Absolutes, Omnibuses, Oversize, Special Editions discussion thread

[chrisco37]

The Watchmen Absolute is fantastic. Loved all the extras in the back.

 

 

[Balham's Finest]

I have all the Batman related ones.

 

Do you need shots of those?

 

Chris, I have Dark Knight and Batman and Robin: Batman Reborn, and will add them in the near future. Would love to see some pictures of the others though if you have the time - particularly Hush!

[bane]

I have Hush and Long Halloween.

 

Will try to sort out some pics when I can.

[ThoseBackPages]

Great Thread!

 

My question is, what incentive does Marvel have for not keeping the popular Omnis in print? These are essentially money grabs anyway (as they re-print issues they've issued long ago), why not keep them available at all times?

 

It's an interesting question. I think there are a number of factors: these books cost a lot to print, and then there's tax and storage overhead for the publisher to consider too. For super-premium editions I understand they tend to rely heavily on pre-orders to set a print run number, rather than assuming greater demand.

 

It's also hard for them to assess demand/appetite for a new printing as time goes on - yes, you see the odd crazily high price being paid on eBay, but it doesn't necessarily follow that there are hundreds or thousands of possible purchasers out there (as opposed to a few fanatics).

 

I read somewhere that the majority of these kind of books tend to be sold within the first few months of release - so if a first printing hasn't sold out within that time period, it's an indicator that there probably isn't the demand for a second one.

 

Then there's the fact that the publisher can make a lot of money repackaging the product in smaller, more affordable volumes like premier HCs, TPBs etc - those are a lot cheaper to print and store etc.

 

Short answer: what we think of as popular doesn't always translate into worthwhile for the publishers.

 

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question seemingly perfectly. All the points you made are valid ones. Sucks that some things (Simonson's Thor Run for example) are no longer available.

[Jeffro.]

I own one, count it one, omnibus. It's the Amazing Fantasy book that I got off of Amazon when they ran a crazy special. I think I paid about $25 for it.

[Reno McCoy]

Keep in mind that books like the Thor Omnibus had three printings prior to it being shipped out. So they caught the demand before the release date.

 

Another reason Marvel might want to keep these out of print is that it increases the value on the secondary market for some of the key books. However, collectors will swoop in and buy them all, thinking that the others too might increase in value. This, in theory, gets more people pre-ordering than they might have in the first place.

 

These books must be cash cows. Marvel prints 'em and sells 'em for $100, and then they use the same files for less expensive paperback versions, which sell, too. Great way to make money off the same files.

[Balham's Finest]

I own one, count it one, omnibus. It's the Amazing Fantasy book that I got off of Amazon when they ran a crazy special. I think I paid about $25 for it.

 

Add pictures/a review to the thread then - the more the merrier!

 

I actually don't own a single Marvel Omnibus at the moment, so am keen to see some examples. Hoping they'll release a Jonathan Hickman Fantastic Four edition at some point, I'd definitely be in for that.

[dscott]

These are great along with Silver Age keys and awesome art these are all I really collect.

 

I probably have around 50+ of them.

[ThoseBackPages]

"Another reason Marvel might want to keep these out of print is that it increases the value on the secondary market for some of the key books. "

 

What do they care about the secondary market value?

[chrisco37]

I wish Marvel would reprint the Vol 1 Spidey. I'd love to pick up a copy.

[miraclemet]

Some inside baseball...

 

The Omnibuses are printed seperate from Marvels regular Trade & HC distribution pipes. The Omnibi are printed in china and shipped over. The smaller print runs (which 2nd and 3rd printings would be) couldn't justify the production and shipping costs (Im guessing).

 

So no reprintings based on pure secondary market demand.

 

Its less adventageous for them to reprint the old omnibus vs focusing on printing new ones since the sales are higher for new Omnibi vs trying to capture the small percentage that are still wanting the OOP ones.

 

[dscott]

I wish Marvel would reprint the Vol 1 Spidey. I'd love to pick up a copy.

 

Sometimes you just get lucky make sure to keep an eye out at shows. I got my ASM 1 at Chicago last year. I picked it up and asked how much he wanted. The guy looks at the back cover and said $100 cash I guess. I couldnt pull the money out of my wallet fast enough.

[miraclemet]

a saw on amazon they are preselling a sandman omnibus. this just seems like raping the fans as they already have all the reg hardcovers AND the absolute editions.

 

And dont forget the Annotated editions... where the book is reprinted in B&W with notes.

[Ken Aldred]

I wish Marvel would reprint the Vol 1 Spidey. I'd love to pick up a copy.

 

Sometimes you just get lucky make sure to keep an eye out at shows. I got my ASM 1 at Chicago last year. I picked it up and asked how much he wanted. The guy looks at the back cover and said $100 cash I guess. I couldnt pull the money out of my wallet fast enough.

 

I can find them at comic shops or at marts / conventions still, so I wouldn't pay multiples of cover price for them.

[miraclemet]

I wish Marvel would reprint the Vol 1 Spidey. I'd love to pick up a copy.

 

Sometimes you just get lucky make sure to keep an eye out at shows. I got my ASM 1 at Chicago last year. I picked it up and asked how much he wanted. The guy looks at the back cover and said $100 cash I guess. I couldnt pull the money out of my wallet fast enough.

 

I can find them at comic shops or at marts / conventions still, so I wouldn't pay multiples of cover price for them.

 

Then you should be buying and flipping them on ebay for $160 a pop all day every day. Cause there are plenty of people out there with zero opportunity to find them and they'd be happy as clams to have them at that price.

[Ken Aldred]

I wish Marvel would reprint the Vol 1 Spidey. I'd love to pick up a copy.

 

Sometimes you just get lucky make sure to keep an eye out at shows. I got my ASM 1 at Chicago last year. I picked it up and asked how much he wanted. The guy looks at the back cover and said $100 cash I guess. I couldnt pull the money out of my wallet fast enough.

 

I can find them at comic shops or at marts / conventions still, so I wouldn't pay multiples of cover price for them.

 

Then you should be buying and flipping them on ebay for $160 a pop all day every day. Cause there are plenty of people out there with zero opportunity to find them and they'd be happy as clams to have them at that price.

 

I only find a volume I'm interested in occasionally.

 

And some of us aren't quite that obsessed with profit.

[Ken Aldred]

I own one, count it one, omnibus. It's the Amazing Fantasy book that I got off of Amazon when they ran a crazy special. I think I paid about $25 for it.

 

I picked that up last year at the London con for the same price, £15. Perfect condition, sealed, variant cover edition. Nice addition to my collection.

[miraclemet]

Fear Agent Library Vol 1

 

Published: December 2012 (Jan 2013 2nd printing)

 

Print Status: Available (2nd & 3rd Printing)

 

Retail Price: $50

 

Pages: 440

 

Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 1.8 x 12.4 inches

 

Collects: FEAR Agent issues 1 to 15 plus 1/2 of the "Tales of the FEAR Agent" Backup stories.

 

Extras: Cover Gallery, Page Layouts/sketches, Design sketches

 

Front of the book:

 

 

Cover & Spine Design: Great mix of matte and glossy to really make the cover pop. This book does not have a slipcase, but at 1/2 the price of most Absolutes and Omnibuses, who cares? (Although the matte black parts of the cover pick up fingerprints and dust just from looking at it).

I'm a lover of a good spine and this book has one.

 

 

Example internal page

 

Strangely no 2 page splashes that I could find, but doesnt matter. The Oversized art is stunning. The low page gloss is perfect for the matte color pallet that the book is presented in. Great quality in the printed page.

 

Binding:

I think this is a Sewn/Glued bind hybrid. Book opens and lays flat no problem, but it is glue reinforced.

 

Extras:

 

Along with reproductions of the covers by all the various guest cover artists we get to see a good number of layout and design pages by Terry.

 

Summary: This is the best bang for the buck book out on the market in my opinion, and was my top Collection for 2012. Between the size (Slightly taller than an Omnibus, slightly smaller than an Absolute) the # of pages, the production value, the content and all wrapped up for $50 Retail (with 30-50% discounts to be found easily) you CANNOT beat it. Only negative? No book ribbon. But then again you wont want to stop reading this book so you dont really need one.

[Ken Aldred]

I agree. Great-looking collection. It's on my list for the London con.

[dupont2005]

I bought that Fear Agent Library Edition. Had it preordered and got it for like $27 with free shipping. I liked it so much I'm going to probably buy all the Dark Horse Library Edition comics now.

 

If Hellboy vol. 1 was currently in print I'd have bought it already. I hear it's getting a second print soon though.