Posted: 07 February 2014 at 8:13am | IP Logged | 1
|
|
|
I've been buying a number of reprint collections and back issues lately, sometimes of the same work, and I find that I really wish they would recolor the reprint editions. Some things I've bought recently...
Back issues of the original MOON KNIGHT series--With just incredible art by Bill Sienkiewicz, but fairly flat colors--due to the restrictions of the time, not any lack of talent by the colorists. As far as I know, they haven't reprinted this series yet, but when they do, I hope they really go all out.
Marvel has been releasing a few shorter saddle-stitched reprint comics, like the Neal Adams INHUMANS from AMAZING ADVENTURES way back when. Comparing the two, it's clear that the new book has been recolored--but following the original colors! Things have been corrected all over the place, but no artistic changes. And they did the same with the STAR LORD stories from the old Marvel magazines--but they left the Carmine Infantino stories in B&W! Argh! I would have gladly spent the $8 (or whatever it was) if they had colored those! (I already own the John Byrne and Gene Colan stories in color.)
A while back, Marvel released an AMAZING FANTASY #15/AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 comic obviously recolored, with deep, rich computer colors that made Steve Ditko's art look incredible (well, incredible in a new way!). Before that, they did a TALES OF ASGARD book with new colors over Kirby's powerful art--again, it looked great!
But for the most part, Marvel reprints everything with the original color schemes, but usually on slick paper. It usually looks nicer than my old, yellowed originals (though there's something to be said for that yellowed newsprint look!), but I can't help but think that they could step it up a bit. I would love to see Gene Colan's DAREDEVIL run recolored and released on good paper in a high quality edition. When they charge $50 or $60 for not that many pages of story, I think they could do a little more than slap it all between two covers and ship it out.
I would also love to see really sharp (and recolored) reprint editions of some old favorites like (and I'll emphasize the artists here) Gene Colan's HOWARD THE DUCK, P. Craig Russell's KILLRAVEN, Paul Gulacy's MASTER OF KUNG FU, Rich Buckler's DEATHLOK, and many others. And not only would these fine artists look better with the best coloring available, but many other simpler or less respected artists might really shine with modern methods. Besides Kirby and Ditko, I'd love to see what they can do with George Tuska, Don Heck, Herb Trimpe, and Sal Buscema's work.
Should the older stories and artists forever be reprinted in flat colors simply because the technology and techniques did not exist when they first saw print? And how about correcting things like the Hulk originally being colored gray (c'mon, we KNOW he was never really gray!) or Stan Lee calling Betty Ross "Betty Brant" in THE HULK or other typos?
Edited by Eric Jansen on 07 February 2014 at 8:18am
|