All New Marvel Collected Editions

[Iron Fist]

First and only time in my life when I was in London I went to FP. A guy walked to the register with a stack of Marvel ohc-s, at least 5 if not more. Couldn't believe my eyes. I mean if I'm a millionair, I guess, maybe...

That's just wasting money lol Even Amazon's official store is cheaper than FP.

[MrJed]

The first 3 are only good for window shopping, the Notting Hill one has some deals tho.

Indeed - it's just so much cheaper online, particularly for the big books. I don't know how they survive, must be tourists that actually buy.

[Canucked]

The last couple of months I've bought fewer and fewer books and my reading has dropped off considerably. I've been spending more time and money on other hobbies. I might be feeling a bit of comic burnout. :-/

I'm in a phase like that as well. I did get Shield and Werewolf by night, but other than that, I'm only picking up the odd Sub Mariner masterwork I find for cheap right now.

And some image stuff.

[Captain Planet]

I don't care about resale price or monetary worth. And I know what you're talking about but there isn't much to "bang for your buck" when the product needs cardboard to support the paper block. Better bang for your buck in TPB then, right? If the option is there.

I don't agree that tpbs have better value because tpbs are not over-sized nor is there proof that omnibuses will fall apart in a short time.

Part of the bang for your buck is the over-sized art, which in a visual medium, matters a lot. So there is extra value there that tpbs don't have. And for the vast majority of omnibuses, they don't need propping up with cardboard. With an omnibus, I get a book with a lot of issues at a decent price all in one place. The covers are harder and sturdier then tpbs and it's in glorious over-sized.

The one's that were faulty to begin with, like Stern Spider-man obviously already have issues but the claim that omnibuses won't last have little to back them up other than speculation. It could prove to be correct but I have omnibuses like Captain America Vol 1 by Burbaker, X-men Vol 1 or AXM which are about 6-8 years old each that have never had cardboard supporting them and show no signs of tearing or stress on the spine.

Putting a piece of cardboard under bigger ones like Simonson's Thor takes about 5 minutes. It doesn't bother me but if it bothers you then it makes sense to avoid the behemoths. I tend to stay away from the bigger ones just because they are a pain to read.

[joesephed]

My local Half-Price Books actually has TWO copies of Punisher Max, Vol. 4 sitting on their shelf. They are asking way too much, but it was crazy to see two copies of something so "rare".


Does anyone have the order of the issues in Spider-Man by Stern?

[RIPLynott]

Do you mean the evenly-spaced marks that are visible in the gutter when you hold the book the whole way open? These are notches that allow the binding glue to hold the pages in more firmly and are generally in every TPB, they aren't sewn signatures like in a hardcover.

In some dredd (2000 ad) paperback books i believe the pages are sewn as well. I could be wrong but it definitely looks like there is string sitting in the gutter. Not he complete case files ones, but the newer style paperbacks like america or day of chaos or whatever its called. Not marvel though lol. I WISH

[Bri]

Maybe I'm off my rocker to post this here but isn't the answer to poor build quality and the possibility of omnibuses and other large collections falling apart going digital? Your digital comics will never deteriorate and the reproduction quality is always flawless. Let me be clear here: I am not talking about those of us who buy books as potential collectors items, but the people who are only concerned with reading and enjoying the stories and art. At present digital costs more than buying actual print editions, but of course the digital books will last forever. Also no need for bags, shelves. boxes, etc.
So if all you are concerned with is the content and you feel you are spending too much on print editions that will fall apart digital might be the way to go. I myself am a total print addict, but I could see changing my ways.

[The Whovian]

Maybe I'm off my rocker to post this here but isn't the answer to poor build quality and the possibility of omnibuses and other large collections falling apart going digital? Your digital comics will never deteriorate and the reproduction quality is always flawless. Let me be clear here: I am not talking about those of us who buy books as potential collectors items, but the people who are only concerned with reading and enjoying the stories and art. At present digital costs more than buying actual print editions, but of course the digital books will last forever. Also no need for bags, shelves. boxes, etc.
So if all you are concerned with is the content and you feel you are spending too much on print editions that will fall apart digital might be the way to go. I myself am a total print addict, but I could see changing my ways.

I hate digital. I have to actually have the comic physically in my hands. There's nothing like holding the actual comic/book in your hands.

[victorxd1999]

Maybe I'm off my rocker to post this here but isn't the answer to poor build quality and the possibility of omnibuses and other large collections falling apart going digital? Your digital comics will never deteriorate and the reproduction quality is always flawless. Let me be clear here: I am not talking about those of us who buy books as potential collectors items, but the people who are only concerned with reading and enjoying the stories and art. At present digital costs more than buying actual print editions, but of course the digital books will last forever. Also no need for bags, shelves. boxes, etc.
So if all you are concerned with is the content and you feel you are spending too much on print editions that will fall apart digital might be the way to go. I myself am a total print addict, but I could see changing my ways.

I think digital doesn't hold a candle to actual books. I find that I savor the pages a lot more when it's an actual book, with digital I usually just read the words and then skip ahead, so I'm not enjoting the book as much as I could. But that's just me.

[Bri]

I totally understand. But with the poor quality of many collections the very act of reading the books is causing them damage. Anybody else left fingerprints in the ink of $125 omnibuses? Ive taken to handling my more expensive books with soft hand towels or gloves. I shouldn't have to have reading gloves, dammit.

[Peter Parker]

I totally understand. But with the poor quality of many collections the very act of reading the books is causing them damage. Anybody else left fingerprints in the ink of $125 omnibuses? Ive taken to handling my more expensive books with soft hand towels or gloves. I shouldn't have to have reading gloves, dammit.

You don't read in your study with your pipe, your scotch and your reading gloves?

[Tony]

The last couple of months I've bought fewer and fewer books and my reading has dropped off considerably. I've been spending more time and money on other hobbies. I might be feeling a bit of comic burnout. :-/

Have you collected most of the stuff you love? I buy so much less than I used too because modern comics are bad and the vast majority of what I love I own. DC may be finally doing reprints I am interested in again and they seem like the better trade program for once but part of it really is other companies got out the books quicker than they did, and what they still have to reprint I don't care about.

[Bor]

Maybe I'm off my rocker to post this here but isn't the answer to poor build quality and the possibility of omnibuses and other large collections falling apart going digital? Your digital comics will never deteriorate and the reproduction quality is always flawless. Let me be clear here: I am not talking about those of us who buy books as potential collectors items, but the people who are only concerned with reading and enjoying the stories and art. At present digital costs more than buying actual print editions, but of course the digital books will last forever. Also no need for bags, shelves. boxes, etc.
So if all you are concerned with is the content and you feel you are spending too much on print editions that will fall apart digital might be the way to go. I myself am a total print addict, but I could see changing my ways.

I love digital. I buy a lot on comixology and read a lot on marvel unlimited. That being said there is never going to come a time where I prefer digital over physical comics. Its a good way to read single issues or try out a series but for me atleast, and I think many others in this thread, its just not the same thing. For me this is mostly in regards to older comics that were made before digital colouring. For me it just feels wrong to read an 80s comic on my ipad, but I have no problem reading newer issues that way. And the no need for shelves as you mention is not a draw for me either since I like having a shelf with collections on it.

[Raffi Ol D'Arcy]

I hate digital. I have to actually have the comic physically in my hands. There's nothing like holding the actual comic/book in your hands.

Same here!

I'm an 80s comics kid and a book collector, and I hope nothing will ever break me to go digital.

Also going back to the Omnibus vs. TPB/HC format. I like my Omnibusses as opposed to any other format, even with the inferior quality. I find them a joy to read.

[DrGregatron]

Have you collected most of the stuff you love? I buy so much less than I used too because modern comics are bad and the vast majority of what I love I own. DC may be finally doing reprints I am interested in again and they seem like the better trade program for once but part of it really is other companies got out the books quicker than they did, and what they still have to reprint I don't care about.

I probably have bought most of the Marvel comics I'm interested in reading. In fact, I've bought so many it'll take years to finish reading them all. So, there's that. Plus, I'm not interested in reading modern Marvel comics since reading AvX a few years. I wish many of the Marvel Omnibuses I own were Masterwork HCs due to the MMWs readability and better quality of manufacture. I'd much rather own the Byrne FF in MMWs than huge omnibuses, but you take what you can get sometimes. Also, would like Claremont's Uncanny X-Men finished out in MMWs and the first couple volumes of New Mutants.