I have actually thought about buying this, but is a book that size even readable?! Like, on a practical scale, what is it like to even read it?!

I'd say if you think you'll like the series and really want hardcovers, then the kickstarter is the way to go. But the volumes will be released to retail individually in paperback if you want to tread more carefully. They'll also be available digitally. I can't remember exactly how far into the series I read, but I know I got pretty close to #100. I believe most fans consider the first few years of the series to be the best. I never stopped enjoying it during the time I was reading, but you really start to see the negative effects of the marketing demands placed on the series after a while. Anytime new toys were released, those characters/vehicles were forced into the series, usually at the expense of better established characters. Larry Hama made miracles happen by getting it to work as well as it did, but it was hard not to imagine "what if?" I guess my point is, if you just wanted to test the waters, the first volume is pretty much the best stuff (although extending it to #55 would truly be the best of the best IMO). If you love it, at the very least you'll probably like the rest. If you don't, just know that it won't really get any better.

The other thing to consider is that the files Skybound is using for printing are likely the same files IDW had, and they're pretty garbagey compared to Marvel Masterwork quality. There is speculation that Marvel may have made a deal to give the series the full blown Masterworks quality restoration. As far as I can tell, this speculation is based purely on an offhand comment Omar whats-his-name made on his Youtube show. I'm not sure it passes the sniff test, but I'm far less plugged into that world than I used to be, so take my opinion for what it's worth (which is almost nothing).

I love the omnibus format. I have dozens of them. That said, they're not for everyone. They're not easy to transport and you can't really read them unless you have a surface to place them on. The other thing to consider is the quality of the binding. I don't have any comparable volumes from Image, so I'm not really up to date on their quality. Bottom line is on a book like this you need it to have a loose binding that will allow the book to lay flat under it's own weight. Otherwise it can be a pain to read. These GI Joe books are also standard comic size, unlike Marvel and DC omnibi, which are oversized. The oversized format is one of things that makes these kinds of books appealing to me and goes a long way to mitigate some of the negative aspects of the format. These being standard sized makes the paperbacks a much more viable option in my mind. But that's just me.

Many people read the giant omnibuses resting on pillows. It's not something you can just hold in your hands for long stretches. Some buy special pedestals designed for larger book reading ($50 and up) if they are omnibus collectors.

I'd say most people get used to the larger sizes but it's also why some prefer smaller "deluxe" branded hardcovers which don't cover as much material per book. For example Invincible runs 3 compendiums of this size or 12 smaller deluxe hardcovers.

But collectible value holds much better in the omnibus size unless Marvel ever got the rights back to do full-blown omnibus-style restorations.

Thank you, that's helpful. I posted the same question twice in the Toy thread and didn't get a reply.

I'm concerned that for $350 shipped, these omnibuses may be tough to actually read. They're not oversized, they don't show how they're going to lay flat or anything about the binding, and it just seems so unwieldy. If I can't actually read it in a relaxed way, I don't know that it's for me.

And I LOVE this comic. I learned to read on this comic.

Oops, sorry I thought someone did say something about the omnibus format in the other thread when you asked, story.

But yeah, not easy to read and if you just want to read not collect it, there will be other, probably cheaper methods to do so. I'm in the same boat as well. I said it in the other thread but the urge to collect this goes down the drain a little when I'm only going to get one version unless I want a duplicate, and if I just want to re-read these I can probably just wait. Still tempting though.

My bad, I didn't realize the KS was already being discussed in the toy thread. I did search for "Joe Real" but didn't click into all the results.

Anyway, I'm not a fan of superthick books, but I was able to read those giant Batman Knightfall paperback compendiums just by placing them in my lap on a plane to Hawaii for several hours. I do think a hardcover would be better, and I feel like this is something I've been missing out on for all these years, and kinda just want to jump in.

Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong editions, but these GI Joe volumes are like the size of those Knightfall volumes combined. They are going to be way heavier.

Most of the time in these size collections the book will lay mostly flat. This publisher Skybound has done compendiums of other material before, which should give you feedback on how they read at this size. I imagine they'll "read" much like the Invincible hardcover compendiums. Read reviews of those if you want an idea of what you're in for.

That's a good point. If you're near a book store or a comic shop, it might be worth checking out and seeing if they have a copy of one of those Invincible HC volumes. They should be very similar in size.

Big books like this can be cumbersome to read. Your best bet is to read them lying down with the book flat on a surface; lying in bed, with your chest propped up on a pillow is a good option.

I scanned the Kickstarter page and couldn't find anything about how they'll be bound. Big books like this, you generally want to be sewn and not glued. A good quality sewn binding will open flat, while a glued binding is like a paperback and wants to stay shut unless you crack the binding -- which you don't want to do.

Also, when dealing with big books like this, it's best to either store them flat, or with some kind of support under the pages because the pages are heavy and pull against the binding and sag when stored upright. (I've been doing what is described in this reddit for my omnibuses since I started buying them. I've had more than a few thick hardcover books like Stephen King's The Stand and Clive Barker's Imajica have pages sag, and didn't want that to happen to these even heavier and more expensive books.)

I store almost all of my omnibuses horizontally. Doesn't look as cool but it's better in the long run for the largest omnibuses.

Well, I backed the Joe 1-4 set. I just felt like I was going to miss out if I didn't. They probably will be too big to read comfortably, but I'll figure that out later. The package incudes PDFs so I can always read those if necessary. Those by themselves would've been $120 so I can kind of justify to myself the physical set with the bonus physical rewards.

You may be right. I think of those Knightfall as 500 pages each, but these are 1200. Yikes.

The Invincible softcover compendiums I've seen in stores are really big. My LCS had another compendium of the Invincible spinoff universe that seemed a lot more manageable so I thought about getting it, but then I remembered I didn't actually like some of those spinoff series I'd read.

BTW, it seems like cheapgraphicnovels has preorders for this kickstarter as well.

https://cheapgraphicnovels.com/?targ...ium+hc+box+set

They will probably close the same time as the kickstarter, but they might be better for shipping. Says it includes all kickstarter extras, so this is not just the retailers version.

edited to add: they say you can save 35 bucks on the shipped price going through them.

I do see on a reddit comment that they might not have a way to distribute the pdf so that's probably a dealbreaker:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OmnibusColl...um_hc_box_set/

The Kickstarter has a retailer discount so maybe it's just a matter of what they want to buy. CGN makes no mention of the PDF so I would assume it's not included. U.S. shipping on the KS is $50. The PDF as a stand-alone item is $120. I assume that'll hit retail at some point as well but who knows at what price. Retail paperbacks are supposed to be $65.

In the cartoons, the Cobra fighter pilots knew exactly when to eject from their jets just before they exploded.

Cobra spent more on the auto-eject sensors than the missile lock systems.

Except for this vehicle:

My Kickstarter has arrived.

I've been seeing the kickstarter sets on social media as backers get them. Deeply regret not getting it now. Looks great.

First paperback of this is 37.69 on Amazon. I think they're matching InStockTrades, which seems weird to me but hey, great price.

That's interesting if Amazon is matching InStockTrades now.

I saw the paperback for Vol 1 at Barnes And Nobel the other day and it is massive but seemed to be made well and wouldn't fall apart easily. It was $65 so I passed. I have a pile of books and graphic novels that I am working my way through so I plan on picking it up later on. I am also rewatching the GI Joe and Transformers cartoons from the 1980s.

But is it readable? These books seem gigantic, can you read them lounging back on a couch or in an Adirondack chair, or do I need to lay this flat on a coffee table or desk and lean over it? They just seem too big to be enjoyed.

I also saw it at Barnes and Noble, and I thought it was pretty easy to handle despite the massive size. In contrast, I picked up an Invincible compendium, and that seemed a lot heavier, presumably because of a difference in paper. I didn’t try reading either in an Adirondack chair, though.