General omnibus & hardcover discussion vol. II

[Captain Craig]

IIRC Erik said a lot of the files for the back issues have become corrupted and a large chunk needs re-colouring or something. And he basically doesnt have time to restore so much material.

That's unfortunate for all of us. Largely him since it's been his labor of love and knowing pieces of that hard work are lost/destroyed.

[Balakin]

More pics of Gundam? Im not a manga fan but have been toying with picking up the Gundam HCs for a while now.

I bought Gundam v1 right after I watched Pacific Rim (freakin love that movie). Really REALLY liked it but didn't pick up further volumes yet but it's about damn time!
While it's a small book, which is not uncommon in case of mangas it is a lovely build with thick glossy paper. The artwork is fantastic especially the coloured pages, those are beautiful.
If you want giant robots punching each other then this is your best bet since it's one of the first franchises IIRC but certainly one of the biggest and this is basically the ultimate retelling of its origin but by the original creator.
Also if you like big robot action watch Code Geass. Just watch it. Seriously!

[Kalitarix]

I know it's wishful thinking and they don't do omnibus books, but I'd love for Image to collect Savage Dragon in that format. That's the one series I actually enjoyed. I read about the first 100 or so issues that I picked up years ago on Ebay. Haven't read it since, but I remember it being a fun read.

YES!! Dragon was definitely my favorite of the image flagships. I would also throw Shadow Hawk out there as well, being limited series would make it an easy one volume deluxe format. Might have to dig out my floppies and see if it holds up or just teenage nostalgia.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't get why Image isn't publishing some deluxe hardcovers for their starting series like the two you mentioned, but also Youngblood (only one volume) and Bloodstrike, and especialy Witchblade, The Darkness and Cyberforce. (Not to mention that Spawn: Origins HCs reached book 9 with issue #112 and stopped more than two years ago, and the second volume of the Haunt: immortal edition never came out.) Okay, they may feel old and dated or whatever, but Image have such a big library of titles that deserve this treatment. And the fact that they don't have omnibus or absolute/library editions gives them the opportunity to produce and release so much more deluxe hardcovers. And if they think that these books are for a specific niche market and won't sell well enough, why don't they produce some hefty fat softcovers (and by that I mean 300-500 pages max, not the 1000+ pages compendiums). DC and Marvel are making a lot of those right now, so they must sell better... But they are DC and Marvel after all... I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud here.

[pch3727]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't get why Image isn't publishing some deluxe hardcovers for their starting series like the two you mentioned, but also Youngblood (only one volume) and Bloodstrike, and especialy Witchblade, The Darkness and Cyberforce. (Not to mention that Spawn: Origins HCs reached book 9 with issue #112 and stopped more than two years ago, and the second volume of the Haunt: immortal edition never came out.) Okay, they may feel old and dated or whatever, but Image have such a big library of titles that deserve this treatment. And the fact that they don't have omnibus or absolute/library editions gives them the opportunity to produce and release so much more deluxe hardcovers. And if they think that these books are for a specific niche market and won't sell well enough, why don't they produce some hefty fat softcovers (and by that I mean 300-500 pages max, not the 1000+ pages compendiums). DC and Marvel are making a lot of those right now, so they must sell better... But they are DC and Marvel after all... I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud here.

I could be wrong but I think Image leaves the decision of premium formats in the hand of the creators. There's probably a sales threshold a book must reach too in order to get to make that decision. That's why there are so many different styles of hardcovers put out by image. Southern Bastards is a standard trim hardcover and Black Science is the size of a DH Library Edition. This is they way I always thought it worked, but I could be way off.

[drd]

Great collection! Where did you order these from if i can ask?

Amazon
Green Arrow 7
Death and Return of Superman
Golden Age Batman
Fatale Vol 2
Uncle Scrooge & Donald Duck Box Set
Zombies

Speedyhen
Gundam
JoJos Bizarre Adventure
October Faction
Sixth Gun 2
Thing Explainer
Skull Kickers 2

eBay
Devil Dinosaur
Astro City Dark Age 1

Kickstarter
The Wormworld Saga 1 & 2
Reed comics
Goon LIbrary Volume 1

More pics of Gundam? Im not a manga fan but have been toying with picking up the Gundam HCs for a while now.

Sure thing, I've tried to read Mangas and watch Anime series before but something about then just dosn't click (for example I found the Attack on Titan TV series to be frankly quite dull considering the premise), I never watched the Gundam cartoons either but this book was just fantastic. There felt like a couple of rough translation spots and reading the panels backwards meant I had to reread a few pages 3 or 4 times before I was entirely sure I'd gotten it in the right order but I absolutely cannot wait for the next too volumes to arrive in the mail.

Covers:


Most of the pages are Black and White:


But every now and then you get a handful of gorgeous colour pages:

[Balakin]

Sure thing, I've tried to read Mangas and watch Anime series before but something about then just dosn't click (for example I found the Attack on Titan TV series to be frankly quite dull considering the premise), I never watched the Gundam cartoons either but this book was just fantastic. There felt like a couple of rough translation spots and reading the panels backwards meant I had to reread a few pages 3 or 4 times before I was entirely sure I'd gotten it in the right order but I absolutely cannot wait for the next too volumes to arrive in the mail.

Code Geass and Cowboy bebop!
Geass is 2 seasons and took me like 3 episodes to really get into it but after that I couldn't stop. It does have big robot fights but it's more plot and character driven.
Bebop is one season and that's a classic and for a reason. Space bounty hunters with lot of jazz and blues music, pacing is like a good western, beautiful animation and backgrounds.
Watched some Valvrave the Liberator but stopped and never continued it but will do one day. Crazy high octane big robot fights with teenagers who became vampires to drive the mechas and there is a space civil war as well. Insanity!
Read the Evangelion mangas from DH as well and it started really well but the ending was too symbolic mindf>#@ so sold my books after reading them.

[GenericUserName12]

Code Geass and Cowboy bebop!

This is only the best anime ever. The spiritual predecessor to Firefly. I literally thought Firefly was a live action westernized adaptation of Cowboy Bebop.

[Brewman]

On the manga note I just grabbed the Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind HC Slipcase. Pretty nice books and you just can't go wrong with Miyazaki. Not that I need more ways to spend money on this habit but I would absolutely buy deluxe editions of DragonBall and Ranma 1/2 if they ever got produced.

[Frogtown]

One of my favorite manga being released right now is the Viking epic Vinland Saga. Kodansha Comics have been relaesing it in beautiful hardcovers. I highly recommend checking it out.

[Hellboydce]

just noticed a book called 'The Red Star' from IDW, anyone read it?

[Fuller]

One of my favorite manga being released right now is the Viking epic Vinland Saga. Kodansha Comics have been relaesing it in beautiful hardcovers. I highly recommend checking it out.

And probably they will stop publishing it with the 7th volume...

[Dayle88]

I'm going to have to go for that Gundam book after Christmas. The only manga I've read is Lone Wolf And Cub, I'm two stories into the second omnibus right now. It's a perfect book for me as I love Japanese history and martial arts. I want to venture out a bit and I love anything performance technology based. Plus you can't really go wrong for 14 quid for a 400+ page hardcover.

Twelve volumes is a pretty big rabbit hole to fall in to though lol

[Melchior]

Gundam
Sure thing, I've tried to read Mangas and watch Anime series before but something about then just dosn't click (for example I found the Attack on Titan TV series to be frankly quite dull considering the premise), I never watched the Gundam cartoons either but this book was just fantastic. There felt like a couple of rough translation spots and reading the panels backwards meant I had to reread a few pages 3 or 4 times before I was entirely sure I'd gotten it in the right order but I absolutely cannot wait for the next too volumes to arrive in the mail.

I think one of my favorite bits was at the end of the 4th collected volume. There was something like an interview, where they pointed out that Yoshikazu Yasuhiko did "....the storyboard, the panel arrangement, the character positioning, and the pencils all at the same time with no guides?"

He basically does the final copy as the first go, simply because he has that much experience.

Here is a YouTube of him drawing Char: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op3tO4_Ij9c

[Frogtown]

And probably they will stop publishing it with the 7th volume...

I know. Hopefully a few posters decide to check it out and help boost sales. It's unlikely but a man can dream..

[Nuka]

Started using Speedy Hen a few weeks ago. Basically everything is always out of stock, like everything I want!... which is a lot.