All New Marvel Collected Editions

[Captain Planet]

I hear that! I saw volume 2 for $36 on Amazon and then looked at the issues on Marvel Digital Unlimited. After I saw it, I knew I'd never want to read those stories with their half-baked Infantino art, so MDU saved me $36. Yeah!

MDU has saved me more money than it has cost me.

[QComix]

Actually over on the good deal thread, they're saying that volume 2 is going for about $35-$38 on Amazon. That said, I still wouldn't recommend them.

Yes I had seen the Amazon deal for Vol. 2 in the good deals thread, but I live in Canada and the deal is nowhere near as good on Amazon.ca. But, yeah, not buying it now anyway :P

[Rimmer]

They're their own companies, while Marvel and Dc are part of giant media corporations with shareholders that value profit margins differently.

Also, if you're a small company fighting against a large company, how do you differentiate yourself? By having higher quality books, to ideally woo folks like us from Marvel / DC to them, at least part of the time.

[grahamgg]

I was wondering this week if the stories in the Star Wars Epic collections were any good. I never read any of that stuff, but I'm really enjoying the new Marvel series and was looking for more Star Wars comics to read. So thanks for that timely post, you convinced me to try them

As for the three "Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years" Omnibuses, are they also great reads ?

I finished the Empire v1 Epic in only three sittings last week. I really dig that one and plan to pick up v2 when I can find it for cheap.

The Marvel Omnis collect the original SW comic series from the late 70s-mid 80s. To be honest, the vast majority of the stories aren't that great. It's not really Marvel's fault. They did the best with what they had to work with. It seems like every third or fourth issue teased some type of Darth Vader confrontation which almost always never materialized. This is because Lucasfilm gave strict restrictions on what Marvel could & couldn't do with the characters to avoid spoiling potential (then) future plot points for Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. So the majority of the time, the books just feel like they're treading water waiting on the movies to catch up to what the comics are doing. In the years between ESB and ROTJ every other issue has the crew on the hunt for Han Solo but you know he'll never turn up until after the ROTJ issues.

And even that being said, a lot of the early stories are just silly (Example: Jaxxon the giant rabbit and the weird yellow Jabba the Hut). The Luke Sykwalker: Pariah! arc by Walt Simonson and David Micheline is ok. And some of the later issues post-ROTJ written by Jo Duffy are ok. But by that point you can tell interest in the series was trailing off.

[QComix]

I finished the Empire v1 Epic in only three sittings last week. I really dig that one and plan to pick up v2 when I can find it for cheap.

The Marvel Omnis collect the original SW comic series from the late 70s-mid 80s. To be honest, the vast majority of the stories aren't that great. It's not really Marvel's fault. They did the best with what they had to work with. It seems like every third or fourth issue teased some type of Darth Vader confrontation which almost always never materialized. This is because Lucasfilm gave strict restrictions on what Marvel could & couldn't do with the characters to avoid spoiling potential (then) future plot points for Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. So the majority of the time, the books just feel like they're treading water waiting on the movies to catch up to what the comics are doing. In the years between ESB and ROTJ every other issue has the crew on the hunt for Han Solo but you know he'll never turn up until after the ROTJ issues.

And even that being said, a lot of the early stories are just silly (Example: Jaxxon the giant rabbit and the weird yellow Jabba the Hut). The Luke Sykwalker: Pariah! arc by Walt Simonson and David Micheline is ok. And some of the later issues post-ROTJ written by Jo Duffy are ok. But by that point you can tell interest in the series was trailing off.

Thanks for your detailed reply, I'll pass on the omnis! I'm really looking forward to read the Empire and New Republic Epics !

[awayne83]

I know someone else usually posts sales figure, but I thought it was surprising that the Hawkeye omni sold nearly 1700 units even though I suspect a lot of people were/are opting to wait for the second ohc.

[kodave]

I know someone else usually posts sales figure, but I thought it was surprising that the Hawkeye omni sold nearly 1700 units even though I suspect a lot of people were/are opting to wait for the second ohc.

I don't think it's surprising.

For one, I think a lot of people ditched their Vol. 1s when they announced the Omnibus and before they announced the Vol. 2 HC. Sure they could still rebuy Vol. 1 and have both HCs for cheaper than the Omnibus, or they could just buy the Omnibus they were enticed by even though it's overpriced in a couple of ways.

Secondly, some people just don't want to wait any longer. Get the Omnibus now or wait another month or whatever for the Vol. 2 HC to come out. There's people that pre-order video games or buy them at $60 full price on Steam. Then there's people who wait four years to buy the game for $4.99 during a Steam sale. It's the same with books. There's always going to be price conscious consumers, and then there's going to be people who want things immediately. The fact that people buy single issues at $3.99 or $4.99 a pop for 20 pages or whatever is a pretty good indication that the industry can easily support something like the overpriced Hawkeye Omnibus.

Third, I'm sure a lot of that number was pre-orders, but it's also not a count of units sold. It's the number of books retailers ordered from Diamond, the distributor. Hawkeye has been a continuous huge seller. There's pretty good odds that stores will be able to make money on the Hawkeye Omnibus (in addition to the HCs), so they ordered a decent amount of them. But there's always the chance the Omnis won't ACTUALLY sell. Possible, but I don't think very probably.

Fourth, some people recognize the Omnibus is overpriced compared to the two HCs, but still prefer to have everything in one book, and the price difference isn't a big deal. I think this will ultimately reflect the attitudes of a lot of consumers regarding this Omnibus.

At the end of the day, I don't think this community is necessarily representative of the overall consumer market for these deluxe books even though this is kind-of a niche hobby. How many people regularly come through this thread? 50? 100 posters? 100 is not even 6% of that first month tally for direct market orders. Consider sales in later months, and Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other non-direct-market retailers, international sales, etc. and that percentage gets smaller. Obviously Marvel pays some attention to communities like this (it seems mostly like the Marvel Masterworks Forum folks, with Jeph York and maybe others posting there), but overall there are a lot of people buying Omnibuses that aren't posting here or on the MMW Forums or anywhere else. There's a decent chance their buying preferences and concerns about the books might be different than those who seek out forums like this to discuss the hobby.

[awayne83]

Yeah I pretty much agree with all your points. Hell, I almost talked myself into getting it if not for all the other books coming out around the same time I wanted. But still, 1700 is a strong number..

[Raffi Ol D'Arcy]

Please find below the complete estimated comic book sales figures for October 2015 (please note this list only details those comics sold to North American Comics Shops as reported by Diamond). I’ve listed below the Marvel OHC/Omnibus/MMW’s as well as the larger TPB collections such as the Epic, Ultimate and Complete lines that made the list (position, title, est. sales).

42. Shield Complete Collection Omnibus HC - 1,983
44. Star Wars Legends Epic Collection Vol. 2 Empire - 1,969
57. Hawkeye By Matt Fraction and David Aja Omnibus HC - 1,682
58. Star Wars Marvel Covers HC Vol. 1 - 1,677
79. Moon Knight Epic Collection Shadows of Moon - 1,477
86. Star Wars Marvel Years Omnibus HC Vol. 3 - 1,403
93. Werewolf By Night Omnibus HC - 1,347
97. Marvel Masterworks Defenders HC Vol. 5 - 1,273
112. Man Thing By Steve Gerber Complete Collection Vol. 1 - 1,114
133. Miles Morales Ultimate Spider-Man Ultimate Collection Vol. 2 - 897
145. Damage Control Complete Collection - 849
154. Marvel Legacy of Jack Kirby Slipcase HC - 794
185. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad HC - 661
198. Deadpool By Daniel Way Complete Collection Vol. 1 - 617
290. Deadpool By Daniel Way Complete Collection Vol. 2 - 382

[Jim Noble]

Are the issues in the Star Wars epics available on Marvel Unlimited? I tried to have a look but as someone who's never read a SW comic looking at the vast array on MU I can't pick them out if they're there!

On another note, the SHIELD omni sold like gang busters! Looking forward to cracking mine open soon ☺

[Taral-DLOS]

Are the issues in the Star Wars epics available on Marvel Unlimited? I tried to have a look but as someone who's never read a SW comic looking at the vast array on MU I can't pick them out if they're there!

On another note, the SHIELD omni sold like gang busters! Looking forward to cracking mine open soon ☺

I'm not sure about Marvel Unlimited, but most/all of them are on Comixology.

[victorxd1999]

Are the issues in the Star Wars epics available on Marvel Unlimited? I tried to have a look but as someone who's never read a SW comic looking at the vast array on MU I can't pick them out if they're there!

On another note, the SHIELD omni sold like gang busters! Looking forward to cracking mine open soon ☺

Most are on Unlimited yes. Look for the Star Wars Purge issues, Dark Times, Darth Vader and the Lost command and Star Wars Republic #78-80.

[krylox]

just started to read silver surfer on marvel unlimited and was blown away by the awesomeness! has anyone heard if this is going to be released as an ohc anytime soon? it's PRE-DESTINED to be read in a deluxe edition, but i guess the sales on the regular issues wren't that stellar, so... should i just get the tpbs?

[Canucked]

Please find below the complete estimated comic book sales figures for October 2015 (please note this list only details those comics sold to North American Comics Shops as reported by Diamond). I’ve listed below the Marvel OHC/Omnibus/MMW’s as well as the larger TPB collections such as the Epic, Ultimate and Complete lines that made the list (position, title, est. sales).

42. Shield Complete Collection Omnibus HC - 1,983
44. Star Wars Legends Epic Collection Vol. 2 Empire - 1,969
57. Hawkeye By Matt Fraction and David Aja Omnibus HC - 1,682
58. Star Wars Marvel Covers HC Vol. 1 - 1,677
79. Moon Knight Epic Collection Shadows of Moon - 1,477
86. Star Wars Marvel Years Omnibus HC Vol. 3 - 1,403
93. Werewolf By Night Omnibus HC - 1,347
97. Marvel Masterworks Defenders HC Vol. 5 - 1,273
112. Man Thing By Steve Gerber Complete Collection Vol. 1 - 1,114
133. Miles Morales Ultimate Spider-Man Ultimate Collection Vol. 2 - 897
145. Damage Control Complete Collection - 849
154. Marvel Legacy of Jack Kirby Slipcase HC - 794
185. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad HC - 661
198. Deadpool By Daniel Way Complete Collection Vol. 1 - 617
290. Deadpool By Daniel Way Complete Collection Vol. 2 - 382

Werewolf by night did okay, considering. It's probably my favourite Omni this year. Shield really killed it. Deadpool by Way just keeps going on and on and on.

[Dayle88]

What kind of Deadpool is in the Way complete collections? Is it the genuinely funny, crazy one like Cable and Deadpool or is it the unbearable one that spends five pages at a time talking to his multiple personalities?