Monday, June 30, 2008

Comic Cuts: Upcoming Books (Titan)

Here's an update for titles announced by Titan Books as part of their autumn and winter schedule.

October 2008

  • The Best of Battle: Volume 1 (ISBN 978-1848560253, 24 October 2008). "Over 300 pages of relentless action are collected here, from the desperate dogfights of Johnny Red to the down-and-dirty Rat Pack, the reflective, critically acclaimed Charley's War and the uncompromising Hellman of Hammer Force! Created and drawn by some of the biggest names in British comics, including Pat Mills and John Wagner (co-creators of 2000AD), Joe Colquhoun ("Charley's War", "Johnny Red") and more, this is the ultimate gift for fans of blazing battle action!"
  • Charley's War: Return to the Front (ISBN 978-1845767969, 24 October 2008). "Returning to the front, Charley is reunited with old comrades Weeper and Old Bill—and, unfortunately, bully Grogan and the vile Lieutenant Snell. As the bullets fly and bombs fall, Charley faces as much danger from his own ranks as from the enemy's..."
  • The Cream of Tank Girl by Alan C. Martin & Jamie Hewlett (ISBN 978-1845769420, 24 October 2008). "Boasting tons of unseen artwork, rarely seen comic strips, every Jamie Hewlett "Tank Girl" cover ever, publicity posters, script samples and more besides, this is the ultimate guide to Tank Girl and her world! Bask in the glory of exclusive new commentary from writer Alan Martin! Shiver with pleasure at the sight of rarely seen drawings by Gorillaz genius Jamie Hewlett! Have a nice cup of tea whilst studying the recipe page! Verily, "The Cream of Tank Girl" is a smorgasbord of Tank Girl-osity."
November 2008
December 2008


  • Roy of the Rovers Archives: Season 1954-55 (ISBN 978-1845769499, 20 December 2008) He's back! Britain's most famous fantasy footballer, Roy Race, makes his long-awaited return, in this first of a series of spectacular archive volumes collecting all of Roy's thrilling escapades from the very beginning! Rarely seen, never collected, these are the original Roy of the Rovers tales, lovingly restored and presented in beautiful dustjacketed hardbacks. The first of a highly collectible library, this debut volume also sports fascinating features on the genesis and history of Roy, along with commentary, checklists and an exclusive introduction. As featured in the recent BBC 'Comics Britannia' documentaries, it follows Roy and Melchester Rovers through this, his debut 1954-55 season!
January 2009
February 2009
  • Dan Dare: The Phantom Fleet (ISBN 978-1848561274, 3 February 2009). It’s chocks away and tally-ho once again as Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future, returns! First published in classic British comic the Eagle, these are the original adventures of one of the best known and loved of British comic characters. In the thrilling second instalment of this epic tale, the battle for Saturn is raging as Dan and his crew attempt to escape the clutches of the nefarious Dr Blasco and his Saturnian cohorts, while the friendly pirates of Phoebe mount a full-scale assault! This exciting volume also contains two extremely rare Annual stories "Operation Triceratops" and "The Planulid", plus a Frank Hampson sketchbook, and "The Way to Space" interviews with Eagle’s "backroom boys", Dare artist Frank Hampson, centrespread artist Leslie Ashwell Wood and scientific advisor James Hemming.
March 2009
More to follow as titles are announced.

6 comments:

  1. The 'Volume 1' next to the Battle title makes me very happy (checks Steel Claw - no numbering)!

    George

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  2. I think Titan are pretty confident that the stories from Battle Picture Weekly will do well... it's in the comfort zone of stores that are already carrying the Carlton war reprints, so I'm sure they'll do well getting the books into the shops, and it's the right age (mid-1970s) for the nostalgia market of people just turned 40. Maybe The Steel Claw and Spider reprints just missed the right market; we folks who grew up on them are now heading towards or half passed our half-century.

    I'm making myself feel old!

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  3. I'll buy the book but I'm annoyed that Titan is including Charley's War in the Battle collection because I already collect the series....

    I'm assuming they're reprinting the WW1 strips?

    Maybe they could reprint the WW2 run in volume 2?

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  4. Any indication so far as to the contents of the 'Battle' book ?

    Will they be doing full runs or just odd episodes.

    Here's hoping for the complete 'Team That Went To War' (Tom Tully/Mike Western)

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  5. No idea of the contents but I suspect this will be a collection of material from the annuals rather than the weekly. It shouldn't interfere with the run of Charley's War collections and hopefully the CW strip included will be one by Joe Colquhoun.

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  6. A quick update (9 July): I've just spoken to someone at Titan and the contents of the Battle book are still being finalised. A solicitation went out through Diamond but it had to be composed so early that there may be a few changes by the time the book finally comes out. The book market's a bit volatile at the moment and plans for books can change at the last minute... same thing happened to me with a couple of the Carlton volumes where I picked 12 stories and the final volumes will only contain 10.

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