I've got to say, however, this one is a mark in DC's favor.
Chase, the much-loved series by Dan Curtis Johnson and JH Williams III, comes to trade paperback.
Early solicitations have this book by Johnson and also Doug Moench, which suggests the book will not only collect aspects of the Chase series, but also Chase's first appearance in Batman #550 (with art by Kelley Jones).
The book lists at 352 pages, so my hope is that's enough to collect all ten issues, plus the DC One Million crossover issue, of this series starring DEO special agent Cameron Chase. The book has any number of things going for it -- strong female protagonist, federal-agency-tracks-metahumans X-Files-type vibe, and of course art by Batwoman's JH Williams III. Chase would go on to appear in Marc Andreyko's Manhunter series, among other places.
Not to mention, a couple issues of Chase were part of the inaugural round of DC's new DC Comics Presents books, what I've taken to calling "newsstand trades" -- 100-page books, square bound, about half the price of a trade and published like a monthly issue. If we can intuit that sales of DC Comics Presents: Chase were such to make a Chase trade worth DC's while, then my esteem for the DC Comics Presents books goes way up. I heartily approve of DC Comics Presents as a testing ground for potential trades (so long as we don't get teased by a DC Comics Presents attempt that never manifests in collection).
In other good news, REBELS: Starstruck is also coming down the pike; that's the fifth collection of the Tony Bedard series. The last volume, Sons of Brainiac, ended with issue #20, so there's a better-than-good chance that this book will collect issues #21-28, and finish out the end of the series with the book's final issues. Again, good news.
The Chase and REBELS news comes amidst a spate of releases about DC's end-of-2011 trade collections plans. Don't miss our previous posts on the Hawkman by Geoff Johns Omnibus, Batman, Inc., the Teen Titans by Geoff Johns Omnibus, the complete Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War volume, and much, much more.
Chase! In trade paperback! Hooray!
That's terrific news! I have never seen even a single issue of this series (well, in the bargain bins, which is where I shop aside from trades) and this was always at the top of my list. I was planning to pre-order right away, but unfortunately the link seems to be dead. I hope this doesn't mean they made an error or changed their minds!
ReplyDeleteMight've taken a moment for the link to go through, but it's working now. Good news, no?
ReplyDeleteYes! I hope the price goes down, though. I guess I've never pre-ordered something this early, so I have no idea if it will.
ReplyDeleteThere were also about 8 short Chase stories in all the Secret Files & Origins issues that came out in 1994 (I think). These featured Chase and her organization running ops or investigations on various heroes. These included the Hawks, the JSA, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Flash, plus the DC heroes and DC villains. I'd be very surprised to hear that these are included. The Flash one in particular was pure gold!
ReplyDeleteGood news indeed!
ReplyDeleteAny prediction when DC will release official info on the fall/winter trades and the issues included?
Hix, were these Chase short stories written by Dan Johnson, or by the regular writers of the heroes at the time (e.g. Mark Waid on Flash)? I can see that affecting whether or not they get included in the collection.
ReplyDeleteAt times DC has been releasing official trade solicitations on their blog, and then at times just to retailers. I believe we're just now at the end of what they announced for summer, so maybe we'll get some more news in a month or so.
ReplyDeleteDan wrote all of the short stories, with JHW3 involved in plotting on some of them. And I was completely wrong about the year, these stories were published between '99 and '02. Batgirl and Young Justice were some of the other titles I forgot to mention.
ReplyDeleteFantastic! I don't usually buy collections of series that I already own in floppies...but I plan on buying this one!
ReplyDeleteIf the page count holds, it's got to include the short stories from the Secret Files books as well. 22 pages/issue * 10 issues only brings it up to 220 pages, and the Batman issue only brings it to 258 (GCD lists it as 38 pages of story). That leaves another 100 pages, probably about the right amount for the shorts.
Well, if DC is doing this, I hope they do it comprehensively, and include those short stories.
ReplyDeleteWow, great news. I have most of the singles somewhere, but probably not all of the short stories.
ReplyDeleteGreat art and great stories. Will probably get the trade.