I am a big fan of the Essentials books that Marvel has been putting out. I mean, what's not to like? All the classic Marvel comics, in 25-or-so issue bunches, for less than $20. It's not even the cost that is the most appealing thing. It's having all of the issues, in order, with none missing...all in one place.
Marvel Masterworks were cool beyond compare - hardback, full color, nice paper. But the two main drawbacks, in my mind, were the cost ($39.99 and then $49.99) and the fact that they only contained 10 issues at a clip. It wasn't a deal-breaker by any stretch. I have owned more than my share. They looked good on the bookshelf. And despite the kinda-high price point, it is still cheaper than buying the original issues.
Of course, the things that I really liked about the Masterworks are drawbacks in the Essentials series. They're black-and-white, softcover and use normal, newsprint-y type paper. But these are drawbacks that I can easily accept. The material contained therein more than makes up for any issues I could possibly have.
And the best part, for me, about both Masterworks and Essentials is that I don't have to worry about getting tape caught on the brittle original issues. It's great to have the originals, but it got to a point where I obsessed over the condition so much, it wasn't enjoyable to read the comics anymore. I'd rather not be faced with the prospect of opening a bag and taking a piece of a cover off with an errant piece of tape.
DC has also released their old comics in the Showcase books (I think that's what they're called). but I am not as enamored of these books as I am of the Essentials books. This is really only due to the fact that I am not really a big fan of the overall DC comic book universe prior to the 70s.
My ideal would be to have DC reprint the late 60s/early 70s Batman and Detective comics, the Neal Adams Strange Adventures issues along with his Deadman issues and the Superman run by Martin Pasko that covered issues 300-330. There are other things I'd like to see DC reprint, but these would all be at the top of my list.
My only complaint with Marvel is that they are not making them fast enough. The latest Spider-Man volume that I know of, volume 8, only takes us up to issue 185. Where's volume 9? I want to see the issues up to 210....any beyond!
And if Marvel is interested, I'll tell them what comics they should reprint next. Anybody other than me want to see the 19 issues of Human Fly reprinted?
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Yeah, the Essentials are a great bargain and you're right about the pros and cons of them vs. the Masterworks books. However, the Showcase books aren't all hokey. Now if only they'd put out a Showcase of the 60's Doom Patrol and Jack Kirby's run on Challengers of the Unknown.
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