Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

Silver Surfer

Tigereyes Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus 11th Annual Secret Ballot Results & Mappings

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This morning I had the absolute pleasure of announcing the results of the Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus 11th Annual Secret Ballot with Near Mint Condition!

The Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus Secret Ballot is an annual poll conducted by a mysterious comic book forum user named Tigereyes. The rules are simple: anyone can email Tigereyes up to 10 picks for their most-wanted, never-before-printed omnibuses of material originally printed by Marvel, even if they may no longer own the licensing rights.

Each first vote gets 10 points, each second vote gets 9 points, all the way down to your tenth vote getting just 1 point. After the voting period, Tigereyes goes through the gargantuan effort of tallying up all the votes – which also involves figuring out what everyone meant by their sometimes inconsistently-named or cryptically-described votes.

For me, the reveal of the results of the Tigereyes Secret Ballot is an international comics-loving holiday. I used to be the primary person on the internet creating statistics from the results every year! However, when I attempted to cover the entire poll entry-by-entry in 2017 I stalled out at the halfway point as the results straddled our move to New Zealand.

That’s why it was worth waking up at 4am NZ time to be ready to share this year’s results with my good friends Omar and Jess on the Near Mint Condition channel, thanks to some last-minute planning with Omar over the weekend.

Our show was nearly three hours long as we dug into the potential contents of every book on the list and whether we’d read them or not. As always, I had just as much fun appearing on-camera as I did chatting with all of the wonderful Minties in the live chat!

Don’t have time for the full 3-hour tour? We actually run down the full 60-book list in just 15 minutes, starting just before the 12-minute mark. I’m sharing the full list below, but it’s more than just a list – every omnibus includes a full suggested omnibus mapping along with a link to the relevant collecting guide on Crushing Comics.

That’s right, y’all – this is a post with SIXTY omnibus mappings in it, mapping well over 2,000 issues of comics. (Actually, it’s even more than that – there’s one tie, and in several entries I get into mapping second volumes if they would complete a run). That makes that one of the longest blog posts in 23 years of CrushingKrisis history.

Are you ready to be rocked by the Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus vote? Strap in, true believers, and prepare to be mapped like you’ve never been mapped before.

[Read more…] about Tigereyes Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus 11th Annual Secret Ballot Results & Mappings

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – April 12 2023

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Let’s take a look at what’s out from Marvel Comics this week! This post covers Marvel Comics April 12 2023 releases.

This list includes every comic and digital comic out from Marvel this week, plus collected editions in omnibus, hardcover, paperback, and digest-sized formats. For each new release, I’ll point you to the right Crushing Comics guide.

Marvel Comics April 12 2023 Collected EditionsX-Men Epic Collection Vol 22 Legacies released by Marvel Comics April 12 2023

Ghost Rider (2022) Vol. 2: Shadow Country (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302947972 / digital)
See Guide to Ghost Rider. This continues collecting the current Benjamin Percy series, plus the Ghost Rider: Vengeance Forever (2022) #1 one-shot. The upcoming crossover with Wolverine is still one volume beyond this – we’ll get a Volume 3 later this year before the crossover is collected in its own book. The Ghost Rider Guide is updated with all of those collections!

Guardians of the Galaxy Epic Collection: Earth Shall Overcome (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302950439 / digital)
See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. This is an Epic Collection not of the main MCU Guardians team in their early appearances, but of the original Guardians of the Galaxy team which were based in the future.

Thor Mighty Marvel Masterworks Vol. 3: The Trial of the Gods (2023 digest-size paperback, ISBN 978-1302948931 / digital)
See Guide to Thor – The Odinson. This is Marvel’s new digest-size Silver Age collection line, which DOES NOT line up perfectly with the break points in existing hardcover Masterworks.

Nova, Vol. 1: Sam Alexander (2023 digest-size paperback, ISBN 978-1302950422 / digital)
See Guide to Nova(s). This is volume is part of Marvel’s initiative to recollect all of their 2010s teen heroes into library-friendly, digest-sized paperbacks. This covers the first two arcs of Sam’s 2013 Marvel Now series.

Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302948351 / digital)
See Guide to Shang-Chi. This collects the third series (and subsequent one-shot) of Gene Luen Yang’s ongoing run on Shang-Chi.

War of Kings Omnibus (2023 oversize hardcover, ISBN / digital)
See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – War of Kings & Realm of Kings. This collects the heart of the multi-year intergalactic epic that mashed up X-Men, Inhumans, and the new Guardians of the Galaxy. This is immensely satisfying to read all in a single, coherent collected order – even if you don’t have the Prelude or Aftermath omnibuses to sandwich it.

X-Men Epic Collection Volume 22: Legacies (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302951115 / digital)
See Guide to Uncanny X-Men – The Crossover Era or Guide to X-Men, Vol 2 (1991). This is the fourth Epic Volume that interweaves both flagship X-Men titles in reading order – exactly what we’ve always wanted! This covers the aftermath of X-Cutioner’s Song, the lead-up to Fatal Attractions, and the introduction of Kwannon as Revanche – Psylocke’s body double!

Read on for a rundown of Marvel Comics April 12 2023 single-issue releases, including a link to their accompanying guide pages on Crushing Comics. [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – April 12 2023

Crushing Comics, S01E03 – The Infinity Gauntlet Omnibus

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It’s my second random unwrapping of a brick of book from my hardcovers shelf, and today’s selection is a doozy – it’s Marvel’s Infinity Gauntlet!

Watch as I recap the cosmic history of Jim Starlin and Silver Surfer, plus debate on if I’m going to remove the book from its plastic wrap.

Episode 3 features The Infinity Gauntlet Omnibus (Amazon / eBay) as covered by the Guide to Thanos and the Marvel Events Guide.

For an even more in depth look at this awesome book, check out this classic video from friend-of-CK Ryley Moore AKA “.”

Silver Surfer by Steve Englehart (AKA, Vol. 1) – The #32 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

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Marvel has made terrific use of their cosmic characters and settings in the past decade. Stories like Annihilation and War of Kings yielded the modern Guardians of the Galaxy team and returned Thanos to reality-threatening villain. They also cast the struggle of the Shi’ar, Kree, and Skrull societies as galaxy-spanning epic centuries in the making.

Imagine the confusion of readers who loved those stories as they look for all of the vast history they imply deep within Marvel’s classic continuity and find … nothing.

Well, not nothing. Thanos has lots of material, of course, via Jim Starlin. It’s just that those space-faring races had received their prior development in fits and starts, and in the background of other stories. We learned about the Shi’ar via The X-Men, and the infamous Kree/Skrull War was as much about the Avengers and Rick Jones as alien races.

If this fruitless search describes you, then Silver Surfer by Steve Englehart is the cosmic comic you are looking for. This was less a Surfer solo comic as a comic about all of Marvel’s vast galaxy of races and powerful entities – basically, everything that wasn’t Claremont’s Shi’ar or Starlin’s Warlock/Thanos territory.

It’s lengthy, full of intrigue, and uninterrupted by crossovers and superheroes – and that’s why fans insist it must see omnibus collection even though half of it is already in an Epic Collection.

(Note that this post was published quite a while after its post-date, as the original series was interrupted by coordinating my move to my new home in New Zealand).

Silver Surfer by Steve Englehart (AKA, Vol. 1) is the #32 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 and collect all of these issue right now as detailed in my Guide to Silver Surfer.

Past Ranking: #36 in the 2016 Survey

Probable Contents: This volume will definitely contain Marvel Fanfare #51 (a prologue story) and Silver Surfer (1987) #1-31 & Annuals 1-2.

It would also likely mirror Silver Surfer Epic Collection, Vol. 3 by including the preceding Silver Surfer (1982) #1, Super-Villain Classics #1, and material from Epic Illustrated #1.

If not exclusive to Englehart, this could could also include any or all of Silver Surfer (1987) #32-33, 38-39, & 41-43 to marry it to the Infinity Gauntlet omnibus. It might also contain material from West Coast Avengers Annual 2 and Avengers Annual 16, which tie strongly to this material, and an Al Milgrom short from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #1.

(There’s a chance it could also include the Eisner-Award Winning Lee/Mobius Silver Surfer (1988) #1-2, though they are not in continuity (and probably have their own unique royalties challenges).)

Creators: Written by Steve Englehart with Mike Higgins (#21), Mark Gruenwald (Annual 1), Renee “Ink” Witterstaetter (Annual 2), and Peter Sanderson (Serpent Crown backup in Annual 2 – likely not collected here).

Pencils by Marshall Rogers (#1-10, 12, 21) and Ron Lim (#15-20, 22-31, Annuals 1-2) with Joe Staton (#11, 13-14). Inks by Joe Rubinstein (#1-12, 14-18, 20) and Tom Christopher (#20, 22-23, 25-30, Annual 2) with Dave Cockrum (#13 & 21), Jose Marzan Jr. (#14 & Annual 2), Keith Williams (#19, 31, Annual 2), Randy Emberlin (#24 & Annual 1).

Colors by Marshall Rogers (#1-12) and Tom Vincent (#13-25, 27-31, & Annuals 1-2) with Gregory A. Wright (#26 & Annual 1). Letterers by John E. Workman Jr. (#1-7) and Ken Bruzenak (#8-22, 24-29, 31, Annuals 1-2) with Joe Albelo (#23) and Richard Starkings (#30).

Marvel Fanfare with John Buscema pencils, Jack Abel inks, Christie Scheele colors, and Rick Parker letters.

Can you read it right now? Not entirely

You can can pick up Silver Surfer Epic Collection, Vol. 3 – Freedom to read half of this (through #14), but then you’re out of luck.See the Silver Surfer Guide for more information.

Worse, Marvel Unlimited doesn’t have any of this material as of this writing!

The Details:

Steve Englehart’s run on Silver Surfer is more than just a comic about one space-faring hero. It’s an intergalactic epic of multiple warring empires that will feel just right to modern fans who love stories like War of Kings and Game of Thrones. It was the first time Marvel’s cosmic characters had received such focus outside of a small cluster of 70s titles, mostly penned by Jim Starlin.

Ironically, Englehart’s Surfer run served to pave the way for Starlin’s triumphant return to Marvel, as he crafted the run-up to Infinity Gauntlet in the run that followed this. [Read more…] about Silver Surfer by Steve Englehart (AKA, Vol. 1) – The #32 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

10 Marvel runs from the 80s that ought to be omnibuses – 1981 to 1989

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It’s the penultimate stop in our trip backwards through time to find all of the Marvel runs most in need of Omnibus treatment.

Why? For fun. For accumulating rainy-day reading. And, to fuel our 2017 Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus Secret Ballot votes!

Marvel in the 1980s is really a tale of two different Marvels. The first half of the decade featured many continuing 70s series, a handful of limited series, and relatively few new ongoing titles – most of which were direct spinoffs of characters from other books.

However, after Secret Wars II in 1986 the line got a serious shake-up, with many titles outside of what I think of as “The Big 9” and their satellite books getting cancelled or rebooted, plus tons of new ongoing and limited series and a whole new line of comics with New Universe!

(“The Big 9” are all of the lines of books that made it from the Silver Age to 2005 while being published continuously, even if that meant being restarted along the way – , Avengers, Captain America, Daredevil, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor, and X-Men. After 2005, Thor went on hiatus, and Fantastic Four has been on hiatus since 2015.)

(In a totally weird turn of events, we can now probably add Deadpool to that list of evergreen lines.)

Marvel released a lot of comics in the 1980s, so what should Marvel prioritize getting into omnibuses? I’ve already covered all of the X-Men runs from this period, and I’m not touching Spider-Man or Fantastic Four mapping at the moment. Plus, many key 80s runs are on the survey already, like Peter David’s Hulk, Iron Man by by Michelinie & Layton Ann Nocenti’s Daredevil – but that still leaves a ton of potential runs to cover! [Read more…] about 10 Marvel runs from the 80s that ought to be omnibuses – 1981 to 1989