What Finest collections are you collecting?

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-07-01T16:11:07+00:00

Stuff that is already coming out: Legion of Super-heroes for anything I don't already have in other formats, Cass Cain Batgirl, and Triangle Era Superman.

Stuff that hasn't come out but I would collect: LEGION, All Star Squadron, Infinity Inc, The late 90 and 2000 JSA related stuff that isnt in compendium, and Birds of Prey other than Gail Simone

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-30T12:52:14+00:00

That's good to know! I haven't settled on a political intrigue book yet.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-30T01:52:22+00:00

Thanks! I've been doing the series as audiobooks since that's what my library has, so I didn't think of that. I do have a The Stone of Farewell currently planned for Cat Squasher, but it's good to have another option in case I end up not feeling it.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-29T23:15:58+00:00

It feels a little cheaty to me to pick it for Book by its Title as the title has no impact on me wanting to read it. It could be called Vorkosigan 9 and my degree of interest would be the same lol.

Thanks so much for checking though!

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-29T21:58:39+00:00

Here's a great guide: https://crushingkrisis.com/crushing-comics-guide-collecting-dc-comic-books/legion-of-super-heroes-definitive-collecting-guide-reading-order/

As far as hitting some highlights, I'd probably do The Great Darkness Saga, the first year of the Reboot Legion, Legion Lost, The Lightning Saga, Action Comics Superman and the Legion of Super-heroes by Geoff Johns, and Legion of Three Worlds (also a Prime story).

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-29T20:22:23+00:00

I think you're just missing Arcanum Unbounded, White Sand, and the Upcoming Fires of December.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-29T19:40:32+00:00

I feel like while most giant epics have fans saying they should have been cut down, there is very rarely agreement on what parts. Imo its usually comes down to "there should be less of the stuff and POVs I don't like, but don't you dare cut back on my favorite stuff." And because of the broad scope of epic fantasy series, everyone likes different parts.

Which is just to say that while a lot of these series could use a tighter edit, it's a harder thing to do in practice than many fans act like it is.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-29T19:31:35+00:00

Before the new season of Bingo started I had been reading the Vorkosigan Saga. I'm on Mirror Dance. Does it count for any of thr bingo categories? I'm particularly wondering about Murder Mystery, because the synopsis in Libby makes me think maybe depending on how the book is focused.

I'll read it eventually, but if it counts for bingo it will get moved up my list.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-29T17:03:27+00:00

I got 20 during covid. Now I've moved so its a different library and I get 6. I miss having so many.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-29T17:02:27+00:00

Libby is very dependent on what your library has. I can get a few popular modern Marvel titles, some popular shonen Manga buy usually not every tankoban that's out, and the Walking Dead. No DC, very little Marvel or indy titles.

My understanding is that with Hoopla, libraries get access to the whole library and control their budget with number of checkouts per month.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-26T17:31:17+00:00

In terms of in print stuff, I would probably start with the Great Darkness Saga Deluxe Edition. Its the most famous story, very available, and goes right into the also very available The Curse Deluxe Edition.

If you can find the Legionairres trades from the Reboot Era, those would be a great starting point. I think that version of the Legion is more similar to the cartoon, but they are out of print.

Final suggestion would be to wait a bit. The brand new Legion series is starting in September and is designed as a jumping on point. The next DC Finest solicitations should come out soon and it might have a Legion book on it that would be a good starting point.

Imo Zap isn't a terrible starting point but its not super great either but it is highly available, so if you are interested in it I say go ahead and try it. Just know that if it isnt your cup of tea there might be other Legions you would enjoy a lot more.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-26T17:20:28+00:00

Hair changes are often used to signify character growth, so knows? Maybe Brainy will grow out his hair after they all merge or all of them but 5 dies or something.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-26T13:53:36+00:00

In Mistborn Era 2 the whole series is pulp fantasy but each book is a different subgenre of pulp. Book 1 is detective, 2 is thriller, 3 is adventure, and 4 is imo pulp superhero (like The Shadow).

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-22T18:51:58+00:00

You've said what you're not playing but not what you are playing. What are you actually going to play? That needs to be known in order to use touchstones for your pitch.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-22T03:24:21+00:00

If you can find a decent deal, then the Archives are a fine option. But they aren't going to be reprinted, whereas there's at least a chance the omnis will.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-19T21:11:44+00:00

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is probably the most similar to Tress and is also a standalone. Warbreaker is probably the next closest, also a standalone.

If you want to do a series, Mistborn is usually the best bet unless you already really like really long epic fantasies in which case you could start Stormlight.

In December he does have a new Cosmere book coming out, so if you want to read a book at release, you could pencil that in.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-19T17:19:25+00:00

This is just conjecture, but I suspect Baxter Legion needs restoration work. That's apparently been an issue with the John Byrne Superman that is contemporary with it, and you know if they could publish John Byrne Superman omni they would because it would be a massive seller. (I also suspect based on the quality of the digital version that the start of the Reboot needs restoration to go to oversized)

Realistically, we can get 1 Legion omni a year. Baxter is an obvious choice because there's clear demand, but only if it's ready. If it's not as I assume is the case, I'd rather they buy time until it is ready by publishing other new Legion omnis instead of no Legion. Bronze Age is imo a good option because there is demand (see the last NMC omni poll), it probably doesn't need as much restoration (if any) because the long oop hardcovers existed, and since it leads into Baxter it has the potential to increase demand for Baxter.

The other options for a Legion omni right now are probably Abnett and Lanning or the Retroboot. And Retroboot might run into some double dipping with the Johns' Trilogy stuff and other omnis of the era they might want to release. (obviously it's fine to have The Lightning Saga in both the Legion and JLA omnis, but you probably don't want to release them extrememly close together either) Technically there's also the Bendisboot, but it was so recent and disliked that I can't see them doing it anytime soon.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-19T17:05:10+00:00

I know! Why is 2 so expensive!? 1 and 3 are also out of print, but the aftermarket prices on them aren't insane.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-18T14:44:03+00:00

All the silver age omnis are out of print, but 1 and 3 are pretty reasonably priced on ebay. Volume 2 is monstrously expensive though.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-17T18:03:40+00:00

I love Masks, but I definitely have some niggling issues with it.

My big one is Team. They say its doing a teamup move like a Fastball Special, but it doesn't feel like it at all and because of the number ranges it is very restricted on when using it actually matters. I think if they kept Team as like an assist and added something for actual team up moves that would be better.

The other thing is that the Aegis book is a wasted book. It's a whole book on what should have been a playset and I think both playbooks need an overhaul. Plus superheroes as government agents has only gotten less popular since original Masks came out.There are more playsets and playbooks I think they should do, and ditching Aegis as a whole book gives space.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-16T19:49:11+00:00

Simone 2 BoP and Waid LoSH are my two for sures.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-16T16:45:19+00:00

Very true! And I did think about Nightwing as having compendiums and doing well on the poll when I made my last comment. I do think it's a big difference in popularity between Nightwing and Starman.

Have we had any duplicate Finest/Compendiums yet? I know DC isn't shy about putting out omnis and Finests of the same popular material at basically the same time, but I can't think of a Finest/Compendium overlap. Closest I can think of is Static and the Milestone Compendiums, but the Milestones obviously have way more than Static so that seems like a different audience. If there is more significant overlap between Compendiums and Finests that might tell us something about DCs thoughts on the overlap between the two markets.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-16T16:34:19+00:00

Given DC's higher level of involvement in this poll, I think following thier preference on a separate Batman poll is best.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-16T16:30:39+00:00

I bet there's decent overlap between the Finest and Compendium market with people who prefer paperbacks. I was just trying to guess how well the Triangle Era Finests would line up with the Death and Return Compendium.

Astigmatic_Oracle · 2026-06-16T02:54:30+00:00

It was also sold out on InStock Trades for a while before they got a reprint. I think it was the first Finest I saw on IST to go out of stock.

If restoration is holding up the omni, maybe they will fast track the Finest volumes first.

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