4w ago

Have you bought a compendium? And did you like it?

I just started reading comics a few months ago, so I'm fairly new to this.

I enjoyed the Injustice video games, and I've heard the comics were great, so I figure I should read them. The comic book store near me has the individual volumes for Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3. But they also have the Injustice Compendium, which has everything in one book. And the compendium is absolutely gigantic: literally like a phonebook. It just seems like it would be unpleasant to read, impossible to carry around, and most of the pages would have a severe curve when they're open from the inflexible spine.

Have you bought one of these before? Did you prefer it over having individual volumes?

6 comments

It really depends on the production. Done improperly, you end up with a thick, heavy book that loses some of the artwork and writing due to the curve of the pages.
- Thanks, that's good to know. I didn't bother trying to look in the middle; maybe I'll do that next time I'm there. But I'll probably just go with the smaller volumes.
  
  I really wanted to buy the Starman Omnibus volumes, but the paper was so thin and the margins bound so tight it wasn't worth it.
I don't buy individual issues of anything, but a season is my favorite size book, for lots of reasons. The amount of story is perfect, they come out often enough, and the literal size of the book is good for carrying in a purse or backpack. I have some bigger ones, and your concerns are valid, it's less comfortable, the paper is thicker than in a not-graphic novel and it's unwieldy.
Probably just me, but I also don't like having bigger books of stories I like less, and smaller books of stories I like more! On the shelf they stand out more. I feel like visually the favorites should stand out more and they don't.
I have a single volume hardcover copy of The Invisibles. It's massive, definitely impractical to carry, but propped up on the coffee table, it's really not unpleasant to read.
- Hardcover would be great -- I think I would get one if it was a hardcover. The one I was looking at was just a softcover. Seemed like the weight of the pages would easily be enough to damage the book itself.

6 comments