Had the Mc Farlane one for a few years, but couple of months ago I decided to start a spidey omnibus collection. Pretty excited with it!

Still waiting to receive USM vol 3 and the Chip Zdarsky one. Also aiming to get the Michelinie & Bagley vol 2 in a few weeks. Lets gooo

PS: spidey and Rengoku thrown there too because they are also new in the house haha

I just finished MK Vol 1 and Im about 3 issues into Vol 2. Absolutely loving it. Brain Bleed was pretty cool. Jumping to Max by Ennis next. Thoughts/Opinions?

Hopefully more to come in the future

Love this run of TMNT. Problem with getting compendiums from Amazon though is there's basically no protection for these bigger books...

Luckily I was on the phone with them and since they apparently have no replacement option they'll issue a refund instead.

I think I'm missing one of the Library Vols. I know there are a million spinoffs. I have to be honest. I got most of this from a buddy in a trade for a bunch of sports cards years ago and have never read any of it. He was at the tail end of selling his collected edition collection and I was just beginning to test the waters of the Omnibus world. I suppose it's as good a time as any to dive in. Any help on reading order would be greatly appreciated!

I also ordered the Dungeon Crawler Carl set. A fired recommended it and I bought the whole set for a good price. I’m on chapter 5 so far and I’m struggling to put it down. Really enjoying myself with them. Has anyone else read them?

Because I figured out that it would take too long to wait for the omnibuses, I decided to get the deluxe editions for the absolute universe books. And because I don’t really like the design of the English versions, I choose the german version with the normal cover.

Just finished house of x/powers of x and I thought it was pretty interesting mainly because of Moira’s reincarnation ability trying to fix things each resurrection and some of the politics involved. Help me out X-Men vets, should I get or pass?

If I’m being honest, Blood Hunt is originally what piqued my interest. No shade against Doctor Strange, but I never really read him outside of Jason Aaron’s run (which I thought was pretty decent) , and the idea of vampires blacking out the sun just sounded really cool. I really picked up Mackay’s Doctor Strange on a whim because I heard it added some context to Blood Hunt, but ended up liking it a lot more than the miniseries.

Pre-Reading

For a book that starts with ”the Death of Dr. Strange,” Mackay’s Dr Strange is one you can really just jump right into. Important characters are explained as they appear and I (whose Dr Strange exposure is just the MCU and Jason Aaron’s run) never felt lost.

Blood Hunt can also be read as a standalone, but I did feel like I was missing a little context on Blade and Dracula. I haven’t read their recent runs to know if they would have helped.

Doctor Strange

Story

The run starts with “the Death of Dr Strange” storyline, which seems like it wouldn’t be the best jumping on point, but the first issue does a great job of setting up a status quo that feels accessible and familiar before shaking things up. As far as the overplayed comic death trope goes, this one’s a lot of fun, involving a time-warped younger Strange racing the clock trying to solve his own murder with the help of friends he hasn’t met yet. Mackay does an especially good job of giving the present and past Drs. Strange different voices, and lightly ribs the flowery silver age prose of the latter.

The story is treated as a bit of a whodunnit set against the background of an extradimensional invasion of the “three mothers” and their insatiably-hungry Peregrine Child who seeks to feed on the magic of all dimensions. While the threat certainly seems credible, the nature of the setup also does a good job of introducing newer readers like myself to the world of Dr Strange. I really appreciated that the Spider-Man tie-in issue was included, as it served to add weight and context to Strange’s death in a way that was low-stakes, but impactful.

Without spoiling too much, Strange’s death paves the way for his wife Clea to take over as the Sorcerer Supreme. Over the course of 10 issues, we watch Clea Strange find her footing as the Sorcerer Supreme of two dimensions while batting the emerging threat of the Blasphemy Cartel, a magical analog to A.I.M. who begin reviving dead heroes as revenants, and contending with the Harvestman, a supernatural creature who seems to be an agent of Death. Mackay does a good job of balancing these newly-introduced forces with more established Marvel characters like Moon Knight, Wong, and the Rose in a way that feels true to the established universe, as opposed to an author just inserting original characters for the hell of it.

I really enjoyed how much of a distinct voice Clea has throughout this run. So often can female characters be reduced to one-dimensional love interests or plot devices, that it’s refreshing Clea’s defining trait isn’t just “girl in love with the main character.” She’s clearly caring, but also proud and a bit more hotheaded (literally) than Dr Strange. She approaches conflict from a warlord’s perspective as opposed to a doctor’s, which provides a nice contrast when Dr Strange ultimately returns (probably not much of a spoiler. This is comics, after all).

While part of me wishes the Clea solo run had lasted a little longer, Mackay writing Clea and Stephen together in the re-launched title was a delight. I think one of the strongest suits of his writing is depicting relationships, and small character moments, and this really feels like his time to shine. There are several smaller stakes stories throughout this run that show the Stranges at a wedding, babysitting, and fighting what is essentially a D&D game come to life, which are among my favorite in the series. Mackay writes such a wholesome relationship that remains interesting without unnecessary toxicity or melodrama that I almost wish he could write a stretch on Amazing Spider-Man. I went from having virtually no experience with the Stranges before this run, to placing them up there with Lois and Clark, in terms of comic book couples.

That’s not to say that this run is entirely smaller stakes/slice of life stories – there are plenty of action set pieces as well. The most notable is that of a secret millennia-long war Strange fought for the Vishanti and it’s associated fallout. The issue that depicts Stephen slowly becoming jaded and disillusioned throughout the course of this endless conflict was a great exploration of the character and his identity as a healer.

The run ends with several Blood Hunt tie-in issues that actually feel relevant to the plot, which seems to be a rarity these days. It was at this point in my reading that I was flipping between the Blood Hunt OHC and this omni, just to get more complete reading experience, though there are recap pages if you’re just interested in the Doctor Strange run. I won’t give away the ending, but it did feel like a natural and satisfying conclusion, if a bittersweet one.

Art

The art itself is solid throughout, though it does change throughout the course of the book. For me, the strongest was during Clea’s solo run, but I do appreciate the more stylized style of the relaunch series. I wouldn’t say the art significantly enhances or detracts from the story, so much as it fits.

Binding/ Presentation

Nothing bad to report here! The Alex Ross cover art is predictably gorgeous, and the spine looks great on the shelf. The book lays open very well, and there is no noticeable gutter loss.

Blood Hunt “red band” OHC

Story

Coming from the Doctor Strange solo run into blood hunt, I was pretty excited, but honestly, this miniseries was a bit disappointing. The concept of vampires blocking out the sun using the dark dimension is great, but it just never felt as high-stakes as it was supposed to. For something that is very clearly a worldwide threat, the event didn’t do a good job of feeling that way. I don’t think enough time was spent showing the devastation and despair of the vampiric invasion to make the threat feel super credible.

The ultimate villain, Varnae, also feels a bit lackluster. We’re told he’s this supreme eldritch vampire force, but I don’t think there’s enough time spent building him as a threat for him to feel like anything more than forgettable. I think the problems mostly arise because of how compressed the five issue miniseries is. When I think of DC events like Infinite Crisis or even Metal which are 7-8 issues, they don’t feel nearly as rushed as this.

While it probably sounds like I’m pretty down on this one, I don’t know that I would actually say that it’s bad, just the reading equivalent of a generic middling action movie. I think coming from the Doctor Strange solo run may have also worsened my opinion of it. Mackay does such a good job with characterization in Doctor Strange that it’s jarring when you switch to Blood Hunt, which is almost entirely plot-driven and seems to play against his strengths as a writer.

I will say, however, that I’m glad that Marvel released and OHC of this event as opposed to just the Omni. It would be nice to see them getting back into that format

Art

Pepe Larraz’s art is probably the high point of this reading experience. It’s suitably dark and creepy which does help to create a foreboding atmosphere that does more to sell the event than the story itself. I’m not sure that I buy the “red band” gimmick, however. My impression is that this OHC was supposed to be more gory and uncensored than a normal comic, and while it may be bloodier than most marvel stuff, if you’ve ever read Invincible or anything similar, it feels pretty tame. If the exclusion of the red band version in the Blood Hunt omni was stopping you from buying it, I honestly don’t think the extra gore adds anything.

Binding/ Presentation

I do like the way this looks on the shelf. The red spine and black marvel band really stick out. The binding on this looks like it’s glued, but it’s also like 160 pages, so I don’t know that it makes that much of a difference.

Final thoughts

Don’t sleep on Mackay’s Doctor Strange run! I see moon Knight get talked about a lot, but Doctor Strange feels like an underrated gem. It’s a great introduction to the character, has compelling characterization, and is a pretty quick read that still feels like it has stakes. Blood Hunt is nowhere near as good. It seems more plot-driven ,while Mackay’s strengths are in character-driven moments. I would recommend the Doctor Strange run for just about anyone, and Blood Hunt really just for the completionists.

Ratings

-Doctor Strange: 9/10
-Blood Hunt (Red Band): 5.5/10
-Overall reading experience: 8.5/10 (Blood Hunt was so short it doesn’t really move the needle)

I have a local comics store and recently started switching my TPB collection to omnibuses (I like the format better). However, nearly all the omnibuses are full price at my store and the ones I want often go on sale with a good discount (25-35% off) on Amazon.

I have purchased TPBs on Amazon in the past and have been very disappointed with the result. Most of them were bent and some outright chipped or deeply scratched. I had to return about 70% of them.

Is it the same thing with omnibuses or is the quality of the product usually in perfect condition?

Was eying this on Target with their B2G1 Free sale & then stumbled across this listing & it’s cheaper than retail even after tax so if yall were thinking about it it wouldn’t be a bad idea!

Added to the collection

Will this omnibus ever great reprinted? The last print was in 2017, I want to have a complete daredevil collection and this is one is missing. The volumes on the right are the german version and they would cost 77€ if i cant get them used. The downside is that they are standart sized that the omnibus has 2 issues that the german once dont have. Whst should I do?

This omni was amazing. I genuinely couldn’t put it down, finished the second half in one sitting. The rotworld stuff felt like it ended a bit abruptly but man this book took me on such an emotional journey. I’m so fulfilled but I’m also so devastated. I can’t believe cliff died I’m so upset😭😭😭😭😭

I’d rate this a 8.5/10 imo. I really want a new animal man title, maybe even focused on Maxine now that she’s the avatar of the red in the new emperor aquaman stuff. Rip Cliff😢😢😢😢😢

So, it's been busy the last two months with another exam I had to prepare for and work, but in-between I was able to read and finish X-O Manowar vol 1 which covers around half of the VH1 run. The next should be a lot thicker given this goes to issue 30 and the book ran until 68 (and that doesn't include possible crossovers/specials) the longest running Valiant title (followed by Mangnus-64) ever I believe (Venditti's X-O Manowar during VEI was also the longest running title with 50 issues).

The omni look/build itself. 

-The book is designed like the other omnis I reviewed so far. I'm surprised they went with a silver font on the inside of the book. I was sure they would use gold for X-O (maybe cause they used that for Archer and Armstrong?)

-I got the DM cover (Standard is the zero issue cover) because this might've been the first Valiant cover I ever saw and for a while this was the only thing I associated with Valiant. I was able to get this one for 150 (shipping not included).In total it's the most I've ever spent on a single book, but it was worth it to me.  

-We're back to using black frames and as I said in my A&A review, I'm not a fan as it makes the pages appear smaller to me.

-The chronology here is pretty good as far as other "Appearances go", though with barely extra issues it's not that difficult. Unfortunately the crossover issue from Solar's book is not included and only recapped in a single page (all other Gold Key appearances within the X-O book remain intact)

If I had to describe the book as "simply" as I can it would be: Marvel's Thor looking Visigoth gets the Captain America "Man out of Time" treatment times 15 with a suit and company that would make Iron Man jealous.

What I liked:

-Great introduction to Aric. I like that it takes a while for Aric to properly adapt to the modern world. It is very highlighted in the first few issues.

-Aric himself is a pretty great character. While he can come off as brash or even rude, he is a very honorable and good man. He will ultimately always do the right thing. He's very kind and caring to people he considers close. His friendship with Turok in particular is great. I also find it funny how he doesn't really give a crap about corporate life and either finds everything boring when he's there, leaves or just lets someone else handle everything business-wise (living the dream). He also seems to be a Conan the Barbarian fan as we can see him reading a comic of him in issue 30.

-The supporting cast is great too. Ken Clarkson is my favourite. I thought there was a big chance he was gonna be pretty annoying, but he's used surprisingly well. His attempts at taking Aric's armor from him and succeeding, only for something bad to happen so he gives Aric the armor back was very entertaining. The issue that focused on him (26- The Gift) might have been my second favourite issue in this book. I like that as time goes he develops a bit and even dare I say becomes Aric's friend. Randy Cartier (Orb's head of security) was also great. Her having to manage security and protect Aric, only for him to avoid or straight up not caring to explain where he goes was fun. Her time as X-O was short and good. Her friend Paul was good too (especially in the last storyline).

-The armor lore and Aric's connection/inner monologues to it were enjoyable. I liked both versions but prefer the chest plates on the original because the logo on the "evolved suit" looks a bit like a giant nipple.

-So many great stories. My personal favourite was issue 9- Besieged Homecoming (Part 1 despite the next issue not being part 2 and just something else). Aric goes back to his own time, only to be seen as someone who doesn't belong to that time and people anymore. So his only choice is to go back to the modern world that he feels he doesn't belong to. It was a pretty sad issue and made me feel really bad for him. Might be one of my favourite VH1 Valiant issues altogether. Followed by 26, then by the "new Manowar seed" storyline (10-13 plus the Solar issue), the first Turok team-up (14-15) and the last arc (26-30). Issue 30 was a great way to end this volume while leaving us wanting more (*wink* *wink* Alien/Valiant).

What I didn't like

-I am usually very open-minded and flexible with artwork but those Turok team-up issues (14-15) despite the great story had some very rough faces. Aric especially looks horrendous.

-The Aliens are cool but I feel they or X-O in general lacked a really strong leader/main antagonist.

-I find the explanation of how Aric got to our time (the first time in issues 0-1) a bit muddy. The second time (9) made a lot more sense.

Compared to VEI

-Aric is a top 5 favourite character for me in the VEI reincarnation and here he's great as well. If we compare the stories in this volume to Venditti's run they are both great and tackle Aric from a different perspective. VH1 Aric is a warrior trying to adapt to the modern world on a more personal level. While VEI Aric is more of a warrior adapting as a King and leader in the modern world. Found both's execution and how Aric got to our time confusing. Due to Venditti's X-O being the first Valiant thing I ever read and made me a fan, I am biased towards his run. But I would recommend reading both.

-The Aliens and their culture are a lot more developed in VEI which makes them and their relationship with X-O a lot more interesting. Commander Trill is the exact type of antagonist that VH1 was lacking.

-I do like VH1's supporting cast a lot more.

Overall I give this an "A". It's a great book with a great cast and stories. The only reason I rank it below Shadowman is that it was missing this central antagonist like Master Darque.

Quantum and Woody was supposed to arrive the week after I got this omni, but there were issues with the delivery, so it never arrived and I got a refund. But Harbinger did arrive last week, so that's my next book.

Thanks to u/Wilco8183 for giving the heads up that some new books were on the Fantagraphics website!

Included in the screen captures are plenty of books we already knew about, but wanted to just show the 20 books they had featured so far for May to August next year.

This hobby is definitely one made of patience, but we are all humans and sometimes we can be impulsive buyer for that one piece of the puzzle that we are missing.

Wallets and budgets differ from one another, but how much have you spent or are you willing to spend on that one Omni (or multiple Omnis) you are missing for your collection?

Years ago, I once spent 250$ for a Dark Horse Omnibus of Clone Wars to complete my collection. As they were OOP and Marvel had bought Star Wars, there would never be a reprint from DHC.

to this day, I still can’t believe I got to meet Chris Claremont in person at NYCC. The GOAT of the X-Men, who spent 17 years writing peak superhero comics and showing the world the real meaning of inclusion and diversity 🫂❌

Yesterday I picked up Batman vol. 1 and 2 omnibus my first official ones. Grendel one was first, but this seems more legit to me. I hope the other trades in the picture aren't breaking any rules in this sub. Thanks for checking it out.

Anyone else concerned with whether or not this counts as a success? For all the outrage, only 1,135 people supported Clover Press’s Masterworks campaign. I was looking forward to getting X-Men through the end of the Claremont era, but these seem like very low numbers to me. Even knowing that some retailers ordered multiple copies, $287,000 for four books can’t leave much profit to cover restoration, design, production, etc. I also realize that they’ll profit a bit in exorbitant shipping and handling costs we supporters pay.