. This adventure was intended for the female crowd, about a 13-year-old girl who discovers that she's actually a princess from a faraway alien world, where time works differently, so that people are approximately 5 years older on that plane of existence. The first place where I knew about this book, which also saw publications between 1983-88, was in that it bore some connection to the Legion of Superheroes (it actually may have first appeared as a preview in the very pages of LOSH, but did have some connections made later on in some way or other).A little over a year ago, I read a blogger saying that he'd asked at a convention if DC had any plans to publish this in trades. Turns out that they had little interest or respect for this little gem of its time, which also sums up what they must apparently think of SOTA as well. There we have it then, another item worth campaigning for that DC publish in trades too.
All-Star Squadron and Infinity Inc. I own the 1984 annual of ASS. I own practically none of Infinity, however. I want to own them all both, as it can show not only me, but other people as well, how many of the younger crowd connected with the Justice Society began, and could offer some new appreciation for just about all the characters who ended up being dumbed down in later years. If you were to read Roy Thomas' work in creating a younger generation of JSAers, it could show just how they might work best if done today.And then, how to write to DC and campaign? The address for that is askeditors@dccomics.com. It wasn't easy to find this, however, as when I tried to look for the exact contact info on their own site, it pointed me in the direction of a publicity news page instead. Fortunately, I was able to find the e-mail by search engining it. And, here's what I wrote:
Dear editors,I haven't gotten a response so far, so I may write to them again. What I wrote as starting examples are worth fighting for, and I'm going to keep trying to ask them about it.
Do you have any plans to collect "Sword of the Atom" and "Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld", two very notable miniseries from 1983, into trade paperback collections?
Thank you for any answers you can provide.
best,
Avi Green
So, if you're one of those who'd like to know the real story behind some of these things, and to read a really good adventure story as well, from a time when writers didn't obsess themselves with dumbing-down the storytelling, go forth and write to them to ask.
Open trackbacks: The Bullwinkle Blog, Diane's Stuff, NIF, Point Five, Third World County.
Labels: Atom, Justice Society of America
