The Hardcover Thing (Or, "No, I don't think New Avengers needs one immediately.")
So, hardcover collections. I've been thinking about them more and more since they've become the default format of choice for many of my purchases. Two years ago, if you'd told me I'd regularly pick up oversized hardcovers of many of the comics I like, I'd probably have scoffed at you. I mean, more than usual.
Image seems to have taken some sort of lead when it comes to their hardcover volumes, most likely an emotional or fetishist choice on my part over a financial one. The GODLAND book is a slab of beauty, as is the Jack Kirby's Silver Star collection. Throw in Casanova and Fell (which was also released in paperback simultaneously,) and you've got some nice-looking books collecting a fair amount of material at a good price point. By foregoing the dust jacket entirely, they've opened up their graphic design options quite a bit, making for a lively-looking bookshelf. I also rather like the idea that even with the slightly-higher price points, the creators (or their estates, in Kirby's case) are getting more of the money.
Once you take away their Premiere Hardcover line, Marvel comes a close second in my estimation, mostly thanks to stuff like the Omnibus line and the oversized hardcover series for material like the Ultimate line, Runaways, and Planet Hulk1. While I do like these, the economist in me vastly prefers a series of less-expensive, new-reader-friendly trade paperbacks that are later collected into a larger hardcover as opposed to the current flow for most titles, which appears to be Premiere Hardcover (for even the most mediocre of performers) -> Trade Paperback -> Omnibus Or A Similar Format1. A side effect of this is the creation of either a messy or an extremely tidy shelf - if you stick to just one format you're fine, but if you collect, say the Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane digests after buying the hardcover, well...it's just not going to look right if you shelve by title, so you have to separate books. Not a huge deal, but displeasing to the OCD streak that shows up in me sometimes.
Anyhow, this eventually leads to my latest Marvel hardcover purchase. Planet Hulk is actually a pretty darn good deal taken on its own - thirteen issues of The Incredible Hulk along with a giant chunk of bonus material in a nice-looking package for $39.99 retail. The only problem is that it's probably too expensive for the casual readers looking to catch up with the character's status before the well-received and highly-touted World War Hulk. Two $17-20 trades that were then collected into a later hardcover would have probably made more sense, especially for retailers looking to roll the hype into better sales. Of course, Marvel has never really taken them into consideration, have they? Instead, it seems like they chase the short dollar whenever possible.
Then there's DC. DC does a couple things very, very well: they issue trade paperbacks that they generally keep in print, and their Absolute line, despite having a nonsensical title once you get past the very first item, The Absolute Authority, is the Cadillac Escalade of reprints. Luxurious, big, and expensive, books like Absolute New Frontier are for the comics fan that wants to show off that they're willing to spend more than you on funnybooks2. However, when it comes to mid-priced hardcover collections, it's pretty dire. For some titles, such as Justice League of America and Superman/Batman, the company follows the same path as Marvel: an overpriced hardcover that keeps the more financially conservative customers away until an eventual (usually much later) paperback collection. Honestly, I'd like to see DC move towards mid-level hardcover collections to match their biggest competitor. Instead of doing a Justice League of America hardcover collection first, do a pair of 6-issue trades for the bookstore market and then offering an oversized, mid-priced ($30 or so) collection featuring two or three storylines.
Pointless ruminating, most likely, but I think it's interesting how each of the big three publishers is approaching trade collections differently, with inherent advantages and disadvantages. How do you prefer your comics? Singles? Trades? Omnibuses? Set aflame and hurled at the teeming masses?
1There are some notable exceptions - Runaways and its ilk being collected in trade. There's also one glaring exclusion to the current format they've been pursuing: Civil War and its related paperbacks (excluding a very few related to series launches, like Ms Marvel.) Maybe there's something in the offing, but they stuck to paperbacks for the majority of the crossover.
2Yes, I own three.
Image seems to have taken some sort of lead when it comes to their hardcover volumes, most likely an emotional or fetishist choice on my part over a financial one. The GODLAND book is a slab of beauty, as is the Jack Kirby's Silver Star collection. Throw in Casanova and Fell (which was also released in paperback simultaneously,) and you've got some nice-looking books collecting a fair amount of material at a good price point. By foregoing the dust jacket entirely, they've opened up their graphic design options quite a bit, making for a lively-looking bookshelf. I also rather like the idea that even with the slightly-higher price points, the creators (or their estates, in Kirby's case) are getting more of the money.
Once you take away their Premiere Hardcover line, Marvel comes a close second in my estimation, mostly thanks to stuff like the Omnibus line and the oversized hardcover series for material like the Ultimate line, Runaways, and Planet Hulk1. While I do like these, the economist in me vastly prefers a series of less-expensive, new-reader-friendly trade paperbacks that are later collected into a larger hardcover as opposed to the current flow for most titles, which appears to be Premiere Hardcover (for even the most mediocre of performers) -> Trade Paperback -> Omnibus Or A Similar Format1. A side effect of this is the creation of either a messy or an extremely tidy shelf - if you stick to just one format you're fine, but if you collect, say the Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane digests after buying the hardcover, well...it's just not going to look right if you shelve by title, so you have to separate books. Not a huge deal, but displeasing to the OCD streak that shows up in me sometimes.
Anyhow, this eventually leads to my latest Marvel hardcover purchase. Planet Hulk is actually a pretty darn good deal taken on its own - thirteen issues of The Incredible Hulk along with a giant chunk of bonus material in a nice-looking package for $39.99 retail. The only problem is that it's probably too expensive for the casual readers looking to catch up with the character's status before the well-received and highly-touted World War Hulk. Two $17-20 trades that were then collected into a later hardcover would have probably made more sense, especially for retailers looking to roll the hype into better sales. Of course, Marvel has never really taken them into consideration, have they? Instead, it seems like they chase the short dollar whenever possible.
Then there's DC. DC does a couple things very, very well: they issue trade paperbacks that they generally keep in print, and their Absolute line, despite having a nonsensical title once you get past the very first item, The Absolute Authority, is the Cadillac Escalade of reprints. Luxurious, big, and expensive, books like Absolute New Frontier are for the comics fan that wants to show off that they're willing to spend more than you on funnybooks2. However, when it comes to mid-priced hardcover collections, it's pretty dire. For some titles, such as Justice League of America and Superman/Batman, the company follows the same path as Marvel: an overpriced hardcover that keeps the more financially conservative customers away until an eventual (usually much later) paperback collection. Honestly, I'd like to see DC move towards mid-level hardcover collections to match their biggest competitor. Instead of doing a Justice League of America hardcover collection first, do a pair of 6-issue trades for the bookstore market and then offering an oversized, mid-priced ($30 or so) collection featuring two or three storylines.
Pointless ruminating, most likely, but I think it's interesting how each of the big three publishers is approaching trade collections differently, with inherent advantages and disadvantages. How do you prefer your comics? Singles? Trades? Omnibuses? Set aflame and hurled at the teeming masses?
1There are some notable exceptions - Runaways and its ilk being collected in trade. There's also one glaring exclusion to the current format they've been pursuing: Civil War and its related paperbacks (excluding a very few related to series launches, like Ms Marvel.) Maybe there's something in the offing, but they stuck to paperbacks for the majority of the crossover.
2Yes, I own three.
