Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the good, the bad, and the ugly from the DC Comics March 2006 trade selection. Take a gander now, and I'll be back later this evening to sing praise and call names (any guesses on which trade has me riled?):
UPDATED: Now with comments in bold.
ROBIN: TO KILL A BIRD TP
Written by Bill Willingham
Art by Damion Scott, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Scott McDaniel, Pop Mhan, Sandra
Hope and Andy Owens
Cover by Chris Brunner
It's a brand new start for Robin in this collection featuring ROBIN #134-139! Before our hero can fully recover from the recent deaths of his father and Spoiler, he must come face-to-face with the Penguin, the Dark Rider, the Veteran, and a mysterious archer who seems to want Robin dead!
Advance-solicited; on sale April 5 ? 144 pg, FC, $14.99 US
I'm quite surprised to see another Robin trade; I didn't think this title was doing so well, and I expected that the trades would jump until after One Year Later. Nice to see this.
BATMAN: DARK DETECTIVE TP
Written by Steve Englehart
Art by Marshall Rogers & Terry Austin
Cover by Rogers
Don?t miss this 144-page collection featuring the 6-issue miniseries reuniting one of the great Batman creative teams of the 1970s! In DARK DETECTIVE, The Joker enters a gubernatorial election using the campaign slogan "Vote for me or I'll kill you!" Will it persuade voters?
Advance-solicited; on sale April 12 ? 144 pg, FC, $14.99 US
I was excited when this series was first announced, but from what I've heard, the story doesn't have much resonance on modern times. This might go on a wishlist for someone else to buy for me.
NIGHTWING: MOBBED UP TP
Written by Devin Grayson
Art by Phil Hester, Cliff Chiang and Ande Parks
Cover by Hester & Parks
Dick Grayson is a made man in this trade paperback collecting NIGHTWING #107-111! Ex-cop Grayson feels his life spiral out of control after being adopted into one of New York City?s crime families. Can he escape this new odyssey into the depths of the criminal underworld?
On sale March 29 ? 128 pg, FC, $12.99 US
Boo! I can't tell you how disappointed I was to see this. Any Nightwing trade is good, but this is a jump from issue #60 to issue number #107. I very much hoped that DC would finish collecting Chuck Dixon's run, at least, but it seems not to be. As you can no doubt guess, this trade crosses over with Villains United.
GOTHAM CENTRAL: UNRESOLVED TARGETS TP
Written by Greg Rucka & Ed Brubaker
Art by Michael Lark & Stefano Gaudiano Cover by Lark
An amazing collection featuring the acclaimed GOTHAM CENTRAL #12-15 and #19-22! The Joker terrorizes the city at Christmastime when he begins randomly executing people with a rifle, and no one from the Mayor on down is safe! A second story focuses on an old case and unfinished business for disgraced detective Harvey Bullock.
Advance-solicited; on sale April 26 ? 192 pg, FC, $14.99 US
This trade contains two mainly-Ed Brubaker Gotham Central tales. Nice to see it, even after the cancellation of the series; hope it keeps up.
SUPERMAN: RUIN REVEALED TP
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Karl Kerschl, Darryl Banks and Adam DeKraker
Cover by Kerschl
Another trade paperback collecting Greg Rucka's run on ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, including issues #640-641and 644-647! Ruin, the man who has been out to destroy Superman and his loved ones, is revealed to be someone near and dear to him!
Advance-solicited; on sale April 12 ? 144 pg, FC, $14.99 US
I'm glad to see the Superman collections continue with these important issues, but hey — whither Superman: Strange Attractors?
GREEN LANTERN: NO FEAR HC
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Carlos Pacheco, Ethan Van Sciver, Darwyn Cooke and others
Cover by Alex Ross
A new hardcover collecting GREEN LANTERN #1-6 and GREEN LANTERN SECRET FILES
#1! Hal Jordan is back from the dead ? now watch as he re-establishes his life as a pilot. Standing in his way, though, is one of the deadly Manhunter androids followed by the Shark.
Advance-solicited; on sale April 19 ? 176 pg, FC, $24.99 US
I'm somewhat surprised to see this as a hardcover collection, but with the writer and artists attached, it makes sense. One would wonder whether the next will be a hardcover, too, a la Green Arrow.
OUTSIDERS: CRISIS INTERVENTION TP
Written by Judd Winick and Jen Van Meter
Art by Matthew Clark, Dietrich Smith and Art Thibert
Cover by Daniel Acu?a
A new volume collecting OUTSIDERS #29-33, plus select scenes from various DCU books, showing Donna Troy recruiting heroes for her mission! The Outsiders are left reeling following a betrayal by one of their members. They must face a rematch with the Fearsome Five and Sabbac, who now has the power of the Seven Deadly Sins!
Advance-solicited; on sale April 19 ? 128 pg, FC, $12.99 US
Now this is cool. The Outsiders trades continue, and this one follows up on Teen Titans/Outsiders: The Death and Return of Donna Troy with some extra-DCU action, too. Let's see ... I bet we get a Firestorm scene ... what else?
SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY VOL. 2 TP
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Simone Bianchi, Cameron Stewart, Ryan Sook & Mick Gray and Frazer
Irving
Cover by Stewart
The brilliant mind of Grant Morrison (THE INVISIBLES, JLA, ALL STAR SUPERMAN) is showcased once again as the collections of his most groundbreaking and ambitious project yet! Comprised of seven different 4-issue miniseries and two bookend Specials, this colossal 30-part tale of death, betrayal, failure, joy, loss, romance, triumph and redemption is being collected in 4 volumes!
This second volume features the continuing exploits of four of the seven soldiers, and collects KLARION #2-3, SHINING KNIGHT #3-4, GUARDIAN #3-4, and ZATANNA #3. Independently, each of these characters is featured in a story arc that redefines their purpose in the DCU. But their stories also interweave with the other Soldiers' tales, and tells a grander story of a devastating global threat to mankind. Together, these reluctant champions must arise and work together to save the world...without ever meeting one another!
On sale March 22 ? 176 pg, FC, $14.99 US
Seven Soldiers purists will no doubt be up in arms about this trade, too — my home, upon reading, is that this will work as a stand-alone volume as well as part of the greater tale. I'll be interested to see. The quick turnaround of these trades is nice, though.
Have a good day! And a pleasant tomorrow!
That's a rather curious gap in issues for the Gotham Central trade. I'm glad they're continuing to collect it, but what's the missing storyline here, and why?
ReplyDeleteThe last trade, Half a Life, was mainly Greg Rucka stories. This one is mostly Ed Brubaker stories, hence the gap (where Rucka's "Life is Full of Disappointments" would appear). Likely the next trade (here's hoping) will have those missing issues, plus #23-24, at least.
ReplyDeleteI assume you mean a big gap between issues 60 & 97 in your comments about Devin's 1st trade - 101 to 106 are in Nightwing: Year One IIRC!
ReplyDeleteHey, again love the blog. I just noticed on Amazon that a paperback of GL Rebirth is due in April, same month as first GL tpb. Also, take a look at DCcomics website for April. Some of the tpbs for March are really for April release.
ReplyDelete