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Author Topic: Gwandanaland Comics  (Read 10859 times)

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Offline bminor

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Gwandanaland Comics
« on: February 02, 2018, 05:22:12 PM »

Fellow DCM Members,

Just stumbled upon Gwandanaland Comics. They publish public domain comic books in 8.5"x11" paper back form.
Does anyone know any details about them?


B.


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Gwandanaland Comics
« on: February 02, 2018, 05:22:12 PM »

Offline Yoc

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Re: Gwandanaland Comics
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2018, 08:29:25 AM »
Hi B,
Yeah, they are very active on the Fiction House Facebook page.  I've asked and they have quickly agreed to add scanner credits and a url to DCM and/or CB+ where they are getting their scans from.  I guess they are filling a hole for those that want to read physical copies of books shared on here.

-Yoc

Offline bminor

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Re: Gwandanaland Comics
« Reply #2 on: February 03, 2018, 09:19:01 PM »
 Yoc,


I am not surprised that you are all knowing in this topic!


What don't you know about comic related questions?


B.


Offline Yoc

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Re: Gwandanaland Comics
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2018, 08:38:27 AM »
Hi B,
Oh, I'm far from that but I have got my toe in the Facebook stuff due to DCM and heard about the Fiction House page which I naturally gravitated into.  But ask me a Dell or Charlton question and I'm not going to be much help.

-Yoc

Offline Shea6408

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Re: Gwandanaland Comics
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2018, 09:47:08 PM »
There's a thread on the Marvel Masterworks Message Board about public domain reprint collections, and there are plenty of informative posts from the man behind Gwandanaland on it.

Link to thread: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/marvelmasterworksfansite/public-domain-reprint-collections-t31027.html.

Offline Yoc

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Re: Gwandanaland Comics
« Reply #5 on: May 18, 2018, 06:57:31 AM »
Thanks for the link Shea.

Offline bromichaelhenry

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Re: Gwandanaland Comics
« Reply #6 on: June 17, 2018, 10:16:05 AM »
I have purchased two of theirs, both are Centaur based series (Magician from Mars and Air Sub DX), and they are ok. Nice looking and a reasonable price. I won't buy a lot of theirs cuz I collect Centaur based, but overall not bad for the two I have. I am thinking about their Amazing Man collection, but it's to high for me atm.

If you don't know how they print, they print exactly what you see scanned in, no restoration so it looks like a yellow comic page printed on white paper, with a white border. The paper that they print on is nice stock. The book itself is SC with glue binding.

So there are two ways of looking at why they publish them like this, the one I hope they lean to are what was mentioned earlier, for people that want a physical copy. That is the reason why I purchased those series and the fact that they was like 10 buck or so apiece.

One thing that they could add to their copyright page is like what Yoc mentioned: A small paragraph saying something that scans come from DCM and CB+ with respective url's and a blurb saying to visit and bookmark.

Again, this is just my opinion from purchasing a couple and what I think about them.

Blessing

Offline Yoc

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Re: Gwandanaland Comics
« Reply #7 on: June 17, 2018, 10:34:50 AM »
Hi BMH,
They did promise to credit us when I asked but I've never seen a collection to verify it was done.  I think it's just good form to thank those people that provided the original scans as well when known.  It's what I've always done when I've done any archives or collections.

Thanks for letting us know what you thought of the books themselves.  So far you are the only buyer I've heard of.

-Yoc

Offline Shea6408

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Re: Gwandanaland Comics
« Reply #8 on: June 20, 2018, 10:25:48 PM »
I've bought two collections so far - The Complete Funnyman, and the second is one I've ordered and I'm waiting on, the first six issues of Jumbo Comics.  Obviously I haven't seen the Jumbo Comics book yet so I can't comment on it but the Funnyman book was good quality and I presume Jumbo will be the same.

One thing that they could add to their copyright page is like what Yoc mentioned: A small paragraph saying something that scans come from DCM and CB+ with respective url's and a blurb saying to visit and bookmark.

As far as crediting Digital Comic Museum and Comic Book Plus, they've started adding a blurb on the back cover mentioning both sites and encouraging their readers to visit them.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51LHAzYI0WL.jpg

Offline Yoc

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Re: Gwandanaland Comics
« Reply #9 on: June 22, 2018, 09:23:56 AM »
Thanks for confirming this for us Shea.  That page works for me.
:)

Offline Shea6408

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Re: Gwandanaland Comics
« Reply #10 on: June 23, 2018, 08:40:49 AM »
Gwandanaland posted something on their Facebook page that I thought would be of interest here, so I'm cutting-and-pasting it because I don't know if you have to be on Facebook to be able to see it.  The link to the post in its original context is here.



As we wait for today's new releases to be approved, I think it is time for another general info post for all those who are new to Gwandanaland Comics.....

NOT-SO-SECRET SECRET WORDS: These words will quickly clue you in to some characteristic of Gwandanaland Comics volumes ---

COMPLETE: This means that the series contains all the original appearances of that character or comic title. If it is a character collection it may not contain reprints of that character's stories (but sometimes we include them if they are significant), and if they were rebooted in modern times by another company that's a separate series, but based on all our available information you can expect this to be complete.

TREASURY: This means it is not complete, and we either don't expect it to be complete in the near future or for copyright reasons it never can be. In many cases they are still the largest and most complete collection in print, so Treasuries are an important part of your reprint collection!

READER'S: This means that the interior is in B&W; the book might have been originally published in B&W or it may have been requested that way. Sometimes a book will have a color version as well as a B&W -- it will always be easy to tell which is which.

GIANT: Obviously this is a big book, but it also means that it was compiled from other Gwandanaland Comics books. For example, Doll Man Giant #1 is a compilation of Doll Man Volume 1 & 2. Someone wanted a bigger book or for some reason it made sense to create a combined book. We'll let you know in the description where it came from so you don't buy duplicate material.

SPECIAL: This means someone has specifically requested this book in this form. It might mean an unusual collection of stories, and like the giant it might mean it duplicates material from other Gwandanaland Comics -- we'll make sure you know.

Most of our books are 8 1/2 X 11, which using margins allows us to approximate the original size of most comics. We do have some digest-sized books and a few which are odd sized because that best fit the original material.

Book are all full-color unless they are specifically stated B&W.

Our books are taken directly from the scans of comics which are decades old, sometimes up to 80 years old. This means that they will have signs of age and wear. We work hard to make the pages look as good as possible without losing their authenticity. While other companies may strip the material down to its bare lines and recolor it, we're not going to do that; we will make minor adjustments to brightness and contrast to bring out the colors and lines, but we do it with the goal of keeping the book looking like an old comic - because that's what it is!

We are constantly working to update and upgrade books, as we find issues we were missing, find books with better-looking pages, etc. If that upgrade is significant, we will let you know that it is available for a free exchange. For example, anytime that a book which was previously incomplete becomes complete, you can exchange your incomplete copy for a complete one. If we made a significant errors in a book and it is corrected, you will get an updated copy. In order to stay in business we cannot exchange every time we make an improvement, but when it's significant we'll always make sure you have the best book possible. It's a book-by-book situation, but we're always trying to make things better!

All our books are available on Amazon.com --- but if you prefer to order direct from us you can enjoy a 20% discount and free shipping. As you know, Amazon offers very fast shipping, usually 2-4 days. I wish we could be that fast, but it's impossible. Their books and our are produced at the same plants, and they always get priority, so we can only look for 7-10 days. It could be a little faster or a little slower, but lately it has been in that range, with very few orders taking longer. Our Paypal address is gwandanaland@yahoo.com ---- and if you order 5 books or more at a time you discount could be larger, so let me know what you want!

We have a catalog which contain all our books, updated about every two weeks. It's a simple spreadsheet, nothing fancy, but that way we can keep up with it. It contains basic info about each book, and both Amazon and direct prices. We would love to have a full-color illustrated catalog, but with over 1600 collections and over 2200 titles (including individual issues), to have that would require someone working on it full time, and there's no way to keep it from being expensive . . . so for the time being, we're working with this simple thing.

We do not currently have a Website. We have tried a few in the past but they did not suit our needs, and so instead of struggling with something that didn't work we're waiting for the right site and the right person to handle it. Between email and Facebook, I promise you can find out anything you want to know.

Although I occasionally have a good idea, most of our books are done because someone requested it. If it is legal to do (public domain) and available, we'll do it for you! Whether it is a character you want to see collected into his/her own book, a title you want reprinted, or any other feature, we're happy to do it all! Challenge me! If there are a couple books you want combined into a larger volume, we'll do it. If there's a larger book you prefer to have split into smaller books, we'll do that. If you have a special request that seems, to you, to be unusual, I guarantee someone else will want it, too! Our request list can get long at time, so it might not be overnight, but do not be shy!

If you have a comic that we are missing and can use for one of our volumes, and are either willing to scan it or to loan it to me for scanning, you can earn free Gwandanaland Comics books. Many of our books contain issues, stories and pages available nowhere else because one of our readers made it possible – and we love that!

If you attend comic conventions or other events, contact us about getting some of our promotional material; if you'll take it with you and spread the word, we'll pay you in Gwandanaland Comics books!

There are a few other ways to get Gwandanaland Comics books without spending money:

--- We are always looking for low-grade and even coverless comics from the 40s, 50s and 60s. If you have a pile of these lying around, stuff gathering dust, send them to us! Some we can use and some we can't, I know, but I can always find a home for them, and I love sorting and discovering. Where I can use some books to improve existing volumes and fill in gaps I will, and those I cannot use I will move along the pipeline. A few of our readers have expanded their Gwandanaland Comics collection this way. Write to me!

Do you have a reprint from another company, but would prefer the Gwandanaland Comics version? Well, we cannot exchange those free (we'd go under), but if you exchange one of theirs for our version of the same book, you can take 35% off the price of ours. I guarantee ours is better quality and more complete.

I am sure that I have forgotten something important ----- but we're always open, so just write anytime!





Offline Crimson-Blue-Green

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Re: Gwandanaland Comics
« Reply #11 on: September 03, 2018, 07:00:07 AM »
In July I purchased my first book from Gwandanaland, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle Vol. 1.  I like it but it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.  I asked the publisher to add the first Sheena strip from Wags and he did.  But he didn't know that color scans for the cover and first page of Jumbo Comics #9 were on DCM.  This was my biggest disappointment with the book.  Also there was a typo on the back cover.  The publisher is now aware of these and has updated this book so the next customer who buys it will get a superior version than mine.  I'm hoping someone will be able to replace those fiche scans from the issues of Jumbo that are currently online with some nicer paper scans.  Only then will I be able to replace my copy with a better one. 

Despite being disappointed with my initial purchase I have gone ahead and ordered two more books, Shock Gibson Vol. 1 and Doctor Nemesis.  They haven't arrived yet.  I'm hoping these will be better than the Sheena book. 
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Offline Yoc

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Re: Gwandanaland Comics
« Reply #12 on: September 03, 2018, 07:51:47 AM »
Thanks for letting us know CBG, let us know how the other books look when you get them.

-Yoc

Offline Crimson-Blue-Green

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Re: Gwandanaland Comics
« Reply #13 on: September 06, 2018, 06:17:03 PM »
Gwandanaland has officially announced a recall on some of their Fawcett titles.  It seems some of these comics are not public domain.  You should check their Facebook page for details on just which books are public domain and which aren't.  Many of the Marvel Family books are affected. 
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Offline Yoc

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Re: Gwandanaland Comics
« Reply #14 on: September 07, 2018, 08:52:21 AM »
Hmm, thanks for the head up CBG.