Omnibus, Absolute, Deluxe, and HC Thread 19 19

[piper]

41 minutes ago, F For Fake said:

I certainly get that, and there are times when I'm breaking my wrists trying to read them and wonder if I should have kept the smaller volumes. But one thing I DO like about them is the larger trim size, it's easier to read and the art looks nice. And I like the way those big chunky books look on the shelf. My favorite format is the oversized hard cover. They're usually a third or less the size of the omnibus, but keep the larger trim. Much easier to read and handle. But unfortunately this format is usually reserved for shorter storylines.

The Omni’s sure look nicer on the book shelf.

[Dave2739]

4 minutes ago, piper said:

The Omni’s sure look nicer on the book shelf.

Ha! Kinda funny how important that detail is to some of us 

[F For Fake]

3 minutes ago, Dave2739 said:

Ha! Kinda funny how important that detail is to some of us 

Well, I guess it makes sense. We'll spend a lot more time looking at the spines than we will reading them ha

[Dave2739]

Just now, F For Fake said:

Well, I guess it makes sense. We'll spend a lot more time looking at the spines than we will reading them ha

Wha??? You mean these things were meant to be read?? 

[Ken Aldred]

7 minutes ago, Dave2739 said:

Wha??? You mean these things were meant to be read?? 

It's confusing at times. I've always considered the shrink wrap to be a similar idea to a CGC slab, and not opened an Omnibus or Archive hardcover which has been protected that way, for the same reason you just don't crack open a slab and read the contents.

[piper]

25 minutes ago, Dave2739 said:

Wha??? You mean these things were meant to be read?? 

For me, the reading pile is starting to stack so I put them on the bookshelf and then never get around to reading them.

[mrc]

On 6/29/2020 at 4:31 PM, Dave2739 said:

 I love those old Russ Cochran EC hardcover slipcases. I have a handful of them, but wish I had 'em all.

Some of my favourite books......In some ways the books that got me back into comic collecting, when I first picked them up in the early 1980's. i don't have Crypt or Crime (am I missing out?) or a Haunt slipcase, but then they do take up alot of shelf space!

[Dave2739]

Just now, mrc said:

Some of my favourite books......In some ways the books that got me back into comic collecting, when I first picked them up in the early 1980's. i don't have Crypt or Crime (am I missing out?) or a Haunt slipcase, but then they do take up alot of shelf space!

Those look great. I'll take a pic of the ones I have and post 'em up later

[Ken Aldred]

My EC Library sets have been well-read over 30+ years and are not in perfect condition.

[mrc]

2 hours ago, Ken Aldred said:

My EC Library sets have been well-read over 30+ years and are not in perfect condition.

Which are your favourites? In my mind I've always tried to rank them but maybe that's not possible?

[Ken Aldred]

17 minutes ago, Dave2739 said:

i don't have Crypt or Crime (am I missing out?)

You'd like Tales From The Crypt.  Crime SuspenStories is good too, for me as I like Craig and Krigstein's art in particular, but best read slowly though, as if you try to binge read it can start to get a little samey feeling.

Edited July 8, 2020 by Ken Aldred

[F For Fake]

23 minutes ago, piper said:

For me, the reading pile is starting to stack so I put them on the bookshelf and then never get around to reading them.

In the past I have always left them sealed until I was ready to read them, because in many cases they went out of print before I got around to it, and it was difficult to turn down the $$$. However, two of the omnis I opened last week had defects/damage, and it was months after I'd purchased so I couldn't return. So I guess from now on I'm opening them when they get here so I can inspect them thoroughly.

[bobotski]

4 minutes ago, F For Fake said:

In the past I have always left them sealed until I was ready to read them, because in many cases they went out of print before I got around to it, and it was difficult to turn down the $$$. However, two of the omnis I opened last week had defects/damage, and it was months after I'd purchased so I couldn't return. So I guess from now on I'm opening them when they get here so I can inspect them thoroughly.

This has always been my fear -- keeping them "mint" but only to find defects once I open them. I won't likely resell them so yeah I'll open them up as soon as I get them.

[F For Fake]

5 minutes ago, bobotski said:

This has always been my fear -- keeping them "mint" but only to find defects once I open them. I won't likely resell them so yeah I'll open them up as soon as I get them.

You know I never really used to worry about it, but I opened two in the same day that had issues, so now I'm going to be checking them as they arrive. One omnibus had two pages that were miscut (the corners extended past the trim size) and folded into the book. The other had a big tear on a single page in the middle. And these were all brand new books bought from IST, so I know they didn't repackage defective volumes. So, yeah, I'm an opener now!

[Ken Aldred]

28 minutes ago, mrc said:

Which are your favourites? In my mind I've always tried to rank them but maybe that's not possible?

- Far above anything else I'd place the science-fiction titles, Weird Science, Weird Fantasy and the merged Weird Science-Fantasy.

My favourite genre, so admittedly biased that way: a patchy beginning, but then just great stories throughout, a fantastic range of artists; Kurtzman, Feldstein, Wood, Kamen, Orlando, Williamson, Frazetta, Severin / Elder.  

- Then, I'd place Kurtzman's brilliantly-written war comics, Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat, and EC's social commentary platform, Shock SuspenStories. Quality throughout.

- Tales From the Crypt, Haunt of Fear, Vault of Horror.  Again, classic material; Ingels, Craig, Davis, a great mix of gothic, walking dead, psychological, and ironic, often gory, twist endings.  But, I'm more a science-fiction than horror fan. 

- Crime Suspenstories 

- Mad and Panic.  Lots of great art, but of its time with dated references, and it's not really my kind of humour because I always feel it's just trying too hard.

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by Ken Aldred

[Dave2739]

Here are my EC reprints.

[mrc]

3 hours ago, Ken Aldred said:

- Far above anything else I'd place the science-fiction titles, Weird Science, Weird Fantasy and the merged Weird Science-Fantasy.

My favourite genre, so admittedly biased that way: a patchy beginning, but then just great stories throughout, a fantastic range of artists; Kurtzman, Feldstein, Wood, Kamen, Orlando, Williamson, Frazetta, Severin / Elder.  

- Then, I'd place Kurtzman's brilliantly-written war comics, Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat, and EC's social commentary platform, Shock SuspenStories. Quality throughout.

- Tales From the Crypt, Haunt of Fear, Vault of Horror.  Again, classic material; Ingels, Craig, Davis, a great mix of gothic, walking dead, psychological, and ironic, often gory, twist endings.  But, I'm more a science-fiction than horror fan. 

- Crime Suspenstories 

- Mad and Panic.  Lots of great art, but of its time with dated references, and it's not really my kind of humour because I always feel it's just trying too hard.

 

I guess I'm more of a horror fan but would otherwise agree with your comments. I've always loved the humour that went along with the horror. I definitely acknowledge Kurtzman's brilliance. Thanks for posting!

Edited July 8, 2020 by mrc
edit

[mrc]

2 hours ago, Dave2739 said:

Here are my EC reprints.

Awesome!.......you seem to have most of the titles.....

[Erndog]

I could have sworn the Silver Surfer omnibus was just reissued in the last week or so.  I saw it a couple weeks back.

Look on amazon.ca tonight and... nothing 

[Erndog]

On 6/24/2020 at 10:06 AM, F For Fake said:

Wow, after your post I went and looked around, and it looks like it came and sold out in minutes at IST and the other usual sources. Dang! Looks like the only option is to pay nearly retail price for it at Amazon when it hits next week. That stinks. It's crazy how inconsistent distribution has been in the post-COVID world. Several volumes have come and gone in a flash, yet there are others that continue to be easy to find. The problem seems to just be with Marvel, as most DC releases from the last couple of months continue to be easy to find.

Oh well, I guess $90 is better than $200-$300 it could hit once it sells out, better place my Amazon preorder!

Dang! 

Looks like I missed it!  I even said I need to go preorder it.

I have to check the local haunts tomorrow and see if they got one in.