Top 5 Comics That Deserve the Omnibus Treatment

Comics can be daunting to newcomers.  A lot of series go back for years, if not decades.  That's a lot of material to try to hunt down if you're just getting started.  The fact that some issues are hard to find or out of print doesn't help matters.  One way that comic companies have tried to help ease new readers into a series is with trade paperbacks that collect several issues, or sometimes even an entire story arc, into one book.  While this has proven helpful, six to twelve issues can still be ineffective when it comes to collecting series that have been going on for hundreds of issues.  As such, the ante has been upped with what are called "omnibus" editions, these collect several years worth of comics (usually 30-50 issues) and bring it into one door-stopper sized volume.

We've seen it with series like "The Walking Dead", Brubaker's run on "Captain America", and even the long running comic strip, "Bone" has been collected into one complete collection.  They are becoming a more common occurrence, but there are still series that still haven't been omnibus..ized?  Despite lengthy runs.  Submitted for your approval, my picks for five series that should be collected in the omnibus format.

1. Hellblazer

Quite frankly, I'm surprised that this hasn't already been collected in omnibus form.  The series has been going on for so long that even trying to collect the series in trade format will take you a while. Even worse is the fact that the trades are missing some issues.  Collecting the series in giant compendiums will make it easier for newcomers to get immersed in John Constantine's world and it will give publishers a chance to get the issues that were skipped the last time around collected so that readers can enjoy them without having to deal with the hassle of hunting down a rare copy.



2. Our Worlds at War

This isn't a "series" per se, as it's an epic story arc.  It was similar to "Blackest Night" in the sense that while it centered on a specific superhero (Superman here compared to Green Lantern's "Blackest Night"), it had ramifications that affected the entire DC Universe.  It's true that the series has been collected in trade, but a lot of the peripheral issues were glossed over in favor of collecting the "core" issues.  It makes sense from a certain perspective, but it leads to some hiccups here and there.  An omnibus will allow readers to enjoy the story in its entirety.


3. Preacher

While this comic is similar to "Hellblazer" in terms of tone, it is different enough to stand on its own.  It's true that the entire series has been collected into nine rather convenient trades, it couldn't hurt to collect the entire series into one or two doorstopper tomes.

4. Blackest Night

I alluded to this earlier, but now that I think about it, this series should be collected as well.  The trades collected each mini-series, which seems like the most convenient way to go about it, but at the same time, the way events unfold, it can become confusing.  An omnibus can collect the issues in the order that they were meant to be read, making for a much smoother read.  As the individual trades would still be available, readers would be able to have their cake and eat it too, as it were with collections that contain a single mini-series and a collection that allows you to enjoy the entire event from start to finish.

5. Transmetropolitan

Admittedly, I haven't read this series, but it is held in high regard by many.  Like "Hellblazer" and "The Walking Dead", this is a series that has enough issues where even trying to collect the trades can be intimidating.  Being able to collect a larger chunk of the series in a massive volume would make it easier for new readers to get up to speed.



With more and more series being given the omnibus treatment, these are a few titles that I think are worth considering.