I read all 31 (including #0) issues of John Byrne's X-Men over the weekend, almost accidentally.
I bought the first volume of the Premiere Collection hardcover some time ago, and the second on shipped last week. I was waiting for all three, but I started flipping through and got carried away. I read both volumes, then had to resort to longboxes to finish it off. I've read it all before, parts of it more than once, but this is the first time I've read it all the way through in a couple of sittings. The introductions to the collection and the editorial material in the original issues tell the same story: he's got about 20 more issues worth of stories to tell in the next arc, which will likely (almost "certainly" I would say now) start with a new number one. Perhaps it's too soon to have heard since the third and final hardcover collection hasn't even been solicited yet, but has anyone heard of plans to continue/conclude this series?
One other thing while I'm here... I don't usually comment on the size of a particular collection, but volume two is much bigger than volume one (which is in turn somewhat larger than a standard archive or masterworks edition). Whassup wit' dat? Why not make 'em the same size? (Unless volume three is going to be bigger still...?)
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Having enjoyed much of Byrne's early Nineties Dark Horse work, I was very disappointed when Next Men was abruptly shut down and no follow up was ever made for Danger Unlimited. It would be nice to know what he had planned for each series.
Byrne has been saying for years that he already had the last 20 issues plotted out when the market crash put a stop to the series. But as yet, no formal plans have been announced for new issues. He has hinted that sales of the IDW collections could have some bearing on whether or not those issues see the light of day.
That's the latest I've heard, too. I'd like to see this series finished.
Man, it has been forever since I have even *thought* about Next Men, I did like it though.
One other thing while I'm here... I don't usually comment on the size of a particular collection, but volume two is much bigger than volume one (which is in turn somewhat larger than a standard archive or masterworks edition). Whassup wit' dat? Why not make 'em the same size? (Unless volume three is going to be bigger still...?)
I dunno, but maybe each volume tells a specific arc of the story, so volume 1 ended at a certain place, and volume 2 at another particular point?
The first Volume was an oversized HC, the same size as the Runaways or Walking Dead HCs. The new volume is Absolute size, and was done so that retailers have enough large sturdy books that are unsellable because most collectors hate it when there's a format change and don't buy it so we're stuck with it because it's not returnable even though the change was not announced to make our own coffins from.
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." -Groucho Marx
Check out theSecret Headquarters(my store) website! It's a pretty lame website, but I did it myself, so tough noogies
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I can't say my retailer was particularly thriiled about the size change, either (nor, frankly, am I). Height notwithstanding, the issues were divided pretty obviouly into three (nearly) equal volumes: #0-10, #11-20, and (presumably) #21-30). Furthermore, volume one ends with part three of a five-parter, and volume two with part two of a four-parter. Anyone reading would want to get all three parts, anyway, because the 31 issues combine into a single arc. I'll tell what I suspect Dark Horse will do: sometime after the third volume has shipped they'll probably release a single volume "omnibus" edition.
I bought the third and final volume of JBNM "The Premiere Collection" this week but I haven't read it because it's been only about nine months since I re-read the entire series. Volume 3 collections issue #21-30 and begins with the Hellboy crossover. Hellboy doesn't exisit in the Next Men universe (except as a comic book character), and that's how he was recognized in JBNM #21. I daresay few would have recognized him here in our universe at the time; IIRC, this was his first appearance (or certain very early on). That scene reads differetly now, though, since Hellboy has been featured in the movies. But I digress...
The real news is the following excerpt from John Byrne's introduction. Discussing the speculator boom/bust in the '90s, he said, "I realized that Next Men, brought back into that environment, would sink without so much as a ripple. I decided to wait a while, then. To let the smoke clear and the dust settle. When the time seemed right, when the market seemed, if not restored, at least healthier, I would bring Next Men back.
"That was 15 years ago. Still waiting, really. But IDW has confidence enough in the market and the product that they have been putting out these really nifty reprint packages.
"And they tell me the market really IS strong enough for me to bring the Next Men back.
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That's the latest I've heard, too. I'd like to see this series finished.
Man, it has been forever since I have even *thought* about Next Men, I did like it though.
I dunno, but maybe each volume tells a specific arc of the story, so volume 1 ended at a certain place, and volume 2 at another particular point?
The first Volume was an oversized HC, the same size as the Runaways or Walking Dead HCs. The new volume is Absolute size, and was done so that retailers have enough large sturdy books that are unsellable because most collectors hate it when there's a format change and don't buy it so we're stuck with it because it's not returnable even though the change was not announced to make our own coffins from.
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." -Groucho Marx
Check out the Secret Headquarters (my store) website! It's a pretty lame website, but I did it myself, so tough noogies
Listen to WOXY.com, it's the future of rock-n-roll!
Talk about "A Flame About This High"!
After I got The Black GLove in hardback, I was quite happy to continue getting Morrison's Batman in hardback.
But when I got Batman RIP home, it was in a larger format than The Black Glove.
They both look good beside my paperback copy of Batman and Son.
Dark Horse wouldn't have screwed with the format.
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." -Groucho Marx
Check out the Secret Headquarters (my store) website! It's a pretty lame website, but I did it myself, so tough noogies
Listen to WOXY.com, it's the future of rock-n-roll!
You're right: IDW publishes the collections. (You're probably right about Dark Horse and the format, too.)
Oh, for the ability to edit posts!
The real news is the following excerpt from John Byrne's introduction. Discussing the speculator boom/bust in the '90s, he said, "I realized that Next Men, brought back into that environment, would sink without so much as a ripple. I decided to wait a while, then. To let the smoke clear and the dust settle. When the time seemed right, when the market seemed, if not restored, at least healthier, I would bring Next Men back.
"That was 15 years ago. Still waiting, really. But IDW has confidence enough in the market and the product that they have been putting out these really nifty reprint packages.
"And they tell me the market really IS strong enough for me to bring the Next Men back.
"So I think I will."
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