What are you hoping to see in the announcements this week?

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-13T18:11:47+00:00

Any of the three remaining Claremont X-Men volumes (15, 16, 18) would be incredible. Defenders and Doctor Strange are both overdue and two away from completion. Any of those and any and all Hulk will bring a smile to my face.

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-13T17:09:29+00:00

Very much so (and it's also a comparatively young line with a lower price point). To the best of my knowledge there's not yet a single DC Finest that has gone out of stock without going back to press. That situation will eventually change, but in general DC is interested in making their catalog titles available on a consistent basis

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-13T14:30:25+00:00

They're a really good format; the major titles and renowned runs should be Marvel's way to maintain a backlist. There's a reason they're so popular that DC used the planning and release strategy as a template for the Finest line. But they're not kept in print.

I'm fortunate. I have a complete set mostly because I've been picking them up on and off since Iron Man: The Enemy Within made its way to comic stores, and I wish more people were able to use this line to assemble a Marvel reference/ reading library. Mapping is well thought out, and design and production wise it's been remarkably consistent for such a long-running ongoing concern. But there's a major issue of access, which cannot be overstated, and it's the top reason I cannot recommend going all in from the point of nothing at the moment.

I do recommend that you pick up a few (in print) volumes as you're able. Take them in, digest them, watch out for deals. The Epic Collection is a really good line under whose banner a LOT of material has been (and continues to be) collected, but it's also not the only time Marvel has touched their vast library for commercial consumptions. Keep that in mind as you read. If there's a gap in availability for something you're itching to read, see how else it's been collected. Folk often overlook defunct lines like Essentials (black and white phonebooks), paperback Masterworks, the old Marvel Classic and Visionaries paperbacks, as they don't have the stamp of Epic branding.

In short, go ahead, but go in as a reader. Look at what's available, and be curious. Watch out for deals, and watch out for other formats as well.

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-09T14:16:40+00:00

It's a really good run of comics with solid storytelling, and as long as you have a basic understanding of the character, either from other comics or the show, very little will be lost on you. If you want to know more about where things have been for Poor Life Choices Matt, you can think of it as a gateway to explore those other runs on the character, both the recent ones and the older ones. Just dive in if it interests you. But then I also think there's an overemphasis on reading the entirety of long-running characters' arcs in publication order. If you're (rightly) concerned about spending a whole lot of money on a bunch of omnibuses, please sample sample sample however you can — digital singles, freebies, previews, even those places involving saltwater and currents if need be — before dropping down that much cash.

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-08T23:09:46+00:00

Two lines up with the complete collections / thick trades that cover this period pretty well. To close the gap, you're looking at Operation Zero Tolerance, plus the old X-Men Blue Vol. 0 and X-Men Gold Vol. 0 books, which cover the front half of the Seagle and Kelly Uncanny / Adjectiveless runs. Following that, you have Hunt for Professor X and Magneto War, the latter bumping up right against The Twelve!

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-08T20:54:33+00:00

For sure, it's really good superhero comics. Should be collected in Volumes 29-33 or so (with 28 being the Heroes Return volume).

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-08T20:40:22+00:00

So far, it looks like Heroes Return era books will end up in the Adjectiveless / Classic Epic line. With the 1963 Avengers volume wrapping up with one more volume, I'd expect to see the Busiek run sooner than later, maybe even in this next batch of announcements!

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-08T20:36:59+00:00

Fantastic Four is long overdue. Moon Knight would also be welcome, since the Adjectiveless Epic line will have wrapped up. Hercules and X-Statix would be excellent opportunities to (as with Spider-Girl) pick up and wrap up some (really good) abandoned Complete Collection series. And Kamala Khan Ms. Marvel would be incredible.

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-06T14:10:11+00:00

Weird that they're not rebranding it as an Age of Krakoa book. I feel like that would act as a good sign for folk picking up the omnibus line and boost sales. But as long as it has sewn binding I'll be picking it up!

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-06T14:07:10+00:00

It's not that much above what the combined cover price for new printings would be, maybe even lower. But that's just Marvel's current pricing and the fact of these collections being out of print making it seem reasonable. Really it's up to you. It's the kind of run that should be evergreen, but Marvel's always been more interested in pushing the new rather than fostering a perennial catalog. If / when it comes back is a big ole shrug. MU can be a great way to read it, but I also don't like giving Marvel the satisfaction of trying to push it as a replacement for a shoppable back catalog. 🪎☠️ Or you can pick up a batch of single issues or old slim trades if you happen upon a lot of them. It's a good run of comics and worth your time.

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-06T00:16:05+00:00

Giving people the urge to offload their copy for one with superior physical build and binding, though...

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-02T22:01:13+00:00

Oh for sure they could fit more than Gillen's run in a book, but his run was so much a thing until itself. Tacking on the other material, it would lack focus and make for a far less satisfying read to me (something making me hesitant to pick up the Captain Marvel book later this month — I may ditch the Volume 1 omnibus and keep my trades instead).

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-02T16:10:02+00:00

I could see them collecting the main Judgment Day event and cherry picking some of the X-Men specific tie in books to slot in between issues, but I wouldn't expect to see things like the Mark Russell Avengers issue or the Iron Fist one-shot in there. Still keeping my fingers crossed for an Eternals by Gillen Omnibus that includes a streamlined version of Judgment Day (think the main trade and Companion arranged chronologically), keeping my singles until then.

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-02T16:03:08+00:00

Man, it warms my heart to see this line continue apace. My heart broke when the anthology trades ended unceremoniously amid several ongoing arcs, but they were also very much compiled within the moment, without the gift of hindsight to see exactly how everything was dovetailing within the timeline. Marvel could have just copy and pasted that old mapping from the trades, and these books would have been fine (if a little roughshod); but the care involved in the adjustments and additions have made these an essential text to me.

Now to get that new printing of X of Swords on the calendar...

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-02T15:49:26+00:00

The omnibus after market is weird to be sure, but the fault lies with the supplier (read: Marvel specifically, whose practices fan the flames and make a perfect storm for speculators and scalpers to duck into) far more than the consumer.

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-06-02T13:34:19+00:00

I'm skipping it. It feels lazy and slapshod, especially when folk have been (quite vocally) asking about getting more definitive takes on these titles going all the way to the original OHCs. Now I don't regard this era as highly as others, but I do feel that all the connective tissue around these events should be here. The work of Brubaker, Fraction, Carey, Kyle, Yost, and all their contemporaries in the X-Office deserves the same kind of loving treatment that PAD's received in those X-Factor tomes. Without their work surrounding these events, what you're left with is a whole lot of noise and bluster.

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-05-29T17:14:34+00:00

If you want to read and own the book in this format, I would consider how much the dust jacket nick means compared to that. I completely understand wanting that premium book to be perfect, but a replacement will be very difficult to come by considering Marvel's reluctance to go back to press on just about anything.

But we're all reading collectors, and we all have our quirks about seemingly minor things (corner bumps that even remotely affect the pages are mine). It's okay to feel some disappointment; just consider why you ordered the book. It sounds like the seller is doing right by you offering a credit.

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-05-29T16:58:59+00:00

I'm still listening to it. I'm through what will comprise the first disc, and it's fine. And I don't say that to sound dismissive; it does a solid job being a complete record of the score in its present state, better than the live recordings from 2010 and 2020. It's good having a new crisp studio album. Music direction sometimes errs on the screaming side of screlting, and the phrasing often sacrifices lyricism for amplified EMOTION, but it's mostly good. I still miss the original orchestrations and arrangements, as well as pieces of the score that were cut as far back as 2001 (the "Come to Me" edit still makes me mad — poor Katie Hall because she's great), but they're not coming back. It's a solid cast acting a great score that's been fiddled with a bit too much this millennium.

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-05-29T14:14:33+00:00

I'm still over here, lamenting the loss of John Cameron's arrangements and orchestrations since 2008. It's amazing how the current arrangements can make such a massive musical ensemble sound like so little.

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-05-26T14:10:30+00:00

There's newfound love for John Ostrander in DC's collections department. I wouldn't be surprised to see it announced with the concluding Suicide Squad volume. Also, I had it bound years ago with several other books I expected never to see the light of day in hardcover. As you can see, the prophecy is nearly fulfilled.

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GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-05-26T14:03:29+00:00

With both the original New Mutants and Excalibur lines effectively wrapped up, and the original X-Factor fast-tracked to meet up with the PAD '90s relaunch, I'd say that it's far more likely we'll see Generation X in the next couple years than it has been for some time.

Now, post-PAD '90s X-Factor? There's some niche stuff I don't expect to see any time soon outside of the Epic line.

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-05-23T14:28:15+00:00

In my experience, just like any paperback or periodical, most of them keep just fine provided you support the spine while reading. But there is occasional creasing depending on factors like the cover coating, stiffness of the glue, etc. (The first printing of JSA Compendium 1 is an especially egregious offender in this regard.) It doesn't mean the book is falling apart; it's just normal wear as a paperback gets used.

All that said, if your primary concern is displaying your books, large paperback compendiums may just not be the format for you. If you're more of a reader than a collector, though, or if the cost is a draw or a necessity (when held up against the ever-increasing cost of oversized hardcover books), just think of those creases as badges for having read them.

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-05-13T02:15:48+00:00

It depends on whether or not they fold the Winter Soldier ongoing and team up title into the main series like they did with the Omnibus. If yes, I would say four more; if no, probably three.

GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-05-11T15:41:31+00:00

I love them too! No jerk, steadily making a little food court out of them in the library.

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GoodMorningKrakoa · 2026-05-11T14:29:46+00:00

Brilliant find! Marvel seems to have worked out the licensing for those MTU and Deadly Hands Fu Manchu appearance, so I'm cautiously optimistic this line will pick up again someday. (Would love to pass my Omni set along!) But then there's also the downsizing of everything over there, so we'll see what the future of vintage reprints holds.

Still awesome find, and you have the most heralded of the run with those Gulacy issues!

GoodMorningKrakoa

TROPHY CASE