Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibuses, Deluxe WILDCATS, classic Deathstroke in DC Early 2012 solicitations
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?
Also this
What about the Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul stuff in between?
ReplyDeleteMaybe a relevant issue will be included, maybe not. But that crossover between the Bat-titles was panned overall, and I wouldn't be surprised if DC skips it and goes straight to a joint Batman RIP/Batman & Robin collection (unless this volume turns out to be the first and only super-collected Morrison Batman volume).
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Batman and Son and The Black Glove are not in a larger deluxe hardcover makes me think this collection is only to bring it in line with the rest of Morrison's collected Batman so far.
ReplyDeleteSuperman: Reign of Doomsday (HC)?.
ReplyDeleteBirth of the Demon is a MUST!!!!!!
Was Time and the Batman larger/ over-sized/ deluxe?
ReplyDeleteTime and the Batman?. No, it wasn't.
ReplyDeleteThe description of Secret Origins says it contains origin stories "as they originally appeared in the 1950s and 1960s," so you'll probably see The Flash from Showcase #4, Green Lantern from Showcase #22, etc.
ReplyDeleteAlso, that Alan Moore DCU HC is supposedly 502 pages, while the paperback edition was 304 pages.
So this new Reign of Doomsday HC...is this essentially the same as the already solicited "Return of Doomsday" tpb, PLUS Action Comics 901 -904? If so, doesn't it make the latter a little pointless?
ReplyDeleteI said on this very website many many months ago that they need to make a Deluxe version of batman and son with the black glove to match the format of the rest of the grant Morrison epic run. I guess this is as good as were going to get. I want all my major books to be Deluxe HC now.
ReplyDeleteSo the even-more outdated Secret Origins of these characters? And who says the trade paperback lists are bloated?
ReplyDeleteIs there more Moore that could be collected?
I'm looking forward to Reign of Doomsday. No idea how the story is, but I've liked what I've read of Cornell's work so far, and I'm comforted that the Superman titles go out with a (non-Grounded) bang.
@Mike, No, the Return of Doomsday paperback is the tertiary issues, and the Reign of Doomsday hardcover is the Action Comics issues -- at least I think so.
ReplyDeleteMore Moore: they could throw in a few more issues of Swamp Thing or some of the America's Best Comics material. If they have the legal right to publish the Twilight of the Superheroes pitch, that could fill a few pages and would be a selling point.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to wrapping up the Black Ring arc, the main story from Action Comics #900 is also a part of the Reign of Doomsday storyline. I wonder if DC will split it between Black Ring vol. 2 and the Reign of Doomsday HC, or if both collections will include the entire 51-page story.
ReplyDelete"Batman and Son vs. the Black Glove" is an interesting title, buf it it's not oversized, then it offers no additional value to those who already own the individual hardcovers like I do.
But when it comes to DC hardcovers, "deluxe" isn't always synonymous with "oversized". When I bought both Seven Soldiers Deluxe HCs, I was a bit disappointed to find out they're both stardard-sized. And now it seems DC will release a softcover version of the first deluxe HC, which is equivalent to the first two TPBs:
http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Soldiers-Victory-Book-One/dp/1401229514/ref=sr_1_20?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311189803&sr=1-20
I'm pretty excited about that Catwoman collection, especially since based on the page count it looks like it'll include both the first volume and the currently out of print second volume. I've always heard great things about that series but I haven't picked it up yet, so this is perfect.
ReplyDeleteAnd with Justice League International getting another volume published I'm reminded that I need to finally pick up the first volume in that series. I don't know what's keeping me. Is it one that I should own?
Elsewhere, when Dan DiDio asked for suggestions for trades, I gloriously chimed in
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/dan.didio/posts/159387654099707
and here I see a few of my suggestions come through - like the Batman Demon/Bane, Deathstroke....I'm game for a pre order on those and I, Vampire, Hawk & Dove, also the Wildstorm collections. Seems that now as they're part of the DCU, we might see good collections. Just when I think it's time to head over to Marvel for their value priced Omnibuses, DC drags me back.
More Moore? Now what can that be? Twilight? Nah, that'd just burst the Kingdom Come bubble & throw light on legal problems with DC. And they had included THE KILLING JOKE there too. What's left, except WATCHMEN, V FOR VENDETTA, SWAMP THING & WILDSTORM?
But I'm still waiting for that VIGILANTE by Marv Wolfman (early 80s, Adrain Chase) solicit, DC.
Also, the Snyder Detective run "Black Mirror" is well worth picking up if people missed it, they won't be disappointed.
ReplyDeleteFor various reasons I mostly read Morrison's Batman through the library, and now that I'd like to own it, I have been holding out for some kind of omnibus release. Aside from those who point out that this may merely be "bringing it line" with the subsequent deluxe releases, I confess I was hoping for something a bit more, well, ominbus-y. Once again I have Marvel envy (talk about a bloated backlist, but it's great for consumer choice honestly). If Morrison's Batman was a Marvel run, there would be oversized, thicker HCS and real omnibi, and perhaps more for all I know.
ReplyDeleteIf they integrated RIP The missing chapter into RIP, put Batman & Robin Vol 1 & 2 together with Batman #700 and finally the Return of Bruce Wayne with B&R Vol 3, well I might have to re-buy them.
ReplyDeleteI probably will buy Batman & Son Vs The Black Glove and give my paperback copies to a friend to indoctrinate them, but why do I have to wait so long for something they already have the pages for?!
As someone fairly new to trade collecting can I ask why we have the solicit titles now, but not the details on issues collected? Wouldn't DC be better off releasing all the information at once so customers know what to look out for?
Glint, I believe the information in this post is based on preliminary Amazon listings rather than solicitation copy released by DC. Because these titles are due out in early 2012, I would not expect DC to release full information until the fall or winter of 2011.
ReplyDeleteI love Batman & Son and Black Glove, but The Resurrection of Ras Al-Ghul is something that lacks in the middle. It was a fun run and is important to understand Damian's importance.
ReplyDeleteIf there's a new collection scheme afoot, I wouldn't be surprised if DC just ignores Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul entirely. Yes, it involved Damian, but not so strongly that one couldn't understand Batman RIP or Batman & Robin without it, and there's too many other writers and issues for DC to try to lump it in alongside Batman RIP, in my opinion. Adding the "missing chapters" to RIP is an interesting idea, though I still believe these are not so much "missing" (meant to be published and for some reason weren't) as purposefully held until the "Return" point for story reasons and then revealed.
ReplyDeleteYes, I thought the same about the 'missing' chapters, I think DC's original solicits for the issues said something along those lines, but 'delayed until the cat was out of the bag chapters' doesn't have quite the same ring :P
ReplyDeleteThanks Rich, but then that moves the question - DC must release that information to Amazon, presumably because Amazon want to get pre-orders, wouldn't they get more pre-orders if consumers knew exactly what they were pre-ordering?
Sometimes DC's mysteriousness is frustrating, but maybe any large company is going to have that aura.
DC really is delving into the 70s/80s Batman ie Jim Aparo. Nice to see the credit go to where credit is due.
ReplyDeleteBatman Vs. Bane should be a good one. I wonder if it will collect the Bane one-shot that was published in 1997 as part of the Batman And Robin movie promotions.http://www.comics.org/series/14768/ If recall correctly, it was the best of the four.
WIll the Moore ook really be 502 pages? Hmm. That does seem like a lot.
I'm hopeful the Bane collection gets all the assorted Chuck Dixon Bane stories from over the years. That's an example of where a writer took good advantage of disperate opportunities (like the Batman and Robin movie tie-in) to keep telling a continuous story with a character. Like (Dixon again) early Birds of Prey in Showcase and Girlfrenzy, etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit unhappy at Stormwatch starting from Ellis but W.I.L.D.Cats starting all the way back from Lee. It's not that the early issues of Stormwatch were that great, it's like I'm seeing Superman start with Man of Steel while Batman starts with Knightfall....as in there's definitely something missing.
ReplyDeleteThe Bane issue, ideally for an intro to Bane (as I'd expect a movie tie in to be) should contain BATMAN: VENGEANCE OF BANE and the pre KnightFall Bane issues. However, the Amazon solicit states that, "Bane, the man who broke Batman's back in the KNIGHTFALL saga, returns once more and embarks on quest to find his father--with leads him to a team up with the villainous Ra's al Ghul. The two then launch an attack on Gotham City with only the city's Dark Knight protector to stop them. "
This, as well as the illustrator Graham Nolan & the page count would suggest it contains VENGEANCE OF BANE I or II, BANE OF THE DEMON. However, I'm baffled as to how the team up to launch an attack on Gotham City (LEGACY showed them attacking the world) gets included here. I'll be mad if this is a cut up job with a few chapters of Legacy included here.
@Glint - My understanding is that book solicitations are for book stores (do we just say book store now that Borders is leaving us?) to base bulk orders on - e.g. B&N says "Batman by Grant Morrison, hmm, the last one sold xxx copies so we will order 95% of that level for the new one" - and that those orders are placed six months or more in advance (because that is how book publishing works, I guess). The people for whom those advanced solicitations are meant don't base their ordering on anything other previous sales of that author in that genre (unless there is major hype, e.g. Oprah suggested that book) - that's why we see fluctuating page counts, weird issue numbers, etc. It's also why the early solicit only has one author name (e.g. the early solicits for Sinestro Corps War listed only Geoff Johns, as he is by far the biggest 'name' on the author/artist list for those collections)
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob Schoonover, so it sounds like it's more to do with places like Amazon tantalising us with what little information they have, rather than DC not being tight with information. Maybe?
ReplyDeleteDark Knight Rises is the last hope I have that DC will ever collect KnightQuest.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering...why not just call it "Batman by Grant Morrison" if you have already set the precedent with Flash and Geoff Johns? Its not as if combining the titles makes it more appealing. For those who never read Morrison's Batman, wouldn't they be more likely to find it under "Batman Omnibus by Grant Morrison" than random titles that they may have heard of 7 years ago?
ReplyDeleteDisappointed they haven't announced a hardcover for the last storyarc of the current Legion of Super-Heroes title yet (LoSH #11-16, Legion of Super-Villains #1).
ReplyDelete@SpeedsterSite - I think the problem is that the word "omnibus" implies comprehensiveness, and I don't think that applies to a collection that skips two issues of Morrison's run, even though they're not essential to his long-form story.
ReplyDelete@Craig, I haven't posted this because I was waiting for more major news in addition, but I believe the LOSH trade you're looking for will be Legion of Super-Heroes: When Evil Calls. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteHow does one find these advance solicitations? Usually I go to Amazon, type in "DC Comics", and arrange by date published, but none of these show up.
ReplyDeleteThe "I don't like teritiary titles when the important stuff happens elsewhere" thing confuses me. Some classics came out in titles not related to whatever went on at the time (see LotDK, which almost never bothered with whatever super event was happening in the rest of the books at a given time). We can argue all day long about how many are necessary, but I'd rather have several really good books with different styles than just one super important book. Even if the books aren't all winners, I'd rather have my Dini/Rucka/Hine/Tomasi/Snyder to go with my Morrison.
ReplyDeleteBesides, sometimes you want new Batman stuff, but don't feel like reading the high concept title at the time.
I don't think the Morrison Batman hardcover is supposed to be an Omnibus sort of thing. I'd say this is more DC taking the two trades of Morrisons run not released in a deluxe edition and bringing them up to speed to the rest of the run. We're probably not going to see the start of a Morrison omnibus series until his run has concluded and a couple years have passed.
dl316bh, I understand what you're saying, in having lots of choices for what type of Batman stories you want to read, but it's all those choices that's keeping me away from non-Morrison Batman titles.
ReplyDeleteI only have so much money (and time) to use towards comics. If I were to try to follow all the Batman titles (whether in trades or singles), I wouldn't be able to read most of the other non-Batman DCU titles that I like. If it was just Batman and Detective, then I would likely be buying both. But with Batman, Detective, Batman & Robin, The Dark Knight, Batman Inc, plus another half-dozen or more recent related titles (Streets of Gotham, Gotham City Sirens, Red Robin, Batgirl, etc. etc.), I instead choose just to read whatever Morrison is writing, because it's good stuff and is "important" to the greater DCU.
That's not to say I won't pick up an occassional other-Batman trade; if something gets really good reviews, then I'll consider it. But that's really on a book-by-book basis, as I can fit it into my budget/reading time.
So, yeah. Just trying to give the point of view of one of those people who "don't like tertiary titles when the important stuff happens elsewhere." It's really a matter of there being TOO MANY of those titles, so it's easier to leave them be than to try to figure out which ones to buy.
Interesting how every link leads to a page in Amazon except for the Deathstroke book.
ReplyDeleteLegends of the Dark Knight and other continuity-light Batman titles are one thing; no objection to that. What bugs me a little bit is, say, Tony Daniel and Judd Winick's Batman title that ran concurrent to Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin; these were supposedly in-continuity Dick Grayson Batman stories, but ultimately around the Return of Bruce Wayne they didn't really add up to much as compared to Batman and Robin. As I've discussed before, I might've preferred DC just put Batman on hiatus or rename it Batman and Robin for a while, rather than keep publishing the title with what was essentially filler. And then the real "forward" action of the Batman story (what was going to last in the Batman mythos) switched over to Batman, Inc. but DC kept Batman, Detective, and Batman and Robin all going, *and* started a new title, Dark Knight. It felt a little crowded, especially when I tend to think the only title with lasting consequence was going to be Batman, Inc.
ReplyDeleteHowever, with the good reviews Detective is getting, and the fact that Morrison bows out for a while and these other titles continue on, I think the "necessity" of the various Batman titles is starting to even out a bit.
No doubt dl316bh, as you know I understand, your results may vary, and maybe these additional books are printed because there's more of an audience that sees it your way than mine.
If the new Batman & Son and Black Glove books were deluxe, would DC be releasing them in one volume, or as two books? I think the latter, but maybe DC doesn't have that much faith in reselling this already-published material.
@Xavico -- Yeah, just noticed that myself. It was in the air before; hope someone didn't change their mind. I'd rather see that reprint of the old Hawk and Dove trade disappear (for a new collection of old Hawk and Dove material, of course) than the Deathstroke book.
According to the latest extended forecast at ComicList, DC cancelled the Batman Vs. the Black Glove HC and will resolicit it later. Maybe they'll turn it into an actual omnibus, including R.I.P. and the Final Crisis tie-ins.
ReplyDeleteThe TPB version of Legion of Super-Heroes will also get resolicited, and I think they might merge it with the content from the Consequences HC. On the other hand, Titans: Broken Promises will not get resolicited, leaving the series incomplete, but I don't foresee many people mourning that one.
I agree those two cancellations were interesting, and I too wondered if it was a sign of some format shift. Yours are good guesses both.
ReplyDeleteI will have to update my list of the final pre-Flashpoint trades with Titans: Broken Promises's cancellation. Another one bites the dust.