It's no secret to regular readers of CV how much I adore the work put out by Com.X back in the day, and especially the re-release of Cla$$war and Razorjack in recent plush editions.  Both works have a special place in my heart, both are quality works of comics literature, but whilst Cla$$war received a hardback edition, Razorjack was only available in softcover.

At least, until now.

Feast your eyes on these puppies:

Let me run an extract from the official press release by you:

Signficant prices for sure, but whereas you get Dynamic Forces going on about their limited editions of just 1500 copies worldwide, these give far more meaning to the word "limited" - 15 copies of one, 45 copies of the other.

Serious, serious, collectors editions.

And seriously, seriously smart editions too.

I had a few words with Matthew Higham, the Publisher of Foruli Publications, to see what brought this project to fruition.

CV: Can I ask what inspired the creation of this edition - from the pictures it look like the definitive edition of the book, a lush & plush creation befitting John's fine work (I'm in the credits for some minor assistance I gave John as I rate the work so highly)? 

Matt Higham: I am a lover of fine books and set up Foruli (which is Latin for ‘bookcase’) to publish beautiful limited editions in the fields that interest me. To this end we are currently working with Glen Matlock, bass player in the Sex Pistols, on a book about the band’s reformation tour in 1996 and the rock photographer Darren Russell on a book of his photos of the early 1980s Mod scene. There are a couple of other very interesting editions in the pipeline – but I cannot talk about them yet...

John’s book came about when I received a pre-publication email from him about ‘Razorjack’. I had previously bought a copy of the Zenda ‘Watchmen’ portfolio directly from his website, and was on his mailing list. When I received the email I thought ‘Razorjack’ might be ideal for the limited edition treatment so I gave him a call. The rest, as they say, is history. As for ‘Razorjack – The Special Edition’ being the definitive edition, I leave others to judge. Suffice it to say that we at Foruli and John himself are very pleased with it. Eddie at Com.x has described it as ‘awesome’. Eddie has very high standards, so we must have done at least something right!

CV: How long has it been in production?

MH: I first heard about the book at the beginning of March this year, so from first discussions to publication has been about four months.

CV: Is it available right now, or on pre-order?

MH: Books will be hand bound to order, but we are taking orders now.

CV: And are the contents (other than the print & art) the same as the Com.X edition?

MH: The contents are the same. John drew the print artwork specially for this edition – he said that drawing Razorjack again was a lot of fun. He also managed to incorporate a reference to one of his (and my, as it happens) favourite films into the artwork. The paintings have been done especially for the Deluxe set.

So let me ask you - the reader - this question.   How much of a collector are you?  Do you salivate over the DC Absolute Editions, over the care and love poured into each deluxe package.  Do you yearn to have a comic that is truly collectible?   Do you want to couple this with a great comic story you can come back to time and again?

www.foruli.co.uk

And no, they wouldn't give me a free copy....dammit!

Craig Johnson