Hey, I've just been getting into a couple graphic novels and I've really enjoyed Invincible the show so I got the first book/comic.
I checked Wikipedia for clarification, there are 25 issues in the run but then there are compendiums and complete libraries...both of which cover different things?
The compedemdium Vol 1 says it covers #1 to #47 and that's 22 more issues than I thought there was so could you help me out with the lingo used in the space?
Comics will usually be published as individual issues. In the case of Invincible, it was 144 issues.
Then issues will be rolled up into trade paperbacks (sometimes called TPBs or trades). They usually follow a short story arc. Under the "collected editions" section of the Invincible wiki you can see it list which issues are in each of the 25 TPBs. Depending on which printing, it's possible to get TPBs that group issues differently.
Then you'll get Omnibuses or Omnis that bundle TPBs into a few giant books.
So, Invincible had a total run of 144 issues(!) So there's a bunch out there.
Now, as far as Compendium vs. Complete Library vs. Omnibus, there really is no set definition as to number of issues or things like that. Each publisher does it their own way, and each individual book may vary greatly depending on how the story arcs break.
The author of Invincible, Robert Kirkman, had it down to a SCIENCE with the Walking Dead, with story arcs running over 6 individual issues, and then collections of 6, 12, 24, and 48 issues.
The entire 144 issue run is reprinted as 25 trade paperbacks, 4 to 5 issues each.
OR
3 compendium volumes around 48 issues each.
OR
12 Ultimate Collection Hardcovers around 12 issues each.
The "Complete Invincible Library" ran 3 volumes, about 25 issues each, but only reprinted through #70. It doesn't look like that series continued beyond that.
Thank you very much for this clarification, it makes sense in a way because the bomb arch ended in that first book I have. I didn't realise the original print issues would have been so short.