by Mike Hansen
I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to share some news about Marvel collected editions, now that I’m a researcher on some of them. Just a few minutes ago, Marvel Senior VP of Sales David Gabriel announced that some of Marvel’s most requested Omnibus hardcovers are being reprinted:
For now we’re going with: Uncanny 1 FF 1 ASM 1 DD. Miller 1 These will start to appear in the June previews.
Translation:
Uncanny X-Men (by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, & John Byrne) vol. 1, Fantastic Four (by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby) vol. 1, Amazing Spider-Man (by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko) vol. 1, and Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson will all be reprinted this year.
This is a Big Deal because most of these have already been reprinted before (unlike most Marvel Omnibus volumes, which tend to appear and disappear: and if you missed it, you’re paying big bucks for a secondhand copy).
I’m excited for a couple of reasons: One, because these four contain the most memorable and iconic material that Marvel has ever published; and Two, because these are some of the best-quality books that Marvel produces: the reproduction on the classic material is usually stellar, and the packaging (paper, binding, size, etc.) is of very high quality. Plus, since these are among Marvel’s earliest Omnibus volumes (from 2005-2007), this is an opportunity to pay a reasonable price for a better package (as these printings will have sewn binding that allows the book to lay flat without gutter loss, unlike some early printings).
This is why I dig the Marvel Masterworks Fan Site: you never know when something cool is going to be announced to fans.
Save your pennies…
(My only question is: which covers are they going to use? The last time these were offered, both versions were reprinted – but the most recent Omnibus reprint (New X-Men by Grant Morrison) used completely different cover art…)
All Day Comics 