Friday means many things to many people. For some, Friday is the night for wings. For others, it’s yet another avocado salad. And yet for more of you still, you’re just gonna get wasted, food being a secondary priority.
At iFanboy, Friday means it’s letter column time.
You write. We answer. Very simple.
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After the recent announcements at DC’s new #1’s got me really excited to pick up more DC books. I’ve never been a huge DC guy but I found myself entranced by all the books coming out and being interested in about half the books being announced. Now after getting back to reality I realized I had a budget for comics every month and I have to eliminate some of the books. I really want to pick up as much as I can but I came to realization that a lot of the Marvel books have been double shipping as of late while I enjoyed having some of my favorite books coming out twice a month like Uncanny X-Force and Thunderbolts, but it’s becoming more of a hassle to try new books because some of my favorites have been taking up more of my space in my budget, leaving me to try less of these new DC books and having less variety. I’m going to assume Marvel has no plans of stopping this anytime soon so my question is as followed: Should I drop some of the books I’ve been enjoying from Marvel in favor of trying something new? Again thanks for taking to time to read and hopefully hear from you soon.
Zac
Well, Zac, you’re certainly in a tough spot. Now, I can’t tell you what you should do. Only you can ultimately decide what’s best for you and your comic reading budget. I have no idea if Marvel will continue to double ship Uncanny X-Force or Thunderbolts. The prevailing wisdom would be that they have to stop sooner or later, as publishing 24 issues of a comic in one year seems a bit over reaching for the creative teams involved. I would guess that by the time the DC #1s hit shelves, Marvel will scale back on double shipping of those specific titles, most likely moving to double shipping other titles. That said, who knows? There’s no telling what Marvel may do
Now the thing is, I want you to try new things and enjoy new comics. Who knows, maybe one of the DC Comics will be more enjoyable to you than some of the Marvel Comics you read? There really is only one way to find out, and that’s to try. Now I don’t know what your comics budget is currently or how many comics you buy monthly. But I did do the math and if you wanted to buy EVERY #1 that DC Comics is publishing this September, you have between now and September to save up about $160.00. So that’s roughly 10 weeks away, which means that if you can squirrel away $16 a week between now and September, you could afford to try them all! Once you try them all, then you can decide what comics you want to stick with and THEN make the hard decisions about what comics to cut to stay within your budget.
These tough financial times are difficult for everyone, but I’m sure you’ll make the right decision for you. Just don’t make any rash decisions without checking out the comics first and ensuring that you’ll enjoy the comic that you’re spending your hard earned money on. Good luck come September!
P.S. — Don’t drop Uncanny X-Force, just my humble opinion — that one’s a keeper.
Ron Richards
I’m wondering what you guys think about reading comics in omnibus form. Not just hardcovers, but the monster doorstop omnibi. With Walt Simonson’s The Mighty Thor, John Byrne’s Fantastic Four, and Chris Claremont/Jim Lee’s Uncanny X-Men coming out, and the great discounts at DCBS and Amazon, I can’t see not buying them. As much I enjoy reading my old comics, it is a pain to remove the 25 year old rotting scotch tape and de-bag each individual issue (thank you today’s comics for being worthless so I don’t have to bag you), and I look forward to the modernized coloring and larger format that the omniboo will give me. But I worry about losing images into the vast depths where the pages meet. I can imagine entire panels being swallowed up and double page spreads being ruined. I’ve seen you guys with the books on the video show (though Conor seems to be the only one strong enough to lift them), but you’ve only commented on their heft, not the reading experience.
Brian
It’s a fair question, Brian. It’s very easy to be won over by the impressive heft and conclusive content in a monster collection like an Omnibus. At this point, they’re mostly Marvel products, as they’ve released many 600+ tomes of definitive collections.
I only have a couple, and I haven’t really had a problem at all. I’m pretty easy going and don’t remember being all that bothered with losing images. I have the The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus, collecting the first Lee and Ditko stories, and I think it was absolutely worth it, because of the comprehensive nature of the whole thing. They’ve got the letter columns, Brian!
I also have some of the newer stories, like Brubaker’s Captain America #1-25, and the first volume of The Invincible Iron Man, which is 19 issues I think. There’s no problem with those either. I do remember some of the Powers Definitive collections losing a bit to the margins, but nothing that made me want to write a letter to the publisher (at least not as much as the printing errors and spelling mistakes in those).
As far as reading them and having problems with the weight or size, it’s never been a thing. I mean, you’re not taking them out to lunch or on a plane, but other than that, they’re just big books, and it never really bothered me, Absolute, Omnibus, or whatever. I like the novelty of the size, and that they’re so impressive. Just by buying it, you’re making this commitment to the stories, which is as powerful as they commitment they made to publishing the things. I like that convenient, because it seems to treat the stories with just a bit more respect than the old issues do. I say reinforce your floors and shelves and stock up to your hearts content.
Josh Flanagan
So I’m a mega-huge Jack Kirby fan, always have been, and continue to be. I love the classics. But I’m sad because there hasn’t been any New God action since Death of the New Gods. I know they all died in that series but they DID bring them back at the end of Final Crisis. Since technically the New Gods have been resurrected and are alive and well,
WHY HAVEN’T WE SEEN ANYTHING WITH THEM IN IT!?!
Well, at least I haven’t. I loved how Gail Simone used Big Barda in Birds of Prey until she was removed from the series to prepare for her death Mister Miracle and Big Barda are by far my favorite DC characters and I’m sad that they haven’t been used in anything lately. Anyways, I just wanted to know if you had any idea why the New Gods haven’t been used in anything lately or if they have been and I just haven’t seen it.
Jezabel from Los Angeles, California
I don’t know anything for sure, and this is pure speculation on my part, but I fear that we’re not going to see the New Gods again for quite some time, Jezabel. And this saddens me because I too am a huge fan of the New Gods and think that Darkseid is one of the best villains in the DCU and in all of comics.
This is based on nothing but supposition and observation but it seems that when DC goes in their new direction in September they will be pushing forward with concepts that they feel will appeal to a newer and younger audience. And by that I don’t necessarily mean kids (though they certainly want those) but ideas that feel contemporary in their eyes. We’ve already seen the shelving of the Justice Society of America and my fear is that Jack Kirby’s New Gods characters will go right up there on the shelf with them to collect dust.
Again, this is just my theory and I have nothing to back it up.
Of course it is entirely possible that the New Gods will show up in the new DCU at some point but if I had to guess I would think that they might show up in the modern, Morrison versions rather than the old school Kirby designs. I feel like the Morrison versions that we saw in Final Crisis are more in line with the aesthetic that DC is trying to create.
I hope I’m wrong. I really do. I love nothing more than when Darkseid shows up to let everyone know that shit just got real.
Conor Kilpatrick
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I would disagree with ron, I would drop x-force only because being an x book you can be pretty sure within a few months of finishing a story arc it will be in trade and falling off for 1 issue to a story arc to try something new shouldn’t be a huge deal. and worst case senario you fall of for 1 issue then comeback the next issue because it was just a phase…
my first experience with the omnibus format was the Walking Dead Compendium 1 (ok technically its not, but size wise i say it is) and i absolutely loved reading the story that way. I wound up reading through all 48 issues in like 6 days (towards the end i held back so really i could have read it in like 3). The story was so engrossing i wanted to keep reading so i had no problem with it. It was a bit painful at times, but really it was a great way to read a story like that. Don’t know if i’d want to read every comic story that way, but i think for some real long form stories, its an awesome way.
Uncanny X force is awesome so i vote for keeping that.
Also for the budget thing, don’t forget if you want to wait, you can get those DC 1sts in digital for a buck cheaper a month later, which really can do A LOT for your budget if you don’t mind waiting.
I know Barda and Mr. Miracle were in Booster Gold earlier this year and it was a good run. I miss the New Gods also.
Who’s the new “shit just got real” villain at DC? The Anti-Monitor?
The Spider-Man Omnibus is possibly my favorite comic related purchase ever. I’d love for them to release a second volume with the Romita period.
I do wonder how popular the omnibus is, or rather, how successful the sales are for Marvel. I don’t recall seeing any second printings which makes me sad because I’ll never spend $300 on the Bendis Daredevil or Morrison X-Men no matter how much I want them.
I’m actually quite hopeful about the New Gods. Given that DC is taking a chance on the lesser-known (at least outside of comics) OMAC and the Demon, I think it’s not a stretch to think that we could see the New Gods again soon. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw Kamandi again too. Do we know if Morrison’s Multiversity is still in the works? I thought he was going to reintroduce a lot of classic DC characters in that series.
Brian and Josh, Gutter loss can be an issue, but all the publishing house that have these giant book take care and addin a little extra space to compensate. Even the 1280 page KISS Compendium looks good.
Chris
I echo Jezebel’s fear completely. Kirby’s original New Gods series is my favorite superhero comic of all time, so I’m really scared about all of that universes future within the reboot. I really hope DC doesn’t just throw away arguably the most interesting thing in their mythology next to the Superman and Batman mythos.
@RapidEyeMovement i think he is the new shit just got weird as we try to figure out how to make it make sense villian…
as far as gutter loss…i’ve found it to be more of an issue with Hardcovers than higher end collections, which is mostly due to the binding methods. Your standard $25 HC uses a “side sew” or “stab stitch” which is basically single sheets of paper vertically “stabbed” with mini holes and thread (or glue if they are cheap). You lose the most page to the gutter with this process and the books don’t open as well and lay as flat. Its way cheaper process because they can pull from the same print run as the softcover trades because is the only difference is how the cover is attached. Sometimes is the same glue binding as a soft trade, with an HC glued on there. These types of bindings tend to fall apart faster.
The higher end collections like omnibuses, absolutes and other things in that $40+ range are most always printed and bound in signatures which is the way a proper book is supposed to be printed and bound. This type of binding can last 50+ years depending on the quality. Lays pretty flat, and has minimal gutter loss. Usually has better paper too, so its a much better investment and nicer to read.
I love me the big books!
There is a certain prestige in seeing that shelf dressed up in such a fashion that one must pause and reflect on the simple beauty of the thing. Pardon me for saying this, but it is very much the same thing as checking out a cute ass walking down the street. Your brain just melts and you go “wow.”
I have a feeling that the New Gods are on hold until Grant Morrison finishes his Multiverse project…
Like @Thursday just pointed out, I think Morrison stated he is going to bring the New Gods back whenever Multiversity is finished…..Considering it’s been a LONG time since that project was announced it might be a while to see it.
@RapidEyeMovement Geoff Johns. At any moment he could show up and it would be like you never existed.
Isn’t Morrison doing a New Gods book where Quietly will do one issue of? I thought that’s what he was busy with (Quietly)
@AmirCat: Where did you hear about this Morrison/Quitely new gods book? Is it part of multiversity? Not trying to discredit you, just never heard anything like that. Honestly, I’d like nothing better if you were right.
Hey Jezabel: they aren’t the New Gods, but they’re Kirby–check out Kirby Genesis that’s being put out by Dynamite. So far, the Alex Ross adaptation of Kirby’s style has been literally breathtaking!
I miss the New Gods too, though, I feel you.
Marvel isn’t double shipping the same titles every month (except Amazing Spider-Man.) They are alternating between the books. I actually don’t like when they do this, as money is super tight and I need to come up with extra cash for another issue of X-Factor one month, then Avengers Academy the next. I know it doesn’t sound like a huge deal when it’s just 3 bucks, but it’s easier for me to have 18 dollars for comics than it is 21, that stuff adds up. If I wanted to buy 12 Marvel books a month, and suddenly I have to buy 16 because 4 of them are double shipping, that’s a 23% increase, and i end up not getting something else new just to keep up with the books I already get regularly.
@ Josh or those in the know, where is that photo of the omnibi from…I’m salvating
@ludusmaximus It was from a forum on CBR I think. Dude’s got a lot.
Meme-
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/shit-just-got-real#.TgU_-kfPHwk
Btw, it’s omnibuses.
@RapidEyeMovement he may e batman’s villian, but the joker shows up on the last page of any DC book, partly in shadow. Word balloon: “Smile.”
Boom. Shit just got real. Rack’em, I’m out.
Yeah, “I love nothing more than when Darkseid shows up to let everyone know that shit just got real.” I hope you’re wrong to Conor and would love to see Morrison-esque New Gods and JSA drop in for a great story arc as guest/supporting characters. I love the stories where JLA and JSA come together a bit like The Lightning Saga, Virtue and Vice and I would call Cry For Justice a JSA/JLA mash up considering the cast of characters. Some characters are timeless, in fact they all are or can be and artists like John Cassaday have shown us that with his modern contemporary styled pencils while still looking classic. Morrison and Cassaday would be a dream run for me on JSA and have them meet the New Gods and fight Darkseid.
i never thought id say this, but there are quite a few DC relaunch books that im going to ttry on digital (after the three week price drop). Thats a way to save a buck an issue on those ones your just not sure about.
Good answers.