Hellboy library editions please

[borntohula]

Yeah, buy it all. It's great.

If money is a factor, the omnibus editions will be coming out next year. They're chronological and a bit cheaper.

Just got wind of the omnibuses. Love the idea of them

[grogtheslayer]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if the omnibus HB books will be published in color? Just asking as I have some omnibus editions of other books (Moon Knight, Punisher) and these were done in black & white.

[middenway]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if the omnibus HB books will be published in color? Just asking as I have some omnibus editions of other books (Moon Knight, Punisher) and these were done in black & white.

Considering how prominently they mention Dave Stewart in the press release, I'd be extremely surprised if they weren't in colour.

[grogtheslayer]

Considering how prominently they mention Dave Stewart in the press release, I'd be extremely surprised if they weren't in colour.

I've read every press release I can find and if you read them closely you will see that Dave Stewart is mentioned only with regard to the new covers Mignola is producing for the omnibus editions. They say nothing that I've been able to discern about the actual interior art.

[middenway]

I've read every press release I can find and if you read them closely you will see that Dave Stewart is mentioned only with regard to the new covers Mignola is producing for the omnibus editions. They say nothing that I've been able to discern about the actual interior art.

Yeah, that's what I mean. It'd be a faux pas to make such a big deal about him doing cover work while erasing his 20-year history on the book at the same time.

[borntohula]

Also, I've never seen the comics in black and white. Actually takes some doing erasing all it's colours. Probably easier releasing them as is, in colour

[Joker]

No, the colors are separate layers in Photoshop. You don't erase them, you just hide those layers. Or, really, you just print it from Mignola's scans that are sent to Stewart to color. Neither option is harder than the other, it's just a choice.

I'd buy these if they were black and white. But they won't be. Black and white comics don't sell well and the point of these is sales to new readers.

[Angilasman]

I sincerely doubt these'll be in black and white.

If I don't miss my guess these'll replace the standard tpb volumes which will go out of print, making devouring the Hellboy series in one go super convenient for new fans, who'll have no confusion over what books to buy. They wouldn't make the de-facto versions of Hellboy black and white when the series is famous for being in color. I'm guessing this'll be similar to what DH has done with Usagi Yojimbo: it's been replacing it's individual black and white volumes (which have gone out of print) with the 'Usagi Yojimbo Saga' editions that collect three tpbs worth of material, most of it in black and white (it's a black and white comic), but all the special color issues and short stories (not to mention covers) are reprinted in color.

[grogtheslayer]

No, the colors are separate layers in Photoshop. You don't erase them, you just hide those layers. Or, really, you just print it from Mignola's scans that are sent to Stewart to color. Neither option is harder than the other, it's just a choice.

I'd buy these if they were black and white. But they won't be. Black and white comics don't sell well and the point of these is sales to new readers.

I'd also really jump at the chance to get just the B&W art. That'd be more of an incentive for me than reading the stories in narrative chronological order. Anyhow, the pesky term for me is "omnibus" as there doesn't appear to be any standard usage in the comics industry. I own some omnibuses that are B&W and others that are color. There also appears to have no way of knowing from the MSRP. If they are indeed in color, it will be interesting comparing the colors from the original single issues and the various trades.

[middenway]

I'd also really jump at the chance to get just the B&W art. That'd be more of an incentive for me than reading the stories in narrative chronological order.

That's part of the reason I'm so excited about the Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea (Studio Edition) Kickstarter.

[Kees_L]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if the omnibus HB books will be published in color? Just asking as I have some omnibus editions of other books (Moon Knight, Punisher) and these were done in black & white.

Lots of comics have a specifically black & white format whereas lots of other comics do not.

For instance the interior art made for Cheval Noir both as Dark Horse Presents ("Vol. 1") were made in black and white, which means the comic creatives would specifically work out their pages for getting published in B&W. Should a title however be of a full color format, then the pages most likely would get made as featuring colors instead.
In all likelihood the "Hellboy at the Gas Station" promo was made in B&W (since the title featuring it was all B&W) and also the Hellboy: Seed of Destruction comics with Arthur Adams' back up feature were initially slated in B&W if I recall correctly.

However, any of the Dark Horse Hellboy books most primarily were collected into trade paperbacks as exclusively and only full color editions.
Because apparently the creative intent was to have color be an integral part to the interior art, or such is what I would assume from interviews or comments at the time.

Dave Stewart hasn't been the sole colorist for the Hellboy/BPRD-related books, but I sure often hear Dark Horse people if not mr Mike himself rave about how glad they are with Dave Stewart having become like *the housestyle* colorist for the titles I would think.

I'd also really jump at the chance to get just the B&W art. That'd be more of an incentive for me than reading the stories in narrative chronological order.

Well, apparently these particular omnibus editions entail a different incentive entirely since these appear targeted to new readers due to the movie looming.

Anyhow, the pesky term for me is "omnibus" as there doesn't appear to be any standard usage in the comics industry.

When I Google the word "omnibus" I get "a volume containing several books previously published separately". So I would deduce that for comics this oughta mean an omnibus collects previously collected comic book trade paperbacks. Sort of like reprint editions in order for the initial collected trades having sold out for the most part.
"Omnibus" seems more about affordibility where "Library Editions" appears being about a 'prestige format' or having 'definitive' hoopla to it, eventhough both come at reasonable pricepoints.

Whereas the IDW Artist Editions or the upcoming Flesk Publications Studio Editions are not merely reprinted or collected editions at all.
They have nothing to do with being in black and white and in fact they aren't in black and white, since they are full color scans.
In IDW's case featuring scans of the (non-colored) original art boards.
And the Flesk Studio Edition features a trip through Gary Gianni's original preliminary pencils all the way to the final inked (non-colored) original art.
Leaving any of Dave Stewarts' coloring process to its own mystery, since the colors are only shown in regular editions.

[Kees_L]

No, the colors are separate layers in Photoshop. You don't erase them, you just hide those layers. Or, really, you just print it from Mignola's scans that are sent to Stewart to color. Neither option is harder than the other, it's just a choice.

I'd buy these if they were black and white. But they won't be. Black and white comics don't sell well and the point of these is sales to new readers.

Being from outside of the US I have seen some translated or anthologized comics material, to the point of seeing certain foreign editions attracting attention by re-fashioning covers from ads or blown up panels, like for instance a French edition of Gotham by Gaslight with an advert cover, a French Batman book with a blown up panel for a cover.
Or the French Delcourt Hellboy translated editions which apparently got published as regular-sized full color editions next to which a limited number of oversized B&W examples becoming extremely pricey fast.
I've never held any of those up close but these editions apparently just obtain the blacks with leaving out the colors - but the oversizing as well as blowing up panels of those could result in hardly up-to-par printing quality I would assume.
I own a few German translated all B&W Hellboy editions - none of which are oversized - but not any of the French ones.
The lovely IDW Artist Editions which are to me a different ballgame altogether - as aptly rendering the original art properly sized as-is - I do own those, very happily.

[Joker]

Black and White comics don't sell well in the US, I should say. Americans specifically have an aversion to Black and White comics.

[Kees_L]

Black and White comics don't sell well in the US, I should say. Americans specifically have an aversion to Black and White comics.

I beg to differ, since a helluvalot if not most comics I own or know have originated or existed as proving of the B&W format pretty heavily?

Newspapers, magazines and comics alike seem to share a distinct history with either refraining from or becoming to contain colors with retaining availability and pricepoints in mind? Same as opting to contain ads or no ads?

Or that interestingly most comic formats will seek to be suiting broad selling venues potentially?

With the direct markets having become of the past like 20 years ago, it nowadays appears that trade paperback market venues outnumber particular comics venues pretty significantly notwithstanding?

It seems to me that comics can be full color or either B&W - and most preferably intrinsically so, as how for instance Hellboy comics have become to intrinsically employ colors as part of the storytelling and page design, since comic book formats have been allowing this to occur?

I should say: I'm a fan of comics, even American ones, if they're good. And a number of those are in B&W, or either pulpy 4-color, or either pretige format full color.

[Angilasman]

There's a bit of a stratification among comic fans in the US. Among superhero fans? Black and white is not preferred - these fans may be totally unfamiliar with black and white comic art. Among indie and manga fans? Black and white is totally normal.

I mean, manga is probably the most widely read kind of comic in the US and they're almost all black and white.