By David Cirone
Omar Valdivieso has built his YouTube channel Near Mint Condition into a must-watch destination for readers of comic book collected editions. With over 127,000 followers on YouTube and a rapidly growing audience on TikTok, Omar has become a trusted expert in the field of graphic novels and a vital link in the communication between fans and major publishers like Marvel, DC, Image, and Dark Horse. His personal library of collected editions numbers in the thousands.
As he approaches his YouTube channel’s 10th anniversary this May, “The Uncanny Omar” reflects on shifting trends in comics publishing, why reader feedback matters, and his recent appearance at ComicsPro 2026.
David Cirone: You’ve just returned from your panel at Comics Pro, where you talked about how video creators help readers navigate the world of comics.
Omar Valdivieso: That was a lot of fun, and there was so much positivity there. I think there were only five press people, including Comics Beat and a few others.
David Cirone: Do you get the sense that collected editions are becoming more of a priority for publishers?
Omar Valdivieso: I think collected editions are more popular now than they’ve ever been. People who grew up in the early 00’s who read Ultimate Spider-Man when they were twelve or thirteen, they’re at the right age to say, “That’s my childhood.” A lot of us forgot about comics in our early twenties. We went to college, started working, but then we started getting nostalgic for that stuff we liked and want to revisit. You think, “Oh, wait! Ultimate Spider-Man is collected in a big book with 30-plus issues? And I don’t have to track down all those singles again? Awesome!”
David Cirone: They’re ready to jump back in.
Omar Valdivieso: Plus they want to share it with everyone. We can do that now in a way we couldn’t before. A lot of people pop up on TikTok who are showcasing these books, and it draws your attention. Or you do a Google search for “What’s an Omnibus, or what’s a trade paperback, what’s an Absolute Edition?” This is the way the younger generation gets their information. It’s an amazing time.
David Cirone: Every Saturday, you have a livestream conversation with viewers. What sort of feedback do they give you about collected editions? Do readers expect every comic to be reprinted in a physical edition?
Omar Valdivieso: It depends on their age. I think the older generation, like myself, expects everything to see print one day. We’re ready. “This needs to be collected. It’s part of history. Slap a price sticker on it and give it to me in a physical edition.” There’s something special about holding a book. There’s something special about the way it looks on your shelf. “Here’s my library” feels a lot better than “Here’s my tablet.” When I look at all these books, it’s a great feeling, and I know a lot of people share that with me.
David Cirone: When you announce a new collected edition or reprint, your viewers are pretty quick to voice their opinions, and they trust you to relay their feelings back to the publishers. How do you see your role as messenger?
Omar Valdivieso: It’s a weird and amazing feeling. Yeah, it’s cool to be in that position, but deep down inside, you have to be responsible, because you have to deliver the bad news with the good. No publisher likes to hear that people are confused about the price, or that fans are wondering, “Why was this issue was skipped, why did you go with this paper stock, why are you reprinting this book instead of that book?” But that’s part of my job, especially when I get to announce this type of news. If I’m able to represent the fan base, I have to do that in a professional way.
David Cirone: How do you feel the publishers receive these comments? Are they really open to feedback?
Omar Valdivieso: I’ve never experienced a publisher who refuses to listen. They’re usually very receptive. “Thank you so much. We’re trying our best.” Many times, more than I really expected, they’ll say, “We’re looking at changing some things,” or “Wow, we weren’t even aware of that.”
David Cirone: How do you stay objective about these releases when you’ve been reading comics for four decades?
Omar Valdivieso: It has to be about the facts, right? I have to take the fanboy out of the equation when it comes to those things. I think that, especially with the Omnibus Editions and the Absolute Editions, you’re paying a premium price so the book should be mapped correctly. It should be the most perfect edition you can get.
David Cirone: You get a lot of confidential information in advance. Sometimes the publishers tell you what’s coming up, or creators tell you off-the-record info about new projects. How do you keep these all these secrets?
Omar Valdivieso: Sometimes there will be a conversation where I’ll say to a publisher, “I think fans would be happy if this storyline was added,” or “I think there might be some confusion with this title. Is there anything I can say about future releases?” I want to give some hints, if I’m allowed, that might calm people down because I know how collectors are. But I think by now they understand I’m treating this as a job and I’m trying to build long-term relationships, not get quick clicks. Luckily, I usually don’t have to stay quiet too long.
David Cirone: How long has the channel has been a real job for you?
Omar Valdivieso: I’ve been doing the channel for ten years, but it’s been six years full time. I don’t fool around with my time. I get up in the morning, maybe go walking or jogging, eat breakfast, and then get right into reading. If I’m not reading, I’m filming. If I’m not filming, I’m editing. If I’m not editing, I’m reading again. There’s no chance to say, “It’s Tuesday, it’s warm outside… I think I’ll go fishing.” There’s none of that. Because if I didn’t take it seriously, I don’t think I could have built the relations and the follower support that I have. I think people can see it. If you put in the work, it shows.
David Cirone: What pushed you to dive into making this content full time?
Omar Valdivieso: I was very lucky that the right person watched my video on Free Comic Book Day in 2018 and showed it to David Gabriel at Marvel Comics. My daughter had asked me to make a video, and I said, “Sure, baby, we’ll just make a little family video.” And my life changed after that. I was already dedicated, but that relationship opened the door for me to go much further.
David Cirone: When you’re putting out two to three videos a day, how do you make time to read and still enjoy it?
Omar Valdivieso: I love reading and I’m a fast reader. You can blame bootleg anime from the 80s, with the subtitles that would only stay on for a split second. Maybe that factors a lot into it, but I was always like that, even with schoolbooks. I’m blessed with a photographic memory, so I remember stories and issue numbers, which comes in handy when I’m doing videos on older material. If it’s the Daredevil by Frank Miller Omnibus, I know that the DM cover is from issue #181, the iconic fight between Bullseye and Elektra. And I’ll get to explain who Elektra is and how Frank Miller changed everything by adding Elektra to the comic, how there was no Stick, and how Miller added Kingpin to Daredevil’s roster of villains. Sometimes I’ll look at a book that I have to read by Monday and film the video on Tuesday, but I’m not reading those stories for the first time. I’m re-reading, so it might take me two or three hours to be ready to film.
David Cirone: What about something new, a title that you don’t remember from your days working in a comic shop?
Omar Valdivieso: Like Jed MacKay’s Moon Knight Omnibus, a modern day Omni. That should take me no more than three hours to read. It’s rare to spend more than three hours on a modern Omni now because someone like Jed MacKay gives a lot of room to the visuals. But if you’re looking at Brian Michael Bendis’s style of writing, that’s going to take me more time. Something like a Miles Morales omnibus, or one of his crime stories with the talking heads, that might take a day or two, but in that same time frame, I’m reading something else, too.
David Cirone: For new titles, you’re not reading single issues as they come out. How do you feel about being a “wait-for-the-trade” reader?
Omar Valdivieso: The internet sucks. They spoil so much for me with memes and little GIFs. The whole reveal of the new Venom, that got spoiled for me on the day it came out in an anime Blu-ray group, where I should have been safe! On the whole, I’m not reading month to month, unless I’m prepping for an interview with someone like Dan Watters. I’ve read some of his work in the past, but everybody’s been telling me how great Batman: Dark Patterns has been. That book doesn’t come out until the end of March, so I had to read the digital issues because my comic store didn’t have them.
David Cirone: Maybe you wouldn’t have room for all those singles anyway.
Omar Valdivieso: I gave up single issues after Uncanny X-Men #500. That was the hardest thing to do, because I had this unbroken run of Uncanny X-Men that I really loved. It was the last series I gave up before going exclusively with collected editions.
David Cirone: What trends do you see in viewer reactions when it comes to reading versus collecting?
Omar Valdivieso: I think I’ve shaped my channel into a reader channel, because even new viewers don’t ask me anymore. There was a time when people would ask for my personal opinion about collecting these books, like how many copies should they get, or if I saw them as an investment. I would always say, “I think this is the wrong channel for you. This is the channel that takes the plastic off our books and reads them.”
David Cirone: Let’s talk about your role in the community regarding new readers. You’ve got a series of videos for beginners, but I still see people asking you these questions on your livestreams: “Which Spider-Man do I start with? Which X-Men do I start with?”
Omar Valdivieso: I get these questions even more on TikTok. Seriously, all the time. I always put myself in their position, like someone who’s brand-new to reading, because that’s the way I would want someone to help me if I asked that question. Everyone at one time was new to this, and the reason I started making videos is because I wished they were there when I first started, because this hobby can be overwhelming.
David Cirone: A new reader can’t go into a comic book store and say, “I want to read Spider-Man #1 please.”
Omar Valdivieso: Not everyone has the same spending power, and not everyone has the same interests or reading tastes. If you want it the cheapest way, they have these things called the Mighty Marvel Masterworks. And if you want more bells and whistles, the Omnibus Edition would be the way to go. For something like Spider-Man, there are also Epic Collections. But some of these books are out of print, so I have to I have to keep them informed about different options. Some people don’t like Silver Age — a lot of modern readers just say, “Nope, can’t do it.” So I point them toward the era of J. Michael Straczynski because they’ll like that dialogue. They’ll enjoy the speed of the story and that style of art and colors. Or I might guide someone to Ultimate Spider-Man. I love questions like that from viewers, and I take them very seriously.
David Cirone: What can publishers do better to satisfy reader demand?
Omar Valdivieso: When a new show comes out, when a new animated series comes out, be ready. Every one of these Marvel Rivals characters should have a collection of some sort available to readers. You never know what’s going to be big, but a publisher knows when something like a video game or a TV show is coming up. When TikTok is talking about it, you need to be prepared for these new readers. You have Avengers: Doomsday coming out later this year, and I hope Marvel is ready with a bunch of Doom stories, Iron Man stories, Captain America stories in different formats, not just in big omnibus formats. Same thing with Supergirl — DC has just announced that Supergirl Deluxe Editions are coming out around that time. Perfect timing.
David Cirone: Can they learn a lesson from the way manga publishers keep things in print at an affordable price?
Omar Valdivieso: DC Compact Comics have really taken off, and lots of other publishers are following that format. This isn’t something new, but I think it’s something that’s caught on at the right time. And this time it’s the right price. It’s cheaper than manga. If you want new readers, this is your gateway book to get people to check out new titles. Those new readers will move on to the bigger formats, whether it’s trade paperbacks or even omnibus editions. And the other great thing is that they don’t add extras. They just give you the story and that’s it. I think that they figured out what new readers want.
David Cirone: What about the Marvel Epic Collections? These aren’t intro stories, they jump around on the timeline.
Omar Valdivieso: I love it. I think that was one of the most genius moves in comics publishing. Every time they try to print these books in order, they never make it past volume five. The Epic Collections started with Iron Man Volume 10, then they started introducing X-Men, they started introducing Spider-Man, and some of those books you can’t even keep in stock. It’s insane the amount of people that buy up that era. And the genius move was also putting the volume number on the back, because you don’t have it on the spine. You don’t need to collect every one of them. You just get your favorite era. And I think they’ve kept the best for last. They’ve kept Fantastic Four by John Byrne, Daredevil by Frank Miller, Thor by Walter Simonson. That’s what we’re getting now.
David Cirone: What’s the most neglected title that you’re aching to see come back in some sort of collected edition?
Omar Valdivieso: There’s so much out there. I have daydreams of seeing Akira in color, because that’s the way I remember reading it from Epic Comics. Nth Man has never been collected outside of just one issue in the Excalibur Omnibus. Jack Kirby’s 2001, I hope they work things out to get that collected one day. Honestly, these things might not be so impossible. We live in a world where we have Transformers collected editions. We have G.I. Joe, we have Godzilla, we got Micronauts, we have Rom in omnibus and compendium format… so anything’s possible.
Catch Near Mint Condition’s reviews of comic book collected editions and join the live community chat every Saturday on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/NearMintCondition
