Spoilers for Miracleman #14, probably.
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE TO THE UPDATE (1/9/15): Newsarama just ran an article on the situation that cites me, including the extra bit of info that I didn’t mention here, that the missing text will be sent to retailers, somehow. (I talked about that on my Twitter account, but wasn’t yet clear on how the text was going to be distributed.)
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE (1/8/15): Apparently there was a miscommunication somewhere, as replacements aren’t on their way, since Marvel has opted not to replace this issue with a corrected edition. Digital copies have apparently been fixed, however, and it will be corrected in the eventual hardcover/paperback collections. …Well, it was nice selling the print editions of the individual comics while it lasted.
UPDATE: I’ve been informed by Diamond that replacement copies are on the way, with the error corrected.
(ORIGINAL POST FROM 1/7/15 FOLLOWS:)
Well, hopefully Marvel will be going back to print on Miracleman #14 to release corrected editions, because certain word balloons on page 15 that originally looked like this in the original 1988 Eclipse comic:
…now look like this in the Marvel reprint out this week:
…though you can read the dialogue from those balloons on the original artwork pages in the comic’s backmatter:
It wasn’t just that panel; all the black word balloons on that page lost their lettering. Well, not “lost,” exactly…at first glance I thought the balloons were entirely black, but upon looking at the scans I can see the lettering is there, just miscolored to the point of illegibility.
Now, mistakes happen, I know, and I realize 1) it’s going to cost a lot, and 2) it’ll suck for everyone involved to bite the bullet on this, but I really do hope Marvel does fix this error with a new printing of the comic. After going through all this trouble to get this material back into the marketplace, it would be a shame to have something like this mar the rerelease. Maybe they can save a few cents by not polybagging the corrected version.
Jeez, that’s just an embarrassment. And one of the most gripping scenes of the entire series, too. Will assume it’ll be fixed for the HC,
…which I won’t even consider buying if they don’t fix the comic. This isn’t the first issue with lettering errors, but it certainly looks like the most egregious so far.
Hey, the only time this tactic ever works to sell more issues is when a lot of swears are poorly concealed by pale censor bars!
Maybe it’s just your copy… maybe the printer ran out of white ink.
Paul – still trying to get my mitts on one of those!
From a technical standpoint Marvel probably set all the blacks to ‘overprint’ on the page.
Stupid but easy mistake to make.
I always wonder why they went through the effort of acquiring the rights and recoloring the whole thing at all if
A: They weren’t going to market the single issue sales.
B: Can’t be bothered to correct mistakes.
C: They only care about the long term/collected edition money
When Will The Hurting Stop ran a post in August about this and it’s still relevant: http://whenwillthehurtingstop.blogspot.ca/2014/08/miracle-mile.html
Hey, maybe Marvel will send you a bunch of stickers with corrected dialog. I’m sure that would go over great.
My prediction for the next update: Marvel accidentally sends retailers word balloon stickers from ASBAR #10
I can’t believe they’re not going to correct it. That’s a pivotal piece of dialogue, and like ADD, I’m done with buying these reprints if Marvel has no intention of behaving like an actual publisher.
Thanks for all the updates. Word balloon stickers sound fun. I might make my own, to improve the dialogue.