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Topic: JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS (Topic Closed Topic Closed) Post ReplyPost New Topic
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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
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Posted: 03 July 2007 at 1:45pm | IP Logged | 1  

Wow.

No, make that WOW!!

This volume is practically a lecture course in How to Do It Right. First -- it's on flat paper! With flat color! And good, solid blacks! The pages actually look better than the original printing, especially Kirby's famed photo-montages. The stories are in the order in which they were first published, so it starts with JIMMY OLSEN, and what a ride from there!

Okay, this is me, so there have to be a couple of gripes, right? The coloring has been "corrected" in a few places, so Darkseid is not flesh colored in his first appearance, and Thaddeus Brown is not wearing his own, distinctive colors as Mister Miracle. The all-white Mr. Miracle on the cover of his third issue has been given his normal colors, which diminishes the impact of the cover considerably. Ah, well.

Elsewhere, the first volume has an introduction by Grant Morrison, who is, of course, well known for his association with these characters.

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Oliver Staley
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Posted: 03 July 2007 at 1:49pm | IP Logged | 2  

 the first volume has an introduction by Grant Morrison, who is, of course, well known for his association with these characters.

Well, if attracts new readers who are fans of Morrisson but arent't hip to Kirby, that's not a bad thing. Book introductions are as much about marketing as any thing else.

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Wallace Sellars
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Posted: 03 July 2007 at 1:49pm | IP Logged | 3  

Guess I'll have to add this to my Amazon wish list.
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Wallace Sellars
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Posted: 03 July 2007 at 1:51pm | IP Logged | 4  

I have never bought a book based on who wrote the introduction.
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Paul Greer
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Posted: 03 July 2007 at 1:51pm | IP Logged | 5  

I just received the Omnibus this past Saturday in the mail. I was a little scared when everyone was talking about the "cheap" paper being used. Having cracked it open and started reading it, I think the format fits this comic perfect. The entire presentation is wonderful. The cover and slipcover feel like something Kirby would have enjoyed.

It's a nice intro, but it does seem like a stretch for Morrison to write one. I would have thought you or Walt would have been a better choice, given your association with the characters.

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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

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Posted: 03 July 2007 at 1:54pm | IP Logged | 6  

Walt did the intro for the second volume.
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Paul Greer
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Posted: 03 July 2007 at 1:56pm | IP Logged | 7  

Nice! Now we need to get DC to have you write one for volume three or four.
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Oliver Staley
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Posted: 03 July 2007 at 1:56pm | IP Logged | 8  

I have never bought a book based on who wrote the introduction.

Not sure I have either, but I understand the thinking. It's basically an endorsement by someone well known. Given Kirby's reputation, they could have pushed it farther and gotten someone outside of the genre, like a movie director with an affinity for the material, to draw an even wider audience. Quintin Tarantino, maybe?

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Wallace Sellars
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Posted: 03 July 2007 at 2:02pm | IP Logged | 9  

You're right, Oliver.  I guess it's possible that sort of endorsement might pull in additional readers.
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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

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Posted: 03 July 2007 at 2:09pm | IP Logged | 10  

D'you think Morrison really has enough clout to get people to
pick up a $50 dollar book they were not already predisposed to
buy?
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Oliver Staley
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Posted: 03 July 2007 at 2:13pm | IP Logged | 11  

Might push them over the edge. Or more likely, get them to stop in the store and pick it up. I know if someone I was a big fan - say, JB - wrote an introduction for someone I wasn't familar with, I would be more likely to page through it.
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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

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Posted: 03 July 2007 at 2:15pm | IP Logged | 12  

There's no way an introduction could get me to drop 50 bucks
on something I didn't already want!
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