Marvel Collected Editions

[Captain Planet]

I like the 80s art, so that's not the problem. The fact that I've been avoiding these titles is not because I read a bit and didn't like them, it's because I tend to buy things I'm sure I like first. I'm now deciding that I should read more of that era and I want to start with the Stern Spidey, and then, if I like it, try more like Michelinie Iron man and Uncanny X-Men. Would you recommend it for that?

That era is tricky. I did not read these comics growing up and I only recently started reading BA and SA material about 2 years ago. The stories and art can be fantastic but the way they used to write comics was always and still is at times a challenge. You either have to accept that you're never going to like reading dated dialog and the "old way" of writing comics or you can dig in, look past the idiosyncrasies of the era. If you can do the latter you will find some fantastic comics with unbridled creativity and old-fashioned heroics.

But for me at least, it's still an acquired taste. If I had never read a BA comic and I picked one up now for the first time, I wouldn't get past a few pages. Over time though, I've found what I like and become accustomed to the style.

That, of course, won't be every case and there are still some books and writers that are too difficult for me to get through but both UXM and Iron Man by Michelinie are books that I found easy to read and enjoyed. Stern's Spidey is one of the few in my backlog (I got caught up re-reading Infinity) so I couldn't say how it reads.

[cheska]

Does anyone own the New Warriors Omnibus? I just bought on from Amazon for less than $30 shipped, but I'm wondering what the chances are that I'll get the Skottie Young cover? The item page shows that cover, but I know there was a Bagley one too. I've e-mailed the seller twice and have yet to receive a response

I think the Young cover is the regular and the Bagley cover is the variant, so there is a big chance you will get the Young one (nothing against Bagley but the Young cover looks better IMHO)

Perfect, that's what I'm hoping! The Young cover looks fantastic and I've been meaning to jump onto this series for a while now.

[Balakin]

I like the 80s art, so that's not the problem. The fact that I've been avoiding these titles is not because I read a bit and didn't like them, it's because I tend to buy things I'm sure I like first. I'm now deciding that I should read more of that era and I want to start with the Stern Spidey, and then, if I like it, try more like Michelinie Iron man and Uncanny X-Men. Would you recommend it for that?

I haven't read the Stern run but here is my experience with older material: as a relatively younger fan, who is used to modern storytelling it's sometimes hard to appriciate the older stories and the style they are told but in my case I just pushed and pushed until something clicked in my mind and started really enjoying them (it was the same with classic Doctor Who. I could barely pay attention to the first few, no matter how all time classics they were, but after a while I really got the hang of it and couldn't stop watching them. And it's the same with comics for me.)

Cheaper option for sampling Stern's work: Captain America Dawn's Early Light Epic collection (I've read the first half of it in essential CA vol 7 and really liked it)

[victorxd1999]

That era is tricky. I did not read these comics growing up and I only recently started reading BA and SA material about 2 years ago. The stories and art can be fantastic but the way they used to write comics was always and still is at times a challenge. You either have to accept that you're never going to like reading dated dialog and the "old way" of writing comics or you can dig in, look past the idiosyncrasies of the era. If you can do the latter you will find some fantastic comics with unbridled creativity and old-fashioned heroics.

But for me at least, it's still an acquired taste. If I had never read a BA comic and I picked one up now for the first time, I wouldn't get past a few pages. Over time though, I've found what I like and become accustomed to the style.

That, of course, won't be every case and there are still some books and writers that are too difficult for me to get through but both UXM and Iron Man by Michelinie are books that I found easy to read and enjoyed. Stern's Spidey is one of the few in my backlog (I got caught up re-reading Infinity) so I couldn't say how it reads.

I thought it was a great read, personally, but I'm a big Spidey fan, and a fan of that era of comics in general. Most of these stories were a few years before my time (I started picking up the Spidey books regularly with ASM #278 ... the Stern book collects ASM starting with #224 plus a couple years worth of Spectacular Spider-Man which precede his ASM run). Even as big a fan of the book as I am, I will readily admit the Spectacular Spidey stories are a bit of a chore to get thru. The artwork is inconsistent and all over the place, and the stories are kind of boring as well (Spider-Man taking on a rogue fashion designer? Um....ok I guess). But like I said, by the time you get to the ASM section of the book, the pace and quality of the stories pick up noticeably. Stern quickly wraps up some dangling plot threads from the Spec book, then we dive right into a Hyde/Cobra team up, the mystery of the Hobgoblin, a Vulture origin story, the classic "kid who collects Spider-Man", and finally a not-really-resolved ending to the Hobgoblin saga and the intro of the new black suit.

You said earlier you read the Juggernaut story and thought it was dated. That was one of the high marks for Stern's Spidey run, and is widely considered one of the all time classic Spider-Man stories. So if you didn't think it was all that great, you probably won't like the rest of the volume. Just my 2c.

I think the problem is that I read the Juggernaut story a while ago and I had read almost no BA comics. Now I've read more and I like some a lot. Suicide squad and Squadron Supreme are among my favorite comics. I think I'll buy the Stern omnibus and see how I like it. I guess I can sell it if I don't like it, I see it going oop soon

[NZ_InFerno]

Omnibus has updated his list of OOP omnibus editions on page 4, it's been added to the first page.

[Diamond]

I like the 80s art, so that's not the problem. The fact that I've been avoiding these titles is not because I read a bit and didn't like them, it's because I tend to buy things I'm sure I like first. I'm now deciding that I should read more of that era and I want to start with the Stern Spidey, and then, if I like it, try more like Michelinie Iron man and Uncanny X-Men. Would you recommend it for that?

I never found Stern's Spidey to be that good. I'd still suggest you give it a try, but don't expect anything mindblowing.

Layton and Michelinie's Iron Man is a must read comic for everyone at least slightly interested in the character. Its only flaw is that every following writer has imitated and repeated what they already did. And read Claremont's X-men now! From its first issue until John Byrne's departure it's essential reading.

[victorxd1999]

I never found Stern's Spidey to be that good. I'd still suggest you give it a try, but don't expect anything mindblowing.

Layton and Michelinie's Iron Man is a must read comic for everyone at least slightly interested in the character. Its only flaw is that every following writer has imitated and repeated what they already did. And read Claremont's X-men now! From its first issue until John Byrne's departure it's essential reading.

I've thought about it some more and I made a Bronze age omnibus reading order for myself:
1 Miller Daredevil
2 Claremont X-Men
3 Michelinie Iron Man
4 Stern Spider-Man
5 any more suggestions? (Given up on finding an affordable Thor by Simonson omnibus)

[SJNeal]

5 any more suggestions? (Given up on finding an affordable Thor by Simonson omnibus)

If you're interested in the material beyond owning the omnibus, there's a series of trades that were recently released that are basically the omnibus broken down into 5 smaller volumes.

[mike1981]

I've thought about it some more and I made a Bronze age omnibus reading order for myself:
1 Miller Daredevil
2 Claremont X-Men
3 Michelinie Iron Man
4 Stern Spider-Man
5 any more suggestions? (Given up on finding an affordable Thor by Simonson omnibus)

I've been on a Bronze Age kick lately, myself. A couple late Bronze Age books I would add to the list are the Avengers West Coast vol. 1 & 2 and the Byrne Fantastic Four vol. 1 & 2. Neither runs are as "meaty" as Miller's Daredevil or Claremont's X-Men, but they are both undeniably fun.

A couple more excellent books, though not in Omnibus form, are the Captain America: War and Remembrance PHC and the Dr. Strange: Into the Dark Dimension PHC. Both are written by Roger Stern, and personally, I'd rate them above his Spider-Man run.

[mike1981]

I never found Stern's Spidey to be that good. I'd still suggest you give it a try, but don't expect anything mindblowing.

Layton and Michelinie's Iron Man is a must read comic for everyone at least slightly interested in the character. Its only flaw is that every following writer has imitated and repeated what they already did. And read Claremont's X-men now! From its first issue until John Byrne's departure it's essential reading.

I agree. I liked Stern's Spider-Man, but it ranks towards the bottom of my list of material from that era.

Having just finished Michelinie's Iron Man, I feel this run is completely undersold in it's significance and awesomeness. I think this might be my favorite Bronze Age Omnibus out there, but it seems to get a lot less attention than Miller's DD, Byrne's FF, etc. Something about Iron Man, and more specifically Tony Stark, just lends itself to the nuances of the late 70s - early 80s better than most other characters.

[victorxd1999]

I agree. I liked Stern's Spider-Man, but it ranks towards the bottom of my list of material from that era.

Having just finished Michelinie's Iron Man, I feel this run is completely undersold in it's significance and awesomeness. I think this might be my favorite Bronze Age Omnibus out there, but it seems to get a lot less attention than Miller's DD, Byrne's FF, etc. Something about Iron Man, and more specifically Tony Stark, just lends itself to the nuances of the late 70s - early 80s better than most other characters.

Just saw that Michelinie Iron Man is getting rarer so I'm ordering it this week. Will get Miller's Daredevil omnibus later

[krisis]

Major box from CGN today - a huge stack of Marvel Now I've been dying to read, World War and Fall of the Hulks OHCs (I had no idea they were that massive - they're as big as the X-line pseudo Omnis), and INFINITY GAUNTLET.

AHHHHHH!

As I awaited the arrival of all of this heavy artillery I've been reading Warlock MMW1. In a way, it's the most dated material I've read, because Roy Thomas intentionally grounded it so much in the cultural zeitgeist of the time. Yet, there are also incredibly thrilling, advanced concepts since High Evolutionary is a big part of the plot, plus Gil Kane's art is incredibly bold - a beautiful and slightly more considered contemporary of Adams and Colan. It's slow reading, but still a pleasure.

[TomSlick]

Having just finished Michelinie's Iron Man, I feel this run is completely undersold in it's significance and awesomeness. I think this might be my favorite Bronze Age Omnibus out there, but it seems to get a lot less attention than Miller's DD, Byrne's FF, etc. Something about Iron Man, and more specifically Tony Stark, just lends itself to the nuances of the late 70s - early 80s better than most other characters.

It's the 'stache!

[krisis]

HOLY CRAP JANUARY MARVEL MASTERWORK:

Marvel Masterworks: Uncanny X-Men Volume 9
Reprints: Uncanny X-Men #168-175, X-Men Annual #7, Wolverine #1-4, Marvel Graphic Novel #5: X-Men – God Loves, Man Kills
432 Pages

I am all over that book. GMLK in reading order, Wolverine limited in reading order, and Rogue joins the X-Men. Plus, I think it's the biggest MMW volume of all time. Done and done.

[victorxd1999]

HOLY CRAP JANUARY MARVEL MASTERWORK:



I am all over that book. GMLK in reading order, Wolverine limited in reading order, and Rogue joins the X-Men. Plus, I think it's the biggest MMW volume of all time. Done and done.

Seems very nice. Question though: I've never bought a Masterworks before, is there a reason they're so expensive? They're not even oversized