45 years since the the first appearance of Frankie Stein!

[Peter Gray]

I saw those as well Spy..its too steep for me as well.also I do have some of the issues...if the price was lower I'd be there...also if it was Leo Baxendale..

[big bad bri]

Just seen those ken reid & scream inn books .They look absolutely stunning.I wish some body or some company would produce these again as i would definetley pay £20-£30 for these along with other complete runs of things like jonah & jasper the grasper.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Peter and Bri: I can only assume they are so expensive because very low print runs of high-quality reproductions made this inevitable---I've never paid this sort of cash on ANY book, having said that, 50-60 quid probably wouldn't stretch all that far if you paid out for the original comics, you are getting wall-to-wall cream here, and the crisp black-and-white quality looks very desirable.

It's just a shame that higher print-runs weren't put out, meaning lower prices and more sales.


There is, of course, also the possibility that these limited editions will eventually soar in value---especially if these high-quality comic reprintings never see a more commercial release.

[Raven]

Are these books illegal 'bootlegs' though, rather than officially approved editions? I've never heard of these coming out officially.

[philcom55]

I'm pretty sure they must be unofficial bootlegs - which makes the high price seem particularly invidious. Bet they wouldn't risk doing the same with Ken's DC Thomson strips (at least not to be sold on e-bay).

The annoying thing is that the more of these turn up the less likely it is that someone like Fantagraphics or Book Palace will ever be able to produce official, professionally packaged collections.

- Phil R.

[Lew Stringer]

Are these books illegal 'bootlegs' though, rather than officially approved editions? I've never heard of these coming out officially.

Unless the publisher gained permission from IPC (or Time/Warner who now own the rights) they're pirated copies, and I think if they were above board they'd have been publicized.

I hope any profits are sent to Ken Reid's family.

[Raven]

Won't that put anyone selling all that copyrighted material at risk of big fines or jail-type shenanigans, then?

I could see someone putting single copies of such collections together for their own private use, but selling them makes it a different matter.

They do look so fabulous that you can see how legitimate and worthy a proper Fantagraphics-type release would be; just how great it would look, and what fantastic reviews it would surely get. But there's so little awareness of this material out there.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

If these are indeed unofficial versions of the original copyrighted work, they at least look very good quality, going by the photos seen on e-bay. Personally I think it looks like the collected works will likely never see an official release, for all sort of human reasons, which are a million miles removed from love and appreciation of comics.


These books seem specifically targeted to uber-fans of Ken Reid and 'Scream Inn' who will doubtless be prepared to pay this sort of money. Ideally, properly sanctioned books should be put out: of Ken Reid's work especially, he is quite concievably the greatest comics artist this planet ever yielded, and it's an absolute crime his collected works are only really seen today by hardened comics buffs in the main---his material deserves a much wider readership and availibility.


If I could afford it [I can't], I would probably buy these books [I know I shouldn't really endorse this on here] but that's mostly because all the legal apathy has prevented 'proper' release of this high-quality comics craftmanship. If no other avenue was open in owning books of this material, I would seek out high-quality bound books of this material from any other source.


At one time, I would gladly have paid 60 quid or more for the 'collected I Spy' or 'Puss n Boots' in collected book form, even if it came from a less-than-legal source, as long as the quality was of decent calibre. Eventually I paid out a lot more than this---which I was perfectly happy to do------ for the old comics, and none of the money went to Les Barton or John Geering's widow, which is unfortunate really.

Yes, Lew, I agree that Ken's family should be getting some comission on this sort of thing, but really that's something that should have been sorted out decades ago by whoever had the power and right to put this stuff out officially.

[-MikeD-]

I doubt the Ken Reid stuff will ever get the collected works treatment (please, someone prove me wrong!) so I have no real problem with unofficial releases...but fifty quid (actually sold for 67) is blatant profiteering from work they don't own and, in my opinion, shouldn't be condoned even by the most desperate comics fan (I'm assuming they are not official collections).

Why don't they just track down the rights holders and ask permission? I know it's a minefield, I know the runs would be small and may not cover licensing, but it's at least worth a try. Unless they've already tried...

It would be fairer if the guy uploaded his scans to a good filesharing service and allowed us all to download them for free. Share the love. Some folks may even go the extra mile and print themselves a copy...there are online services that will print a one off hardback copy for much less that fifty quid (although you'd have to check their copyright policy). Still dodgy, still not completely justifiable, but understandable....

[Niblet]

Why don't they just track down the rights holders and ask permission? I know it's a minefield, I know the runs would be small and may not cover licensing, but it's at least worth a try. Unless they've already tried...

Steve Holland's Bear Alley Books line was intending to reprint collections of classic strips, but after 2 volumes no more were forthcoming. I think I read somewhere that the copyright issues proved so convoluted that it was impossible to continue.

[Raven]

Steve Holland's Bear Alley Books line was intending to reprint collections of classic strips, but after 2 volumes no more were forthcoming. I think I read somewhere that the copyright issues proved so convoluted that it was impossible to continue.

No, they continue:

http://bearalleybooks.blogspot.com/

[Niblet]

Steve Holland's Bear Alley Books line was intending to reprint collections of classic strips, but after 2 volumes no more were forthcoming. I think I read somewhere that the copyright issues proved so convoluted that it was impossible to continue.

No, they continue:

http://bearalleybooks.blogspot.com/

Thanks, Raven, I didn't know about that, not that I know what that volume represents, and consequently I have no interest in it, I'm afraid. From the publicity at the time the first 2 volumes were issued, I was expecting stuff like a collection of Ken Reid strips.

I did buy the first 2 volumes to support the Bear Alley Books project, btw, even though I had little interest in The Phantom Patrol.

[Peter Gray]

There was a book planned by Steve which I helped to write my thoughts on a late 60's humour strip by my favourtie artist..can't say any more But you will guess the artist from what I said I will not confirm if you guess..lets hope it will happen has that would be on your list to buy..

Mike Western book sounds good

[Raven]

Thanks, Raven, I didn't know about that, not that I know what that volume represents, and consequently I have no interest in it, I'm afraid.

He says a bit about what's in it on Bear Alley blog:

http://bearalley.blogspot.com/2011/11/c ... -2012.html

and how it was his "computer woes" that brought Bear Alley Books to a halt for a while.

[Niblet]

Thanks again, Raven, and my apologies to Steve for writing off Bear Alley Books. In my defence, the BAB website seemed to disappear some months ago, so I assumed the imprint had come to an end.

Let's hope there's still a chance of some Leo Baxendale, Ken Reid etc reprints.