General omnibus & hardcover discussion vol. II

[lvizzz]

Finished reading Fury Max by Ennis. Such a great book: violent like hell - well, it's Ennis - lots of swearing, rough sex, all those black ops made by US in last century, corrupted politicians, just loving it, same level as his Punisher. Marvel, give me more books like that, not this super hero-let's-save-earth/universe-one-more-bloody-time.

[kodave]

what's the consensus on selling hard to find, OOP print books?

Like anything, there are an array of opinions. You're not going to find a general consensus about that topic.

I've seen some people on this form almost take a - I guess socialist? - POV that books should never be sold for more than cover price and anyone that sells for above cover is a shitlord.

Other people on this forum will flip OOP books for a profit.

If someone wants to sell, say, a Silver Surfer Omnibus for $400 - let them try. Who cares? And if they find a buyer at that price, good for both of them. The rest of us will probably have to wait for a reprint. At the end of the day all of this amounts to luxury items, and no one has a right to cheap comic books.

The one thing I personally dislike is when direct market retailers buy books from the distributor then sit on them and then raise the price to above cover once the books start going OOP. They're not breaking laws and I highly doubt they're violating any agreements with distributors. So they're free to do that and people are free to not support places that do that. I think it does a disservice to the market because if every direct market retailer acted like that, then the industry would be in a lot more trouble than it's already in. I assume these types of retailers would rather drive up their own prices than risk making a sale at a normal price only for that purchaser to turn around and flip the book for a profit. But if a retailer is going to be worried about stuff like that, they're probably not doing something right in general.

[jadekite22]

Like anything, there are an array of opinions. You're not going to find a general consensus about that topic.

I've seen some people on this form almost take a - I guess socialist? - POV that books should never be sold for more than cover price and anyone that sells for above cover is a shitlord.

Other people on this forum will flip OOP books for a profit.

If someone wants to sell, say, a Silver Surfer Omnibus for $400 - let them try. Who cares? And if they find a buyer at that price, good for both of them. The rest of us will probably have to wait for a reprint. At the end of the day all of this amounts to luxury items, and no one has a right to cheap comic books.

The one thing I personally dislike is when direct market retailers buy books from the distributor then sit on them and then raise the price to above cover once the books start going OOP. They're not breaking laws and I highly doubt they're violating any agreements with distributors. So they're free to do that and people are free to not support places that do that. I think it does a disservice to the market because if every direct market retailer acted like that, then the industry would be in a lot more trouble than it's already in. I assume these types of retailers would rather drive up their own prices than risk making a sale at a normal price only for that purchaser to turn around and flip the book for a profit. But if a retailer is going to be worried about stuff like that, they're probably not doing something right in general.

Yeah, it's one of those things that's almost pointless to debate since it's an inevitable part of the market and it's impossible to tell, except in the retailer example you brought up, what circumstances flippers are in or whether they actually bought it to read but never got around to it.

While I agree comics, like all entertainment, are a luxury, I personally think the reprint and collectors markets should be separate. Even the expensive Artist's Editions are designed to make the art accessible and affordable to the average consumer. Likewise, people complaining about the high retail cost of Masterworks and Archives need to recognize the work that goes into restoration and quality presentation and shouldn't just wait for discounts if they want to see these projects continue.

[brameosaurusrex]

Is anyone buying the Valiant Deluxe editions? If so has the binding gotten any better? I purchased Bloodshot a while back and was really put off by the poor binding. It kept slapping shut but loved the story. As DC & Marvel are isolating me more and more, I'm looking for something to fill the gap. I just guessed that this is the best place to ask...if not please direct to the correct discussion.

[Aderezo]

About the Lazarus hcs: the "Lazarus: The second collection" that is coming out in May should be the direct continuation of the "Lazarus Book 1" right? I mean it should be, but as the cover price and the name is different I´m having doubts. Thanks

[Balakin]

Yeah, it's one of those things that's almost pointless to debate since it's an inevitable part of the market and it's impossible to tell, except in the retailer example you brought up, what circumstances flippers are in or whether they actually bought it to read but never got around to it.

While I agree comics, like all entertainment, are a luxury, I personally think the reprint and collectors markets should be separate. Even the expensive Artist's Editions are designed to make the art accessible and affordable to the average consumer. Likewise, people complaining about the high retail cost of Masterworks and Archives need to recognize the work that goes into restoration and quality presentation and shouldn't just wait for discounts if they want to see these projects continue.

speaking of archives and MMW-s. Recently got a few Archives and had an MMW in my hands a few years back and while I get the pricing thing considering restoration and quality it still feels like other publishers do the same thing but better. Fantagraphics with their 50's or older Donald and Mickey books or Prince Valiant, Dark Horse with the Eerie archives, IDW teaming up with LoAC, reprinting 40's material and restoring them in oversized editions while the prices are still quite reasonable.
And yeah, sunday strips were printed in large to begin with but, and correct my if I'm wrong, Golden age books originally were bigger than the current trim size so for the Archives they are actually downsizing them.

[Fuller]

About the Lazarus hcs: the "Lazarus: The second collection" that is coming out in May should be the direct continuation of the "Lazarus Book 1" right? I mean it should be, but as the cover price and the name is different I´m having doubts. Thanks

Yes, it's the same collection. The cover price is different because it got 3 issues more than the first HC

[jadekite22]

speaking of archives and MMW-s. Recently got a few Archives and had an MMW in my hands a few years back and while I get the pricing thing considering restoration and quality it still feels like other publishers do the same thing but better. Fantagraphics with their 50's or older Donald and Mickey books or Prince Valiant, Dark Horse with the Eerie archives, IDW teaming up with LoAC, reprinting 40's material and restoring them in oversized editions while the prices are still quite reasonable.
And yeah, sunday strips were printed in large to begin with but, and correct my if I'm wrong, Golden age books originally were bigger than the current trim size so for the Archives they are actually downsizing them.

You make valid points, as always, Balakin.

Reading the introductions to IDW/LoAC and Fantagraphics, there's a lot more physically tracking down material than the MMWs or Archives seem to involve. The latter, however, are hurt by the cheap formats they were initially printed on due them being seen as disposable kids entertainment compared to prestigious early twentieth century Sunday strips. I have no idea where Dark Horse's Warren reprints fall on that difficulty scale. Also, I'm sure with the Big Two publishers, it's a case where they know the MMW and Archive market is a completist one, so there's a good chance they do mark up the prices somewhat to take advantage of that guaranteed niche customer base.

Another consideration is that the Big Two have corporate masters who, because comics sales are just fraction of what they rake in from their multimedia superhero IP, probably don't dedicate much money to their restoration department, whereas others go all-out and probably receive grants to support restoration efforts for the sake of the medium. I unfortunately don't have the insider knowledge to give you a satisfactory answer beyond that. But, given how awful the linework restoration is for some cheaper collections DC and Marvel put out, I can imagine the money and time put into the premium collections is put to good use.

[TheTemp]

Is anyone buying the Valiant Deluxe editions? If so has the binding gotten any better? I purchased Bloodshot a while back and was really put off by the poor binding. It kept slapping shut but loved the story. As DC & Marvel are isolating me more and more, I'm looking for something to fill the gap. I just guessed that this is the best place to ask...if not please direct to the correct discussion.

I've got all of them to date. I've seen other people Complain about the bindings but I've personally never had a problem with them. They stay open after a while. I also usually hold onto my books when I read. Not a fan of leaving them on the table/whatever surface, open by themselves.

[Noob_Nathan]

Hey, another fellow Australian here! Generally you're out of luck if it comes to Omni purchases since book depository is the cheapest. However there are some sources like:
- booko.com.au which will check all the book websites and returns a list of the stores and prices. Kinda like the Google of books
- comicsetc.com.au which is easily the cheapest comic book store in Australia since they try to sell at cover price but since the AUD is doing badly against the USD, they've had to raise prices
- fishpond.com.au which is great for preorders since you can lock in prices around cover price but the only problem is they don't let you know when they charge or ship you your book, just have to make sure you have enough money on your credit card when you order. If you pay via PayPal, you'll be charged during the order.

A couple of years ago when the AUD was strong, it was easy to find books under cover price but the way it is now, if you can find the book for cover price then you've scored a good deal.

Wow as a fellow aussie also new to this collecting game i'd like to say thank you for all that information. I had no clue about finding the best deals or any of this. I just searched on fishpond and i've found that the goon library vol 1 is getting a reprint in May which makes me happy as i just brought vol 2 from IST

[gearsofcrabs]

Just saw this while browsing through upcoming releases: http://www.cheapgraphicnovels.com/marshals-hc.html .Any good? What's it about anyone have some pics of the art?

[Aderezo]

Yes, it's the same collection. The cover price is different because it got 3 issues more than the first HC

Good to know. Thanks!

[Frogtown]

Just saw this while browsing through upcoming releases: http://www.cheapgraphicnovels.com/marshals-hc.html .Any good? What's it about anyone have some pics of the art?

http://www.humanoids.com/album/693

[gearsofcrabs]

http://www.humanoids.com/album/693

Thank you!

[Orion]

My LCS did not get the Black Science hardcover today. They said it was on their sheet for next week, delayed due to bad weather on the EC or something