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Namor

Namor, The Sub-Mariner Silver Age Omnibus, Vol. 1 – The #56 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

May 11, 2017 by krisis

Namor, The Sub-Mariner 1968 0007The Namor, The Sub-Mariner Silver Age Omnibus, Vol. 1 is the #56 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017 on Tigereyes’s Secret Ballot. 

Visit the Marvel Masterworks Message Board to view the original posting of results by Tigereyes.

What Is It? The Sub-Mariner (1968) was Namor’s first solo ongoing title after almost thirty years of starring in anthology series. It ran for 72 issues from  May 1968 to September 1974.

Before that, Sub-Mariner split Tales to Astonish (1959) with the Incredibly Hulk for 32 issues from #70-101 from August 1965 to  March 1968.

Past Ranking: This year is the book’s debut placement in the ballot results.

Creators: Written by Stan Lee and Roy Thomas (with Archie Goodwin and Raymond Marais) with pencils by Gene Colan and John Buscema (with Werner Roth, Marie Severin, & Dan Adkins), inks by Vince Colletta, Dick Ayers, and Frank Giacoia (with Dan Adkins & Jerry Grandenetti), and letters by Art ‘Artie’ Simek.

Probable Contents: Most Silver Age omnibuses collect the contents of three Marvel Masterworks volumes, so this volume would almost certainly contain Marvel Comics #1, Daredevil #7, and Tales To Astonish (1959) #70-101, Iron Man and Sub-Mariner #1, and The Sub-Mariner (1968) #1-13.

However, Marvel has recently shown a little bit of adventurousness when it comes to expanding the contents of their Silver Age omnibuses in Daredevil, Thor, Amazing Spider-Man, so it’s not a stretch to think this would include another 10-14 issues.

The question is – which 10-14 issues! Click to expand a discussion of further content for this volume.

On one hand, adding a 4th Masterworks to this one would mean this omnibus line could be done in two books – a great idea! In that case, the added issues would be The Sub-Mariner (1968) #14-25.

On the other hand, Namor has an extremely interesting, deliberate progression of guest appearances leading up to him gaining his own features in Tales to Astonish. These stories reintroduce him to the Marvel Universe and play with the line between his heroism and villainy. Then, the added content would be Fantastic Four #4, 6, & 9, Strange Tales #107, Fantastic Four #14 & Annual 1, Avengers #3-4, Fantastic Four #27, X-Men #6, Strange Tales #125, Fantastic Four #33, and material from Avengers #16, and then the already-included Daredevil #7.

Except… why not get us an omnibus that can do both? If we don’t really need the full dozen issues leading up to Namor’s starring turn in Daredevil #7 to lead to Tales to Astonish. We could make do with Fantastic Four #4, 6, 14 (excerpts), & Annual 1, Avengers #4 (excerpts), X-Men #6, Fantastic Four #33, Avengers #16 (excerpt), and then the already-included Daredevil #7. That’s just five extra issues, so maybe we could do this and add the fourth Sub-Mariner Masterworks!

Want to know why I chose some issues but not others? I cover them all, below!

The detraction of stuffing those issues into a first omnibus is that it means we would probably need two more omnibuses to collect the remaining five Masterworks. On the plus side, since they would easily fit, we could probably get all of Super-Villain Team-Up into the third omnibus! For a full mapping, check out my Marvel series still awaiting an omnibus from the Masterworks Era (1961 – 1980).

Can you read it right now? Yes! This run is entirely covered by the Sub-Mariner Masterworks volumes, which are out-of-print but not terribly expensive – Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3. For more details, see the Guide to Namor, The Sub-Mariner.Daredevil_1964_0007

Plus, Marvel Unlimited has the complete contents of Tales To Astonish, the single issue Iron Man and Sub-Mariner, and The Sub-Mariner (1968) #1-14.

The Details:

Namor, The Sub-Mariner was Marvel’s original anti-hero – the tempestuous prince of an undersea kingdom long past its halcyon days who takes out his unending aggression on the above-the-waves world of the surface dwellers.

You may not know this, but he was also the first major hero that Marvel unthawed in the Silver Age, although this unthawing was metaphorical rather than him being relieved from an actual block of ice like Captain America.

And, actually, it was Namor who was partially responsible for freeing Cap!

But now we’re getting ahead of ourselves. [Read more…] about Namor, The Sub-Mariner Silver Age Omnibus, Vol. 1 – The #56 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

Filed Under: comic books Tagged With: Fantastic Four, Gene Colan, John Buscema, Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus, Namor, Roy Thomas, Stan Lee

Marvel series still awaiting an omnibus from the Masterworks Era (1961 – 1980)

May 5, 2017 by krisis

This is the final post in our series time-traveling backwards through Marvel’s era of comic books to see what books would make fantastic omnibuses, and this is a big one – it’s what I’m calling “The Masterworks Era.”

After this post, you should have more than enough ammo to fill out your 2017 Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus Secret Ballot, which is due by Sunday at midnight! I’ve suggested over a hundred possible votes!

What exactly is “The Masterworks Era,” aside from something I just made up? It refers to the period of comcis that Marvel has covered with their deluxe, standard-size hardcover Marvel Masterworks reprint line. The Silver Age portion of the line begins with Fantastic Four #1 in 1961.

The end is a little fuzzier. The Silver Age is understood to end in 1970-71, but with a handful of exceptions Marvel has already pushed past that point with every line of Masterworks collections. In fact, their newest two Masterworks lines are The Spectacular Spider-Man (1976), Spider-Woman (1978), and The Savage She-Hulk (1980)! 

Yes, that’s right – Masterworks now cover comics that began in the 1980s! That’s like when the oldies station of my youth started playing Madonna songs. Plus, the farthest outlier, Uncanny X-Men, has reached all the way up to issue #188 in 1984.

When it comes to classic Omnibuses, until this year Marvel followed a specific formula almost every time – one omnibus contained three Masterworks volumes. We’re now seeing them deviate from that formula with Amazing Spider-Man, Daredevil,  and Thor, all of which contained more than the customary three volumes.

To figure out what comics are due for potential omnibuses to feature in this post, I had to first figure out both what has been covered by Masterworks volumes and what has been skipped! That’s not really a part of this discussion, but if you’re interested, I’ve shown my work.

A list of titles that are eligible for Masterworks treatment

  • Marvel Spotlight (1971), an anthology series which branches to:
    • Red Wolf (1972) – This has never been reprinted in color, but does not have enough material for an omnibus.
    • Werewolf by Night (1972) – This has been reprinted in Omnibus, but could still be Masterworked
    • Ghost Rider (1973) – This has never been reprinted in color and is listed below!
    • Son of Satan (1975) – This received a TPB collection in 2016 and is too short to be an omnibus on its own.
    • Spider-Woman (1978) – This has begun to be Masterworked and could be an omnibus, but we need more MMW volumes first.
    • Moon Knight (1980)– Collected in color in Epic collections and could be an omnibus; it is listed below
    • Plus, the Deathlok MMW line, Warriors Three stories in the Thor MMW line, and a Fury story in the Nick Fury MMW line
  • The Cat (1972) – Collected in the Women of Marvel Omnibus
  • Chamber of Chills (1972) – A horror anthology; this has never been reprinted fully in color.
  • Marvel Premiere (1972), an anthology series featuring:
    • Warlock (1972) – This has been fully Masterworked and could be an omnibus; it is listed below
    • Doctor Strange (1974) – This has begun to be Masterworked and could be an omnibus; it is listed below
    • Iron Fist (1975) – This has been fully Masterworked and could be an omnibus; it is listed below
    • Doctor Who – This is licensed material.
    • And shorter runs and one shots of Hercules, Satana, Legion of Monsters (Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Morbius, Werewolf by Night), Liberty Legion, Woodgod, Monark Starstalker (before Star Wars!), Solomon Kane, 3-D Man, Weirdworld, Torpedo, Seeker 3000, Tigra, Paladin, Jack of Hearts, Man-Wolf, Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Falcon, Alice Cooper, Black Panther, Caleb Hammer, Wonder Man, Dominic Fortune, and Star-Lord
  • Night Nurse (1972), collected in the Women of Marvel Omnibus
  • Shanna, the She-Devil (1972), collected in the Women of Marvel Omnibus
  • Supernatural Thrillers (1972), a horror anthology; this has never been reprinted fully in color.
  • Tomb of Dracula (1972) and Dracula Lives (1973) – This has been reprinted in Omnibus, but could still be Masterworked
  • Frankenstein (1973) – Collected in color in TPB and is too brief for an omnibus
  • Vampire Tales (1973) – An anthology series featuring Blade and Morbius. This has been collected in TPB and could be Masterworked, but it’s too short to be an omnibus without including other material.
  • Haunt of Horror (1974), which included Satana stories
  • Master of Kung Fu (1974) and The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu (1974) – Collected in Omnibus but not Masterworked.
  • Man-Thing (1974 / 1979) – Collected in both an omnibus and a Complete Collection line, but not Masterworked.
  • The Invaders (1975) – Collected in a pair of Complete Collections, and previously in Classics; could still be Omnibused – listed below.
  • Marvel Chillers (1975), an anthology series featuring:
    • Modred the Mystic, not collected
    • Tigra, not collected
  • Marvel Presents (1975), an anthology series featuring:
    • Bloodstone, not collected
    • Guardians of the Galaxy, which has been collected in omnibus and could conceivably hit Masterworks
  • Super-Villain Team-Up (1975) – Collected in a single Complete Collection; too short for omnibus, but could appear in a Namor omnibus line.
  • Captain Britain (1976) – Collected entirely in a pair of OHCs; could still be Masterworked, but an omnibus would be redundant since there’s nothing left to add.
  • The Eternals (1976) – Collected in one of Marvel’s early omnibuses; could still be Masterworked
  • Howard the Duck (1976 / 1979) – Collected in both an omnibus and a Complete Collection line; could still be Masterworked
  • Nova (1976) – Collected completely in a paperback Classic line, but not omnibus or Masterworks – so it’s covered below!
  • Omega the Unknown (1976) – Too short to be an omnibus; has been collected in TPB, but could be Masterworked
  • What If? (1977) – Collected in a paperback Classics line, but not in omnibus – so it’s covered below!
  • Devil Dinosaur (1978) – Previously collected in omnibus, and recently in paperback; could be Masterworked!
  • Machine Man (1978) – Collected in a single TPB in 2016 and has previously appeared on the survey; however, without the rights to reprint 2001: A Space Odyssey material Marvel likely can’t expand this to an omnibus.
  • Amazing Adventures (1979), an anthology series which branches to:
    • Inhumans content in their MMW line; could be omnibused
    • Beast content in the X-Men MMW line; could be omnibused
    • Killraven, which has not been reprinted in color and could be omnibused
  • Marvel Spotlight (1979), an anthology series which branches to:
    • the final volume of the Captain Marvel MMW line
    • A handful of Dragon-Lord stories, uncollected
    • Star-Lord, collected variously with Guardians of the Galaxy (including in Omnibus)
    • Captain Universe, as a spin-off from Micronauts, collected in Captain Universe: Power Unimaginable; not enough material for ominbus

This list omits Western titles like Tex Dawson, Gunslinger (1973), Gun-Slinger (1973), and Gunhawks (1972) and licensed material Marvel can’t Masterwork, including Conan, Doc Savage, Godzilla, The Human Fly, John Carter, Kull, Micronauts, Planet of the Apes, Red Sonja (in her own title and in Marvel Feature (1975), Shogun Warriors, Star Trek, Tarzan, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Wizard of Oz (based on the film).

How am I defining “due” here? It’s any superhero universe series that the Masterworks line has skipped entirely or any Masterworks line with three or more un-omnibused volumes.

Any comic with a Masterworks line that’s in-progress with only one or two volumes is not included: Ka-Zar, Luke Cage, Marvel Team-Up, Marvel Two-in-One, Not Brand Echh Vol. 1, Rarities Vol. 1, Rawhide Kid, She-Hulk, Spectacular Spider-Man, Spider-Woman.

I also didn’t include the one-and-done Masterworks volumes Champions and Deathlok as potential omnibuses, since the omnibus would be the same as the Masterworks!

Are you ready to travel back in time from 1980 to the beginning of Marvel’s Silver Age in 1961? Here we go! [Read more…] about Marvel series still awaiting an omnibus from the Masterworks Era (1961 – 1980)

Filed Under: comic books Tagged With: Amazing Spider-Man, Ant-Man, Avengers, Black Goliath, Black Panther, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Collected Edition Mapping, Collected Editions, Daredevil, Defenders, Doctor Strange, Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, Giant Man, Human Torch, Incredible Hulk, Inhumans, Invaders, Iron Fist, Iron Man, Jungle Action, Killraven, Marvel Comics, Marvel Masterworks, Moon Knight, Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus, Ms. Marvel, Namor, Nick Fury, Nova, Spider-Man, Thor, Warlock, What If?, X-Men

Oversize X-Men: A map of every existing omnibus, plus what’s missing (Part 4: 2008 to 2015)

April 27, 2017 by krisis

This is the end, my friends! The last in a series of four posts covering how Marvel could cover every X-Men comic book in omnibus volumes.

This post covers every X-Men series from Messiah Complex to the end of Marvel Now in an effort to give you maximum ideas for the The Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus Secret Ballot, where you vote for the comic runs you’d most like to see in an oversized format. Monday I covered all of X-Men from 1963 to 1991, Tuesday I reviewed 1991 to 2001, and yesterday I broke down 2001 to 2008.

  • X-Men: From Messiah Complex to AvX
    • Uncanny X-Men (1963) #487 – 544 & (2011) #1-20
    • Age of Apocalypse
    • Astonishing X-Men (2004) #25-68 & Annual 1
    • Cable, X-Force, & Uncanny X-Force
    • Captain Britain & MI:13
    • Magneto (2014)
    • Namor, The First Mutant (2010)
    • New Mutants (2009)
    • Wolverine (various)
    • X-23 (2010)
    • X-Factor by Peter David
    • X-Men, Vol. 3 (2010)
    • X-Men Legacy by Mike Carey (& Christos Gage)
    • X-Treme X-Men
  • X-Men in Marvel Now

With 21 more omnibuses from Messiah Complex to AvX and another 10 from Marvel Now, this edition brings our grand total of potential X-Men volumes to 113 possible omnibuses – which begs the question: How many of these could we possibly see in our lifetimes before books become completely obsolete and comics are downloaded directly into our brains?

At Marvel’s current rate of only a handful of X-Men omnibuses a year, it’s never going to happen.

Yet, with most Marvel omnibuses selling between 1,000 and 2,500 units in their first week, it makes me wonder how many of these books we could see if Marvel abandoned the outdated Direct Market model for determining their pre-order volume and sell-through.

Picture this – in October 2017 Marvel partners with Kickstarter plus one of the big online comic book sellers as a distributor to introduce the new “X-Men Omnibus Club: Year 1.” [Read more…] about Oversize X-Men: A map of every existing omnibus, plus what’s missing (Part 4: 2008 to 2015)

Filed Under: comic books Tagged With: Amazing X-Men, Cable, Collected Edition Mapping, Collected Editions, Gambit, Kieron Gillen, Marvel Comics, Marvel Now, Matt Fraction, Mike Carey, Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus, Namor, Nightcrawler, Peter David, Rogue, Schism, Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine, X-Factor, X-Force, X-Men, X-Men Legacy, X-Treme X-Men

Marvel’s Most-Wanted Omnibuses of 2016 – #35 to 31

June 9, 2016 by krisis

Omnibus on ShelfToday I’ve got numbers #35 through 30 of the Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus secret ballot by TigerEyes. I covered #40-36 in the last installment.

This group of contenders are all returning Top 50 votes from last year’s survey save for one, which weirdly has vaulted onto the survey after being collected for the first time (usually that sort of thing takes the edge off of people’s desire for an omnibus).

Do you own an oversized tome of your favorite character’s comic books? My Marvel Omnibus & Oversized Hardcover Guide is the most comprehensive tool on the web for tracking Marvel’s hugest releases – it features details on every oversize book, including a rundown of contents and if the volume is still readily available for purchase.

Here we go with #35 through 31! [Read more…] about Marvel’s Most-Wanted Omnibuses of 2016 – #35 to 31

Filed Under: comic books Tagged With: Alan Moore, Black Panther, Cable, Christopher Priest, Collected Editions, Daredevil, Deadpool, Fabian Nicieza, Iron Fist, John Byrne, Marcos Martin, Mark Buckingham, Mark Waid, Marvel Comics, Marvelman, Miracleman, Namor, Neil Gaiman, Omnibus, Paolo Manuel Rivera, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, X-Force

Marvel’s Most-Wanted Omnibuses of 2016 – #45 to 41

June 7, 2016 by krisis

rsz_2016-06-06_095604I’m back with the next five votes for most-wanted Omnibus volumes from major Marvel fans as collated via the Annual Secret Ballot by TigerEyes. I covered #50-46 in the last installment.

These next five low-ranked books are an interesting mix – flagging support for a pair of prior mid-list favorites, several debuts, and one book that’s held steadily in the 40s for three years.

If you have any extra intelligence to add about the probable runs or opinions about the comics therein, please leave a comment! I have read only a handful of issues from all five of these books combined, so most of my knowledge comes from reading about Marvel’s history and some good ol’ fashioned research.

Do want to learn more about the Marvel Omnibus editions that already exist and the issues they cover? My Marvel Omnibus & Oversized Hardcover Guide is the most comprehensive tool on the web for tracking Marvel’s hugest releases – it features every book, plus release dates, contents, and even breakdowns of $/page and what movies the books were released to support.

And now, onto entries 45 through 41! [Read more…] about Marvel’s Most-Wanted Omnibuses of 2016 – #45 to 41

Filed Under: comic books Tagged With: Avengers West Coast, Brother Voodoo, Collected Editions, Comic Code, Daimon Hellstrom, Defenders, Doctor Strange, Doctor Voodoo, Hawkeye, Horror, Hulk, Iron Man, Jim Lee, Killraven, Marvel Comics, Namor, Omnibus, Punisher, Roy Thomas, Satana, Scarlet Witch, Silver Surfer, West Coast Avengers

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