What is the most convoluted title/run/series you have ever collected? 1 1

[Muno42]

Modern series by Marvel are a bear. They renumber at 1 every so often, until the "Legacy" numbering (a questionable addition of all previous versions) reaches a big number so they can have an issue 600 spectacular. Then there will be a new number 1.

Edited September 15, 2021 by Muno42

[Ken Aldred]

On 9/15/2021 at 10:21 PM, Jesse-Lee said:

Final Crisis

Infinite Crisis had a lot of tie-in material as well.

I recently re-read Crisis on Infinite Earths. Coherent enough without needing to read the tie-in issues.

Edited September 15, 2021 by Ken Aldred

[Lazyboy]

On 9/15/2021 at 4:23 PM, Muno42 said:

Modern series by Marvel are a bear. They renumber at 1 every so often, until the "Legacy" numbering (a questionable addition of all previous versions) reaches a big number so they can have an issue 600 spectacular. Then there will be a new number 1.

I would have mentioned Marvel's (basically entire) output from the past 25 years, but for the end of the thread title ("you have ever collected").

[Hairless Wookiee]

On 9/15/2021 at 11:31 AM, Ken Aldred said:

X-Men

Numerous multi-title crossovers, mini-series, solo series, title reboots, history revisions, Wolverine guest appearances everywhere.

It all got a bit out of control and far too much, really.

I completely agree. I've been trying to collect mainly Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine but if I want it all that means Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, New X-Men, Wolverine is on volume 7 now and that doesn't even count All New Wolverine, The Wolverines, Old Man Logan, Weapon X, etc. I haven't even gotten into the X-Men Blue, Gold, Red titles yet. Forget it if I want to collect New Mutants, X-Force, X-Factor, Excalibur, Cable, Deadpool and all the crazy mini series that are floating around out there.

[adampasz]

It has to be X-Men after the 90's reboot to present. I don't see how anything else even comes close.

[shadroch]

I have not read any of them but I bought a long box of what I thought were all Avengers, but there must have been two dozen different avengers series in it. New Avengers, Dark Avengers, Young Avengers, AA, A/X, far too many to list.  They are all from the same time period but I don't know how inter-connected they are. I gave up on even trying to sort them.

[catman76]

Most Dell comics are not numbered normally on the cover or indicia and you have to hopefully find the actual number on the first page written tiny somewhere, sometimes not. It's a huge pain trying to find a particular issue because of it. Lots of 40s and 50s comics are like that or Ziiff-Davis titles that will start at number 10 then  go to 11, then issue 3 and go from there, sometimes there will be two issue 10s.

All this was really a huge pain in the pre internet days getting mail order catalogs and not being able to see the comic itself to know if it's the right issue I was looking for.

[Gatsby77]

On 9/15/2021 at 6:52 PM, catman76 said:

Most Dell comics are not numbered normally on the cover or indicia and you have to hopefully find the actual number on the first page written tiny somewhere, sometimes not. It's a huge pain trying to find a particular issue because of it. Lots of 40s and 50s comics are like that or Ziiff-Davis titles that will start at number 10 then  go to 11, then issue 3 and go from there, sometimes there will be two issue 10s.

All this was really a huge pain in the pre internet days getting mail order catalogs and not being able to see the comic itself to know if it's the right issue I was looking for.

Fair point. I have complete high-grade sets of Gold Key Manus & Doctor Solar.

Fairly early on I learned to memorize the covers because there’s no issue number visible on the outside.

CGC even mixed up a few of my Magnus books once, mislabeling the actual issues. 

[Robot Man]

All the books from my birth month and year. I got bored and came to my senses when I realized how many books I would never buy any way...

[snitzer]

On 9/15/2021 at 2:00 PM, theCapraAegagrus said:

X-Men is a good example. Uncanny, Amazing, Ultimate, Extraordinary, etc.

Probably a better example of being worse than my Superman one.

Don’t forget Excalibur and Classic 

[SuperBird]

Hands down THB by Paul Pope is the most difficult, convoluted title I have tried to collect. 

You'd have to get: 
1 (1st series)
1-5 (2nd series)
6a
6b
6c
6d
Pink #nn
THB 69
Giant THB Parade
Giant THB Vol 2
P City Parade
THB: M3 Mars Mightiest Mek
THB Circus
THB Comics from Mars 1-2

Edited September 16, 2021 by SuperBird

[Qalyar]

At one point, I was picking up cheap Classics Illustrated to try to assemble a set of all printings, with all the fun of HRNs and whatnot, well before there were easily-acquired (probably?) complete indexes. Realized along the way that was madness and sold the lot off for a little better than break even. No regrets.

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 9/15/2021 at 4:27 PM, Lazyboy said:

There's nothing difficult about the reading order of the regular Superman titles in the 90s (at least starting in 1991).

 

Superman #75 has a "2" on it, and it's not the 2nd part in the Death of Superman run.

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 9/15/2021 at 2:29 PM, djzombi said:

That's why they had the triangle numbering, yes?  

See my prior comment.

[GeeksAreMyPeeps]

On 9/15/2021 at 1:01 PM, theCapraAegagrus said:

Action Comics, Adventures of Superman, Man of Steel, and Superman Vol. 2 all ran at the same time in the 90's.

I'm not sure if you can get more convoluted than that.

At least as convoluted is the Spider-man titles at the time. When I started collecting in the mid-late '80s it took me a while to realize that Amazing Spider-man, Spectacular Spider-man, and Web of Spider-man were different titles. And that Marvel Tales starring Spider-man was also a different title and not even new stories. And that Spectacular Spider-man is the same title as Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-man, only with an updated name. I imagine if I had started collecting a few years later when there was also adjectiveless Spider-man and Spider-man Unlimited, it wouldn't have been any easier. And then of course they relaunched with a Sensational Spider-man as well.

Don't get me started on Bloodshot, which has a half a dozen series just since 2012, one with a title change twice in the run and multiple zero issues. And almost every issue has variant covers as well.

[Robot Man]

It blows my mind when I hear some one trying for say a complete Spider-Man, Batman or X-Men set. For example, an Amazing Spider-Man set alone would be monumental, expensive and a heck of a lot of books to just store. 

I have a complete set of MAD Magazine 1-500. I started with #72 buying them off the stands or subscribing. I bought the earlier issues way back in the ‘70’s so don’t have a ton of money into them. 

Frankly, they have become kind of a burden to just store anymore. I’m thinking of keeping #1-100 (my favorite issues) and selling off the rest. 

[MetalPSI]

Everything 

Everything I collect or have collected is just a nightmare 

[MatterEaterLad]

On 9/15/2021 at 11:09 AM, shadroch said:

I'd say the Legion. First they bounced around as guest stars for a few years, then they had a solid run in Adventure for about 80 issues, before ending up as a backup in Action for a few issues.  Next they were the backup in  Superboy for a year before becoming the main story. After about five years , they changed the books title to The Legion and everything went smoothly until the Legion Baxter series premiered. For the next year, there were two series. The Baxter series was the main book but the old book, now called Tales of the Legion continued putting out new stories for a year. After that, the Tales of The Legion reprinted the Baxter series. 

Then The Crisis came and since Superboy no longer existed in the DC Universe, everything about the Legion had to change. since he was the reason the Legion was started. No Supergirl. No Mon-el since he was Superboy's adopted big brother who spent 1,000 years trapped in the now non-existent Phantom Zone. 

I won't even attempt to chart the Legions path after the Crisis but it branches off in literally dozens of branches.  You had LEGION 89 where a pseudo-legion operates in the present day, you had Legionnaires where younger versions of the Legion members mysteriously seem to have been cloned, you have at least a half dozen revamps. Honestly, I gave up years ago. 

 

Winner. Collecting the Legion is like falling in love with a beautiful woman, then seeing her get addicted to plastic surgery to the point where she's unrecognizable. 

[universal soldier]

On 9/16/2021 at 11:31 AM, Robot Man said:

It blows my mind when I hear some one trying for say a complete Spider-Man, Batman or X-Men set. For example, an Amazing Spider-Man set alone would be monumental, expensive and a heck of a lot of books to just store. 

I have a nearly complete run of ASM (3 issues plus Annual #1 to go) and full runs of every Spider-man major series (Web, PPTSS, MTU V1-5 etc...) with the exception of Marvel Tales and one other random series like Web-spinners. It's about 10 long boxes. Lol, yeah I'm that guy. 

I also have a full run on Uncanny X-men 94 to the latest volume just for good measure.

Edited September 16, 2021 by universal soldier
Fun with phonics

[LowGradeBronze]

On 9/16/2021 at 2:09 PM, GeeksAreMyPeeps said:

 I imagine if I had started collecting a few years later when there was also adjectiveless Spider-man.....

I would love to pass the newsagent and see a comic called Adjectiveless Spider Man ........