Absolutes, Omnibuses, Oversize, Special Editions discussion thread

[Ken Aldred]

I agree with what was said about the Green Lantern Omnibus books.

 

This was, more or less, the point at which I gave up advance ordering premium-priced, supposedly archival hardcovers from DC, because the quality simply didn't justify it. Poor binding, poor scans, terrible paper quality, inconsistent presentation.

 

[miraclemet]

I agree with what was said about the Green Lantern Omnibus books.

 

This was, more or less, the point at which I gave up advance ordering premium-priced, supposedly archival hardcovers from DC, because the quality simply didn't justify it. Poor binding, poor scans, terrible paper quality, inconsistent presentation.

 

supposedly DC got their head out of the arse with the new Teen Titan's Omnibus Vol 2, but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

I really would like to buy the Superman Omnibus that reprints his appearances in Action comics and Superman and the Worlds Fair issues, but I'm deathly afraid of the production quality...

[Reno McCoy]

I agree with what was said about the Green Lantern Omnibus books.

 

This was, more or less, the point at which I gave up advance ordering premium-priced, supposedly archival hardcovers from DC, because the quality simply didn't justify it. Poor binding, poor scans, terrible paper quality, inconsistent presentation.

 

supposedly DC got their head out of the arse with the new Teen Titan's Omnibus Vol 2, but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

I really would like to buy the Superman Omnibus that reprints his appearances in Action comics and Superman and the Worlds Fair issues, but I'm deathly afraid of the production quality...

 

I'm assuming the upcoming Superman book is essentially a hardcover reprint of the Superman Chronicles. I actually like the paper on those tradepaperbacks, but we can hope that DC puts together a nice edition with the omnibus. With the missing pages, bad spines, and all the other mistakes DC has made in their collected library, I'm not holding my breath.

[Ken Aldred]

I agree with what was said about the Green Lantern Omnibus books.

 

This was, more or less, the point at which I gave up advance ordering premium-priced, supposedly archival hardcovers from DC, because the quality simply didn't justify it. Poor binding, poor scans, terrible paper quality, inconsistent presentation.

 

supposedly DC got their head out of the arse with the new Teen Titan's Omnibus Vol 2, but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

I really would like to buy the Superman Omnibus that reprints his appearances in Action comics and Superman and the Worlds Fair issues, but I'm deathly afraid of the production quality...

 

I'm assuming the upcoming Superman book is essentially a hardcover reprint of the Superman Chronicles. I actually like the paper on those tradepaperbacks, but we can hope that DC puts together a nice edition with the omnibus. With the missing pages, bad spines, and all the other mistakes DC has made in their collected library, I'm not holding my breath.

 

Have you ever seen the 'Sandman by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby' collection? Absolutely appalling. DC was just having a laugh there.

[miraclemet]

I'm assuming the upcoming Superman book is essentially a hardcover reprint of the Superman Chronicles. I actually like the paper on those tradepaperbacks, but we can hope that DC puts together a nice edition with the omnibus. With the missing pages, bad spines, and all the other mistakes DC has made in their collected library, I'm not holding my breath.

 

Have you ever seen the 'Sandman by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby' collection? Absolutely appalling. DC was just having a laugh there.

 

If you are referring to the art reproduction, yes that was horrid. I thought the production of the book (binding/materials-wise) was ok for a HC that retails for $40 ($28 on amazon). I dont mind the newspaper-y pages, though I did at first. The thing DC (and any publisher) needs to ask themselves is if we cant do it right, why do it? If there isnt access to high enough quality art for the reprints, don't reprint it!

 

I certainly hope the Golden Age Superman Omnibus is on a nice quality gloss paper, but it really needs a decent bind considering its going to be over 700 pages.

[bane]

Batman: Black & White

 

Font cover - This book is quite strange in the material used, its like a hard paper mush (best I can describe!)

 

 

 

 

[bane]

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - 10th Anniversary Slipcase Edition

 

- Signed, numbered, smythe-sewn hardcover with new cover, endpapers and chapter headings by Frank Miller, plus 24 pages of unpublished sketches, original covers and Miller's complete plot to Book Four... The Dark Knight Falls.

 

- A 48 page Prestige Format reproduction of Miller's entire -script for Book One... The Dark Knight Returns.

 

- A 48 Page Prestige Format collection of unpublished notes and sketches from Frank Miller's original sketchbook.

 

- A 48 Page Prestige Format collection of DARK KNIGHT reviews and related news stories.

 

2 6x9 full-color prints of the oringal Dark Knight retail poster.

 

 

 

 

 

[Kevin.J]

Batman: Black & White

 

Font cover - This book is quite strange in the material used, its like a hard paper mush (best I can describe!)

 

 

That is only the second copy I have ever seen of this book, I have the other.

I think it was hard to get in the UK and I know quite a few people were looking for it some years ago.

[Balham's Finest]

Avengers/JLA Collection

 

Published: December 2004

 

Print Status: Out of Print

 

Retail Price: $75 (aftermarket $80-120)

 

Pages: 288 pages

 

Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 8.5

 

Collects: JLA/Avengers issues 1-4 & Compendium

 

 

I was hoping someone would have one of these to post! Looks great.

[Balham's Finest]

Chris, thanks for adding those Batmen too.

 

Index is updated again.

 

LINK TO INDEX

[Kevin.J]

Trying to find an Absolute that hasnt been shown.

 

How about Absolute Authority 1 & 2

 

 

 

[Balham's Finest]

Trying to find an Absolute that hasnt been shown.

 

How about Absolute Authority 1 & 2

 

Glorious stuff. What about the inside though...

[miraclemet]

Big post coming....

[Kevin.J]

Trying to find an Absolute that hasnt been shown.

 

How about Absolute Authority 1 & 2

 

Glorious stuff. What about the inside though...

 

Still shrink wrapped, sorry

I will post an open one or open the next on up if I need to

[miraclemet]

Wally Wood's EC Stories Artist Edition

 

Published: June 2012

 

Print Status: 1st & 2nd print both OOP

 

Retail Price: $125 (aftermarket $150-200)

 

Pages: 144 pages

 

Product Dimensions: 22" x 15"

 

Collects: Wally's contributions to the following stories:

• 
  Weird Fantasy: Project Survival (WF#12), Home to Stay (WF#13), There will Come Soft Rains (WF#17).
  
• Weird Science: A Weighty Decision (WS#13), He Walked Among Us (WS#13), Down to Earth (WS#16), Mars is Heaven (WS#18), and My World (WS#22)
  
• Weird Science Fantasy: The Children (WSF#23), For Posterity (WSF#24), Adaptability (WSF#27)
  
• Shock Suspenstories: Came The Dawn (SSS#9)
  
• Frontline Combat: Perimeter (FC#15)
  
• Two Fisted Tales: Blocade (TFT#31), Atom Bomb (TFT#33), Trial by Arms (TFT#34), Carl Akeley (TFT#41)
  
• Plus the covers to WS#9, WS#13, WS#14, WS#15, WS#18, WSF#27, FC#15, TFT#33, SSS#2, SSS#4, SSS#6.
  

Extras:Not a ton but there is a Wally Wood biography, and they publish the art to the unpublished Spawn of Venus (EC's failed 3-D attempt)

 

Front of the book:

Nice big image on the front... (NOTE: This is the 2nd printing. IDW did a different cover for the 1st and 2nd printings, which I like, just wish I got the 1st print, but my distributor ran out before they filled my order, so I had to wait for the 2nd printing, and thankfully IDW did do a 2nd print of this one.

but how big is it?

Here is the book compared to a comic.

 

Here it is compared to a DC Absolute!

 

There's great art reproduced inside the cover of the book as well:

 

And here's one of Wally's girls

 

Spine

Nice clean design. Consistent with other Artist Editions.

 

 

 

Example internal page

So the intent of the Artist Edition is to reprint original art at its actual size. Since Wally Wood was a golden age artist, these are golden age pages, which were larger than modern art pages. And boy does that size pay off when you are looking at the book .

 

They use the art from full stories so you can read a full story, start to finish from EC. Its not easy reading when holding the book, but you can read the full story so it makes the book feel less like JUST an art book, but a whole book.

 

 

Binding/Production:

Sewn binding of course, so the book lays nice and flat while you drool on the art.

I will say this critique. Since the volume is SO huge they use a printing technique with the cover where the book cover is printed and then applied to the boards that make up the outside of the book. This means that shelfwear results in that paper applique cover wearing away/coming free, so you get small nicks like this:

Which look worse because the underboard is white contrasting with the black cover. If the cover board had been black, or they had done a different application method (maybe one that did not wrap around the cover). I'd really like to compare this to Little Nemo in Slumberland, which is the only other huge production book I can think of.

 

Extras:

Not a ton of extras here since it's basically an art book

But they do include a 2 page article on the EC 3-D attempt and show how Wally created the pages.

 

Also, since Wally created some amazing covers, they present many of them here:

 

 

Summary: If you are an Original Art collector, or someone who loves comics for their art over their stories then you should try to pick up an Artist Edition if IDW is doing one of your favorite creators. Its an archive, and really allows you to see the quality of work in their creations.

[Reno McCoy]

Where do you put something that big? I mean, seriously.

[miraclemet]

Where do you put something that big? I mean, seriously.

 

No idea. Right now it just sits next to my bookshelf leaning against it.

I thought I had trouble when the Wednesday's Comics HC came out.. .but that was nothing!

[Balham's Finest]

That Artist's Edition is insanely large! Looks really cool though. I might have to see which others are available...

[Bill1]

Now, here is a big book!

 

 

 

 

 

[Reno McCoy]