Batman: Battle for the Cowl Companion, DC Library Death in the Family, and More DC Fall 2009 Collections

 ·  12 comments

Apparently it's that time again, because more solicitations for DC Comics Fall 2009 collected editions, hardcovers, and trade paperbacks keep spooling out every day. Here's the highlights:

* Batman: Battle for the Cowl Companion
Constant readers know I love these companion collections, which contain either older relevant issues or tie-in miniseries. My guess is that this is Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon, Battle for the Cowl: Man-Bat. Battle for the Cowl: Arkham Asylum, and Battle for the Cowl: The Underground, and maybe also the Gotham Gazette issues.

* DC Classics Library: Batman: A Death in the Family
The infamous Jim Starlin/Jim Aparo story that did away with Jason Todd now gets hardcover treatment at a whopping $40 (yes, I said forty dollars). The page count is near double the paperback version of this story, suggesting this might have interviews and other material (maybe even a full-color version of the alternate ending?).

* Gotham Central Vol. 2: Jokers and Madmen HC
The recent first Gotham Central hardcover collected the first two Gotham Central trade paperbacks, In the Line of Duty and Half a Life, reprinting issues #1-10 between them. This second hardcover suggests it'll contain, at least, the Joker story from the third Gotham Central paperback, Unresolved Targets; the big question is whether it'll also have some of the previously-uncollected Gotham Central issues, like #11. If so, I'm selling my Gotham Central paperbacks and getting these.

* Outsiders: The Deep
The first post-Batman RIP Outsiders trade. The Batman RIP aftermath issues might appear here, or in the Battle for the Cowl Companion

* Flash Chronicles Vol. 1
These "Chronicles" books don't have much appeal to me since they're reprinting from way, way back, at times when Superman and Batman weren't even entirely recognizable as the characters they are today. (If someone's really digging these, chime in and let me know what you like.) Now the Flash series gets the same treatment, though I'm not sure if this'll start with Jay Garrick or Barry Allen.

* Flash vs. The Rogues
With Flash: Rebirth coming up, my guess is this collects classic battles between the Flashes and their various Rogues (hence the name).

* Supergirl: Who is Superwoman?
This is the first Supergirl paperback by Sterling Gates, and picks up threads of Superman: New Krypton. Art is by Jamal Igle, whose work I've been digging on Tangent: Superman's Reign.

* Wonder Woman: Rise of the Olympian
The next Gail Simone hardcover, collecting the storyline meant to be on par with Batman RIP and Superman: New Krypton

* Blackhawk: Blood and Water
A three-part 1988 miniseries by Howard Chaykin.

* Superman: Adventures of Flamebird & Nightwing
Includes Superman Family stories, I think, by Paul Kupperberg.

Coming up in paperback:
* Legion of Super-Heroes: Enemy Rising SC
I'm just slightly surprised to see DC Comics coming out with a paperback of this, given that they themselves disassociated themselves from it after it came out in hardcover. Seems a little disingenuous, no?

* Batman: Private Casebook SC
Not to be confused with Batman: The Black Casebook, this is the next Detective Comics/Paul Dini collection. It was already released in hardcover, but I for one wasn't going to start collecting Dini's Detective in hardcover after the series started in paperback.

* Booster Gold: Blue and Gold SC

* Tangent: Superman's Reign Vol. 2

* Justice Society of America: Thy Kingdom Come Part II SC

* Superman/Batman: Search for Kryptonite SC

* Superman: Kryptonite SC

* Wonder Woman: The Circle SC

What do you think of DC's high-priced Death in the Family? Interested in the Battle for the Cowl Companion? What hasn't DC collected that you'd still like to see?

Comments ( 12 )

  1. Wait, no Hardcover for Wonder Woman: Rise of the Olympian?

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  2. None of the "newer" material interest me that much. I'm only keen on picking up the softcover editions of books like Private Casebook. And nice to see Gail Simone's Wonder Woman run FINALLY get a softcover.

    On Death in the Family: I expect it's not aimed for the casual customer, but for libraries and hardcore fans instead.

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  3. Wow, Wonder Woman: Rise of the Olympian in softcover? I missed that. With the new Wonder Woman DVD, you'd think DC would be going for broke. Could it be the market really won't support hardcovers for less than the top titles?

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  4. $40 for Death In The Family ?
    Does it come with a vile of Jason Todd's real blood?

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  5. I'll most likely be getting the Battle for the Cowl Companion because I'm not planning on getting any of those issues as they come out. I'll probably also get Gotham Central, Gates' Supergirl and the Private Casebook softcover.

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  6. As far as the Flash Chronicles go, it'll probably be Barry. I say this because the Green Lantern Chronicles features Hal.

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  7. If "Death in the Family" is recolored (ala the Neal Adams collections), I'd probably pick it up. Otherwise...I've already read it.

    I *LOVE* the Chronicles series. Golden Age comics were great. I'd be all over Jay Garrick or Alan Scott Chronicles, but will probably be passing on most of the silver age books.

    Where the hell are the Wonder Woman Chronicles?? Probably never happen. Most of the stories in the Chronicles are "reprinted" from the ready-to-print versions already done for the Archives. Too many WW stories from Comic Cavalcade have yet to be touched.

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  8. I can't see paying $40 for a story that's been analyzed to death (sorry). Plus, it isn't nearly as poignant now that Jason Todd is back in the D.C. lineup.

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  9. I'll get the Death in the Family book if it has an alternate ending and a number of other interesting backups.

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  10. I buy all the DC trades pretty much and I have always been a big fan of the hardcovers generally. The DC Classic books are killing me though, why are they so expensive? I can buy an archive for the same price or less, plus I already have the Death in the Family trade. I was telling my dealer at my LCS that my trade collecting was getting as expensive as a drug habit. I'm in Canada so our falling dollar isn't helping. Sorry, kind of went off topic here. Answer, fanboy that I am I will buy all this stuff and grumble.

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  11. It's funny, I just checked my original TPB of A Death in the Family and it set me back $5.95.

    The one trade I wish DC would get around to is the last part of Greg Rucka's run on Checkmate! They've already released a trade of Bruce Jones's run that came after it, so I don't think it's in the cards. Stupid DC....

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  12. I don't think we'll see those Checkmate issues collected. More's the shame. I've gone ahead and bought two of the issues (for 10 cents each, no less!) but I can't find ... #23, I think. Maybe #25. One of them.

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