DC Trade Solicitations for September 2020 - Detective #1027 Deluxe, Batman Vol. 1 by Tynion, Batman: Knight Out by Dixon, Jimmy Olsen by Fraction, Doomsday Clock Complete, Hard Time by Gerber, New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 5

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It sure is a big Batman month in the DC Comics September 2020 hardcover and trade paperback solicitations, as the seemingly out-of-the-blue Detective Comics #1027 arrives (and a deluxe edition is solicited) alongside the beginning of James Tynion's new Batman run, the hardcover of Sean Murphy's Batman: Curse of the White Knight, and a long overdue hardcover of some of Chuck Dixon's work, Batman: Knight Out. I haven't heard much about the Hill House Imprint series of comics, but a bunch of those see hardcovers this month, too.

Outside of that, I note Doomsday Clock gets its first full collection here, in paperback — undoubtedly there's a deluxe or Absolute coming, but I wonder if it says anything that neither of those came first. There's the first collection of the John Constantine: Hellblazer from the Sandman Universe imprint, but given that imprint seems all but discontinued, my interest has somewhat waned, and frankly that even makes me debate the Sandman Deluxe Edition book that's coming out also. I'm a lock for the Jimmy Olsen miniseries, of course, and probably sometime eventually I'll read Tom King's Mister Miracle, too, out in deluxe edition.

Let's dig in and see what else is coming.

Absolute Planetary HC

If I'm not mistaken, DC has released an Absolute Planetary before, but it only contained the preview from Gen 13 #33 and Planetary #1-12, whereas this has the preview, Planetary #1-27, Planetary/Batman: Night On Earth #1, Planetary/The Authority: Ruling the World #1, Planetary/JLA: Terra Occulta #1, and a pinup from WildStorm: A Celebration of 25 Years. That tracks closer to the Planetary Omnibus from 2014, though I don't believe that had the Wildstorm anniversary story.

Basketful of Heads HC

Issues #1-7 of the Hill House Comics imprint title.

Batman Adventures: Nightwing Rising TP

Collects The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years #1-5 and Batman: Gotham Adventures #1.

Batman by Tom King and Lee Weeks Deluxe Edition HC

What had originally seemed like just a joint collection of Batman Vol. 9: Cold Days and Batman Vol. 10: Knightmares in deluxe format, following from the previous Rebirth Batman deluxe format collections turns out indeed to be a specific King/Weeks spotlight volume. On one hand, I’m not sure that’s what the market wants; on the other hand, this collects the Batman/Elmer Fudd by King and Weeks special alongside the sequel issue, Batman #67, and that seems well worthwhile.

The solicitation seems at cross-purposes, advertising Cold Days and Knightmares, but the contents are said to be Batman #51-53 ("Cold Days") and #67 (just the Weeks chapter of "Knightmares" that includes "William Ernest Coyote"), Batman Annual #2 (the acclaimed future Batman/Catwoman story), and the aforementioned Batman/Elmer Fudd — plus chapters of "Prodigal" (!) from 1994 with art by Weeks. Y'know, I often theorize, there's a buyer for everything.

Batman Vol. 1: Their Dark Designs HC

The first collection of the Batman run by James Tynion with Tony Daniel, in hardcover (and newly renumbered). Introducing Punchline, if you like that kind of thing.

The Batman Who Laughs TP

Paperback of the miniseries by Scott Snyder, Jock, and Eduardo Risso, following the hardcover.

Batman: 80 Years of the Bat-Family TP

Collects Detective Comics #1000 (and not also Detective Comics #1000: The Deluxe Edition, as a previous solicitation suggested), Detective Comics: 80th Anniversary Giant #1 (formerly Walmart exclusive), Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1, Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1, and the The Joker 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1. I wonder if this is indeed the entirety of all of these issues or just the new material. Anyway, I wondered if there’d be a way to read these without buying each one individually, and I’m glad there is.

Batman: Curse of the White Knight HC

Hardcover collection of the eight-issue miniseries by Sean Murphy, plus the Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze special.

Batman: Detective Comics #1027 Deluxe Edition HC

Solicited alongside the regular issue, this deluxe edition doesn’t seem to have any additional contents, so much as being hardcover and the bigger size. Due out in November, vs. September for the single issue. I don’t mind these special single issues coming out as “trades”; looks good on the shelf and all that.

Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 3: Greetings From Gotham TP

Issues #1006-1011 by Peter Tomasi, including appearances by the Spectre Jim Corrigan, Joker, and Deadshot, in paperback following the hardcover.

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight Deluxe Edition HC

Collects all the various "Gotham by Gaslight" character appearances, including Gotham by Gaslight, Batman: Master of the Future, Convergence: Shazam! #1-2, and Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Gotham by Gaslight.

Batman: Knight Out HC

We're long overdue for some dedicated Chuck Dixon collections, given his outsized contributions to the Batman titles in the 1990s and on. The solicitation says this collects Detective Comics #703-718 (previous solicitations had this skipping #716 for no reason I can see), bridging from "Legacy" to "Cataclysm" (and from there to "No Man's Land") and including a Final Night tie-in. Art too by Graham Nolan.

Batman: The Man Who Laughs: The Deluxe Edition HC

Deluxe edition of the graphic novel by Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke (whose recent depicition of the Joker in Detective Comics reminded me just how good Mahnke’s Joker is). Also includes Detective Comics #784-786 by Brubaker and Patrick Zircher, teaming Batman with Green Lantern Alan Scott.

DC Poster Portfolio: Greg Capullo TP

Timely, this’ll include covers from both Dark Nights: Metal and Dark Nights: Death Metal.

The Dollhouse Family HC

Collection of the Hill House series by M. R. Carey and Peter Gross.

Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds TP

All seven issues of the Gerard Way series.

Doomsday Clock: The Complete Collection TP

In paperback, collecting all 12 issues — so if I’ve got this right, there’s two six-issue hardcovers, but we’re getting a full paperback before a full hardcover. Only a matter of time, of course, and probably deluxe or Absolute when it comes.

Fables Compendium One TP

Collects issues #1-41, Fables: The Last Castle, Fables: 1,001 Nights of Snowfall, and the prose story "A Wolf in the Fold" from the Fables: Legends in Exile collection. This equals about the first six trade paperbacks or the first four/five-ish deluxe editions.

Hard Time: The Complete Series TP

Hard Time was one of the titles under the short-lived DC Focus imprint from the early 2000s (with Kinetic by Kelley Puckett, Fraction, and Touch by John Francis Moore). Written by the late Steve Gerber and Mary Skrenes, I read some early issues and liked it, and I’ve always understood it to be well-regarded. The first series ran 12 issues, and Hard Time: Season Two ran seven and was never collected, so this seems a smart release.

House of Whispers Vol. 3: Watching the Watchers TP

Collects issues #13-22, the final issues of the “Sandman Universe” series, from which titles seem to be dropping quickly.

John Constantine: Hellblazer Vol. 1: Marks of Woe TP

The first five issues of the new Sandman Universe series by Si Spurrier, plus the Sandman Universe Presents: Hellblazer special and Books of Magic #14.

JSA by Geoff Johns Book Four TP

Collects JSA #32-45, the Stealing Thunder and Savage Times trades.

Justice League International Omnibus Vol. 2 HC

Collects Justice League America #31-50, Justice League Europe #7-25, Justice League America Annual #4, Justice League Europe Annual #1, Justice League Quarterly #1, and Justice League International Special #1, which have largely not, to my knowledge, been previously collected. With a recent new paperback released (collecting almost three volumes worth of earlier collections), hopefully there's more to come. One more omnibus would probably finish this, but the paperbacks are, of course, something else.

The Low, Low Woods HC

Issues #1-6 by Carmen Maria Machado from the Hill House imprint.

Mister Miracle: The Deluxe Edition HC

Deluxe-size edition of the Tom King/Mitch Gerads 12-issue "maxiseries," with sketches, scripts, and the full pencil art for the first issue.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 5 HC

The New Teen Titans #32-49, The New Teen Titans Annual #3 (first appearance of Danny Chase) and #4, Tales of the Teen Titans #91 (as this was a reprint of New Teen Titans #31, this is probably just the cover or a short recap section), Secret Origins #13, Secret Origins Annual #3, and Infinity, Inc. #45. The title became New Titans with issue #50.

The Sandman: The Deluxe Edition Book One HC

I just finished collecting the 30th anniversary Sandman paperbacks, and now here comes a hardcover collecting both "Preludes & Nocturnes" and "Doll's House" (issues #1-16) plus the Sandman Midnight Theatre special. That special is welcome and relevant, though an anachronism, and I wonder if there’s any more stories like that (issues of the old Dreaming series, maybe?) that’ll appear in subsequent volumes. Still thinking about whether I’ll double-dip or not.

Shazam!: The Deluxe Edition HC

Deluxe-size edition of the New 52 Justice League backups that introduced Geoff Johns' new Shazam. Said to have “never before seen extras” and a new introduction by Johns.

Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen: Who Killed Jimmy Olsen? TP

The 12-issue miniseries by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber.

Young Justice Book Five TP

The final collection of Peter David's Young Justice, issues #33-55. This includes tie-ins to "Our Worlds at War" and "Joker's Last Laugh," as well as the "World Without Young Justice" crossover with Impulse #85, Superboy #99, and Robin #101. Just “pages from” the Superboy and Impulse issues are listed in the solicitation (previously it was none of them); we’ll see if Robin gets there once it’s printed.

Comments ( 8 )

  1. The actual solicitation for Young Justice Book Five says it will collect issues #33-43, the OWaW special and pages from Impulse #77 and Superboy #91, which would actually fit the listed page count (344), unlike the listings at PRH and Amazon which say it will collect isues #33-55. Honestly, I think the Superboy issue is quite skippable, even though the ending of YJ #36 directs us to read it. I'd happily trade it for the pages of Impulse #78 that show Bart leaving the team, which is referenced at the beginning of YJ #38.

    Fingers crossed that the solicited content listing for Batman: Knight Out is correct and won't skip Detective Comics #716 just because Aparo drew it instead of Nolan.

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  2. I'm not thrilled the Dixon collection is in HC. Won't match the Legacy tpbs, won't fit next to NML in either TPB of omni. Why does DC want my shelves to look so uneven?

    I'm mostly unimpressed by these offerings both in terms of personal interest and just what DC is doing. The King/Weeks deluxe is weird, the Doomsday Clock complete collection is uninteresting in TPB, why do we keep getting Man Who Laughs w/o Brubaker's other 'Tec story (Dead Reckoning), no real dedicated runs being addressed (e.g. any of the complete collections from pre-IC getting another volume or starting up something interesting).

    And can we please, please, please get a Dark Nights: Metal omnibus already? What is the hold up?

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  3. If the future volumes of Sandman deluxe edition collect in the original issue order it will be worthwhile for that alone. The way the trades did it, putting all the shorts into Fables and Recollections does massive damage to the overall narrative experience.

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  4. That Absolute Planetary is going to be gargantuan if the same contents as the omnibus: >850 pp. at that large trim size. What's the longest previous absolute edition? The largest I've read is Batman Incorporated at ~650 pp., which was already quite difficult to handle.

    And I'd never heard of the Focus imprint/line. That was during my decade away from comics, and it hasn't seemed to have left any trace.

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  5. Couple of head scratchers this month that's for sure.

    No clue who the King/Weeks deluxe is for. Sure they've done good work together but to justify a deluxe where most of the content already exists in deluxe size is questionable. Plus we get Marvel-style padding with unrelated issues. Is anyone actually excited for this?

    Doomsday Clock...in paperback. I feel like anyone who has waited this long was probably waiting for a deluxe. Oh well guess I'll hang on to my floppies for now.

    Between the recent paperbacks, omnis, and absolutes, was there really a need for yet another edition of Sandman?

    Hard Time looks like it could be a good story but it seems too obscure to generate enough interest. Not to mention it gets a solicit before so many current reprint series have finished.

    But enough cynicism. That Fables Compendium looks great and will definitely be on my radar. Wondering if the compendium format would ever jump from Vertigo titles to main DC.

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    1. Re: the King/Weeks volume: I hope I'm not jinxing the Goodwin/Simonson MANHUNTER volume that will be solicited soon for January 2021 release when I say this, but I would be willing to bet that the idea at first was to collect the DC/Looney Tunes story and its "sequel" in a deluxe size and someone realized it would be too short to justify the price and decided to pad it with the other stories. I would have bought the deluxe edition of just the two stories simply because of the uniqueness of the tales, but that's me.

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  6. I'm pretty excited about the Batman Knight Out HC. Will probably pick that up. There was an Indian edition of Batman which reprinted quite a few stories from this section of the Dixon/Nolan run, including the titular Knight Out. However, I remember Chuck Dixon on his FB stating that 716 (this was the first issue in the Indian edition I spoke of) is not part of the HC as the plan was for a Dixon/Nolan book. However it's been a while since that happened and fingers crossed it's now included.

    There were two Absolute Planetary volumes out, far as I remember. Both omitted all three crossovers I think.

    Hard Time was a favourite. I tracked down the first volume when the second was printed a few years ago and waited for the second season to be collected. I'll take the complete collectionacollection a win.

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  7. I also think I saw the solicitation of The Man Who Laughs Deluxe Edition also include Gotham Noir by Brubaker. Not sure where.

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