Which Omnibus should I get?

[Bloodbones]

Hi there,

First of all, i'm new to this whole comic book thing. Well, started reading/collecting at the end of March 2017. I'm hooked since and buy a lot of different stuff and follow lots of series. I want to buy my first omnibus soon and there's a couple of them that I want to get. Was hoping you guys could tell me which one in my list would be the best buy.

The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 (1963)
Spider-Man by Todd McFarlane
Daredevil Vol. 1 by Brubaker
Daredevil Vol. 1 by Bendis
Gotham Central
Superman The Golden Age Vol. 1

Heard that The Sleeper was pretty good too.

So, what should I get first?

Thanks for your opinions/advices

Alex

[Balakin]

Hi there,

First of all, i'm new to this whole comic book thing. Well, started reading/collecting at the end of March 2017. I'm hooked since and buy a lot of different stuff and follow lots of series. I want to buy my first omnibus soon and there's a couple of them that I want to get. Was hoping you guys could tell me which one in my list would be the best buy.

The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 (1963)
Spider-Man by Todd McFarlane
Daredevil Vol. 1 by Brubaker
Daredevil Vol. 1 by Bendis
Gotham Central
Superman The Golden Age Vol. 1

Heard that The Sleeper was pretty good too.

So, what should I get first?

Thanks for your opinions/advices

Alex

Sleeper is amazing! I would highly recommend that. Also Planetary. Gotham Central is almost as good as Sleeper or Planetary IMHO and Bendis' DD is probably my favourite Marvel run ever and probably on of my favourite superhero books. You need Bendis' run before Brubaker's though but both are just great but the Bendis omnibuses are quite out of print and cost a fortune.
As for the older stuff I can't really comment, depends on how much you like old material, I prefer bronze age or old adventure strip series to the SA and GA superhero stuff. But as far as SA material goes Spider-man is one of the best.
The McFarlane spidey I think is only for spidey completionists or for nostalgia. Or maybe if you are a huge fan of McFarlane's rt.

[Dark-Flux]

If you can find Bendis' Daredevil id go for that.
Otherwise, Gotham Central or Sleeper.

[FluffySheep]

Hi there,

First of all, i'm new to this whole comic book thing. Well, started reading/collecting at the end of March 2017. I'm hooked since and buy a lot of different stuff and follow lots of series. I want to buy my first omnibus soon and there's a couple of them that I want to get. Was hoping you guys could tell me which one in my list would be the best buy.

The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 (1963)
Spider-Man by Todd McFarlane
Daredevil Vol. 1 by Brubaker
Daredevil Vol. 1 by Bendis
Gotham Central
Superman The Golden Age Vol. 1

Heard that The Sleeper was pretty good too.

So, what should I get first?

Thanks for your opinions/advices

Alex

Of those that you've mentioned, and if you're only buying ONE to start with, get Sleeper. I'm no seasoned professional when it comes to reading comics, but Sleeper is still the best thing I've read. Planetary is very good too, but in my opinion, Sleeper just pips it. Sleeper will also most likely be the cheapest to buy out of all those you've listed.

[bomaya]

Well I'd go the other way and recommend the Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus. It's huuge as it contains all of the Lee-Ditko issues. Don't know how much of a classic Marvel/Spider-Man fan you are but if you haven't read it, you need too. The stories and art will seem dated if you are only used to modern comics but it introduces all the elements that make Spidey as much-loved as he is still today.

[Balakin]

Well I'd go the other way and recommend the Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus. It's huuge as it contains all of the Lee-Ditko issues. Don't know how much of a classic Marvel/Spider-Man fan you are but if you haven't read it, you need too. The stories and art will seem dated if you are only used to modern comics but it introduces all the elements that make Spidey as much-loved as he is still today.

I'm always cautious recommending old stuff for new readers (Bloodbones said he is new) because it can be off putting. Even runs that I absolutely adore. I would recommend checking it out online or get a cheap MMW paperback or some reprint of a Lee-Ditko issue. But if you like old comics then ASM is one of the best from that era and it's really a history lesson in Marvel. The only series that's more important is F4 but that might be a bit rougher at the start.

[FluffySheep]

I'm of a similar opinion to Balakin. I love my ASM Omnibus but if someone hasn't read silver age stuff before, it can be heavy going. I do think the ASM Omnibus is a must read for everyone but if Bloodbones is ONLY buying one book now, I'd for something a bit more recent. If Bloodbones wants a bigger book, go for Gotham Central. That thing is a beast.

[Captain Craig]

Hi there,

First of all, i'm new to this whole comic book thing.

The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 (1963)
Spider-Man by Todd McFarlane
Daredevil Vol. 1 by Brubaker
Daredevil Vol. 1 by Bendis
Gotham Central
Superman The Golden Age Vol. 1

Heard that The Sleeper was pretty good too.

So, what should I get first?

Thanks for your opinions/advices

Alex

I'm with @Balakin, since he's a new reader and at this point only knows the writing style of current comics he should stay within this era for a bit.
It's nice to see @Bloodbones is open to older, more original fare, but I suspect that's cause he/she might also be curious about the true "starting point" without any frame of reference on how the mediums style has evolved to where it is currently.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my ASM Omnis, vol.1-3 are pure greatness and I await vol.4.
Golden Age Superman vol. 1 is very, very dated and requires a, I kid you not, something of a mental shift into "historical context" to read them.
I'd not recommend either for someone this new to comics.

I really think that you can't go wrong with the Daredevil or Gotham Central material. Quality modern fare there.

Never read Sleeper.

While the writing in the Spider-man by McFarlane is less than the remaining others the stories are still fun. Reading that Omni is like watching a Transformers film in some way. You are there for the art/action and when some things click plot wise it's a bonus but it's a joy to look at!

[iPodwithnomusic]

I'd suggest the Daredevil by Brubaker vol 1 omnibus, It is really great and you can get the full story in Omnibus format. The vol 2 is available now, and the third book, Daredevil: Shadowland omnibus, comes out in ~6 months. I plan on picking up all three of these omnis.

[Balakin]

I would love to hear back from Bloodbones since we are arguing by making up assumptions about him
I'm also curious if he has a deal on DD by Bendis or has the funds for it or that book just ended up in the list without looking up the prices. It's a great book and I really think it's essential to Brubaker's run but you can still get the story in 3"ultimate collection" trades if you can't afford the omni (I can't so I just have the trades). But to be fair, I've read the Brubaker run twice, both times right after or not long after Bendis' run so I can't really judge how good it works as a standalone.

[Bloodbones]

Wow, thanks for all the input guys!

Yeah i'm new to reading and all but I was looking at videos for The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus and I thought that it looked great. Old style yes, but I'm intrigued to see how it all started for Spidey. I love Spider-Man and the idea of getting all the issues from the beginning sounds great I think lol. It's the same reason why I wanted to get the Superman one. Getting the story from his first appearance and all, I think it's awesome to be able to get that now. But yeah, maybe reading it I would find it weird and not too enjoyable, I don't know.

What changed so much since then appart from the art?

I've seen the art for The Sleeper and Gotham Central. I think it's great and the stories look cool. I prefer the art for Gotham Central from what I saw though.

Regarding Spider-Man by McFarlane. I enjoy McFarlane art a lot. Picked up his first Spider-Man issue (1990, #1) a couple weeks ago and fell in love with his art. I think he's amazing and I now have #1, 8 and 10 and wanted to get all his 14 issues. When I saw his omnibus, I thought it would be great to have them all in that nice format.

I didn't know Daredevil by Bendis was out of print and selling for crazy prices!!! Wow. Only one I see on amazon is listed at like 2,000$ Cad! Crazy. Do you guys think it will be reprinted? If not, can I still read the Brubaker run without reading the Bendis one? Does the Bendis run is 1 to 81, and then Brubaker is 82 to 118 or something? And can I find the Bendis run is a nice hard-cover format of some sort?

Thanks for all your inputs, I appreciate it a lot

Alex

[iPodwithnomusic]

I didn't know Daredevil by Bendis was out of print and selling for crazy prices!!! Wow. Only one I see on amazon is listed at like 2,000$ Cad! Crazy. Do you guys think it will be reprinted? If not, can I still read the Brubaker run without reading the Bendis one? Does the Bendis run is 1 to 81, and then Brubaker is 82 to 118 or something? And can I find the Bendis run is a nice hard-cover format of some sort?

Right now the best way to get the Bendis run is the three ultimate collections, I don't know of any currently available HCs of it. His run is 16-19, 25-50, 56-81. Then Brubaker's run is 82-119 + 500. The shadowland omni should finish the run with 501-512. I think you should be fine reading Brubaker's without Bendis' run, but it would be more enjoyable if you read Bendis'.

I think there is a decent chance of Bendis' omnis getting a reprint, with the popularity of the show they have printing tons of Daredevil omnis. However, I'm no expert, I've only been following Marvel for about a year.

[Balakin]

Wow, thanks for all the input guys!

Yeah i'm new to reading and all but I was looking at videos for The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus and I thought that it looked great. Old style yes, but I'm intrigued to see how it all started for Spidey. I love Spider-Man and the idea of getting all the issues from the beginning sounds great I think lol. It's the same reason why I wanted to get the Superman one. Getting the story from his first appearance and all, I think it's awesome to be able to get that now. But yeah, maybe reading it I would find it weird and not too enjoyable, I don't know.

What changed so much since then appart from the art?

I've seen the art for The Sleeper and Gotham Central. I think it's great and the stories look cool. I prefer the art for Gotham Central from what I saw though.

Regarding Spider-Man by McFarlane. I enjoy McFarlane art a lot. Picked up his first Spider-Man issue (1990, #1) a couple weeks ago and fell in love with his art. I think he's amazing and I now have #1, 8 and 10 and wanted to get all his 14 issues. When I saw his omnibus, I thought it would be great to have them all in that nice format.

I didn't know Daredevil by Bendis was out of print and selling for crazy prices!!! Wow. Only one I see on amazon is listed at like 2,000$ Cad! Crazy. Do you guys think it will be reprinted? If not, can I still read the Brubaker run without reading the Bendis one? Does the Bendis run is 1 to 81, and then Brubaker is 82 to 118 or something? And can I find the Bendis run is a nice hard-cover format of some sort?

Thanks for all your inputs, I appreciate it a lot

Alex

Marvel is really unpredictable with their reprints but the Bendis DD is long overdue. It's weird we got the Brubaker one before Bendis. I know his omnibuses tend not to sell all that well but I think DD is the one exception.
I love that run so much I would recommend getting it in any formats. There were I think 6 oversized hardcovers of it but some of them are oop too but they are still easier to hunt down than the omnis.

As for McFarlane, if you like what you've read so far then by all means, go for it! Probably it's the cheapest of the bunch (I would assume because it's thin).

As for ASM and Superman you have cheaper options to try them out, read a couple of issues to see if you would like to read 40-50 issues of them.
ASM has an Epic collection called Great power reprinting half of the omnibus in tpb form or you could look up the Marvel Masterworks paperback line or even the hardcovers to see if you can find a cheap, used version of vol1. Obviously it all depends on how much you can spend. If you are fine with reading online I remember seeing that MArvel offers a month of free of his Unlimited service right now. I might be wrong.

As for Superman you have two cheaper options I know of. One is the older Superman chronicles paperbacks or the new Superman the Golden age v1 tpb. The Chronicles is like 200 pages long the Golden age one is between 350-400 pages, it basically reprints half of the first omnibus.

[Captain Craig]

Yeah i'm new to reading and all but I was looking at videos for The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus and I thought that it looked great. Old style yes, but I'm intrigued to see how it all started for Spidey. I love Spider-Man and the idea of getting all the issues from the beginning sounds great I think lol. It's the same reason why I wanted to get the Superman one. Getting the story from his first appearance and all, I think it's awesome to be able to get that now. But yeah, maybe reading it I would find it weird and not too enjoyable, I don't know.

What changed so much since then apart from the art?
....

Plotting, Structure, Pacing, Tone of the writing style.

[Balakin]

oh btw, speaking of DD. Did you consider DD by Miller omnibus and the DD by Miller Companion omnibus? Those are good starting points for DD and most people say it's the best DD run ever. It set the tone for the next 2 decades for the series and the storytelling improved in it massively (which you can observe while reading the book since the first bunch of stories are written by Roger McKenzie before Miller takes over)