I'm sorry you ended up with one of the bad batches. Always enjoy your videos, my friend. I told people to go check out your video when they were asking when I was going to do mine. :)
Joseph Olsen What we can do is to continue to be extremely vocal and honest across all the publishers every time they release a book. Omar and the team, Gem Mint, Omnibros, etc are all doing a flawless job here .
Read this series more than several times over the years, and the recoloring make the story, locations and characters come more alive than ever. The artists involved have stated that this is what the book was intended to look like if current color processes were available at that time. They are pleased to be given the opportunity to make the book as originally intended. I think it's a beautiful thing. There have been articles over the years explaining the daunting task of restoring the panels to the original intentions of the artists, so none of this should have taken anyone by surprise. There was an extensive piece by Bissette detailing the challenges, and giving examples. His joy was evident that swamp would now be able to look like a swamp, natural appearing fog would actually look like fog, trees like trees etc. The restoration accounts for a light source, with the resulting shadows, naturally toned, following in a natural way from the light. This art is beautiful beyond description. Before going through the book I relaxed the spine and have had no trouble with the binding.This was at the top of my wish list for so long I can't believe I'm holding it. This book is a ten out of ten dream come true.
Larry Thanks for providing this background info. This is one of my favorite runs ever & it’s really nice to see the creators finally getting to fulfill their original artistic ambitions through this project. Got my copy yesterday & I have to agree, the recoloring looks a lot more stunning & offers a more immersive experience than the original colors.Especially love the look & feel of the cover. This Absolute is a keeper!
Just got the Brazilian edition of this and as much as I enjoyed the old school colour, this absolute remaster is a thing of beauty. Absolutely stunning. Great review.
What I loved about the Watchmen re-colour is that they brought back John Higgins to recolour his own work. So what you saw wasn't a massive change, just small alternations and corrections. They should have done the same and brought in Tanja to redo her own work. She did wonders with the limited colours available at the time.
I'm waiting on this being delivered. I have to admit that I don't mind the recolouring at all but I understand why some would find issue with it. That binding issue sucks though. You would have thought by now, with the millions of books in the world that we would be long past these sort of issues cropping up.
Thanks for the overview and comparison. I hate to say it , but the new colouring is awful compared to other versions. When the original comics came out the colouring was brilliant on newstock/cheap paper. then in the UK we had the brilliant Black and White Titan collections that missed the excellent colouring but were still exciting because the the power of the superb artwork was more prominent. Then we had early DC & WB (?) TBs with the colouring looking garish due to shiny paper, these were the worst versions (the collections were still brilliant due to art and story of course and colouring was still 'decent' just too much contrast compared to how it was intended. Years later I bought a hardback collection and the colouring had been toned properly and it looked just as good, if not better than the original comics, and was on far better paper that showed more subtle linework etc. So to see these radically recoloured versions in the absolute edition was a shock. I'm not against the idea , the Marvelman recolouring recently was better than any other versions (again the Black & White versions were also wonderful , and in that case also originally the intended way to be printed). However from the video the colouring seemed lazy. Large areas were incredibly dark while the other versions were bright and full of detail. Some pages had one colour dominating , like badly lit modern films, while the older versions were full of vibrant clashes & hues (on purpose) or entirely different gradients. It made some pages appear 'sterile' and lacking atmosphere compared to the original colouring. Maybe in the flesh the book looks far better, but from the above I think I will stick with the cheaper versions to read. Having said that , if I were a wealthier man at the moment then I would buy them for all the extra art, B&W work and Bissett commentaries.🙄😅
Fantastic review as usual Omar. So pleased that your Absolute has no issues. This time I got lucky too and have no issues. Well bar having a full Kallax. I was 16 and it was 1991 when I got handed Saga of the Swamp thing in tpb and then spent that entire evening reading the whole thing blowing my mind. One of, if not the greatest horror/scifi comic ever. I have no issues with the new colours.
I discovered this in the book store. Opened it up (ever so gently) and the spine split all the way off of the text block right away. I took it to the clerk and explained what had happened. In the end i scored it for half price. I do professional book repair for the local library system and i knew right away that it would be an easy fix. Were it not for the split spine i would have never been able to afford it, so i'm pretty happy.
I ordered mine from IST last Monday and they finally pulled it today. I hope there aren't any serious spine issues with mine. Jeez, DC. I actually prefer the original coloring just like I did with The Killing Joke, but I don't hate the new coloring. Not sure why they felt it needed to be recolored though.
Smotlock if you are an artist and the past had limitations on your art which means you couldn’t produce it the way you envisioned it, now that those limitations are gone, the artist wants to be able to show off the artwork as it was originally intended to look and that’s why remastered colours are frequently a thing now with current print runs on collected editions, it’s because the artist wants the customer to see their work the way the artist wanted their artwork to be seen and I am all in favour of letting the artist make that decision, it’s their artwork at the end of the day
Re-colors are vibrant and have they're own appeal but I do prefer the paler greens they use to color swamp thing in the old volumes. I also feel like some detail in lost in a handful of panels most apparent in face close ups.
If you’re worried about the colors, I say the way to go with this book is the black and white pages. Looking at some online originals, to me, it seems that they never should have been colored, the artwork is meant to work in B&W alone. It really shines that way.
Another great overview! Got my copy last week. Love the the texture on the outside, feels kind of mossy. I like the original colors but have no problem with the new version. Looks pretty good actually.
Great review dude! I got mine last week and i have never been so excited about a book! I lige swamp thing and have never had a chance to read this. I love the colors but i also didnt read the original either and thank god mine isnt messed up either!
Mine arrived today and unfortunately the slip case was a bit banged up on a corner (first time I've ever had an issue with an IST delivery). It's not too noticeable I guess. And the binding on one end is showing just a small amount of separation between the ribbon and glue on the top right area of the eye. Sigh, I guess I'll just have to be extra careful.
@Rob S What does Alan Moore have to do with any of this? You probably like the coloring of black and white movies. Sorry, just because it's all bright and shiney does not make it better, it actually is the opposite.
@Rob S Rob, the fact Moore wrote this has zero to do with the horrible recolored art. Total waste of money, enjoy your ugly recolored book, I have the better version with better paper and original beautiful color. You should throw yours away since that's where it belongs with the hack job they did on it.
Just looked through my copy and the book is really a thing of beauty. The cloth covering is especially dope. The back matter looks really meaty as well. Makes it extra painful they got rid if the great Tatjana Wood's coloring. I'm officially team #FuckRecolor from here on out
My copy was perfect and I’m extremely happy with it now I am already waiting for vol 2 which I’ve already pre-ordered! GREAT video as always! Keep kicking ass 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Thank you VERY much for the comparison. I hate the new color, had the originals lost to a housefire, ignored the first printing, have the tpbs but want the hardcovers which I didn't even know existed though I looked for them as the tpbs were released! Target had a sale, $70 per volume #1 and 2 shipped but for me the linework is everything. It's completely obscured. I think I may have to cancel the pre-order and raise the money for the hardcovers.. maybe, or just be satisfied with my paperbacks. /:
I really enjoy the re-colouring, although I do find that all the colours in the back of that one panel takes away from the overall effect of the panel.
Do you think they will continue with these absolutes? Also, I mentioned to Gem that I would imagine they will come out with an omnibus for this as well and it would probably be in the original coloring.
This is a tough call. Swamp Thing by Moore is my favourite comic of all time. Not sure I’m ok with the recolouring, but I may still get this. Thanks for the video.
I wasnt too much of a fan of the new coloring, but i started to dig way more once reading it. Still, if i had the choice i would go for the original colors. But i was also like "screw that!" is saga of the swamp thing in absolute!
After 3 copies with poor binding and scuffed covers I finally got one that is mostly decent. Will likely replace it with the reprint if it's better constructed.
Hey Omar, thanks for another great overview! For someone who’s new to the story of swamp thing, would you recommend getting the absolute edition even though there’s a chance of getting a book with bad binding? Or just hold on and wait for a possible omnibus release down the line? Keep up the good work! Really appreciate all the great content!
Considering the binding issue and the pricetag, would you recomend the absolute or going with the tpb. I never read swamp thing and i cant decide which way to go.
@@NearMintCondition That's fine. The most readers who read Swamp Thing with its original colours seems to prefer these ones, new readers like me the new colouring. But it's ok. Everyone has his/her view how it should look like. By the way I also would keep the HC.
Hey Omar! Do you know if the issues in the binding are solved? I just got it for 50 bucks on Amazon. I love this series but if the binding still has problems I’m on time to cancell it haha.
mine came with the text block pulling up off of the ribbon as well. there has to be something we can do. This is purely DC's fault as the publisher, and I don't want to blame the retailer I purchased it from. how do we move forward for DC to hear us? I want them to know I want more absolutes, but it is not right to sell a $100 item with such low quality. especially when they have made such stellar ones in the past, such as Y: The Last Man.
I personally like the re-coloring overall. It modernizes and re-contextualizes the reading experience for me. However, if you’re observant, you’ll notice there’s more than just re-coloring going on here. In many panels, the re-coloring has affected the inking and line work, softening Totleben’s inking, and resulting in the elimination of line work. Details of Bissette’s penciling and Totleben’s inking are lost from the original. Also, sometimes images have a single color where there used to be multiple colors resulting in loss of detail. That’s unfortunate.
I think the recolors finally grew on me. I can see why some people are upset though. There are a few pages that I thought worked better with the simplicity of colors of the 80s.
Jordan TRusso I am sure they will put out omnibus editions in the future but a lot of people like and prefer the absolute edition style over omnibus, I will always go for absolute over omnibus if there is an absolute run available, if they didn’t do absolute editions, they would have been missing out on a huge market
Near Mint Condition funnily enough, those were the first 3 absolutes that I bought and now I am absolute before any other format. I know there are omnibuses for Sandman and they look amazing but I just loved the absolute editions so stuck to collecting them. Same with Y the last man, there is an omnibus coming out next month but I would still prefer to pay a lot more to complete the set of absolutes than get the omnibus and save money and as for preacher, I am sure they will do omnibuses at some point but again, I love the absolutes, the preacher and sandman absolutes are by far my favourites, they are the standard that all others should emulate. I am definitely an absolute convert and I think all collected editions should have an absolute format, I would love to see hellboy in absolute format, I think it deserves the absolute treatment. Absolutes definitely seem to be becoming a more popular format so fingers crossed they become a more standardised format to collect editions in, as long as they do them properly though
@NMC / A bit of History: The history of Printing is what we’re dealing with here with this ST Abslt Vol 01. From around 1933 to the late 1970’s, Comics were referred to as, “Four Color Comics”, or the “Four Color Rags”, for a reason. The Printers, in Canada 🇨🇦, eventually some in the US, didn’t have the means by which to Print, in mass, nuanced color blends. With DC comics publishing of The Teen Titans Vol 2, # 1, by Wolfman & Pérez, “The Trigon Saga”, that - was the beginning of the bi-monthly “Prestige Format.” Which was a thicker, brighter white paper stock, that would accept a greater color gradient. The News Print pulp used by comic book printers for the previous 50 years up till then ( round 1983), could not sustain that kind of color intensity. Forty years after Dot Matrix Printing, there’s Digital Coloring, and the use of Photoshop. I for one, will not shy away from treating myself to this gorgeous, modernized color palette. Equally important, It was written by Alan Moore coming into his full-Powers as a writer, plus the Darkling art of Steven Bissette. I’m buying this one, and the Abs Swamp Thing Vol 02 if it looks this damn good..!!! - Thank you.
I'm wondering if the country these collections are printed in factor in the quality control for these books. I saw that this particular Absolute was printed in China based on the label before you opened your box. I've seen books printed in China/Canada/and the USA and wonder what the quality control standards are like in a foreign country. I also assume that if it's printed in China the book is being sewn and glued in China also. Just a little food for thought although I could be completely off base too.
@@NearMintCondition I may actually bite the bullet and buy this at some point making it my first Absolute. The colours do not bother me at all and in fact make me want to read it even more. What I would like to see in re-coloured books is pages side to side showing untouched pages and recoloured pages on pivotal pages. I checked a random sample of collections printed by different companies and opened a copy of Tokyo Ghost(printed in China) and it made an awful noise and looks like the material is coming away from the board. The Batman/Snyder Omni with tight binding was printed in Canada(so we'll take the blame on that one) and a majority of Images collections were printed in the US and look in good condition.
The only time I have double dipped to date. I have the oop trades that got me into comics in the first place. I almost got them bound but will keep them the way they are bc of this recoloring. I’m enough of a fan that I don’t mind the recoloring specifically bc I love Absolutes, and I have access to the originals with Tatjiana’a coloring (even though my copy warped harder than enterprises top speed). I have simonsons Thor and love it but I’ve never read the originals. This is the reason why the killing joke is a dope absolute even though it’s small, it gives the deluxe (recoloring) edition on glossy and the original edition on newsprint
The flat coloring lets the line work shine in a way that the modern recoloring doesn’t. This looks like it’s on glossy paper. This should’ve used similar paper to the Absolute Transmetropolitan.
Where can you buy issues 1-19 ? I’ve bought the first book in TPB I haven’t read it yet but looking at the start of it, it seems like an odd place to start off.
I was on the fence about buying the Absolute last minute, as I also like the original colors. However, I bit the bullet and I am overjoyed! The new colors look so good in the Absolute! There are some scenes where I wish they would have kept similar colors, like when the sun is red, or the sky is blue or violet, but it works overall. I might hunt down the HCs or TPBs just so I can have both versions. I am definitely buying the rest of the swamp thing absolutes.
Is there any need to try to find the issues that come before this absolute or can i just jump in on this volume ? Wasn't sure I've never read Swamp thing.
I guess the problem with the new colouring for me is the fact that they changed the perfect and detailed art of stephen bissette with new shadows and new shades etc. The colours have to enhance the details of the original art rather than alter the mood and ambience of the original comic. Remember this is a horror story. Glossy paper and shinny colours does not match with it.
The colour issue is really just a preference thing and some people need something to complain about now. Purists will want the original colours and others will like the new colours I believe the new colours help set the mood. As far as quality goes Marvel has a better track record and DC as we know is all over the place as far as quality and overall design. For instance as I’ve mentioned in other comments their Trade design is all over the place and spines designs are just ridiculous. My marvel bookshelf is more streamlined and Dc just takes pleasure in upsetting us with OCD lol 😝
As someone who read Moore's run for years with the original colors, i'm digging the new version. They certainly seem more in line with the remastered Sandman than say, Neal Adams Batman which was awful.
The Uncanny Omar breaking into the world of unboxing videos, here for it! 🤣 But yeah the recoloring really bugs me. A lot of those swamp backgrounds feel like the personality and the slightly trippy air have been scrubbed out. It feels weird when the entire point of the Absolutes is to have the art in this huge format.
I didn't grow up reading comics so to me I like the recoloring better as the original looks faded out and not as vibrant, the shadowing also looks better.
@Rob S Actually I'm not wrong. The new colorist crushed pencil/ink artistic detail by placing a dark shadow on Swamp Thing's back. The details that the artist rendered on the character's back are now either gone or barely visible.
I was one of the people worried about the re-coloring. Those fears have been put to rest. The originals looked great on the paper stock of the time but didn`t hold-up on the better paper stock of today. The binding issue is a concern but I`m going to gamble on it just to own that beautiful book. you mentioned Steve Bissete`s art but the real star is inker John Tottleben. Bissette`s art looks nothing like this without him.The lushness of his lines enhance every panel. It`s his work that made those issues so great. Please read Miracle Man Book 3: Olympus to see him both pencil and ink. It`s great. He`s also a great painter. The cover to issue#34 is his work.
I’m glad you got a better copy and the cover doesn’t seem to be warping!! Fingers crossed it holds up and thanks for the shout out!!
The Deluxe Edition How can we convince DC they must do better? there has to be something we can do.
I'm sorry you ended up with one of the bad batches. Always enjoy your videos, my friend. I told people to go check out your video when they were asking when I was going to do mine. :)
They need better quality control
Joseph Olsen What we can do is to continue to be extremely vocal and honest across all the publishers every time they release a book. Omar and the team, Gem Mint, Omnibros, etc are all doing a flawless job here .
Read this series more than several times over the years, and the recoloring make the story, locations and characters come more alive than ever. The artists involved have stated that this is what the book was intended to look like if current color processes were available at that time. They are pleased to be given the opportunity to make the book as originally intended. I think it's a beautiful thing.
There have been articles over the years explaining the daunting task of restoring the panels to the original intentions of the artists, so none of this should have taken anyone by surprise. There was an extensive piece by Bissette detailing the challenges, and giving examples. His joy was evident that swamp would now be able to look like a swamp, natural appearing fog would actually look like fog, trees like trees etc. The restoration accounts for a light source, with the resulting shadows, naturally toned, following in a natural way from the light. This art is beautiful beyond description.
Before going through the book I relaxed the spine and have had no trouble with the binding.This was at the top of my wish list for so long I can't believe I'm holding it. This book is a ten out of ten dream come true.
Larry Thanks for providing this background info. This is one of my favorite runs ever & it’s really nice to see the creators finally getting to fulfill their original artistic ambitions through this project. Got my copy yesterday & I have to agree, the recoloring looks a lot more stunning & offers a more immersive experience than the original colors.Especially love the look & feel of the cover. This Absolute is a keeper!
I’ve read it as well when it originally came out and with the recoloring it feel like reading it again for the first time very fresh❤️
Thank you so much for writing this as I enjoyed reading all of this.
Where did you read that the original artists intended it to look like this? Can you provide a source please?
@@rattlethecages Maybe inside the book ?
Just got the Brazilian edition of this and as much as I enjoyed the old school colour, this absolute remaster is a thing of beauty. Absolutely stunning. Great review.
What I loved about the Watchmen re-colour is that they brought back John Higgins to recolour his own work. So what you saw wasn't a massive change, just small alternations and corrections. They should have done the same and brought in Tanja to redo her own work. She did wonders with the limited colours available at the time.
This is why I'm keeping my hardcovers.
@Rob S To each their own.
@Rob S That some people have bad taste, sure. Already knew that beforehand though.
@Rob S "incorrect"? It's entirely subjective. You haven't learned anything.
@Rob S God you're insufferable, you're impressing no one.
I'm waiting on this being delivered. I have to admit that I don't mind the recolouring at all but I understand why some would find issue with it. That binding issue sucks though. You would have thought by now, with the millions of books in the world that we would be long past these sort of issues cropping up.
I know, that's the way I feel about it.
Can't wait for the recolors on Picasso's Blue Period to come out. I've heard it really livens them up and makes them "pop".
Thanks for the overview and comparison.
I hate to say it , but the new colouring is awful compared to other versions.
When the original comics came out the colouring was brilliant on newstock/cheap paper.
then in the UK we had the brilliant Black and White Titan collections that missed the excellent colouring but were still exciting because the the power of the superb artwork was more prominent.
Then we had early DC & WB (?) TBs with the colouring looking garish due to shiny paper, these were the worst versions (the collections were still brilliant due to art and story of course and colouring was still 'decent' just too much contrast compared to how it was intended.
Years later I bought a hardback collection and the colouring had been toned properly and it looked just as good, if not better than the original comics, and was on far better paper that showed more subtle linework etc.
So to see these radically recoloured versions in the absolute edition was a shock. I'm not against the idea , the Marvelman recolouring recently was better than any other versions (again the Black & White versions were also wonderful , and in that case also originally the intended way to be printed). However from the video the colouring seemed lazy.
Large areas were incredibly dark while the other versions were bright and full of detail. Some pages had one colour dominating , like badly lit modern films, while the older versions were full of vibrant clashes & hues (on purpose) or entirely different gradients.
It made some pages appear 'sterile' and lacking atmosphere compared to the original colouring.
Maybe in the flesh the book looks far better, but from the above I think I will stick with the cheaper versions to read.
Having said that , if I were a wealthier man at the moment then I would buy them for all the extra art, B&W work and Bissett commentaries.🙄😅
Just got mine in yesterday it came in flawless condition imo. Looking forward to reading this , awesome video Omar!
Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy the book.
Fantastic review as usual Omar. So pleased that your Absolute has no issues. This time I got lucky too and have no issues. Well bar having a full Kallax. I was 16 and it was 1991 when I got handed Saga of the Swamp thing in tpb and then spent that entire evening reading the whole thing blowing my mind. One of, if not the greatest horror/scifi comic ever. I have no issues with the new colours.
Thank you so much for watching and the kind words. The colors grew on me.
@@NearMintCondition You spelt colour wrong. I blame the pilgrims.
When I saw that re-coloring, my heart broke in pieces, my world falled. What a ridiculous colours 😮
I discovered this in the book store. Opened it up (ever so gently) and the spine split all the way off of the text block right away. I took it to the clerk and explained what had happened. In the end i scored it for half price. I do professional book repair for the local library system and i knew right away that it would be an easy fix. Were it not for the split spine i would have never been able to afford it, so i'm pretty happy.
This book is gorgeous and I love ur review. Incredible.
Thank you so much for watching and the kind words.
I ordered mine from IST last Monday and they finally pulled it today. I hope there aren't any serious spine issues with mine. Jeez, DC. I actually prefer the original coloring just like I did with The Killing Joke, but I don't hate the new coloring. Not sure why they felt it needed to be recolored though.
Smotlock if you are an artist and the past had limitations on your art which means you couldn’t produce it the way you envisioned it, now that those limitations are gone, the artist wants to be able to show off the artwork as it was originally intended to look and that’s why remastered colours are frequently a thing now with current print runs on collected editions, it’s because the artist wants the customer to see their work the way the artist wanted their artwork to be seen and I am all in favour of letting the artist make that decision, it’s their artwork at the end of the day
@@Penddraig7 The original colouring and the re-colouring are done by different artists.
Flowey. I know, I never said they weren’t
I hear you man the recoloured killing joke just ruined the whole Alan Moore experience
Re-colors are vibrant and have they're own appeal but I do prefer the paler greens they use to color swamp thing in the old volumes. I also feel like some detail in lost in a handful of panels most apparent in face close ups.
Which is why I'm keeping my original HCs.
The recoloring is awesome! Don't know what the complaints are about.
It really grew on me.
I agree, I like it. I understand the purists but the recoloring helped me decide on picking it up.
If you’re worried about the colors, I say the way to go with this book is the black and white pages. Looking at some online originals, to me, it seems that they never should have been colored, the artwork is meant to work in B&W alone. It really shines that way.
Another great overview! Got my copy last week. Love the the texture on the outside, feels kind of mossy. I like the original colors but have no problem with the new version. Looks pretty good actually.
Thank you so much for watching and the kind words.
Great review dude! I got mine last week and i have never been so excited about a book! I lige swamp thing and have never had a chance to read this. I love the colors but i also didnt read the original either and thank god mine isnt messed up either!
Thank you so much for watching and the kind words.
Mine arrived today and unfortunately the slip case was a bit banged up on a corner (first time I've ever had an issue with an IST delivery). It's not too noticeable I guess. And the binding on one end is showing just a small amount of separation between the ribbon and glue on the top right area of the eye. Sigh, I guess I'll just have to be extra careful.
Oh man a dinged up case. You'll have to email them and ask them to refund you some money.
I hope we get an omnibus for that run, and that it will be in original colors.
I'm watching this almost a year later and Amazon is showing the release this month, October 2020.
I mostly prefer the recolor, but the loss of that red sun on the purple sky is great. They should offer both versions IMO
I would hope they do one day.
aren't the old colors more vivid?
Was on the fence about this, saw the colors and it sealed it. Keeping the original HC and passing on this. Hate the shiny paper too.
I kept my HCs as well.
@Rob S Nope, pass. Looks horrible.
@Rob S Looks better.....to you. Next you are going to tell me the work colored by Wrightson that was recolored is better too. Sorry, no.
@Rob S What does Alan Moore have to do with any of this? You probably like the coloring of black and white movies. Sorry, just because it's all bright and shiney does not make it better, it actually is the opposite.
@Rob S Rob, the fact Moore wrote this has zero to do with the horrible recolored art. Total waste of money, enjoy your ugly recolored book, I have the better version with better paper and original beautiful color. You should throw yours away since that's where it belongs with the hack job they did on it.
I like swamp thing he's a beast I enjoyed the Alan More's Swamp thing run in the 80's
His run defined the character.
Just looked through my copy and the book is really a thing of beauty. The cloth covering is especially dope. The back matter looks really meaty as well. Makes it extra painful they got rid if the great Tatjana Wood's coloring. I'm officially team #FuckRecolor from here on out
My copy was perfect and I’m extremely happy with it now I am already waiting for vol 2 which I’ve already pre-ordered! GREAT video as always! Keep kicking ass 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
I'm glad you got a great copy,.
is the new printing safe to buy of this does it have any problems?????
The new one is good
@@NearMintCondition thank you!
So if the binding sucks, what does DC do about it? Nothing? Do we get a replacement copy?
There is a new printing in September, although the date might change now.
I love how you never know where Bissette stops and Totleben begins. And sometimes the other way around. THE seminal pencil/inks collaboration.
So what did your source say about Miracleman?
No go right now. Sales were horrible for those HCs, but I also mentioned that was years ago.
Hola Omar sabes si las nuevas ediciones de este Absolute arreglaron los problemas con el binding?
No, son mejor que esta edicion.
Thank you VERY much for the comparison. I hate the new color, had the originals lost to a housefire, ignored the first printing, have the tpbs but want the hardcovers which I didn't even know existed though I looked for them as the tpbs were released! Target had a sale, $70 per volume #1 and 2 shipped but for me the linework is everything. It's completely obscured.
I think I may have to cancel the pre-order and raise the money for the hardcovers.. maybe, or just be satisfied with my paperbacks. /:
Thank you so much for watching.
That's one fine book. Can't wait for it to find is way to me come tomorrow! Thanks for the video.
Thank you so much for watching and the kind words!
I like the new coloring. The old coloring is cool also. Nice to have options though
I think it all depends on your taste.
I never actually read Swamp Thing and this looks really nice and colorful for a newbie
This LOOKS freaking great.
It is.
I really enjoy the re-colouring, although I do find that all the colours in the back of that one panel takes away from the overall effect of the panel.
I think there are few panels that benefited from new colors and vice versa.
I hope this coming October the vol 1 and 2 doesn’t sold out immediately I’m hoping to grab the both at the same day of releasing of the vol 2
I really hope so too.
Do you think they will continue with these absolutes? Also, I mentioned to Gem that I would imagine they will come out with an omnibus for this as well and it would probably be in the original coloring.
Oh yeah, that's the trend right? Release the Absolutes and then the Omnibus. Well, volume 2 has been solicited. So here is hoping.
I was so much looking forward to buy this but i have opted not to get it. I appriciate the video as all your videos and work is fine fine stuff 👍❤️
Thank you so much for watching and the kind words and it's a shame. This is a masterpiece of a story.
Do I need any prior swamp thing knowledge to read this ?
Not really.
This is a tough call. Swamp Thing by Moore is my favourite comic of all time. Not sure I’m ok with the recolouring, but I may still get this. Thanks for the video.
Thank you for watching, brother. The recoloring took me some getting used to.
This looks great. But I am torn on the colors and it's pricy. I don't know if I want to get this right now.
It also went up to 150 with the second printing.
I wasnt too much of a fan of the new coloring, but i started to dig way more once reading it. Still, if i had the choice i would go for the original colors. But i was also like "screw that!" is saga of the swamp thing in absolute!
I thought the same when I noticed Sandman had recolors.
@Rob S Rob you even said it TWICE in this one. You're very determined! Or just forgetful...
@Rob S Well your bit sucks because you're being redundant. Broken record. Are you friends with the colorist or something?
After 3 copies with poor binding and scuffed covers I finally got one that is mostly decent.
Will likely replace it with the reprint if it's better constructed.
Reprint incoming this September.
How many issues did Alan moore's swamp thing run go for??
From the disasters I've seen in the group, you got pretty lucky with yours.
Yeah man.
So is this a good jumping on point for new readers? Seems like we're jumpong on half way if Anton Arcane was defeated the issue prior to this?
It is absolutely a good jumping on point.
Hey Omar, did u ever watch the HBO Max swamp thing?
Hey Omar, thanks for another great overview! For someone who’s new to the story of swamp thing, would you recommend getting the absolute edition even though there’s a chance of getting a book with bad binding? Or just hold on and wait for a possible omnibus release down the line? Keep up the good work! Really appreciate all the great content!
I can almost guarantee an omnibus after all the Absolutes are done.
Considering the binding issue and the pricetag, would you recomend the absolute or going with the tpb. I never read swamp thing and i cant decide which way to go.
Don't get the expensive set, as you've never read it and perhaps you won't like it.
Near Mint Condition thank you very much bro!!!!
I just got vol 1 and 2 for $40.00 each!!! Well worth it on ebay!
Al terminar el libro, ya tenia mi binding despegada :/ me van a dar uno nuevo tho.
Oh man, lo siento. DC tiene que arreglar esto.
I haven't read Swamp Thing but my opinion is that the new colours are more impressive than the old ones. The original colours looks a little bit pale.
I kept my HCs because I do like the colors.
@@NearMintCondition That's fine. The most readers who read Swamp Thing with its original colours seems to prefer these ones, new readers like me the new colouring. But it's ok. Everyone has his/her view how it should look like. By the way I also would keep the HC.
Hey Omar! Do you know if the issues in the binding are solved? I just got it for 50 bucks on Amazon. I love this series but if the binding still has problems I’m on time to cancell it haha.
The new printings I’ve heard are better.
@@NearMintCondition Thanks man! I already ordered it. Let’s hope it comes with great binding quality.
Would you say issues #1-19 are required reading for #20-64?
Not really.
mine came with the text block pulling up off of the ribbon as well. there has to be something we can do. This is purely DC's fault as the publisher, and I don't want to blame the retailer I purchased it from. how do we move forward for DC to hear us? I want them to know I want more absolutes, but it is not right to sell a $100 item with such low quality. especially when they have made such stellar ones in the past, such as Y: The Last Man.
I have no idea how in the world they would let things like this slide by.
Near Mint Condition something must be done.
I personally like the re-coloring overall. It modernizes and re-contextualizes the reading experience for me. However, if you’re observant, you’ll notice there’s more than just re-coloring going on here. In many panels, the re-coloring has affected the inking and line work, softening Totleben’s inking, and resulting in the elimination of line work. Details of Bissette’s penciling and Totleben’s inking are lost from the original. Also, sometimes images have a single color where there used to be multiple colors resulting in loss of detail. That’s unfortunate.
I think the recolors finally grew on me. I can see why some people are upset though. There are a few pages that I thought worked better with the simplicity of colors of the 80s.
I see this as a huge misstep for DC, they should have put out 2 omnibus, would have ended up cheaper than 3 absolutes.
Jordan TRusso I am sure they will put out omnibus editions in the future but a lot of people like and prefer the absolute edition style over omnibus, I will always go for absolute over omnibus if there is an absolute run available, if they didn’t do absolute editions, they would have been missing out on a huge market
Theyve done the same with Preacher, Y The Last Man and Sandman. Absolutes will test the waters for the interests.
Near Mint Condition funnily enough, those were the first 3 absolutes that I bought and now I am absolute before any other format.
I know there are omnibuses for Sandman and they look amazing but I just loved the absolute editions so stuck to collecting them. Same with Y the last man, there is an omnibus coming out next month but I would still prefer to pay a lot more to complete the set of absolutes than get the omnibus and save money and as for preacher, I am sure they will do omnibuses at some point but again, I love the absolutes, the preacher and sandman absolutes are by far my favourites, they are the standard that all others should emulate. I am definitely an absolute convert and I think all collected editions should have an absolute format, I would love to see hellboy in absolute format, I think it deserves the absolute treatment.
Absolutes definitely seem to be becoming a more popular format so fingers crossed they become a more standardised format to collect editions in, as long as they do them properly though
@@Penddraig7 yeah
I don't why but I want marvel to make absolutes too
Good video
Marvel kinda does them with the adamantium editions or vibrainum editions, but those are far and few in between
Sadly, I think those lines have been discontinued.
@NMC / A bit of History: The history of Printing is what we’re dealing with here with this ST Abslt Vol 01.
From around 1933 to the late 1970’s, Comics were referred to as, “Four Color Comics”, or the “Four Color Rags”, for a reason. The Printers, in Canada 🇨🇦, eventually some in the US, didn’t have the means by which to Print, in mass, nuanced color blends. With DC comics publishing of The Teen Titans Vol 2, # 1, by Wolfman & Pérez, “The Trigon Saga”, that - was the beginning of the bi-monthly “Prestige Format.” Which was a thicker, brighter white paper stock, that would accept a greater color gradient. The News Print pulp used by comic book printers for the previous 50 years up till then ( round 1983), could not sustain that kind of color intensity. Forty years after Dot Matrix Printing, there’s Digital Coloring, and the use of Photoshop. I for one, will not shy away from treating myself to this gorgeous, modernized color palette. Equally important, It was written by Alan Moore coming into his full-Powers as a writer, plus the Darkling art of Steven Bissette. I’m buying this one, and the Abs Swamp Thing Vol 02 if it looks this damn good..!!! - Thank you.
Thank you so much for the wonderful explanation.
I'm wondering if the country these collections are printed in factor in the quality control for these books. I saw that this particular Absolute was printed in China based on the label before you opened your box. I've seen books printed in China/Canada/and the USA and wonder what the quality control standards are like in a foreign country. I also assume that if it's printed in China the book is being sewn and glued in China also. Just a little food for thought although I could be completely off base too.
I'm thinking the same thing. I had no issue with my Lucifer, but others did.
@@NearMintCondition I may actually bite the bullet and buy this at some point making it my first Absolute. The colours do not bother me at all and in fact make me want to read it even more. What I would like to see in re-coloured books is pages side to side showing untouched pages and recoloured pages on pivotal pages.
I checked a random sample of collections printed by different companies and opened a copy of Tokyo Ghost(printed in China) and it made an awful noise and looks like the material is coming away from the board. The Batman/Snyder Omni with tight binding was printed in Canada(so we'll take the blame on that one) and a majority of Images collections were printed in the US and look in good condition.
This run needs an omnibus
FACT .
The only time I have double dipped to date. I have the oop trades that got me into comics in the first place. I almost got them bound but will keep them the way they are bc of this recoloring. I’m enough of a fan that I don’t mind the recoloring specifically bc I love Absolutes, and I have access to the originals with Tatjiana’a coloring (even though my copy warped harder than enterprises top speed). I have simonsons Thor and love it but I’ve never read the originals. This is the reason why the killing joke is a dope absolute even though it’s small, it gives the deluxe (recoloring) edition on glossy and the original edition on newsprint
It is a beautiful collection. But I'm also keeping my HCs.
I think I'm convinced to check this out. Read the absolute, then resell it.
Frankie Velasco if it’s just about checking it out, then buy the paperbacks. You can get the whole 6 trade run for cheaper than this absolute
I would go the diital route too, if you want a cheaper way of reading it.
I love the recolors. I think it looks much better than the original.
It's grown on me.
Great video ! Thank you
Thank you for watching.
The flat coloring lets the line work shine in a way that the modern recoloring doesn’t. This looks like it’s on glossy paper. This should’ve used similar paper to the Absolute Transmetropolitan.
Hi, is this recolored version available digitally? Thanks!
I'm not 100% sure if they are or not.
Where can you buy issues 1-19 ? I’ve bought the first book in TPB I haven’t read it yet but looking at the start of it, it seems like an odd place to start off.
They are available in a HC collection.
I was on the fence about buying the Absolute last minute, as I also like the original colors. However, I bit the bullet and I am overjoyed! The new colors look so good in the Absolute! There are some scenes where I wish they would have kept similar colors, like when the sun is red, or the sky is blue or violet, but it works overall. I might hunt down the HCs or TPBs just so I can have both versions. I am definitely buying the rest of the swamp thing absolutes.
I will say the colors grew on me, but my childhood kept thinking of some of those old school colors.
I would like a alan moore's swamp thing ómnibus :'(
Same here.
Is there any need to try to find the issues that come before this absolute or can i just jump in on this volume ? Wasn't sure I've never read Swamp thing.
Honesty, his first issue wraps up so much of the first arc. It's worth to find just to see how different they are.
cool vid! thanks for comparing the colors!
Thank you so much for watching and the kind words.
Wow looks cool
I really hope the Deadman and Spectre omnis aren't cancelled and resolicited.
Same here, brother.
Reprint is coming October 13th
I guess the problem with the new colouring for me is the fact that they changed the perfect and detailed art of stephen bissette with new shadows and new shades etc. The colours have to enhance the details of the original art rather than alter the mood and ambience of the original comic. Remember this is a horror story. Glossy paper and shinny colours does not match with it.
I can see that. Which is why I'm keeping my original HCs.
Agreed. Look at Swamp Thing's back at 9:39 the detail is completely crushed with black shadows, losing the detail of the original art. Terrible.
I wish I kept my hardcovers, I'll make due with my trades instead of upgrading.
I kept my HCs for the color.
The colour issue is really just a preference thing and some people need something to complain about now. Purists will want the original colours and others will like the new colours I believe the new colours help set the mood. As far as quality goes Marvel has a better track record and DC as we know is all over the place as far as quality and overall design. For instance as I’ve mentioned in other comments their Trade design is all over the place and spines designs are just ridiculous. My marvel bookshelf is more streamlined and Dc just takes pleasure in upsetting us with OCD lol 😝
They try to make the colors more realistic in a comics book, shame..
As someone who read Moore's run for years with the original colors, i'm digging the new version. They certainly seem more in line with the remastered Sandman than say, Neal Adams Batman which was awful.
I finally got used to it and I'm with you on the Adam's Batman.
I think the coloring is way better than the old one
My book came perfect although the slipcase has a nice crease in it. The spine and eye though are great at least until I read it lol
LOL until you read it.
The more I see on this Absolute the more I want it... And the only Swamp Thing I've read so far is the 100 page giant issues
Its a gorgeous back. Will be back in print in October.
What a positive and Amazing channel.
Thank you so much for watching and the kind words.
@@NearMintCondition thanks I tried to watch your videos when I get off work.
i personally think the recolors look way better
I think new colors look way better. Hopefully they suddenly don't stop recoloring it in the next absolutes.
I hope so too, cause that would be crap.
The Uncanny Omar breaking into the world of unboxing videos, here for it! 🤣
But yeah the recoloring really bugs me. A lot of those swamp backgrounds feel like the personality and the slightly trippy air have been scrubbed out. It feels weird when the entire point of the Absolutes is to have the art in this huge format.
More like...lets' take a gamble and see if what's in the box is busted or not. :)
Is the story hard to understand for younger readers? And is it scary to read for younger readers?
Depends on your mental age. First time reading it I was 12. Some things went over my head.
I prefer reading comics 1-20 first because it makes the reveal that swamp thing isn't Alec really hit home for me.
It was a huge revelation back then.
@@NearMintCondition Oh really thats very cool I'm glad thats more universal than I thought it was.
Absolute beauty.
I didn't grow up reading comics so to me I like the recoloring better as the original looks faded out and not as vibrant, the shadowing also looks better.
I'm glad that you enjoy the colors.
I might’ve wanted this but the re-coloring is atrocious imo :(
It's not for everyone, that's for sure.
@Rob S no
9:39 the new coloring adds shadows to Swamp Thing's back, eliminating the detail of the original. Terrible. No buy.
I kept my HCs because of this.
@Rob S Actually I'm not wrong. The new colorist crushed pencil/ink artistic detail by placing a dark shadow on Swamp Thing's back. The details that the artist rendered on the character's back are now either gone or barely visible.
@Rob S Well is sure masked the pencil detail originally intended by the artist. Just look at Thing's back in this very example.
I like the re-colors better. I loved those old comics, but it was the Stone Age for colors.Nice to see it updated to look more modern.
They grew on eme.
Man that recoloring looks horrendous. Can't believe they did that to Tatjana Wood.
It's crazy how people are torn about the coloring. I'll be keeping my HCs as well. Just to remind me of that time.
@@NearMintCondition I ordered the first two volumes on DCBS before I saw the recoloring. First one should be here later today.
@@HarveyPekarsGhost My man!
@Rob S how dare you
I was one of the people worried about the re-coloring. Those fears have been put to rest. The originals looked great on the paper stock of the time but didn`t hold-up on the better paper stock of today. The binding issue is a concern but I`m going to gamble on it just to own that beautiful book. you mentioned Steve Bissete`s art but the real star is inker John Tottleben. Bissette`s art looks nothing like this without him.The lushness of his lines enhance every panel. It`s his work that made those issues so great. Please read Miracle Man Book 3: Olympus to see him both pencil and ink. It`s great. He`s also a great painter. The cover to issue#34 is his work.
The remaster colors really grew on me.
The recolouring looks so much better.
It really grew on me.
I MUCH prefer the original color. 7 other idiots do too. But THEY disliked the video instead of the book.
LOL I love the original colors. It's the way I remembered it.
Aw i kno the ppl that run cheap graphic novels. Theyre Pulp Fiction out of Long Beach