Marvel's Omnibus Editions

[Chad Anderson]

The February solicit for a Frank Miller Daredevil omnibus has me tempted to finally break down and order one, but before I do, does anyone here have opinions on the production values of these massive bricks o' comics?

Specifically, does Marvel do a good job of making sure that none of the text or artwork gets lost in the gutters of these books? It's a problem I see a lot even in trade paperbacks, and I'm sure it gets even more complicated in these giant volumes, and if it's happening a lot, I'd just as soon keep my original comics.

[Cactusakic]

I have the X-Men, Alias and Eternals Omnibus Editions and I have to say I have been very impressed with them so far.
With the X-Men and Alias editions I hardly ever noticed any lost art or text (certainly no more so than in a standard tpb). I only started the Eternals edition last nite and I have to admit that there was a noticable loss of art in the gutters of a few pages, but not enough to really annoy.
I already have the original Miller issues of DD and I have the 3 tpb's collecting it also so that I dont have to dig out the originals when I want to re-read it but I will still be buying this Omnibus edition because they are very nice collections to have on a shelf, I love Hardcovers and it's great value for money IMO.

[dancj]

In my experience, hardcovers pages open much wider than TPBs so they're very unlikely to have anything lost in the gutters. That's the one and only real advantage I can see in hardcovers.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I have all the Miller DD trades. Still haven't read them. But the Omnibus is SO tempting. . .

-Augie

[pmpknface]

The only Omnibus I have is the Eternals one, and it's good stuff. The recoloring was done quite well too (I had a chance to compare the issues w/ the HC).

I won't be getting this because my DD run is complete AND I've got the 1st 2 (of 3) Miller tpb's. ;)

[roach04]

This the 2nd Omnibus to come out that I've got all the original issues for (the Uncanny X-Men being the 1st) so I won't bother with it. However, the FF Omnibus was quite well done imo and if Marvel ever decided to do a Ditko Spider-Man or a complete Steranko I'd sign up in a heartbeat.

And Augie...read those books man! The Miller transformation on DD isn't quite as noticeable as BWS on Conan, but you really do see him getting better and better with each passing issue. Plus, you can read the letters pages where a whole bunch of people write in with the "...someone should tell Mr. Miller that this is Daredevil - not Batman."

[Chad Anderson]

I won't be getting this because my DD run is complete AND I've got the 1st 2 (of 3) Miller tpb's. ;)

I'm in a similar boat — complete comics run and all three Miller TPBs — and yet, like Cactusakic I'm thinking about springing for the Omnibus (the inclusion of letter columns is a pretty cool thing). I feel like I'm living Erik Larsen's recent CBR column in which he talks about buying the same comics over and over.

Of course, if Augie hadn't hipped me to DrawerBoxes in his column, I'm sure it'd be even worse. It's amazing what actually being able to get at your comics will do for your ability to reread them.

[pmpknface]

I'm gonna invest in those soon....

Hey... x-mas is comin, right? ;)

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

DrawerBoxes are magical, and there's no bigger support of them than John Mayo. This is his time to chime in. =)

Glad I could help, Chad.

-Augie

[De Carabas]

I've noticed that the Premeire Edition Hardcovers are the worst offenders when it comes to losing art and lettering in the "gutters". I have the Alias, FF, and X-Men omnibuses (omnibi?) and noticed that they all "fall open" very nicely. Whoever bound them intended for them to be read.

As for the other conversation running through this thread:

I have the orignal issues of Miller's DD run.

I have the hardcover editions that Graphitti Designs released about four(?) years ago.

Why am I excited about and considering buying the omnibus???

EM, The Chump

[Doesitmatter]

I have the orignal issues of Miller's DD run.

I have the hardcover editions that Graphitti Designs released about four(?) years ago.

Why am I excited about and considering buying the omnibus???

EM, The Chump

That's how I feel about the FF Omnibus. I just wish they announced a John Byrne FF Omnibus. Doubt it would make it into Masterworks so this would be the best solution for a great run.

I'm eyeing the Eternals HC. Does that count as an Ominbus?

[scratchie]

Specifically, does Marvel do a good job of making sure that none of the text or artwork gets lost in the gutters of these books?

Not in the least. Despite the fact that these are incredibly expensive hardbacks, Marvel doesn't bother to have the bindings sewn instead of glued. In the Eternals Omnibus, there's a double-page splash in almost every issue, and in every case, the image is lost in the gutter. Ptui. Last time I spend money on one of these things.

[torippu]

Is the first year of Whedon/Cassaday Astonishing X-Men run considered an Omnibus edition?

[De Carabas]

Is the first year of Whedon/Cassaday Astonishing X-Men run considered an Omnibus edition?

No, I think that just qualifies as an oversized hardcover, like the Bendis DDs.

EM

[Cactusakic]

Is the first year of Whedon/Cassaday Astonishing X-Men run considered an Omnibus edition?

No. The Omnibus Editions actually have Omnibus Edition printed on the spine of both the dust jacket and the book itself.

As far as I am aware, the only ones released so far are:

Fantastic Four Volume 1
Uncanny X-Men Volume 1
Alias
The Eternals
and the Daredevil volume that started this thread which is due in February.