All New Marvel Collected Editions

[Balakin]

I'm on the fence honestly.
I agree that Marvel paper is thin but it doesn't bother me. It looks fine on older stuff but I agree that with modern stuff with much deeper ink and colors it can be an issue.
On the other hand when I read Hellboy's Legendary edition, which has thick paper, I keep thinking I've turned 2 pages instead of one and it annoys me greatly because it pauses the pace of the story.

yeah but only because you are used to other inferior products
but, if everything had the DH LE paper we would run out of space for our collections a lot faster. Although I'd be fine if Marvel would return to their old ohc/omni quality with the faux leather covers and the thicker (but still not LE) paper. I mean, I'm still fine, I'm buying their stuff but every time I get an older ohc I get a bit sad that current stuff if just not as good.

[Mr`Orange]

I'm on the fence honestly.
I agree that Marvel paper is thin but it doesn't bother me. It looks fine on older stuff but I agree that with modern stuff with much deeper ink and colors it can be an issue.
On the other hand when I read Hellboy's Legendary edition, which has thick paper, I keep thinking I've turned 2 pages instead of one and it annoys me greatly because it pauses the pace of the story.

I have the same issue with the Hellboy LE books. But it is one I can live with. The awful paper quality on Dynamite's Kirby meant I've never bought another Dynamite trade and the paper on Infinity was almost as bad. I was worried I'd tear it with each turn.

[DrGregatron]

I'm on the fence honestly.
I agree that Marvel paper is thin but it doesn't bother me. It looks fine on older stuff but I agree that with modern stuff with much deeper ink and colors it can be an issue.
On the other hand when I read Hellboy's Legendary edition, which has thick paper, I keep thinking I've turned 2 pages instead of one and it annoys me greatly because it pauses the pace of the story.

That's called "muscle memory". Your fingers remember how thin and crappy the new Marvel paper is and your fingers then refuse to believe that the Hellboy Library Editions could have such luxuriously thick paper. You gotta blame the money-grubbing tightwads at Marvel for your inability to enjoy a fantasticly produce Dark Horse book! ;-)

[Suriel]

If you can't afford it or don't really want it, don't buy it.

On another note, I'd forgotten how much I love McFarlane's art.

I don't know what to think of that attitude. On the one hand, its perfectly valid when it comes to monetary issues. On the other hand it reads like this: Comics are becoming a luxury item and if you can't afford it anymore, then you are not in the club anymore. Back in the days when comics started they went for 10 cents, which would roughly be 1 dollar nowadays. Instead we are being charged 4 dollars for a "book" which you can read in under 5 minutes in the worst case.
I said it before and I say it now: Marvel is going to loose me as a customer with increasing prices and declining book/paper quality sooner or later now. The recent book prices here in Europe are insanely high and although I a have a job, I am not willing to spent 100€ on a new book, which is readily available. In the last few month I pulled the plug on some books because of that. Something I didn't do a few years ago when book prices were in the 60-70€ range on amazon and other sellers. But now, two or three books of that kind plus some extra books you are easily in the region of 300-400€ each month just for comics. With lousy paper that is.
Personally, I can understand the concerns of the price problem very well.
Digital is not an option so stop buying is the sadly only alternative for me...
Marvel outpriced itself.

[Drakul]

Haha you guys
the thing is I read a lot of different stuff so I have 35 years of muscle memories from regular books, manga, European bande dessinees and now US comics (most of which I've read in TPBs format) so yeah I'm not used to thick paper to begin with.

But let's be real. I'll take a Marvel omni with thin paper that lays flat over a DC beartrap with gutter loss any day. And nothing beat the **** that is a Top Cow omni.

[Andru]

Need some opinions on the material when Ben Reilly was Spider-Man...

I just finished up the Carnage Classic trade, and enjoyed the few issues where Ben was Spider-Man.

I know there is some controversy over the Clone Saga as a whole, and not that many people were thrilled when the Omnibus was revealed.

However, how are the stories following the Clone Saga? I see there are 6 collections of "The Complete Ben Reilly Epic". I was thinking about picking the first one up, but wanted to see if anyone had some positive or negative comments on the stories.

[The Flicker Fade]

However, how are the stories following the Clone Saga? I see there are 6 collections of "The Complete Ben Reilly Epic". I was thinking about picking the first one up, but wanted to see if anyone had some positive or negative comments on the stories.

People generally like Ben Reilly even while hating the Clone Saga overall and the machinations that tried to position him as the one and only "real" spider-man. There's a reason Marvel put out those Complete Ben Reilly trades--people wanted them! Although I personally have never read them.

[Raffi Ol D'Arcy]

My recent accumulated Marvel haul:

[Raffi Ol D'Arcy]

I finally decided to purchase the Fantastic Four Lee/Kirby Omnis as managed to pick them up at discount along with the USM Vol. 12 OHC. I'll be acquiring FF Omni Vol. 1 later on. I'll probably end up double dipping with the GotG once I get the War of Kings Omnis.

[OldManBrian]

I don't know what to think of that attitude. On the one hand, its perfectly valid when it comes to monetary issues. On the other hand it reads like this: Comics are becoming a luxury item and if you can't afford it anymore, then you are not in the club anymore. Back in the days when comics started they went for 10 cents, which would roughly be 1 dollar nowadays. Instead we are being charged 4 dollars for a "book" which you can read in under 5 minutes in the worst case.
I said it before and I say it now: Marvel is going to loose me as a customer with increasing prices and declining book/paper quality sooner or later now. The recent book prices here in Europe are insanely high and although I a have a job, I am not willing to spent 100€ on a new book, which is readily available. In the last few month I pulled the plug on some books because of that. Something I didn't do a few years ago when book prices were in the 60-70€ range on amazon and other sellers. But now, two or three books of that kind plus some extra books you are easily in the region of 300-400€ each month just for comics. With lousy paper that is.
Personally, I can understand the concerns of the price problem very well.
Digital is not an option so stop buying is the sadly only alternative for me...
Marvel outpriced itself.

Comics are a luxury item. They're certainly not a necessity. It's up to every individual to decide any products value and whether or not it's worth it. Me, I'd love to have a bunch of DC Absolute Editions, but I've determined their value isn't worth it, so I don't buy them. I also can't afford to buy nearly as many comics, singles or collections, as I'd like.

[Dougtron]

When the Thor Epics get around to Simonsons stuff is it more likely that they are going to be the recolor ed versions from the Omni or the original coloring? I know Marvel doesn't do a lot of recoloring so I don't think we have any precedents to go off of.

[DrGregatron]

When the Thor Epics get around to Simonsons stuff is it more likely that they are going to be the recolor ed versions from the Omni or the original coloring? I know Marvel doesn't do a lot of recoloring so I don't think we have any precedents to go off of.

They've already done expensive TPB collections of the recolored Simonson Thor run. I'd hope that they would finally collect the unbastardized version in the Epic line or maybe they'll wait until after its been properly re-colored in Masterwork format before putting it out as an Epic.

[Imperator]

Comics are a luxury item. They're certainly not a necessity. It's up to every individual to decide any products value and whether or not it's worth it. Me, I'd love to have a bunch of DC Absolute Editions, but I've determined their value isn't worth it, so I don't buy them. I also can't afford to buy nearly as many comics, singles or collections, as I'd like.

Yep that is true Brian, its not like I NEED to collect Marvel,DC, etc.. in oversized content. Each individual needs to decide what is worth it for them and what they can afford on their budget. I guess overall I look back at when I started collecting comics and how things stand now:

- I realllly love the library editions put out by Dark Horse (Fear Agent / The Goon / Hellboy).

- Why: Very good cost, oversized (almost paper size of an absolute) and thick deluxe paper.

- Living in Southwest Ontario, where we get really humid summers and then dry winters, this heavy paperstock holds up much better to humidity fluctuation. The thin, colored comic paper is very susceptible and typically is already wavy by the time it gets delivered.

- Its hard to ignore the library editions on my shelf, and the value on what I paid for those books, and what I would need to pay for newer library editions and then to compare to the newer Marvel offerings.

- Now that Marvel continues to use really thin paper , and the ever increasing price creep, and the fact I have limited funds, makes me want to stop buying their oversized content (same with DC).

I have no doubt that there will be oversized Marvel content I will still want to collect next year. It overall just bugs me to no end because Marvel can afford to release oversized content with higher paper quality. The Amazing Spider Man Omnibus I own is fantastic (Binding, bright-thick paper so McFarlanes art pops off the page).If Dark Horse can afford to do it... But we know its not because Marvel can't afford to release their content with higher quality paper at the prices they charge, but they realize people buy it anyways so they can get away it.

[Suriel]

Yep that is true Brian, its not like I NEED to collect Marvel,DC, etc.. in oversized content. Each individual needs to decide what is worth it for them and what they can afford on their budget. I guess overall I look back at when I started collecting comics and how things stand now:

- I realllly love the library editions put out by Dark Horse (Fear Agent / The Goon / Hellboy).

- Why: Very good cost, oversized (almost paper size of an absolute) and thick deluxe paper.

- Living in Southwest Ontario, where we get really humid summers and then dry winters, this heavy paperstock holds up much better to humidity fluctuation. The thin, colored comic paper is very susceptible and typically is already wavy by the time it gets delivered.

- Its hard to ignore the library editions on my shelf, and the value on what I paid for those books, and what I would need to pay for newer library editions and then to compare to the newer Marvel offerings.

- Now that Marvel continues to use really thin paper , and the ever increasing price creep, and the fact I have limited funds, makes me want to stop buying their oversized content (same with DC).

I have no doubt that there will be oversized Marvel content I will still want to collect next year. It overall just bugs me to no end because Marvel can afford to release oversized content with higher paper quality. The Amazing Spider Man Omnibus I own is fantastic (Binding, bright-thick paper so McFarlanes art pops off the page).If Dark Horse can afford to do it... But we know its not because Marvel can't afford to release their content with higher quality paper at the prices they charge, but they realize people buy it anyways so they can get away it.

+1

Adding to that: The increased pace of sheer book output. Back in the days of the first Spider-Man Omni (the glued one) here were only a couple of Omnis a year. Nowadays we almost have one every month, plus a tight schedule on Masterworks and the OHCs of the current runnings. So the amount of overal material increased incredibly. And if you don't buy it right away, you are out of luck sometimes (Shield variant ones, Spider-Man Stern, Cap Omnis). Several directions here that don't align very well with my bank account and my mood to keep up or even bother to try collecting the stuff in the next year...

[Rimmer]

They've already done expensive TPB collections of the recolored Simonson Thor run. I'd hope that they would finally collect the unbastardized version in the Epic line or maybe they'll wait until after its been properly re-colored in Masterwork format before putting it out as an Epic.

I recently got the 5 Simonson TPBs that are the older versions so they have the bright, 80's original coloring. If you want to go this route, be wary what the books contain before you order it (if doing onine/ebay/etc...) as the newer versions have the recoloring ala the omnibus. I know the Marvel Masterworks will have the original coloring once they get there in about 5+ years or whatever, but I have no idea what they'd do on the Epics. I would think, since the Epic line is the original series straight through, that it would be the original coloring, but who really knows until this comes up/comes out...