I've been enjoying writer Tom King's run on Batman, but I know it's been controversial, given among other things the wild "love it or hate it" swing in your comments on my review of I Am Suicide. Much of that seems to center on King's repeated dialogue in Batman #10, being melodious or cacophonous depending on your point of view.
I'd originally been looking in to the deluxe edition to see how DC would handle collecting Batman #7 and #8, parts one and four of the Night of the Monster Men crossover, this being the first Rebirth deluxe edition to collect issues not also collected in the trade paperback collections (issues #7-8 appeared in the hardcover Batman: Night of the Monster Men collection instead). Indeed those two issues are in the deluxe edition, with a simple tag at the end of issue #8 directing the reader to the crossover collection, as pictured below.
But hat tip to Facebook reader Jamie Miller, who pointed out that not only does the deluxe hardcover restore the individual issue credits to each issue (they moved them for the trade paperbacks and I prefer it that way), but it also removes some of the repeated dialogue from issue #10. I checked it out and as far as I can see, only one page from issue #10 is affected; see the original on the left and the deluxe version on the right.
I guess that's a win for those who didn't like the mantra dialogue; again, it didn't bother me and I found it effective, though on re-inspection that's an awfully dialogue-heavy page in the original. Irrespective, it's fascinating to think that DC might be using these deluxe hardcovers as "director's cuts" of the Rebirth series, making changes even from the trades; we were seeing this kind of thing a bit way back around Infinite Crisis, but I hadn't heard of it happening much lately.
The Superman: Action Comics: Rebirth Deluxe Edition actually goes the opposite way and removes the individual issue credits from each issue, in contrast to the trades (and this is how I prefer it); it also re-positions Justice League #52, originally collected in Superman: Action Comics Vol. 2: Welcome to the Planet, to before the start of Superman: Action Comics Vol. 1: Path of Doom.
We did, as you know, lose some of the deluxe editions originally solicited to collect the Rebirth trade paperbacks. Released so far have been the Batman, Action Comics, Justice League, and Flash deluxe editions, and forthcoming are Detective Comics, Harley Quinn, Justice League of America, Nightwing, Suicide Squad, Superman, and Wonder Woman deluxe editions, as well as the deluxe Batman/Flash: The Button. Early solicited but then cancelled were Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, Aquaman, and Green Arrow deluxe collections.
Picking up these Rebirth deluxe books? What do you think of changes being made to these stories as they move from paperback to hardcover?
Did they cancel the green lantern and aquaman hardcover due to their low single issue sales?
ReplyDeleteDon't know. You would think Aquaman might've remained, given the upcoming movie. The "cancelled" books were only "catalog solicited," they never made an actual schedule; I don't know if single issue or trade sales would've been a factor or not.
DeleteBook Depository have got the Aquaman Deluxe HC back on their schedule - as of today it says it is out in 121 days. Was listed as 'unavailable' for a long period before then.
DeleteHey, I hope so, but it's pretty unusual for that to be the case without any of the major online retailers showing it. You sure that's not the deluxe Aquaman: Atlantis Chronicles?
Deletehttps://www.bookdepository.com/Aquaman-HC-Vol-1-2-Deluxe-Edition-Rebirth/9781401271480
DeleteI don't know. I'd be glad if it came out, but none of my regular sources show it back on the schedule.
DeleteSo far, I've pretty much disliked Tom King's run mostly due to the excess in dialogue, too much repetition. It's so unnecessary, and gives me the impression King just doesn't know what to make the characters say.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I do love these Deluxe Edition hardcovers. I was a little annoyed that these are coming out so long after the trades, but it is what it is. It is what it is.
It is what it is...
You say "so long after the trades," but I actually think having them consistent with the third paperback of the books is pretty good. They're not going to release them alongside the second trade and cannibalize sales, so along with the third is probably the soonest you could ever expect to see the hardcovers.
DeleteI think the tag at the end of Batman #8 should have said "for the full story, see Nightwing: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 1 and Detective Comics: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 1" instead. Ka-ching!
ReplyDeleteJokes aside, King had already mentioned the dialogue changes on Twitter, and I'm fine with them as long as they were his idea. And placing Justice League #52 at the beginning of the first Action Comics Deluxe HC was the right call. What I'm curious to see is how the first Wonder Woman volume will handle Rucka's first 14 issues. Will they be arranged in publication order (which is what I think they should do with #15-25)? Should "Year One" come first? Should it come second?
All eyes on the Wonder Woman deluxe edition on October 4 ...
DeleteAccording to Rucka, the intended reading order of his Wonder Woman Rebirth-run is in the single-issue numbered publishing order (alternating between the present & past issues). He seemed to take umbrage with the way the TPBs were collecting them, saying something on twitter along the lines of "Those of you trade-waiting on WW will likely be very confused". The first Deluxe HC includes the Rebirth one-shot & issues 1-14, so, presumably/(hopfully) they'll be collecting it in Rucka's prefered order in these hardcovers!
Delete-Mike
According to Rucka, the intended reading order of his Wonder Woman Rebirth-run is in the single-issue numbered publishing order (alternating between the present & past issues). He seemed to take umbrage with the way the TPBs were collecting them, saying something on twitter along the lines of "Those of you trade-waiting on WW will likely be very confused". The first Deluxe HC includes the Rebirth one-shot & issues 1-14, so, presumably/(hopfully) they'll be collecting it in Rucka's prefered order in these hardcovers!
Delete-Mike
I knew I had seen that Hal Jordan was getting a deluxe edition somewhere! I thought I had imagined it
ReplyDeleteKind of sad that they did this. It's like putting the fig leaf on David.
ReplyDeleteIs it? Or is it like a director's cut of a movie? I guess maybe a director's cut Blu-ray still has the original movie on it. Maybe it'd have been better if they included a feature where they showed what they did?
DeleteBut under that logic, is it ever OK to change a book from issues to trade? Or from trade to trade? Or is it just because this was a controversial move (bowing, perhaps, to critical pressure) that it's a problem?