How do you get me to buy an Absolute edition of a book I already own? "Seven new story pages by [Grant] Morrison and [Doug] Mahnke" should just about do it.* Absolute Final Crisis
I've got to hand it to everyone who pushed for DC's Absolute Final Crisis to include the two Batman tie-in issues, #682-683. DC announced in their solicitations yesterday that Absolute Final Crisis will be resolicited now with those two issues included -- plus seven new story pages.
While I'm glad to see Final Crisis collected "complete" with the Batman issues, that wouldn't be enough for me to pick up an Absolute edition of a book I already own; however, new material absolutely does the trick. This is what an Absolute book should be -- not just a larger-size reprint of the original, but something value-added to really make it Absolute.
This is a win for the fans.
* Aquaman Vol. 1: The Trench
* Deathstroke Vol. 1: Legacy
* Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: Fearsome
* Hawk and Dove Vol. 1: First Strikes
* O.M.A.C. Vol. 1: Omactivate!
* Resurrection Man Vol. 1: Dead Again
* Superboy Vol. 1: Incubation
* Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Raise Them Bones
It's our monthly spate of DC New 52 collections (not that there's anything wrong with that). Lots that I'm excited about this month -- the new Aquaman, Peter Tomasi back on Green Lantern Corps, Scott Snyder's Swamp Thing, and Dan DiDio and Keith Giffen's OMAC. Both Hawk and Dove and OMAC are "complete" editions of the series (that is, cancelled after these books), which I'm actually looking forward to because it might make for a solid reading experience.
Perhaps even more interesting than the first round of DC New 52 collections will be the second round, however; the Superboy collection ends just before the "Culling" crossover with Teen Titans and Legion Lost and I'm curious to see if DC will release a combination crossover collection for the next round, or how that will be handled.
* Batman: Odyssey
This is a large collection (thirteen issues), which is always a good thing, but all I've heard is how weird, weird, weird this story is. The temporary cover image that DC's showing, of a bullet passing through Batman's bloody arm, does nothing to mitigate the book's reputation.
* DC Universe Online Legends Vol. 3
I was discussing the other day that preview pages of this series have been interesting, and I like the general idea of a world-ending, no limits story told using the old DC Universe characters, and by Marv Wolfman and Howard Porter, to boot. If DC would release a hardcover of all three of the paperbacks together, I might very well give it a look.
* Batman: No Man's Land Vol. 3
* Hitman Vol. 7: Closing Time
* Green Lantern/Green Arrow
Plenty of newly collected material in the third new Batman: No Man's Land book, including Robin stories by Chuck Dixon and an Azrael story by Dennis O'Neil. (Though reader Bobby Barrett correctly points out that the book lacks the Harley Quinn one-shot that introduced the character to the comics DC Universe, which is an integral part of the story and ought be included.)
DC finishes collecting Hitman here, another favor to the fans that we should be grateful for. Includes a bunch of Hitman extras like JLA/Hitman and Hitman/Lobo, which is a nice touch.
The solicitation for the new Green Lantern/Green Arrow collection says it's the first time all the stories have been together in paperback. I guess that explains the new release (plus Neal Adams's art here coincides with the release of Batman: Odyssey), though I really thought this had been collected complete before.
Absolute Final Crisis! New story pages! Hooray! What's on your buying list for this month?
Hh. Now let's get them to include The Return of Bruce Wayne to Absolute Batman and Robin. Give us one giant Absolute Grant Morrison, DC!
ReplyDeleteI am SOOOOOO happy about the Absolute FC including the Batman books. I was on every board I could find pushing for this, and started threads on the old DC boards for this. Fantastic news. I'm hoping this is popular enough so that Batman 700-702 and other odds n' ends get this treatment, (especially Seven Soldiers)
ReplyDeleteI have a two volume trade set of the GL/GA stories... Maybe they just mean first time in one volume?
ReplyDeleteVery curious about the new content in Final Crisis. I'm a diehard Morrison groupie but I have trouble paying for an Absolute of a story I already have in hardcover.
Sorry, but I wont be paying Absolute price for 7 pages of new FC story, especially since I have my own library bound 2- volume of the original issues plus all the ancillaries. Likewise I have my own library bound edition of the Adams GL-GA. And that image for Batman: Odyssey does more to dissuade me from that than all the bad press put together. Which is a pity since Adams was my first favorite comic book artist.
ReplyDeleteOn a more positive note, a couple of those New 52 titles that aren't on my monthly pull list will definitely find their way into my order.
Absolute Final Crisis will be mine for sure!
ReplyDeleteIs so refreshing to have a true Absolute Edition at last!!
Batman: Odyssey... Mmmm... I was thinking about it because is a large book, but all reviews have something bad to say about it. Not sure...
No Man's Land Vol. 3 is also a must for me, however I'm a bit down because Vol. 1 and 2 cost $29.99 for an average of 528 pages, but Volume 3 cost $34.99 for 480 pages.
As much as I don't like buying new versions of stuff I already own, those seven new pages by Morrison and Mahnke are enough for me to shell out the cash for Absolute Final Crisis. Hopefully they'll improve the flow of the disjointed final chapter and illuminate some unexplained details of the story.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's fair. I guess it depends on the circumstances of the new pages -- something withheld from the main series that *could* have been included in the hardcover, or something new since the hardcover that Morrison came up with.
ReplyDeleteThis is similar, kind of, to how DC revised parts of Infinite Crisis for the hardcover, or added in some previously online-exclusive pages to Absolute Batman: Hush. Maybe they'll make these new pages also available for purchase online; that might even things out a bit.
My crazy idea: what if the new pages tie Final Crisis to Grant's forthcoming Multiversity series, or star DC New 52 characters or reference his Action Comics work, or such?
Adding in new pages to Final Crisis makes me want my Absolute Crisis On Infinite Earths to have included the Legends of the DC Universe: Crisis on Infinite Earths special. Perhaps I'll get it whenever DC gets around to collecting the tie-in issues to Crisis.
ReplyDelete@CEB, more pages with President Superman, perhaps? Nitpicky question, but do we know if these are seven contiguous pages or one page per miniseries issue?
ReplyDeleteThis is just a guess....but maybe the Green Lantern/Green Arrow trade contains the stories which were written by Dennis O'Neil but illustrated by Mike Grell? I remember a few that were collected in the recent Showcase Presents GL (was it volume 4 or 5) but were absent from the colour collections....the solicits do reflect art being done by other artists as well, but the issues solicited don't reflect that to the best of my knowledge....
ReplyDeleteNo classic (even 90s.....) collections here?
I don't see any indication this isn't the same Green Lantern/Green Arrow collection(s) that's been floating around for a while, only now what was two paperback volumes is one. Same as the single hardcover volume that's been out for a while -- at least, that's how it looks at the moment.
ReplyDelete@Zach, I was thinking more pages with President Superman, or even an appearance by some of the DC New 52 characters. Whether the pages are contiguous is a good question -- it's like Adventures of Superman #500, where the "deluxe" edition had a number of additional splash pages added in.
ReplyDelete