Secret Wars II Omnibus [Hardcover]

Various (Author, Artist)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

He rescued the Hulk and destroyed the New Mutants, he wrestled the Thing and made a deal with Mephisto, he created Kurse and Thundersword and a tower of gold! Doctor Strange tried to teach him; Dazzler tried to romance him! The Avengers wanted to recruit him, Daredevil to sue him, and Puma and Deadpool just wanted him dead! Hero, villain, force of nature and deus ex machina all in one: the Beyonder! For good or ill, he was one of the most powerful agents of change in the eighties, and now you can see all of his work all at once! Collects Secret Wars II #1-9; New Mutants #30 and #36-37; Captain America #308; Uncanny X-Men #196 and #202-203; Iron Man #197; Fantastic Four #282, #285, #288 and #316-319; Web of Spider-Man #6; Amazing Spider-Man #268 and #273-274; Daredevil #223; Incredible Hulk #312; Avengers #260-261and #265-266; Dazzler #40; Alpha Flight #28; Thing #30; Doctor Strange #74; Cloak and Dagger #4; Power Pack #18; Thor #363; Power Man and Iron Fist #121; Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man #111; Defenders #152; Deadpool Team-Up #1, and Quasar #8.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1184 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Comics (May 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785131116
• ISBN-13: 978-0785131113
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 7.9 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #589,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Epic, Enjoyable, May 30, 2009

By	ThisParticular Reader (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secret Wars II Omnibus (Hardcover)

This was a fun, epic feeling story. It's a bit heavy handed and melodramatc in places (as comics of it's time generally were,)and the action doesn't pack the same punch as the action in modern comics, but it held up better than I expected and was more enjoyable to read than I thought it would be. It's great getting the entire story with tie-ins in one massive volume, and the tie-ins worked better/added more to the story than I would have thought.

At nearly 1200 pages telling one story with a distinct beginning, middle, and end, the story really does feel epic. Touching on pretty much every title Marvel had in the mid 80's, it also gives a fantastic overview of the Marvel universe at the time. The reproduction quality is great as well. The only thing I would have liked to have seen is some sort of text overview of how the series was put together, how well it sold, how it was received by fans and critics at the time, and how it is looked at now, 25 years later.

Overall I'm glad I bought this. It was better than I expected and (taken as a whole) I liked it a lot. Was it as well done as most modern comics? Absolutely not -- comics have come a long way in the last 25 years, the writing, art, coloring, pacing, fight choreographay, intensity, level of sophistication, and production values are all dramatically better now -- but this was still a fun read. I read both this and the latest Green Lantern collection this weekend (Green Lantern Secret Origin,) and that just highlighted how far comics have come in the last twenty five years (and how much better they are now on so many levels,) but that didn't stop me from enjoying this as well.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Own for Marvel Fans, September 22, 2009

By	E. Miguez - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Secret Wars II Omnibus (Hardcover)

On the fence about ordering this?

It's 1200 pages and oversized. But is it any good?

Here's the basic overview...

What if you landed in the Marvel Universe? A place full of web-swinging vigilantes, blind lawyers, Canadian government teams, family dynamics, persecuted mutants, and wealthy superheroes?

How would you react to them? By studying them closely.

Oh, and you have the power to do ANYTHING you wish.

It is the Beyonder's interactions with these heroes and the world around him that tries to corrupt him that makes this story. WHY does Daredevil, having lost his sight, continue to fight the good fight, both metahumans AND in a court room? WHY do mutants save humanity despite being hated themselves? WHY is Captain America the man he is?

The Beyonder doesn't view a street-walking prostitute as a "dirty, girl of the streets"...he sees this girl from an alien perspective and she changes him for the better. A touching esrly chapter in the story.

Get this before the price goes up. It cover all of Marvel in the 80's and will you give you a fresh perspective on your favorite characters.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, not GREAT as the best of Stan Lee/ John Bryne/ Chris Claremont, April 22, 2010

By	S. Arnold - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Secret Wars II Omnibus (Hardcover)

These omnibus editions are very cool, and I love these marvel epics wherein they tried to tell an epic over multiple issues. The problem here is the story isn't as compelling as Secret Wars original which was actually pretty good. The story here just doesn't seem like a very inspired one, which is too bad, because if Marvel was doing epics that had great stories on the level of Stan Lee, John Byrne, early Chris Claremont or Alan Moore- then they would be selling a lot more than they have.

With these comics its clearly the talent of the writer and artists that really make them and here the writing is ok but not great and the art is hit or miss, with the Byrne issues being the best along with the Claremont stuff....so only buy if you are a hardcore fan.

I still hope marvel puts out omnibus editions of all the best stuff from the 60's thru present- including all Stan Lee written early issues, all John Byrne issues, etc, etc..

The spine was not glued very well so pay attention to that it seems marvel has skimped on this but lets hope they make these really well in which case these omnibuses are great.