Comments on: Dark Horse’s Delayed Collections: Where Are Blacksad and Sinfest?

By: Johanna

Johanna — Mon, 03 May 2010 19:13:18 +0000

Me too! It’s the books you want the most that seem to take the longest.

By: Guy Smiley

Guy Smiley — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:11:37 +0000

Yeah, I’ve been awaiting Sinfest 2, too. Still read it online every day, but I want to buy the books not only to enjoy the strip in handy paper form, but to thank/support Ishida for makin’ the damned thing.

I hope Dark Horse gets it out there soon. I don’t even have a job these days, and I still wanna throw money at it.

By: Ray Cornwall

Ray Cornwall — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 22:55:50 +0000

It’s the Friends of Lulu’s fault!

Oh wait, wrong thread.

Seriously, Dark Horse pulls this stunt all the time. They oversolicit, and then take forever to deliver the goods. But the books are usually pretty good.

Remind me to tell you the time I caught a huge printing problem in the first printing of the hardcover for Sin City: A Dame To Kill For and was the first one to let Dark Horse know.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 21:07:32 +0000

Oh, Daniel, I wouldn’t go that far.

As I understand it, a lot of book printing these days is done in China or elsewhere far overseas to save money, so tracking quality and shipping around the world can add a lot of time to projects. But moving April to September, for example, suggests a change in direction or promotion priorities or even budgeting changes.

By: DanielBT

DanielBT — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:56:13 +0000

This doesn’t bode well for their announcement of their deal with Carla Speed McNeil’s Finder series. I desperately want to see more of her work after Sin-Eater, and am afraid that I might not get the chance to do so.

By: BobH

BobH — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:39:07 +0000

I never did understand why Dark Horse got that extended solicitation schedule for their books. I notice DC and Marvel slipped into a similar thing a while back, especially for their hardcovers. I can see how it saves them money, but they really should hit those far-future ship dates on the nose in exchange for the money they save.

As another example, I just checked for a book I’ve been waiting for, the new edition of Jerry Robinson’s COMICS: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY. They first listed that in 2006, it never came out, then relisted it for April 14, 2010, and I just checked and their site now lists September 15, 2010.

By: exar

exar — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:59:25 +0000

glad i’m not the only one wondering about the delay with the Blacksad HC.

By: Kendama

Kendama — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:52:00 +0000

*sees Blacksad cover*

I can haz lung cancer?

By: John Jakala

John Jakala — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:20:16 +0000

As Chris points out, Dark Horse has a history of repeatedly missing release dates. They're one of the main reasons I gave up pre-ordering: It was too much hassle tracking everything to make sure I got what I paid for. (Although at times I did take perverse glee in tracking DH's inability to meet its commitments.) I'd actually recommend foregoing pre-ordering DH's books altogether and instead checking TFAW's Nick & Dent section from time to time. You can usually find recent DH releases for 50% off there.

By: Chris Marshall

Chris Marshall — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:53:46 +0000

Johanna,
Dark Horse is notorious for this behavior – always soliciting then moving dates with no explanation. But I’m sure production issues are the root cause.
I have Blacksad coming out June 30 (via Dark Horse’s website). No word on Sinfest.
http://www.collectedcomicslibrary.com/books.html

Great to meet you at C2E2. Keep up the good work!
Chris