I've picked up a few sporadically, but in the last few weeks I've been buying them voraciously trying to catch up. I feel a little self concious talking about them in the Diddy Reports though. They aren't really new, they are just new to me. So I was wondering if perhaps a second equally valid weekly diddy report isn't appropriate. One for the trades and their readers.

Such a report might also allow discussions about the value of decompression surface as I've seen that the readers of floppies complain about stretching story lines to fill the TPB's, editing after the fact or basic format issues.

Are there any other thoughts or suggestions on this topic?

It's an interesting idea. Especially when collections of older materials are involved.

For instance, the 'Chronicles of Conan' trades (coloured by many, but much by yours truly ) take a lot longer to read than normal (more recently produced) trades of equal length. That easily goes to your point of decompressed storytelling (in this case, the lack of it, and how six or so issues means six or so separate stories...mostly ). So, it may take longer to develop a complete 'feel' for the trades in question.

As another (less self-serving) example, the Essentials line. A few weeks ago, I picked up Essential Iron Man volume 2, and am still slowly working my way through it (one story or issue at a time, mostly). Thus, a complete picture of the entire 'trade' is taking a longer time to form. However, having said that, I'm finding two themes/ideas being repeated over and over.

First, everybody likes to shoot Iron Man in the head, especially if it is with some sort of long-duration energy beam Every two or three issues, it seems that someone is trying to cut open his armour, starting with the face-plate.

And, second, ever three or four issues, Tony is having to put 'an enourmous strain on my heart, beyond anything I've ever experienced before' In the first half of this trade, I've counted at least two full-fledged heart attacks (or what gets referred to as heart attacks, anyway - it is quite possible that Stan Lee was fudging medical terminologies a bit ). Funs fun, but it does start to get silly after a while

(did I mention that Iron Man is my all-time favourite comic book character? Even moreso than Johnny the Homicidal Maniac?)

I love the ESSENTIAL volumes. In fact, I just finished ESSENTIAL IRON MAN, vol. 2 myself.

You got to mention one recurring theme: The fact that a super villian attacks Tony Stark's factory in virtually every issue!

Of course, those stories were never meant to be collected. Some of the recurring plot elements are probably less obvious with monthly breaks between issues.

I've just read through Morrisons, the Filth once. Its incredible.

I picked up the Essntial Dr.Strange a few weeks back and am slowly picking my way through it. Stan's writing is so over the top. Until this I almost forgot that most people probably think this is how comics are still written.

Steve Gerbers Hard Times TPB made it home with me last week. I love this book. I can't wait for the rest.

Three completely different reads. Each is a compelling but very very different experience then should I have purchased them as floppies. I think you see my point.

a couple of weeks ago, i bought Classic Star Wars vol. 1 from the Sci-Fi book club to finish out my commitment...great old sci-fi stories with great art by Howard Chayken, Carmine Infantino and Steve Leheiola...

who cares if the stories aren't cannon to the Star Wars Universe!

I just placed an order for a bunch of Marvel Hardcovers:

Avengers Vol. 1 (Busiek/Perez begins)
Daredevil Vol. 2 (Bendis' begins)
Fantastic Four Vol. 1 (Waid begins)
Hulk Vol. 1 (JR JR begins)
X-Men Vol. 1 (Morrison begins)

I've recently read all of the JSA trades and am currently up to issue #55 of the series in individual issues. Waiting for the crossover Hawkman "Black Reign" issues to arrive in the mail before I move forward with those. GREAT series.

I also just read the Avengers Masterworks (#1-10), which were really fun. Going to order volume 2 of the Avengers Masterworks soon. In fact, I may have to get ALL of those Masterworks volumes eventually. I really don't like reading reprints in black and white!

You'll love Black Reign, dude. There are several "DAMN!!!!" moments in it.

Can't wait (though i HATE mandatory crossovers! grumblegrumblegrumble).

Brendan - Black Reign is a crossover done right.

Has anyone else noticed that the Marvel trades reprinting stuff from the 80s and 90s are CRAP when it comes to colors and reproduction design...everything is faded and blurry...the 60/70s and 90s/recent stuff doesent have that problem...is it the paper used in the era?

Anyone know? Ian????

It is because all the older stuff is being recoloured (to match the originals exactly, but without the shifting colour plates and dot patterns), and the recent stuff uses the original computer files to reprint from.

A lot of the other (80's, early 90's) stuff was reprinted before this process began. The best example is a Ghost Rider issue that came out a few years ago. It reprinted Danny Blazes origin, plus two other stories. The first issue was recoloured (again, matching the original) but the rest of the stories used the pre-existing colour plates. Hence, the first issue is smooth, but the rest have colour shifts all over the place, dot patterns all over the place, and (most importantly) no trap colour under the black lines. Hence, if you look at large areas of black, you will see other colours jutting through them all over the place.

See, black ink is transparent. So, if you have two colours underneath the black plate, you will be able to see them in print. Today, another colour is placed under all the black lines, so you never see that.

(I've done a fair number of these types of recolours - Marvel Masterworks, DC Archives, even a lot of those 'Millenium Editions', in case you were curious I still end up working on the occassional MM these days)

See, here is an example of what I'm talking about. See how the black lines in the yellow sections of Iron Man are slightly yellow, and how the black parts in the red sections of Iron man are slightly red?

That doesn't happen today. A third colour is added under the black to make it look more...well, black

Also the dot pattern in the background and in the knight-guy's blues - there is still a slight dot pattern in modern comics, but it is much more subdued than this.

Diego, I hope I'm not alone in this, but it would be easier for me to give recommendations if I knew what books -- and what genres, imprints, artists, writers you especially like. What are you reading currently? What have you read in the last ten years that you like?

Ian - cool thanks for the info - I found the Masterworks are re-colored beautifully but the recent trades are garbage (the Mcfarlanse Hulk trade that just came out looks like shit)...its a shame cause there are a lof of great trades coming out these days.

I also really enjoyed the re-coloring of the Crisis trade from DC...beautifull!

Recent trades Ive enjoyed:

SWAMP THING BAD SEED by Andy Diggle and Enrique Breccia - ties up all the loose continuity of past incarnations of ST in a clear and accessible way. Laugh out loud dialogue from John Constantine (ever the bastard) and gorgeous lush art.

We get a fast paced action packed story featuring Swamp Thing, Constantine, tefe, Sargon, thats horrific and lots of fun. The ending is brilliant...it just relaunches the Swamp thing and frees it all from past continuity in a clever way (thats in continuity:)...brilliant self contained fun read...10/10

DD: The Widow by Bendis and Maleev - I read DD in trades and Im enjoying Bendis run...this arc features the Black Widow, Jigsaw, Sheild, Hydra and lots of cool espionage and action. Self contained and fun. Maleev has a gorgeous unique style that is perfect for DD. Also containes the anniversary issue which features some sweet art by Michael Golden, Quitely and others...very nice little trade....8/10

Andrew-
In no particular order

The New Invaders -I liked this at first lost heart and now I just seem to be buying it
The New Avengers -It seemed like everyone else was doing so I did to
Strange -I used to collect Dr.Strange back when Mike Golden worked on him
Amazing Spider-Man -I like the stories and the art (don't throw anything hard please)
Spectacular Spider-Man -started buying this disassembled Just kept on because of the art
Daredevil -I like Bendis here, and the drawing has been really fine to boot
Captain America -To soon to tell I tend to be patient though
Iron Man -I like Ellis mostly the art while technically very nice seems cold
Powers -I like the cartoony style coupled with the grit. the backwards approach to superhero's is what holds me
Most of the Ultimate line -I don't do Electra wasn't to jazzed with the way they handled her revamp the rest has been great mostly
She Hulk- Dan Slott, just got the Spider-man Human Torch because of him as well
Marvel Team Up -On the fence the first couple of issues I found the last couple of issues pretty entertaining. I like Scott Kollins work which helps
Supreme -the art grabs you the writing holds you
Doctor Spectrum -more of a good character
Earths Mightiest Heros -Joe Casey is doing right by this story
Mary Jane -Shes so cute
The Question -great package. I reread my old issues of watchman before this came out so thats that.
Legion -Uhh, I don't have any jokes. Mostly its a grudge match now.
JLA Classified -The first Morrison I ever read was downloaded copies of the New X-men. So now I just pick up stuff with his name on it. Honestly I'm tending more towards DC in general these last few months.
The Ocean -I'm a sucker for Sci Fi and this happens to written by Ellis
WE3
Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina -Both are just superbly done through and through. I like Vaughns voice, its smooth and not as pretenious as Ellis but can be as graphic as Millar if necessary
Hard Time -This is a trade purchase, I was a Gerber Howard the Duck fan back in the day. I would have started buying this sooner had I known it was Gerber writing it.
Street Angel -I'm a sucker for raw art. particularly if its this dynamic and attached to a funny story
Love Fights -Just a beautiful style really sparse
Teen agers from Mars -Punk melodrama, its better than zombies
Demo -awesome art great ideas each issue
The Moth -I used to like steve rude way back
Theres more and this is already long
I like a lot of stuff and I'll try anything once if someone else is honestly excited by it.

Diego,
Great to hear you love Demo, Ocean, Ex Machina, and WE3. Haven't read Teenagers from Mars, but I've heard lots of great things about it. If you like Joe Casey's writing, I can't recommend the two Wildcats 3.0 trades highly enough -- my favorite book last year and cancelled at #24 (end of a six-issue arc) before I even began reading it. If you're not familiar with it, read the thread I posted this week (only two responses!) to see whether the book's corporate espionage interests you. Dustin's art, cartoony at first, will grip you with his terrific storytelling -- just as Oeming's has. Be warned, if you like the first two trades as much as I did, you'll be running all over town trying to find the last 12 issues, which so far are uncollected.
Other suggestions:
The Losers by Diggle and Jock
Hawaiian Dick (very Eisneresque stuff here, with tropical color!) http://www.hawaiiandick.com
Garth Ennis' War Stories
Alan Moore's Tom Strong
David Mack's Kabuki -- Mack recommends "Metamorphosis" -- which I haven't read, as his best writing and painting. Kabuki is good therapy.
Alan Davis' JLA: The Nail
James Robinson's Leave It To Chance, Starman, and The Golden Age

I'm sure I'll think of more....

What did you think of 'J for Jenny'?

Funny, I saw those Wildcats tpb's on Wednesday and I hesitated. I'll definately go back for them now. I grabbed Brubacker and Cookes, Cat Woman, Dark End of the Street instead. Cookes art is smokin'. I read the New Frontiers trade and was instantly converted.
The Losers will probably be in there to. Diggles work on Adam Strange is really nice.
DC is so, the Marvel of the new millenium. I've read some really great stuff that they are putting out and all of it runs such a gamut that it never gets tired. I really wish Marvel could see this and diversify its line more.

Has Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing been collected in pieces or in its entirity anywhere?? I never bought them when they came out. I just lazily read a friends copies in between rounds of Axis and Allies. I'd love to be able to touch base with them again. As they seemed to have added a completely new wing to the DCU.

Just about all of the run (except the first twenty issues or so, I think) has been collected in trades - my fiancee is a big big fan of that, so, by default, I've got a lot of those trades around my apartment I think the DC webpage details all that they've got in print from that series, last time I checked.

Actually, Diego and Ian, the only story of Moore's first run on the title that isn't collected is Saga of the Swamp Thing #20, entitled "Loose Ends," I think, where Moore hurriedly ties up Marty Pasko's plot threads from the previous 19 issues. The only story on that run I've never read. So the trades, all of which have been collected and are in print, contain everything else. I do find the color in the trades a mite garish compared to the originals, but I suppose it's no worse than the then-brand-new flexographic coloring that almost ruined Annual #2 and Bill Sienkiewicz's New Mutants run for me. Color is a HUGE issue for me, unfortunately, and I will drop a book -- like Powers -- if I can't stand to look at the coloring. (The Wildcats 3.0 trades are beautifully colored -- just ask Ian.)
Right now I'm in the middle of reading the NICK FURY, AGENT OF SHIELD trade (the one with the black and white op-art in the background) that collects Steranko's STRANGE TALES stories before Fury got his own series. Good God, these stories are fantastic! Nearly every single panel has something brilliant either visually or otherwise. They're so dense a 12 page story is like reading 3 of today's comics, and it's amazing how many plot twists they can fit into each chapter of these ongoing serial stories. My only gripe is that I personally cannot believe the digitally refurbished colors are in any way remotely similar to the colors Steranko would have chosen for the originals. It's frustrating when they don't do these things right. Never read the originals, mind you, but the coloring feels like an insult to God. This trade contains the classic Stan Lee/Jim Steranko story "Today Earth Died!" -- one of the best stories in all of comics, EVER.

Diego, if you like Ex Machina, I'm pretty sure you're going to like Wildcats 3.0, which has a similar slow pace, but with MUCH more action than Vaughan's book. Let me know if you decide to buy a trade or two of it and let me know what you think. I've a feeling you won't be disappointed.