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  1. #1
    Astonishing Member Timothy Hunter's Avatar
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    Default Would You Like Essential Marvel/Showcase Presents to Return?

    From the 2000's to the early 2010's, DC and Marvel and their own line of black and white reprints, collecting comics largely from the Silver and Bronze Age.

  2. #2
    Ultimate Member babyblob's Avatar
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    I would love to see these return. A lot of the Dc Stories I started with were from the Showcase line. And The essential Spiderman is how I got introduced to early Spiderman and fell in love with Marvel Silver age. Sadly a lot of them are so over priced that I would love Marvel and Dc to put some more out
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  3. #3
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    I would enjoy if this returned. When I first got into comics I started with renting them at my local library.

  4. #4
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    Isn't this what the Marvel epic line is? Thick, colored volumes of old stuff? Why would we want to go back to super thin paper with b&w art?

  5. #5
    Ultimate Member babyblob's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by newparisian View Post
    Isn't this what the Marvel epic line is? Thick, colored volumes of old stuff? Why would we want to go back to super thin paper with b&w art?
    They were a lot less expensive. And there were more issues in one Volume. Yes The Epic line is in color and is more pleasant on the eye. But the Essentials and Showcase was a great way to get a book with 20+ issues at a decent price if you didnt mind the B&W. There was a huge market for them.
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  6. #6
    Astonishing Member Timothy Hunter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by newparisian View Post
    Isn't this what the Marvel epic line is? Thick, colored volumes of old stuff? Why would we want to go back to super thin paper with b&w art?
    The Essentials and Showcase Presents line were in black and white and on admittedly crappy paper. The Marvel Epic line is way too expensive for me. There's no way in hell I'm paying 40 dollars for a trade paperback.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by babyblob View Post
    They were a lot less expensive. And there were more issues in one Volume. Yes The Epic line is in color and is more pleasant on the eye. But the Essentials and Showcase was a great way to get a book with 20+ issues at a decent price if you didnt mind the B&W. There was a huge market for them.
    Quote Originally Posted by Timothy Hunter View Post
    The Essentials and Showcase Presents line were in black and white and on admittedly crappy paper. The Marvel Epic line is way too expensive for me. There's no way in hell I'm paying 40 dollars for a trade paperback.
    No, I recall the efficacy they presented. They're how I first read the Claremont X-men.

    However, with the Epic line, surely if you buy them from certain online stores (IST, DCBS, etc.) you can get them 40-45% off. Do you guys usually purchase collections from comic stores at cover price?

    Comparing the last Essential X-men volume to the latest X-men epic, the amount of pages are in the same ballpark (above 400, below 600). Does that really make that much of a difference?

    Of course there will always be volumes that are OOP and cost extra. But that's true for any line (omnibus, deluxe HC, etc.).

    If it's just the "feel" of reading old comics in a format that feels "old" and therefore more authentic or what have you, sure I get it. And I wish Marvel would make them for the audience that still wants them. But colored volumes with comparable page count are way more attractive to a higher number of people. And their cost is unfortunately in line with all other prices also having gone up. I think regular omnis are about to be $150 a pop soon.
    Last edited by newparisian; 03-07-2022 at 04:55 PM.

  8. #8
    Mighty Member McFarlane's Green Hulk's Avatar
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    Yes. Not only were they cheap alternatives to read older comics, I used them as fodder material to recolor them in Photoshop. I have several volumes scanned in their entirety scanned and saved to an external hard drive; Hulk, UXM, Godzilla, She-Hulk. Still working my way through ASM, the FF, Defenders and Wolverine. I thought it would be route into a comic colorist job, but I've yet to complete a single issue, LOL! I do it mainly for fun, as I break away from tradition on some stuff...mainly in having the Hulk always wearing purple pants, is it green or blue for General Ross' uniform; or the debate on blue or black fur on the Beast, Cyclops' uniform, or blue or black on Spider-Man's costume.
    The first editions were on a really cheap newsprint, but as they moved along over the years, the paperstock used was a better quality. Not by much, it was still newsprint, but the paper held its white color than the first editions, making them more pleasant to read.
    I was so disappointed because I was hoping to get thru the PAD/Keown era on the Hulk, but they ended the line as it started the Mantlo run. I really, REALLY wanted to color the Milgrom and McFarlane issues.
    I enjoyed the Showcase, not for the recoloring reasons, but to read those Silver Age Superman and Batman stories.
    Last edited by McFarlane's Green Hulk; 03-07-2022 at 06:58 PM.

  9. #9
    Astonishing Member ARkadelphia's Avatar
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    No thank you
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  10. #10
    Relaunched, not rebooted! SJNeal's Avatar
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    I have every volume of the multiple horror lines that DC did under Showcase Presents, and love them. Those particular comics lend themselves to b&w quite nicely, and I'd buy more if they produced them. That said, I do want my superheroes in color, and love that about the Epic Collections (even though they've creeped up to the $44.99 - $49.99 price point ).
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  11. #11
    Incredible Member tv horror's Avatar
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    As I live in the UK we were brought up on black and white reprints of those early comics, so it makes no difference to me as I loved them. There is also the case that some of them may never be reprinted such as Ghosts or the Witching Hour. As for the Epic line yes it is a good idea however why jump the volumes especially if you are following one character or team, then you have the premium price if you miss that window. Personally I have over a 100 Marvel Essentials and the DC showcase line in what I was interested in such as the horror volumes and Batman Superman titles.
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  12. #12
    Astonishing Member hyped78's Avatar
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    I personally don’t care about black and white

  13. #13
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    The Essential line was great for collecting Silver/Bronze Age material at a low cost. I don't really care for the coloring prior to the 90s, so the black and white didn't bother. I actually preferred the Tomb of Dracula in B&W to better show the Gene Colan artwork.

  14. #14
    Astonishing Member Timothy Hunter's Avatar
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    While I'd rather read a comic as it was original presented, but if I had to choose between a bad/mediocre recolor/remaster or have it in black and white, I'd choose black and white every time

  15. #15
    Fantastic Member Babylon23's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by newparisian View Post
    However, with the Epic line, surely if you buy them from certain online stores (IST, DCBS, etc.) you can get them 40-45% off. Do you guys usually purchase collections from comic stores at cover price?
    There are some of us who don't live in the U.S. and therefore don't have the benefit of stores like IST and DCBS. The savings are offset by the huge shipping costs that can prove to be cost prohibitive. Having purchased both Essential and Epic Collection volumes in the past the cost difference is $25-$30 per volume.

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