All New Marvel Collected Editions

[grahamgg]

I read both these runs about 10 years ago and enjoyed them both at the time. I re-read them each about a year ago and quite frankly couldn't finish the Avengers. There were some great moments, don't get me wrong, but I don't know. I just didn't get into it like I did previously. I think part of it was that it was very, very wordy and the other part . . . I can't stand Wonderman. Just never could get into the character.

Now . . . Iron Man. I still really, really enjoyed it.

I've read the first chunky trade of his Avengers like 5 years ago and enjoyed it quite a bit (although not as much as I thought I would) but when I've reread it in the omnibus it just didn't click. Also I think the colouring made it look like a modern book but it was intended to be a silver/bronze age call back and it didn't really work for me.
I have no problems with Wonder man tho I enjoyed him in WCA and that's probably my main exposure to him.

I've got the Busiek Iron Man Omni but haven't read it yet. My roomate in college picked up the comics each month when it was coming out and he liked it. I've wanted to read it but just haven't found the time. I generally like Busiek as a writer most of the time.

So in my college days I regularly picked up Avengers. I remember Busiek's Avengers was an unabashed throwback to classic Marvel bronze age type of stories. I've read it over the years a couple of times and mostly like it. You have to remember what a train wreck the Avengers book had been for quite some time until he took over. Starting in the late 80s when Simonson came on board as the writer the team consisted of The Captain (Steve Rogers), Gilgamesh the Forgotten One, Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman and Thor. Not exactly a super top tier line up. Eventually the FF duo left, She-Hulk, Sersi, Quasar and others arrived and it was okay. The the 1990s ... yeesh. Leather jackets and stubble and grimaces galore with gems like Operation Galactic Storm, the Collection Odyssey (or whatever it was), Bloodties, and The Crossing. Finally Marvel gave up and let Liefeld take over for Heroes Reborn. Which was actually somehow worse than all that preceded it. So when Heroes Reborn came along, having the big guns, top tier Marvel super-heroes on the book again, it was a breath of fresh air.

What I liked about Busiek's Avengers run: throwback style, big guns in the lineup with a few new faces scattered in. And George Perez. The man can just flat out DRAW. I particularly liked Justice and Firestar "graduating" to the Avengers from the New Warriors, and I really dug the inclusion of classic B-list members like Vision, Hawkeye, and the Scarlet Witch & Wonder Man. Also Avengers Forever. That was awesome: An all time classic time travel caper with a great cast and great art by Pacheco.

What I didn't like about Busiek's Avengers run: Too many new faces that didn't really catch on. Triathalon, Silverclaw (or whatever her name was) and the Triune (the psuedo-villainous group that made Triathalon). Also it kind of ran on too long. By the time he left the book, Marvel was entering the Joe Quesada/Bill Jemas days where continuity was purposefully ignored or deemed a cruch and things just didn't work out. The ending of his saga with the Kang War was pretty great but it had absolutely zero ramifications for anything other than the Avengers book. And so what could have been a massive monumental event for the entire MU just sort of petered out in the Avengers book.

In summary, I think Busiek's run was one of those runs which seems great at the time, and was, but it definitely needs to be enjoyed for its time period. Now looking back 20 years later (!!) it just seems kind of "okay" and not as good as it was back then.

I would definitely put Marvels Firsts the 90's, Marvel Now and Women of Marvel Omni's as the stupidest releases ever. Who would want a bunch of 1st issues collected together? Probably why at one point or another you could have had them for around $20 new.

Women of Marvel ... man that was a dog! I remember seeing it on clearance prices for like $20 at one point. I forgot all about that one.

Still no Peter Porker Omnibus...

I'd buy one of those and that would definitely be an out-of-left field weird choice for an Omni! IIRC, they released a TPB several years back of the early Spider-Ham issues. He pops up every once in a while when they have a universal crisis with all the Spideys pull in from various continuities (Spider-Verse, he showed up in some of the animated shows, etc).

[Drakul]

I didn't like his Avengers run because it was full of superhero plots but not much character drama but the super hero plots just didn't hold my interest and I gave up in the middle of Avengers Forever. I think that was the point when I've realized I actually don't really like to read Avengers comics but I still highly enjoy even older superhero books like Iron man, Stern's Spidey, etc. I think I need a better balance between the action and the personal drama.

See i realized that a few years ago too. always been a fan of Batman, Spawn and such. I started reading JLA because I'd heard so much good things and this run and I love the cartoon but I couldn't even finish the 2nd trade....
to me in these books the plot seems to often derive into BIG baddy because a regular baddy would get pounded and save the universe and.... yay
The only supergroup I've enjoyed reading is X-Men because it tends to be more about the characters.

[grahamgg]

See i realized that a few years ago too. always been a fan of Batman, Spawn and such. I started reading JLA because I'd heard so much good things and this run and I love the cartoon but I couldn't even finish the 2nd trade....
to me in these books the plot seems to often derive into BIG baddy because a regular baddy would get pounded and save the universe and.... yay
The only supergroup I've enjoyed reading is X-Men because it tends to be more about the characters.

Well I kind of disagree on this point. Busiek's avengers had loads of character drama ... the problem was it was just not very interesting drama. I mean, Justice constantly wondering if he can live up to expectations, Firestar's fear of using her powers, the Wonder Man-Scarlet Witch-Vision love triangle, and all the drama of whether or not Triathlon was a double agent villain, etc. It was all there, just not very interesting.

[Balakin]

See i realized that a few years ago too. always been a fan of Batman, Spawn and such. I started reading JLA because I'd heard so much good things and this run and I love the cartoon but I couldn't even finish the 2nd trade....
to me in these books the plot seems to often derive into BIG baddy because a regular baddy would get pounded and save the universe and.... yay
The only supergroup I've enjoyed reading is X-Men because it tends to be more about the characters.

have you tried Morrison's JLA? It has similar vibes to the cartoon series and he does the big baddy plot very well and has lot's of cool character moments. Not really personal drama but it's still an engaging read.

[Balakin]

Well I kind of disagree on this point. Busiek's avengers had loads of character drama ... the problem was it was just not very interesting drama. I mean, Justice constantly wondering if he can live up to expectations, Firestar's fear of using her powers, the Wonder Man-Scarlet Witch-Vision love triangle, and all the drama of whether or not Triathlon was a double agent villain, etc. It was all there, just not very interesting.

yeah I think I agree with you and your reply above. I get why people loved it who read it back then but I didn't and I won't read years worth of crap to learn to enjoy the Busiek run

[gurkle]

The Busiek Avengers run was what finally got me into Marvel comics after not being interested in them, so I can't be completely objective about it except to say that, despite all the nostalgia, it's actually pretty accessible for a new reader. The flaws of it are very real, and I now know it imitates Steve Englehart way too much (except for Jerry Ordway's fill-in story, which imitates Roy Thomas instead), but it makes me happy to read it, even the weaker stories. And despite the nostalgia there is also an anti-nostalgia theme running through it - characters try to fit into old roles but it no longer works, the Avengers often fail because people like Cap are ignoring how the people and the world has changed.

In some ways the Kang War storyline that ended the run reads better now than it probably did at the time. The flaw of that story is that, after Alan Davis abruptly left, they had terrible trouble getting a regular artist. But because it combines the old-school Avengers approach with some of the more mature feel of the Quesada/Jemas era, it makes a very satisfying ending to the five-year saga.

The fact that it didn't tie in with any other story in the Marvel universe was a flaw at the time, but it doesn't matter now because we no longer read it in the context of other Marvel books, so it works very well as a stand-alone story.

[Johnatellodi]

hi can someone please tell me if the Iron Man omnibus by Busiek is good?

Haven't read it, but I'll just throw out that Iron Man: Extremis is my favorite Iron Man story. Only six issues, but I recommend it if you haven't read it and are interested in Iron Man.

[Raffi Ol D'Arcy]

From IDW's solicitations:

John Byrne’s X-Men Artifact Edition
Chris Claremont (w) • John Byrne (a & c) • Terry Austin, Various (inks)
John Byrne’s run on the X-Men began with issue #108 and lasted until #143. The team of Claremont, Byrne, and Austin made the X-Men (which was already a hit series under Dave Cockrum) soar to the top of the charts in comics sales. They introduced Alpha Flight, and then created the near mythical storylines “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and “Days of Future Past.” These and the rest of their stories remain burned into the memories of collective fandom to this day, and have been the basis for several X-Men films.
This Artifact Edition will include more than 100 pages of X-Men covers, splashes, and pages from Byrne’s X-Men run. All have been meticulously scanned from the original art and reproduced to the exacting Artist’s Edition standards that have won IDW Publishing five highly coveted Eisner Awards (to date)!
HC • BW • $125.00 • 144 pages • 12” x 17” • ISBN: 978-1-68405-394-0

[Raffi Ol D'Arcy]

And Advance solicited for July release!

Mike Zeck’s Classic Marvel Stories Artist’s Edition
HC • BW • PI • 192 pages • 12” x 17” • ISBN: 978-1-63140-391-0

[bearded_adam]

Damn, i was hoping for X-men artist edition for year, but artifact is not for me.

[bearded_adam]

And Advance solicited for July release!

Mike Zeck’s Classic Marvel Stories Artist’s Edition
HC • BW • PI • 192 pages • 12” x 17” • ISBN: 978-1-63140-391-0

nah, this is oldie
https://aeindex.org/reviews/mike-zec...tists-edition/

[Raffi Ol D'Arcy]

Joe Jusko’s Marvel Masterpieces
Joe Jusko (w & a & c)
Joe Jusko’s complete Marvel Masterpieces painted trading card art from the rare 2016 Upper Deck set is collected here in its entirety for the first time—featuring Marvel’s most famous heroes and villains, all beautifully illustrated by the incomparable Joe Jusko!
Joe Jusko’s paintings for the 1992 Marvel Masterpieces trading card collection are credited with launching the ’90s trading card boom. In 2016, Upper Deck returned the Masterpieces series to its roots with an all-new set of Jusko cards. The full set of paintings is collected here—more than 130 never-before-seen masterpieces, including the hard-to-find premium cards. Each card is presented at actual size and has been scanned by the artist to ensure the highest quality reproduction. Each piece of art is accompanied by its preliminary sketch, as well as commentary from the artist himself. Art fans not only get the full magnitude of Joe’s talent, in great detail, but insight into his thought process behind each piece. A must-have not only for Marvel fans, but for fans of fantastic art as well.
HC • FC • $59.99 • 336 pages • 9 1/4” x 13” • ISBN: 978-1-68405-318-6
Advance solicited for July release!
Joe Jusko has painted 10 brand-new pieces exclusively for this book!
Introduction by Bill Sienkiewicz, who has written an appreciation for Jusko’s work!

[Raffi Ol D'Arcy]

nah, this is oldie
https://aeindex.org/reviews/mike-zec...tists-edition/

It was included with three other Artist’s Editions in IDW's May 2018 solicitations as part of a clearance I believe with the below details:
Four fantastic Artist’s Editions from far and wide, virtual master classes of classic sequential storytelling—Get ‘em while they last!

[SJNeal]

Joe Jusko’s Marvel Masterpieces
Joe Jusko (w & a & c)
Joe Jusko’s complete Marvel Masterpieces painted trading card art from the rare 2016 Upper Deck set is collected here in its entirety for the first time—featuring Marvel’s most famous heroes and villains, all beautifully illustrated by the incomparable Joe Jusko!
Joe Jusko’s paintings for the 1992 Marvel Masterpieces trading card collection are credited with launching the ’90s trading card boom. In 2016, Upper Deck returned the Masterpieces series to its roots with an all-new set of Jusko cards. The full set of paintings is collected here—more than 130 never-before-seen masterpieces, including the hard-to-find premium cards. Each card is presented at actual size and has been scanned by the artist to ensure the highest quality reproduction. Each piece of art is accompanied by its preliminary sketch, as well as commentary from the artist himself. Art fans not only get the full magnitude of Joe’s talent, in great detail, but insight into his thought process behind each piece. A must-have not only for Marvel fans, but for fans of fantastic art as well.
HC • FC • $59.99 • 336 pages • 9 1/4” x 13” • ISBN: 978-1-68405-318-6
Advance solicited for July release!
Joe Jusko has painted 10 brand-new pieces exclusively for this book!
Introduction by Bill Sienkiewicz, who has written an appreciation for Jusko’s work!

It's rare for me to buy art books, but I'll be picking this up for sure!

Now if only they'd release a similar book for his orignal Marvel Masterpiece set...

[LordJulius]

Has this been posted yet? Something old, something new...


FANTASTIC FOUR OMNIBUS HC VOL 01 NEW PTG
(W) Stan Lee (A/CA) Jack Kirby
HC, 848pgs, FC SRP: $100.00

MAR180973
FANTASTIC FOUR BY JOHN BYRNE OMNIBUS HC VOL 01 NEW PTG
(W) John Byrne, Chris Claremont, Marv Wolfman, Bill Mantlo, Stan Lee, Roger Stern
(A) John Byrne, Jack Kirby, Ron Wilson (CA) John Byrne
HC, 1096pgs, FC SRP: $125.00

MAR180974
FANTASTIC FOUR: BEHOLD… GALACTUS HC
(W) Stan Lee (A) Jack Kirby, John Buscema (CA) Joe Quesada
PRESENTED IN MONSTER-SIZE FORMAT! The Fantastic Four take on Galactus in one cosmically oversized hardcover! First, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduce the World-Eater and his enigmatic herald, the Silver Surfer, as they come for Earth in one of the greatest comic book sagas ever told! Next, Stan and Jack bring big G back — but what does he want this time? The answer lies in the Microverse! John Buscema’s powerful pencils illustrate the arrival of new herald Gabriel the Air-Walker, signaling doom for the human race! Then, John Byrne takes over as Terrax leads the Devourer back to Earth — and the entire Marvel Universe pitches in to help the FF save the planet from becoming his next meal! With Kirby, Buscema and Byrne art showcased on enormous pages, Galactus has never looked bigger — or better! Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #48-50, #74-77, #120-123 and #242-244. (STL081674)
HC, 312pgs, FC SRP: $50.00

MAR180975
EARTH X TRILOGY OMNIBUS ALPHA HC
(W) Jim Kreuger, Alex Ross (A) John Paul Leon, Bill Reinhold, Doug Braithwaite, Brent Anderson, Butch Guice, John Romita Sr., John Stanisci, Thomas Yeates, Ron Randall, Alex Ross (CA) Alex Ross
Comic-art master Alex Ross offers his dark vision of the Marvel Universe’s future — together with writer Jim Krueger, and artists John Paul Leon and Doug Braithwaite! The saga begins in a world where everyone has super-powers — and Reed Richards sets out to cure a calamity he fears he may have caused. Meanwhile, a battle-weary Captain America struggles to defeat a horrific new enemy of freedom, and Celestial forces beyond comprehension threaten a fate that only the Watcher suspects. Could it be that Earth itself is doomed — or can a new generation of heroes, including the legendary Mar-Vell reborn, save humanity? Brace yourself for bold reimaginings of the Avengers, X-Men, Inhumans, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and more! Collecting EARTH X #0-12, #1/2, #X, EPILOGUE and SKETCHBOOK; and UNIVERSE X #0-12, #X, 4, SPIDEY, CAP, BEASTS, IRON MEN and OMNIBUS. (STL081560)
HC, 1304pgs, FC SRP: $125.00

MAR180976
SPIDER-MAN VS VENOM OMNIBUS HC
Spider-Man meets his deadliest foe, as a rivalry for the ages is born! When Spidey’s symbiotic alien black costume takes a new host, Eddie Brock — who hates Spider-Man — together they become the lethal Venom! They’ll stop at nothing to take their revenge on Peter Parker…and when Venom sires an even more psychopathic offspring, the result is Maximum Carnage! Plus the sinister symbiote sinks his teeth into Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Quasar, Darkhawk and the Avengers, in this complete compendium of Venom’s earliest appearances! Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #258, #300, #315-317, #332-333, #346-347, #361-363, #374 and #378-380; WEB OF SPIDER-MAN (1985) #1, #95-96 and #101-103; AVENGERS: DEATHTRAP — THE VAULT GN; DARKHAWK #13-14; SPIDER-MAN: THE TRIAL OF VENOM; GHOST RIDER/BLAZE: SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE #5-6; SPIDER-MAN (1990) #35-37; SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (1976) #201-203; and material from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #373, #375, #388 and ANNUAL #25-26; WEB OF SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #7-8; SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #12; MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS (1988) #117-122; and SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED (1993) #1-2; plus VENOM SUBPLOT PAGES. (STL081622)
HC, 1160pgs, FC SRP: $125.00

MAR180977
DEADPOOL WORLDS GREATEST HC VOL 05
Deadpool. In. Spaaaaace!!! Things haven’t been great for Wade Wilson recently, and now he’s got it into his head that there might be a solution. One that takes him to the edge of the Marvel cosmos and back again! Then, Wade Wilson trusts Steve Rogers implicitly — how could he not? But that faith is about to be put to the test, big time, when Captain America ushers in his Secret Empire! Who’s the guy in Hydra green the chicks all call a sex machine? Deadpool! You’re darned right. But could it be that Wade’s on the wrong side of history on this one? Plus: In a secret story known only to compulsive variant-cover collectors, Odin ejects the regenerating degenerate from reality — and into the cover-verse! Collecting DEADPOOL (2015) #30-36 and DEADPOOL SECRET COMIC VARIANTS. (STL081676)
HC, 248pgs, FC $34.99

MAR180978
WEDDING OF CYCLOPS & PHOENIX HC
Wedding bells are ringing for the most star-crossed super hero couple of all: Scott Summers and Jean Grey! But there’s a ton of action to go with the romance as the X-Men and Avengers must keep Magneto’s Acolytes from destroying Genosha, the mutant-killing Legacy Virus hits close to home, and Professor X decides to rehabilitate the monster known as Sabretooth! But love conquers all when Jean and Scott tie the knot at last — before a mind-bending honeymoon to the far future, where they must raise Cyclops’ long-lost son and overthrow the planet-conquering Apocalypse! Collecting X-MEN (1991) #26-35, AVENGERS (1963) #368-369, AVENGERS WEST COAST #101, UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) #307-310, CABLE (1993) #6-8, X-MEN UNLIMITED (1993) #3, UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL (1992) #18, X-MEN: THE WEDDING ALBUM, WHAT IF? (1989) #60, ADVENTURES OF CYCLOPS AND PHOENIX #1-4 and material from MARVEL VALENTINE SPECIAL. (STL081615)
HC, 832pgs, FC SRP: $125.00

MAR180979
MOON KNIGHT BY JEFF LEMIRE AND GREG SMALLWOOD HC
Marc Spector (A.K.A. Moon Knight/Jake Lockley/Steven Grant) has been fighting criminals and keeping New York City safe for years…or has he? When he wakes up in an insane asylum with no powers and a lifetime’s worth of medical records, it calls his whole identity — identities —into question. Something is wrong, but is that something Marc himself? Delve deep beneath the mask of Moon Knight to meet the many men inside his head! While Steven Grant prepares for a box-office smash, Jake Lockley is arrested for murder! And as the muddled mind of Moon Knight reaches its limit, the secrets of his past are revealed in a story of birth, death and rebirth unlike any other. Trapped outside of reality, Moon Knight’s survival depends on answers — but Marc Spector is plagued by nothing but questions! Collecting MOON KNIGHT (2016) #1-14. (STL080205)
HC, 320pgs, FC SRP: $34.99

MAR180981
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: KILLRAVEN HC VOL 01
It is the year 2018. The Martian invasion of Earth has left our world shattered and its population enslaved. Into this post-apocalyptic nightmare comes Killraven, a man obsessed with his mission: to free Earth! Don McGregor and P. Craig Russell took on Killraven’s quest, and together they crafted some of the most compelling and nuanced comic-art masterpieces of the era. Their hero and his band of Freemen rebels strive, grow, battle and love with a humanity that’s as touching as it is exciting. And now, the complete Killraven sci-fi action opus is collected in this incomparable Marvel Masterworks — beautifully restored and featuring an amazing selection of behind-the-scenes material! Collecting AMAZING ADVENTURES (1970) #18-39 and MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #7.
(STL080232)
HC, 488pgs, FC SRP: $100.00

MAR180983
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: FANTASTIC FOUR HC VOL 20
The Fantastic Four has always been the home for Marvel’s biggest ideas and most creative concepts. It’s a tradition founded by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby — and now, Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz carry the torch (no pun intended) forward in this amazing Masterworks! Giant monsters invade New York! A possessed Franklin Richards threatens all reality with his immeasurable power! The FF join Captain Marvel in a cosmic war against the Skrulls, drawn by George Pérez! Doctor Doom retakes Latveria! A lost race of technologically advanced Vikings, powered by a blind god’s tears, needs the FF’s aid! And a trip to the great outdoors ain’t no picnic when alien brain parasites attack! The legendary John Byrne makes his writer/artist debut, and so much more! Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #219-231 and ANNUAL #15. (STL080213)
HC, 320pgs, FC SRP: $75.00