DC Hardcover Discussion Thread (Absolutes, Omnibuses, Deluxes, etc)

[Ari Gold]

But I'm not sure how valuable this "analysis" truly is because sure 10 cents vs. 13 cents per page doesn't sound like a big gap, but if you just compared Invisibles to Infinite Crisis, for example, both are the same price of $150, yet Invisibles has nearly 400 more pages, yet is just a 3 cents per page difference.

[Jelybely8]

But I'm not sure how valuable this "analysis" truly is because sure 10 cents vs. 13 cents per page doesn't sound like a big gap, but if you just compared Invisibles to Infinite Crisis, for example, both are the same price of $150, yet Invisibles has nearly 400 more pages, yet is just a 3 cents per page difference.

Thanks for the chart!

I meant to show that there is variation within each company, and that those variations in price are typically within the same ranges. So, for any given book, the cost of a DC omnibus vs. a Marvel omnibus is going to be fairly comparable, with some variations based on individual titles. Basically, I don't think we can say that "DC is always more expensive than Marvel" or "Marvel is always more expensive than DC"... some books are individually priced higher than comparable books from the competitor, but in general both companies have similar pricing strategies.

[Ari Gold]

I've added Milestone books to my Omnibus Wishlist.

These series don't exist much in trade-form and I'm disinclined to start hunting down all the back issues.

[RedNave]

Wow that whole Marvel vs DC binding msrp and retail price discussion reads like it is a pissing contest :D

Just got a message that BD shipped the Spaceman Deluxe book. Pretty curious to see what type of paper they used for the book. The singles are on this 'newspaper' style paper which works perfect for this story. Hopefully it won't be too glossy. We'll see soon.

I was looking at it today in store, it looked like it was glossy paper certainly not newspaper.

[ShiftyScarecrow]

I dont care which company charges more. I buy what I want to read. If I end up loving it then it wouldnt matter what I paid. If I dont like it then I would have more incentive to put it up on the bay. If $80 was the "norm" for a 1000 page omni people would still complain it is too expensive. Its all relative.

[theegreatone]

Yeah they charge when the books are shipped out to you. I placed an order too that won't ship till January and my card hasn't been charged yet either.

How come whenever I place a preorder then it sends me a message that it can't charge my card when there is no money on it?

[MartinNL]

I was looking at it today in store, it looked like it was glossy paper certainly not newspaper.

Ta... hopefully the glossy paper will show the deep contrasts and the hard colours properly.

How come whenever I place a preorder then it sends me a message that it can't charge my card when there is no money on it?

Dunno, better send a message to B&N...

[Deviates]

Funnily enough, this is your opinion.

Well obviously, apart from the critical/commercial success part and the fact there are many people who enjoyed it.

I said CoO is a huge stepdown from DCs usual absolute fare but I didnt say people CAN'T buy them. :s If you bothered to check, I was actually agreeing with a comment which reflected similar sentiments. So I'm not alone. why did you pick out mine? also others agree too:
http://collectededitions.blogspot.co...gram-dead.html

Firstly, you said a little more than it was a 'stepdown' but that's by the by. I replied to your post because a) it was closest, b) it had one significant difference from NZ_Inferno's post, he said Absolutes were 'exclusively about the art and have moved away from that whereas your criticism of a CoO Absolute is that the storyline is poor. As for the link, I'm not sure on its relevance. That article is talking about the Absolute vs. Omnibus argument and whether or not an Absolute not collecting the entire story can truly be called an absolute, and if the market has changed in favour of Omnibuses.

I understand what you're saying but I stand by my notion that DC is absoluting stories that are even remotely popular and people are still buying them. E.g. For Tomorrow. And they are free to buy them. Doesn't make my opinion any less valid.

Agree to disagree?

Sure, it just seems like a strange thing to voice so strongly when it has no impact on you is all. I can think of at least 20 books DC are putting out at the moment that I can't believe they keep publishing but they have no impact on me, I spend no time talking about them and genuinely hope those that do like them continue to enjoy them.

I've learned my lesson before you see. If its fruitless to point out actual facts and be called an ignorant troll by people in this forum (who'd buy anything DC puts out between two covers, calls it an omnibus and charges premium regardless of quality), God knows how wasteful it would be to defend something as debatable as opinions?

Sorry, but what facts were presented? I must have genuinely missed those. I've not called you ignorant, just tried to actually discuss the points you raised more realistically rather than the 'CoO is awful' line which comes across as little more than 'CoO shouldn't get an Absolute because I don't like it.' Though if every time someone tries to have a discussion of opinions with you (which I thought was fairly obvious from my reply, if not then I apologise for that) resort to telling people they'd buy any old rubbish a company releases I can see why you'd get called a troll.

[Deviates]

Really? Rebirth did not have that great of art. Van Sciver is good, but not anything to write home about IMO. And I was saying that CoO has better art and story than all the other Batman Absolutes out there besides the two I mentioned. Absolutes are art books, but art isn't the only thing that the arc needs to get the treatment. It needs a good story and good reviews. They aren't going to release Daniel's Detective Run, which has great art, because the writing sucks and critics hated it.

Each to their own, I love Van Sciver's art. I was torn over the release of Rebirth Absolute because I love the art (and it looks great in Absolute) but didn't think there was enough content to justify it. Thankfully someone bought it for me so I didn't have to debate it! As for needing a good story and good reviews, I think reception from fans is probably more important. If it is a story that went down well with people then it's a possibility.

[ER Prest]

Sorry, but what facts were presented? I must have genuinely missed those. I've not called you ignorant, just tried to actually discuss the points you raised more realistically rather than the 'CoO is awful' line which comes across as little more than 'CoO shouldn't get an Absolute because I don't like it.' Though if every time someone tries to have a discussion of opinions with you (which I thought was fairly obvious from my reply, if not then I apologise for that) resort to telling people they'd buy any old rubbish a company releases I can see why you'd get called a troll.

He pointed out some facts, not all, to suit his side of the argument and refused to accept other examples that rendered his argument pointless and incorrect.


but to weigh in on my thoughts on Black Mirror, CoO and Snyder's run, I have not read it, but am interested in reading it, although I'd rather it be collected in an omnibus collection at the time of completion of the story he wants to tell, not in random assorted Absolutes like DC seems to be doing with John's GL series(not saying it's not absolute worthy, I rather like Van Sciver, Reis and Mankhe) but it's annoying to only collect certain parts and no the series in it's entirety.

[Tar22]

Absolute Final Crisis arrived today.

This thing is amazing. It's definitely among the best Absolute editions ever produced.

I love the mix of glossy/matte finishes on the cover/dustjacket, and the overall design is just incredible (I love the look of the summary pages of writer/artist before each issue; the red and black color scheme that runs through the whole book is great). The wealth of sketches and behind the scenes material is overwhelming, and those new pages are especially spectacular. I was so happy to see the final battle-- which previously was a single, rushed page-- has been expanded into multiple pages and entirely redrawn by Mahnke. It's nice that they even include the original page in the extras section, but the new version is better than I could have imagined.

I'd rank this with Absolute Watchmen and Absolute New Frontier in terms of overall content/design quality and value.

[NinjaMic]

I have a feeling the 52 omnibus will be 52% off at IST next week

[Batman9]

But I'm not sure how valuable this "analysis" truly is because sure 10 cents vs. 13 cents per page doesn't sound like a big gap, but if you just compared Invisibles to Infinite Crisis, for example, both are the same price of $150, yet Invisibles has nearly 400 more pages, yet is just a 3 cents per page difference.

No, the 1152 was a mis-solicit. It is 1400+

[Batman9]

He pointed out some facts, not all, to suit his side of the argument and refused to accept other examples that rendered his argument pointless and incorrect.


but to weigh in on my thoughts on Black Mirror, CoO and Snyder's run, I have not read it, but am interested in reading it, although I'd rather it be collected in an omnibus collection at the time of completion of the story he wants to tell, not in random assorted Absolutes like DC seems to be doing with John's GL series(not saying it's not absolute worthy, I rather like Van Sciver, Reis and Mankhe) but it's annoying to only collect certain parts and no the series in it's entirety.

I'm sure you have heard how excellent they are. It's pretty much the truth. CoO and Black Mirror are some quintessential Batman books. I like Manhke and Reis, a lot, but Van Sciver doesn't do it for me. I wouldn't buy an Absolute for his art, especially since Rebirth isn't particularly amazing. I like it the most of John's GL saga, but still.

[Deviates]

He pointed out some facts, not all, to suit his side of the argument and refused to accept other examples that rendered his argument pointless and incorrect.

Seems that way, though I honestly did miss the facts. Maybe they were in a different post to the one I was replying to original.

but to weigh in on my thoughts on Black Mirror, CoO and Snyder's run, I have not read it, but am interested in reading it, although I'd rather it be collected in an omnibus collection at the time of completion of the story he wants to tell, not in random assorted Absolutes like DC seems to be doing with John's GL series(not saying it's not absolute worthy, I rather like Van Sciver, Reis and Mankhe) but it's annoying to only collect certain parts and no the series in it's entirety.

I think you're right in that anything that forms a small part of a greater story is much better suited to an Omnibus, especially over random sections being chosen for an Absolute. For a fan of the series like myself (and one who already owns the entire run) the Absolutes are very welcome, though I understand why others would be put off. As for Snyder's Batman, I'd agree his CoO is possibly more suited to an Omnibus as again it forms a part of a larger whole, but Black Mirror had a much more stand alone feel given that it came following the end of Morrison's run and just before the reboot. It had little setting up and little to lead off on to anything else.

On a slightly different topic, did anyone read Gates of Gotham? I'd like to see a better release of that, maybe a deluxe.