Iirc, I wanted to add it to my monthly purchases, mainly because of the Golden art it at least sometimes featured, but the premium price kept me away until I found issues in bargain bins.

Those issues with Golden on art (along with Avengers annual #10, which happens to have some of Golden's best work) are in Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 2 (which also has the Dark Phoenix saga and Days of Future Past). I know it's not exactly "cheap", but it can be found for around $50, and since it contains 30 issues, that's only $1.70 per "issue", not to mention it's an oversized hardcover - so, not a bad deal at all.

I'm not sure why, but that Avengers Annual #10 always excites me when I see it mentioned. I'm not sure why I bought it when it came out, because I didn't really follow any Marvel titles at the time. I think the Avengers always intrigued me as a possible purchase/read, and that cover and all the exciting adjectives just drew me in. I think it sold me on briefly buying Avengers and Uncanny X-Men monthlies, but I luckily got out of that before it got too expensive. But that issue is just stuck in my brain as a 'key'. And 75 cents for a King size issue! How I miss those days....

Thanks on the Omnibus tip. I may end up getting it, Marvel Omnis are so much nicer than DCs usually, but I'm pretty much stuck on a $1 per issue price point now.

I can't think of more than a handful of collections, outside of cheap B&W-on-newsprint books, that come out to $1 per-issue contained, even heavily discounted ones. Marvel's new Epic Collection line comes close, but even that's over $1 per issue after discounts and the books are pretty cheaply made.

I mainly buy used, and/or digital now.

Rats. I like the look of those collections.

I haven't purchased a comic in any form in about 8 years. It became such a money pit and DC and Marvel have basically made it impossible to dabble here and there, so I've pretty much given up on the hobby. However, the new X-Men movie got me to go back and re-read Days of Future Past and I've continued on from there and am having a blast doing so. It also got me to shop around for the various Omnibi, which I've coveted ever since the line started. I went a bit nuts and picked up (original) X-Men vol.2, Uncanny X-Men vol.1, Claremont/Lee X-Men vol.1, Byrne FF vol.1, and New Warriors vol.1.

Late 70's/80's Marvel is definitely my favorite comics era and there's a handful of other Omnibi that I want to grab (Miller Daredevil, Stern Spider-Man, the other X-Men books, Simonson Thor is it wasn't so dang expensive), but I had a question about non-Omnibus collections. It's pretty easy to keep track of the Omnibi or the Masterworks series, but Marvel seems to have new collection lines every other year and it makes it difficult to track. You have Marvel Visionaries, Marvel Legends, Premiere Classic, non-omnibus oversized hardcovers, regular tpbs, and now I see their new thing is the Epic collection. Is there a database somewhere that catalogs what has and what hasn't been collected for a given series?

Here's a pretty comprehensive and up to date list of all the Marvel Omnibus releases - it's nice since it includes prices, if it's out of print and all sorts of info for each book.

Here's a list of all over-sized Marvel hardcovers (non-Omnibus).

Started on this. I already had the black-and-white Essential paperbacks, but I picked up the three color trade paperbacks so I could see the first 35 or so issues that way.

That's an incredible source of information, that link is great.

Definitely. There's also way more at collectededitions.com than just that OHC list. They have lists of Marvel Masterworks, DC Archives, Absolutes, etc. The Marvel tpb listing is actually exactly what I was looking for. They group everything by series pretty much in issue order. It's amazing how much has been collected over the years.

I did start going through my new omnis last night and I'm officially in love with these things. I know some don't like them because of the bulk, but the newer ones like the reprinted Uncanny vol.1 use a thinner paper (which is still very high quality despite what some online comments claim) which make them much less cumbersome. Throw in the fact that they have sewn bindings and I can't imagine wanting to read these in any other format.

Here's what I read this past weekend. Had no idea what it was about but it turned out to be a pretty good read.

Just finished this massive tome:


Well over 1200 pages of solid comics by a young, up-and-coming Geoff Johns.

I love, love, love this series, but I think I have everything from this volume in tpb form (except maybe some of the ancillary material). Still, I'm currently in love with omnibi. Hows the quality of the book itself? I've heard DC lags way behind Marvel when it comes to these things. Is the thing a brick? Is it difficult to read (relative to other omnis)?

I'm currently about 2/3 of the way through this guy.



When I was 11, the New Warriors were second only to the X-Men in my heart. This was never a groundbreaking series in any way shape or form, but it's a really good example of fun superhero comics with some great Mark Bagley artwork. Night Thrasher (the team leader and the only original character) is at first glance an example of everything that was wrong with the early 90's. He's basically a Batman/Punisher mash-up who rides a skateboard (!), but thankfully he becomes more interesting later on. It takes a few issues to hit it's stride, but Fabian Nicieza clearly had a plan for where he was going (with the series and the character) and this volume builds nicely to a very satisfying culmination. In fact, this volume ends right at the point that I bailed on series, so it basically collects everything I ever knew and loved about the series. I only read a handful of issues after this, but the impression I got was that the series was never quite the same, so the fact that there will probably never be a volume 2 doesn't bother me in the slightest. It seems like Marvel is clearing this thing out, so I was able to snag a new copy for only $30. If you have any interest, now is probably the time to bite since it probably will never be reprinted.

I have all those JSA issues and I still bought the omnibus. I love what they did with that series.

I also loved the New Warriors and have been tempted with that omnibus, but I don't think the stories aged well. What storyline does it end with? Maybe I'll pick it up for the discounted price.

Any recommendations on where to buy the New Warriors Omnibus for $30?

I miss the CBR Omnibus thread where everyone was on top of the current deals, they really screwed it up by rebooting the entire forum.

Amazon.

Yup. Amazon 3rd party sellers. There's a bunch available new for 25.xx + shipping. I bought mine from "Jersey Shore Books" and received the book in about 4 or 5 days. No complaints at all.

To answer fujishig's question, the omnibus ends with the 4 part "Nothing But the Truth" story (plus issue #26 which is sort of a wrap up) which revealed the truth behind Night Thrasher's parents and wrapped up the Marvel Boy on trial story. It's also the end of Mark Bagley's excellent run on the title. It really is the perfect endpoint since the book changed in a lot of ways in the wake of that story.

As to whether or not they hold up, the early issues are a bit generic and superficial, though still fun. As I was re-reading I wondered if I had been blinded a little by nostalgia. However, things really start to pick up with the "Forever Yesterday" arc (#'s 11-13). Again, it's nothing groundbreaking, but the characters do begin to show some depth and Nicieza really starts to find their voices. It's mostly a lighthearted action comic, but the later issues incorporate some heavier themes.

I would say that if you had any sort of affinity for this series in it's early days (which I had in spades), then it's a no brainer. Especially at $30. However, if you have no prior attachment to these characters, then it's probably a harder sell. Still, I find it holds up infinitely better than Nicieza's other, more well known hit series from the same time period, which was also recently omnibized. Although Rob Liefeld may disagree.

Yeah, I remember loving the New Warriors, mainly because I was a big fan of Nova, Firestar, and because of Guardians of the Galaxy, Justice. But I reread some of the first few issues and other than nostalgia (and that killer opening scene with Thrasher and Nova), I wasn't too impressed. Not to mention the whole skateboarding thing. But heck, I was re-reading Busiek's Thunderbolts and it was becoming a chore too. At this point, I'm almost afraid to go back to the Busiek/Perez Avengers run...

But I bit, at that price. Squadron Supreme also seems super cheap, though I have it in multiple formats. As is Millar's Ultimate Comics Ultimate Avengers (which doesn't seem all that great), the Death of Ultimate Spidey, Atlantis Attacks and a few others. Remender's Punisher is slightly less cheap, but I'm fonder of his run than any of the other stuff. Anything else?

In the past week - Daredevil Dark Knights, Painkiller Jane The Price Of Freedom, The Secret Service Kingsman, Super Crooks The Heist, Powers Bureau Undercover, and Castle Richard Castle's Unholy Storm

Don't be, that is still a great run. Busiek's writing on the Avengers is great stuff.

As for New Warriors, I remember the book quickly losing it after Nicieza left. I always liked Speedball as a goofy character.

You'd have to be a wrestling fan to enjoy it, but I thought it was great.

Edit: just saw your post malazar. Great book!

Astonishing X-Men V12 Unmasked

Captain America by Brubaker (Winter Soldier, etc.)

I'm not actually reading this in omnibus form, but rather on Marvel Unlimited. I'm about 85% of the way through it, but I'm going to catch myself up on Civil War before I finish the last bit.

My first thought is to ask myself why I wasn't reading this series when it was new. This came out during my last real intense love affair with the hobby and I was buying anything and everything. I had never read any Cap before, so maybe that's why I didn't give it a shot. I was also spending way too much money each week, so maybe this was a case of me drawing a line in the sand and saying enough is enough. I don't know. Either way, it's a great read. What I was most impressed with was how quickly Brubaker was able to get someone like me, who has no prior history with Cap outside of some random Avengers stuff, up to speed and invested in the 60 years of the character's history. I know enough to know that he was being respectful/loving towards the continuity without burying the reader in it. That's the best because it makes everyone happy. You got a real sense of just how monumental this storyline was in the life of Cap. Unfortunately, reading this made me think less of the Winter Soldier movie, which I did like quite a bit. The movie version just didn't feel personal enough in comparison to the comic. We just don't have as much investment in the movie version of the character for this story to really hit home.

One thing I was reminded of (unrelated to the content of the story) was just how quickly modern comics read. I realize that a lot of the exposition and endless thought bubbles in older comics seem corny and unnecessary now, but it takes me less than 10 minutes to read through an issue. When you add in the decompression of the stories, charging 3 to 4 dollars an issue is flat out robbery. If I ever need to scratch my comic itch, it will be via classic trades and Marvel Unlimited. I just can't justify anything else.

The most amazing thing about Brubaker's run is that he takes what would surely have been a gimmicky and controversial plotline and turn it into a thing of beauty. "I know, lets have Bucky come back from the dead, only he's a bad guy. Oh, and he's got a cyborg arm like Cable. And then lets have him replace Captain America." It sounds like a terrible, terrible plot lifted from the worst of the 90s, and Brubaker just runs with it and doesn't look back. And he had to work through Civil War too.

Also amazing to me is how much Epting either improved, or got much better with a good inker. He did a long run on Avengers which was adequate but not spectacular. His style seemed to evolve on Crossgen's Crux, but man he was a perfect fit for this book.