I've included some highlights below; I would mention that I am not completely blown away by this list. Green Lantern: Sector 2814 is unexpected, but the rest of these are expected -- additional volumes in reprint series, gargantuan omnibuses of dated material, and so on. In a post another time, I'll look at some DC material I'd still like to see collected -- if this is it for DC for 2012, seems to me they're not stretching themselves too far, in favor of letting the DC New 52 collections shine for the year.
(Would love to see a comics blog get some votes for a Shorty Award, by the way, if you'd like to help out.)
Here's what I noticed:
BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL VOL. 3 – KNIGHTSEND TP NEW EDITION
Writers: Doug Moench, Alan Grant, Chuck Dixon, Mary Jo Duffy and Dennis O’Neil
Artists: Mike Manley, Dick Giordano, Bret Blevins, Graham Nolan, Scott Hanna, Ron Wagner, Tom Grummett, Jim Balent, Rick Burchett, Barry Kitson, Mike Vosburg, Mike Gustovich, Lee Weeks, Joe Rubinstein, Phil Jimenez and others
Collects: BATMAN #509, 510, 512-514, BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #29, 30, 32-34, DETECTIVE COMICS #676, 677, 679-681, BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #62 and 63, ROBIN #8, 9, 11-13, CATWOMAN #12, 13 and SHOWCASE 94 #10
$29.99 US, 652 pg
This collection also doesn't collect the "Knightfall: The Search" chapters that we talked about earlier; since Knightfall Vol. 2 has some of those "Search" chapters and not all of them, I still believe there's a mis-print somewhere and Legends of the Dark Knight #59-61, at least, will be collected in one of these volumes.
This volume does however, include Batman: Prodigal, the story where Dick Grayson becomes Batman the first time around. I know why DC's including this, as fans have been clamoring for another shot at Prodigal ever since Dick became Batman after RIP -- but if you're reading the Knightfall saga for the first time, Prodigal is terribly anti-climactic. You've had three volumes of Bruce Wayne beaten and fighting to reclaim the Batman mantle, he returns and defeats Azrael -- and then disappears for twelve entire issues while Dick fumbles around as Batman.
If the four-part "Troika" storyline that followed had also been included, which has Bruce back in a new costume, that might bring this book full circle; take it from me, however, that Prodigal ends on a cliffhanger, and if you've been following the story since the beginning of Knightfall, I'm pretty sure you'll be saying "Is that it?"
THE DC COMICS ART OF AMANDA CONNER HC
Writers: Barbara Kesel, Chuck Dixon, Jai Nitz, Terry Moore, Geoff Johns, Jimmy Palmiotti, Judd Winick,
Artists: Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti
Collects: SUPERMAN: LOIS LANE #1, BIRDS OF PREY #47-49, JSA CLASSIFIED #1-4, SUPERGIRL #12, WEDNESDAY COMICS #1-12, and stories from SECRET ORIGINS 80-PAGE GIANT #1, JOKER: LAST LAUGH SECRET FILES #1, the GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY WEDDING SPECIAL #1 and WONDER WOMAN #600
$39.99 US, 304 pg
This is a wacky collection in part because it's got an otherwise-uncollected Birds of Prey story in it that took place between Chuck Dixon and Gail Simone's runs. Also nice to see the uncollected material from Wonder Woman #600 surface here and there.
PENGUIN: PAIN AND PREJUDICE TP
Writers: Gregg Hurwitz and Jason Aaron
Artists: Szymon Kudranski and Jason Pearson
Collects: PENGUIN: PAIN AND PREJUDICE and JOKER’S ASYLUM: PENGUIN #1
$14.99 US, 144 pg
I've said before I think we need a Penguin miniseries like a hole in the head, not that that should dampen your enjoyment of it. That DC pads this post-Flashpoint Penguin origin with a pre-Flashpoint Penguin one-shot leaves me scratching my head.
HUNTRESS: CROSSBOW AT THE CROSSROADS TP
Writer: Paul Levitz
Artists: Marcos To and John Dell
Collects: HUNTRESS #1-6
$14.99 US, 144 pg
On the other hand, DC's not puffing this one up at all. As a backdoor pilot to DC's new Earth 2 endeavors, it'll likely sell itself.
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: AMETHYST, PRINCESS OF GEMWORLD VOL. 1 TP
Writers: Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohen
Artists: Ernie Colon, Ric Estrada, Pablo Marcos, Alex Saviuk, Bob Smith, Gary Martin, Romeo Tanghal, Kurt Schaffenberger and Karl Kesel
Collects: LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #298, AMETHYST, PRINCESS OF GEMWORLD #1-12, AMETHYST ANNUAL #1, DC COMICS PRESENTS #63 and AMETHYST #1-11
$19.99 US, 648 pg
I can't claim much of a touchstone for this series myself, but I recognize it as a long-uncollected DC classic and I'm sure someone is excited about this. No doubt this is coming out in part in conjunction with the upcoming Cartoon Network series.
THE 52 OMNIBUS HC
Writers: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid
Artists: Keith Giffen, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Jack Jadson, Chris Batista, Jimmy Palmiotti, Ken Lashley, Eddy Barrows, Rob Stull, Shawn Moll, Tom Nguyen, Todd Nauck, Marlo Alquiza, Dale Eaglesham, Art Thibert, Patrick Olliffe, Drew Geraci, Ray Snyder, Phil Jimenez, Andy Lanning, Rodney Ramos, Dan Green, Tom Derenick, Jay Leisten, Jamal Igle, Keith Champagne, Andy Smith, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund and Darick Robertson
Collects: 52 #1-52
$150.00 US, 1216 pg
I've been calling this one for a while -- with DC's current emphasis on Omnibus editions, the weekly 52 series would seem ready-make for that kind of collection. One thousand, two hundred sixteen pages and $150 is a hefty, expensive book, however, at the same time DC is getting flak for the quality of their collections (see video via Kris Shaw below) -- I'm curious if this'll be worth the paper it's printed on, so to speak, or if at some point customers will start voting with their wallets against DC's poor bindings if they continue.
LEGION: SECRET ORIGIN TP
Writer: Paul Levitz
Artists: Chris Batista, Rich Perotta and Marc Deering
Collects: LEGION: SECRET ORIGIN #1-6
$14.99 US, 144 pg
Surprised to see DC go paperback on this. One person's opinion, I didn't think Legion really needed a "secret" origin -- maybe it hasn't sold so well that DC won't risk a hardcover on it.
STORMWATCH VOL. 2 HC
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artists: Tom Raney, Oscar Jimenez, Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary, Randy Elliot and others
Collects: STORMWATCH #48-50 and #1-11
$29.99 US, 384 pg
Glad to see this continuing. The first new Stormwatch hardcover collected the Stormwatch: Force of Nature (#37-42) and Lightning Strikes (#43-47) trades; this encompasses Change or Die, A Finer World, and Final Orbit. Not included here, troublingly, is the in-continuity WildCATS/Aliens story that ended Stormwatch and lead into Authority; maybe this will appear if DC keeps collecting WildCATS alongside this.
GREEN LANTERN: SECTOR 2814 VOL. 1 TP
Writer: Len Wein
Artists: Dave Gibbons, Dick Giordano, Mike DeCarlo and Mark Farmer
Collects: GREEN LANTERN #172-176, 178-183 and 185-186
$16.99 US, 192 pg
I'm rather enthused about this collection (series, it seems) of early 1980s, just-before-Crisis on Infinite Earths Green Lantern stories, which involve Hal Jordan in Earth-bound tales and eventually John Stewart taking over as Green Lantern. I imagine these will read as rather dated, and I don't think Hal comes off altogether well in them, but this is a significant period of DC history that lacks collections, especially these that are partially still in-continuity.
SUPERMAN: GROUNDED VOL. 2 TP
Writers: J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Roberson
Artists: Eddy Barrows, Allan Goldman, JP Mayer and others
Collects: SUPERMAN #707-711 and 713-714
$14.99 US, 168 pg
Wouldn't it have been a riot if they'd decided to stick Superman #712 in the paperback?
That's my picks -- you can see the full list at the Source. What jumps out at you on the list?
(Video courtesy Kris Shaw)
On the plus side, I believe the Birds of Prey trade collects the last stray issues left out of the hardcover.
ReplyDeleteThe Birds of Prey: Death of Oracle paperback? The hardcover collected the same -- issues #7-15. Despite what earlier solicitations might have said, no stray issues left uncollected.
ReplyDeleteAh, ok, thanks for the correction. I hadn't seen the updated info!
ReplyDeleteIf the content listing for the Knightquest TPB is to be believed, then it's supposed to collect 30 issues in 656 pages, which is mathematically impossible. Looking at the new Knightsend TPB's content listing, I guess Bob Schoonover was right in his assumption that the inclusion of Shadow of the Bat #21-23 in the Knightquest TPB was a mistake, and they'll skip all of The Search.
ReplyDeleteAnd I was all psyched about the second Stormwatch hardcover until CE pointed out that WildC.A.T.S./Aliens was missing from the listing. I wonder if it's due to a royalties issue.
The Legends of the Dark Knight: Alan Davis, on the other hand, is a very nice surprise. While it's odd that it will include the first chapter of Year Two but not the rest of the arc, pencilled by Todd MacFarlane, it doesn't really affect me because I still own the Year Two TPB.
Again I was kind of happy when I saw The 52 Omnibus, but again my happyness didn't last long.
ReplyDeleteThe Omnibus have more than 30 pages less than the trades. I asked Dan Didio about it and he answered: "I am very excited about seeing all 52issues in one volume, and any content in the separate collections will be in this book" (https://www.facebook.com/dan.didio/posts/232935576791407).
I don't see how that will come to pass, but well. Then again, the price and the binding is something I'm not crazy.
The trades altogether cost $80. That versus $150?
Very often those page counts turn out not to be accurate in first solicitations (and even in final solicitations!), so that may be how fitting it all in comes to pass. Then again, DC's continued poor binding is still an issue
ReplyDeleteXavico and I are on the same page...I'm starting to get really irritated at DC for starting to put out some really sub-par products. Absolute Sinestro Corps War? Missing Issues. The Alan Davis Hardcover? Ends by reprinting Part 1 of "Batman: Year Two" and not the last 3 parts. Stormwatch Vol. 2 HC? Missing WildC.A.T.S./Aliens which is ESSENTIAL to the overall story. 52 Omnibus? Costs $70 MORE than the buying the trades. $70!!!!! WTF is going on over at DC?
ReplyDeleteAs a huge Amanda Conner fan, I absolutely excited to pick that giant tome of a hardcover.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of people didn't pick up the Paul Levitz/Marcus To's Huntress mini. So please pick it up on collection. It's very decent story, and mostly importantly Marcus To is one of the best upcoming artist in the industry right now that needs to be on a bigger title.
Does this solicitation mean that the Vol. 2 of the New 52-Trades won't be out till January 2013?
ReplyDeleteI'm happy about the Amethyst book, although I'd really rather have had it in full color than Showcase.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly the wrong GL trade paperback to sell me, though. I'd much rather have had one collecting the book during the Crisis, because those books are a big part of what was actually going on during the CoIE and have never been reprinted. (Honestly, I'd love one of that, one of Roy Thomas's All-Star Squadron and Infinity Inc books, and one or two of all of the crisis crossover issues that went beyond 'red skies'. Maybe in a couple years when we get to the 30th anniversary...)
Also, speaking of missing key bits to the Batman trade library, we really could use a Road to No Man's Land trade one of these days...
The Amanda Conner book sounds nice-- uncollected issues of Birds of Prey are always good, as there's a big ol' gap in that series.
ReplyDeleteI love buying the Omnibus books, and I'd be all over 52 Omnibus ordinarily... but it sure is hard to justify spending $150 (even with an Amazon discount) on what I can get in four trades.
I find "Sector 2814" strangely intriguing. It's a part of Green Lantern history I don't know much about.
I am more jazzed about Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld than anyone of my age and gender has any right to be.
Dear Collected Editions - DC's solicits mention a paperback Green Lantern Corps The Weaponer. i cant havent seen Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns (the trade before weaponer) solicited yet. can you confirm this?
ReplyDeleteThe Alpha Lanterns TPB is being released on June 12, according to Amazon. I am also waiting for it. :-)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Green-Lantern-Corps-Revolt-Lanterns/dp/1401231403/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1328107559&sr=8-2
@matschi, very possibly no New 52 Vol. 2s until December 2012 or January 2013. The last volume ones don't come out until November, and I imagine DC's trade schedule is full enough already without doubling up.
ReplyDelete@Jeff, ditto on a Crisis tie-in book. That would be one uneven, all-over-the-place trade, but it's such a slice of history.
@Steve, tell us more what excites you about the Amethyst book. I'm really not familiar with the series.
@Mark and Anon, I hope you find it was worth the wait. I don't want to spoil anyone's good time, but I was not so positive in my review ...
Completely unrelated to the new DC, I would love to see a collection of Ted McKeever and Randy & J.M. Lofficer's Superman / Batman / Wonder Woman elseworlds trilogy inspired by classic silent cinema. Stephen Bissette reviews Batman: Nosferatu here: http://www.lofficier.com/nosferatureview.html
ReplyDeleteTo tie two of those items together; I have a vague recollection of Amethyst being in CoIE, and her and someone else (Dr. Fate maybe?) taking off for Gemworld in that book, but of course that presumably leads off to a story in her own book, which, I would think, is then collected in that Amethyst TPB. Wouldn't these be the types of stories that would go into a Crisis tie-in book? I'm sure there are lots more instances of plot points in CoIE that lead off into the individual books (Guy Gardner getting his ring back being another one).
ReplyDeleteThanks for listening to my request for issue details CE! One very happy bunny. :)
ReplyDeleteI wondered whether Prodigal would be included in Knightsend, I read the original books a long time ago and was considering the new versions of vols 1 and 2, but I'll take your advice on vol 3 and just get the new printing of the old TP
The Amethyst, Alan Davis Batman, and Gil Kane Superman books are stories I've literally been waiting decades to be collected. (Well, perhaps not literally; I never actually thought the Kane Superman comics would be collected, so I wasn't even waiting for that.)
ReplyDeleteAmethyst was a favorite of mine when it came out back in the 80s. Warlord was a great sword & sorcery fantasy series, but Amethyst was closer to the magical fantasies I had read as a kid. And I don't believe DC or anyone else was publishing anything quite like it at the time. Plus, great art by Ernie Colon.
Those Mike W. Barr/Alan Davis Batman stories are probably my single favorite run on Batman of all time. They did a great job of preserving the tone of the Dick Sprang Batman stories of the 40s, coupled with a more modern storytelling style. I was heartbroken when Davis left the book, and a little furious when I learned the reasons why.
The Wein/Gibbons Green Lantern is another welcome collection, because that's the point at which I started collecting GL. I had read a couple earlier issues, but as a fan of Gibbons' Dr Who stories, I had to check out his run on GL. I was totally hooked. Hopefully, they will continue on through the Englehart/Staton stories, through the Crisis crossovers, all the way up to the Green Lantern Corps book that they've already released. (And then the rest of the Englehart/Staton run, another favorite.)
(Note to Jeff R.: I agree the Crisis stories are great, but Gibbons' name on the cover is probably a bigger selling point than Joe Staton. Sadly.)
And then there's the Gil Kane Superman stuff. The stories are probably uneven, but I remember really loving the Wolfman/Kane story that introduced the robotic Brainiac, bringing in the Forgotten Heroes and Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster themselves! Kane inking his own work is always a treat, and I loved those two Superan Specials as well. (Plotted by Kane, I think?) And is the DC Comics Presents annual the Roy Thomas Captain Marvel one? That's gorgeous.
Now, if only DC would do some sort of collection or collections that would collect Mike Barr's Batman annuals and specials from that period. Also, somehow, the Superman annual by Alex Toth, teaming Superman and Batman (if memory serves).
Considering Aliens is a 20th Century Fox property, and that Aliens Comics are still published by Dark Horse, it is almost certainly a copyright/licensing issue.
ReplyDeleteI know I'm coming late into this discussion, but I'd like to know if there's been any news about the contents of the Stormwatch vol. 2 hardcover.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the page count, the info provided doesn't look right, unless DC is planning to include about 80+ pages of extras which seems very unlikely, sice apparently the first hardcover had almost no bonus material.
Let's do a little Math here: Change or Die has 160 pages, A Finer World has 144 pages and Final Orbit (which includes WildC.A.T.S./Aliens AND Stormwatch vol. 2 #12 -- the last issue of the series) has 96 pages. The three of them total 400 pages. If you consider each of these TPBs has a few disposable pages (indicia, "other books" list and stuff), we're very close to the supposed 384 pages this book will have.
Besides, it would make no sense (not that that kind of thing prevents DC from making some pretty weird decisions) to stop this collection at #11, which ends right in the middle of a story that continues in the Aliens crossover and the concludes in #12. It would be much more reasonable to end this book in #10 (and that would also leave HC vol. 2 with about the same page count as HC vol. 1).
So here's hoping that the content info is wrong and that this book does include the whole thing. But if that's not the case, I'll skip these HCs keep my TPBs.
Anderson, Dan DiDio has all but guaranteed (on Facebook) that the WildCATS/Aliens special will not be included in the second Stormwatch hardcover collection, as DC no longer has the rights deal for it. I'm disappointed, too, though I'm glad to have the hardcovers and I'm resigned to seeing about picking up the missing material some other way.
ReplyDeleteJust one correction, Anderson: the Wildcats/Aliens one-shot is set between issues #10 and #11 of Stormwatch. Even if the HC skips a key chapter in the team's history, it has a conclusive ending.
ReplyDeleteThe WildCATS fought the Aliens?
ReplyDeleteThat may be the only way you could strongarm me into reading a WildCATs book.
Love the Alien franchise; sad it won't be collected, but I may have to track that general issue down, if only in the hopes of seeing some Xenomorphs killing heroes I don't care about.
One of the rare inter-company crossovers (especially with a licensed property) that actually affected the continuity of a book or books; Stormwatch was decimated by the aliens' attack and that lead to the end of Stormwatch and the beginning of Authority. All the more reason for it to be collected -- no, I won't even start again. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback,guys! Even if it's only to have my hopes vanish into thin air... :-(
ReplyDeleteShagamu, you're right, of course. There's no Stormwatch vol. 2 #12. I was mislead by the info on the back of my final orbit tpb, which claims to include the Aliens crossover and #11-12. That should've been #10-11.
Sorry, my bad (actually, it was mostly DC's bad, but...).
The page count still puzzles me, though. If it's correct and the 30-something remaining pages are filled with cool bonus material, I'll probably double dip (or triple dip, since I bought about half of the original singles back in the day).