Among the latest DC Comics collections solicitations news is Batman & Son vs. The Black Glove, a hardcover collection which must undoubtedly collect the individual Batman & Son and Batman: The Black Glove hardcovers.
Two previous collections in one? Sounds like the start of a "Batman by Grant Morrison" omnibus series to me ...
* Don't miss our recent news on the Flashpoint and DC: The New 52 collections, and the Flashpoint tie-in hardcover collections. *
Collecting Around the DC Relaunch
No word on collections of DC Relaunch material just yet (they have only solicited the second issues, after all!), but obviously DC's 2012 collection plans contain a couple of books meant to pick up on DC Relaunch excitement.
* WILDC.A.T.S. Vol. 1 Deluxe Edition
* Stormwatch Vol. 1
Both of these are hardcover, and it hardly seems fair (to me) that WILDC.A.T.S. warrants the oversized deluxe format while Stormwatch is just a "regular" hardcover; I'm personally more interested in Stormwatch. I'm sure it has mostly to do with the fact that Jim Lee provides art on WILDC.A.T.S., and not on Stormwatch.
* Deathstroke, The Terminator: Assassins
* Hawk & Dove: Ghosts & Demons
We've just been talking on this blog lately about whether we might ever see additional collections of the Karl Kesel Hawk and Dove or Marv Wolfman Deathstroke series. I do have some concern that Hawk & Dove: Ghosts and Demons might just be a reprint of the existing Hawk & Dove collection (collecting the initial miniseries) since the first issue of that mini was titled "Ghosts and Demons." The second story arc in Wolfman's classic Deathstroke series (after the collected Deathstroke: Full Cycle) was called "City of Assassins," so I'm holding out hope that the above Deathstroke collection contains newly-collected material.
* Resurection Man Vol. 1
* I, Vampire
DC's also starting a collection series, apparently, of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's first Resurrection Man series, in time for this character's DC Relaunch rebirth. Though the original series lasted twenty-seven issues (plus a DC One Million tie-in), I don't recall it garnering much acclaim, as opposed to Chase published about the same time. DC's motivation, of course, is the relaunch, but to an extent I see this as the very kind of bloating DC's trade list that Brian Hibbs complained about recently.
Admittedly I have no frame of reference for J.M. DeMatteis's I, Vampire, or what connection there might be between the old and new DC Relaunch series. Undoubtedly this makes someone happy.
Did someone say something about a movie?
With The Dark Knight Rises on the horizon, it seems like every other trade coming out from DC these days is Batman-centric (compare their Batman output with their Superman, Wonder Woman, and even Green Lantern output, a result to be sure of how many Batman periodicals they publish at the front end).
* Batman Versus Bane
* Catwoman: Vol. 1
Two most specifically movie-related include these Bane and Catwoman collections. Bane is another we've been clamoring for here on the site, and will hopefully contain the Chuck Dixon Vengeance of Bane and Bane miniseries that have languished in DC limbo for a while now (what can bring DC and Chuck Dixon back together? A high profile movie can bring DC and Chuck Dixon back together).
The Catwoman collection, while paperback (for now), looks to bring together some of the separate Catwoman collections by Ed Brubaker, and will hopefully go farther than where Catwoman: Wild Ride ended. I wouldn't be surprised if the graphic novel Selina's Big Score ends up here, too.
* Batman: Dark Knight Vol. 1 Deluxe
* Batman: Gates of Gotham
Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. I have really no interest whatsoever in DC's umpteen Batman titles, and specifically the most recent, Dark Knight, which (A) seems mostly there for movie-name recognition and (B) will only last five issues before it's somewhat ridiculously restarted for the DC Relaunch. That said, I do love DC's deluxe hardcover format -- big enough to be widescreen, small enough that you're not reading with a brick on your lap a la their Absolute format. So when I see Batman: Dark Knight Deluxe, likely collecting the five pre-relaunch issues of this series ... it gives me pause.
Ditto for Scott Synder's Detective Comics. I mean, Greg Rucka did a bang-up job with his Batwoman stories on Detective while Grant Morrison wrote the main Batman story in Batman & Robin, but I do at some point get tired of DC releasing what are obviously tertiary Batman stories when the forward action is taking place in one title only. However -- people are raving about Snyder's Detective, and also I'm fairly interested in the "first families of Gotham" stories taking place in Gates of Gotham and filtering in, as I understand it, to Detective (not to mention that I'll probably sample Synder's DC Relaunch Batman, which I believe also ties in to Gates). So despite my reluctance, chances are I'm in for this one.
* Batman & Robin: Dark Knight, White Knight
* Batman Beyond: Industrial Revolution
* Batman: Gotham Shall Be Judged
* Gotham City Sirens: Division
No doubt some of these collect right up to the DC Relaunch, and bear an update of our "Trade-Waiting at the End of the Universe" post. Gotham Shall Be Judged seems to contain, at least, the recent three-part Batman/Red Robin/Gotham City Sirens crossover.
* Batman: Birth of the Demon
* Batman: Through the Looking Glass
* Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Vol. 1
Is it interesting or coincidental that DC plans a reprint of Batman: Birth of the Demon around the time Dark Knight Rises is to come out? The book is accompanied by a picture of the most recent Son of the Demon printing, and credit goes to both Mike Barr and Dennis O'Neil -- maybe this is a grand collection of the entire Batman: Demon saga.
More from the End of the Universe
* Superman: Reign of Doomsday
* War of the Green Lanterns: Aftermath
We can now see the recent "Doomsday" crossover between Action Comics and Steel, Outsiders, Justice League of America, Superman/Batman and Superboy will be collected with all the latter issues in a Return of Doomsday paperback, and the Action Comics issues in a hardcover bannered with writer Paul Cornell's name.
War of the Green Lanterns Aftermath lists both Tony Bedard and Peter Tomasi as its writers (it's a former DC Editors party!), so chances are we've got both the Aftermath series and related issues from Green Lantern Corps or Emerald Warriors here.
* Green Arrow: Salvation
* Justice Society of America: Monument Point
* Power Girl: Old Friends
* Red Robin: Seven Days of Death
* Secret Six: The Darkest House
* Titans: Broken Promises
* Wonder Woman: Odyssey Vol. 2
These, too, no doubt run up right to the DC relaunch in most cases.
Various and Sundry
* Flash Omnibus by Geoff Johns Vol. 2
* Justice League International Vol. 7
* DC Universe: Secret Origins
* DCU by Alan Moore
Last but definitely not least, the next Flash by Geoff Johns Omnibus lands in 2012, as does the next (paperback, sadly) edition of Justice League International. JLI is still a ways away from its "Breakdowns" finale; Flash ought collect the Rogues and Crossfire trades, about issues #177-191.
Hard to say what we're looking at with Secret Origins -- I'd like to see a collection of the 1980s series, but that would seem ill-timed amidst the DC Relaunch. The Alan Moore book has seen multiple reprintings, but this is the first time, I believe, it's in hardcover.
Whew, quite the list! Between these and the Flashpoint collection and the DC: The New 52 hardcover, what will you be picking up?
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