supercat wrote this:



Absolutely!

Life is filled with examples of ‘fixing’ what doesn’t need to be fixed. I mean, there are times when soft drinks change a recipe and I want to scream, “WHO ASKED FOR THAT?!”

Years ago, Royal Mail, an iconic centuries-old brand, changed its name to Consignia. Stupid! After a backlash, they became Royal Mail again. I guess some person was paid a LOT to come up with the name Consignia (which sounds like an evil emperor in 2000 AD or something). I wanted to say to the management, “NOT ONE person - EVER - thought Royal Mail needed to change its name. Not on this planet, not in this solar system, not in this galaxy, not in this universe. EVER!” Some politician probably got a knighthood for suggesting the name change.

Like everyone here, I’ve mixed in comic reading circles, both at school and as an adult. I can’t think of one time when anyone I know has ever mentioned how colouring needs to be fixed.

On a philosophical level, I prefer to see things as intended, which is why I hated George Lucas’ tinkering. The ONLY exception for me was when some of Gerry Anderson’s shows were remastered. But as for others, no. I want to see Star Trek: TOS as intended, CGI updates don’t interest me. I don’t want music changed (I understand music changes for licensing reasons, but not for creative ones). It actually pisses me off when they tinker with things, recolouring or otherwise.

It's all about economics (MRP probably has said).. back in the day, newsprint was the cheapest paper.. now it's a niche and more expensive that the bright white stuff we all use from Staples... hence, comics on white, glossy paper.

I feel like this is like the argument people make about records... they say the sound is more 'warm' but it's really just nostalglia vibes I think. Once the reality and inconvienence rears its head, then people go, hey, maybe digital isn't so bad after all.

I think alot of you guys that don't like modern coloring also don't read alot(or any) of modern comics... if you did, you'd probably take it for what it is (there are high points) and not have such a reaction on reprints.

That Omnibus reprint is one of the better ones I have seen. Unlike many others which have the current flaws.
The reprints in the 80s on baxter paper were usually recolored without reference to the originals.

Analog "warmth" in recording and music gear in general is 100% real. As a guitar player I can tell you that the holy grail is still vacuum tube powered amplification and acceptance of digital tools is often measure by how well it simulates that. One reason digital is a problem is that it's simply "too perfect", you don't get some of the natural imperfections or "artifacts" that create that perceived warmth. Modulation effects, echo type reverbs, you name it, we want the warmth in a lot of applications. Has nothing to do with nostalgia, it's as simple as what sounds good on the ears. There ARE more modern players who can live with the digital stuff more, but it's all about convenience and "close enough" versus truly thinking the digital adds something. It's like saying music sounds good with ear buds, plenty of people are just fine but if you put on a proper set of studio headphones, it's not even close.

I'm not saying ALL music sounds better this way either, but I've played old vinyl (actual old vinyl, not a newer record pressed from a CD recording) through my vintage stereo for younger people before at my house and it's awesome seeing their jaws drop when they hear how good music can actually sound.

As for modern coloring and the presumption of not actually reading modern comics? I can't speak for others, but in my case not remotely the case. Despite my general love of older material, I've still read truckloads of modern stuff and have plenty in the collection. My comments are more about how much I like it versus how much exposure I've had. And while I would not remotely consider myself as strong an artist as I am a musician, I have trained in various digital tools and used to be an adjunct instructor in multimedia at a local college so not entirely a neophyte. In more simple terms of why I like older comic book coloring, it is simply the aesthetic to my tastes. And yes, the old argument "well, they only colored that way because of the limitations of the time...", of course that explains the "why". But those limitations ended up creating a charm in their own way, and that's the more important aspect to me.

What we don't need to do is bring back newsprint, melting away fine details in line work. Emulation isn't terribly hard, and a clean and sharp version of the originals is possible, even on glossy paper. Slightly off white glossy paper can work well in some instances, while other times matte paper can be preferable. Colours need to be adjusted to both, though- I've seen EU reprints switch from glossy to matte without the adjustment and look too muted! Painted art, or painted colours, also get wrecked by matte, as anyone that has bought an art book printed on matte paper can probably testify.

It's not a failing, and nor is all old vinyl "magically superior" by any means. The "warmth" is one of those terms thrown around that sometimes mean different things to different people, but generally speaking, I'll call it a little more natural sounding in a pleasing way.

I can list plenty of old albums that sound like pure crud, and certain aspects of production have absolutely gotten better over the years. It's not all or nothing by any means.

And this might bring up an important nuance. There's "cork sniffing" type comments where people get snobby about stuff like old vinyl and it's more affectation than they really "hear it" I think sometimes, and then there's true audiophile where if you hear it, you hear it, and it's a beautiful thing. That's all I mean by "it's real", not that you can't enjoy music otherwise by any means, but the suggestion that people who DO hear it are just having nostalgia is not true was my point.

And despite all the comments on recoloring, I have a massive library of Masterworks which I enjoy just fine. It's not my "preferred" coloring for all of the reasons folks have discussed above, but once I start reading I can kind of forget about it and just enjoy the stories in spite of it. But I tell you, when I open the giant Taschen Amazing Spider-Man volume of original Ditko era art which endeavored to get the coloring really historically accurate (at least on the first volume), oh it's breathtaking. No modern comic book is going to give me that reaction, I'm sorry.

Part of that may be due to attempts to cut costs and keep the product cheap.  Around 1975 or so DC went from printing with metal plates to plastic plates as a cost saving measure.  The result was visibly worse printing than what Marvel was still getting from printing at the same time.  It ultimately did get better as the tech improved.  It's honestly funny that DC later became the standard bearer (at least as to the "Big Two") for trying out better paper and better (eventually) printing processes.