Epic Undertaking!

I find the Epic Collection volumes from Marvel to be very handsome indeed. I like the size and heft of the volumes, the bountiful content, and the bright colors. Sadly I find I cannot justify getting any of them because I've spent the last fifteen years gathering Essential volumes with the same stories which are featured here. In some cases (Spider-Man by Ditko for instance) I own the stories in color and in some case I own the original comics still (The Avengers).

But it doesn't mean that when I visit my local store and stumble across these handsome books that I don't yearn to gather them up. Their neat and tidy design with its distinctive but still somewhat understated elements makes these books I'd like to own. At thirty-five dollars a pop they are (for those who don't have the stories) an actual bargain in a market which offers up the classic comic book pamphlet for four to five bucks.

But there's just no way I can argue myself into it. The money is too much for too little gain. Some of the books, like the Silver Surfer one in particular are attractive in that they gather together a saga which has not been gathered up to my knowledge. That one might get me to nudge on it, especially given the awesomeness of the Kirby artwork inside, but overall, despite their handsome elements I cannot take the epic journey.

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