Omnibus/OHC Graphic Novel Collectors discussion
Comic Reading Discussion
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What have you added to your collection recently?
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Blindzider, Moderator
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Mar 02, 2016 06:07AM
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The interesting thing is that Marvel will reprint their Omni's. I can't recall if DC ever has.. they seem to be one print and done.Regarding Blacksad... I see Amazon has three Hardcovers. Are there any more to the set?
There are 5 volumes for Blacksad in the original french.The way it works in the US is the following :
The first volume collects the first 3 stories.
The second volume collects the 4th story.
The last volume collects the last story.
The authors are supposed to work on more but that's not their only project and it takes close to a year to produce a volume.
Right now I don't think volume 6 is expected before 2017 in french. ( most likely toward the end of the year if it comes that year).
I ordered Volume one on IST, and see only one other story on their site, Amarillo, is that the four story?
Mod
That is the fifth story, third volume, Blacksad Amarillo. I bought my copy of the second volume (fourth story) off of Amazon since IST doesn't have it in stock.
Here are the different US volumes :Book one(Blacksad 1-3) : Blacksad
Book two (Blacksad 4): Blacksad: A Silent Hell
Book three (Blacksad 5) : Blacksad: Amarillo
Mod
Great stuff. I hope to take a couple of pics of my collection soon. It will all be new since I only started this last June, LOL. However, it seems that every time I plan to do it another package comes in.
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Just ordered:Amazing Spiderman Omnibus V1
Hawkeye Omnibus
Alan Moore Swamp Thing V2 and 3
Arzach by Moebius
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I recently bought Crisis on Infinite Earths and Watchmen in Deluxe Editions : ) I'm afraid to even crack them open they're so awesome.
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You have "reading" copies of those? I thought I saw that you had read them.
Just placed an order for Elektra Omnibus (which I have all the singles) and the Doom/Strange: Triumph and Torment graphic novel. I have a small collection of those "treasury sized" graphic novels and wanted to add this one to it.
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Is that a book of old school Batman art, Blindzider?
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It's not just the art though. It is all of the issues that Adams worked on during the 80's (if you call that old school). I'm primarily getting it for the artwork but there are supposed to be some good stories in there as well.
Last two hauls from IST:Captain America White HC
FF4 Omnibus Lee Vol. 3
Thor God of Thunder HC Vol. 1
Uncanny Avengers Omnibus
Invincible Ultimate Coll. HC Vol. 1-4
Blacksad HC Vol. 1 - read this already excellent
Blacksad HC A Silent Hell (Amazon)
Batman The Killing Joke HC
Dardevil Miller Omnibus
Elektra Miller Omnibus
Civil War Boxed Set
Mind Mgmt DLX HC Vol. 1
Other adds:
Teen Titans Johns Omnibus
The New 52 Villains Omnibus
What do you guys recommend me to read after de Miller Daredevil Omnibus? Elektra omnibus or the Miller Daredevil Companion omnibus which is going to be reprinted on april I think.
Mod
Then finishing with the companion book is a good idea as well because of the Born Again story.
Frank wrote: "Last two hauls from IST:Captain America White HC
FF4 Omnibus Lee Vol. 3
Thor God of Thunder HC Vol. 1
Uncanny Avengers Omnibus
Invincible Ultimate Coll. HC Vol. 1-4
Blacksad HC Vol. 1 - read this..."
Jesus! You're going to bankrupt yourself Frank. :D
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Have you read the first Blacksad book yet?
Frank, that's a big haul with some books I really liked. :) Glad to see you liked Blacksad. Uncanny Avengers omnibus is best read after Remender's Uncanny X-Force BTW.
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I needed something cheap to get the free shipping.
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I needed something cheap to get the free shipping.
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I needed something cheap to get the free shipping."
Gotcha. Blacksad Amarillo was my least favorite of the 5 stories. In the future if you don't mind checking out TPB vol 1s to check out a series, there are several from Image that I've really liked. Descender and Birthright are perhaps my two favorites. I'm probably going to add Tokyo Ghost TPB 1 to my next order.
Just thought you guys would like to see the Civil War Boxed Set, uploaded to our photos.
Alistair wrote: "Frank wrote: "Last two hauls from IST:Bankrupt, I'm getting close, LOL. Just need several more older items, then just stay with the new books.
Although everyone comes up with great recommendations, then I buy more.
Frank wrote: "Alistair wrote: "Frank wrote: "Last two hauls from IST:Bankrupt, I'm getting close, LOL. Just need several more older items, then just stay with the new books.
Although everyone comes up with gre..."
Yeah i got to a stage last year where i had everything i wanted on my shelf that i personally wanted to read. So i'm just reading them all now, then i'll sell them.
I did a little cost analysis of my comic buying at one of the online stores i get my stuff from and last year alone i spent £1400 ($2000) on comics!!! That's just one store. I buy from another 3 stores.
It's such a ball ache selling them though so i may take my time.
Though i will finish off buying series that i don't have complete like Manhattan projects, Saga, Scalped, Locke and Key and irredeemable, because they are high on my enjoyment list. Then i'll sell them when i've got them all i reckon.
Mod
Next week there will be several books coming out I want to pick up. Captain America omnibus vol 2, Secret Wars OHC, and Locke and Key master edition vol 2.
I've kept away from most of the spoilers from Secret Wars (I think). It is a little frustrating that The Last Days of the Marvel Universe OHC and the Time Runs Out OHC which I believe lead up to Secret Wars won't come out till June and July. I'm probably not going to wait to read Secret Wars till after they come out.
Alistair, it sounds like you have me beat on comic book spending. I do spend a couple thousand a year on books but I read a bunch of other books as well.
Mod
I don't even want to know how much I spend on HCs. This year has been particularly bad.
Alistair wrote: "Frank wrote: "Alistair wrote: "Frank wrote: "Last two hauls from IST:Bankrupt, I'm getting close, LOL. Just need several more older items, then just stay with the new books.
Although everyone com..."
Guys, since June when I started my spending has rivaled the national debt, I am actually scared to add it up. But I really enjoy doing this.
@Alistair, how is the Scalped series, not sure i will like the artwork?
Frank wrote: "Alistair wrote: "Frank wrote: "Alistair wrote: "Frank wrote: "Last two hauls from IST:Bankrupt, I'm getting close, LOL. Just need several more older items, then just stay with the new books.
Alth..."
I've only read volume 1, but it comes across as an intricate story with lots of intelliigent twists and turns. I have it from high authority that it's one of the best comics out there.
I agree, the artwork isn't great, but the story makes up for it.
I don't spend as much as you guys on HCs but I have a pull list that is costing me around 100$ a month and I buy around 1200$ worth of french Bande dessinees per year....( per page they are a lot more expansive than comics)
I would love to throw down major cash on this stuff but my kids selfishly want to eat. I probably only spent about $800 last year.
Alistair wrote: "Frank wrote: "Alistair wrote: "Frank wrote: "Alistair wrote: "Frank wrote: "Last two hauls from IST:Bankrupt, I'm getting close, LOL. Just need several more older items, then just stay with the n..."
Scalped -- Great story, and the art grows on you; it can be hard to sort out characters at first, but you get used to it... he's far from being a bad or mediocre artist. Guera's new series with Aaron, 'The Goddamned', has been great so far, but it's building slowly from one issue to the next. Guera's artwork on that is much better than his work on Scalped, a bit tighter and cleaner, with fewer spot blacks.
Also: I picked up 'The Avengers: The Vibranium Collection'. Pretty cool. I don't know why I like these gigantic books that turn reading into an awkward, painful, endurance test, but... I do. :-)
Kind of a 'Greatest hits' type thing, 800 pages from Lee and Kirby to Bendis and Coipel. As much as the Hawkeye 'Omnibus' pissed me off, I must admit that this 12 x 16-inch behemoth is very well made, and really reasonably priced.
Mod
This question goes out to everyone:
What is your purpose for buying these books? Solely for the enjoyment of the story? Is there a "collector" component for anyone? If so, what aspects: just having a a cherished read in a nice hardcover, or seeing a shelf lined up with a whole series? Collecting everything by a certain writer/artist?
For me it is story enjoyment first. I try really hard not to buy something just to say I own it or be a completist.
Blindzider wrote: "I totally agree with Eisnein and Alistair about Scalped.This question goes out to everyone:
What is your purpose for buying these books? Solely for the enjoyment of the story? Is there a "collec..."
So the not-so-short answer: I'm into art and artbooks -- from the Northern Renaissance masters like Jan Van Eyck and Hieronymus Bosch to Contemporary artists like Walton Ford, Zdzislaw Beksinski and Akira Yamaguchi -- focussed mostly on painting, drawing and engraving/etching. I also love sequential art and it's endless stylistic variations, so most of the deluxe and ltd. edition books are purchased primarily as a showcase for a particular artist's work. If it also happens to be a brilliant story, that makes it something really special.
I'm still working on a huge collection that will never really feel 'complete', even as a representative sampling of the best artists in comics: (view spoiler) and so on.
I'm not a completist; I have no problems dropping a series partway in if the quality declines, and I don't give a shit about DC/Marvel characters or their lame events, which are transparent money grabs that tend to mess with writers working on their own stories... forcing them to write around the steaming crap dropped into their narrative by the editors. There's exceptions, no doubt. I used to follow writers, now I follow artists and hope they're paired with one of the few mainstream writers I like; if it's a superhero book, I like mine out-of-continuity, and untouched by anyone besides the team that started it. And... I prefer writer-artists or partnerships: Brubaker-Phillips, Azzarello-Risso, Morrison-Quitely, etc.
Mod
For me, I've been reading comics for over 30 years, and originally it was for the character/stories. Eventually I switched to following good writers, mainly looking for entertaining reads. I really enjoy getting the Marvel Omnibus books, primarily for the classic stuff (all of the original Stan Lee stories for starters.) I'm not a completist so I'm only buying Omnibus/Absolutes for stuff that I really like and think are good, but since I no longer buy individual issues, I'm a little more willing to buy an OHC to try something if there are some decent reviews/recommendations.
At some point, I'll have all of the "classic" stuff that I want to own, and only new stuff will be left. Most new stuff I can read at the library and in general, there isn't a lot that I want to own. So I can see me reaching a stopping point or at least very long droughts before finding material I like. That's one of the reasons I came to GR to try and branch out to other things.
Blindzider wrote: "Eisnein, based on your reviews and pictures of the books you had, I could tell you had some different motivations. Thanks for sharing.For me, I've been reading comics for over 30 years, and origi..."
It's an interesting question, Blindzider. It sounds like you've got a solid, healthy approach to collecting, which is to buy the books you like. That sounds obvious, but collecting in general is a weird thing; I think it taps into a largely male instinct for gathering and collecting food, tools, weapons, etc. that was integral to human survival 10 000 years ago, especially for segments of the population who adapted to the brutal winters in northern climates, or people who adapted to living out harsh droughts in the tropics. It was likely tied to attracting and providing for hot, hairy cavewomen. Now it manifests itself as a bunch of shit we don't really need, but we still really like -- books, guns, knives, cars, motorcycles -- and that's a damn fine thing. I think this impulse is also something women are subject to, but it seems less widespread.
I think unhealthy collecting might be someone who is more interested in items that impress others, and only enjoy them insofar as they are desirable, rare, unique. Spending more than you can afford is unhealthy; when your hobby is taking money that should be going to your family, or the necessities -- obviously unhealthy. Still, spending 200$ a month might be more than one person can afford, while someone else can spend 2000$ a month on books quite comfortably. So 'unhealthy' is a relative thing.
Always buy what you like... never look at books as an investment. If you think a comic collection will impress women -- you're absolutely right. Always brag about how huge your comic collection is on dates, it's better than ecstasy. :-)
Mod
Agreed, once you are not living up to your other responsibilities (family, essentials of life) then you have a problem. There's always a line somewhere and of course it varies for each person and lifestyle.
Yeah, definitely... there's something very pleasing about that line of nearly identical spines on a bookshelf, and even though I'm past buying volumes when a series doesn't interest me anymore, when a series I really like is released in a deluxe, OHC format, that's when 'the completist syndrome' takes hold... that missing 4th volume taunting me, a little voice suggesting I pay the ridiculous mark-up. :-) I think that OCD thing is very common amongst collectors, in varying degrees. When Dark Horse started releasing the Creepy and Eerie reprints, I was only interested in the Ditko-Severin-Toth years, collected in the first 3 or so volumes of each. They were so well produced, I kept buying them... until I realized that around Vol. 5 or so, the material was getting pretty bad. Archie Goodwin was gone, all the EC guys were gone -- I was buying the last couple because they looked good on the shelf. I'm glad I got stopped, because both Creepy and Eerie are up past Vol. 20. To be fair, I believe it went through another strong period later, when Corben and Wrightson got their start at Warren.
Gentlemen:This is a very interesting thread that I can comment and relate to.
I have been a big reader since i was in grade school and always enjoyed the look of books up on a shelf. With that as I aged i started collecting, in over 20 years I had amassed a sci-fi fantasy first edition collection that was known through the dealer community in the US.
One day I realized that I had over 8,000 volumes in my collection, had built a house around it and still ran out of room.
Once my kids went off to college I realized that wait a second, these are essentially, while beautiful, cardboard and paper. I then sold a chunk of my collection off in order to pay for a part of their schooling, while keeping many books, more than I will ever read.
So I am now much more of a choice buyer, and with GR I realize that I can be very select in what I choose to read, as I read mostly books and not graphic novel and comics.
Relating this back to this group, I came here last June and knew so little of the comic world that had developed over the past 40 years. I first was buying everything, like a kid in a candy store, being lost and trying to find good works to read, with everyone's help. Recently, I have realized that some of the work is not too good. So I am at this point already slowing down, since I have accumulated most of the good omni's.
Perhaps this is why I keep asking about different runs (such as Scalped, Preacher, Invincible, Blacksad etc, etc) from everyone, because I must say when I come across some of the books at a store that I think some of the artwork has much to be desired, and it must be a good story, I see that with Scalped, and several others, so I have bought the first TPBK to see for myself and have not continued with several series already. Of course this is my personal taste and I don't want to offend anyone.
I have to say that I have found some great series and hope to get into more of them on my shelves. Everyone's guidance has help me build a solid collection and thousands of reading hours.
For now, I am taking my time and only purchasing what I truly think I will enjoy in the future and have already found favorite writers and artists.
Sorry for going on and on!!
Mod
I've been toying with the idea of some type of "Omnibus/OHC group essential reading list". If it would be possible for the majority of us to agree upon a list of books (that fit the graphic novel genre) that anyone new to reading them (like Frank was) could start on.
There are obviously other lists for this type of thing, but I was thinking one solely put together by this group. Collating that data would be difficult though, coming up with a list then narrowing it down by vote or something. Then what do you base the list on: purely story, entertainment value, quality of the build of the book? etc. But like most art, it is so subjective, and with graphic novels you have writer AND artist AND character and the variety of themes and styles.
Blindizer:Great idea,
I think any essential list should be divided by Genre, best of each, for instance:
It's true that it is so subjective, but top five of:
Best Superhero or Team
Best Detective
Best Crime Noir
Best Series, for writing, artwork,
Best Fantasy
Best Sci-fi (cosmic works)
Best Event
This would be a great start for the beginner, but a tremendous amount of work going thru all of our chats.
Great comment, Frank. I've had my buying habits change since everything went digital -- I only buy books with pictures, basically. :-)Blindzider -- An essentials list for OHC is a great idea. We all have individual favorites that others might not like, but we probably agree on quite a few. Focussing on specific deluxe editions, the best possible edition for each book -- Absolute, Omnibus, etc. -- would be an interesting approach.
Frank wrote: "Blindizer:Great idea,
I think any essential list should be divided by Genre, best of each, for instance:
It's true that it is so subjective, but top five of:
Best Superhero or Team
Best Detective..."
If you are any understanding of french,
There are such lists here but it's skewed toward euro comics.( there is an overall list and then you can get one per genre or even origin ( manga, comics or french bandes dessinees).
http://www.bedetheque.com/indispensab...
Mod
Yeah, I think something like what has been mentioned could work well. I think lumping some genres together will help avoid seeing the same titles on various lists -- LOEG could be a superhero comic, a science fiction comic, even a fantasy or horror comic. Watchmen is a mystery with Superheroes and Mars and Pirates. English Language -- N. America and British Comics:
-DC - Marvel - Image - Dark Horse - IDW - D.E.
--Essential Superheroes
i.e. Absolute Watchmen; Absolute Batman: Year One; Absolute Top 10
--Essential Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
i.e. Arkwright Integral Omnibus HC; Saga: Book 1 Deluxe HC; Hard boiled/Big Damn Hard Boiled OSC; Hellboy: Book 1 Deluxe HC;
--Essential Crime, Mystery, Espionage and War
i.e. Criminal: Volume 1 & 2 Deluxe HC; Stray Bullets - Uber Alles Omnibus Ed.; Big Damn Sin City; Queen and Country: Def. Ed. 01-04;
Bande Dessinee -- European & S. American Comics:
-Casterman - Dargaud - Delcourt - Glenat - Humanoids - Soleil, etc.
--Essential Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror
i.e. The Incal; Donjon; Sanctum
--Essential Historical Fiction & Adventure
i.e. Murena: Integrale - Premier et Deuxieme Cycles; The Milo Manara Archives: Vol. 1 Indian Summer and Vol. 2 El Gaucho; Blueberry: Integrale; Tintin; Blake & Mortimer; Alix; Asterix
--Essential Crime, Mystery, Espionage & War
Blacksad Integrale/Blacksad (Dark Horse Omnibus T01-03); It was the War of the Trenches; Goddamn This War; Max Fridman;
Manga: Shonen and Gekiga
-Viz - Kodansha - Vertical - Le Lezard Noir, etc.
--Essential Science Fiction & Fantasy
i.e. Akira; Domu; Ghost in the Shell; Berserk; Tekkon Kinkreet
--Essential Horror & Supernatural Suspense
i.e. Uzumaki; Gyo; The Drifting Classroom; Vampyre; Blade of the Immortal
--Essential Crime & Mystery
i.e. MPD Psycho; Crying Freeman; Lady Snowblood
--Essential Historical Fiction
i.e. Lone Wolf & Cub; Samurai Executioner; Path of the Assassin; Vagabond; Barefoot Gen; Showa
Independent, Underground, and Avant Garde from Around the World
-Fantagraphics - Pantheon - D&Q - Koyama - Top Shelf - Atrabile - L'Association - Top Shelf - :01 - Editions Cornelius - Gallimard - Les Requins Marteaux - Futuropolis - Nobrow - Last Gasp - Actes Sud - L'An 2 - Knockabout - Selfmade Hero, etc.
--No genres necessary here, I think... but I could be wrong.
Classic American Newspaper Strip Collections:
-IDW - Dark Horse - FB - D&Q - Sunday Press, etc.
--Essential Humor & Drama Strips
i.e. Krazy & Ignatz; Little Sammy Sneeze; Alley Oop; Polly and Her Pals; Lil Abner; Gasoline Alley
--Essential Crime, Mystery, and Adventure Strips
i.e. Little Nemo in Slumberland, Prince Valiant, Captain Easy, Terry and the Pirates, Flash Gordon & Jungle Jim, Dick Tracy
The upside of all these divisions is that you don't have as many mismatches... Batman: The Killing Joke, Akira, and Black Hole are all brilliant works, but comparing them isn't easy -- a 60 page book, a 360 page book, and a 6-book 2200-page epic...
Also, if someone's not into Manga, or indie titles, they can skip those areas.
This way, independent books aren't competing with Watchmen.
Just my thoughts on it, Blindzider... feel free to ignore them completely if you've got something different in mind. :-)
Omnibus/OHC Graphic Novel Collectors
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