Comics' Greatest World duplicates

If you want to eliminate duplication, the various “Comics’ Greatest World” series need some clean-up.

As I recall, there were 16 issues in 4-issue arcs. The arcs are the name of the city where the story is based. The issues within each arc all are labeled as Week 1, Week 2, etc. They all share the same icon by the series logo to help tell them apart. For example, if you look at all four issues in Comics’ Greatest World: Golden City, they all have a fist holding a lightning bolt in the upper right corner. The issues in the Steel Harbor arc all have a link of a steel chain in the upper right corner.

The 16 issues are:

  • Arcadia Week 1: X
  • Arcadia Week 2: Pit Bulls
  • Arcadia Week 3: Ghost
  • Arcadia Week 4: Monster
  • Golden City Week 1: Rebel
  • Golden City Week 2: Mecha
  • Golden City Week 3: Titan
  • Golden City Week 4: Catalyst: Agents of Change
  • Steel Harbor Week 1: Barb Wire
  • Steel Harbor Week 2: The Machine
  • Steel Harbor Week 3: Wolf Gang
  • Steel Harbor Week 4: Motorhead
  • Vortex Week 1: Division 13
  • Vortex Week 2: Hero Zero
  • Vortex Week 3: King Tiger
  • Vortex Week 4: Out of the Vortex

(and there’s a Sourcebook).

To keep from double-listing comics, I see two basic options: list all 16 comics separately or cluster by the four-issue arcs. 16 separate series won’t show the continuity from one week to another. The four-issue arcs may make the individual issues harder to find.

In the Core, the series “Comics’ Greatest World” is the “Vortex” arc. So Comics’ Greatest World #3 is a duplicate of Comics’ Greatest World: King Tiger.

All four issues in “Comics’ Greatest World: Arcadia” are listed in that series as well as spun out into their own individual series.

And I suspect that “Comics’ Greatest World: Limited Collection” are the individual collections within the four separate arcs. The icon on the cover matches the icon of the individual arcs. So Limited Collection #2 has the fist holding a lightning bolt – which goes with Comics’ Greatest World: Golden City.

If you’re going to keep them by story arc, I think you should be left with just 5 series that start with “Comics’ Greatest World”:

  • Comics’ Greatest World: Arcadia
  • Comics’ Greatest World: Golden City
  • Comics’ Greatest World: Steel Harbor
  • Comics’ Greatest World: Vortex
  • Comics’ Greatest World: Sourcebook

The first four above would all have four issues (many of the #1s have variants). The Sourcebook has one issue (with variants).

Or, if you listed them separately, you would have 17 issues starting with “Comics’ Greatest’ World: xxxx” (the 16 individual issues and the Sourcebook).

I spot-checked some of the issues. The indicia are all unique and match the cover. So Comics’ Greatest World: The Machine is what shows in the indicia. There is no mention of the Steel Harbor arc.

Ug.

Ug indeed.

Noted though. I’m going to brainstorm on this with my colleagues. Will get back.

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