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Marvel Epic Collection Update – Every Classic Line Explained, Every Gap Mapped!
Today I’m here with a show about one of my favorite collected edition formats in all of comics – Marvel’s paperback Epic Collections! Specifically their line of classic Marvel Epic Collections covering characters and titles that originally debuted prior to 1998.
My friends Omar of Near Mint Condition and Kurtis of the Epic Marvel Podcast recently teamed up to announce the Epic Collections slated for the first quarter of 2027. With a total of 50 classic Epic Collection lines ranging from Aliens to X-Men, it’s hard to keep track of what has been collected, what has been completed, and what gaps are left.
That’s what this show is all about. In 50 concise slides, I’m going to explain each line, the range of years and issues it covers, what has already been released, and what is left to collect.
Whether you’re an Epic Collection devotee like I am or simply curious about this line that has been going strong for 13 years and over 400 volumes, this is the only explainer you’ll ever need.
(Want an explanation of the Modern Epic Collections? Sound off in the comments on YouTube, and maybe I’ll return to explain those lines in the near future.)
Marvel Omnibus Reprint – X-Men: Inferno Omnibus
Near Mint Condition announced a Marvel omnibus reprint for May 2027 that will be very popular with X-Fans, because every X-Men reprint is popular with X-Men fans! But, this one especially, because it is one of the most-beloved X-Men storylines of all time: X-Men Inferno Omnibus
The X-Men Inferno Omnibus combines what used to be a pair of oversize hardcovers.
One, X-Men: Inferno, collected the core of the event in Uncanny X-Men (1963), X-Factor (1986), New Mutants (1983), and the X-Terminators (1988) limited series. That contained everything you needed to know about the plot of Inferno.
However, Inferno was also only the second truly line-wide Marvel Universe event (the first having been Secret Wars II (1986)). The vast majority of all Marvel ongoing superhero titles tied in to Inferno for at least one issues. Those tie-ins were previously collected as X-Men: Inferno Crossovers.
Those two oversize hardcovers were merged into a single book with the initial printing of X-Men: Inferno Omnibus in 2021, and this is the first reprint of that book. [Read more…] about Marvel Omnibus Reprint – X-Men: Inferno Omnibus
Marvel Omnibus Announcement: One World Under Doom Omnibus
Near Mint Condition announced another Marvel omnibus for March 2027, and this omnibus is an all-in-on version of a massive storyline whose tie-ins were slightly slept-on by fans: One World Under Doom Omnibus!
One World Under Doom was the 2025 Marvel line-wide event focused on Doctor Doom as a main character. It spun out of one of the final consequences of the major 2024 line-wide event, Blood Hunt, which saw Doctor Doom taking over as Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme. With more power than ever, Doom decided it was time to exercise more control than ever – over the entire world.
As is typically the case with modern Doom stories, he was benevolent right up until the point his power was challenged… and then things got complicated.
I read just about every issue related to this event, as it was all coming out during the 2025 run of my weekly show The Pull List. The main event series had spectacular art and Ryan North had a terrific time writing Doctor Doom. Unfortunately, the premise of the book involved every single hero being a total moron. An utter fool. A massive nincompoop.
This is called an “idiot plot” – a trope where otherwise intelligent and capable characters have to show poor judgment so that their failures can be further the narrative.
Generally, when Marvel and DC events require beloved heroes to play their part in an idiot plot, those events are not terribly well-received. See Civil War II for an example. An event premised on, “Everyone is making poor decisions and no one is speaking to each other” tends to wear you down.
Except… is there an argument to be made that Ryan North did this deliberately? To Doom, aren’t we all idiots – all of us except for his god-daughter Valeria Richards? I think we could say that the stupidity of the heroes here is part of North telling a story where Doom is truly the main character… and I also think that would be a stretch even Reed Richards would have trouble making.
Luckily, a lot of the independent tie-ins to this event were incredibly intriguing – and Doom appeared in virtually none of them. Doom’s Division (2025) was one of my favorite comics of the year, an unlikely team book that felt Claremontian in inspiration. Thunderbolts: Doomstrike (2025) leaned into the fallibility of Winter Soldier. Runaways returned under the pen of Rainbow Rowell! Ryan North wrote the best issue of GODS we’ve had yet! Doom Academy continued the always-charming adventures of the Strange Academy kids! And, Red Hulk (2025) was surprisingly meaty and had some terrific artwork – plus, it set up this year’s world-shaking event, Armageddon! [Read more…] about Marvel Omnibus Announcement: One World Under Doom Omnibus