Post by JDviant on Nov 21, 2009 16:18:02 GMT -5
Figured I'd take a brief moment to discuss the Marvel Premiere Classic and nearly 1 year old DC Comics Classics Library hardcover book lines (some, if not all, the Marvel ones have been released in softcover as well).
I love collected editions, as I'll read and reread things to no end. but usually, if we're lucky to even get older stuff, the stories are contained in soft cover editions. Which I kind of hate. I mean, they're good enough, but fall apart quicker even with care. So whenever possible, I want hardcovers. The problem is for the longest time, most classic silver or bronze age stories, that weren't THE classics, were only available in sc, or had long out of print, very expensive hcs. Full runs could be found in Marvel's Essential series, or the DC Archives/Marvel Masterpiece books, but those are $50 a pop.
I actually do have a few though; DC released two archives for Supergirl, collecting her back-up stories before she was known publicly as Supergirl, and would be Superman's hidden back-up. They're 50's greatness, with amazing art from Jim Mooney. I'm also currently reading volume 4 (out of 5) of the Doom Patrol archives, a tremendous series in the 60's that debuted right before the X-Men but shared a lot spiritually with the series, while having a distinctly different flavour. One of my favourite little moments of the series comes early on, where unlike th X-Men they're celebrated for being freaks, which only makes them bitter at the world for it. Terrific series with some of the best art the Silver Age offers, and I'm okay with paying $30ish each for the volumes because of it, and can't wait to pick up the finale.
Due to DC finally taking the idea from Marvel, both the Supergirl issues and the first half of the DP run is now a part of the sc b/w Showcase Presents line for like $15, so check them out there if you want without spending the big bucks.
But, to the MPC and CCL lines. First, DC's. I haven't gotten to try this yet, have any of you? It has a very big draw back, the price seems to always be a set $40, even for shorter 6 issue collections. 8 volumes have been released thus far, and I'm not really sure how the line will shape up, since the choices are all over the place. The two biggest releases, imo, are Flash of Two Worlds and Batman: A Death in the Family. They fit into a classic definition fine, the first for pure historical value and the latter for a little of that as well as just being a very famous storyline. After that though, interesting choices. Some of Superman's Bronze Age stuff makes it in, which overall is a very overlooked era for the character, not really retaining the notoriety the Silver Age had and not considered as good as post-Crisis modern stories. The original Swamp Thing run is here too, which at nearly 400 pages is probably worth the price tag of $40. A dark horse for me is Shazam and the Monster Society of Evil, since Captain Marvel's comics were known for very high quality in the Golden Age. There's also Batman Annuals and JLA by Perez, but I haven't read any of these so I can't comment. My local shop is having Black Friday sales, so I'm looking to see if I can score the Flash/Shazam books.
Marvel's line, however, I'm very familiar with and constantly recommend. It's basically a 'Greatest Hits' collection, with a few exceptions of books never/not currently traded that are all very good (except I've seen bad reviews for the Black Widow collection). Here are the four I have, and its hard to argue they're not among the best stuff printed by Marvel:
Spider-Man: Death of the Stacy's
Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt
Marvels
Daredevil: Born Again
All in glorious hardcover! Friday I'll be picking up Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle and possibly Hercules: Prince of Power, which is notable for not only being pretty funny but an infamous scene of Hercules and Galactus sharing a drink! This line includes a TON of great Marvel stuff, and is mostly late Bronze - Modern era comics. X-Men stories in it include God Loves, Man Kills, Proteus, and the story Phoenix Rising, which I haven't read. Joining Born Again is Miller's Man Without Fear, a story I think is overrated as an origin for DD but other love. Doomquest has Dr. Doom and Iron Man clashing in the past and future, Weapon x is still the DEFINITIVE origin for Wolverine if you ask me. Hulk: Heart of the Atom, Mephisto vs..., Sinister Six, ect. Los fo really great stories here in very handsome hardcover. There's alt covers, but the standard has a gorgeous simple black cover that matches every other release in the series, so they look wonderful of a bookshelf. Price is good too, usually between $20-40, and online you can get them cheaper. But even in stores, most seem to be $25-30.
While these lines are good, Marvel/DC are also putting out other hardcovers for older books. DC's Starman Omnibus collection is perfect, and I can't wait for the fourth volume. Marvel's Omnibus line has produced a lot of good books, and I own the two Fantastic Four volumes. Apart from that, they're continuing they're oversized hardcover line with Avengers Forever, and older stuff like Waid's F4 and Ultimate Spider-Man are still findable in that style. The last one I bought was Runaways volume 1, but AF is such a fun Avengers story that I'll probably pick that up. DC published four volumes of the Justice League International series (before cancelling more books
) in simple, standard no frills hardcovers, but thats twice as much of the series then they'd EVER published before. It joins DC's oversized deluxe reprints of Morrison's JLA. And Alan Moore has had two books show up in an oversized delux collection, Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? and Batman: The Killing Joke. Both are awesome and worth owning, but again overpriced if you don't get them online.
Good times. Just ten years ago, it was unimaginable to have SO MANY of these stories available to you without hunting down single issues. The game for comic trades has really changed, and yay more hardcovers that will last the years!
I love collected editions, as I'll read and reread things to no end. but usually, if we're lucky to even get older stuff, the stories are contained in soft cover editions. Which I kind of hate. I mean, they're good enough, but fall apart quicker even with care. So whenever possible, I want hardcovers. The problem is for the longest time, most classic silver or bronze age stories, that weren't THE classics, were only available in sc, or had long out of print, very expensive hcs. Full runs could be found in Marvel's Essential series, or the DC Archives/Marvel Masterpiece books, but those are $50 a pop.
I actually do have a few though; DC released two archives for Supergirl, collecting her back-up stories before she was known publicly as Supergirl, and would be Superman's hidden back-up. They're 50's greatness, with amazing art from Jim Mooney. I'm also currently reading volume 4 (out of 5) of the Doom Patrol archives, a tremendous series in the 60's that debuted right before the X-Men but shared a lot spiritually with the series, while having a distinctly different flavour. One of my favourite little moments of the series comes early on, where unlike th X-Men they're celebrated for being freaks, which only makes them bitter at the world for it. Terrific series with some of the best art the Silver Age offers, and I'm okay with paying $30ish each for the volumes because of it, and can't wait to pick up the finale.
Due to DC finally taking the idea from Marvel, both the Supergirl issues and the first half of the DP run is now a part of the sc b/w Showcase Presents line for like $15, so check them out there if you want without spending the big bucks.
But, to the MPC and CCL lines. First, DC's. I haven't gotten to try this yet, have any of you? It has a very big draw back, the price seems to always be a set $40, even for shorter 6 issue collections. 8 volumes have been released thus far, and I'm not really sure how the line will shape up, since the choices are all over the place. The two biggest releases, imo, are Flash of Two Worlds and Batman: A Death in the Family. They fit into a classic definition fine, the first for pure historical value and the latter for a little of that as well as just being a very famous storyline. After that though, interesting choices. Some of Superman's Bronze Age stuff makes it in, which overall is a very overlooked era for the character, not really retaining the notoriety the Silver Age had and not considered as good as post-Crisis modern stories. The original Swamp Thing run is here too, which at nearly 400 pages is probably worth the price tag of $40. A dark horse for me is Shazam and the Monster Society of Evil, since Captain Marvel's comics were known for very high quality in the Golden Age. There's also Batman Annuals and JLA by Perez, but I haven't read any of these so I can't comment. My local shop is having Black Friday sales, so I'm looking to see if I can score the Flash/Shazam books.
Marvel's line, however, I'm very familiar with and constantly recommend. It's basically a 'Greatest Hits' collection, with a few exceptions of books never/not currently traded that are all very good (except I've seen bad reviews for the Black Widow collection). Here are the four I have, and its hard to argue they're not among the best stuff printed by Marvel:
Spider-Man: Death of the Stacy's
Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt
Marvels
Daredevil: Born Again
All in glorious hardcover! Friday I'll be picking up Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle and possibly Hercules: Prince of Power, which is notable for not only being pretty funny but an infamous scene of Hercules and Galactus sharing a drink! This line includes a TON of great Marvel stuff, and is mostly late Bronze - Modern era comics. X-Men stories in it include God Loves, Man Kills, Proteus, and the story Phoenix Rising, which I haven't read. Joining Born Again is Miller's Man Without Fear, a story I think is overrated as an origin for DD but other love. Doomquest has Dr. Doom and Iron Man clashing in the past and future, Weapon x is still the DEFINITIVE origin for Wolverine if you ask me. Hulk: Heart of the Atom, Mephisto vs..., Sinister Six, ect. Los fo really great stories here in very handsome hardcover. There's alt covers, but the standard has a gorgeous simple black cover that matches every other release in the series, so they look wonderful of a bookshelf. Price is good too, usually between $20-40, and online you can get them cheaper. But even in stores, most seem to be $25-30.
While these lines are good, Marvel/DC are also putting out other hardcovers for older books. DC's Starman Omnibus collection is perfect, and I can't wait for the fourth volume. Marvel's Omnibus line has produced a lot of good books, and I own the two Fantastic Four volumes. Apart from that, they're continuing they're oversized hardcover line with Avengers Forever, and older stuff like Waid's F4 and Ultimate Spider-Man are still findable in that style. The last one I bought was Runaways volume 1, but AF is such a fun Avengers story that I'll probably pick that up. DC published four volumes of the Justice League International series (before cancelling more books
) in simple, standard no frills hardcovers, but thats twice as much of the series then they'd EVER published before. It joins DC's oversized deluxe reprints of Morrison's JLA. And Alan Moore has had two books show up in an oversized delux collection, Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? and Batman: The Killing Joke. Both are awesome and worth owning, but again overpriced if you don't get them online. Good times. Just ten years ago, it was unimaginable to have SO MANY of these stories available to you without hunting down single issues. The game for comic trades has really changed, and yay more hardcovers that will last the years!