Arzach: 50th anniversary edition - Review. A collection of the original 4 Arzach stories.

[@rccomics]

This is why I often buy the original (or older) releases of books because in my opinion they were printed better and on higher quality paper despite the advancements of printing over the last 20-30 years.

[@moebius-chronicles]

I hear you.

[@amorbavian]

I feel ya but it's not always true though.

[@M.A.atWork]

Thank you for the video. It does not surprise me that this edition is not as good as it could have been. On a related point, it may interest you (and followers of this channel) if you don't already know, that Humanoides have a printing error on one of their Moebius books currently in print and being sold on Amazon, etc. The volume named "Les Vacances du Major - L'Homme du Ciguri" has one page missing, the final page of the story titled "Major Fatal". I contacted Humanoides and they confirmed and said that it was noted for future possible reprints. I find it very troubling that they don't recall the book from the sellers and have no mention of the error on their site. It seems to me just one more instance of people currently in charge of publishers, distributors and cultural institutions being solely interested in profits and exploiting a reputation earned by different generations, with no concern for (or even awareness of) the quality of what they put out, unfortunately.

[@moebius-chronicles]

You are very welcome. To reiterate, I think it is a great buy for a casual reader or someone starting a to buy Moebius books, but for more hardcore collectors this special edition is just not "special" enough. About the other book you mentioned, I was not aware of this printing issue. I have those stories as separate volumes in different editions. Really sad that they keep selling it despite the defect and don't address it on the site.

[@ruggerofacchin]

I agree with you. Several of these Moebius deluxe editions are not worth, since they're not respectful of the art. Back in 2012 I bought the 30x40 cm giant "Garage Hermetique" that was declared as a "restored" version of the 1979 book and guess what? I was disappointed at the second or third page, when i read "Lewis Carnelian" insted of "Jerry Cornelius" on a couple of panels. It was the 1988 version, not the 1979 one (there are other small differences on few panels)

[@Aaltomuoto]

@@ruggerofacchin The line quality is also pretty dubious in that edition if you compare it to a first edition (or even the Moebius Oevres version from the 80's). There's a lot of broken up lines in the 30x40 that are present in the earlier editions

[@ruggerofacchin]

​@@Aaltomuotoyou're right. The whole edition was disappointing. The line quality could depend on the size. It looked like the drawing had a digital interpolation being the source a "regular size" digital page stretched out. Even the index didn't comprehend the Major Grubert short stories as in the 1979 edition. A disaster.

[@s2735]

wow! thank you for the information.

[@ruggerofacchin]

Thanks for the video. I was almost going to buy it but I'll pass considering the color issue. Regarding the content let me add a couple of things: the content is as in the 1976 edition, later republished in 1978 with the very same content and the same cover (a little taller in 1978 but the printed size of the pages inside is the same). The added loose pages (the unfinished story) were originally printed (in black and white) in the early 80's on volume 2 of "Les Œuvres Completes" de Moebius, together with other Arzach's illustrations and doodles that I haven't seen in all the following editions and their colore version come out in the 1991 edition. "La deviation" and the "the legend of Arzach" are part of the Arzach volume since 1991 as you said. That italian collection you speak about as you know is the one by Alessandro Distribuzioni and it's a clone of the french collection "Pied Jaloux" (8 volumes 1988/1991). I suppose that Humanoides choose to add "La deviation" mainly for these two reasons: 1- "The legend of Arzach" shares the same charachters (Moebius and his family) as the "detour" and a scenario which is a mix of the Arzach and the Detour world 2- "La deviation" (1973) is the "official" beginning of Moebius style both in writing and drawing and it comes a few months before he started drawing Arzach. The best colors in my opinion are in the editions from that era (1976/1991) and I can verify that this colors are corresponding to the Metal Hurlant magazine nuances, brightness and light. I own all these editions I'm speaking about and some more that have been released later on, so I have been checking in the past the differences between 70's, 89's, 90's french, italian and occasionaly USA editions. Just to add a few infos for anyone who can find himself lost in the middle of 10000 Moebius different editions by Humanoides with different titles and slightly different indexes etc.

[@moebius-chronicles]

Ciao Ruggero, thanks for adding all of this info. Agree with you that the late 80's, early 90's hardcovers are among some of the best. I own the whole Alessandro Distribuzioni set and it is fantastic, and exactly as you said, it is a clone of the French set, also available in other languages. The Panini reissues of the early 2000's are also great. As I said, I completely understand why some stories were left out from this book, as they do not align with the "anniversary" concept, but I see this volume as a missed opportunity, It could have been so much more. It brings nothing new to the table for established collectors but it is a great buy for casual fans or comic enthusiasts.

[@ruggerofacchin]

​@@moebius-chroniclesfor sure it's a valuable addition for comics lovers. I'm wondering if the differences we find in the colors could depend on the technology. 70's 80's and 90's editions were printed in offset, all the editions of the last 25 years are done in digital prints. I find the contrast to be harder and the color saturation different. I look at it as a sort of "loudness war" phenomenon in the graphic field but similar to the musical one.

[@moebius-chronicles]

I think it is absolutely related to printing techniques (and not just paper). I would take ‘offset’ any day 😊 but digital printing is of course cheaper and faster. Still, when printing digital you can “cheat” by using glossier paper. For this specific book I am not sure about the technique used but it does seem digital.

[@D0Gdidthemath]

what a lovely edition

[@sleepyreader666]

That darker color is disappointing. Thanks for a cool video

[@Leo-ApolloScans]

Thank you for such a speedy video review. You have helped me finally decide that I will not be buying this book. I was initially skeptical about it, but now that I'm convinced there's nothing in it that I couldn't find in other editions, as well as such a disappointing “nuance” with the color, I'll save my money for something else.

[@moebius-chronicles]

I know there are better editions out there if you are prepared to spend a little more. Good luck 😃

[@andrijzip]

Great review, I find this edition completely underwhelming and disappointing. I wasn’t aware of the final two Arzach stories that were collected in your Italian edition. What other ediitions of Arzach or Metal Hurlant are they collected in?

[@moebius-chronicles]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. 🙏 It could have been a lot more but still a good buy for casual fans I think. The short stories should be in the 'Arzach classique' edition from 2011 and in the old 'Arzach' Pied Jaloux edition from 1991 (they should both be exact copies of what I show in my white hardcover here in the video, but I do not own these 2 editions I just mentioned).

[@muitorar5641]

where did you purchase it? Trying to find a US-based store if possible.

[@moebius-chronicles]

I am based in Sweden so I generally buy at local online bookshops or straight from the distributor in Paris - Do try the official store www.moebius.fr/shop/252--Arzach----Edition-50-ans---Luxe.html (they ship internationally so give it a shot, good luck 😄)