Thank you for the information. Since the "Bargain Price" edition is ironically more expensive on Amazon, I will avoid it.
It also includes non-story Rocketeer images from pin-ups and other art. It does not include the Harlan Ellison introduction from the Eclipse graphic novel collection.
Is the Harlan Ellison introduction very interesting?
Also, one thing that is often mentioned in descriptions for the hardcover collection is that the comics are recolored by Laura Martin, who Dave Stevens apparently wanted to do such a recoloring. Is the recoloring job an improvement, or does it make no significant difference in the visual quality of the artwork?
Courage, men! We've not sunk before, and we'll not sink now!
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TheSolarSailor
12 years ago
Personally, I'd never have noticed the recoloring had they not made it a point to advertise it. They did a good job and it looks like the original release, though I am left wondering why it was needed. Of course, I am no expert in the field so my opinion doesn't count for much regarding the recoloring.
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Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?
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grendelkhan
11 years ago
The original coloring was done in the then-standard four-color process, where you create a color guide for the printer, with percentage mixtures of the 4 color elements. Modern coloration is done on computer, which allows for a wider variety of tones, and eliminates the need for things like zip-atone- and benday dots, which were used to add texture. I suspect the old color guides were probably faded, too, which is not uncommon. Digital coloring lets the art pop out more.
In regards to the Ellison introduction, it is quite entertaining, as most of Ellison's writing is. It gives you a feel for Stevens' love of the period and a quick bio sketch of Bettie Page. Ellison wrote a great intro for this and one of Neil Gaiman's Sandman volumes. Both made better reading than much of what you find in the publishing world. Harlan's a fan, too.
"Fortunately, Ah keep mah feathers numbered for just such an emergency!"
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hbenthow
11 years ago
Since I created this thread, I've become much more informed about the printing history of the Rocketeer. The Rocketeer comics have been recolored multiple times, and each coloring looks different from the others.
Here's a page from one of the original Rocketeer comic books:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/TheRocketeer1stcoloring_zps3906daae.jpg
Here's the same page, but from the recolored printing used for the 1985 hardcover compilation, and its later softcover reprints:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/TheRocketeer2ndcoloring_zps7ebf77f7.jpg
And here's the same page yet again, but this time from Laura Martin's 2009 recoloring:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/TheRocketeer3rdcoloring_zps1f1ba5a7.jpg
Courage, men! We've not sunk before, and we'll not sink now!
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bpmct
11 years ago
The new "Complete Collection" (2009) is very nice, but I really love the 1985 collection. I only have the first book in that series (the first five "action" chapters). There was a second called Cliff's New York Adventures (the second half of the series) but I haven't found a good price on that (plus that story is in the "Complete Collection").
The 1985"action chapters" one has a great background article on Dave Stevens and his love of the era (great pictures too). I'd also recommend Dave Stevens autobiography (Brush With Passion). He talks a lot about the making of the film.
Check out my blog: http://briansthingsthatarecool.blogspot.com/
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Mr-Fusion
11 years ago
I'd also recommend Dave Stevens autobiography (Brush With Passion). He talks a lot about the making of the film.
That book is absolutely essential for anyone who's interested in art, comics, The Rocketeer, or Dave Stevens in general. It's sadly out-of-print, and not all that easy to find, but so ... sooo worth it.
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TheSolarSailor
11 years ago
Thanks for the links that show the difference. I will be honest in saying that the 1985 one looks best. It's more colorful and, for lack of a better way to describe it, less polished looking than the newest coloration. I wonder if there isn't such a thing as getting too perfect with this stuff, which might be what makes me like the latest iteration less. I'd compare it to high definition photography and/or televisions...there is a point where it gets too perfect and just starts looking fake. Maybe not a perfect comparison, but hopefully you can understand what I mean. It doesn't need to be absolutely perfect. It lost it's bold colors in the new version (as if looking at it through a slightly blue filter), though it may be more realistic looking in tones. This is comic book art, not photography, so it doesn't need to look too uber-realistic.
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Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?
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hbenthow
11 years ago
I understand what you mean. However, the 2009 coloring has grown on me. For me, it's hard to choose between the 1985 and 2009 versions - they each have their own strengths. The 1985 version is a bit more saturated and much more "comic-booky", and the 2009 version is more atmospheric and cinematic. I think that the 2009 version suffers a bit in comparison if you look at it side by side with the 1985 version, but if you look at it by itself, it holds up very well on its own merits (in my opinion, anyhow).
By the way, here are two very interesting articles about Laura Martin's 2009 recoloring. They contain a lot of information about why the recoloring was done, and why Martin chose the particular style she did. The second in particular (written by Martin herself) is very in-depth.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=20227
http://laura-gaijin.livejournal.com/6253.html
Here are some more comparisons from the original comics, the 1985 edition, and the 2009 edition.
Sample 1.
Original comic:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/RocketeerColoringSample2-1_zps9bbcb654.jpg
1985:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/RocketeerColoringSample2-2_zpsc3ab5d77.jpg
2009:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/RocketeerColoringSample2-3_zpsac0f61b7.jpg
Sample 2:
Original comic:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/RocketeerColoringSample3-1_zpsaefe2f98.jpg
1985:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/RocketeerColoringSample3-2_zps43fa62e6.jpg
2009:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/RocketeerColoringSample3-3_zpsab62fcbf.jpg
The original coloring for "The Rocketeer: Cliff's New York Adventure" is a bit different, in that the coloring in the paperback compilation looks pretty much identical to the coloring from the three original comic books it was compiled from. Here are some comparisons between the coloring used in the original comics and the 1997 paperback, and that used in the 2009 version. Interestingly, the 2009 version actually looks more colorful in some places.
Sample 1.
Original:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/TheRocketeer-CliffsNewYorkAdventure-Sample1-v1_zps58b4b0f8.jpg
2009:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/TheRocketeer-CliffsNewYorkAdventure-Sample1-v2_zps226a4297.jpg
Sample 2.
Original:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/TheRocketeer-CliffsNewYorkAdventure-Sample2-v1_zps14eebf90.jpg
2009:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/TheRocketeer-CliffsNewYorkAdventure-Sample2-v2_zpsfacac7b6.jpg
Sample 3.
Original:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/TheRocketeer-CliffsNewYorkAdventure-Sample3-v1_zps27e70295.jpg
2009:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/TheRocketeer-CliffsNewYorkAdventure-Sample3-v2_zpsd924422c.jpg
Sample 4.
Original:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/TheRocketeer-CliffsNewYorkAdventure-Sample4-v1_zps94ab118e.jpg
2009:
http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r665/hbenthow/Rocketeer%20Coloring s/TheRocketeer-CliffsNewYorkAdventure-Sample4-v2_zpsa9fb0556.jpg
Courage, men! We've not sunk before, and we'll not sink now!
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hbenthow
11 years ago
Today, I got "The Rocketeer: All 5 Action Chapters" in the mail. It turns out that the photo comparison I posted isn't quite accurate. Whoever scanned the "All 5 Action Chapters" edition for those photos did a bad job, or used a bad scanner. It turns out that the coloring in the actual book looks very close to the 2009 Laura Martin version - to the point that I now fully understand what you meant when, at first, you said "I'd never have noticed the recoloring had they not made it a point to advertise it." The difference between it and the new Laura Martin coloring is not nearly as drastic as the photo comparison I posted would imply.
Courage, men! We've not sunk before, and we'll not sink now!
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