It's also a good month for Batman collections, with the "now more complete than ever" Batman: Knightfall Omnibus Vol. 2: Knightquest, Batman: Shadow of the Bat Vol. 2 (which collects some of the same material, I know), and the first new collection of Bryan Q. Miller's Stephanie Brown Batgirl series. There's also Grayson and Justice League: Darkseid War omnibuses, the Swamp Thing: Bronze Age collection, the 25th anniversary Wildstorm collection with all-new material, and more.
And can you believe the Vigilante Vol. 1 collection by Marv Wolfman finally came out?! Got to pick that up if you want it to continue!
Let's see what July 2017 has to offer ...
• Absolute Justice League: Origin HC
Joins Absolute Batman: Court of Owls and Absolute Wonder Woman by Azzarello and Chiang as Absolute editions coming out of the New 52 era.
• Aquaman Vol. 3: Crown of Atlantis TP
Collects issues #16-24, which is an impressive nine issues (previous volumes were eight issues each, which is also good). We saw the Rebirth Vol. 1 in January and Vol. 2 in April, and then Vol. 3 will be out in September, so a couple extra months between the second and third volumes, though this is still better pacing than we saw before the issues double-shipped.
• Batgirl: Stephanie Brown Vol. 1 TP
Definitely deserving of a new collection series, this is the first twelve issues of Bryan Q. Miller's Batgirl series starring former Spoiler Stephanie Brown, which was funny and exciting and well-written and had a lot of heart. This gets all the way through the previous Batgirl Rising trade and into The Flood, and presumably the next collection will finish out the Flood issues and The Lesson.
• Batman Vol. 3: I Am Bane TP
Like Aquaman, Batman sees a January-April-September release schedule. Can't argue with 25 issues in the first year; in comparison, it was roughly three-or-so years before DC collected the same amount of New 52 Batman material.
This collection includes issues #16-20 and #23-24, so jumping over the "Button" material (though the solicitation for issue #24 does mention the aftermath of "Button," so it remains to be seen how this will read).
• Batman: Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book One HC
Collects the Rebirth special and issues #1-15, so the first two trades and the "Night of the Monster Men" issues, though I would note that it seems the Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, Aquaman, and Green Arrow deluxe Rebirth hardcovers have all been cancelled.
• Batman: Arkham — Clayface TP
Another in the Batman: Arkham series, which have turned out to be interesting spotlights on Batman's foes, occasionally collecting some uncollected gems. Interesting in this one seems to be an emphasis on all the different Clayfaces over the years; the classic Detective Comics stories are #40 (movie star Basil Karlo), #298 (treasure hunter Matt Hagen), and #478 (scientist Preston Payne), plus Outsiders #21 ("Lady Clay" Sondra Fuller), Batman #550 (Cassius "Clay" Payne), Catwoman #4 (Todd Russell), and Batman: Gotham Knights #69-71 (Johnny Williams). Being one of the rare collections of Gotham Knights issues, I'd like to hope this is issues #68-71, all four parts of the "Shape of Things to Come" story, and not just parts two through four. Secret Origins #44 is the origin of the "Mudpack" and Batman Villains Secret Files includes a "Who's Who" of the various Clayfaces. The only issue I can't place here is the apparent inclusion of Batman: Gotham Knights #23.
• Batman: Knightfall Omnibus Vol. 2: Knightquest HC
These omnibuses are on their way to being the most complete collection of the "Knightfall" storyline ever, with this one including the yet-still-uncollected Justice League Task Force #5-6 and Batman: Shadow of the Bat #21-23 (the latter of which, when it rains it pours, is also collected in its own volume this month; see below). If the third omnibus collects Legends of the Dark Knight #59-61, we'll finally have all the parts of "Knightfall" in collected print.
• Batman: Shadow of the Bat Vol. 2 TP
We discussed in my look at the Fall 2017 DC Comics collections that this was something of a funny trade, collecting as it does parts of "Knightfall," "Knightquest: The Crusade," and "Knightquest: The Search," much of which is also collected elsewhere. Still personally I'm curious to read Alan Grant's work linearly to see what themes or recurring images emerge without the static of the other Bat-title parts; also we've got here Batman: Shadow of the Bat Annual #1, adding to the growing pantheon of collected "Bloodlines" annuals.
• Cyborg Vol. 2: Danger in Detroit TP
Collects issues #6-13. I liked the first volume and I'm eager for the second, and eight issues is a nice size, too. This finishes the "Imitation of Life" storyline and into "Danger in Detroit."
• Deadman by Kelley Jones: The Complete Collection TP
This includes Jones and Mike Baron's Deadman: Love After Death and Exorcism. and some stories from Action Comics Weekly. As the title suggests, the draw is Jones's art, though for completeness I might have liked to see some of Baron's Deadman stories from Action Comics that weren't drawn by Jones.
• Earth 2: Society Vol. 4: Life After Death TP
The final collection of Dan Abnett's Earth 2: Society, issues #17-22.
• Grayson: The Superspy Omnibus HC
Among the best things to come out of the New 52/DC You, if you never read Tom King and Tim Seeley's Grayson, this the book for you. This definitive collection includes all the material from all the previous trades, including the Annuals, the two Robin War issues, the Futures End tie-in, and Nightwing: Rebirth.
• Green Arrow Vol. 3: Emerald Outlaw TP
Issues #12-17, the entire "Emerald Outlaw" storyline, ending just before "The Return of Roy Harper."
• Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps Vol. 3: The Quest for Hope TP
Issues #14-21, so another eight-issue collection, with the "Quest for Hope" and "Prism of Time" storylines. At this point Robert Venditti is approaching something over 50 issues of Green Lantern in one form or another, which is pretty notable in this day and age.
• Harley Quinn by Karl Kesel and Terry Dodson Deluxe Edition Book One HC
The 2000s Harley Quinn series lasted thirty-eight issues, but just twenty-five (and the Our Worlds at War issue) were written by Kesel, and just nineteen were drawn by Dodson. This collects issues #1-8; the entire series (including issues by AJ Lieberman) have been collected in paperback.
• Harley's Little Black Book HC
The six issue miniseries with Zatanna, DC Bombshells, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Lobo.
• Justice League of America Vol. 1: The Extremists TP
The first six issues of the new Steve Orlando Justice League of America series; the Rebirth issue is in its own trade with the individual character Rebirth issues.
• Justice League: The Darkseid War Saga Omnibus HC
Collects Justice League #40-50, the Darkseid War specials, and the Divergence story.
• Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Vol. 3 HC
Said to collect Brave and the Bold #152, 154-178, and #180-182, Detective Comics #444-446, #448, #468-470, #480, #492, #493, #495-499, #501, #502, #508, and #509, Batman Family #17, and Untold Legend of the Batman #1-3. Some of this near as I can tell is just cover work, so you'll have to tell me if there's anything super-notable here.
• New Teen Titans Vol. 7 TP
This is the "Judas Contract" story and aftermath, though still within the contents of the New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 3.
• Sixpack and Dogwelder: Hard-Travelin’ Heroz TP
Noonan's Bar cameos in the Batman and Robin Eternal Vol. 1. That is all.
• Superman Vol. 3: Multiplicity TP
Collects issues #14-17 and the Annual #1, which is fewer issues than I'd like as compared to some of the others on this list. It ends just before the "Superman Reborn" crossover with Action Comics.
• Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age Omnibus HC
This is said to include House of Secrets #92, Swamp Thing #1-24, Saga of the Swamp Thing #1-19, and Saga of the Swamp Thing Annual #1, which brings us right about up to the start of the Alan Moore run.
• Wildstorm: A Celebration of 25 Years HC
Surprisingly, not only does this collect classic issues, pinups, and etc., but also new stories, including WildCATS by Brandon Choi and Jim Lee and by Christos Gage and Dustin Nguyen, Authority by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch (the same as in the new Absolute edition?), Gen13 by J. Scott Campbell, and Backlash by Brett Booth.
• Wonder Girl: Adventures of a Teen Titan TP
What had been previously solicited as DC Spotlight: Wonder Girl is now Wonder Girl: Adventures of a Teen Titan. I'd wondered what this collection was supposed to be tying in to specifically, maybe something comics-related; I'm revising that guess now but I don't want to say more for spoiler reasons.
Contents-wise, again this is Wonder Woman #105 (Wonder Woman as "Wonder Girl"), The Brave and the Bold #60 (first appearance of Donna Troy), Teen Titans #22 (origin of Donna Troy), Adventure Comics #461 (Wonder Woman and Donna Troy team-up), Wonder Woman #105 and #113 (Cassandra Sandsmark stories by John Byrne), Wonder Woman: Donna Troy #1 ("GirlFrenzy" one-shot), and Wonder Girl #1 (Cassie special in the midst of J.T. Krul's pre-Flashpoint Teen Titans run.
• Wonder Woman Vol. 3: The Truth TP
Collects issues #13, #15, #17, #19, #21, #23, and #25, which we now know to be Rucka's last issue of the series, though there should be one more Rucka trade collecting the "Godwatch" issues set between these.
How're you enjoying Rebirth? Any of these books going on your want list? Did you pick up Vigilante?
Great to see "Knightquest: The Search" collected, though a few years back I managed to find all the issues in dollar bins. Weirdly, I realized I recognized the plot from the old "Knightfall" radio drama!
ReplyDeleteDigging Rebirth, as you know. I made the switch to floppies around the time of Morrison's B&R, and I'm getting 13 titles from the line (17 if we count Young Animal books; my special lady friend is picking up a further six). I've dropped two - Green Lanterns for budget reasons, and Superwoman because DC seems to have dropped the ball big time on that one. Otherwise, by and large, Rebirth is a hit.
I'm more than a little surprised/disappointed that "The Judas Contract" is getting two different trade releases, both at least a full month after the animated movie has come out. As someone who's surprisingly never actually read it, I don't like that the movie will be my first exposure (but I also don't want to wait until August, since I'm getting the NTT volumes).
Lastly, I did pick up the Vigilante book (pre-ordered, no less), though my impetus was his multivarious appearance on Arrow this season. Purists might lament that Adrian Chase is not blond, but... well, as River Song might say, "Spoilers!"
What's the other "Judas Contract" trade release besides New Teen Titans Vol. 7? Funny the perspectives on this; you're like, why isn't it coming out sooner, and I'm like, "Judas Contract" again? They've already reprinted that like twice!
DeleteI guess we're all caught up on Arrow at this point, so I can say that for me, the fact that they revealed Prometheus's identity before Vigilante's is very telling. Flash got me once with that man in the iron mask thing; I'm on to the tricks now ...
DC is coming out with Volume 7 of THE NEW TEEN TITANS collections in August. It reprints TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS #42-48 and TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #3.
DeleteThere is also a new edition of THE JUDAS CONTRACT, one of DC's earliest tpb collections that has been out of print for awhile. It's scheduled for May to coincide with the DVD movie and collects THE NEW TEEN TITANS #39 and 40, TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS #41-44 and ANNUAL #3.
So, yeah, there is going to be some marketplace confusion for retailers and readers.
Though I wonder if there's some element of coincidence. It would have been really hard to plan out the paperbacks of New Teen Titans that specifically over that many years to have the "Judas Contract" issues come out at this exact moment, I think.
DeleteFor me, this looks like a down month is terms of order size.
ReplyDeleteDC:
Batman vol 3
Wonder Woman vol 3
Stephanie Brown Batgirl
Shadow of the Bat vol 2 - I am on the fence with this one. I need to see how much is already covered in other stuff I own.
Marvel:
Epic Collection Thor - In Mortal Flesh - collecting 401 - 418
Epic Collection Avengers Operation Galactic Storm
Dark Horse:
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8 omnibus vol 1
IDW: still waiting to see their solicits
What does DC know that we don't about Stephanie Brown and Clayface for this Autumn? Are they timing these releases around the Gotham TV show or something?
ReplyDeleteReaction to the popularity of the Rebirth Detective Comics series, you think, or something more? I highly doubt Stephanie Brown on Gotham; I'd fall out of my chair.
DeleteDefinitely getting:
ReplyDeleteKnightfall Omnibus vol 2
Superman: Muliplicity
Wonder Woman: The Truth
JLA: The Extermists
Might get:
Batgirl: Stephanie Brown
Rebirth is really just my thing - I'm loving everything I'm reading (most of the Bat-books, WW, Superman + Action, GLs). I'm also kind of digging the number of 90s titles I'm getting nice editions of - Knightfall, X-Force (vol 2 comes out in Dec.), the new versions of the Death of Superman, and Flash by Waid (and probably five other things I'm forgetting).
is the new versions of death of superman worth getting? I have all the old trades and the recent Superman and the Justice League trades. What is different about them?
DeleteI am also loving the fact that they are reprinting all these great 90's goodies. I can't wait for Flash by Waid vol 2 to come out next week!
@Bob And new Nightwing collections, new Robin collections, new Birds of Prey collections, an expanded Batman: Legacy(!), and on and on. Good times!
Delete@Bartlett Additions include at least the Newstime faux magazine, the Bloodlines annuals, Legacy of Superman, Supergirl/Team Luthor, and possibly some full issues where they were just excerpts before. If someone's got this definitive, I'd be curious to hear it.
I have all five of the new ones. I'll go check contents when I get home, but one of the big draws to me was splitting Reign of the Supermen into two manageable sized books (he says as he waits for two omibii arriving tomorrow). I know they also have one more epilogue issue to Reign regarding Clark Kent's return, and the Doomsday collection is missing two issues that are in the older (the two regular issues) .
Delete@CE, hit me up on email if I forget to give a rundown on the superman books. Also, does the new legacy collection have new things in it?
Okay, here are my expanded thoughts on the newer Death of Superman trades:
DeleteOverall, the new trade dress is way better than the previous, unrelated trade dresses of the original trades. The five volumes, when on your shelf, create the bloody Superman emblem. I don't have my original copies of the trades handy, so I might be overcomplete in describing what's in each collection
Death: Contains the single page teasers "Doomsday is coming" from each of the four Superman titles (Action 683, Superman 73, Man of Steel 17 and Adventures 496), then issues and full covers of the main crossover, plus the Newstime special. There are also a few extra art gallery pages and a pretty cool whiteboard chart of the general flow of the post death books (outline format for Funeral for a Friend). Triangle issues 45 (1992)-2 (1993)
Funeral: Contains the main FfoF storyline originally collected, plus Supergirl and Team Luthor (including the pinup gallery in the back), Legacy of Superman, and Justice League 70. It also contains the main story from Adventure 500 (the epilogue which introduces the four new Supermen is in the Reign of the Supermen collection). Triangle issues 3-11
Reign: Contains the rest of Adventures 500, two of the four Bloodlines Annuals (interspersed through the collection), and Superman titles up to the arrival of Warworld. There are also four pages at the end of designs/sketches for the four new Supermen
Triangle issues 12-19
Return: Contains the remainder of Reign of the Supermen, the final two Bloodlines annuals (also interspersed), GL #46, and three epilogues - I believe the previous collection ended at Adventures 505, but this one also includes Superman 83 and Action 692.
Triangle issues 20-32, 34 (T33 is part 1 of 3 part story line in Man of Steel)
Doomsday: Contains the '95 annual and two Jurgens-penned Doomsday series: Hunter/Prey and Doomsday Wars. The original Doomsday collection also included Adventures #594 and Superman #175, neither by Dan Jurgens.
Final thoughts: I appreciate having the Reign of the Supermen split into two smaller trades. The breakpoint between them - Warworld's arrival - is a nice place for a split. I also enjoyed that they split Adventures 500 between Funeral and Reign. That made a lot of sense, thematically. The inclusion of the Bloodlines annuals makes sense - each features one of the new Supermen - but being spread out through two volumes instead of collected together was a bit of an odd choice. Overall, I don't regret buying these at all, despite owning the original trades. They look much nicer on the shelf, have a decent amount of extra content, and are more manageable sizes.
I appreciate the very complete update. I had been thinking the new Death of Superman collection included the full issues that ended with the "Doom" teasers, which it apparently does not, but that Return does have the full epilogue issues, which is good (shout out to the new, more complete Panic in the Sky collection, too!). The Bloodlines annuals would be a big draw for me, too.
DeleteIt's a shame whenever a collection doesn't include issues it did before -- i.e. certain issues coming out of the Doomsday collection -- but I can understand why they might make it all Jurgens.
Death of Superman still has Justice League #69? I would think so, since Funeral has #70. I recall there was some question about this before the new book came out.
@Bob The original Legacy collection had the full "Legacy" story proper: Shadow of the Bat #53-54; Batman #533-534; Detective Comics #699 (excerpt), #700-702; Catwoman #35 (excerpt) and #36, Robin #31 (excerpt), #32-33.
DeleteThis new one has, with presumably no excerpts, Catwoman #33-35, Robin #31, Detective Comics #697-700, Shadow of the Bat #53, and Batman #533. So you've actually got far less "Legacy" proper and far more lead in (heavy on the Catwoman and Detective Comics).
That's maybe not what the casual reader is looking for, but it follows exactly from the new Contagion trade, so reading Contagion, Legacy Vol. 1, and Legacy Vol. 2 together, one gets a big chunk of 1990s Batman comics. There's a gap and then another big chunk collected with the new Cataclysm and two Road to No Man's Land books.
Yes, Justice League 69 is in the Death trade - forgot to mention it (and the comments section is impossible to edit - there are a few typos and comments I'd have added if I could). I don't mind the two issues pulled from the Doomsday collection - one is a Last Laugh tie-in and neither is really part of the Death/Rebirth series.
DeleteThanks for the update on Legacy - I'm debating updating my collection w/those, too (I did just get the new Cataclysm and Road TPBS).
Would there be a market for some sort of Legacy: Aftermath set of trades that bridges Legacy to Cataclysm - it's about 18 issues a piece of Shadow, Batman, and 'Tec - that's maybe two trades per title?
Also, somewhat related, Knightfall Omnibus v1 just arrived at my apartment - it is glorious.
I'd buy it, but I don't know how many else would. That was in a period where DC was specifically doing one- and two-off stories in the Batman titles to offset the crossovers of the past year. You've got Doug Moench and Kelley Jones on Batman (stories not yet collected in their own creator collections), Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan on Detective. Final Night and Genesis crossovers. Good stuff of its time, to be sure, but about eighteen issues that I'm not sure have a real "hook" for collections purposes.
DeleteI wish they had included the "Day of Doom" miniseries by Jurgens and Sienkiewicz--it was published on the 10th anniversary of Death of Superman.
DeleteHuh, so DC did cancel some Rebirth Deluxe editions. I guess that's why Deathstroke and Green Lanterns Deluxe editions weren't listed on Edelweiss
ReplyDeleteAt least Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, Green Arrow, and Aquaman. Keeping an eye on this.
DeleteI'm loving Rebirth. Sadly I think I have to go buy the single issues of "The Button" because I have a feeling that story will be too big to ignore until trade.
ReplyDeleteWhat really interests me in this solicit are the older titles. Specifically Knightfall and Swamp Thing. I haven't read any Swamp Thing other than Snyder's version, but I find myself super excited for that Bronze Age omnibus. Also, I think I'll be picking up Vigilante later on.
Vigilante! (I feel some compulsion to keep saying it. :-) )
DeleteYeah, I've tried to avoid "Superman: Reborn" spoilers in my feed but it's been tough; I'm sure "Button" is going to be a similar situation.
Do the Clayface and Wonder Girl collections include any uncollected or rarely collected material?
ReplyDeleteI don't know how "important" they are, but from my perspective, the Clayface collection has previously-uncollected Gotham Knights issues (Batman #550 is also in the Chase collection).
DeleteIn the Wonder Girl book, the modern Wonder Woman #113 isn't collected (but probably will be in the new John Byrne volumes) and neither is that latter Wonder Woman: Donna Troy issue, which is written and drawn by Phil Jimenez and has Captain Marvel in it.
I thought dc was releasing the entire batgirl run in June?
ReplyDeleteThe entirety of the Bryan Q. Miller series? No, it looks like it's split into two volumes.
DeleteDC, finding news ways to make more money. I saw the original solicitation. It was supposed to be one volume, but DC got greedy and cut it to two volumes.
ReplyDeleteFrom the first time I saw it listed, it's always been issues #1-13. You're seeing something different?
DeleteI saw it months ago and it was supposed to be released as one big omnibus. I think they changed it.
DeleteI can't speak to what you saw, only that I've only seen the book the way it was finally solicited. Note that the earlier the listing, the more likely it is to change just because the information isn't final; we usually don't know the final form of a book until it's actually included in a monthly solicitation. That's not "greed" necessarily, just an evolving project roll-out. It could also be that the early solicitation got too few pre-orders, not too many, so they split the book to better its chances; in that way the split would be a positive thing.
Delete