DrDoombot wrote:
nakamachi wrote:
I think the prime MMW goal is to have as complete a volume as is possible. If that means reprinting MTIO Annual 2 and Avengers Annual 7 for the fourth time then so be it as long as the book is complete for the few fans out there who may not be picking up Warlock, Avengers or MTIO MMWs. I only really have a problem with it when the amount of reprinted material is more than about a third of the book or more. In Captain Marvel's case, volumes #5 and #6 were likely to be thin volumes anyway and there really wasn't much relevant material that could be added to make them more substantial other than add the two annuals.



That's where our preferences must differ. I see $70 for a book of ~250 pages to be quite expensive. So, I would prefer to see at least 250 pages of NEW MATERIAL. If they need to go beyond 250 pages to be complete, so be it. But I own the vast majority of the Marvel Age MMWs and I'm seeing a lot of very expensive double-dipping. The 2-in-1 MMW doesn't even have 200 pages of new material and the double-dipped issues don't appear to be "upgraded" from their first appearance in the MMW series.

Captain Marvel isn't my favorite character, but I own volumes 2-4. I suspect if the MMW is going to remain viable it needs to be providing its repeat customers (which I suspect is most of its customers) with value commensurate with its $70 pricetag. One of my measures of value is pagecount in terms of material I don't already own in MMW format. My enthusiasm wanes a little every time I go over the numbers and see that the value just isn't there.
Well, the 250 page threshold you speak of is at least 22 pages over the minimum page count of 240 (minus at least 12 for introductions) So I think it's probably more reasonable to expect about 224 original pages at minimum. However, I think it's also fair to take into consideration the fact that there simply may not be enough original material left to reach that minimum or the possibility that the need to find the right break points between volumes might result in a volume that doesn't quite meet the standard. 

I have a 2/3 minimum standard but I consider that an absolute minimum I would consider only in the case of there not being enough original material. For this reason, I would probably not buy a Dr. Doom one shot since about half the volume mapped would be redundant. Otherwise I expect to see a minimum of 10 or 11 core title issues (aprox 200 original pages). Avengers volume #12 is the last volume I can remember that failed to hit that mark so I was a bit disappointed with it. Defenders volume 2 was 312 pages, so it passed.