Remastering color on classic comics

[suspense39]

http://io9.com/heres-what-it-really-looks-like-when-classic-comics-get-1696313219

[*paull*]

I wish all gold/silver/bronze books were handled the way that Fantagraphics does their reprints. I prefer to see the original newsprint and colors.

[suspense39]

I completely agree, much of what keeps me from buying collected stories of golden and silver age comics in book volumes is the over saturated color they tend to use in them.

[thethedew]

I'm working on a personal re-color of MICRONAUTS #11. Interesting to see SW 1-6 being done, loved it dearly as a kid. Love what I see so far.

 

[Eric Seffinga]

I don't. I hate that over rendered (and generally poorly as it has to be done on a deadline) modern gradient coloring. Give me a Dave Stewart, Laura Allred or a Rico Renzi coloring job any day. Those guys would have killed it. The coloring Marvel used? Reminds me of the 90s guys discovering the lens flair filter for the first time, and over airbrushed looking cheese colors. Bleah!

 

[J.Sid]

I agree with what that article said about the Bolland Killing Joke recolor.

 

1. It lost all its intensity/personality/attitude

2. You can tell they weren't working from the originals. The detail in the linework is lost in many places. I don't know if they tried extracting the blacks from scans of the comic or what, but his lines do not shine the way they did in the 1988 edition, and the artist has only himself to blame.

 

Worst part of that book was the petty page Bolland spent complaining about the original colorist (Higgins). Don't get me wrong, I love Bolland's work in general (recently spent a lot of money on an Animal Man Cover) but if you're going to trash the original colors and collect a paycheck to recolor it yourself "the right way" you ought to make sure you are improving the product.

 

Sold my copy immediately after buying it.

 

 

 

 

[*paull*]

I completely agree, much of what keeps me from buying collected stories of golden and silver age comics in book volumes is the over saturated color they tend to use in them.

 

For instance, if Marvel would reprint all of Everett's bronze age Subby stories in a hardcover volume in the same manner that Fantagraphics reprints GA stories, I'd jump all over that. I also wish DC would do Norm Breyfogle's forthcoming hardcover in the same manner.

 

I'll add Yoe Books to the list of publishers that have reprinted comics properly. Nice job on the 50's horror reprints.

[suspense39]

I completely agree, much of what keeps me from buying collected stories of golden and silver age comics in book volumes is the over saturated color they tend to use in them.

 

For instance, if Marvel would reprint all of Everett's bronze age Subby stories in a hardcover volume in the same manner that Fantagraphics reprints GA stories, I'd jump all over that. I also wish DC would do Norm Breyfogle's forthcoming hardcover in the same manner.

 

I'll add Yoe Books to the list of publishers that have reprinted comics properly. Nice job on the 50's horror reprints.

 

I agree

[Kevn]

I didn't think it was possible to make Moebius's art look like , but that recolor job by Valerie Beltran on The Incal managed to do it. I have the original versions of The Incal in both French and American compilations, so I completely missed that 2008 version. Glad I did.

 

And I agree with most of the above comments about the right way to reprint comics from decades ago. Glossy paper and over-saturated colors don't make things better.

[Ironmandrd]

I cannot believe how different The Killing Joke looks - much prefer the original (based on that one page the article shows).

[thethedew]

I cannot believe how different The Killing Joke looks - much prefer the original (based on that one page the article shows).

 

I own both versions, but I confess I hadn't put them up next to each other to compare Bolland's personal take. Wow!

 

The example shown is so striking in it's differences as to make me wonder if it wasn't the colorist's responsibility for the garish color palette, but a direction from writer Moore. That looks like his vision for the project to me. Did he have any comment on the re-color?

[theflashunc]

Tom Scioli did a masterful article on this topic on the BWS Conan remastering. How the new edition butchered BWS' original. And he ain't wrong.

 

http://comicsalliance.com/whatever-happened-to-barry-windsor-smith-in-the-comics-conversation/

 

 

[Koa]

I agree with what that article said about the Bolland Killing Joke recolor.

 

1. It lost all its intensity/personality/attitude

2. You can tell they weren't working from the originals. The detail in the linework is lost in many places. I don't know if they tried extracting the blacks from scans of the comic or what, but his lines do not shine the way they did in the 1988 edition, and the artist has only himself to blame.

 

Worst part of that book was the petty page Bolland spent complaining about the original colorist (Higgins). Don't get me wrong, I love Bolland's work in general (recently spent a lot of money on an Animal Man Cover) but if you're going to trash the original colors and collect a paycheck to recolor it yourself "the right way" you ought to make sure you are improving the product.

 

Sold my copy immediately after buying it.

 

 

I liked the recolor at first glance but it was a different experience when reading the book. The color palette higgins used was part of the story quality, it made you feel as though you were in the jokers world. the new version is beautifully done but takes the crazy out of it and therefore changes the tone of the story. it's hard to believe Bolland didn't see that

 

 

 

[Eric Seffinga]

Keep in mind Higgins also colored Watchmen, and it also had a similar funhouse/nightmarish quality to it. I imagine if Watchmen received the same "modernistic" photoshop coloring approach, it would turn a whole lot of people off.

[koollectablz]

I think all of the examples they show are maybe more of personal taste one way or the other as to which you prefer.

 

Apart from the Moebius, that's just WTF? It seriously doesn't even look like Moebius anymore!

[r100comics]

 

Many colorists prefer to be called color artists and there's a reason for that. They make an artistic interpretation of the artwork when coloring and add an important element of mood and atmosphere to the inks that contributes greatly to the finished story.

 

This is something I've been saying for a while and I'm pleased they are finally getting the credit they deserve in articles like this.

 

I can't stand the computerized recoloring done on most reprint editions.

[Kevn]

Tom Scioli did a masterful article on this topic on the BWS Conan remastering. How the new edition butchered BWS' original. And he ain't wrong.

 

http://comicsalliance.com/whatever-happened-to-barry-windsor-smith-in-the-comics-conversation/

 

 

I still cherish my decomposing, yellowed Red Nails Treasury Edition. It's always unsatisfying to see those BWS pages any smaller, or glossy, or whatever.