All New Marvel Collected Editions

[LordJulius]

Was just browsing over on the MMW MB and one of the posters there mentioned he'd been into his LCS to pick up books & received a free 2018 Marvel calendar as a giveaway. Why is this news and what does it have to do with collected editions?

Apparently the calendar art for April featured a BWS Conan image. Neat! Does this mean Marvel has the license back for Conan material? If so, can't wait to see some new, remastered Conan material released in Omnibus, MMW, etc!

Did a quick internet search and there are some pics of the calendar on bleedingcool.com. Hopefully Conan will get the Star Wars or MOKF treatment and we will soon see this classic Marvel material reprinted & remastered and back on the shelves. I'd buy it.

Oh dear Lord, no. I don't want friggin Disney anywhere near Conan. Yes, I'd love an oversized HC collection of classic BWS and Buscema Conan, but DH has been doing an excellent job of putting out some of the best Conan books of all time and while not really R-rated, they show an amount of violence suitable to the character and source material. I don't want any T-rated or All Ages PC Disney crap.

[Rincewind]

Oh dear Lord, no. I don't want friggin Disney anywhere near Conan. Yes, I'd love an oversized HC collection of classic BWS and Buscema Conan, but DH has been doing an excellent job of putting out some of the best Conan books of all time and while not really R-rated, they show an amount of violence suitable to the character and source material. I don't want any T-rated or All Ages PC Disney crap.

Marvel does have the Max imprint. And they publish titles like the Punisher. It's not like Marvel publishing changed the tones of all the books when Disney bought them.

[Tupiaz]

Oh dear Lord, no. I don't want friggin Disney anywhere near Conan. Yes, I'd love an oversized HC collection of classic BWS and Buscema Conan, but DH has been doing an excellent job of putting out some of the best Conan books of all time and while not really R-rated, they show an amount of violence suitable to the character and source material. I don't want any T-rated or All Ages PC Disney crap.

Disney cares very little what is happening with the comic books. Marvel was brought because of how much money they where making on their movies not because of the unimportance of a comic book. If Disney have any interest in Conan is to make movies and video games. The money made on comics a on larger note not that important for a company like DC or Warner Brothers. Both companies have very little to no reason to micromanage DC or Marvel. The only reason would be because a violent Conan story could make negative PR. for Disney. However as long as the book is marked for a matured audience and is not printed with a Disney logo the chances of a negative PR story happening are tiny.

[LordJulius]

Well perhaps I should’ve said Disney/Marvel, but I‘m still not convinced. The MAX imprint is basically dead (apart from when they get Ennis to write something) and Conan has the potential to be another movie property they might take advantage of, with kid- or teen-friendly comic books alongside. Then there‘s the FF situation (see also Inhumans) which shows the movie side does indeed have an influence on the books. Lastly, Marvel‘s Conan had already been an all ages title so why not do that again? Even SSoC was at most comparable to what a T-rated title is nowadays. Not taking and chances then.

[Rincewind]

Well perhaps I should’ve said Disney/Marvel, but I‘m still not convinced. The MAX imprint is basically dead (apart from when they get Ennis to write something) and Conan has the potential to be another movie property they might take advantage of, with kid- or teen-friendly comic books alongside. Then there‘s the FF situation (see also Inhumans) which shows the movie side does indeed have an influence on the books. Lastly, Marvel‘s Conan had already been an all ages title so why not do that again? Even SSoC was at most comparable to what a T-rated title is nowadays. Not taking and chances then.

Marvel has not gotten more restrictive* since they stopped publishing Conan. They've dropped the Comics Code seal, they've loosened up the restrictions on language so that "*******" now shows up in issues without any warnings. They've created a special mature readers imprint. So the idea that Disney/Marvel is trying to dumb everything down or bowlderize their publishing is unfounded.

* for the most part. Depictions of tobacco use and some racial slurs are now absent from their general audience titles.

[LordJulius]

Didn‘t say anything about „dumbing down“. And as for their mature imprint, they got rid of that as quickly as they introduced it. Apart from Ennis‘ Fury, when was the last MAX title published? That line has been dead for years (one mini series every three years or so isn’t a ‚line’ and Ennis gets leeway just because he sells; nobody wants to read kid-friendly Ennis). As it is, there‘s nothing with the level of gore and violence in Marvel‘s portfolio atm that matches DH‘s Conan books. And I just tend to like my S&S books bloody and gory. So a move to Marvel wouldn‘t fill me with any confidence.

P.S.: Marvel had already got ‚rid‘ of the Code with SSoC, which was published in magazine format to get around that.

[Rincewind]

Didn‘t say anything about „dumbing down“. And as for their mature imprint, they got rid of that as quickly as they introduced it. Apart from Ennis‘ Fury, when was the last MAX title published? That line has been dead for years (one mini series every three years or so isn’t a ‚line’ and Ennis gets leeway just because he sells; nobody wants to read kid-friendly Ennis). As it is, there‘s nothing with the level of gore and violence in Marvel‘s portfolio atm that matches DH‘s Conan books. And I just tend to like my S&S books bloody and gory. So a move to Marvel wouldn‘t fill me with any confidence.

P.S.: Marvel had already got ‚rid‘ of the Code with SSoC, which was published in magazine format to get around that.

I guess I never knew how the Dark Horse Conan stories have raised the bar on violence and other adult content. Is the sex and language similarly more explicit?

[Johnny Thunders!]

I think Journey Into Mystery is going to be my Christmas present! Is the Young Avenger Omnibus essential?

[awayne83]

I think Journey Into Mystery is going to be my Christmas present! Is the Young Avenger Omnibus essential?

Only if your interested in Kid Loki's progression post-JIM

[Dark-Flux]

I guess I never knew how the Dark Horse Conan stories have raised the bar on violence and other adult content. Is the sex and language similarly more explicit?

Ive never seen any blood or gore in DHs Conan books that was anywhere near the level of that in say; the recent Punisher series by Becky Cloonan. A non-Max title.

This idea that Disney tone down the violence in any property they buy seems to be widespread yet totally unfounded. You see it all the time; "oh no! Now theres gonna be a musical number in Star Wars!". Please... They produced Rogue One, arguably the most violent SW to date.

[Taral-DLOS]

Thank you for answering! I thought my question got overlooked.

I was confused when Marvel skipped over 46-66 and the next epic began with the All-New XMen. I have been waiting for those final issues to read.

Epics are generally not released in order. They skip about madly. Which in some cases is fine, but in others I'm annoyed. I want them to release Wolverine Volumes 2+ (which should include a number of one-shot specials and Marvel Comics Presents arcs), but they've just done Volumes 1, 8, 12, and soon 13.

[Raffi Ol D'Arcy]

The complete estimated comic book sales figures for November 2017 are in (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, detailing the position, title and estimated sales. I haven’t included any reentries.

52. LCSD 2017 Planet Hulk OHC - 1,503
59. Venom: Carnage Unleashed TPB - 1,453
72. Generations OHC - 1,288
82. X-Men Epic Collection Vol. 19: Mutant Genesis - 1,177
85. Star Wars Legends Epic Collection Vol. 2: Rise of the Sith - 1,165
90. Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk HC Vol. 11 - 1,129
110. Deadpool & X-Force Omnibus - 995
113. Black Panther By Reginal Hudlin: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 - 967
139. Spider-Man: Clone Saga Omnibus Vol. 2 - 810
154. Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok - The Art of the Movie Slipcase HC - 746
160. X-Men Termination: The Age of Apocalypse TPB - 726
180. Cable: The Hellfire Hunt TPB - 666
228. Avengers By Brian Michael Bendis: The Complete Collection Vol. 3 - 544

There was a ton of reentries linked to the recent Marvel warehouse clearance including 23 Omnibuses and 12 Marvel Masterworks, some moving over 2000 copies and quite a few exceeding the current low sales of Spider-Man: Clone Saga Omnibus Vol. 2 and Deadpool & X-Force Omnibus. The Uncanny Inhumans Vol. 2 OHC didn't even chart and most probably didn't shift more than 300 units. The first volume charted with only 604 units back in March 2017. It looks like Marvel Television's (& IMAX) "Inhumans" was the last nail in the coffin for the Inhumans. Not many seem to be interested anymore.

For the sake of comparison, DC's Absolute and Omnibus sales in November: Absolute Justice League World’s Greatest Superheroes - 1,155; Batman Knightfall Omnibus Vol. 2 - 923; Batman & Robin By Tomasi & Gleason Omnibus – 862; Batman The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 4 – 759.

[Captain Craig]

I'm disappointed in that Clone Saga vol.2 number.
We need at least a volume 3 to wrap that up and this makes me leery to get one now.

Re: DC
I wonder if 3 Batman Omnis in one month hurt sales on each title? Would like to see that Golden Age number higher and I believe the Knightfall would've probably done into the 1K realm if the character didn't have competing books against itself.

[Raffi Ol D'Arcy]

I'm disappointed in that Clone Saga vol.2 number.
We need at least a volume 3 to wrap that up and this makes me leery to get one now.

Re: DC
I wonder if 3 Batman Omnis in one month hurt sales on each title? Would like to see that Golden Age number higher and I believe the Knightfall would've probably done into the 1K realm if the character didn't have competing books against itself.

Yes, I find it quite strange when Marvel or DC put out several large books such as Omnibuses in the same week. Knightfall Vol. 2 and B&R by Tomasi & Gleason were released in the same week, which forced me to purchase them both at the same time to take advantage of the 50% offer on IST which resulted in a massive shipping charge. I would much prefer they came out in separate weeks. This would enable me to couple the Omnibus with a smaller book or two, giving me a lower shipping cost. Marvel did the same thing with Cap by Waid Omnibus and X-Men Classic Omnibus. I ended up only ordering the Cap Omni with the hope that sometime down the line I'd be able to pick up the latter at a discounted price.

[2nd line g]

Is there an Uncanny Xmen vol 4 Omnibus planned?