Duoshade issue in Ultimate Collection Volume 4
 

So I pointed out this duoshade issue with the old reprint of Mirage's #5 a few weeks back in this thread.

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=41901

Well, that exact shading problem is also in IDW's brand new Ultimate Collection Vol. 4. Check the images below:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps178f18d7.jpg
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps33506fa7.jpg
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...psa7ce8f16.jpg

I basically just picked three random pages from the three books that didn't have the duoshade on them, but its not just those pages. The entirety of issues 49, 53 and 54 have no shades on them. The rest of the books look fine. Can anyone explain this stuff? Bobby? Anyone?

My gut says to blame IDW, but since this happened in a previous Mirage book, could it be possible that Mirage provided IDW with the un-shaded scans of these books? This is getting weird.

Yikes, this might make me reconsider buying the collection.

Wow, this is disappointing. The duo shade is pretty important for these books.

It's cool to see them without the shades but that's not at all how it should be. What the hell...

All I know is that our files are what Nick got from Mirage.

That sounds sort of like I'm blaming Mirage. I'm not. But that's the origin of the files.

That's really strange... I wonder if they felt they would look better this way? Or are the tones missing/damaged? I guess I must be a noob because I had assumed everything was done on one particular piece of paper.

Well, Dan is usually the first to admit that Mirage's archives were never very great in the first place. So it's not incredibly surprising that this oversight exists, but it's still incredibly disappointing. And just weird. Hmm.

Could you post more photo comparisons of different pages?

Ah, that's not good, I had plans for buying the whole ultimate collection later, but this kinda dissapoints me... :ohwell:

Oh man, that's very very sad. You would have thought that IDW checked the actual issues before making their "ultimate" collections. I've only bought Volume 1 so far (regular edition, LBCC Exclusive and Black Label) and the quality of the scans is just awful. I was planning to get all the others later as a set, but it just keeps getting worse.

Bobby, I think most of us understand that the files you received are probably far from perfect, but you guys at IDW know how to produce high end books better that anyone else in the business today. Whenever something like this happens, I just feel like it's a missed opportunity. I appreciate all the hard work that goes into making this collections, and they're great, but this little things are very disappointing.

Volume 4 is even out? I haven't received mine from amazon yet...

Ouch, I'll pass.

Though it'd make one hell of a coloring book.

Well, at least we are gonna see how the inks look without the duoshade toning, for the first time. I could buy it just for that.

Yeah its a disappointing, but I still really dig the Ultimate Collections. I don't see any other quality problems with them and I totally believe that Nick dumped whatever they had on IDWs desk and basically said, "here, you figure it out." This is definitely not the most disappointing thing to come out of TMNT, and strangely enough works as a greater metaphor for Mirage's independent publishing history and practice more than anything.

We can hope that when IDW inevitably releases a dedicated City at War trade or hardcover, that this issue is fixed, but it would probably be more trouble than its worth.

The Foot Soldier fight is where the lack of duo shade looks disappointing the most.

Seems unlikely, but hopefully a recall could happen in the future to replace these if a more complete version is ever acquired and produced? I already purchased mine and I don't think I'll be returning it, but there is no question that this is disappointing for fans who are excited to have City At War collected for the first time only to have an incomplete reading experience when compared to the original issues. There's no denying how important that signature shading is for these black & white books. It's what makes all the difference between black & white art and art that just hasn't been colored.

Another thing which would be cool is City at War issues re-released as colored classics.
A nicely done coloring would be an okay replacement of the duo shades, in case Mirage actually lost the duo shaded originals.

I'd like to see that. If IDW actually noticed the lack of shading before they released this collection, then they should have gone with a colored classic collection instead of this.

The more I look at it, the flatter that foot soldier battle looks.

Given the lack of attention put into the Color Classics reprints, I wouldn't count on a nicely done coloring replacement.

Shredder still has an all blue bodysuit in the color reprints, see the #10 preview images.

Damn, man. At least I have the original issues. This isn't a deal breaker, but it is a shame. This is the best run of Turtles issues ever published, and it's rough to see them first exposed to a larger audience with anything other than a perfect presentation.

I'm guessing this is on Mirage's end and they didn't have ... what? Toned master copies or something? (Whatever the process is here.) It's too bad it wasn't caught earlier though, so they could have used complete scans.

I'm probably one of three fans who likes the colored editions though, so here's hoping they get to City at War down the road. Whatever the case, I hope IDW isn't discouraged from doing another stand-alone trade for this story arc at some point.

I wonder if there's any chance of a new re-release.

A few years ago Spain publishing (Norma Editorial) reprinted Vol.1 (with the remake of TMNT vol.1 #8 ). So, there was the same situation - some of the City at War issues was published without duoshade tones.

It was issues #49, #53, #54.

Definitely count me out if there's no duoshade. I would guess that either the files sent were just the raw inks pre-duoshade or the duoshade degraded over time (it does) and vanished, but either way this should have been caught and either A) Mirage/Peter/Gary Richardson solicited for the "right" files, or B) Quality scans of the pages with duotones should have been done and used.

Very, very sad and sucks a huge amount of the wind out of the whole "City at War will finally be collected!" balloon.

I wonder if there is enough complaints we could get IDW to re-release this with the correct duoshade version?

Given how many variants they put out of their collections already, and all the alternate covers....this collection re-released with a duoshade print shouldn't be out of the question.

My question is how many fans new to the mirage city at war are seeing this for the first time and getting the wrong impression. It seriously looks like an adult coloring book... If i didnt own my individual issues and this was my introduction, this would not be my favorite turtle comic story arc,

Pretty much a great big "yikes!" on multiple levels. I'm not sure how this could have happened.

I guess I'll be cancelling my order then. It's a shame since I was hoping for a complete set but this is kind of a deal breaker :S

I guess I'll just have to get the city at war standalone collection that IDW will eventually put out. Still, yikes. I'really dissapointed. Can somebody tell me what other issues were included in this book? So I know what else I'll be missing.

As hypothetical as that already is, I'd be even more concerned about it if enough fans feel the way you do, or are turned off by the sans-duoshade art once they read it.

Hey, IDW guys, are you reading?

The two Shades of Grey issues I believe.

I've got those, and it was really bad that they were missing the duoshade, but they're tiny, softcover, cheap trades. It was easier to overlook its many flaws (and they included the remake of issue 8).

Any chance you could get someone to double-check your files for these kinds of errors before you go to print in the future? O_o I feel cheated.

So is there any chance for a re-release?

pretty important is actually an understatement..Mirage Turtles bleed duo shade..no duo-shade is an absolute no-no:tsad:


Me too, buddy, me too. But I'm definitely not buying this crap:tmad: The art simply looks kinda flat, withouth depth

Is anyone going to try and contact IDW about this? Posting on forums they don't read isn't going to accomplish anything.

Back on the first page...

Can't they just scan the pages from the individual City at War issues though?

It is a deal breaker. I really don't see myself purchasing this collection, or the next one, if it isn't how it was originally presented.

Its a shame with how well IDW has handled the TMNT franchise in terms of new stuff, but the reprints of the old Mirage and Archie material just feel like they're handled with little care.

Okay. For you.

But yeah, I hope whatever happens, even if a number of people don't buy this book, IDW still sees fit to return and do a stand-alone trade of this arc. It really needs to get into the hands of more people, review sites, etc.