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| Copyright MARVEL COMICS |
Hooray! Arrived today, my Facsimile Edition of Tales Of Suspense #39 - the debut and origin of The Invincible Iron Man! I love these comics, but a few things niggle me. First of all, the bar code box is unnecessarily big, obscuring too much of that iconic cover. It's been smaller on some previous facsimiles and could (and should) have been smaller on this one.
Inside, the indicia has been printed under the splash page instead of below the ad on the inside front cover. The splash now contains a warning that 'This comic is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated depictions.' This would've been better placed as part of the indicia, instead of being imposed onto the published artwork and compromising the archival integrity of the material.
Another thing I've noticed in most of these facsimiles is that the image is often positioned too high on the page, leaving a bigger margin under the art than above. I suspect this is caused by most reprint pages being first prepared for book collections, which usually have a new page number under each image. When this is removed for single issue reprints (on account of it not appearing in the original comic), it leaves the lower margin too high. (Though, strangely, the other two tales in the mag are better positioned in this regard.) You'd think they'd compensate for this and lower the image for a better balance of top and bottom margins.
Those small niggles aside, it's great to see this iconic issue being re-presented as an individual magazine for a new audience, though there's bound to be a posse of older readers coming along for the ride. Below is my original copy alongside its facsimile. Make Mine Marvel!
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Have you bought that Epic Conan collection yet? I know what it looks like inside because I watched a review on YouTube but I'd be interested in your opinion (if you ever get around to it).
ReplyDeleteDrat! I knew I'd forgotten to buy something. Next couple of weeks, CJ - probably.
ReplyDeleteIt's been available since early August, Kid - you're obviously not desperate to acquire it. Perhaps you feel you already have enough reprints of Barry Smith-era Conan?
ReplyDeleteJust sped-watched that YouTube review, CJ. I wouldn't let that guy near one of my books - the way he handled his copy was shocking. And his repeated turning from the front cover to the back cover at the beginning was boring - as was his whole review in fact. The book looks great though.
ReplyDeleteI meant to buy it sooner, but I've being buying quite a bit of other stuff (back issues) so I just forgot, CJ. Besides, I only have a certain amount of money to hand - unless I'm prepared to slit open another mattress.
ReplyDeleteYou can't fool me, Kid - I know you're a multi-millionaire, don't deny it!
ReplyDeleteI thought the YouTube review was really interesting but each to his own I suppose. But your review would highlight all the little niggling things that nobody else notices :)
Which is why it's important to highlight them, CJ, so that people know the bad as well as the good (which they can see for themselves). Informative and educational - that's Crivens! As for the review, I found the way he handled the book irritating, and he mostly seemed to be talking for talking's sake, not because he had anything (in the main) worth saying.
ReplyDeleteActually, I just noticed that there are at least a couple of reviews of the book on YouTube, CJ, so I might've watched a different one from you.
ReplyDelete