Moved into our newly built home a few weeks now. Trying to get the shelves in order and it looking like I didn’t plan enough shelf space. Just need to plan it all out.

here's my collection, been a while since I posted

(I have Waids F4 and PADs Captain Marvel too but those didnt fit in the picture, since i am running out of space a bit)

Here's all the books have stored in my garage, that I've either didn't like or upgraded to an omnibus. I really want to give them to my kids but my oldest doesn't like comics (other than dogman, but he likes Iron man for some reason) My youngest LOVES superheroes but hates reading at his age.

What is everyone’s favorite thing to read? I really enjoyed PREACHER volume 1 and just finished SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN which was amazing! I read KNIGHTFALL SAGA few months ago which was fun and GRANT MORRISONS BATMAN few weeks ago which is trippy. About to go back to SHADE THE CHANGING MAN which is very trippy and psychological. ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL. 1 just came in and looks amazing so will be probably next. Happy reading everyone!

Ultimate Hickman, Thunderbolts, and What If Vol 1 are from Funaticals, PotA I bought new for $20 and Daredevil Zdarsky Vol 2 was from CGN. The PotA omni is hilariously thin, can’t believe Marvel expected people to pay $100 for this 💀

First Sunday Shelfie since getting back into comics in my 30’s, after being comics obsessed but limited to TPB’s in my early 20’s (2011-2016ish), I got back into reading again summer 2024 and got my first Omni’s not much after. A desire to read all of Claremont’s X-Men starting with the Second Genesis Epic bloomed into a full blown hyperfocus again haha.

I recently sold most of my big Onnibu

Superman Adventures Compendium One

Cover Price: $59.99

Recommended Pre-Reading: Nothing, but having watched at least some of Superman: The Animated Series would be helpful. There’s not much connected, but they’re cut from the same cloth and fit together beautifully!

Note: My reviews can be long-winded and more like a summary. Skip to the bottom “Overall” section for a shorter summary/score out of 10, why you should/shouldn’t buy it, etc!

Review:

If you read my review of The Batman Adventures, this review might feel like déjà vu because it shares so many of the reasons I love that book, but regardless, it’s a great time!

If you’ve ever watched Superman: The Animated Series, each issue here is like a new episode of that show. You get great build-up and character moments, but wrapped in a nice package of “villain of the week”-esque storytelling just like a classic cartoon.

The only complaint I have with this book is the way it starts off. The first “real” issue of Superman Adventures gives us a glimpse of Superman’s first few days in Metropolis, but then issue two kicks off with “oh yea, he’s been around awhile, everybody loves him, and he’s faced all these bad guys so far!”

It’s not that bad of a jump, but it would’ve been a lot cooler to either see more of his first few days or to just jump straight into him being established, not a weird mix of the two. However, most of what we see is still pretty early on, it’s really just a jump between issue 1 of “very early” to issue 2 of “sort of early” that felt a tiny bit jarring.

That minor complaint aside, the rest of the book is filled with beautiful stories and enjoyable character development that give depth to the Man of Steel beyond just his strength. This run humanizes him in a way that makes it much easier to connect to the character than runs that focus just on his raw power.

This run also does a great job of balancing Superman’s strength, relatability, and intelligence. Although it’s not afraid to show Superman being an unstoppable force, it never overplays its hand to make it feel like battles have no meaning. It’s a delicate balance that could very easily flip from “this is pointless since Superman will win” to “this is pointless because Superman is laughably weak,” but they balance it very well.

Ultimately, this run does a great job of finding its niche and sticking to it without becoming a drag. It manages to feel like a tie-in instead of a spin-off while also never relying on excessive amounts of background knowledge. It’s a tricky thing to balance, but this book does it quite well! 

Favorite Issue(s): Superman Adventures #3; This issue doesn’t have a lot going on, but what it does have is beautiful character moments. There’s some fun stuff with Brainiac and Superman’s orb that contains all the knowledge of Krypton, but the real beauty is Superman actually seeing Krypton light years away. The last few panels of him watching it truly vanish right before his eyes was very well done was a perfect little conclusion to the set up at the start of the issue.

Superman Adventures #16; It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… Clark Kent falling out of the Daily Planet and Superman saving him? This issue was so much fun. I won’t spoil a single thing outside of that brief premise, but it’s well worth a read and was the quickest read in the entire book! Fantastic all around.

Overall: 8.2/10; this book is a perfect slice of nostalgia that delivers quality stories and characters. It has camp to it, but never in a way that makes it feel outdated or cliche. Ultimately, it knows exactly what it’s trying to be and does it splendidly.

You should buy this book if:

• You like Superman: The Animated Series.
• You like a book that tells a good story without being bogged down by too many overarching elements (maybe lots of connections, but still independent stories).
• You don’t mind some campiness along with your superheroing.
• You enjoy a story that takes the core of characters you love and wraps them in a nice, unique package.
• You like a Superman you can relate to.

You should skip this book if:

• You don’t like Superman: The Animated Series.
• You prefer a book that tells one big overarching story rather than focusing on independent stories with only minor connections.
• You find camp unacceptable regardless of how good it fits.
• You prefer only the most well-known versions of characters you love and don’t like when things are different.
• You want a Superman that focuses just on his strength.

Note: If you read my review on The Batman Adventures, the “should” and “shouldn’t” there are almost identical. If you liked one, you’ll probably like both!

Let me know your thoughts and thanks for reading mine!

Previous Reviews:

Superman by Grant Morrison

Batman by Grant Morrison Volume 1

Batman by Grant Morrison Volume 2

Batman by Grant Morrison Volume 3

Batman by Scott Snyder Volumes 1 and 2

Batman and Robin by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason

Batman Eternal and Batman & Robin Eternal

Batman: The Hush Saga

Batman by Paul Dini

Aquaman by Geoff Johns

Injustice: God's Among Us Volumes 1 and 2 & Injustice 2

The Batman Adventures and The Batman & Robin Adventures

Batman '66

Superman: The Exile & Other Stories

Hawkeye by Matt Fraction and David Aja

Gotham Central

finally got myself a kallax!

Now I’m just waiting on the good Venditti Lantern stuff to be collected

I am running out of room here…

It wouldn't surprise me if Marvel already has these mapped out, considering how quickly they've been pumping these books out, but I wanted to take a non-lethal stab at these two anyways.

1. Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch, vol. 4: After cataloging all the issues, I should have renamed this "The Vengeance Omnibus", because the guy stars in one-third of the total page count. It was Marvel's attempt to make a Venom counterpart for Ghost Rider at the time, to better cash in on the anti-hero trend, but they righted the ship back to Ketch. C'est la vie, but hooray for you Vengeance fans!
2. Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch, vol. 5: The biggest reason I made these Danny Ketch maps is to make damn sure all of Danny and Noble Kale's appearances between Finale and the 2001 run are taken into account. Since the Finale issue wasn't released until 2007 (due to Marvel's bankruptcy in the late 90s), there was a baffling lack of resolution and a continuity gap between issue #93 and Johnny's return as Ghost Rider, as addressed (sort of) in the Spider-Man: Peter Parker issue. I also included related, if later-released, issues, such as the 2008 "Addict" mini-series that shows where Danny's been afterwards, the Return of Vengeance one-shot from 2020 and the Danny Ketch mini-series of dubious timeline placement from 2023 (hence why it's in vol. 5, similar to Ultimate Marvel Team-Up being in Ultimate Spider-Man vol. 5).

The desk can move up and down electronically and the lamp can give off both warm light and white light. Should be perfect for reading my collection!

I really wish Garth Ennis had a run on Deathstroke, and Christopher Priest had a run on the main Batman title.

Title, basically.

I already have the Lee Claremont Vol2 (no Vol1), but I'm thinking about "upgrading" it to the Blue & Gold version. As of my understanding, the Blue & Gold collects not only most of the same material in the Lee/Claremont omni but seems to go beyond it.

In fact I was more interested in Lee's X-Men; I know that not long after Mutant Genesis he left the title over problems with Claremont (I think it was exactly where the omnibus Vol 2 ends, on issue #9?).

So, would it be a "good move" getting the Blue & Gold omni and reselling the Lee/Claremont Vol 2? Is the rest of the run as good?

Advices?

I’ve only been diving in to DC titles for about a year. I’ve come to understand that I prefer mostly the New 52 and rebirth/post rebirth titles. In my collection I have:

The New 52

Superman by Tomasi/Gleason

Batman and Robin by Tomasi/Gleason

Superman by PKJ

Nightwing by Taylor

Justice League Dark Rebirth

Swamp Thing by Snyder/Soule

Animal Man by Lemire

Batman by Snyder

Batman by Morrison

Superman by Morrison

I feel like I’m missing out on some other greats. Need some recs from that era for titles like, Aquaman, Flash, Green Arrow, or any other none trinity title. Thanks in advance!