Artist's Edition Index: The Master List by Publication Date - Part 2

[XenofoneX]

'Artist's Edition' Index: The Master List by Publication Date - Part 2

A.E. (Original Comic Art Facsimiles) - Publishers & Format Titles:
- IDW: Artist's Edition & Artifact Edition
- Graphitti Design/DC: Gallery Edition
- Dark Horse: Gallery Edition
- Kitchen Sink/Dark Horse: Curator's Collection
- Dynamite: Art Edition;
- Fantagraphics Books: Studio Edition;
- Hermes Press: Treasury Edition;
- Image: Vault Edition

Master List by Publication Date (Feb. 11th 2015-Feb. 22nd 2017):
Dynamite - Frank Thorne’s Red Sonja Art Edition Volume 2: 11-Feb-15
ISBN: 978-1606904756
12″ x 17″
128 pages

IDW - Jack Kirby Mister Miracle Artist’s Edition: 18-Mar-15
ISBN: 978-1-63140-191-6
12″ x 17″
200 pages

IDW - John Romita’s The Amazing Spider-Man Artifact Edition: 01-Apr-15
ISBN: 978-1-63140-238-8
15″ x 22″
200 pages

Graphitti Design - Frank Miller’s Ronin Gallery Edition: 15-Apr-15
ISBN: 978-1-4012-5457-5
13″ x 20″
328 pages

IDW - Best Of EC: Volume Two Artist’s Edition: 22-Apr-15
ISBN: 978-1-63140-291-3
15″ x 22″
176 pages

Dynamite - Frank Thorne’s Red Sonja Art Edition Volume 3: 22-Apr-15
ISBN: 978-1-60690-580-7
12″ x 17″
104 pages

IDW - Jack Kirby Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth Vol. 1 Artist’s Edition: 10-Jun-15
ISBN: 978-1-63140-344-6
12″ x 17″
160 pages

IDW - Don Rosa’s The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, Vol. 1 Artist’s Edition: 24-Jun-15
ISBN: 978-163140-301-9
14″ x 20″
160 pages

IDW - Mike Zeck’s Classic Marvel Stories Artist’s Edition: 01-Jul-15
ISBN: 978-1-63140-391-0
12″ x 17″
192 pages

IDW - Eric Powell’s The Goon Artist’s Edition: 22-Jul-15
ISBN: 978-1-63140-346-0
12″ x 17″
144 pages

IDW - Frank Miller’s Daredevil Artifact Edition: 05-Aug-15
ISBN: 978-1-63140-352-1
12″ x 17″
144 pages

Graphitti Design - Superman/Batman: Michael Turner Gallery Edition: 26-Aug-15
ISBN: 978-1-4012-5706-4
12″ x 17″
208 pages

Titan - Zenith Phase One Apex Edition: 26-Aug-15
ISBN: 978-1-78108-397-0
15″ x 19″
112 pages

IDW - Joe Kubert’s The Return Of Tarzan Artist’s Edition: 21-Oct-15
ISBN: 978-1-63140-433-7
12″ x 17″
168 pages

Dark Horse - P. Craig Russell’s Murder Mysteries and Other Stories Gallery Edition: 28-Oct-15
ISBN: 978-1-61655-834-5
12″ x 17″
232 pages

IDW - Miracleman Artifact Edition: 04-Nov-15
ISBN: 978-1-63140-392-7
15″ x 20″
144 pages

Dark Horse - Usagi Yojimbo: Samurai and Other Stories Gallery Edition: 04-Nov-15
ISBN: 978-1-61655-923-6
12″ x 17″
240 pages

IDW - Herb Trimpe’s The Incredible Hulk Artist’s Edition: 11-Nov-15
ISBN: 978-1-63140-416-0
12″ x 17″
144 pages

Graphitti Design - The Sandman Gallery Edition: 09-Dec-15
ISBN: 978-1-4012-5923-5
13″ x 20″
272 pages

IDW - Star Wars Artifact Edition: 23-Dec-15

Graphitti Design - The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Kevin O’Neill Gallery Edition: 27-Jan-16
ISBN: 978-1-4012-6190-0
12″ x 17″
184 pages

IDW - Sam Kieth’s The Maxx Artist’s Edition: 24-Feb-16

IDW - Graham Ingels’ EC Stories Artist’s Edition: 02-Mar-16
ISBN: 978-1-63140-496-2
15″ x 22″
152 pages

Graphitti Design - Batman: The Dark Knight Returns – Frank Miller Gallery Edition: 18-May-16
ISBN: 978-1-4012-6443-7
13″ x 20″
216 pages

Dynamite - Jose Gonzalez’s Vampirella Art Edition: 25-May-16

IDW - Best Of DC War Artist’s Edition: 29-Jun-16
ISBN: 978-1-63140-547-1
12″ x 17″
160 pages

IDW - Jack Kirby’s The Mighty Thor Artist’s Edition: 06-Jul-16
ISBN: 978-1-63140-603-4
15″ x 22″
160 pages

IDW - Al Williamson’s Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Artist’s Edition: 13-Jul-16
ISBN: 978-1-63140-587-7
14″ x 21″
160 pages

Kitchen Sink/Dark Horse - Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye Curator’s Collection: 24-Aug-16
ISBN: 978-1-50670-070-0
15″ x 21.5″
224 pages

IDW - Mike Mignola’s The Amazing Screw-On Head Artist’s Edition: 31-Aug-16
ISBN: 978-1-63140-619-5
12″ x 17″
160 pages

IDW - Marvel Covers: The Modern Era Artist’s Edition: 14-Sep-16
ISBN: 978-1-63140-646-1 and 978-1-63140-647-8
12″ x 17″
160 pages

IDW - Jack Kirby Kamandi Artist’s Edition Vol 2: 05-Oct-16
ISBN: 978-1-63140-721-5
12″ x 17″
144 pages

Graphitti Design - Girl Power: Amanda Conner Gallery Edition: 19-Oct-16
ISBN: 978-1-4012-6793-3
12″ x 17″
248 pages

Dark Horse - Usagi Yojimbo: The Artist and Other Stories Gallery Edition: 09-Nov-16
ISBN: 978-1-61655-924-3
12″ x 17″
240 pages

IDW - Chris Samnee’s Daredevil: Artist’s Edition: 04-Jan-17
ISBN: 978-1-63140-723-9
12″ x 17″
160 pages

IDW - Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four Artist’s Edition: 25-Jan-17
ISBN: 978-1-63140-831-1
12″ x 17″
168 pages

IDW - America’s Best Comics Artist’s Edition: 01-Feb-17
ISBN: 978-1-63140-757-4
12″ x 17″
224 pages

IDW - Alex Toth’s Bravo For Adventure Artist’s Edition: 22-Feb-17
ISBN: 978-1-63140-790-1
Diamond Item Code: AUG160479 (In Stock)
12″ x 17″
166 pages


Last Updated: March 29, 2017

[NOTE: Source material comes from the excellent AE Index from the outstanding site 'Comic Book Daily'. Check it out:
http://www.comicbookdaily.com/artists...]

[Relstuart, Mod+]

These are great lists. There is a GI Joe Artist edition coming from the Marvel days. I was into the Joe-verse back in the day so that might be an interesting thing to think about. The DC War edition is also interesting. These are just a bit pricey for me to get into so far.

Was Enemy Ace the whole series by any chance? I know that is a series that has remained popular and a number of folks have created custom binds of it. It seems like a series that could be ripe for some sort of HC collection one day.

[XenofoneX]

Relstuart wrote: "These are great lists. There is a GI Joe Artist edition coming from the Marvel days. I was into the Joe-verse back in the day so that might be an interesting thing to think about. The DC War editio..."

Yeah, 'The Best of DC War' AE is great; Severin, Heath, Kubert, Toth and Kirby - 5 of the best artists from the 60's - all in one collection. The GI Joe book is on the 'Upcoming' list, but the release date hasn't been settled yet; it'll be 12" x 17" and 160 pages.

I'm pretty certain the Enemy Ace run was quite a bit longer than what's collected in the AE (The longest Artist's Editions are the Ronin and Sandman Gallery Editions, at 328 and 272 pages, and most of the Artist's Editions average out around 180 pages). That's an omnibus I'd like to see as well; any omnibus collecting the 1960's war comics. They weren't as well written as the EC Kurtzman war books or Goodwin's Blazing Combat, but they were still entertaining, and the art was amazing. I think some of Kirby's best work was his war comic art. I'm not sure if hardcore Kirby fans would agree with that assessment, but it seems like he took a bit more time on the war stories.

Yeah, the cost is still rough. The prices will hopefully decrease as they get more popular, and start printing more copies. The ones that Amazon sell directly, like the Sin City Curator's Collection, end up being much better deals. In Stock Trades had some really good deals on them at one point, especially if you live in the US.

They're learning as they go with these. Looking at the sales, it's become obvious that publishing Volume 1's and Volume 2's is a bad idea; every single Volume 2 sells about half as many copies as Volume 1, despite the fact that they're almost always self-contained story-arcs. That's why they called the latest John Romita Spiderman an 'Artifact Edition', instead of 'Artist's Edition, Volume 3', even though it collects complete story-arcs. The material collected is earlier than the work from Vol. 1 & 2, and the artwork is larger, the 15 x 22-inch artboards, unlike the 12 x 17-inch first two books. Calling it 'Volume 3' keeps collectors who don't own Vol. 1 & 2 from buying it; get rid of the numbers, call it an 'Artifact Edition', and the sales are twice as high. It's the same with the new AE collecting material from Walt Simonsen's Thor run; instead of calling it 'Volume 2', they called it 'Walt Simonsen's Thor: The Return of Beta-Ray Bill', emphasizing that these are standalone books.

[Blindzider, Moderator]

All of these threads look fantastic! I can tell you put some much thought and work into creating them.

We've discussed before the Romita Artifact Edition. That will probably be my first A.E., although I'm a little scared that I'll be addicted to these and then have a larger budget problem.

[XenofoneX]

Blindzider wrote: "All of these threads look fantastic! I can tell you put some much thought and work into creating them.

We've discussed before the Romita Artifact Edition. That will probably be my first A.E., alth..."

Thanks, Blindzider!

There was an MK-Ultra-type study done on the addictive properties of 'Artist's Editions', but results were inconclusive enough to keep them off the Schedule 1 and 2 prohibited drug list. But... I'm sure they've ruined a few lives, so ALWAYS consume A.E.'s in moderation, and friends don't let friends drive while reading 15" x 22" A.E. Hardcovers.

I think most fans like to use the AE's as centerpieces for their collection. If their favorite artist is John Romita Sr., I think the Romita Spiderman Artifact Edition will be a book you can read and re-read, without going crazy and buying up volumes on artists you're not as into. For diehard fans of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns or Watchmen, the AE's offer yet another 'must-have' version.

But I'll admit, if you happen to be a Kirby fan, it's probably tough to pick up just ONE of the 8 or 9 Kirby books; and I think the Steranko Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD AE and the Steranko Nick Fury & Captain America AE volumes will collect all of Steranko's pivotal work for Marvel between them, making them very tempting. I'm willing to bet your ability to avoid them is far better than mine. If not... these are some of the best investments around, so you can always sell them on eBay, if they're not your thing.

Rel and yourself deserve praise for building a Comic-Art Temple/Resort for Collectors I admire and enjoy, so I'm grateful that you've allowed me to build a small crazy-person shack behind the Guest House, where I can quietly operate my moonshine still and write whacky manifestos about OHC-related goodness. :)

EDIT: Another reason why the Romita Artifact Edition is the one to get: apparently the first Romita Artist's Edition from 2012 is far from 'prime' Romita Spiderman, since it's later material when he was doing 'layouts' instead of pencils, so the art reflects more of the inker's contributions than Romita.
-From the CBD Review of the 2012 original Romita AE:
[http://www.comicbookdaily.com/ae-revi...]

"There is some controversy with this volume we might as well address from the get go: Romita only did layouts for most of these stories, with his credits listed as artist, storyboards and innovator. Jim Mooney is credited as inker, illustrator and artist. Gotta love an innovator credit. Reading through these pages and you get the sense of Romita throughout; it’s only when you compare to other Romita Spider-Man art (in the Artifact Edition or the second Artist’s Edition) that Mooney shines through much more than Romita."

So even though the 1st Romita book did twice the sales of Volume 2 - it's very counter-intuitive for comic fans to buy a Vol. 2 and skip a Vol. 1, but Romita Volume 2 is better than Volume 1, and the Romita Artifact Edition is much bigger, collects earlier material, and is the best of the 3. That's the one I'd get, no question. Vol. 2 is available, and it's the smaller 12 x 17-inch; they're easier to read, but the 15 x 22-inch Romita Artifact Edition looks outstanding. I found that both the Eisner Spirit Vol. 2 AE and Best of EC Vol. 2 AE were not only standalones that didn't require the previous book in the least, but they were both the better of the two, by a slight margin.