All New Marvel Collected Editions

[The Flicker Fade]

Thanks for all the opinions regarding Thor (vol 2). Divided as they are, I think I'm going to hold off on acquiring them for now. I don't really feel like the expense involved is justified. For some reason, I want to own all of vol 1, even though I'm sure parts of it are absolutely terrible (like that Sunlight and Shadows trade . . . yikes). But even if it's terrible, I feel like all the stuff in vol 1 matters. That all of it is the stuff that lays the foundation and that writers will write callbacks to always. That even belly shirt Thor counts and has a certain weight because it's in vol 1. But does any of the stuff in vol 2 matter? Any stories or character developments in it that get referenced since then? Ever? Or does nothing really matter for Thor again until vol 3 with Straczynski?

Hmmm . . .

Actually, do ANY of those post-Heroes Return vol 2's matter to any of the characters?

Cap . . . well, no.

Iron Man . . . nope!

Spider-man . . . no!

Fantastic Four . . . not really, no.

Avengers . . . yes. Yes, I suppose Busiek/Perez has stature comparable with vol 1 and successive volumes.

X-Men didn't get a volume relaunch, but the stuff from that era also proved disposable and left no mark on the franchise.

Hulk I don't know enough about.

Interesting.

[pud333]

Since the beginning of Marvel Now collections in 2013, Marvel's current strategy is to initially release all titles to TPB with the following exceptions:
- Their biggest titles (typically only those by Bendis or Aaron) first hit a standard-size HC, with a TPB released later
- Events and multi-title direct crossovers almost always go directly to OHC, with a TPB released later

Marvel's top-selling titles tend to get recollected into OHC volumes almost always containing two TPBs. That has included (but is not limited to) All New X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Daredevil, Deadpool, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Gwen, Star Wars titles, Thor, Uncanny X-Men. (Note that some of these titles hit hardcover, then TPB, and then OHC.)

Since the debut of Marvel Now collections in early 2013, a small fraction of Marvel's books which reach OHC are then collected into Omnibus format. The only exceptions to this have been books with three TPBs that leapt directly to a complete Omnibus that could have easily been called an OHC (Superior Foes of Spider-Man and Young Avengers).

Note that this pattern has not ALWAYS been the case. Marvel issued initial-release standard HCs for the vast majority of titles around 2010.

Questions?

This was pretty helpful, thanks! Marvel seems to have embraced the OHC format more than DC.

I know a few people on here have sold off their collections and I am looking for some advice. I have been going the amazon and ebay route, but its kind of tiresome making all the listings and the fees really eat up a lot of the sale price. Has anyone found a good alternative? I have tons that I'm looking to get rid of and its become quite the task.

I usually just take a stack to my local used book store and sell them. Another way is if your LCS can sell them for you by consignment. That way they don't take up space in your home and the LCS gets a premium for doing the selling.

[TomSlick]

Thanks for all the opinions regarding Thor (vol 2). Divided as they are, I think I'm going to hold off on acquiring them for now. I don't really feel like the expense involved is justified. For some reason, I want to own all of vol 1, even though I'm sure parts of it are absolutely terrible (like that Sunlight and Shadows trade . . . yikes). But even if it's terrible, I feel like all the stuff in vol 1 matters. That all of it is the stuff that lays the foundation and that writers will write callbacks to always. That even belly shirt Thor counts and has a certain weight because it's in vol 1. But does any of the stuff in vol 2 matter? Any stories or character developments in it that get referenced since then? Ever? Or does nothing really matter for Thor again until vol 3 with Straczynski?

Hmmm . . .

Actually, do ANY of those post-Heroes Return vol 2's matter to any of the characters?

Cap . . . well, no.

Iron Man . . . nope!

Spider-man . . . no!

Fantastic Four . . . not really, no.

Avengers . . . yes. Yes, I suppose Busiek/Perez has stature comparable with vol 1 and successive volumes.

X-Men didn't get a volume relaunch, but the stuff from that era also proved disposable and left no mark on the franchise.

Hulk I don't know enough about.

Interesting.

Iron Man does.

[Andru]

So I just finished Byrne's run on FF last night. I quite enjoyed it, but feel like there were too many unresolved threads.

I see there is an epic picking up right after Byrne's last issue.

Any opinions on issues 296-307?

[Rincewind]

So I just finished Byrne's run on FF last night. I quite enjoyed it, but feel like there were too many unresolved threads.

I see there is an epic picking up right after Byrne's last issue.

Any opinions on issues 296-307?

I didn't care for it. The main events are that the Thing returns to the team, She-Hulk leaves the team. Johnny and Alicia marry (retconned later that she was a skrull). Reed and Sue take a sabbatical with Crystal and Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura) replacing them.

There was a lot of change in the creative teams. Jim Shooter and Stan Lee wrote the anniversary issue # 296. Roger Stern wrote/plotted #297-302 which covered the wedding and She-Hulk leaving, but he never really got into his own groove. #303 was a Roy Thomas fill in. Steve Englehart became the regular writer with #304. But his run is not particularly well remembered and suffered from editorial interference in the latter half.

It's only for completists.

[Near Mint]

I didn't care for it. The main events are that the Thing returns to the team, She-Hulk leaves the team. Johnny and Alicia marry (retconned later that she was a skrull). Reed and Sue take a sabbatical with Crystal and Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura) replacing them.

There was a lot of change in the creative teams. Jim Shooter and Stan Lee wrote the anniversary issue # 296. Roger Stern wrote/plotted #297-302 which covered the wedding and She-Hulk leaving, but he never really got into his own grove. #303 was a Roy Thomas fill in. Steve Englehart became the regular writer with #304. But his run is not particularly well remembered and suffered from editorial interference in the latter half.

It's only for completists.

Agreed. The only counterpoint I'd offer is that Byrne's sudden departures had a way of leaving plot threads dangling, so at least the Epic offers closure, even if the story doesn't necessarily resolve the way Byrne would have done it, had he stuck around. Based on the concern stated by the OP, this might be justification enough to pick it up.

[Taral-DLOS]

Two questions:

1. Are the Amazing Adventures issues chronicling Beasts transformation into his blue, furry form collected anywhere besides the MMWs and Essentials?

I assume that these would end up in an X-Men Epic Collection Volume 4 one day. There are 23 issues each in Volume 1 (1-23) and 2 (24-45 + Avengers 53). There are only 21 issues left in the original pre-Giant Size run, but two volumes to fill, so I assume that Volume 4 will include most of the contents of the MMW Volumes 7 and 8.

[Hi-Fi]

I wonder if X-Men Vs Avengers and Fantastic Four Vs X-Men will also be collected in Epic X-Men. They should be.

[krisis]

I wonder if X-Men Vs Avengers and Fantastic Four Vs X-Men will also be collected in Epic X-Men. They should be.

Claremont wrote "vs. FF" so I think that one would be included for sure in an Epic as part of his overall narrative for X-Men. "vs. Avengers" isn't by Claremont, but they did include the Nightcrawler mini in an Epic and that was also non-Claremont, so I think the chances are good.

Now, I'd like to first get an OHC with those minis plus the 210s UXM reprint gap, but I wouldn't look a gift-horse in the mouth if we got an Epic

[Squall Leonhart]

Claremont wrote "vs. FF" so I think that one would be included for sure in an Epic as part of his overall narrative for X-Men. "vs. Avengers" isn't by Claremont, but they did include the Nightcrawler mini in an Epic and that was also non-Claremont, so I think the chances are good.

Now, I'd like to first get an OHC with those minis plus the 210s UXM reprint gap, but I wouldn't look a gift-horse in the mouth if we got an Epic

We'll fight that fight on every internet classic comic forum until we get it, goddamnit!

[grahamgg]

I wonder if X-Men Vs Avengers and Fantastic Four Vs X-Men will also be collected in Epic X-Men. They should be.

Please ... no. Those two mini series have been reprinted ad nauseum over the years. Personally, I'm kind of sick of them. FF/XM was the best of the two (Claremont written, natch) and tied up some lingering plots regarding Kitty Pryde from the Mutant Massacre so, it'll probably be in an X-Men Epic someday. I read the Avengers one a while back and didn't really care for it. Some (mostly ok) early Marc Silvestri art on X-Men but the story was kind of lame. I know there was some editorial interference/change ups regarding Magneto's status quo towards the conclusion so that's probably why it doesn't read very well as a whole.

Agreed. The only counterpoint I'd offer is that Byrne's sudden departures had a way of leaving plot threads dangling, so at least the Epic offers closure, even if the story doesn't necessarily resolve the way Byrne would have done it, had he stuck around. Based on the concern stated by the OP, this might be justification enough to pick it up.

Interesting you mention this. I was just commenting with some other posters over on the MMW MB RE: aborted Byrne plots. Seems like when he became a superstar writer/artist in the mid-80s his ego kept expanding to the point where he jumped all over the place like a teenage prima donna, leaving various characters & series unresolved in his wake.

He left the Hulk & Banner separated and that series in a mess in '87, left the FF just before their big anniversary in '86/87 with lots of plots all over the place, left Superman just after he'd executed three Kryptonian villains from an alternate universe. On the last page, after Supes makes it back to the real earth, he just flies away, smiling. WCA ended in a mess with the Vision totally transformed, USAgent on the team, Scarlet Witch going evil, basically a giant unresolved mess. Came back to Hulk in 98/99, cancelled the original series numbering for an all new #1, then left only 6 or 7 months later with the Hulk as a murdering monster. Oh wait, but it was Tyrannus controlling him (rolls eyes)...

So I just finished Byrne's run on FF last night. I quite enjoyed it, but feel like there were too many unresolved threads.

I see there is an epic picking up right after Byrne's last issue.

Any opinions on issues 296-307?

I didn't care for it. The main events are that the Thing returns to the team, She-Hulk leaves the team. Johnny and Alicia marry (retconned later that she was a skrull). Reed and Sue take a sabbatical with Crystal and Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura) replacing them....run is not particularly well remembered and suffered from editorial interference in the latter half. It's only for completists.

Personally I enjoyed it, although other folks mileage may vary. These were some of the issues being published when I first started reading comics back in the day so my enjoyment of them is mainly nostalgic. I always enjoyed the Pineapple version of the Thing and Sharon Ventura's She-Thing.

I also could not get into Byrne's Fantastic Four. I was most of the way through the first omni and sold it.

You gotta give it a while. If you're just reading the early issues where Byrne only does the art, those aren't the greatest. The art is nice, but the stories are just ho-hum. When Byrne takes over writing and art chores full time, the series really takes off. Honestly, it's my favorite era of FF. The trial of Reed Richards is great. The negative zone arc is pretty good as well. Enjoyed She-Hulk on the team and the empowerment of Invisible Woman. Some of the retcons/fixes with Doom & Secret Wars are kind of cringe inducing tho.

Actually, do ANY of those post-Heroes Return vol 2's matter to any of the characters?

Post-Heroes Return would be the Heroes Reborn series (vol 3s)...

Cap was by Waid & Garney again (and later Andy Kubert) and they picked up where they'd left off at the end of the vol 1 series. They're a pretty good read although it kind of fades out by the end (apparently editorial interference with Waid on a Red Skull story led to some issues).

Iron Man gets him "back to basics" by Busiek & Chen and are rather fondly remembered today. My roomate in college really enjoyed this era of stories. If nothing else, they straightened out the Teen Tony mess from the end of vol. 1.

Avengers vol. 3 by Busiek/Perez is good, old fashioned, Marvel super-heroic comic books. They still hold up well today.

The Hulk ... well yeah, post-Heroes Reborn you get Banner & the Hulk re-merged and PAD really takes off to close out his run. Those issues are pretty good and feature the return of Thunderbolt Ross, the Toyjan empire (I think) and the return of the Maestro. The thing about the Hulk is, apparently when they were planning Heroes Reborn, the Image guys wanted the Hulk over in Iron Man. So the story goes that PAD didn't know whether the Hulk book was going to be cancelled, relaunched, or what. So he got the short end of the stick (just like every other writer) in regards to what was going on in the main MU book. He was the one non-mutant hero left in the mainstream MU, albeit minus Bruce Banner. The Hulk stories from this era featuring a Banner-less Hulk still hold up pretty good. You get Adam Kubert on art, and a fun little Savage Land romp with Wolverine, then Hulk vs. the X-Men, Hulk becoming War the horseman of Apocalypse, and the great flashback issue. Sad that Marvel hasn't reprinted any of these issues before...

[Phoenixx9]

Do you know if they are going to release the third part of the X-Men book that will complete the original series run?

I believe they have already released the first two editions, but they are not numbered, so I didn't know if they will release another one to complete the series or not.

[FlashingSabre]

Do you know if they are going to release the third part of the X-Men book that will complete the original series run?

I believe they have already released the first two editions, but they are not numbered, so I didn't know if they will release another one to complete the series or not.

The epic collections release out of order, so they aren't traditionally numbered. I'm sure volume three will be out before too long, but it may not be the next X-Men volume they do. I'd put my money on a volume covering the gap between Mutant Massacre and Fall of the Mutants coming out first.

[UltimateTy]

Iron Man does.

Yup. That was a very underrated run from Busiek/Stern & Chen

This was pretty helpful, thanks! Marvel seems to have embraced the OHC format more than DC.

I don't know about that. Post Secret Wars Marvel hasn't done that many OHC's while DC has a bunch of rebirth ones coming soon.

[Phoenixx9]

The epic collections release out of order, so they aren't traditionally numbered. I'm sure volume three will be out before too long, but it may not be the next X-Men volume they do. I'd put my money on a volume covering the gap between Mutant Massacre and Fall of the Mutants coming out first.

Oh, okay. Thank you so much, Flashing Sabre!

I scarfed right through those first 2 volumes. I really enjoyed the old stories and art. And slowly seeing these teens mature in age and power. And get to see some old villains first appear.

I know there will be a wait, but I am excited to read all the original stories and what led up to the new X-Men team and how did they come about.