BWS' Red Nails gets Artist's Edition treatment

[delekkerste]

Not sure how you can not buy this book...if you have the disposable income.

 

Got my copy signed by Roy Thomas at SDCC - what was amazing is they had a selection of the originals (not for sale) just sitting in plastic standing frames around the table.

 

 

 

Those weren't originals - they were just cut out from the book, minus the black borders. I was fooled at the first too...until I took a peek at the back of the "artwork"!

[Kevin Boyd]

One of my customers is concerned about paper quality. He is concerned about the paper being flimsy and too reflective.

[delekkerste]

One of my customers is concerned about paper quality. He is concerned about the paper being flimsy and too reflective.

 

It's a double-edged sword - I feel that the slick paper, black background, etc. really makes you able to see every tiny bit of what is on the original, even moreso than the IDW AE's. On the other hand, I feel like wear from repeated viewing of/thumbing through the book is going to stick out like a sore thumb on this paper stock.

[mtlevy]

That's cool

 

Was Barry Windsor Smith there too?

 

I don't believe so - he doesn't make it out often...I think he has made it perhaps twice in last 2 decades?

[ronwlim]

First off, let me admit I'm more interested in Marvel Silver Age stuff. That said, I love BWS. However, I didn't find this Red Nails edition very well put together.

 

First huge problem, the glossy paper. The IDW books print on a rough matte to approximate bristol board. The glossy paper here makes the edition feel cheap to me, like you're thumbing through a magazine.

 

Second, the border totally distracts from the art. Both the crimson and black border take away from the feeling that you're looking at original art.

 

Third, and I'll preface this by explaining that I am an art director by trade, I didn't find the book to be very well designed.

 

It kind of saddens me to give the book such a bad review because I know the people behind it had only the best intentions and really care about original art. I'll stick with IDW.

 

Best,

Ron

[Saint_Doyle]

So I'm just now getting my first chance to flip through this book and I have a question. Does anyone know how large the original art for this book actually is? Can anyone verify that this book is printed at 100% of the original art dimensions?

 

The pages are reprinted at 11.25" x 17" (after subtracting out the black borders). I realize this is a fairly standard comic page size, however I ask because as I'm reading I see there are numerous places where I have to squint to see the fine details (tree leaves, palace latices), and I think there is no way BWS could draw such fine detail in this scale. But maybe he could? This is either a testament to BWS incredible skill or yet another black mark for Genesis West.