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Terry Hooper-Scharf

Saturday 5 July 2014

Don't Try To Be Arty By Publishing In Hardback -Stick To Paperback

Alright, I think anyone who knows me is aware that I am a completist. If I have part of a series I try to get the rest of it.  I wanted to make sure that I have the entire League of Extraordinary Gentlemen run and I do -in single issues and the collected book.  Also The Black Dossier and later three books that wound up the series (even if not that great). 

But I am also a Captain Nemo fan and have been since a kid (blame James Mason).  So, I thought I would bite the bullet and purchase Nemo: Heart of Ice and Nemo: The Roses of Berlin. Both are hardbacks from Top Shelf and Knockabout.


Well, first thing I noticed, removing the Heart of Ice from its undamaged packing box is that the bottom right hand-side of the cover has bad creasing -this is NOT from bad treatment in storage but a production issue and there are slight creases in other areas including the spine. I emailed a couple of people I know who have these books: same problem.

Now, as I read through the book I suddenly thought that I had purchased a copy with pages missing. I checked and at first you cannot tell as the pages are un-numbered ('thanks').  So I read through again and realised that it was just an awfully written script trying to be clever.  You need to have the book to know what I mean but the story jumps around and...well, its a mess.

Roses of Berlin was so-so story-wise and had ever element we've seen since the first volume of TLOEG. BUT there is, again, a problem with the cover that one other person has but the other does not.  Inside the back cover the art has been incorrectly glue so you see the card board of the cover....


See what I mean?

Basically these are all production issues that should have been spotted. It's using the old method of  wraparound cover glued over the front/spine/back of the book and frontispiece and inside back art glued over the card.  It's been used for a very, very long time -such as with UK comic annuals.  However, I have never come across this problem in any UK annual.

It looks very shoddy, though the interior pages are well printed. I actually thought to myself "I bet these were printed on the cheap in China!"  Looking at the indices..."printed in China".

So, be aware, if you are one of those people who are sticklers for quality in their collections ask the people you are buying this from if there are any such defects.

But it seems to all pale into insignificance when you try to read Heart of Ice.  Aweful.

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