Marvel Omnibus/Oversized Hardcover Discussion Part V

[studioremark]

I'm okay with the lull, gives me a chance to catch up a bit. And I'm only slightly interested in 2 of the 3 upcoming omnibuses from Marvel, which I probably won't get, which I'm also okay with.

With that lull, what have people been reading from their pre-existing omnibus pile?

I've been alternating over the past couple month between the Simonson "Thor" and "Tomb of Dracula" v1.

I'm on the tail end of "Thor" and would easily regard it in the top handful of omnibus books. The last half has felt like a long-running coda of sorts to the major events that occurred in the first half of the book. Just when I thought that it was hitting a lull, it hit me with the Executioner's big moment and I was just floored.

In "Tomb of Dracula," I'm just getting to the Dr. Sun issue(s) that I've seen referenced as being some of the best of the series. Issues throughout the teens hinted at a big nemesis emerging and I'm hoping that Dr. Sun ends up being a compelling antagonist.

[ER Prest]

With that lull, what have people been reading from their pre-existing omnibus pile?

I've been alternating over the past couple month between the Simonson "Thor" and "Tomb of Dracula" v1.

I'm on the tail end of "Thor" and would easily regard it in the top handful of omnibus books. The last half has felt like a long-running coda of sorts to the major events that occurred in the first half of the book. Just when I thought that it was hitting a lull, it hit me with the Executioner's big moment and I was just floored.

In "Tomb of Dracula," I'm just getting to the Dr. Sun issue(s) that I've seen referenced as being some of the best of the series. Issues throughout the teens hinted at a big nemesis emerging and I'm hoping that Dr. Sun ends up being a compelling antagonist.

Been reading the New Avengers Omnibus and some of the events that went along with it. It's the first time I'm reading most of these and the stuff it really fun. I stopped at the Civil War issues and decided to read JMS's Spiderman, on the 4th book now, up until Civil War and read it all together. Again, first time reading these too.

[NZ_InFerno]

Am I the only one going through new omnibus withdrawals?!

Not really, I've been reading a whole bunch of books from other publishers in the interim so haven't been that worried. Now that I've picked clean most of that librarys comics I've got a few more series I want to buy and having no Marvel Omnibus means I can pick up these books instead.

[NZ_InFerno]

With that lull, what have people been reading from their pre-existing omnibus pile?

I've been alternating over the past couple month between the Simonson "Thor" and "Tomb of Dracula" v1.

I'm on the tail end of "Thor" and would easily regard it in the top handful of omnibus books. The last half has felt like a long-running coda of sorts to the major events that occurred in the first half of the book. Just when I thought that it was hitting a lull, it hit me with the Executioner's big moment and I was just floored.

In "Tomb of Dracula," I'm just getting to the Dr. Sun issue(s) that I've seen referenced as being some of the best of the series. Issues throughout the teens hinted at a big nemesis emerging and I'm hoping that Dr. Sun ends up being a compelling antagonist.

I still need to finish reading Tomb of Dracula v2, might finish it one day. Dr Sun issues run into the second Omnibus iirc.

[CrazyOldHermit]

Marvel now has a bad habit of taking random premiere HCs and letting them go quickly out of print, which is very disappointing. It started with Hickman Fantastic Four 3 and then it was Uncanny X-Force The Dark Angel Saga Vol. 1, then Waid Daredevil Vol. 1 and now Journey Into Mystery Fear Itself (which went OOP faster than any of the others, I think). I asked my retailer about this bad habit and he said that ALL of the Uncanny X-Force HCs except the latest one are OOP now.
And, with all the hype behind a Guardians of the Galaxy movie coming up, Marvel has also let all of the Guardians of the Galaxy HCs and TPBs go out of print except Vol. 4.
We talk on here about Marvel's collected editions department letting the most popular omnibuses go OOP, but their policy on not keeping HCs in print and not printing a few hundred extra copies seems really crazy.

The PHCs aren't meant to stay in print. Marvel is working the same way other (non-comic) publishers work. Come out with the nice hardcover edition first and follow it up with the trade paperback, which is just the HC edition in paperback with a lower price. The HC is never meant to stay in print, the trade is supposed to be the true perennial edition. The real mystery is them letting the trades go OOP as well.

Am I the only one going through new omnibus withdrawals?!

Not at all. My next omnibus isn't for three months and in that time I've got a lot of reading material backlogged as well as some non-HC purchases to make.

[UltimateMarvel Dude]

Just ordered Ultimate X-Men Vol. 06 HC for the astonishing price of 27.45€...
However I still consider myself kind of lucky, since I didn't actively look for this book for ages("Pah, this can wait."), until yesterday, when I casually checked some sites and noticed it's not available anymore (for a decent price). If only Marvel would reprint their goddamn Batm... uhrm books!

[Rimmer]

FYI - TalesofWonder is selling some Masterworks at $25.99. BUT, it's all golden age/Atlas stuff, so not appealing to most people I would imagine. But if you like that stuff, might find some stuff you want there.

[grahamgg]

FYI - TalesofWonder is selling some Masterworks at $25.99. BUT, it's all golden age/Atlas stuff, so not appealing to most people I would imagine. But if you like that stuff, might find some stuff you want there.

Yep, mainly junk (my opinion anyways):

* Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Battlefield Vol 1 Ltd Ed HC (#152): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Journey Into Mystery Vol 2 Ltd ED HC (#118): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Jungle Adventure Vol 02 Ltd Ed HC (#159): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Jungle Adventure Vol 02 New Ed HC: $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Jungle Adventure Vol 1 Ltd Ed HC (#131): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Strange Tales Vol 04 Ltd Ed HC (#156): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Strange Tales Vol 04 New Ed HC: $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Strange Tales Vol 05 Ltd Ed HC (#168): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Strange Tales Vol 05 New Ed HC: $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Strange Tales Vol 3 Ltd Ed HC (#140): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Venus Vol 01 Ltd Ed HC (#164): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Venus Vol 01 New Ed HC: $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age All Winners Vol 04 Ltd Ed HC (#170): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age All Winners Vol 04 New Ed HC: $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age All Winners Vol 2 Ltd Ed HC (#71): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Captain America Vol 05 Ltd Ed HC (#161): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Captain America Vol 05 New Ed HC: $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Human Torch Vol 3 Ltd Ed HC (#142): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Marvel Comics Vol 06 Ltd Ed HC (#166): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Marvel Comics Vol 06 New Ed HC: $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Marvel Comics Vol 2 Ltd Ed HC (#60): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Mystic Comics Vol 01 Ltd Ed HC (#154): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Mystic Comics Vol 01 New Ed HC: $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Sub Mariner Vol 3 Ltd Ed HC (#128): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age USA Comics Vol 02 Ltd Ed HC (#172): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age USA Comics Vol 02 New Ed HC: $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age USA Comics Vol 1 Ltd Ed HC (#76): $25.99
* Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Young Allies Vol 1 Ltd Ed HC (#121): $25.99

EDIT: Woo Hoo! 500 posts!

[Rimmer]

Yep, mainly junk (my opinion anyways)

Yeah, Silver Age is hard enough to get through, Golden Age is even worse. Nostalgia is great, but not for $26 a pop.

[DrGregatron]

I'm curious to know what people who have now read the Man-Thing Omnibus think about the stories contained within? I've said a bunch of times on here that it collects some of the best and weirdest stories from that era. I loved it all.

I liked them fine. There's some great stories and artists therein. It was a nice change from your standard superhero books. Too bad there wasn't more variety in the current Marvel line.

[LordJulius]

Yeah, Silver Age is hard enough to get through, Golden Age is even worse. Nostalgia is great, but not for $26 a pop.

Dunno too much Marvel/Atlas from that time, but some of the pre-Code comics published in the 50s are better than anything Marvel (or DC) put out in the 60s, imo.

Would like to get the Battlefields MMW, but ToW is a no-go for Europeans.

[Squallid Snake]

With that lull, what have people been reading from their pre-existing omnibus pile?

I've been alternating over the past couple month between the Simonson "Thor" and "Tomb of Dracula" v1.

I'm on the tail end of "Thor" and would easily regard it in the top handful of omnibus books. The last half has felt like a long-running coda of sorts to the major events that occurred in the first half of the book. Just when I thought that it was hitting a lull, it hit me with the Executioner's big moment and I was just floored.

In "Tomb of Dracula," I'm just getting to the Dr. Sun issue(s) that I've seen referenced as being some of the best of the series. Issues throughout the teens hinted at a big nemesis emerging and I'm hoping that Dr. Sun ends up being a compelling antagonist.

After finishing Simonson Thor, which I was impressed with (consistently good, with REALLY high points and the worst issues are even good) I am reading UXM from Giant size to the year 2001 (when, I can no longer make sense of the X men universe and its books), and most of it is a first time read for me. I'm on UXM 111 or thereabouts (the arcade issue) and I'm enjoying things. I still can't wait to get to the late 80's, early 90's stuff. many longtime comic buffs love the Dark Phoenix Saga and before, but to me UXM was at its peak in the excess of the 90s, when the recognizable TV show roster was more or less formed, around the team split and at the close of the (first) Claremont era. Maybe its the nostalgia of the TV show as a kid along with the trading cards, birthday party favors, video games, ect that made Xmen so much fun in the 90s.


Am I cheating myself though by reading early UXM in essential form and not reading my omnibus? I'm afraid to touch the damn thing because of its value nowadays. Weird thing is I don't sell my books, but I feel kinda silly sullying a potentially 250-300 dollar book when I can comfortably read an essential.

[DrGregatron]

After finishing Simonson Thor, which I was impressed with (consistently good, with REALLY high points and the worst issues are even good) I am reading UXM from Giant size to the year 2001 (when, I can no longer make sense of the X men universe and its books), and most of it is a first time read for me. I'm on UXM 111 or thereabouts (the arcade issue) and I'm enjoying things. I still can't wait to get to the late 80's, early 90's stuff. many longtime comic buffs love the Dark Phoenix Saga and before, but to me UXM was at its peak in the excess of the 90s, when the recognizable TV show roster was more or less formed, around the team split and at the close of the (first) Claremont era. Maybe its the nostalgia of the TV show as a kid along with the trading cards, birthday party favors, video games, ect that made Xmen so much fun in the 90s.


Am I cheating myself though by reading early UXM in essential form and not reading my omnibus? I'm afraid to touch the damn thing because of its value nowadays. Weird thing is I don't sell my books, but I feel kinda silly sullying a potentially 250-300 dollar book when I can comfortably read an essential.

Read your omnibus!!!

[ShooCat]

I feel kinda silly sullying a potentially 250-300 dollar book when I can comfortably read an essential.

FWIW, for me, reading Ditko's ASM run in the Essentials a few years ago and then, earlier this year, the Omnibus, was night and day. I really loved it the second time around (or third, fourth, etc., since I already read these comics as a kid), taking the time to glance at every panel, whereas I just breezed through the Essentials.

I understand where you're coming from, having still lots of sealed books myself, UXM among them. But that's just because I still haven't gotten around to reading them. I will take them out of their shrinkwrap when the time comes. If you're actually reading these stories already, you're missing out with Essentials imo.

While it's tempting to see them as long-term investments, they're just books waiting to be read. And I'll bet their price won't decrease that much anyway. :)

[funeralthirst7]

Picked up the Evolutionary War and Acts Of Vengeance omnibus editions over the weekend. $100 for the pair, no tax. Next on the list:Man-Thing