Ultimate Marvel Graphic Novel Collection -- explanation?

[weezer17]

Sorry about this, I'm the same guy who just started the Epic Collection thread a few minutes ago. I now have a question about the Ultimate Marvel Graphic Novel Collection which looks like a blast to collect, but it seems some of the earlier books are pricey because they're out of print.

Is it too late to start collecting this line? Will they eventually do reprints? Any news of this?

Also, for a long time I thought the following were what the UMGNC was, just to show some examples:







If these^^ AREN'T the UMGNC, which line are these a part of, and is it too late to start collecting them?

Thanks for all the help!

[Balakin]

Donno if it's late to start collecting or not, but the other questions can be easily answered by wikipedia (also, you can see a sample of the cover design, which is god awful IMHO, but at least I have a DD Born again hc thanks to this collection).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Off...vel_Collection

[SJNeal]

The pics you posted are of books from the now discontinued Marvel Premiere Classics line. Some of them got paperback releases, others didn't. Cool trade dress aside, this line was a bit of a mess from the start. Releases were pretty random for the most part, both in content and schedule.

[ohmshalone]

I have a few Marvel UGNC books. In South Africa we can order old issues from either the retailer or from the supplier directly, so getting past books isn't a problem (unless, of course, they don't have stock. But that wasn't the case with any I asked for). You can also find a lot of old books on auction sites.

They're alright. I'm not sure if the print quality is lesser than a trade or if I'm just over-analyzing them, but they're good enough that I don't have any intention on double-dipping for stories I own in that format. Solid presentation, a good price, and a great jumping-on series for people who want to get into comics (they're available here in a mainstream newsagent franchise).

I've stopped collecting them, though. I have most of what I want, and the rest I'll get from InStock. I'm not obsessive enough to complete the collection purely for the spine art (which would look amazing on any bookshelf, by the way).

I wish DC had done something like this, but I own most of the DC I want now, so: doesn't matter.