Okay, that one RAW technically had a variant cover, too.
Just addressing some comments from the last couple of posts. Wednesday first:
Matthew asked
“Unrelated to anything, but I read recently-ish that the original Fathom #1 from the 1990s had variant interiors. Do you remember anything about this?”
I believe that’s correct…a little Googling around seems to confirm that, but I meant to check the Fathom #1s at the shop (I have two of the three main covers) but I forgot because brain no work good.
But yes, I’m pretty sure that was a thing. DC Comics also did that with Team Titans, their attempt at an edgier, hipper superhero team more like those X-Forces and the Youngbloods all the kids are into. First issue had multiple variations, each featuring a different solo story of one of the title’s characters. Anyway, variant interiors like that are dumb and don’t do it (unless you’re RAW magazine, which did “variant interiors” to much better effect).
jmurphy lays down the law with
“What’s this Episode IV New Hope nonsense? That wording didn’t exist until 1981. Anything from the late ’70s is just ‘Star Wars.’ Kids these days…”
Hey, I’ll have you know I was there in the theater as an excited 8-year-old in 1977 watching Star Wars during its original run, so don’t you try to out-Star Wars fan me! Besides, as we all know, every change made to Star Wars post-release ripples backwards through time, replacing all previously released versions with the newest revision. As such, we have always been at war with Episode IV, A New Hope.
JohnJ has this to say
“Didn’t Marvel also do a Treasury combining all 6 issues?”
Indeed they did! That’s what I was referencing in the title to Wednesday’s post!
Issue #3 of Marvel Special Edition collected the contents of the first two treasuries under a new cover. I remember when it came out, I had the first two treasuries pretty much memorized and, when I saw this third one, I immediately thought “oh boy, new Star Wars stories!” Until I got a better look at it and realized it was stuff I already had. I’m pretty sure I asked anyway whichever parent was in attendance if they could buy that for me, and my request was declined, which was just as well.
JohnJ also adds
“Speaking of Star Wars, doesn’t everybody think it’s way past time for Disney to put out dvds of the original versions of the first three movies??”
Well, the original versions (more or less, it’s hard to tell) did get released as “special features” on some DVD release or ‘nother many years ago, which I have somewhere in the “Remember Physical Media?” section of my home. As I recall, they weren’t remastered in any way, nor were they anamorphic. I’d imagine Disney could make a mint by releasing nice versions of those films…except of course they no longer exist due to that retroactive time-rippling effect I was speaking about earlier.
Now, you wanna talk what Disney should put out on DVD? Lucas ain’t around to stop no more, so I do believe it’s time for The Holday Special, The Deluxe Edition. C’MON DISNEY, you’re already doing stuff with Yoda’s people, once verboten territory per Big George, what’s one more thing?
Okay, now let’s go back to Monday for Snark Shark, who bites off more than he can chew with
“Seems like I’ve seen extra copies of [Superman’s Fortress of Solitude and Captain America Bicentennial treasuries] than most of the treasury editions. I wonder if those 2 were overprinted?”
I can’t say to the Cap book, but I got my copy of Fortress, it was in a freestanding cardboard display at our local grocery store. I can’t remember if the display itself was specific to the comic or just a generic cardboard dump, but it certainly must have come with that treasury. I have no idea how widespread that form of display for this specific comic was, and I don’t recall seeing any other treasuries displayed this way before or after. Was there a special deal in which you got that display with a certain number of copies, and maybe there was a bump up in print numbers to go along with this promotion? Don’t know enough to say.
It could also be just a regional thing specifically to you…maybe more copies just made it to your area for whatever reason. If only we could go back in time four decades or more and find out for sure, right?
Second time I read yesterday’s entry, I did notice you covered the all 6 issues Treasury. Shows how much attention I pay to headlines.
You can check out the Star Wars Holiday Special with riffing on Rifftrax where it’s available as a VOD. It desperately deserves the dressing-down it receives from the former MST3K guys.
I’ll take a look for the dvd release with the original versions of the first three Star Wars. I just thought I’d read somewhere that they had never been released on dvd before, but I could be wrong. Young people should see these, at least so they could see Yoda use a rotary dial telephone. (joke)
Okay, they did 2-disc Special Editions back in 2006 that Amazon has listed in the $60 range now. I don’t remember ever seeing these anywhere but Amazon doesn’t lie.
I have the 2006 DVD set, I bought it at Best Buy. It comes in a nice metal canister. The Special Editions are on disc one and the second disc contains the films as they _originally_ appeared in theatres (so the scroll at the beginning of Star Wars doesn’t even say “Episode IV”, that’s how original they are). But seemingly out of spite, Lucas didn’t bother to pretty them up for the DVD release, so they look ragged in contrast to the Special Edition versions they come with.
Vaguely related to the topic of Marvel adaptations of LucasFilm properties: I remember my uncle bought me a magazine-sized comic book adaptation of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” that had the whole movie, then shortly after I bought the first issue of the comic book adaptation and realized that it was just a smaller version of the book I already had done in multiple parts, not another story. Even as a young child I thought that was a scam.
A client of mine found out I collected comics and gave me DC Famous First Editions (treasury size) of Flash Comics #1 and Whiz Comics #1.
I have no idea if they’re worth anything — probably not, especially in their current condition — but I love looking at that Golden Age art up close.
“Fortress, it was in a freestanding cardboard display”
Sounds like that one would, indeed, have a lot of copies still around, if most weren’t pulped later, at least. Thanks!
“Snark Shark, who bites off more than he can chew with”
HEY. Sharks can eat as much as they want! To no ill effect. *Burp*
There’s a local burlesque show in NYC, Hotsy Totsy Burlesque, that bases their Christmas show on the Holiday Special every year, interspersing live acts with video clips. It’s a blast, and the only way I ever need to see that show again.
I’m pretty certain that the “Episode IV: A New Hope” was in the crawl as of the 1978 rerelease. (Which was when I first saw it.) I remember there being a lot of confusion about that at the time. (Lucas’ first re-edit of a Star Wars film!)