mycomicshelf

A quick look at my shelves is enough to see that the shape of the book is not my primary concern. I try to organize them by topic and then by size. I do. That’s why my Nightwing is on the same shelf as Red Hood. There’s just one issue. The Nightwing books are the Polish edition. Red Hood was never published here, so his books are the original American edition. The little size difference was annoying.

In fact, so annoying that it made me look at all my Polish editions of foreign comics. When it comes to content, I always prefer the original. But as it turns out, the quality of the book is better at home.

Language

Most of my comics are American. I’m not. I’m lucky enough to have at least one comic shop that sells them in original editions. Generally, I prefer to read comics in their original language, as long as I know it. If not, I’ll buy the Polish edition, since it’s the next best thing. When I say ‘original language’, it usually means French and European comics, like Eagles of Rome or Asterix.

Sometimes I will buy a translated book because I don’t care that much about the characters, or I just want to try it out for a lower price. This is how I read Rebirth Nightwing. Only five of the original volumes from that run were published in Poland (in four volumes, actually). I found them in a bookstore for a low price and decided to give it a go. To be completely honest, the price was the deciding factor. I didn’t care about Nightwing then, so I also didn’t feel FOMO over anything getting lost in translation. It worked. I read it and I enjoyed it.

Almost the same thing happened with Deadpool. Back in 2019 I didn’t care about Marvel. But I liked the movies and I wanted to actually read some Deadpool. Again, I found some of his Marvel Now stuff. Really fun to read and I guess this was the series that finally convinced me to read more Marvel comics.

Deluxe Editions

I was looking to buy “Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown”, which was out of print at the time. The original editions, I mean. Then a Polish edition caught my eye. It was published by Egmont as part of their Marvel Limited series.

It wasn’t cheap, but damn. That book is an absolute unit. It’s bigger than DC’s absolute edition and does not fit on my shelf. That’s okay, though. I bought it for the art, and I’m pretty sure this is as good as it gets. It’s a giant hardcover with bonus content and a ribbon. It’s printed on thick, good quality matte paper. The only downside is that I can’t keep it on display because of the size.

Quality

What can I say, I love deluxes, but ultimately I’m a paperback girl. But paperbacks come in all shapes and sizes.

First, there are the originals. The Americans. They’re quite expensive in comparison to the translated editions, so I only buy them for my favorite characters or series. Paper is acceptable but kind of flimsy and it’s very easy to leave fingerprints on it while reading. Covers are also thin and flimsy. Often, they are cut just a few millimeters short of the pages. That little detail infuriates me to no end.

This is also the only way to get single issues. I know some popular characters (like Batman or Spider-Man) used to be translated and reprinted back in the 90s, but now we only get collected editions.

Second, we have the primary Polish comic book publisher – Egmont. They are the ones who can publish DC, Marvel and some of the independent European comics. Though their main focus is on the Big Two.

I have to say, the quality is way better than in the original editions. They are maybe 2-3 mm shorter, but they win in every other category. Paper is thicker, colors more vibrant and covers actually cover the entire book. They even have flaps. The main downside is that, unfortunately, Egmont won’t print entire runs. As far as I know, the only Rebirth series that was published until the end, was the Rebirth Flash run. Though to their credit, they sometimes do put out classic stories in the deluxe format.

Lastly, there is Panini. From what I understand, they are the main publisher for German editions. Here, they seem to mainly put out anthologies of popular Marvel characters. I noticed them around a year ago during weekly shopping. For some strange reason Panini apparently is partnered with Carrefour, because that’s the only place where I can find them.

The Panini books remind me of the early comics – poor quality, disposable, read and throw out. They are really cheap though, so this is a great way to introduce new people to comics. Someone who would never actively take interest in them but might throw it in the cart just because it is there. The price is low enough to not be an issue for most people (unlike other standard editions).

These books are printed on the kind of paper found in books. White, stiff, makes colors look a little washed out. You get what you pay for, I guess.

The Others

By “others” I mean everything that is not American. In this category every comic would have to be described individually. They come in all shapes and sizes. European comics of course have their own format, but is the paper, cover and translation quality will vary, because they are scattered across different publishers. Some are never reprinted, as is the case with my beloved Eagles of Rome series.

Mangas also have their own unique format. Though I don’t know enough about them to say anything more. Polish editions are common in big chain bookstores.

Does it matter?

Not really, no. I tend to enjoy books no matter the format. Anything bigger than a paperback is more a display piece than a reading book. Even omnibuses are too unwieldy to read comfortably. So what’s the deciding factor? For me, it’s whether I like the character or the artist. If yes – deluxe. If no – usually the original paperback.

What do you enjoy the most?