I must say that these Archive Editions are really nice books.
The bright white sturdy pages really
shows off the brilliant colors by Adrienne Roy, who I suspect the color
reconstruction of Jamison had a lot to do with it as well. The paper is
so much nicer than the normal "newsprint" paper that DC uses on their
Trade Paperbacks, such as WONDER WOMAN: GODS AND MORTALS TP #1 (Feb 2004) or THE NEW TEEN TITANS: THE TERROR OF TRIGON TP (Jun 2003), but it does come at a much higher cost: $49.95, which includes 240 pages and a hardcover.
If you look at a newsprint Trade compared
to Marvel's trade, which consists of a glossy paper stock, you'll
notice that the DC Trades are far more inferior, especially when you
factor in the price.
Anyway, the Archive printing is crisp and
readable and, apparently, the book was published in Hong Kong.
Previously all of DC's books were printed in Canada. I guess it's
cheaper to print in HK and have it shipped to the US.
The book contain a new foreword written by Marv Wolfman,
which recounts all of the collected issues (#9-16) with some fun facts
and anecdotes. The cover, which I haven't seen before, was penciled by
George Pérez and inked by Bob Wiacek.
I did notice a small error, the content lists "A REUNION" when the title is actually "REUNION!".
Also, the George Perez/Romeo Tanghal cover to BEST OF DC #18 (Nov 1981) did not get reprinted (all of the other issues had the cover reprinted in the book).
Another slight oversight was that Len
Wein was not credited in the contents table. However, a short biography
was written for him on the last page of the book, along with the other
creators.
Anyway, this will make a fine addition to
any book collection. The benefit in having such a nice book is that
you no longer have to go and open up the original "pamplets" and risk
damaging the comic (I've had many experiences with the
tape-stick-to-cover incidents).