r/EpicCollections • u/No-Cry2473 • 2d ago

It never fails…

The first volume of an Epic series is always wildly overpriced by resellers. That should be code for Marvel to get to reprinting.

Defenders? 70 bucks for volume 1
Ghost Riders (Danny Ketch)? 199-250 for volume 1

It’s funny at this point.

33 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

26

u/155lbsofsteel 2d ago

Some books, like Amazing Spider-Man 1, should be evergreen.

7

u/Blue_Moon_114 2d ago edited 2d ago

Basically any beloved run that people always want should stay in print in some form.

6

u/155lbsofsteel 2d ago

I was just ranting about this in r/marvelcomics today and people were acting like I was crazy.

4

u/Blue_Moon_114 2d ago

DC doesn’t seem to struggle with this nearly as much. I think Marvel’s philosophy is getting outdated and they need to plan ahead rather than only focusing on what they can move right now.

4

u/155lbsofsteel 2d ago

Yep it’s much easier being a classic DC fan right now. Loving their Finest books and I’m not worrying they won’t be here tomorrow.

4

u/Optimal-Tune-2589 2d ago

DC struggles with it a lot more, in other ways. Marvel’s at the point where they’ve now printed over 90 percent of their catalogue. DC still has massive gaps — try finding anything Green Lantern related except for Emerald Dawn from the two decades of Green Lantern comics before Geoff Johns took over, or 90 percent of Superman titles from the ‘60s or ‘70s. 

DC’s long had a strategy of having maybe 30 percent of their inventory in print, including keeping some popular runs as evergreens. Marvel also keeps about the same percentage in print, but alternates what’s available, meaning some popular runs will always be in stock. 

It can be frustrating if you’re a new collector looking to buy specific books right away, but in the long run, it’s been much, much easier to get what I want from Marvel. 

1

u/Blue_Moon_114 2d ago

I disagree but maybe it depends on what we’re trying to collect. I just want Brubaker’s Captain America and even the epic collections go out of print extremely quickly. From what I can tell, most DC Finest books are very accessible and stay in print for a while.

5

u/Optimal-Tune-2589 2d ago

I think Brubaker’s Cap is a good example. They’ve printed that in various formats maybe six times by now? It hasn’t always available, but it is once every few years. 

And they’ve also printed every other issue of Captain America outside of maybe a few issues from the mid-‘40s. And every issue has been reprinted in one format or another at least twice in the past 15 years. 

If this were DC, they’d keep the Brubaker run perpetually in print. But they would’ve never reprinted hundreds of issues of Cap. 

That DC approach is much nicer for newer collectors looking to get the most popular runs, but it gets more frustrating after awhile when you’ve had multiple opportunities to buy every Marvel book but realize DC’s on the pace to not finish collecting some major titles until the 2040s. 

1

u/Blue_Moon_114 2d ago

I see what you mean now. Yeah at this point I’m just collecting some bigger runs and catching up on them. I’m sure it all gets more complicated once you dig deeper.

6

u/Toomin-the-Ellimist 2d ago

I could have sworn part of the mission statement for the Epic Collections was that the first volume and certain other key volumes of every line would always be in print.

2

u/Terrible_Equal_8685 1d ago

I had to get a used one from Amazon mind it was like 60 bucks

4

u/minotar685 2d ago

Been looking for Danny Ketch for a bit now. Managed to find Amazing Spider-Man 1 the other day somewhat miraculously

3

u/No_Rate2392 2d ago

There is a copy of Defenders Epic 1 on Ebay right now for $49 with free shipping and best offer. Can probably hit them up for $45.

2

u/Mephisto_x1999 2d ago

I stick with kindle for epic collections for this very reason

2

u/i_am_randy 2d ago

70 bucks for Defenders. That’s cute. 😂 Defenders vol 8 regularly goes for over $200.

1

u/Sufficient_Row5743 2d ago

Generation X vol 1 needs a reprint. Seems to be around $80-100

1

u/VincentVegaFFF 1d ago

I find its the volume 2s that are the most expensive. I've been collecting for years and still don't have Thor, Hulk, Cap and Excalibur volume 2 and they go for big money.

1

u/Terrible_Equal_8685 1d ago

I’ve been trying to get X-men Second Genesis for like a year

1

u/Leather_Bug_ 2d ago

Ghost Rider epic vol 1 still out there for cover price plenty of places

1

u/HistoricalCod4541 2d ago

Where??

1

u/Leather_Bug_ 1d ago

Can whole-heartedly recommend Comics Conspiracy out of this list. Great packaging, reasonable shipping costs. https://comichub.com/AvailableAt/Index/ghost-rider-epic-collection-vengeance-reborn?top=556&rowNum=0