All New Marvel Collected Editions

[Brewman]

Hi everyone. Long, long time reader--first post! I can answer those questions about the Daredevil Omnibus Companion. Here are some photos comparing the first and new printings (hope I'm doing this right):

Attachment 34763

Attachment 34764

Attachment 34765


First printing on the left, second printing on the right. As you can see, the first printing is significantly thicker for whatever reason. Paper stiffness may be a factor in this as well as thickness, but the paper in both feels fine and looks fine to me (no waviness). The first printing has the half-dustjacket, the second has a full dustjacket (you all probably already knew or guessed that). The first has the imprinted faux-leather covers, the second has the newest-style gloss covered cardboard covers. The important difference, to me, is that the first printing has a tight glued binding and the second printing is sewn. And for me, the second printing matches my second printing Frank Miller Daredevil.


Also the cover price on the first printing is $60 and it's $100 for the second. But unlike some of you (), I recognize inflation is an unfortunate reality. The world is a more expensive place for everyone than it was in 2008 (in the heart of the recession) and that's just how it is. Even though it's true Marvel are rather more greedy with their prices on collected editions than all their competitors at the moment.


I feel I should mention this first printing copy is on ebay at the moment with the auction ending tomorrow night, if there's anyone who would prefer it over the new printing that much.


If anyone wants more pictures for comparison just ask in the next two days or so. Or if these aren't big enough, I didn't know what I could upload and what would be too big.

Welcome!! Thanks for the photos, that is a remarkable difference in thickness and thanks to krisis' new data of paper thinning by about .025 mm that works out to about a 1/2" thinner book for 500 pgs. I think I could believe that based on the pictures. What I find interesting is how attuned we have been to the feeling of the paper that thinning it by .00098 of an inch is so noticeable. I wonder if the paper type (more matte to glossier) changing as well made it seem so much more noticeable.

Thanks krisis for finally putting some hard data to the debate!

[banky]

Marvel Caliper Test #1! It looks like I'd need a caliper that measures to 1/1000th of a millimeter to get more exact than this, and those are an order of magnitude more expensive than the one I bought! Still, even 1/100th of a millimeter is enough to show the paper progression over time.

Equivalent to 24lb paper
Marvel Masterworks (Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD Vol. 1)
.11-.12mm

Equivalent to 16lb paper
Marvel Premiere Hardcover (FF: The Overthrow of Doom)
.08-.09mm

Old-Style Omnibus (X-Men, Vol. 1)
.08-.09mm

Lighter than 16lb paper
Epic Collection (X-Men: The Gift)
.07-.08mm

New-Style Omnibus (Uncanny X-Force)
.05-.06mm

Recent OHC (Infinity)
.05-.06mm

Interesting data krisis. I'm wondering if the MMW books have an even greater variance from different eras and printers, dependent on the type of paper used. I know there are a lot of glossy paged masterworks from the early 2000s that were printed in Canada. Is the FF v.1 MMW printed in Asia or Canada?

The biggest surprise is the Epic collection paper data. I'm guessing this may indeed have to do with the difference in the matte white paper used in Epics as opposed to the glossy paper stock used on the modern reprint Omnibus.

[krisis]

Alright, this is as far as I got tonight (password: CBR) which is already a vast improvement over my existing Omnibus page even with some data entry/clean-up to perform.

Please, no suggestions yet - much more to do! Yet, even in its prototype state it lists every version of every "Omnibus" and all of the OHCs we commonly talk about in the same breath as omnis.

[Rich]

X-force by Nicieza Feb 5, 2013 was the first black paper wrap with printed title laid out like faux leather. Phalanx Covenant OHC Feb 2014 was the first graphic wrap cover. I would have to check my shelves to see what Omni had the first graphic wrap but it would have been post Phalanx.
Edit: Just looked at CGN release dates and Deadpool by Kelly may have been first full graphic wrap Dec 2013. I just ordered Phalanx before Deadpool.

The first reprint of Miller Daredevil had the graphic wrap cover I believe and was released before Kelly Deadpool.

[Balakin]

DC has surpassed Marvel in quality from the omnibus I've seen. The Perez Wonder Woman omnibus had both cool Perez art on the cover and a glossy coat to protect it from stains and fingerprints unlike the lower quality marvel omnibuses from the last few years. I also noticed the Neal Adams Batman omnibus was of much higher quality materials than any of Marvel's recent books.

As Captain Planet wrote DC still didn't figure out the proper binding. Some are better than others but Marvel is mostly consistent on that part.
Also DC started using really thin paper as well and between the two I prefer Marvel's thin, crappy paper to DC's.
At this point both company sucks but Marvel asks more for their sub par product so DC wins but just barely.

[Raffi Ol D'Arcy]

Alright, this is as far as I got tonight (password: CBR) which is already a vast improvement over my existing Omnibus page even with some data entry/clean-up to perform.

Please, no suggestions yet - much more to do! Yet, even in its prototype state it lists every version of every "Omnibus" and all of the OHCs we commonly talk about in the same breath as omnis.

Looking very very good Krisis. I like how you've included info. on what is not included. For eg. in the Silver Surfer Omnibus, you've detailed that the backup Watcher stories are not included which were in the original Silver Surfer #1-18 issues.

[Raffi Ol D'Arcy]

Thanks Flicker Fade for the DD Companion pics. Pretty shocking to see how they vary in thickness. I miss the faux leather covers the most, I can survive with the thinner paper. It truly is a gratifying experience holding a faux leather covered Omnibus whilst reading.

[banky]

Thanks Flicker Fade for the DD Companion pics. Pretty shocking to see how they vary in thickness. I miss the faux leather covers the most, I can survive with the thinner paper. It truly is a gratifying experience holding a faux leather covered Omnibus whilst reading.

If I'm not mistaken, the DD Omnis all have printed card stock boards (covers) underneath the dust jackets. I also miss the faux leather covers but to my surprise, they appear to be slightly thinner than the card stock, printed covers.

Thanks again to krisis & Flicker for the data & pics.

[grahamgg]

Would anyone recommend the Civil War ohc?
Is it completely open-ended or is there resolution by the end of the story?

Yes, Civil War has a resolution, but the REAL conclusion to the story happened the week after CW #7 over in Captain America #25. They should have included Cap #25 in the Civil War collections, in my opinion.

DC has surpassed Marvel in quality from the omnibus I've seen. The Perez Wonder Woman omnibus had both cool Perez art on the cover and a glossy coat to protect it from stains and fingerprints unlike the lower quality marvel omnibuses from the last few years. I also noticed the Neal Adams Batman omnibus was of much higher quality materials than any of Marvel's recent books.

Agreed. I have both of those books you mention, and they're pretty great!

Hurrah for data! I'd be curious how MMW paper has changed quantifiably over the years. I'm still happy with it, but I suspect it's not as thick as it has ever been. Ironic that Epic Collections have thicker paper than $100+ omnibi.

The Epic line has officially become my format of choice! They come out relatively fast (there's a new one or two each month), the diversification of the line is a positive in my opinion (newly added Defenders, Ant Man, Black Panther, Hulk, etc), and the reproduction quality of the books is solid. I know other folks argue that it'll take forever for Marvel to collect entire title runs by expanding the line, but I'm ok with it. Otherwise I might've never read the classic Moon Knight or Iron Fist stories, or the great Englehart Silver Surfer series. And that last PAD Hulk volume was my favorite so far!

I like MMWs from a historical, archival standpoint. And they have the best build quality of all books Marvel puts out. However, their higher price point and slow release pattern have them taking a back-seat to the Epics in my opinion. I'll still buy MMWs of my favorite titles to keep my complete runs going since I've got full sets of Avengers, FF, X-Men, Spidey, and Hulk. But the Epics, for the money, can't be beat!

Omnibus books used to be my preferred format, but the quality drop, haphazard & nonsensical release pattern (come on, Marvel! We got 1990s Firsts ahead of Spidey vol 3, or a reprint of Astonishing X-Men or Ultimates????!!) have turned my opinion on the line of the last few years.

Alright, this is as far as I got tonight (password: CBR) which is already a vast improvement over my existing Omnibus page even with some data entry/clean-up to perform.

Please, no suggestions yet - much more to do! Yet, even in its prototype state it lists every version of every "Omnibus" and all of the OHCs we commonly talk about in the same breath as omnis.

You da man, Charlie Brown! Keep up the good work!

[Canucked]

Alright, this is as far as I got tonight (password: CBR) which is already a vast improvement over my existing Omnibus page even with some data entry/clean-up to perform.

Please, no suggestions yet - much more to do! Yet, even in its prototype state it lists every version of every "Omnibus" and all of the OHCs we commonly talk about in the same breath as omnis.

Looks awesome, and I didn't know you had an excalibur/Cap Britain guide. That's what I'll be reading at work today.

[DrGregatron]

Get ready for a MMW surprise - I measured Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 from 2003 - .06-.07mm. However, the brand-new Ms. Marvel? A solid .08mm on every page I measured!

(I re-measured the Nick Fury book, and I think .11mm is the right measure, as I got a .10mm on one page - probably something like 10.9 and I'm getting varying measures due to amount of ink coverage. I'm not sure how my caliper handles rounding.)

So, at some point the MMWs got a creamier paper that got scaled back, but it's still one step better than the original MMW paper!

How thick is UXM MMW volume 6? That's some of the best MMW paper if I recall correctly. How about the UXM Omnibus volume 1 printings 1 and 2 versus the most recent printing?

[banky]

How thick is UXM MMW volume 6? That's some of the best MMW paper if I recall correctly. How about the UXM Omnibus volume 1 printings 1 and 2 versus the most recent printing?

I think krisis will need the input from other users who own all of these volumes and various printings.

I'd like to know which Omnibus volumes have full wraparound illustrated cover boards? I've only seen OHC's with this design. Most of the omnis I own have the regular logo printed on the front cover.

[Brewman]

If I'm not mistaken, the DD Omnis all have printed card stock boards (covers) underneath the dust jackets. I also miss the faux leather covers but to my surprise, they appear to be slightly thinner than the card stock, printed covers.

Thanks again to krisis & Flicker for the data & pics.

The classic variants of the DD by Miller had the Faux Leather and embossing like the rest of the Omni's of that era. From the pictures I have seen the original printing of the Millers with the half jackets look like the Faux Leather to me but with the image embossed vs the standard logo layout, but I don't have the red and black version to say for sure.

[Brewman]

The first reprint of Miller Daredevil had the graphic wrap cover I believe and was released before Kelly Deadpool.

I can see your argument if the cover boards are printed identical to what is on the dust jacket with 2 tone and the image, and yes it did predate Deadpool by a month or so. In my view I said Deadpool because it was the full color image front and back; one being the standard cover and the other being the DM variant (also because I forgot about the DD since I hate that red & black abomination of a cover I pretend it doesn't exist)

[Dayle88]

What do people find so wrong about the Daredevil cover? Is it just because it isn't black with the red Marvel banner?