Hi friends!
Petar here, from the Beyond the Panels blog (what, did you think I’d let Matt have all the newsletter fun?) Welcome to another installment of the newsletter on books bigger than Dr. Doom’s ego! Or at least, they try to be… It’s a tough competition, okay!
What do you MEAN I’m not on the DM variant??? – Dr. Doom, circa 2099, probably
And speaking of huge things – do you (also) have a problem of endlessly scrolling through your wishlist? Or you go as insane as me and color code your calendar to every release, format and publisher available?
Well, Walt heard us out, and the magic team behind the website gave us the ability to create multiple wishlists! Now you too can go as maniacal as me and create separate wishlists – I’ve got one going only for omnis, as well as lists for “must buys” and “will probably buy to cheer myself up.” Let’s see what you can plop on your new list this month!
THE ONCE AND FUTURE DOOM
Now, this book is a slight misnomer, and I am sure Lord Doom would not approve of it at all! With 44 issues of Doom 2099 and only 8 of that pesky Fantastic Four 2099, the Fantastic Four/Doom 2099 Omnibus is a Doom book through and through!
When Doom appears in his abandoned castle in the year of 2099, he learns that everything is a mess, and there is only one person who can fix the world – President Doom of course! But then the Fantastic Four of our time appear, and things start getting complicated. How did all of these characters get to 2099? Find out yourself, I’m not going to spoil it in a newsletter!
UNLIMITED POWER!!! (sorry, I recently got into Star Wars)
Ignoring how relevant some of this stuff might be, how awesome is it that we’re getting so close to collecting 2099 in an omni format? There are a few more things that need this treatment, but we have had Spider-Man, X-Men and Ghost Rider already clocked in, and now this magnificent tome!
And what a looker it is as well – while I enjoy Rick Leonardi’s DM, Pat Broderick’s Doom cover just blows it out of the water! And with the size of the book…. I think I need an extra shelf!
SNIKT BIG
Wolverine has been one of the characters that can easily fill up the shelves with his own titles, and we finally got the sixth (SIXTH!!!) Wolverine Omnibus this month (counting pre-Millar stuff). And let me tell you, this one goes dark!
It was the 90s and things were looking grim for the X-Men, with Onslaught, Operation: Zero Tolerance and the like. And when things are grim for the team, they are BLEAK for Wolverine. He’s animalistic, and he will need all the help he can get.
POV: Me when trying (and failing) NOT to buy more big books this month.
Logan gets a killer (get it?) row of guest appearances in this book – Elektra helps him find his humanity, Venom takes him on a WILD ride, Jubilee, Kitty Pryde, Ben Grimm – they’re all here! So, sharpen your claws (but before that – clear out some more shelf space), because this is the kind of MASSIVE book that proves why Wolverine is one of the most popular comic characters of all time!
YO JOE, YOUR SHELF IS SAGGING
I want to take a moment of your time now to beat the allegations that I’m solely an omnibus guy – I also like my Deluxe Hardcovers, okay?! And with both Void Rivals and Transformers getting the deluxe treatment last month, I was more than ecstatic to have Codename G.I. Deluxe Edition join them!
Actual footage of me pulling up to Walt’s with the squad (the objective is scoring some good books deals).
The Energon Universe has been a treat reading from issue to issue, but man these books are a treat for sore eyes (and for my arms too – you can only hold an omni for so long). I’m also especially happy that they are pumping these out quickly, with Codename G.I. Joe Book 2 already on preorder. These two books will collect all four minis (Duke, Cobra Commander, Scarlett and Destro) before we delve into the big conflict!
My big (book) conflict, though, was always which cover to pick – and these books are not making it easy! I opted out for the Joe covers, and I will stick to that. What’s your choice?
MULTIVERSAL PREORDERS
June has also been quite a big month when it comes to preorders and Big Books Deals! The first Big Book Deal of the month that I want to recommend (and that I will be picking up) is Crisis On Infinite Earths Absolute Edition.
I wanted to make a witty comment, but this deserves the respect.
This is THE DC comics event of all times – it is so important that people use it as a time marker: “Did this Superman story take place Pre-Crisis or Post-Crisis?” While it was not necessarily the first DC Crisis event, it certainly is the biggest, and deserves all the reverence it gets. I didn’t manage to snatch it before, so I am mega-excited to get my hands on it now!
Something else for me to beat the allegations (but not really) is The Complete Harrow Country Compendium. This is one of the best horror comics that I have read in a long time, and I am so glad that it is getting printed in a more accessible format (to backtrack on the allegations, I *did* get the monstruous Complete Harrow County HC, but still!)
Gloriana and Simone after seeing my May order, probably.
There are witches, reincarnations, boys without skins and skins without boys… your typical small-town shenanigans! The book will also collect all the extras from every library edition, which is a treat we didn’t get with the complete book (another misnomer, now that I think about it). Dark Horse also promised to release this one right before Halloween too, so… hopefully they’re not late this year?
Speaking of Halloween, Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween reprint is hitting FOC on June 18th, and it’s yet another Big Book Deal of the Month! This is one of the best Batman stories ever written, serves as the origin of Two Face and it’s perfect for all year round despite its misnomer of a title (or is it?)
And finally, another perfect book for setting up that spooky mood is hitting that June 18th FOC – Scooby Apocalypse Omnibus (Can you guess my favorite holiday? Can we call this an unofficial pre-Halloween newsletter now? Maybe I just want summer to end already…). This book was a part of that Hannah-Barbera comics universe push in mid 2010s, and is such a diamond in the rough! The story puts the Scooby gang smack in the middle of an apocalypse, and it’s their job to solve the mystery! (Take note that this is rated T for Teen – due to its themes and setting, it’s not for younger audiences)
TH-TH-TH-THAT’S ALL FOLKS
And there you have it, your venture into this month’s big books. There is a pretty decent offering across the board, and I tried not to make the newsletter omnibus-sized, so I stuck with the highlights.
Make sure to venture over to Walt’s website and check out what they have in store in detail – June ’25 Pre-Orders are in full swing, and there’s plenty more Big Book Deals you can grab! And while you’re there, make sure to stop by our Beyond the Panels blog, too 😉 As always…
OMNIS ARE FOREVER
Cheers,
Petar
