devilpants

Of all the books in the DC Archives series, I currently own The Spirit Archives Vols. 1, 3 and 5. I also have Black Canary and one of the Plastic Mans.
I eventually want to get all the early JLA, Flash (Infantino in his prime) and Green Lanterns (Gil Kane in his prime) and the two Teen Titans phases (60's Cardy and 70's Perez).
Eventually DC will release the Metal Men Archives but not soon enough (I'm a big fan). I was surprised it hasn't been released yet but instead they've released a Doom Patrol Archives! (Never understood their appeal).

Chew

How much do these cost?

On a side note: I really wish DC would take a page from Marvel and release classic stories in some affordable "Essential"-type format.

devilpants

Brand new these guys retail for $50, but Amazon Marketplace and eBay have them at lower prices. Aren't the Essential Marvel books in black and white? That's a sin!

The Antipodean

I really like my Doom Patrol Archives book, and I've got both the World's Finest Archives put out so far -- something just grabs me about those goofy ol' '50s Superman/Batman teamups... I also like the "Plastic Man" and "Spirit" archives they're doing, which are just incalculably valuable in reprinting some of the best comics EVER that are far too rarely seen -- but I've only been able to buy a handful of each series. Even on eBay, you'll rarely pay less than $30 a pop for these, unfortunately. They're beautiful books, but they'll cost you.

Off the top of my head, I believe I own these ones --
Atom Archives vol. 1 (another favorite)
Doom Patrol vol. 1
Batman vol. 1. (first Detective Comics stories)
All-Star Comics vol. 1
Spirit Archives Vol. 1
Plastic Man Archives Vol. 1, 2
World's Finest Vol. 1, 2

Chew

Well, I certainly agree presenting stories in B&W is a sin, but getting more than 20 classic stories at a price less than $15 isn't.

John Sinnott

I like the HC format of the Archives (the acid free paper is great too.) The Marvel Essentials are not ment to be something to be kept forever like the Archives.

I used to collect these avidly, before I got hooked on DVDs. I have:

All Star 1-3
Atom 1
Batman 1-3
Dark Knight 1
Doom Patrol (a fav)
GA Flash
Flash
GA Green Lantern (signed by Nodell)
Green Lantern 1, 2 (another Fav)
Hawkman (great)
Justice League 1-4
Legion 1-6 (My all time favorites! I have the rest in comic form, so I stopped buying the Archives.)
New Teen Titans (got this as a present. It's not my favorite.)
Plastic Man 1, 2
Shazam 1
Starman 1
Superman 1-5
Action 1, 2
Wonder Woman 2
World Finest 1
Spirit 1, 2

I'd like to get more Spirits, they are very good, and the Spectre Archives has been claling to me. Unfortunately, there are many many DVDs that are also calling to me. *sigh*

-Videophile

devilpants

If they were in color (like the Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. series) I'd be more likely to buy them. Last year at the height of the Spiderman/Daredevil craze Barnes & Noble sold limited edition Archives-style collections of Silver Age Spiderman/Hulk/Darvedevil/X-Men comics in book form. They were reprinted in color, but only had about five issues in each edition. They retailed at $25 but I didn't buy them.

Eric F

The Marvel Essential books are a great bargain- it doesn't matter to me whether they're B&W as the stories are great. I really enjoyed reading The Essential Dr. Strange, as I never read the early storylines. Must buys are also Thor and Silver Surfer.

I also recommend (yes, B&W also), Kirby's complete 4th World series- Mister Miracle, Orion, Forever People and 4th World.

Toonview

My favorites are the ones I got for $10 a piece at the Warner Brothers store *sigh*.

Superman 1-3
Batman 1
All Star Comics 1

I've also picked up at cover price

Black Canary
Shazam 1
Doom Patrol
And if these count, the 2 THUNDER AGENTS archives.

And I got the wife to give me Golden Age Flash for my birthday recently.

Gotta love the Black Canary though, since it has all her early appearances.

Chew

Just ordered a Superman Archives from Half for about $15.

They also had a Batman one for $15, but that seller has had 35 negatives just in the last week.

Hokeyboy

i'm spooging over my New Teen Titans Archive #1. When is #2 coming out already?