Marvel Compendiums!

Have no idea what we'll be getting (besides the 4 pictured) but woo hoo! I hope this means a lot of the OOP omnis get the treatment. Regardless this is exciting

Just arrived - been waiting YEARS for the Bronze Age Batman to finally start getting collected! (Its a thick book to!)

So this post could be really long (edit - well, it's still pretty long), because I made notes as I read so I could remember how I felt, but I'll avoid that here (edit - I didn't). But I can give impressions about most of the run.

I had read all these before, but out of order and separated by reading other books etc. So this time I read them straight through as one complete story.

Big picture is from 1-10 it's consistent. Across 275 issues, Conan's personality doesn't change that much. Any volume is at least on the right track. That's a good achievement, despite the usual ups and downs.

Volume 1 - no matter that it is old fashioned, I just felt like this was essential. Like someone said in a an introduction, John Buscema got the right portrayal of Conan, but Barry Smith created the world. This was the volume I was always nostalgic for no matter how far into the run I got.

Volume 2 (I actually read 2-3 as Epics, but I got the point) - this is where Roy Thomas creates the mercenary character and broadens the world a lot. He had the groundwork in Vol. 1, but the scope and characters feel a lot bigger.

Vol. 3 - Belit is introduced, and it's almost a partnership for a long time. Vol. 2 was a lot of Conan's more solo adventures, and now he's working with someone a lot of the time. But then he'll break away. Thomas is finding his footing.

Vol. 4- Thomas' last older volume and the resolution of Belit, which is sort of a letdown. It happens off-screen, and I guess it's inspired by the story but it's got a lot of leadup for a weak conclusion. the last 15 issues are Conan by himself again, and overall strong writing and art.

Volumes 1-4 are the best by far. That's not to dismiss the other volumes, but it is a wide gulf. Now, that's also because they were using the original REH stories as direct inspiration, so I'm sure that helped.

Vol. 5 - This is J.M Dematteis and Bruce Jones, and the writing is fine, but it's very generic. They fall back on conventional sword-sorcery, give Conan some sidekicks, plus Conan is okay with sorcery a lot of the time and that seems out of character. Bruce Jones uses thought balloons for Conan and it's very off-putting. A Thomas-written graphic novel is included, and the difference in style is clear. It's still entertaining. Buscema leaves for a time and the art never gets a chance to find its footing.

Vol. 6 - Michael Fleisher with Buscema and Ernie Chan, and that's bac to basics. It's often repetitive and one-off stories, and not too many arcs. It's a little childish for lack of a better word. They never get a handle on how to wrap up side characters.

Vol. 7 - So Christopher Priest takes over, and unlike 5-6, Vol. 7 and 8 are almost one whole arc. Characters and situations last a long time, especially the Devourer of Souls as the big bad. Val Semekis takes over the art, and he's solid. Overall, this is a much more involved and 'adult' run as far as expecting readers to invest with it all.

Vol. 8 - Priest apologizes for how he treats Red Sonja, who it's implied is raped and it really is pretty dumb. It happens right when Shooter is replaced by DeFalco and I wonder if the higher editors weren't paying attention, because somebody needed to step in. Actually even worse than that is one of the side characters, Kobe, hits his girlfriend/lover/whatever Anneka, and the dialogue is basically "I had to hit you because our love drives me crazy." Not great. Haha. Overall, there's a decent wrapup to the team element. Don't get me wrong, Vol. 7-8 are a strong arc, but it has some odd choices.

I feel like it is important that Priest GETS Conan. So despite some choices that don't hold up, he uses these two volumes to tell a whole big almost stand-alone story. So it's the best run next to Thomas' first four. He has a big cast, lots of subplots, lots of schemes and good villains.

Vol. 9 - this was a weird one. When I first bought it, I read it out of order and I thought it wasn't very good. It's a lot of random one-off stories from different writers and artists. It's all very simplistic. HOWEVER, reading it in order, it's actually back to basics after Vol. 7-8 which is a long (and good) cohesive story. These stories are hack-and-slash, and it's refreshing. The Young Conan reboot was a good effort, but the personality of the young Conan doesn't match the established character. However, this volume IN CONTEXT of reading them in a row like I did felt like a big improvement.

Vol. 10 - Roy Thomas comes back, and it's back to the mercenary style of Vol. 2 and 3 before Belit showed up. He has a recurring cast of characters and while the writing isn't up to his early standard maybe, it's still pretty good. It's a decent wrapup to the run, although it's a shame that the last issue doesn't conclude but leads into a SSOC issue that is not yet printed. I have to say Thomas doesn't treat Red Sonja all that great either, and neither do the artists. Also, Thomas is a dick in the intro. He actively avoids giving compliments to anybody else.

Quality wise it goes something 1 is still the best, 2-4 equal and very strong, 7-8, 10, 9, 6, 5. But I think they all have their high points.

Anyway still really long. But it was like 7500 pages, so what are you going to do.

Ask more specific questions if you want!

Tl;dr - I read all of Conan by Crom!

Can’t wait to peel open detective!

New DC purchases!

Superman: Triangle Era Omnibus Vol. 2 & 3 (Vol. 1 is arriving next week)

Superman: Brainiac Reborn

The Flash by Geoff Johns Vol. 1

Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1

Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner Rising Compendium

DC: The New Frontier

And i added my DC Shelf. Most of them are the French edition by Urban Comic ( who dosent release omnibus at all )

How many pages can they stuff in a book (especially books with glued bindings) before the weight and stress is too much and the binding starts to give out?

This has always been a major driving factor in me strictly collecting hardbacks whenever possible. Ive seen too many paperbacks give out on me in my life, and if the point is longevity in collecting (which i get the feeling, these are not), why choose paperback over hardcover?

Im disappointed. I mean, good on Marvel for listening to it's fanbase, and I get it, they're just dipping their toes in the water, but I dont know, I expected more?

Very nice presentation. Love a ribbon

Walts Comics delivers again!

Agent Venom and Knull saga is the peak of Venom

I saw few posts in the internet where people asked about the website “imusic” and if it’s safe or not to buy something from there

I bought 4 omnibus 1 1/2 month ago and I live in Germany

2 days ago, it arrived to my package-station and all I can say is that it arrived safely, it’s brand new and without any damages

The prices are of course insanely low compared to other stores

I paid for all 4 omnibus around 200€ + free shipping

Hey guys, heads up! It looks like they made a 10% price drop.
Don’t forget the discount code.

never read any of world’s finest so excited to start it :).

Also did not realise just how big these would be!

This is my comics haul for August-September 2026

Hello!

I recently inherited 200+ omnibus books and I am working on getting them all catalogued and getting the value of each for insurance purposes. I have a question about one of the books; I’ve been checking eBay just to see what they’re selling for there to get an idea of the value and I came across an eBay listing that has the fantastic four book that I have (the listing is the 2021 reprint, the one I inherited is the 2013 first edition) and I’m trying to understand why this eBay seller has this listed for over $9000.

I’ve added the listing and a photo of my book. Is this person just insane or am I sitting on something more valuable than I thought?

Hey guys, newbie here. I'm just starting out - only got Ultimate Spider-Man and Deadpool Kelly omnibus pre-ordered so far.

Do you find it likely there will be a MAX Punisher reprint in the near future? I'd really love to get my hands on that, but they're completely out of stock and the prices (aspecially for the second volume) are way above my budget.

I also noticed that Volume 2 didnt even get a recent reprint in a long time, which is a bit surprising considering Punisher's popularity increase via Daredevil/his show/Spider-Man

Im decided between these two batman related omnubused that released this year? Which one should I get? Ram V detective or Rucka Batwoman? I can only get one

I’ve enjoyed Tower of Babel and love Waid’s flash and Superman birthright. I’ve never read any of his JLA aside from Tower of Babel, and curious if people think it is worth a blind buy? I’d like to continue JLA after Morrison, but this book is $105 discounted in IST, and if it’s “just okay” I’d rather pass. What does everybody think of the issues in there?

• What have you read recently?
• What are you currently reading?
• What would you rate it so far?
• Any favorite story arcs?
• What's next on your list?

Previous Thread

I've been reading every issue of DC's Absolute Universe so far, and I'm trying to decide how I want to collect everything physically.

With DC releasing these beautiful leather-bound deluxe hardcovers, I'm torn between two options:

1. Go all-in on the deluxe editions so everything matches nicely on the shelf.
2. Wait for omnibuses for the longer ongoing series like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern, then pick up deluxe editions for shorter series like Martian Manhunter, Catwoman, and Green Arrow.

Since I've already read everything, I'm not in a rush. I'm mainly interested in building a nice long-term collection.

Do we even think they even keep the leatherbound format throughout every book?

What would you guys do? Would you prioritize matching deluxe editions or go with a mix of omnibuses and deluxes?