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Zenith - Phase 3 hardcover Rebellion

Started by robert_ellis, 07 April, 2015, 10:42:26 AM

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robert_ellis

Lovely printing of the Phase iii - surely Yeowell's best ever art? Also includes the Jim McCarthy Psychadelic Annual story which looks great. Sadly no extras - I guess the page count was too high & they can be rolled over into Phase IV. the Spines look great together with the first 2 volumes. I miss the next issue blurbs but these are amazing books. These will look great in the recently announced slipcase. Are there plans to include the Mark Millar text story, which I always enjoyed, in phase IV? Hopefully the pin ups like Archie & Zenith covers will also find space in the final volume.

IndigoPrime

"Also includes the Jim McCarthy Psychadelic Annual story which looks great."

Good to see that made the cut. It's a pretty important link in the story, so its omission would have been a pity.

Hawkmumbler

Excellent! This is all new material to me anyway, so as much of the obscure side stories that can be squeezed in the better.

Colin YNWA

Quote from: robert_ellis on 07 April, 2015, 10:42:26 AM
... Are there plans to include the Mark Millar text story, which I always enjoyed, in phase IV? Hopefully the pin ups like Archie & Zenith covers will also find space in the final volume.

Yeah I was pleasently surprised that this turned up over the weekend (unlike the Prog dagnabbit!) and it looks great. I've not read any of the volumes yet saving them for a re-read of the entire series when all the volumes are in... and it reaches the top of my to read spreadsheet. It is a very handsome volume though.

I did wonder whether all the covers etc would be in the last volume which will be significantly shorter - in terms of the Phase IV story itself - than Phase III but will the fact that its going to be all (mostly?) in colour mean that this won't happen, does colour printing cost significently more than black and white still?

I always thought that Millar story was okay, all be it far from essential.

Grant Goggans


Colin YNWA

Great review Grant, now get back to Thrillpowering my Thursdays!

Grant Goggans

If I were to do that, it would not be weekly.  Maybe a dozen people read the last few posts.  Maybe as an occasional - very, very, very occasional - opinion column.  Like "Hey Pat Mills, Quit Badmouthing Bishop and Diggle."  I just read Return to Mars and am thinking about doing a review at the Bookshelf, and was amazed that Mills takes another(!) potshot at Diggle in his intro.

Colin YNWA

There seems little denying Pat Mils for all his considerable talent, isn't one to move on from things!

Well if you can't Thrillpower our Thursday I'd defo settle for opinion pieces whenever the need takes ya.

The Enigmatic Dr X

This, for my money, is the best story ever printed in 2000ad.

I hadn't read Crisis on Infinite Earths (still haven't) or anything it riffed on, so, for me, it was stunning. On re-reading the collection, it is still stunning. And Barker-esque in its creepiness.
Lock up your spoons!

Hawkmumbler

Yup, mine turned up today. Adding it to my to read pile, on the whole I must agree with DR.X, one of the very best from the house of Tharg.

Zenith 666

Not got this yet But no ones asked the most important question.does the spine match up.

Colin YNWA


Something Fishy

This arrived for me yesterday.  I am another who considers Zenith one of the best things ever in 2K.  So pleased to finally be able to get the whole collection.  Brilliant stuff.

robert_ellis

Read Phase iii in one sitting. It's long & often baffling but with cracking dialogue and a great sense of fun. The plotting is bonkers... Bombs appear randomly, characters blow up worlds after battles that seem senseless - but it's great fun. Zenith never stuck around long enough to get dull or repetitive. Yeowell's art maybe have more clarity in the Red Seas or more bombast in the Doom Patrol - but in every issue here there is an image that is iconic - genuinely scary or just downright perfect. Acid Archie on a dinosaur! A true contender for best thrill ever - up there with the Apocalypse War or Bad Company.

IndigoPrime

Quote from: robert_ellis on 12 April, 2015, 09:41:25 PMBombs appear randomly
In what sense? [spoiler]Each team is provided a bomb by Maximan, who also happens to be a lying git, hence providing a third to the Black Sun cult on Zenith's home alternative[/spoiler].

Quotecharacters blow up worlds after battles that seem senseless
I think the chaos is much of the point. Read as a whole, it's also interesting to see [spoiler]Maximan's plan in action, gradually whittling down the super humans, which are the only threat to the Lloigor, even though, as we know from IV, it's all a bit more complicated than that[/spoiler].

As for the book itself, it's really nice, even if the levels are a touch overdone, knocking out a touch of the detail in the art—par for the course these days, it seems. (Black Hole suffered far worse from this in the recent hardback.)