Blood for the Baron!

I am planning to re-relase our first two volumes to coincide with the December 1st release of volume 3. As I have recently discovered new techniques for cleaning the original colour pages, I shall be updating the images to include them.

It also gives me the opportunity to make a few other alterations. First of all, I shall be removing the 8-page custom strip Assassins and the 8 custom datafiles. No offence to Jamar, but to me they have always been out of place. I shall be replacing them with the 8 missing Datafiles, the 2-page File on the Baron and the 6 "untamed..." adverts.

I shall be adding four new pages per volume, being the unused indyplanet intro pages and a contents page, and at the back I shall be adding contact details for the featured colourists and a list of credits. I will also be adding page numbers to each entire volume.

I have reshuffled the peripheral pages so that the Datafiles are now grouped by squads. I have left the storylines as they are.

Here are the proposed new layouts:

Volume I - World Enemy No. 1

024 pages - Tracker
042 pages - World Enemy No 1
037 pages - The Great Cobra Robbery
008 pages - Snake Hunt
030 pages - Venom of Cobra
006 pages - Showdown for the Shadows
036 pages - School For Snakes
008 pages - Storm Shadow II
012 pages - Assassin
002 pages - Cobra Conversion File
010 pages - Red Shadows Datafiles
010 pages - SAS Datafiles
011 pages - Z Force Datafiles

Volume II - Operation: Bloodhound

008 pages - Ambush
012 pages - Attack
096 pages - Bloodhound
016 pages - Sea Fury
024 pages - Death Castle
009 pages - Menace of the Baron
036 pages - Death in South America
024 pages - Revenge of the Red Shadows
006 pages - Space Force Datafiles
005 pages - Q Force Datafiles

Volume III - London in Peril

045 pages - Jungle Terror
016 pages - Sealion
030 pages - Assault on Atoll Z
059 pages - London in Peril
006 pages - The Raid
024 pages - Project Highball
018 pages - Maximum Kill!
018 pages - Doom Plague!
002 pages - The File on The Baron
018 pages - Battlefiles

Volume IV - Codename: Villains

090 pages - The Black Major
017 pages - Red Jackal
024 pages - Kraken
036 pages - The Baroness
004 pages - Death of the Hawk
030 pages - Storm Shadow
024 pages - Major Bludd
010 pages - Liberty
001 pages - Cobra Power File

Volume V - Codename: Heroes

031 pages - Shark
017 pages - Tank Hunt
025 pages - Quickfire
020 pages - Stakeout
004 pages - Duke
039 pages - Snakebite
035 pages - Gung-Ho
035 pages - Laser Trooper
024 pages - The Hornet's Nest
006 pages - Adverts

Volume VI - Desert Strike

110 pages - Desert Strike
027 pages - Hawk's Challenge
018 pages - The Terror of Cobra
026 pages - Jungle of Doom
036 pages - Snow Job
019 pages - Combat

Volume VII - Operation: Claymore

015 pages - Beaver
084 pages - Claymore
030 pages - Stubborn
030 pages - The Hacienda Hit
018 pages - The New Boy!
018 pages - Death to the Legion!
011 pages - Australia
012 pages - Duke's Revenge
018 pages - Cobra Datafiles

Volume VIII - Crossfire

024 pages - Sky Raider
018 pages - Spearhead
010 pages - Crossfire!
029 pages - Moondancer
036 pages - River of Serpents
030 pages - Arctic Terror
010 pages - Death Beam
025 pages - The Scrapyard
029 pages - Target Torpedo
025 pages - AF Datafiles

Volume IX - Battleground

025 pages - Shield
012 pages - The Big Battle
014 pages - The Ultimate Crime
012 pages - The Curse
010 pages - Cobra Victory
018 pages - Manhattan Transfer
012 pages - The Peace Rocket
122 pages - Deep Cover
011 pages - Ground Zero

Volume X - Cobra Gold

008 pages - Action Force
030 pages - Mini-Comics
006 pages - Ironblood
006 pages - Cobra Gold
006 pages - The Fangs of Cobra
180 pages - Covers

Finally, I plan to change the project title from "The Best Of" to "The Complete Works".

I understand how much this sucks for those who have already bought the books (myself included), which is why I have worked very hard to keep the storyline content the same. But as I plan to release a revised edition anyway this is the best time to do this. Does anybody have any objections?

I'm just working through these, and it strikes me that it would make more sense to swap volumes 1 and 2. When we released volume 1 we didn't know if there would be any future volumes, but now that we're underway it seems odd to have World Enemy No. 1 before Operation Bloodhound.

Equally it now seems silly to call the second book "World Enemy No. 1", so I'll probably go with "Showdown for the Shadows" instead.

As I said in a post 'pre-site breakdown', I'm also fine with the changes. If it was an official book company doing it, I'd be mad at being ripped off by them (they could afford to get it 'right' first time!), but the Baron only wants these books to be the best they can. The "Complete Works" moniker is way cooler too (it implies, obviously, that we're getting all the stories eventually!).

Thanks guys - I think I put it a lot more eloquently in the original lost version LOL.

I shall post some revised progress reports later on tonight. I've just spent hours individually numbering the pages for volume 1, which I shall now use as a template for the others.



That was NOT fun.

The Baron wrote:Thanks guys - I think I put it a lot more eloquently in the original lost version LOL.

I shall post some revised progress reports later on tonight. I've just spent hours individually numbering the pages for volume 1, which I shall now use as a template for the others.



That was NOT fun.

But I bet the end result will be worth it in the end!!

I don't think a book that reprints comic strips really needs page numbers or an index/contents page, but it'll sure look cool and make it more 'book like' (whatever that means!)

Well there's two angles to it, one is obviously so that you can thumb through and find certain strips, but the other is for the new colourist page at the back, which will have contact details for each colourist, and a list of their particular pages.

OK, having just worked through all of the page numbers, I have decided to rearrange the books...

I know I said I wanted to keep the content the same as the existing books, but then I got bitten by the continuity bug! People have said to me to regard this project as a fresh start anyway, and so with that in mind;

Volume I - Operation: Bloodhound
008 pages - Ambush
012 pages - Attack
096 pages - Bloodhound
045 pages - Jungle Terror
024 pages - Death Castle
024 pages - Tracker
009 pages - Menace of the Baron
002 pages - The File on the Baron
010 pages - SAS Datafiles
006 pages - Space Force Datafiles

Volume II - Showdown for the Shadows
016 pages - Sea Fury
016 pages - Sealion
030 pages - Assault on Atoll Z
042 pages - World Enemy No 1
024 pages - Revenge of the Red Shadows
030 pages - Venom of Cobra
006 pages - Showdown for the Shadows
036 pages - School For Snakes
008 pages - Storm Shadow II
002 pages - The Cobra Conversion
010 pages - Red Shadows Datafiles
011 pages - Z Force Datafiles
005 pages - Q Force Datafiles

Volume III - London in Peril
036 pages - Death in South America
037 pages - The Great Cobra Robbery
008 pages - Snake Hunt
059 pages - London in Peril
006 pages - The Raid
024 pages - Project Highball
018 pages - Maximum Kill!
018 pages - Doom Plague!
012 pages - Assassin!
018 pages - Battlefiles

Im happy with this, didnt buy the originals so cant wait for these to be released and ill snap them up.