IDW's newest plans

[kkozoriz1]

I really enjoyed Gerrold's Chtorr series but it's been 17 (!) years since the last one came out. There have been numerous false starts on #5. At one point he was soliciting a hardcover reprint series of the first four books leading up to the release of the fifth. Supposedly, the fifth book, A Method for Madness, will be released in July of 2011. Even if it is I wonder how successful it will be. Will readers snap it up because it's finally out or will they pass it up since they have given up waiting and don't want to get all caught up in something that may never be finished?

A story consists of a beginning, middle and end. When something is solicited as a complete story in X number of chapters and the end doesn't appear I feel like I haven't gotten all that I was promised.

If you went to a restaurant that promised a great five course meal and stopped serving after the soup, wouldn't you feel let down, even if the salad and soup were excellent?

 

[Therin of Andor]

A story consists of a beginning, middle and end. When something is solicited as a complete story in X number of chapters and the end doesn't appear I feel like I haven't gotten all that I was promised.

If you went to a restaurant that promised a great five course meal and stopped serving after the soup, wouldn't you feel let down, even if the salad and soup were excellent?

But, AFAIK, "The War Against the Chtorr" was originally solicited as a one-off, standalone novel, with plenty of scope for a sequel, which we then got. Had that first book not sold well, there may never have been a second. Then, when Gerrold shifted the series from Timescape to Bantam, we received longer versions of those two books, and I think that's when I realised that Gerrold was planning the saga as a trilogy. The third arrived and then we got another one after that. Bonus!

He certainly didn't promote that very first volume as the starter for "a great five course meal". It's very obvious (to me) that Gerrold is delving very deeply into his own personal philosophies, discoveries and beliefs about humanity in those books. If it's taking him much longer than even he expected to write future instalments, that just tells me he's still grappling with what he's trying to convey in the best/scariest way possible.

Since his more recent, excellent Dingiliad trilogy (so far) is set on a Chtorr/plague-ravaged Earth in Book 1, I've quite happily taken those three books as a sidetrack/extension of the "Chtorr" books. In any case, every "Chtorr" book has had a definite "beginning, middle and end". You're expecting maybe a happy ending for this innovative series?

 

[kkozoriz1]

Not expecting a happy ending at all. I'd like the ending I was promised when I first picked it up. It was based on an interview with Gerrold way back when where he said it would run, IIRC, 6 books, later expanded to 7. He made it clear that it was a series that extended beyond what was already out at that point.

I tried the Dingillad book 1. Wasn't my cup of tea. YMMV.

Would you feel the same way if Destiny ended after book 2?

It's one thing to do a sequel, that's a bonus if done well. It's another thing to leave a series hanging in mid story.

 

[Christopher]

A story consists of a beginning, middle and end. When something is solicited as a complete story in X number of chapters and the end doesn't appear I feel like I haven't gotten all that I was promised.

If you went to a restaurant that promised a great five course meal and stopped serving after the soup, wouldn't you feel let down, even if the salad and soup were excellent?

I'm not saying there's no reason to feel let down. I'm as disappointed as anyone that that last Early Voyages arc was incomplete. But it seems to me that refusing to read any of the story at all is just cheating yourself. At least you get some of the story, and that's better than nothing. In your example, is it better to eat and enjoy the excellent salad and soup, or to go hungry altogether? Part of an enjoyable experience is still enjoyable, even if you're disappointed that you missed the ending.

 

[kkozoriz1]

We'll just have to agree to disagree on that Christopher.

I don't like it when the film breaks in the middle of the movie and it can't be finished.

If it were just subplots that wern't resolved I wouldn't mind since nothing is wrapped up in a nice bow anyway. If I've been induced to purchase something on the basis of it being part of a larger story I expect that the story will be completed. Ending it beforehand isn't playing fair with the reader or viewer.

 

[ryan123450]

The food analogy isn't a good one, because the soup and salad in themselves are complete. It would be like reading The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, and then vowing to never read The Return of the King.

 

[Therin of Andor]

It would be like reading The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, and then vowing to never read The Return of the King.

No, because the entire manuscript of "The Lord of the Rings" was already received by the publisher (as six "books") and they decided to release two "books" per volume, much to the author's original consternation, who wanted one volume, IIRC.

Many SF sagas are written and published as separate instalments, and well before subsequent instalments are completed. Some have major cliffhangers or unresolved threads that suggest additional volumes were yet to be written. And many are written as one-shots and only become sagas due to public or publisher demand, the writer's need to eat, or the writer coming up with a sequel.

 

[kkozoriz1]

There is also the difference between a series of connected but stand alone stories (i.e. - Vanguard) and a series written with a finite end (i.e. - Destiny). If vanguard ended after the third book I'd be disappointed. If Destiny ended after the second book I'd be seriously PO'd.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I'm not saying there's no reason to feel let down. I'm as disappointed as anyone that that last Early Voyages arc was incomplete. But it seems to me that refusing to read any of the story at all is just cheating yourself. At least you get some of the story, and that's better than nothing.

I had absolutely no problem skipping the last couple of issues when I was collecting Early Voyages in back issue form. The art quaslity took such a severe nose dive after Patrick Zircher left that I knew I wouldn't be able to get into the story. Plus, as has already been noted, the time-travel storyline worked wonderfully as a finale.

 

[ryan123450]

It would be like reading The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, and then vowing to never read The Return of the King.

No, because the entire manuscript of "The Lord of the Rings" was already received by the publisher (as six "books") and they decided to release two "books" per volume, much to the author's original consternation, who wanted one volume, IIRC.

Many SF sagas are written and published as separate instalments, and well before subsequent instalments are completed. Some have major cliffhangers or unresolved threads that suggest additional volumes were yet to be written. And many are written as one-shots and only become sagas due to public or publisher demand, the writer's need to eat, or the writer coming up with a sequel.

What does any of that have to do with not wanting to read two parts of a permanantly unfinished comic trilogy?

 

[Christopher]

The food analogy isn't a good one, because the soup and salad in themselves are complete. It would be like reading The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, and then vowing to never read The Return of the King.

Uhh, no, it would be like being unable to read RotK because it was never published, but still choosing to read the first two installments anyway. Let's not lose sight of what this is an analogy for.

 

[Therin of Andor]

What does any of that have to do with not wanting to read two parts of a permanantly unfinished comic trilogy?

I'm just observing that, for those of us collecting the comics as they were released, no one realised the story would remain forever unfinished until we'd read the first two parts.

"The Return of the King" is out there, and wasn't in danger of being shelved!

 

[kkozoriz1]

Which is why I now wait for all parts of a mini series to be released before buying it.
In comics, that usually involves waiting for the trade.

 

[fleetcaptain]

I would for sure get back into the Early Voyages series too if IDW decided to get into it. That's one series I feel that still needs to finish an arc it had going and had so much more to tell. Would like the idea of adventures on the Enterprise-E and of course Captain Data as well.

 

[JD]

Me to. I loved the series and would be thrilled to see it continue.

 

[ryan123450]

I'm just observing that, for those of us collecting the comics as they were released, no one realised the story would remain forever unfinished until we'd read the first two parts.

"The Return of the King" is out there, and wasn't in danger of being shelved!

OK, I see. For my part I was refering to being a first time reader now, with the Complete Comics CDROM, and having the knowledge that it's unfinished.

 

[Therin of Andor]

A few months ago, it was announced that an Australian publisher, Wilkinson Publishing, had won a bid for the reprint and distribution rights to the current IDW "Star Trek" comics and trade paperbacks - and yesterday I actually spotted a batch: issue #2 of the US TOS mini-series, "Burden of Knowledge", in a local Sydney newsagent.

Comparison pics are here:
http://therinofandor.blogspot.com/2010/08/comparing-idw-and-wp-star-trek-comics.html

 

[ryan123450]

Why aren't the originals just available worldwide?

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Why aren't the originals just available worldwide?

That's an interesting question. IDW publishes overseas anyway (their books are published in Korea and China, unlike Marvel and DC who have their books published in Canada), so I'm not sure what benefit there is to having a local company repackage the books for Australia unless IDW's license turns out not to be worldwide.

One thing Ian notes in his blog post is that the covers are lighter weight on the second issues than on the first. IDW has changed recently line-wide, downgrading their cover stock, probably to hold the line on a price increase. I genuinely doubt that comics can go over the $3.99 price point for a regular 22-page issue.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Why aren't the originals just available worldwide?

Price.

I can (and did) buy issue #3 of IDW's "Burden of Knowledge" in a specialist comic store, but certainly not on newsstands or "paper shops" (your drug stores, without the drugs, but with the daily newspapers - we've never had the newspaper vending machines on street corners), the traditional place where the general population are used to seeing comic books.

Whenever a publisher takes on a US title for a local printing, it's so the comic can be offered at a better price, or the distributor has to sea freight the issues and they end up being about four months old. The Australian cover price of Wilkinson's "Burden of Knowledge" #2 is $4.95 (I can imagine a lot of parents baulking at $5 for "a comic!" anyway), but the $US 3.99 price of the air-freighted US issue works out to be $AU 7.50, running one issue behind.

http://www.kingscomics.com/product_list/pages/product_list.php?pager=1&startpage=1&resetrelease=1&searchfilter=burden%20of%20knowledge