Collected Comics Library

New shows coming soon by way of our new Discord Channel. Details on how to join for FREE is in this short update. 

It's sad to say but it's time for the library doors to shut once again. Chris has all the reasons why on the show. But before we go, Chris and Andy talk about Graham Nolan, WW1984, WandaVision, the problem with the Punisher skull logo, and much more. BTW, the CCL Slack channel will remain open, so please come and join us (bit.ly/cclslack)....and who knows...perhaps the CCL will open for some special occasions ;-) 

Chris and Andy lead off this week by talking about the massive and how it may fall short of being a complete 140 volume set. The guys also discuss the the , “buying clubs”, , Wonder Woman, , and why is awesome. All this and the January 2021 solicitation picks.

Chris is back and he and Andy tackle a boatload of “Ask Us Anything” questions. From their favorite collected editions to how to do a podcast and a few surprises along the way and even a wonderful comment on Apple Podcasts.

On this special CCL Andy goes solo! Let's hope he does OK! Topics covered tonight: Bendis on Superman The fate of Planetary, Transmetropolitan, Authority, etc. Aliens / Predator: Omnibus or Epic? Budget vs Want Bad Idea Comics Stormbreakers Superman Kim’s Convenience

Chris takes the week off, so Andy is joined by Travis, one of our good friends of the show and one of our Slackers to go over the December 2020 solicits. The guys also talk about Death of the Inhumans, Watchmen, Action Comics, MOK, Creepy, and Fantastic Four.

Chris and Andy have a free for all and talk about Kickstarter and Berserker by Keanu Reeves, Heavy Metal Magazine #300 and a cover by Agustín Alessio, Frank Miller’s Ronin, can Chris only own 50 books?, Greg Land and Aliens controversy, Luther Arkwright by Brian Talbot, Punisher Soviet MAX by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows, Star Trek: Picard and Hulk: Maestro.

Chris and Andy talk about the passing of Chadwick Boseman and what it may mean for the MCU. Plus Andy has a bone to pick with Marvel on the decision to use Greg Land as the cover artist for Aliens Omnibus Volume 1 and Chris found a typo in the Conan The Barbarian: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 5 HC solicit.  

Chris and Andy tackle one of the hardest topics in comic book lore… just what are the best Batman collected editions of all time? It’s not just what to decide it’s how to rank them. To make things easy the guys picked four obvious books to start: Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Time Sale Then the guys go back and forth on some essential books for you to read and own. Andy sticks to the comic books while Chris delves into a few history books and even the comic strips. Batman: Ego and Other Tales by Darwyn Cooke Batman: From the 30’s to the 70’s Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee Batman: Son of the Demon by Mike W. Barr and Jerry Bingham Batman: The Complete History by Les Daniels Batman: The Court of Owls by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo Batman: The Silver Age Newspaper Comics Vol. 3: 1969-1972 Batman: Year 100 by Paul Pope Batman: Year Two by Mike W. Barr and Paul Neary Tales of the Batman by Tim Sale The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Volume 1: Batman “The Supergirl from Krypton" (Superman/Batman #8–13) by Michael Turner There’s plenty of debate to go around that that will be discussed in the free and open CCL Slack Channel bit.ly/cclslack  

Chris and Andy are back with the fourth installment of the complete Punisher MAX run by Garth Ennis. Tonight the guys get into Mother Russia, #13-18, and go issue by issue including the writing, art, and extras that may be included in the trade paperback (or hardcover). The best part of the storyline...Col. Nick Fury! This show will also be run on the .

Chris and Andy get right into October 2020 solicits and there are some very far out picks. They guys also have a long list of what they are reading including Legends Of The Dark Knight: Matt Wagner, Batman By Azzarello & Risso, Batman Vol. 13: The City Of Bane Part 2, Batman Arkham: Scarecrow, Batman: Kings Of Fear, Black Hammer/Justice League: Hammer Of Justice!, Rebirth: Action Comics, Superman & Detective Comics, House of X/Powers of X, After Houdini, and Sullivan's Sluggers.

Chris and Andy catch up on the news about Aliens and Predator moving from Dark Horse to Marvel and what that means not only for the comics but also the future of the movie franchises...and is RoboCop ripe for the pickings? There’s a juicy rumor that the next big MCU/Avengers event will be Secret Wars! How will the Russo Bros. pull it off and will the Fantastic Four and X-Men be involved? Chris goes over the timeline for the release of Star Wars: The HIgh Republic and Andy may get on board with this new sans-Skywalker series. The guys next go into reading and reviews of a ton of books including Doomsday Clock, Wonder Woman/Conan by Gail Simone and several more. 

Chris and Andy get right into the September 2020 solicits and some of them may be a bit familiar. The guys also get an email from Billy Hogan of the Superman Fan Podcast, discuss Batman: Devils Advocate, Marvel Masterworks: Howard The Duck Volume 1 (Variant #300, March 2021), why Pippin and Merry had it worse than Frodo and Sam, and what may be the worst solicitation of all time.

In this special episode, Chris and Andy talk about the life of Denny O'Neil, who passed away on June 11 at the age of 81. He was responsible for creating some of the most memorable characters of all time including Ra's al Ghul and storylines of all time including "Hard Traveling Heroes" with Green Lantern and Green Arrow, "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge!" in Batman #251 (Sept. 1973), and introducing Jim Rhodes as Iron Man in Iron Man #170. He is, without question, one of the greatest comic book writers of all time. The guys also talk about EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: The Art of Dungeons & Dragons, Frankenstein Alive, Alive! HC by Steve Niles and Bernie Wrightson, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Extended Edition movies, Supergirl: Being Super, Harleen, Wonder Woman/Conan, Wonder Woman Diana Prince Celebrating The 60s Omnibus HC, and Comicbook Confidential.

Chris and Andy are back with the third installment of the complete Punisher MAX run by Garth Ennis. Tonight the guys get into Kitchen Irish, #7-12 (2004), and go issue by issue including the writing, art, and extras that may be included in the trade paperback (or hardcover), and the overall continuity plus Andy finds out that he has a misprint copy! This show will also be run on the Epic Marvel Podcast.

Chris and Andy get down to the topic du jour that is DC and Diamond. What’s it all about and what does this mean for the industry moving forward? The guys also dow through every category for the Eisners and since Chris is a voting member they get to cast a real live ballot.

Chris and Andy are joined by comic book historian and author Zack Kruse, Pictures Within Pictures podcast. In his book, Mysterious Travelers: Steve Ditko and the Search for a New Liberal Identity (University Press of Mississippi, February 2021) Zack takes a fresh new look at the work of Ditko unlike ever before by focusing on the philosophical and thoughts of arguably the most misunderstood and brilliant minds in comic book history.

Chris and Andy catch up on some semblance of solicits by taking a look at some July and August. We are eager to see these release dates will stick. The guys also discuss , Nightwing: The Gray Son Legacy, Lost Carnival: A Dick Grayson GN, Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka, Batman/TMNT, Batman by Gene Colon Volume 2, Jojo Rabbit, The Beastmaster, and finally .

Chris and Andy are back with the second installment of the complete Punisher MAX run by Garth Ennis. Tonight the series kicks off with In The Beginning, #1-6 (2004). The guys go issue by issue including the writing, art, and extras that may be included in the trade paperback (or hardcover), and the overall continuity. This show will also be run on the Epic Marvel Podcast.

Chris and Andy are back this to talk about one of their favorite creators of all time: Mike Grell. Just about his entire body of work if discussed including some hidden gems and behind the scene notes. The guys also touch on the passing of Marty Pasko and just when Marvel and DC will resume distributing comics.

Chris and Andy talk with Scott VanderPloeg, who is considered the foremost authority on Artist Editions; special kinds of comic book collected edition are printed pages of scanned original comic art at full size. Scott runs the wonderful and comprehensive fansite Artist's Edition Index which covers all things "AE", including his podcast. They guys talk about what makes up an Artist Edition, how many there are, who publishes them, the most popular and rare ones, and even talk about upcoming projects that are in the works.

Chris and Andy try to take a much-needed break from talking comic book distribution modeling and spotlight one of their favorite creators of all time: Frank Miller. Just about his entire body of work if discussed including some hidden gems and behind the scene notes.

Time to pull out the whiskey and talk comics COVID with Chris & Andy. This week the guys try to guess how comics will be distributed....is it time to go back to the subscription model? It may not be so far fetched. They also talk Event Leviathan by Brian Michael Bendis, Detective Comics by Pete Tomasi, Batman by Tom King, Swamp Thing by Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson and Sinestro.

Chirs and Andy debut a new ongoing segment discussing the complete Punisher MAX run by Garth Ennis. They start with Punisher MAX Born from 2003 and cover the run issue by issue including the writing, art, extras that may be included in the trade paperback (or hardcover) and the overall continuity. This show will also be run on the Epic Marvel Podcast.  Collected editions discussed: (Punisher) Born, Punisher MAX From First To Last, Punisher Invades The ‘Nam, Fury (2001), Fury: Peacemaker (2006), Fury: My War Gone By (2012), Get Fury (TBD), Punisher: Soviet (2020).

Chris and Andy continue to talk about how comic book publishers are dealing with the coronavirus...but will it even matter if comic book stores close down? And just how important are digital comics now? We also dive into some of what we are reading including Guardians of the Galaxy by Donnie Cates and Action Comics/Superman by Brian Michale Bendis and Andy has a copy of Nightwing #70 - but not for long.

Chris and Andy chat with Christina Merkler, Discount Comic Book Service, regarding the important news from Steve Geppi that due to the COVID-19 pandemic Diamond has announced that they are ceasing the distribution of any new weekly products. Christina also talks about how this is affecting her overall business at DCBS and their sister company In-Stock Trades, the closure of physical comic book stores, how this may shape publishing to come and the rise of more digital comics. We'd like to thank Christina Merkler for coming on the show with very short notice to share her views.

Chris and Andy catch up on being at home thanks to COVID-19 and talk "free" giveaways from and as well as the “draft” selections from the June 2020 solicits.

In the midst of a crappy week, and more crappy weeks to come Chris and Andy held a virtual meet-up with five other members of the CCL Slack community. COVID-19 was a major topic, but so was our favorite artists and what we are all reading these days and just how will the Coronavirus affect the entertainment industry. Our thanks to Gordon, Tim, Sam, Chris B and Jason!   Here’s the YouTube link if you want to see our smiling faces  

Chris and Andy talk about , , Kickstarters (UGH!), the upcoming The new Eternals Omnibus, as well as the Neil Gaiman Eternals hardcover as part of the “draft” selections from the May 2020 solicits.

Chris and Andy get right to the hot topic of the week: Dan Didio out at DC Comics, an in-depth review of The Mandalorian and discuss several books and movies including Indiana Jones and the Spear of Destiny, Batman/Shadow. Batman: Noël GN, Superman: Secret Origin by Geoff Johns, All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison, Lex Luthor: Man of Steel, The Man of Steel by John Byrne, Cover Vol. 1 by BMB, Parasite, The Peanut Butter Falcon and Artic.

Chris and Andy catch up on the news and also discuss Black Hammer Library Edition Vol. 1, Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy, Punisher Kill Krew, Superman Red Son, Alita: Battle Angel, and Netflix's The Witcher and Locke & Key.

Chris and Andy talk about the upcoming that will collect Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil and Doctor Star Doctor Andromeda and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows; Winners and Losers of the week and the “draft” selections from the April 2020 solicits.

Chris and Andy get down to the annual Adopt A Character show. Chris chooses Legion of Super-Heroes while Andy is picking Miracleman by Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman (not the original Mick Anglo run). You are welcome to follow all year long and we welcome you to join in on the CCL Slack Channel – details are in the show. We also talk about the recent Facebook post by .

Chris and Andy talk about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker but first get right into “draft” selections from the March 2020 solicits.

On today’s show, Chris and Andy finish up the 100 Greatest Comic Books – Comic Book Runs – Single Issues & Graphic Novels of All Time from When It Was Cool, which was compiled from several different sources in late 2017. In this installment, the guys go over #20-1, give their thoughts and, of course, the collected editions these runs are in. Surprise! We don't really agree with the Top 10 and give a list of what was completely left off of the Top 100.

Chris and Andy are joined by Mike Myers of the Geek Brunch podcast. They first start off with a bit of digital collection news on The Complete Bloodshot from Valiant and then get right into “draft” selections from the February 2020 solicits.

On today’s show, Chris and Andy discuss , , and . Plus they continue with Part 4 of the 100 Greatest Comic Books – Comic Book Runs – Single Issues & Graphic Novels of All Time from When It Was Cool, which was compiled from several different sources in late 2017. In this installment, the guys go over #40-21, give their thoughts and, of course, the collected editions these runs are in.

Chris and Andy reminisce about the early days of the CCL and talk a lot of Back Widow and get right into “draft” selections from the January 2020 solicits.

On today’s show Chris and Andy discuss the return of the (is it a good thing?), an email regarding Amazon and packaging and continue with Part 3 of our look at the 100 Greatest Comic Books – Comic Book Runs – Single Issues & Graphic Novels of All Time from When It Was Cool, which was compiled from several different sources in late 2017. In this installment, the guys go over #60-41, give their thoughts and, of course, the collected editions these runs are in.

Chris and Andy talk about Andy’s fun time at Rambo: Last Blood and then get right into “draft” selections from the December 2019 solicits (and stick around for Andy’s Steve Engelhart rant).

On today’s show Chris and Andy discuss a lost and found Golden Age Wonder Woman Newspaper Strip, the upcoming Nexus collection to feature a brand-new story by Baron and Rude and Part 2 of our look at the 100 Greatest Comic Books – Comic Book Runs – Single Issues & Graphic Novels of All Time from When It Was Cool, which was compiled from several different sources in late 2017. In this installment, the guys go over #80-61, give their thoughts and, of course, the collected editions these runs are in.

Chris and Andy talk about the Spider-Man Sony/Marvel dealbreaker and what it means for the future of the franchise, Garth Ennis returns to the Punisher with Punisher Soviet and Get Fury, Art Spiegelman and his Anti-Trump comments for the introduction for the $225 Marvel: The Golden Age 1939-1949 HC from The Folio Society, and the lament that is X-Men: Children Of The Atom Box Set Slipcase for $500 and, of course, “draft” selections from the November 2019 solicits.

On today’s show Chris and Andy discuss the passing of Ernie Colón, Andy gets a ton of cool gifts and Chris laments of Amazon shipping. Chris and Andy also start looking at the 100 Greatest Comic Books - Comic Book Runs - Single Issues & Graphic Novels of All Time from When It Was Cool, which was compiled from several different sources in late 2017. In this first installment, the guys go over #100-81, give their thoughts and, of course, the collected editions these runs are in.

It’s a special 500th episode of the Collected Comics Library!!! Chris and Andy play a game of Who Am I?, discuss who they would like to have dinner with including etiquette, and “draft” selections from the October 2019 solicits.  

On today’s show, Chris and Andy are joined by Augie De Blieck Jr., to talk about his DC Comics predictions he made on his blog Pipeline Comics. They guys also go over a number of other news and topics from Comic-Con International.

This week Chris and Andy say goodbye to Vertigo and the possibility of any more Steve Ditko Kickstarters. They also “draft” selections from the September 2019 solicits that include: Round 1 Andy: Incredible Hulk By Peter David Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (Marvel) Chris: Conan The Barbarian: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 3 HC (Marvel) Round 2 Andy: Dick Tracy Forever TP (IDW) Chris: Aquaman: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (DC Comics) Round 3 Andy: Jonah Hex: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (DC Comics) Chris: John Byrne's Marvel Classics Artifact Edition (IDW) Round 4 Andy: Battle Chasers Anthology TP (Image) Chris: Annihilation Omnibus HC New Printing (Marvel) Round 5 Andy: James Bond: Live And Let Die Graphic Novel HC (Dynamite) Chris: Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 8 HC (DC Comics) Round 6 Andy: The Ragged Return to Lonely Street (Albatross) Chris: Crisis On Infinite Earths Companion Deluxe Edition Vol. 3 HC (DC Comics) Round 7 Andy: Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt (Dynamite) Chris: War Of The Realms: The Punisher TP (Marvel) Round 8 Andy: Daredevil Epic Collection: A Woman Called Widow TP (Marvel) Chris: Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History TP (Marvel) Round 9 Andy: Write Your Own Marvel TP (Marvel) Chris: Mutant X: The Complete Collection Vol. 2 TP (Marvel) Round 10 Andy: New Avengers: Breakout Marvel Select HC (Marvel) Chris: Man-Wolf: The Complete Collection TP (Marvel) Round 11 Andy: Drew And Jot: Dueling Doodles OGN HC (Boom! Studios) Chris: Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Vol. 14 HC (Marvel) Round 12 Andy: Doom Patrol By John Byrne Omnibus HC (DC Comics) Chris: Doctor Strange Epic Collection: Triumph And Torment TP (Marvel)

On today’s show Chris and Andy go over Rob Liefeld picking a fight with DC, Batman 1989 Deluxe HC, Eric Powell’s Goon Omnibus’ & Albatross Press, Daredevil Season 3 (and 4?), Jessica Jones Season 3, Ghost Rider and Helstrom on Hulu, DC Entertainment canceling Swamp Thing, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, X-Men: Dark Pheonix, Marvel audio comic books, DC potentially shutting down Vertigo in favor of the Black Label imprint, former IDW executives create Clover Press, So What? Press from Drew Ford and It’s Alive!, and Lion Forge & Oni Press announce a merger and so much more!

This week Chris and Andy go over missing OOP books that are needed for our collected edition library: The Goon Library Edition Volumes 1 & 3 and EC Archives: Haunt of Fear Volume 5, tales from Motor City Comic Con 2019, Ditko Kickstarter says they want to publish a 2-Volume Mr. A, a follow-up from Gwandanaland Comics….and go over selections from the August 2019 solicits.

In their very own sequel to CCL #489 - Live Eisner Hall Of Fame Voting, Chris and Andy pick their favorites for the 2019 Eisner Awards and Chris casts his ballot live on the podcast. Who do they vote for? Also on the show the reprint greatness that is Gwandanaland Comics and the unbelievable true story of Aran Stubbs and the IRS Comic Collection. Plus a recap of Marvel’s reading order, DC’s Essential Reading List 2019, Black Hammer Library Edition, The Ray (Golden Age), Airboy, Green Arrow: Year One by Andy Diggle, Adventures of Captain America by Fabian Nicieza and Kevin MacGuire w/Karl Kessel; Captain America White by Loeb and Sale, and, of course, Avengers: Endgame.

This week Chris and Andy go over listener email and go over selections from the July 2019 solicits that include: Marvel Elektra Assassin TP Invaders Vol. 1: War Ghost TPB Marvel Visionaries: Roy Thomas TPB Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe Omnibus HC Punisher: Return To Big Nothing TPB Savage Sword of Conan: The Cult of Koga Thun TP Timely's Greatest: The Golden Age Simon & Kirby Omnibus HC Venom by Donny Cates HC DC Comics All-Star Comics: Only Legends Live Forever TP and HC Batman: Kings Of Fear HC Hitman’s Greatest Hits TP Justice League of America: Last Survivors on Earth TP Swamp Thing By Nancy A. Collins Omnibus HC Tales of the Batman: Gerry Conway Vol. 3 TP Watchmen: International Edition HC New Edition Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka Vol. 3 TP Aftershock Comics Out of the Blue HC GN Vol. 2 Dark Horse Black Hammer Volume 4: Age of Doom Part 2 TP Flaming Carrot Comics Omnibus TP Monsters and Other Stories TP IDW David Mazzucchelli's Daredevil Born Again Artisan Edition TPB Ragnarok by Walt Simonson Vol. 1 TP Superman: The Silver Age Sundays, Vol. 2: 1963-1966 HC Image Bad Weekend HC Insight Comics Before Houdini GN Vol 2 Dynamite Dreadstar HC Wizard Rare Limited Edition Signed HC  

On this week’s show, Chris and Andy go over DC’s updated collected editions initiatives - straight from Dan Didio’s Facebook page, a deep dive into DC’s Black Label Editions and the reissues of the Walmart 100-Page Giant Comics. Also on the show Star Wars #108 (or as Andy calls it #50.1), Avengers: Endgame ticket prices are out of control, new Marvel Retrospectives from Yoe Books (IDW) and what may be the most bizarre comic in years: Giraffes on Horseback Salad from Salvador Dali, the Marx Brothers and Quirk Books.