[bminor]

What are everybody's thoughts on the DC Chronicles chronological reprints of the aformentioned heroes?

They are cheap, fun to read, especially the silver age Lantern and Flash stories. I just love that Gil Kane and Carmine Infantino artwork!!!

Batman is currently now up to the the first few years of the 1940's so the artwork is much improved from the very crude early issues. Though those very early stories are interesting with Batman using a gun(!!!)

I think they are doing a great service. My three young boys, 8, 11 and 13 enjoy reading them. I have recommended the Chronicles to others as a inexpensive way to introduce the younger generation to the earlier adventures of the classic heroes. I think that many of the stories put out today are geared to much older audiences, and currently a standard comic costs about $4, right? For about $15 you get a 190 page color comic with a nice thick cover.
If you order them before they are printed through Amazon or Barnes & Noble I think you get 30% off.

Also, they look awfully impressive sitting on my shelf. Pretty neat!!!

[narfstar]

I have not tried those but I enjoyed the black and white showcase issues of some titles. Found it was better not to read too much of any character at one time. Usually wore thin for single character titles. Group stories held out better.

[Yoc]

I haven't seen these either but I like the price point.
And yeah, reading more than two or thee issues in a row of some titles and you start to see the story repetition pretty fast.

-Yoc

[phabox]

At least in this era you used to get nice and neat self contained stories and you did'nt need to know the previous 100 or so issues worth of back story to be able to read and enjoy them.

Is it just me or ARE todays comics to long winded, stretched out and complex to be quick fun reads  ?

I think less is more, todays creators should take a look at this old stuff and TRY to learn from it !

Just my opinion for what its worth.

-Nigel

[narfstar]

One nice thing about todays books is that they do shoot for a limit. 3-4 issues is a mini-series while within continueing series 5-6 issues makes a story arc reprinted in a trade. I have switched to trades for JLA/JSA for that reason. I get the book and read the story. I do not get into the big crossover things. I like the six issue stories OK. I was surprised at how well I enjoyed my Aquaman Showcase edition. I am not an aquaman fan in the JLA. The stories have to be made to fit him in. Short stories on his own were done pretty interesting.

Manga is really bad. Hundreds of pages for very little story. They have some of the most diverse and interesting stuff but wear it out often. Nice art is good but I like some "real" story on every page not just so much filler.

[Yoc]

Single issue stories are pretty rare these days.  Arcs that fit TPB seem to be the rule.

[dhfh]

What are everybody's thoughts on the DC Chronicles chronological reprints of the aformentioned heroes?

Well, I can easily express my thoughts about them: They're probably the greatest value in comics-related books on the market today for anyone who wants to read old DC material!

For me, when looked at next to DC's Archive editions, there's just no comparison... if the difference in price alone wasn't enough (i.e. $15 = Chronicle Volume < $50 = average Archive Volume), with the chronicles you only have to worry about getting one series per character.  You just need to be getting the Batman Chronicles volumes to have every Batman story, as opposed to the Batman Archives, AND the Dark Knight Archives, AND the Batman in World's Finest Archives.

So, as far as I'm concerned, when put side by side, the Chronicles are just the greater value--by far, no question.  In fact, I had to laugh at one internet review I saw, that said the Chronicles weren't as good as the Archives because they lacked the Archives' introductory matter that "tells us WHY these stories are so important".  To me, the historical importance/perspective is like bonus features on DVDs--and when I buy a DVD it's because I want to see the movie on it, extras or no extras.

While the behind-the-scenes and historic background is great to have, if you don't already think that the true, original, honest to goodness Golden Age stories of Superman or Batman are important enough to read by themselves, then you're probably not going to really be interested in them anyway. (It sounds like Bminor's kids show that, even today, GA material can be enjoyed without thinking about "how far we've come".)

I've also seen complaints about the fact that the Chronicles don't reprint the pages at as large a size as the Archives do.  Maybe not, but each Chronicle is the same size as a thick graphic novel and therefore don't overly shrink the panels.

I'm just hoping that the fact that DC has added three new characters to the overall series (SA Flash, SA Green Lantern, and GA Wonder Woman) is a sign that more characters who have already been reprinted in the Archives will be put out in Chronicles volumes (come on GA Hawkman, GA Spectre, Dr. Fate, GA All-Star Comics, etc.!)  Though I have a feeling the powers-that-be will think that a lot of the other characters don't have enough mass interest to warrant a Chronicles treatment...

At any rate, yes, the Chronicles are terrific, and I just wish Marvel would start a similar line for their old stuff that has already been put out in their Marvel Masterworks budget busters...

DHFH

P.S.  If you're in the U.S. and looking for a discount off the price of Chronicles volumes, several of them are available here:
http://www.edwardrhamilton.com/

They're a great company to deal with, and at $9.95 each, you can save some nice change if you order a bunch of volumes at once since shipping is only $3.50 per order regardless of how many of books you order.

[John C]

Is it just me or ARE todays comics to long winded, stretched out and complex to be quick fun reads  ?

I disagree on the complexity.  They're detailed, but usually the detail isn't anything that informs the story.  So what you're left with is panel after panel of people staring at each other.  It's supposed to (like the cells on a projected movie) convey the slow passage of time, but since there's nothing to stop the reader from blowing through them...they do.

Give me something that's ultra-dense, where every detail shifts the interpretation of some other part of the story, and I'll be willing to follow you through twelve issues at four bucks a pop.  But if not, I'm not wasting my money or time.

But I'll definitely be on the lookout for the books, now that the new job is working out.  I was never really thrilled with the gaudy, expensive Archives, even though I bought and enjoyed them, but I absolutely love the Showcase Editions, and this looks close, with a better organizatiion for my reading tastes.

[narfstar]

I have more to read than I will ever get to read. So I will save my money and keep my Showcase editions. When it comes to many SA series I already have many originals, reprints, Showcase and scans. So I figure I got enough. As far as long stories go, I started out really liking Terry Moore's Echo series. I figured it for a mini-series probably about six issues,  but it kept on going and was going very slow that I gave up. It is currenty at issue 19. I may get whatever the last issue is to see how things wind up but do not care any more what happens in the middle. The Image series Girls is another example that started out with a neat idea and probably could have been finished up is six issues but went 24. Six issues seems like a reasonably long enough time to finish a story.

[OtherEric]

I more or less missed these when they started.  If I recall correctly, the first series was Batman.  Which, not long before the chronicles showed, they released the first couple of Archives cheaply.  So I already had the material.

Nice idea, but the stuff I really wanted to see I had already bought archives, so I haven't bothered.  Although if they had started a couple years earlier I probably would have been all over them.

[Jedifish]

What are everybody's thoughts on the DC Chronicles chronological reprints of the aformentioned heroes?

At any rate, yes, the Chronicles are terrific, and I just wish Marvel would start a similar line for their old stuff that has already been put out in their Marvel Masterworks budget busters...

They did. They just released Volume 14 (Captain America) of the trade paperback version of the Marvel Masterworks. They are releasing 1 a month.

[Astaldo711]

I love the Showcase series. My daughter loves House of Mystery for some reason. Years ago I had some black and white reprints from some company of key gold age books. Pep #1, Silver Streak #1, Special Comics (Hangman) #1. The cover and back were in color but inside was b&w.

[boox909]

I love the Showcase series. My daughter loves House of Mystery for some reason. Years ago I had some black and white reprints from some company of key gold age books. Pep #1, Silver Streak #1, Special Comics (Hangman) #1. The cover and back were in color but inside was b&w.

Alan Light's FLASHBACK series. Some of us have a full set squirreled away in the catacombs. Another set was done by a group out of Texas that included Police Comics #1, and my fuzzy memories indicates a third set that included All-Star Comics #6 among others. One day, I will have to venture into the catacombs.

B. 

[Astaldo711]

Yes! I loved that series. It's what got me into GA comics.

[narfstar]

I have a few and some go for a decent price on ebay.

[Astaldo711]

I saw that when  I was looking them up online. I couldn't believe it. Even reprints of these books sells!

[narfstar]

Which is why I think bootleg scans are more advertisement than buying detrement. Those that would not buy them would not buy them anyway and those that want them get them. I can download JSA and JLA but I get the trades. I like sitting down with them and reading the story arc.

[DennyWilson]

for Characters like Green Lantern or Flash there's really are just affordable versions of "The Archive Editions" or color versions of "The Showcase".  The only advantage here is that the team-up appearances in "The Brave and The Bold" will most likely appear at the proper points.

When it comes to Batman,Superman and Wonder Woman who appeared in 3 titles regularly in the 1940's the chronological format is great - to be able to read the stories in the order published is alot of fun!

[dhfh]

They did. They just released Volume 14 (Captain America) of the trade paperback version of the Marvel Masterworks. They are releasing 1 a month.

Well, I agree the new trade paperback editions of the Masterworks are better, but since they're printing them in the same order as the original hardcovers, they haven't even started/scheduled paperbacks of any of the Golden Age volumes yet (which was the material I was specifically referring to).  Also, at $10 more per volume than the Chronicles, they're still not quite as affordable.

DHFH

[Jedifish]

They did. They just released Volume 14 (Captain America) of the trade paperback version of the Marvel Masterworks. They are releasing 1 a month.

Well, I agree the new trade paperback editions of the Masterworks are better, but since they're printing them in the same order as the original hardcovers, they haven't even started/scheduled paperbacks of any of the Golden Age volumes yet (which was the material I was specifically referring to).  Also, at $10 more per volume than the Chronicles, they're still not quite as affordable.

DHFH

Don't the Marvel ones usually have 80-100+ more pages?

Batman Chronicles #9 has 160 pages and Marvel Masterworks #14 has 264 pages. Seems fairly priced at $5.00 for 50 pages for each volume (and so just as affordable, IMO).

[DennyWilson]

I was just thinking of when I was a kid (1970's) it would be great if there were books with comic book reprints - now we're overflowing with them!

[dhfh]

Don't the Marvel ones usually have 80-100+ more pages?

Batman Chronicles #9 has 160 pages and Marvel Masterworks #14 has 264 pages. Seems fairly priced at $5.00 for 50 pages for each volume (and so just as affordable, IMO).

In general I'd say 'yes'--but only to a certain degree; it still sort of depends:

Because, if we're going to talk page counts, Batman Chronicles #1, 3, 5 -> 8, and Superman Chronicles #2 -> 6, all have about 190 pages, while Superman Chronicles #1 has about 200 and Batman Chronicles #2 & 4 have about 220.

Then Superman Chronicles #7 & 8, Flash Chronicles #1, and Green Lantern Chronicles #1 & 2 all have 160 to 170 pages (and, as you said, so does Batman Chronicles #9).  The price doesn't vary higher or lower depending on the page count.  Even when they are thicker than usual you don't have to pay more.   (The forthcoming Wonder Woman Chronicles is supposed to be another 192 pager.)

I guess my main point, though, is that I'd prefer Marvel to put out a series equivalent to the Chronicles, i.e. repackage the material into a slightly different arrangement from the Masterworks, in the same basic way that the Chronicles are repackaged from the Archives.

I don't need, say, the first volume of the original Spider-Man series to comprise issues #1-10 if paring the first volume down to #1-8 would make it possible to take $10 off the cover price. That would actually be cheaper all around, even though it would mean having to purchase more volumes in the long run:

   10 issues per volume at $25.  For $75 you'd get issues #1-30 (3 volumes)
     8 issues per volume at $15.  For $75 you'd get issues #1-40 (5 volumes)

Heck, one of my favorite reprint series to date has been the 1970s full-color Marvel reprint paperbacks from Pocket Books, and they only reprinted 6 issues per volume.

I don't think I've ever been willing to pay more than $30 for any book (of any kind) in my life, so $25 is right up there.  Just my personal limit to how much something's worth, I guess. 

DHFH

[dhfh]

I was just thinking of when I was a kid (1970's) it would be great if there were books with comic book reprints - now we're overflowing with them!

I know what you mean!  I always thought they should have made a series out of the "Great Comic Book Heroes."   I remember being quite disappointed to find out it wasn't a series.  I never could understand what the point of the book was until I read the text and then I just lamented the opportunity lost.

DHFH