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I have been wondering for some time about the classification of 'omnibus' (particularly from Marvel). For instance, I wonder why a book like X-Men vs. Apocalypse: The Twelve is an omnibus - while X-Men: Eve of Destruction is not. Are there some rules/guidelines to it that I'm missing, or are they just completely arbitrary decisions by Marvel?
I don't think it's entirely arbitrary, but I don't think there are formal rules. I assume it's something like it is an omnibus if it passes some threshold for page count and:
*It is a long, cohesive run of some type (consecutive issues, scattered issues all by a single writer or artist, character focused)
OR
*A large but focused story arc plus preludes and aftermath
Eve of Destruction is really neither of those two things - it's just all the issues that end the pre-Morrison X-Men era. It's value as an OHC is that it fit perfectly between Revolutions and New X-Men, not that the stories are essential (not to say the stories are bad, just that they're not acclaimed in the same way).
I understand that Marvel has a quota of Omnibuses that they release each year, but the collected edition department knows that they can get more material out there by avoiding the label. I could be wrong, but my suspicion is that most OHC's do not require the same resources as Omnibuses do. For example, the OHC collected editions which are not omnibuses are ones where the files do not need major restoration. 90s X-men material fits that criteria, so did the Captain Marvel 'A Hero is Born' collection, as those issues had already been restored for the two existing Masterwork editions. On that basis, it is more surprising that the Twelve was released as an Omnibus, but Marvel clearly felt that there was enough of a 'hook' with the twelve storyline to justify taking up an Omnibus slot, whereas Eve of Destruction did not.
Seems arbitrary.
Some OHC are as big as many Omnibus branded books, others as small as an OHC(Young Avengers, McFarlene SM) or smaller(Devil Dinosaur).
I tend to think the Collected Editions dept allocates x funds to OHC and x funds to Omni. They perhaps move them about based on what they are doing in any given year.
Thanks for the inputs. I guess the only realy answer is "Marvel moves in mysterious ways"...
noun
1.
a volume containing several novels or other items previously published separately.
"an omnibus of her first trilogy"
It could be 200 pages or 1500