DC Trade Solicitations for December 2019 - Birds of Prey Movie Tie-Ins, Batman: Arkham: Black Mask and Zsasz, Gotham Knights, Green Arrow by Grell Omnibus, Bat and Cat: 80 Years, Harleen by Sejic, Injustice Vs. Masters of the Universe

Solicitations toward the end of the year do tend to slow down a little, so it's not a big surprise not to see a whole lot of note in the DC Comics December 2019 trade paperback and hardcover solicitations. It's not that there's nothing here, but consider we've got something like five-six books of entirely re-collected material to tie into the new Birds of Prey movie, and then books like Omega Men by Tom King Deluxe, Nightwing by Peter Tomasi, and Aquaman: Death of a Prince Deluxe — all good books, all worthy of being collected, but all stuff I got when it was collected the first time around.

Two books, related, that I am happy about are Batman: Gotham Knights: Transference and Batman: Arkham: Zsasz. Gotham Knights collects 12 issues of the Devin Grayson-lead, post-"No Man's Land" title, that era's "Batman Family" title long before James Tynion's Detective Comics was a glimmer in anyone's eye, and representative of a very specific Batman era — Nightwing, Oracle, Robin Tim Drake, and Batgirl Cassandra Cain. Then the Zsasz book, along with collecting stories of one of my favorite Bat-villains, has a story by Grayson originally scheduled for Gotham Knights but cut for being too gory; I'm excited to see this finally make print.

Weirdly, we also get another new reprinting of the first issues of the 1980s Justice League International. This is worrisome because it's probably based off the recent omnibus, and the omnibus didn't collect the whole series, so I'm concerned another paperback run of this series might end prematurely again. It's surprising even to see this being collected again; I can't imagine we'll get another shot if this doesn't make it.

Then of course there's new Flash and Green Arrow and other stuff on my regular buying list. Let's take a look at the whole slate:

• Adventures of Superman: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez Vol. 2 HC

Includes DC Comics Presents #41 (Superman and the Joker, with Martin Pasko), Realworlds: Superman #1 and Superman, Inc. #1 (both with Steve Vance), Superman: Kal #1 (with Dave Gibbons), and Superman #347, World’s Finest Comics #244, #255 and #258, and Action Comics #1000, along with cover art and more.

• Aquaman: Death of a Prince Deluxe Edition HC

Reprinting the 2011 paperback, now in hardcover, of the 1970s stories by David Michelinie, Jim Aparo, Mike Grell, and Don Newton, in which Aquaman's infant son is murdered by Black Manta. Collects Adventure Comics #435-437, #441-445 and Aquaman #57-63 (the end of his solo series at the time).

• The Bat and the Cat: 80 Years of Romance HC

Hardcover collection of Batman/Catwoman team-ups; still no contents to speak of.

• Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 1: Lesser Gods TP

Collects the new Batman and the Outsiders #1-7, by Bryan Hill and Dexter Soy. Some of these issues bore the "Year of the Villain: The Offer" branding.

• Batman Beyond Vol. 6: Divide, Conquer and Kill TP

Issues #30-36 by Dan Jurgens, including apparently a guest appearance by the future Flash.

• Batman by Neal Adams Book Three TP

This cutdown of the omnibus includes the stories from two book and record sets with art by Adams, plus Batman #232, #234, #237, #243-245, #251, and #255, including "Daughter of the Demon" and "Night of the Reaper."

• Batman: Arkham: Black Mask TP

In connection with the upcoming Birds of Prey/Harley Quinn movie, this collects Batman #386-387 and Detective Comics #553 (crossover, Black Mask's first appearances, by Doug Moench and Tom Mandrake on Batman and Moench and Klaus Janson on Detective), #484-485 (by Moench and Tom Grindberg, not so far off from "Knightfall"), #648 (an issue from Judd WInick's Red Hood-focused run, with Doug Mahnke), and Catwoman #16 (Selina's definitive confrontation with Black Mask, by Ed Brubaker and Cameron Stewart) and #83 (later Blackest Night tie-in by Tony Bedard) — as well as, new to this solicitation, the equally just-in-time-for-the-movie Black Mask: Year of the Villain special, credited to Tom Taylor, Cully Hamner, and Mitch Gerads.

• Batman: Arkham: Victor Zsasz TP

Pretty notably, this now contains a previously-unpublished story by Devin Grayson and Roger Robinson, which was originally pulled from Gotham Knights for being too gory.

We also get Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1-4, the debut story by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle; Batman: Streets of Gotham #10-11 by Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen; a story from Batman Chronicles #3, again by Grant with Jennifer Graves; Batman: Batgirl #1, a "Girlfrenzy" issue by Kelley Puckett and Jim Balent; Detective Comics #815-816, by Shane McCarthy and Cliff Chiang, as Zsasz goes after Alfred; a story from the New 52 Detective Comics #18 by John Layman and Jason Fabok; and a pin-up by Matt Wagner from Rogues Gallery #1.

One of my favorite Zsasz stories is Batman #493, from "Knightfall," a spooky, slasher flick-inspired tale, and I rather wish it was in there.

• Batman: Gotham Knights: Transference TP

The first twelve issues of Devin Grayson's Bat-family book Gotham Knights, ending (for context) just before "Officer Down." With appearances by Nightwing, Oracle, Batgirl Cassandra Cain, Robin Tim Drake, Huntress, and Hugo Strange. Grayson's run goes to #32 and I hope very much this gets another volume. Issue #12 was by Jen Van Meter; the story that was originally supposed to appear there, but was pulled, will be in the Batman: Arkham: Zsasz collection.

• Batman: The Golden Age Vol. 6 TP

Batman #21-25, Detective Comics #82-92, and World's Finest #12-14, where among other things Batman and Robin stop cattle rustlers. In paperback for the first time.

• Batwoman by JH Williams III Omnibus HC

I'm glad to see this omnibus, well-deserved for the character, and it makes me excited for what the new CW show could bring for Kate Kane. Granted, I'm not sure the other CW shows have done anything for their respective characters' comics profiles, but to have Batwoman in the public consciousness now like Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, and Kara Zor-El are would be a great thing indeed.

Interesting that this is called "by JH Williams" when there's at least a couple issues in there not by Williams, but certainly it's better that this is a complete omnibus of Batwoman's first couple years than not. I don't disagree with stopping this at #24, but I wouldn't have minded Marguerite Bennett's Rebirth series being in there too.

• Birds of Prey: Black Canary TP

Tying in to the new Birds of Prey movie, a collection of Brendan Fletcher and Annie Wu's entire DC You Black Canary series (previously collected in two trades), in which Dinah goes on the road as a rock star.

• Birds of Prey: Harley Quinn TP

Appears to reprint the first issues of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti's New 52 series, issues #1-7, the Harley Quinn: Futures' End tie-in, and the Harley story from Secret Origins #4. In comparison, Harley Quinn Vol. 1: Hot in the City was issues #0-8 and the two ancillary issues were collected in Harley Quinn Vol. 2: Power Outage.

• Birds of Prey: Murder &Amp; Mystery TP

Collects issues #56-67 of the original Gail Simone run, being the Of Like Minds and Sensei & Student collections, minus the one-off issue #68.

• Birds of Prey: The Huntress TP

Greg Rucka's six-issue Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood miniseries with Rick Burchett, in the wake of "No Man's Land."

• Books of Magic Vol. 2: Second Quarto TP

Collects issues issues #7-13 (previously listed as #7-12) of the Sandman Universe series by Kat Howard and Tom Fowler; this is the end of "year one" and the next volume should start "year two," with John Constantine joining Sandman Universe.

• Damage Vol. 3: Monstrous TP

Issues #13-16 and Annual #1, the final issues of Robert Venditti's "New Age of Heroes" series, guest-starring the Justice League.

• The Dreaming Vol. 2: Empty Shells TP

Issues #7-12 of the Sandman Universe series by Simon Spurrier and Bilquis Evely.

• The Flash Vol. 11: The Greatest Trick of All HC

The collection immediately following the Heroes in Crisis-related "Price" crossover with Batman and preceding Joshua Williamson's new Flash: Year One, collecting issues #66-69 and Annual #2.

This has switched to hardcover now, and it's volume 11. DC has historically been shy about having trades numbered up this high, fearing customers will be intimidated to start, so it'll be interesting to see if changes are afoot anytime soon.

• Green Arrow by Mike Grell Omnibus Vol. 1 HC

What'll probably be a two-volume omnibus set, this collects Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters #1-3, Green Arrow #1-50, and a story from Secret Origins #38, with introduction by Mike Grell and afterword by Mike Gold. Grell's run went to #80, so 30 more issues for the next book plus Grell's Green Arrow: The Wonder Years miniseries.

• Green Arrow Vol. 8: The End of the Road TP

Issues #39-42 and #48-50 by Mairghread Scott, Jackson Lanzing, and Collin Kelly, tying in to Justice League: No Justice and Heroes in Crisis and bringing the series to a close. Issues #43-47 by Julie and Shawna Benson were in Green Arrow Vol. 7; issues #45 and #48-50 will be in the Heroes in Crisis: The Price and Other Tales collection.

• Harleen HC

Collects the three-issue DC Black Label miniseries by Stjepan Sejic.

• Hellblazer Vol. 22: Regeneration TP

Collects Hellblazer #250-260 and Hellblazer Special: Chas — The Knowledge #1-5, by Peter Milligan and Simon Oliver, respectively, and others.

• High Level TP

Collects the six-issue miniseries by Rob Sheridan and Barnaby Bagenda. Previously published under the relaunched Vertigo, the trade will be branded with DC Black Label.

• The Huntress: Origins TP

A direct reprinting of the Huntress: Darknight Daughter trade from a few years back, collecting Paul Levitz's original 1970s stories about the Earth-2 Helena Wayne. With DC Super Stars #17, Batman Family #18-20, and Wonder Woman #271-287, #289, #290, #294, and #295.

• Infinite Crisis Omnibus New Edition HC

A fine and well-deserved omnibus, though it doesn't appear that this "new edition" contains anything different than the previous printings. Being Action Comics #826 and #829, Adventures of Superman #639 and #642, Countdown To Infinite Crisis #1, Day of Vengeance #1-6, Day of Vengeance Infinite Crisis Special #1, JLA #115-119, Infinite Crisis #1-6, Infinite Crisis Secret Files 2006 #1, The OMAC Project #1-6, The OMAC Project Infinite Crisis Special #1, Rann-Thanagar War #1-6, Rann-Thanagar Infinite Crisis Special #1, Superman #216 and #219, Villains United #1-6, Villains United Infinite Crisis Special #1, and Wonder Woman #219.

• Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe TP

Tim Seeley and Freddie Williams' six-issue miniseries.

• Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Five: The Complete Collection TP

Issues #1-20 and the Annual #1 by Brian Buccellato.

• Justice League International Book One: Born Again TP

A cutdown, it would seem, of the recent Justice League International Omnibus. Notably, there's yet to be a second omnibus volume, so that's not complete; hopefully DC will actually one day collect the entirety of the involved series.

Collects Justice League #1-6, Justice League International #7-17, Justice League Annual #1, Justice League International Annual #2 and Suicide Squad #13. The last set of paperbacks went up to Justice League International/America #35 and Justice League Europe #11 before cutting off; the omnibus only collected through League #30 and Europe #6. This new trade collects through about the middle of the third smaller trade.

• Justice League: Origin Deluxe Edition HC

Issues #1-12 of the New 52 series, being the Origin and Villain's Journey collections, following the 2017 Absolute edition.

• Legends of the Dark Knight: Steve Englehart HC

Detective Comics #439 and #469-476, Batman: Dark Detective #1-6, Legends of the Dark Knight #109-111, Legends of the DC Universe #26-27 (Joker and Aquaman, playing on Englehart's "Joker Fish" story), and a story from Batman Chronicles #19.

• The Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 3 HC

Adventure Comics #361-380, Action Comics #378-392, Superboy #147, and Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #106.

• Lucifer Vol. 2: The Divine Tragedy TP

Issues #7-13 (not #7-12 as previously solicited) of the Sandman Universe series.

• Nightwing by Peter J. Tomasi TP

Nightwing #140-153, shortly before Nightwing took the mantle of the Bat in the Grant Morrison era, by new Detective Comics writer Peter Tomasi. Being the Freefall and Great Leap trades, I enjoyed these very much at the time.

• Omega Men by Tom King Deluxe Edition HC

Well deserved to be finally in hardcover; if you didn't buy this before, go and buy it now. An instant classic by Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda.

• Scooby Apocalypse Vol. 6 TP

Issues #31-36 by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis, the final issues of the series. Solicitation suggests it also includes the Atom Ant backups.

• Scooby-Doo Team-Up: It's Scooby Time! TP

Collects the final issues of Sholly Fisch's Scooby-Doo Team-Up series, issues #44-50, with Mister Miracle and Big Barda, Black Lightning, and the Flash.

• Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth HC

Hardcover of the painted prose story by Paul Dini and Alex Ross.

• World's Finest: Guardians of the Earth HC

Collects World's Finest Comics #195-214, 1970s team-ups between Superman and Green Lantern, Aquaman, Batman, Hawkman, Green Arrow, the Atom, and the Diana Prince-era Wonder Woman.

Review: The Batman Who Laughs hardcover/paperback (DC Comics)

Despite the supposed end to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman collaboration with Batman: Last Knight on Earth, on stands now, in many respects it feels like Snyder's second act with Batman is just getting started. Sure, Snyder's writing the whole Justice League now, but with books first like Dark Nights: Metal and then leading in to The Batman Who Laughs, it's clear Snyder's League has a lot of basis in his Batman work and in his Batman mythos.

Indeed, too, it's not just the presence of artist Jock that hearkens back to Snyder's earliest Batman work, Batman: The Black Mirror, it's the story as well; Snyder has written a sequel. It's subtle — one need not have read Black Mirror (now shockingly almost a decade old) to enjoy this book, but the connections are there (plus shades, too, of The Killing Joke). Also there are connections to the themes of Snyder's New 52 Batman run, placing Batman Who Laughs firmly in the Snyder canon — more so, even, than Dark Nights: Metal, since Laughs is set firmly in the Gotham that looms so large in Snyder's books.

Review: Review: Justice League Vol. 2: Graveyard of Gods trade paperback (DC Comics)

DC Comics collections gets in this kind of quandary once in a while, where a title like Scott Snyder and company's Justice League Vol. 2: Graveyard of Gods and Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth share five issues in common and only differ by two in one book, three in the other.

Independent to Graveyard are Justice League #8-9 and independent to Drowned are Aquaman #41-42 and Titans #28; both books share Justice League #10-12 and the Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth #1 and Aquaman/Justice League: Drowned Earth #1 specials. Optimally DC might've stuck the two books together, adding just two more issues to the Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth collection; collecting it all together, essentially, so no one has to double-dip. Justice League issues #8-9 are far from unrelated, with sub-plots that specifically set up Drowned Earth.

Review: Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Mythology hardcover/paperback (DC Comics)

Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke's Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Mythology debut is problematic. I finished the book surprised and disappointed — in part because I mistakenly believed the story tied in to Tomasi's post-Detective Comics #1000 Arkham Knight story — and it was only my realization five minutes later that Mythology is a run-up-to-Detective-#1000 story (the event, not any particular plot point) that redeemed it for me.

It is not badly written, and indeed Tomasi brings the drama and Mahnke the pizazz that will surely serve them well in their Detective run. It's simply that, wow, to tell a story like Mythology in this day and age and without working some aspect of "1000" into it to tip off readers (trade readers, at least) as to how to interpret this story is gutsy in the extreme. As well, though it's somewhat hard to discern, what one might take here as hints to the direction of Tomasi's Detective run also gives me pause. Time will tell for Tomasi's tenure, but I'm curious to what extent others found Mythology controversial, too.

Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth hardcover/paperback (DC Comics)

With the Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth crossover, we find ourselves firmly in the post-Dark Nights: Metal era; "outrageous as the norm" has become not the exception but the rule. That's not bad necessarily; the best of Metal's cosmic loftiness on top of cosmic loftiness is here too, undercut with admirable "we're all in it together" humanism. But if Metal was too much for you, with Justice League: No Justice right after it, consider jumping ship now, as Drowned Earth suggests such tone wasn't an accident and there's probably more to come.

Drowned Earth is a pretty grand Aquaman story, certainly beautifully illustrated. Inasmuch as one is occasionally reminded of Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, it's nice to see an Aquaman event where the conflict isn't Atlantis versus the land or vice versa — that Arthur Curry can star in stories other than where his loyalties are called into question. It is not perhaps the best end to Dan Abnett's Aquaman series run, in that Abnett doesn't get much room to do his own thing, but there are ways we can read between the lines that speak to some of Abnett's themes.

Review: Suicide Squad Vol. 8: Constriction trade paperback (DC Comics)

Rob Williams' Rebirth-era Suicide Squad ends with Suicide Squad Vol. 8: Constriction; with a second movie in the works, it's almost assured that this iteration is being cancelled to make way for a relaunch.

Williams' take has been quite good — probably among the best Suicide Squad interpretations in a while, at least given the length of time that Williams' wrote the series and not counting other writers' good single volumes here or there. It's unfortunate that Constriction lacks almost all of the series' signature punch, perhaps due — I can only guess — to the book's cancellation. Suicide Squad Vol. 7: Drain the Swamp was among the high points, and it's a shame the title couldn't have been allowed to quit while it was ahead. Constriction delivers a middling end.

Review: Aquaman/Suicide Squad: Sink Atlantis trade paperback (DC Comics)

Aquaman/Suicide Squad: Sink Atlantis is a workable crossover as it goes, hearkening back to the good old days (somewhat back in favor now) when titles used to cross-over without the need for additional event bookends. This is an unusual mash-up, though enjoyable in its strangeness, an effort to bring two of DC's prominent movie-property franchises together, though right at the point where the Suicide Squad comic is about to be cancelled and the Aquaman comic is about to get a new creative team.

That makes this a somewhat inopportune time for an event, though the dual presence and hard work of writers Dan Abnett and Rob Williams is extremely evident; rarely does it seem like one book's cast steals the spotlight over the other's regardless of which title we're in. If anything, the Aquaman title takes a minor hit in that I think an important event gets elided for purposes of rushing to the crossover. In all, however, this is a good example of how a crossover can be done simply and straightforwardly.

Review: Hellblazer Vol. 4: The Good Old Days (Rebirth) trade paperback (DC Comics)

As yet another attempt at reintegrating John Constantine into the DC Universe comes to an end, Tim Seeley finally gets it right with the Rebirth Hellblazer Vol. 4: The Good Old Days. It is, of course, too late, and most of this series would best be forgotten, but at least we got one good Constantine story out of it. Hopefully, now that DC's deciding to give it another go, Seeley's last story of this series might serve as a model. Devils and demons abound here, but Seeley finds the right mix of supernatural and human evil to spin a Constantine tale that doesn't feel watered down for the DC Universe.

[Review contains spoilers]

The high concept of Good Old Days is that Seeley teams Constantine with the New 52/Rebirth version of "Matron" Huntress Helena Bertinelli, created by Seeley and Tom King for Grayson. A street-level hero feels more apt for Hellblazer, grounding the action, than when Constantine had a punch-out off-panel with Superman in Hellblazer Vol. 2: The Smokeless Fire, for instance. Helena hunts an old flame of Constantine's who's possessed by the ghosts of mobster brothers; again, there are demons and hellscapes aplenty, but Seeley's basing the story in terrestrial (or pseudo-terrestrial) villains goes a long way toward upping the realism, danger, and suspense.

DC Trade Solicitations for November 2019 - Wonder Woman: War of the Gods Omnibus, Mister Miracle by Englehart and Gerber, Justice League by Snyder Deluxe, Morrison's The Green Lantern Vol. 2, Batman Vol. 11

Following on the heels of DC Comics' Spring 2020 catalog, some of those books have now arrived in their November 2019 trade paperback and hardcover solicitations. In terms of fan favorites, I wholly support the big chunk of 1990s comics that is the Wonder Woman: War of the Gods Omnibus, including a slew of never-before-collected issues and also continuing DC's slow creep toward collecting their event crossovers all in full.

Another one, just in terms of surprise, is the Mister Miracle by Steve Englehart and Steve Gerber collection. Due probably in no small part to the upcoming New Gods movie, it's cool to see DC releasing further Fourth World adventures — not just the classic stuff, but the ways in which other authors continued the saga and integrated the New Gods into the DC Universe proper.

Other than that, most of my picks are just for regular series; over the summer, it's seemed like DC's release of regular-series trades has shrunk to a trickle, so I'm excited to see a selection of "read right away" books on this list. For me, those include Peter Tomasi's Detective Comics Vol. 2 and Tom King's Batman Vol. 11; Marc Andreyko's Supergirl Vol. 2; Grant Morrison's The Green Lantern Vol. 2; the hardcover collection of Teen Titans/Deathstroke: The Terminus Agenda; Robert Venditti's Hawkman Vol. 2, and the first Dial H for HERO collection. Those of you who were collecting the Rebirth Deluxe Editions will probably be happy with Justice League by Scott Snyder Deluxe Edition Book One, too (though no guarantees on matching spine designs!).

Check out all of this month's offerings below.

• Absolute Swamp Thing by Alan Moore Vol. 2 HC

Collects Swamp Thing (nee Saga of the Swamp Thing) issues #35-50, being the Saga of the Swamp Thing Vol. 3 and Saga of the Swamp Thing Vol. 4 collections. Includes the first appearance of John Constantine, a Crisis on Infinite Earths tie-in, and a significant event in the life of Zatara.

Note the solicitation names this Absolute Edition as coming out of DC Black Label.

• Aquaman Vol. 1: Unspoken Water TP

Paperback of the start of Kelly Sue DeConnick's run, issues #43-47, with art by Robson Rocha.

• Aquaman Vol. 2: Amnesty HC

Issues #48-52 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Robson Rocha, in hardcover.

• Batgirl Vol. 6: Old Enemies TP

Issues #30-36 by new team of Mairghread Scott and Paul Pelletier.The previous volume came out in May and this one's scheduled for December; feels like a long time.

• Batman Vol. 11: The Fall and the Fallen TP

Issues #70-74 and Batman Secret Files #2 by Tom King, due now in December (previously listed as January).

• Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 2: Arkham Knight HC

Detective Comics #1001-1005, the annual #2, and a story from Detective Comics #1000 by Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. Tomasi's first Detective Comics volume was not what I expected; I'm eager for the "real start" here.

• Black Orchid New Edition TP

Apparently a Black Label release, according to the solicitation, of of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's four-issue pre-Sandman miniseries.

• Blackhawk: Blood & Iron HC

Collecting the three-issue 1988 miniseries by Howard Chaykin that reimagined the team in World War II, following the end of their originally numbered series in 1984, alsong with stories from Action Comics Weekly #601-608, #615-622, and #628-635 (by Mike Grell among others), and Secret Origins #45, all of which followed the miniseries continuity.

• DC Poster Portfolio by Joshua Middleton TP

Well-deserved; I am not usually one for variant covers, but Middleton's work always catches my eye, especially what he's done on Aquaman and Batgirl.

• Dial H for Hero Vol. 1: Enter the Heroverse TP

Issues #1-6 from Brian Michael Bendis' Wonder Comics imprint, by Sam Humphries.

• Famous First Edition: New Fun #1 HC

Hardcover of DC's first comic, black and white and tabloid size (10.5 x 15.125), with essays by Roy Thomas and Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson, grand-daughter of Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, founder of National Allied Publications (precursor to DC).

• Female Furies TP

Cecil Castellucci's six-issue modern take on the Female Furies, with Adriana Melo, plus Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle #9, inspiration for the story.

• The Green Lantern Vol. 2: The Day the Stars Fell HC

Issues #7-12 in hardcover by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp. This is the end of the first volume of Morrison's Green Lantern saga, before the three-issue Green Lantern: Blackstars miniseries by Morrison and Xermanico.

• The Green Lantern Vol. 1: Intergalactic Lawman TP

Paperback of issues #1-6 by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp.

• Green Lantern: Rebirth Deluxe Edition HC

Deluxe-size edition of the six-issue Geoff Johns miniseries plus material from Green Lantern Secret Files and Origins #1.

• Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey TP

Ahead of the movie, collects Detective Comics #831 (Harley Quinn story by Paul Dini), Nightwing/Huntress #2, Gotham Central #6 ("Half a Life," part one), Batman #567 (first appearance of Cassandra Cain, during "No Man's Land"), Catwoman #16 (from the 2002 series by Ed Brubaker, the end of "Relentless" and a significant Catwoman/Black Mask story) and a story from Showcase ’96 #3 (Birds of Prey story with Black Canary, Oracle, and Lois Lane).

• Hawkman Vol. 2: Deathbringer TP

Second collection by Robert Venditti and Bryan Hitch, issues #7-12.

• Injustice 2 Vol. 6 TP

Issues #31-36 and Annual #2, the final collection of the series. Bring on Injustice vs. DCeased!

• Justice League by Scott Snyder Deluxe Edition Book One HC

Demonstrating that the "Rebirth Deluxe" hardcovers are not gone, just changed, this is issues #1-12 of the "New Justice" series, the "Totality" and "Graveyard of the Gods" trades plus the two "Drowned Earth" one-shots.

• Mister Miracle by Steve Englehart and Steve Gerber HC

Issues #19-25, The Brave and the Bold #112, #128, and #138, and DC Comics Presents #12. This title picked up the numbering from the Kirby run but started after a three-year hiatus. Brave and the Bold are Batman team-ups; DC Comics Presents has Superman.

• Pearl Vol. 2 TP

Issues #7-12 by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos.

• Promethea Deluxe Edition Book Two HC

Issues #13-24 by Alan Moore and J. H. Williams, in deluxe size with sketches, variant covers, and other bonus material.

• Super Friends: Saturday Morning Comics Vol. 1 HC

The original Super Friends cartoon tie-in comics, Super Friends #1-26, plus the promo Aquateers Meet the Super Friends #1, and stories from Limited Collectors’ Edition #C41 and #C-46, y E. Nelson Bridwell and others.

• Supergirl Vol. 2: Sins of the Circle TP

Issues #27-33 (previous solicitation said to #32) by Marc Andreyko, spinning off from Brian Michael Bendis' Superman series, with an appearance by the Omega Men.

• Superman: For Tomorrow: 15th Anniversary Deluxe Edition HC

Deluxe edition of the Brian Azzarello/Jim Lee arc from the early 2000s. I believe this is the first time all 12 issues have been collected together in one volume in hardcover outside of the Absolute edition (and a paperback compendium).

• Superman: Secret Origin Deluxe Edition HC

Deluxe hardcover edition of the post-Infinite Crisis series by Doomsday Clock's Geoff Johns and Gary Frank.

• Superman/Batman Omnibus Vol. 1 HC

Issues #1-43, which goes way past the Jeph Loeb run to stories by Mark Verheiden, Alan Burnett and Dustin Nguyen, and Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, plus Superman/Batman Annual #1-2, and stories from Superman/Batman: Secret Files #1. Includes the fall of Luthor as president and the return of Supergirl Kara Zor-El.

• Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age Vol. 2 TP

Following Len Wein's initial run, this collects David Michelinie's Swamp Thing #14-24, the end of the first series, plus appearances in Brave and the Bold #122 and #176 (both with Batman), DC Comics Presents #8 (with Superman and Solomon Grundy), and Challengers of the Unknown #81-87 (or is it #82-87?). Also includes art from the unpublished Swamp Thing #25, victim of the DC Implosion, in which Swamp Thing was meant to have teamed up with Hawkman.

• Teen Titans/Deathstroke: The Terminus Agenda HC

The new-new Teen Titans/Deathstroke crossover by Christopher Priest and Adam Glass, collecting Deathstroke #41-43 and Teen Titans #28-30.

• Watchmen Companion HC

DC previously solicited and cancelled a Road to Watchmen: The Question & Blue Beetle collection; none of what was going to be in there will be in here, but this seems in a somewhat similar spirit. Includes Watchmen: Watching the Watchmen and Watchmen: Taking out the Trash game modules, along with the Watchmen Sourcebook, part of the 1990s DC Heroes role-playing game, as well as pages from Who’s Who in the DC Universe featuring the Watchmen and Minutemen characters, The Question #17 with Rorschach coming to Vic Sage in a dream, and the first appearance of the Watchmen cast in print in a promotional page from DC Spotlight #1 from 1985.

• Wonder Woman: The War of the Gods Omnibus HC

The scope of the War of the Gods story is really astounding; if at one point inter-title crossovers seemed an annoyance given the number of titles they interrupted, almost 30 years later the amount of characters this touched makes for a glorious historical document.

Collected here we have George Perez's War of the Gods#1-4 and Wonder Woman #58-62, Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove's Superman: Man of Steel #3 (the solicitation says #58 but that's not right; this predates "Death of Superman"), John Ostrander's Hawkworld #15 and #16, Starman #38 (Will Payton), L.E.G.I.O.N. ’91 #31 (with Captain Marvel vs. Lobo), Hawk and Dove #28 (final issue before Armageddon 2001, Captain Atom #56 and #57 (also by Ostrander, also final issues before Armageddon 2001), Doctor Fate #32 and #33 (Inza Nelson, and by William Messner-Loebs), Flash #55 (also by William Messner-Loebs), Justice League Europe #31, Batman #470 (Maxie Zeus, Alan Grant, and Norm Breyfogle), Suicide Squad #58 (Black Adam, Ostrander, Kim Yale, and a guy who looks like Grant Morrison), Demon #17 (Grant), and New Teen Titans #81 (Marv Wolfman, toward the end of "Titans Hunt").

At one point DC solicited a Legends book like this, but it never came out. We have however seen the similar Crisis on Infinite Earths Companion volumes. Again, what a great way to look at DC's history by seeing all the tie-ins to event crossovers. Hopefully this book is successful; I'd like to see Legends, Armageddon 2001, Eclipso: The Darkness Within, and Bloodlines get similar treatments.

Will War of the Gods win the war for your shelf? Leave a comment and let me know what's on your buy list.

Review: Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 4: Good Night, Gotham trade paperback (DC Comics)

It's been apparent from the beginning that things were going to go terribly wrong; what I didn't expect was the revelation of the long game that's been played from the beginning.

Scott Lobdell's Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 4: Good Night, Gotham brings this chapter of the series to a close before it relaunches as Red Hood: Outlaw. Admirably, Lobdell ties up or at least addresses all of the series' hanging threads before the end, with more than a few surprises. Obviously the story's not over (though I would hope, going through the trouble of re-titling and renumbering the trades, the book doesn't revert too soon), but Lobdell sends us out with a few good cliffhangers to be re-addressed down the road.

Review: Saga: Book One hardcover (Image Comics)

I'm picking up with Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples' Saga again after six years, thanks to among other things the book taking a hiatus and the announcement of a set endpoint when it returns, and also the three handy three-in-one sub-omnibus hardcover books that make the otherwise-nine paperbacks more manageable. Though this is ostensibly a review of Saga: Book One, since I previously reviewed Saga Vol. 1 (issues #1-6) and Saga Vol. 2 (issues #7-12), this review will focus mainly on the final third of the first compendium, being issues #13-18.

[Review contains spoilers]

Obviously I enjoy Saga immensely, though I still rate the first six issues ahead of the second, as I still felt the second six issues contained a fair amount of filler. Yes, we see Marko's childhood and some of how Alana and Marko got together, plus The Will rescuing Sophie (nee the Slave Girl), but the jaunt to the planet that cracked like an egg still felt largely for lack of anything to do with Marko and his mother during this arc (besides allowing Staples to draw a giant's giant testicles).

Review: Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour hardcover/paperback (DC Comics)

It's a lot to bite off to do an extra-series crossover after just three issues of a new book. If that book is a team book, however, and the writer is James Tynion, I'd be inclined to think it might work, and indeed it does. Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour is a great quickie event, well written and well drawn; not only does Tynion continue to present an enjoyable new Justice League Dark team, he also pulls from wide swaths of the near-modern DC Universe to pepper the background. Already Tynion shows signs of doing for DC's magic characters what he did for the Bat-family, and possibly the magic users need it more. If this is a taste of what's to come, I'm on board.

[Review contains spoilers]

In just the first chapter, Tynion's got Witchfire, late of Kurt Busiek's Power Company, plus the Oblivion Bar of Shadowpact fame; in the second chapter, he's got Manitou Dawn, last featured over ten years ago in Joe Kelly's JLA titles. Those are some deep dives — plus Deadman and Black Orchid, among others — that demonstrate the extent to which Tynion is thinking about magic in the DC Universe for this title, including aspects like the Green, the Red, and the Rot. Too often magic titles are indistinguishable from books about superheroes with other sources of power, but I felt like Tynion imbued magic here with enough depth and variance to make it something distinct.

Review: Justice League Dark Vol. 1: The Last Age of Magic trade paperback (DC Comics)

There are aspects of James Tynion's Detective Comics that I thought were very, very good, and it's a significant thing that his Justice League Dark Vol. 1: The Last Age of Magic is already starting to look like it might be even better.

The six-chapter book feels exceptionally full — there is three-part super-team origin, two-part fleshing out of past continuity, and a one-off anthology of four horror vignettes; combine that with the five issues of the Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark "Witching Hour" crossover that take place in the middle of this volume, and Tynion's already got almost a year of Dark material done in half a year's time. And like its predecessors, Shadowpact and the first Justice League Dark, Tynion's got this book full of DC's magic denizens well beyond just the core team.

Again, Dark is a lot of fun, a great place for Tynion to have landed, and I'm excited for more.

Power of Shazam by Ordway, Batman: City of Bane Tie-Ins, Wonder Woman by Messner-Loebs and War of the Gods Omnibus, Post-Crisis Flash Wally West, Event Leviathan, Post-Kirby New Gods, Justice League Quarterly: Conglomerate, more in DC Comics Spring 2020 solicitations

It's DC Comics' Spring 2020 catalog hardcover and trade paperback solicitations! I'm glad to say that after the Fall 2019 catalog didn't contain too many surprises, this new spring catalog has got some good ones, including one that we can check off the "long-awaited" list — The Power of Shazam! by Jerry Ordway Book One!

[Get get news like this first by following Collected Editions on Facebook and Twitter. And don't miss our DC Comics Trade Paperback Timeline -- newly updated!]

That's Ordway's mid-1990s Captain Marvel series, really the last modern time (short of today-ish) that there's been an in-continuity Captain Marvel series regularly interacting with the rest of the DC Universe and starring Billy Batson proper. After that, Judd Winick did a little work with Freddie Freeman as "Shazam" and Billy as the Wizard, but Ordway's was the last really straightaway Cap series — Cap, Mary, Freddie, Uncle Dudly, Tawky Tawny, and so on, done in faithful but modern ways. It's still a wonder this series wasn't collected in time for the Shazam! movie, but I'm glad to see DC filling this important collections gap nonetheless.

Other big ones for me are Flash: Savage Velocity, the Wonder Woman: War of Gods Omnibus, and Wonder Woman by William Messner-Loebs Book One. That's the immediate post-Crisis adventures of Wally West as he takes over the mantle of Flash from Barry Allen, another one that's been a long time coming; what seems to be a collection of the entire War of the Gods inter-title crossover, which is great but maybe a little crazy (and the completist in me wants to say that not doing this with Legends, etc., first is going out of order); and mid-1990s post-War of the Gods stories, including Wonder Woman teaming up with Deathstroke.

Not surprises per se, but also welcome are the next collections in the Batman post-Crisis Caped Crusader and Dark Knight Detective series (no longer cancelled, apparently). The post-Jack Kirby New Gods are getting some love, maybe as movie talk begins to ramp up, in the form of New Gods by Gerry Conway and Mister Miracle by Steve Englehart and Steve Gerber. There's also some weird ones, like Keith Giffen's Justice League: Corporate Maneuvers, and obvious must-buys like the hardcover of Event Leviathan. I also hadn't heard before that apparently Batman: City of Bane has some tie-ins, but there you go.

That's just scratching the surface, so read on for more. All of this information is subject to change before publication. Not all links may be functional yet.

• Absolute Daytripper

Solicited and cancelled a couple of times, now back on the schedule for April 2020. The 10-issue Vertigo miniseries by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba from 2010, examining the life and apparent death of an aspiring writer at different moments in his lifetime.

• Absolute Fourth World by Jack Kirby Vol. 1

Though the DC Comics Spring 2020 catalog says this collects essentially Jack Kirby's entire Fourth World saga, the fact that this says "Vol. 1" makes me believe the October 2019 solicitations are probably right, and this is just Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #133-139 and #141-145, New Gods #1-6, Forever People #1-6, and Mister Miracle #1-6. Kirby's art in Absolute size ought be pretty cool.

• Adventures of Superman by George Perez

In hardcover, curiously seeming to be just six issues according to the solicitation, and some of them inked by Perez and not drawn, and some written by Perez and not drawn. Supposedly it's World’s Finest Comics #300 (Superman and the New Teen Titans, with Marv Wolfman), Action Comics #600 (Superman, Wonder Woman, and Darkseid, with John Byrne), Adventures of Superman #457-459 and #461 (Intergang and lead-up to the "Krypton Man" Eradicator saga), but specifically, for instance, Perez wrote and drew Action Comics #643-645, so I have some expectation these contents might be updated (plus six issues does not make 448 pages).

• Adventures of Superman: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez Vol. 2

Said to include Realworlds: Superman (with Steve Vance) and some Elseworlds — maybe Superman, Inc., also with Steve Vance, or Superman: Kal with Dave Gibbons; also covers from Action Comics, Superman, Superman Family, and Superman Unchained.

• Animal Man by Grant Morrison Book One

Paperback of the hardcover released in 2018 (after the omnibus), collecting issues #1-13 and Secret Origins #39. Should be one more book, though it hasn't been solicited yet; I guess the paperback is a good sign this isn't forgotten.

• Anti/Hero

Middle-grade OGN featuring new characters by Kate Karyus Quinn.

• Aquaman: The Death of a Prince Deluxe Edition

Reprinting the 2011 paperback, now in hardcover, of the 1970s stories by David Michelinie, Jim Aparo, Mike Grell, and Don Newton, in which Aquaman's infant son is murdered. Collects Adventure Comics #435-437, #441-445 and Aquaman #57-63.

• Aquaman: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1

Collects Aquaman adventures beginning with Adventure Comics #260 as DC crossed over into the Silver Age, and continuing through early issues of Aquaman's solo series. These are not Aquaman's first appearances, what we might perhaps call "Aquaman: The Golden Age," and curiously I don't see those collected outside the Aquaman: A Celebration of 75 Years anniversary volume (More Fun Comics #73), for instance. If anyone knows why those issues seem to get the short shrift, I'm curious.

Contents are said to be Showcase #30-33, Aquaman #1-18, Brave and the Bold #51, stories from Adventure Comics #260-280, #282, and #284, Detective Comics #293-300, World’s Finest Comics #125-133, #135, #137, and #139, Superman #138 and #148, Action Comics #272, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #55, and Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #12 and #29-31.

• ArkhaManiacs

New from DC Zoom by Art Baltazar and Franco, and seemingly featuring a not-yet-Batman Bruce Wayne.

• The Authority Book One

Warren Ellis' issues #1-12, Planetary/Authority: Ruling the World, and the new story from Wildstorm: A Celebration of 25 Years, in paperback.

• The Bat and the Cat: 80 Years of Romance

Hardcover collection of Batman/Catwoman team-ups.

• Batman Allies: Alfred Pennyworth

In retrospect this seems inevitable, and if the Batman: Arkham books are selling well spotlighting the villains, then hey, why not? A Batman Allies: Robin book feels like it's been done (see, for instance, Robin, The Boy Wonder: A Celebration of 75 Years), and I for one would like to see DC go more esoteric with this series: Commissioner Gordon, of course, but then Leslie Thompkins, Lucius Fox, Harvey Bullock ... Ace the Bat-Hound? Harold?

Stories include Alfred's first appearance and the stories of his daughter (pre-Crisis, I assume), among others.

• Batman Arkham: Victor Zsasz

Tie-in, like the Batman Arkham: Black Mask volume, to the upcoming Birds of Prey movie. Glad as I was that one of my favorite creepy Batman villains made it to TV, and as fun as Anthony Carrigan's portrayal was, it's seeped over into a more talkative, less menacing Zsasz than he was originally; I'm excited for the classic stories from Shadow of the Bat and "Knightfall" to appear here.

• Batman Beyond Vol. 6

Issues #30-36 by Dan Jurgens.

• Batman Tales: Once Upon a Crime

From DC Zoom, fairytale-inspired stories by the Li'l Gotham team of Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen.

• Batman Vol. 11: The Fall and the Fallen

Issues #70-74 and Batman Secret Files #2 by Tom King, due in January.

• Batman Vol. 12: City of Bane Part 1

Batman #75-79 by Tom King, due in April. If King is leaving this title at issue #85 (for Batman/Catwoman), then that's probably just one more regular-series collection.

• Batman Vs. Ra's Al Ghul

Hardcover collection of the new Neal Adams six-issue miniseries.

• Batman/Superman Vol. 1

In hardcover, the first collection of Josuha Williamson's new series, spinning off of the Batman Who Laughs miniseries.

• Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

Issues #1-6 by James Tynion and Freddie Williams.

• Batman: Broken City New Edition

New paperback collection of the story by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso collects Batman #620-625, and also other work by the two, stories from Batman: Gotham Knights #8 and Wednesday Comics #1-12. This story wasn't everyone's favorite but I liked the noir reimaginings of some of Batman's villains.

• Batman: City of Bane Tie-ins

I don't remember hearing about tie-ins to "City of Bane" and I don't see anything so far in the solicitations, but this won't just be limited to the Batman title, I guess. Due out in April, same as Batman Vol. 12: City of Bane Part 1.

• Batman: City of Crime Deluxe Edition

Collects David Lapham's story from Detective Comics #800-808 and #811-814, which commenter Bob Hodges called "one of the bleakest and weirdest Batman stories I've ever read."

• Batman: Creature of the Night

Hardcover of the four-issue miniseries by Kurt Busiek and John Paul Leon.

• Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Mythology

Paperback of issues #994-999.

• Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 3

Issues #1006-1011 by Peter Tomasi with Doug Mahnke and others, guest-starring the Spectre.

• Batman: Last Knight on Earth

Three-issue Black Label miniseries by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, due in hardcover in April.

• Batman: Overdrive

DC Zoom title by Shea Fontana and Marcelo Di Chiara, about a young Bruce Wayne building the Batmobile.

• Batman: Tales of the Demon

Hardcover of the classic Tales of the Demon book, collecting Detective Comics #411, #485, and #489-490, Batman #232, #235, #240, and #242-244 and DC Special Series #15.

• Batman: The Caped Crusader Vol. 4

Collects Batman #455-465 and the Annual #15 (Armageddon 2001), including the first time Tim Drake wears the new Robin suit, Jim Gordon's heart attack, the debut of the post-Crisis Ace the Bat-Hound, and appearances by Joe Potato and Harold Allnut. Lots of material by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle.

• Batman: The Dark Knight Detective Vol. 3

This was solicited for last summer and then cancelled, though that seemed strange because the companion Caped Crusader series was still going on; now it's back on the schedule again. Collects issues #592-600 in the collection series of immediate post-Crisis Batman stories. Includes appearances by Cornelius Stirk and Joe Potato, plus an Invasion! tie-in and the three-issue "Blind Justice" story by Sam Hamm that introduced Henri Ducard to the Batman mythos. The Caped Crusader Vol. 4 book is a bit ahead of this; issues there tie-in to Detective #626, for instance.

• Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 8

Batman #67-75, Detective Comics #175-191, and World's Finest Comics #54-62.

• Batman: Universe

I'm curious to read Brian Michael Bendis' first "now at DC" take on Batman, and of course we know this collection of the Walmart-first stories also introduces Young Justice's Jinny Hex. Due out in hardcover in March.

• Batman: White Knight Deluxe Edition

Deluxe-size Black Label hardcover; solicitation doesn't say if this is Sean Murphy's mature readers edition or the previously published one.

• Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! Family Affair

Collecting the Johnny DC kids' Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! series by Mike Kunkel and later, Art Baltazar and Franco; this went to issue #21, but previously only issues #1-12 were collected in two paperbacks.

• Birds of Prey: Mystery & Murder

Said to collect issues #56-67 of the original Gail Simone run, being the Of Like Minds and Sensei & Student collections, minus the one-off issue #68.

• The Books of Magic Vol. 2: Second Quarto (The Sandman Universe)

Issues #7-12 of the Sandman Universe series by Kat Howard and Tom Fowler; I'm paying more attention to this now that I know that John Constantine is coming.

• Catwoman Vol. 3

Issues #14-19 by Joelle Jones.

• DC First Issue Special

Issues #1-13 of DC's 1970s anthology series 1st Issue Special. Stories by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Walt Simonson, and Mike Grell, with characters like Atlas, Manhunter, Dingbats of Danger Steet, Warlord, Metamorpho, the Creeper, the New Gods, the Green Team, and Lady Cop.

• DC Goes to War

Collection of DC war comics, including Sgt. Rock Special #2, Enemy Ace: War in Heaven #1, Enemy Ace: War in Heaven #2, Showcase #57, Our Army at War #67, Our Army at War #83, Our Army at War #233, Our Army at War #235, Boy Commandos #1, Star Spangled War Stories #87, Star Spangled War Stories #183, All-American Comics #48, Weird War Tales #3, G.I. Combat #87, Our Fighting Forces #49, Our Fighting Forces #102, The Losers Special #1, and Military Comics #1.

• DC Poster Portfolio: Joshua Middleton

Well-deserved; I am not usually one for variant covers, but Middleton's work always catches my eye, especially what he's done on Aquaman and Batgirl.

• DC Poster Portfolio: Year of the Villain

Covers from the seemingly-increasingly-a-big-deal "Year of the Villain" event.

• DC Super Hero Girls: Powerless

DC Zoom from Amy Wolfram and Agnes Garbowska.

• DC Through the Decades: 1980s

An interesting concept, though it's curious they decided to start with the 1980s (and work backwards, maybe?) versus an earlier era. Anyway, selections from Crisis on Infinite Earths, The Man of Steel, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, and Watchmen as curated by Paul Levitz. I wonder what else will be in there, maybe the 1980s flip-side of some of that grim and gritty stuff like Justice League International or Ambush Bug.

• DC Universe by Amanda Conner

There have been collections of Amanda Conner's DC work before, some years back, but that those predate Harley Quinn is significant. What sounds interesting here, which I don't think I've heard mentioned for similar books, is that Conner to some extent annotates and discusses the artwork within the book.

• DC Year of the Villain Omnibus

DC seems pretty all in on "Year of the Villain"; I guess I didn't realize it was an event story per se so much as one of those themed months like they've done before (starring villains, even). In those earlier cases, the all-in-one omnibus didn't quite come together to make a compelling story; curious to see if this will be different given that there doesn't seem to be a designated finale issue, for instance (yet).

Collects Action Comics #1017, Aquaman #54, Batgirl #41, Batman and the Outsiders #7, Batman #82, Batman/Superman #4, Black Adam: Year Of The Villain #1, Catwoman #17, DC’s Year of the Villain #1, Deathstroke #49, Detective Comics #1015, The Flash #82, Harley Quinn #67, Hawkman #18, The Joker: Year of the Villain #1, Justice League #35, Justice League Dark #17, Justice League Odyssey #15, Lex Luthor: Year of the Villain #1, Nightwing #66, Red Hood: Outlaw #40, Riddler: Year of the Villain #1, Supergirl #36, Superman #17, Teen Titans #36, The Terrifics #22, Wonder Woman #82, among others.

• DC's Wanted: The World's Most Dangerous Supervillains

A collection of the 1970s Wanted: The World's Most Dangerous Villains series, issues #1-9, which was itself reprints of earlier villain tales from the 1940s and 1950s — so a reprint of reprints, essentially. For every Joker and Captain Cold here, there's a Signalman and Puppeteer; this seems a less obvious sell than some others. Among issues included are Action Comics #57 and #69, Batman #25, #84 and #112, World’s Finest Comics #6 and #111, Flash #114 and #121, Adventure Comics #72 and #77, Green Lantern #1 and #33, Wonder Woman #36, Sensation Comics #66 and #71, More Fun Comics #65, #73, and #76, Flash Comics #86, #90, and #100, All-American Comics #61, Kid Eternity #15, and Doll Man Quarterly #15.

• Dial H for Hero Vol. 2

Second collection of Sam Humphries' series in Brian Michael Bendis' Wonder Comics imprint. As I understand it, this collection of issues #7-12 will be the end of the series unless it gets another "season."

• Doom Patrol by John Byrne Omnibus

As mentioned previously, this is rather surprising, since John Byrne's continuity-light 2004 Doom Patrol series didn't make much of a splash (it reintroduced the Doom Patrol in medias res of a DC Universe that had already met it), though surely the TV show has something to do with it. That said, I admire big chunks of story, and collecting both the introductory JLA: The Tenth Circle story along with all eighteen issues of Byrne's series is, at least, very complete. Here, too, is an (original-er) Doom Patrol appearance from way back in Byrne's Superman #20, plus a story from Secret Origins Annual #1.

• Doom Patrol Vol. 1: Weight of the Worlds

Continuation of Gerard Way's Young Animal series.

• Doom Patrol: The Silver Age Vol. 2

Collects Arnold Drake's 1960s Doom Patrol #96-107, including crossovers in Challengers of the Unknown #48 and Brave and the Bold #65 (Flash).

• Doomsday Clock Part 2

Issues #7-12 of Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's Doomsday Clock, due out in May. I'm sure the deluxe hardcover won't be too far behind.

• Event Leviathan

The seven-issue miniseries by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, in hardcover, coming March 2020.

• Ex Machina Compendium 1

Interesting this is called a "compendium" and not an "omnibus," and also that it's "1" but is said to collect all 50 issues of the series. There were a few specials, but not enough to make a whole other book. By Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris; I guess we'll see what's in it.

• The Flash by Mark Waid Book Seven

Issues #142-150, the lead-in to and six-part "Chain Lightning" story, plus a Flash Secret Files, the Speed Force special, and the Flash 80-Page Giant. Waid's run continued through issue #159, then issue #162, and then much later, a relaunched issue #231-236, so maybe one more volume, depending.

• The Flash of Two Worlds Deluxe Edition

Same contents as the DC Comics Classics Library: Flash of Two Worlds hardcover from back in 2009; that's Flash #123, the first "Flash of Two Worlds" story; #129, another Golden/Silver Age Flash team-up; #137, with a Justice Society cameo; #151, with Jay Garrick and the Shade; and #173, with Kid Flash Wally West.

• The Flash Vol. 11: The Greatest Trick of All

The collection immediately preceding Joshua Williamson's new Flash: Year One, collecting issues #66-69, with the Trickster.

• The Flash: Savage Velocity

I'm excited for this, a collection of the immediate post-Crisis Flash (Wally West) series. Collects issues #1-18 and the Annual #1 in paperback. This'll fit real well with the Superman by Byrne books, the new post-Crisis Batman books, Wonder Woman by Perez, and so on. Includes Wally vs. Kilg%re, a Millennium tie-in, Velocity 9 (which later appeared in the CW Flash TV series), and Vandal Savage. Issues #1-14 are by Mike Baron and #15-18 are by William Messner-Loebs; not sure if those'll actually be included or not.

• Freedom Fighters: Death of a Nation

Twelve-issue miniseries by Robert Venditti and Eddy Barrows.

• Gotham High

DC Ink graphic novel by Melissa de la Cruz and Thomas Pitilli, imagining Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, and Jack Napier in high school.

• Green Arrow Vol. 8: The End of the Road

Issues #39-42 and #48-50 by Mairghread Scott, Jackson Lanzing, and Collin Kelly, tying in to Justice League: No Justice and Heroes in Crisis and bringing the series to a close. Issues #43-47 by Julie and Shawna Benson were in Green Arrow Vol. 7; supposedly #45 and #48-50 will be in the Heroes in Crisis: The Price and Other Tales collection.

• Green Arrow: Year One Deluxe Edition

Deluxe hardcover edition of the miniseries by Andy Diggle and Jock.

• Green Lantern by Geoff Johns Book Three

Collects Green Lantern #18-25, Green Lantern Corps #14-18, Green Lantern Sinestro Corps Special #1, Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman Prime #1 and Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps: Secret Files #1, so pretty much all of the "Sinestro Corps War" story, give or take an issue or so (not Green Lantern Corps #19, for instance, but that might be outside this series' purview).

• Harleen

Hardcover collection of Stjepan Sejic's three-issue Black Label miniseries.

• Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy

Hardcover of the six-issue miniseries by Ram V in the aftermath of Heroes in Crisis.

• Harley Quinn & the Gotham Girls

Collection of the 2003 five-issue miniseries, based on the animated web series, by Paul Storrie and Jennifer Graves.

• Hellblazer by Garth Ennis Omnibus

In hardcover, at 1,376 pages, collecting Hellblazer #41-50, #52-83, and #129-131, Vertigo Jam #1, Hellblazer Special #1, Heartland #1, and Vertigo: Winter’s Edge #2. Part of the solicitation says "Vol. 1" but I think this is everything John Constantine by Ennis.

• High Level Vol. 1

Issues #1-6 from Vertigo by Rob Sheridan and Barnaby Bagenda. As I understand it, #1-6 were supposed to be the first "arc"; my guess is it's just over, but I haven't been able to find whether High Level is moving to another imprint post-Vertigo.

• House of Mystery: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 2

Issues #201-226, including Bernie Wrightson, Sergio Aragones, and Jim Starlin.

• The House of Whispers Vol. 2 (The Sandman Universe)

Issues #7-12 of the Sandman Universe series by Nalo Hopkinson.

• Jack of Fables Deluxe Book Three

Final deluxe edition of Jack of Fables by Bill Willingham and Lilah Sturges, issues #36-50.

• The Joker by Brian Azzarello: The Deluxe Edition

Deluxe Black Label hardcover of the graphic novel by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo.

• The Joker: 80 Years of the Clown Prince of Crime

Interesting that the solicitation connects this to the Action Comics: 80 Years and Detective Comics: 80 Years collections, though those were title-specific (celebrating 1,000 issues) and this is character-specific; actually seems like a bit of a cheat to me. Said to collect stories from the original Batman #1 to ones by Scott Snyder, Tony Daniel, and Paul Dini (who wrote an especially good one in Detective Comics and I hope that's in here).

• Jonah Hex: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 1

The earliest appearances of Jonah Hex from the 1970s: All-Star Western #10-11, Weird Western Tales #12-14 and #16-38, Jonah Hex #1-17, and Justice League of America #159-160. A good portion of this was collected in black-and-white in Showcase Presents: Jonah Hex Vols. 1-2.

• Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating the DC Universe Book One

Previously collected in three paperbacks and an omnibus, this is a longer paperback, probably requiring just two volumes to finish.

• Justice League Dark Vol. 3: The Witching War

Next collection of James Tynion's Justice League Dark, with the Injustice League Dark.

• Justice League of America: A Celebration of 60 Years

Anniversary hardcover for March. The solicitation mentions the League's first appearance and also the Geoff Johns' New 52 run.

• Justice League of America: The Nail: The Complete Collection

Paperback collection of Alan Davis' Elseworlds miniseries JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail.

• Justice League of America: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1

New printing, apparently, of the 2014 hardcover, but the solicitation also says it collects the League's "first 20 adventures," whereas the 2014 hardcover was over 30 issues, Brave and the Bold #28-30 and then Justice League of America #1-30 from the 1960s.

• Justice League of America: The Wedding of the Atom and Jean Loring

Near as I can tell, this replaces the cancelled Justice League of America: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 3, said to collect issues #149-158 from the 1970s and Super-Team Family #13-14 (part of the Jean Loring story). As the solicitation says, while the male Leaguers are at a bachelor party for Atom, the villain Amos Fortune uses Wonder Woman's powers against the League.

• Justice League Vol. 5: The Doom War

Issues #26-39 in hardcover by Scott Snyder.

• Justice League: Corporate Maneuvers

In a list of most unlikely collections ever, a collection of Keith Giffen and J.M. Dematteis's Conglomerate story, a team of really second-rate heroes led by Booster Gold, from Justice League Quarterly #1-4, would be really high on that unlikely list. I'd love to see it, but I have zero faith this is going to make it to print — I can't imagine what the hook is — and releasing this when all of Justice League International hasn't been collected feels really unfair.

• Justice League: Origin Deluxe Edition

Issues #1-12 of the New 52 series, being the Origin and Villain's Journey collections, following the 2017 Absolute edition.

• Lost Carnival: A Dick Grayson Graphic Novel

DC Ink graphic novel by Michael Moreci, Sas Milledge, and Phil Hester.

• Mister Miracle by Steve Englehart and Steve Gerber

Issues #19-25, The Brave and the Bold #112, #128, and #138, and DC Comics Presents #12. This title picked up the numbering from the Kirby run but started after a three-year hiatus. Brave and the Bold are Batman team-ups; DC Comics Presents has Superman.

• My Video Game Ate My Homework

DC Zoom graphic novel by Dustin Hansen.

• New Gods by Gerry Conway

Collects the late 1970s post-Kirby relaunch of New Gods, including 1st Issue Special #13, New Gods #12-19 by Gerry Conway and Don Newton, Adventure Comics #459-#460 (the end of the previous series), Super-Team Family #15 (team-up with Flash), and Justice League of America #183-185 (New Gods, Justice League, and Justice Society).

• New Teen Titans Vol. 11

Said to collect New Teen Titans #16-23 and Tales of the Teen Titans #75-83 (the latter of which are just reprints of the former, so probably just the covers of those) and Omega Men #34. Features the Omega Men, obviously; Cheshire; and Donna Troy starts an offshoot team including Jason Todd. This is still within the contents of the New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 4, due out in November; this paperback collection comes out in May 2020.

• Nightwing Vol. 1: The Gray Son Legacy

Contents for this book are listed as #59-64, marking the start of Dan Jurgens' run with "Ric Grayson." Meanwhile, the DC October 2019 solicitations had Nightwing: Burnback, supposed to be issues #57-62 by Jurgens, Scott Lobdell, and Zach Kaplan. Both are technically correct (Lobdell and Kaplan did #57-58), but what book with what contents and volume number actually gets published when (since "Burnback" is set for November and "Gray Son Legacy" is set for May 2020) remains to be seen.

• Omega Men by Tom King: The Deluxe Edition

Well deserved to be finally in hardcover; if you didn't buy this before, go and buy it now. A classic by Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda.

• The Oracle Code

DC Ink graphic novel by Marieke Nijkamp and Manuel Preitano.

• The Power of Shazam! By Jerry Ordway Book One

Glad all that waiting paid off — finally, finally, we get the first-ever collection of Jerry Ordway's superlative Captain Marvel series, the longest-running and most substantial Captain Marvel series of the post-Crisis era. Running almost 50 issues, Ordway's Power of Shazam series was tonally similar to his Superman Triangle Titles work, attacking head-on everything from Mr. Mind to Tawky Tawny in ways that preserved the absurdity but updated the concepts for the modern era (without being grim and gritty). All that and one of the few series to directly cross over with James Robinson's Starman.

No word yet on contents, but we know at least this'll have the Power of Shazam graphic novel that started it all off. About 12 issues per book would finish this off in four books. In hardcover in March.

• Robin: The Bronze Age Omnibus

College-age adventures of Dick Grayson, including Batman #192, #202, #203, #227, #229-231, #234-236, #239, #240-242, #244, #245, #248, #250, #252, #254, #259, #333, #337-339, and #341-343; Detective Comics #390-391, #394, #395, #398-403, #445, #447, #450, #451 and #481-485; Batman Family #1, #3 and #4-9, and 11-20; World's Finest Comics #200, and DC Comics Presents #31 and #58. Much (all?) of this is before Dick joined the Marv Wolfman-era New Teen Titans; many of these stories were previously reprinted in black-and-white in Showcase Presents: Robin - The Boy Wonder.

• Robin: Year One

New collection it seems of the Chuck Dixon/Scott Beatty miniseries.

• Sgt Rock: The Lost Battalion

New collection of Billy Tucci's six-issue 2009 miniseries.

• Shadow of the Batgirl

DC Ink graphic novel by Sarah Kuhn and Nicole Goux, starring Cassandra Cain, mind you — a nice bit of synchronicity also with the Birds of Prey movie.

• Shazam! The World's Mightiest Mortal Vol. 2

Collects Shazam! #19-35 from the 1970s, running parallel to the TV series; these are the final issues of this comic. Creative teams include Elliot S! Maggin and E. Nelson Bridwell.

• Six Days: The Incredible Story of D-Day's Lost Chapter

Paperback of the World War II graphic novel by Robert Venditti and Kevin Maurer.

• Starman: The Cosmic Omnibus Vol. 1

Well, this is nice and deserved; I'm not sure it'll appease those still waiting for the original Starman omnibuses to finish in paperback, but DC has a tendency to do paperback cutdowns of recent omnibus hardcovers, so maybe there's hope. This collects about half of the James Robinson series, issues #0-42, the Annual #1 (or parts of it), Shade #1-4, Starman Secret Files #1, and the crossover issues Power of Shazam #35-36.

• Super Sons: Escape to Landis

DC Zoom by Ridley Pearson and Ileana Gonzales, a sequel to Super Sons: The PolarShield Project.

• Supergirl Vol. 3

Note the summary lists this volume as "Marc Andreyko's concluding run on Supergirl," though I'm not sure such has been officially announced yet. Said to collect issues #34-36 "and more," with ties to "Year of the Villain" and "Leviathan Rising." This is after the crossover with Superman with issue #31.

• Superman Smashes the Klan

DC Zoom by Gene Luen Yang.

• Superman Vol. 2: The Unity Saga: The House of El

Paperback of Superman #7-14.

• Superman Vol. 3: The Unity Saga: The President of Earth

Superman #16-21 by Brian Michael Bendis, in hardcover, with appearances by the Legion of Super-Heroes.

• Superman/Batman Omnibus Vol. 1

Issues #1-43, which goes way past the Jeph Loeb run to stories by Mark Verheiden, Alan Burnett and Dustin Nguyen, and Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, plus Superman/Batman Annual #1-2, and stories from Superman/Batman: Secret Files #1.

• Superman: Action Comics Vol. 2: Leviathan Rising

Paperback edition collecting Action Comics #1007-1011 and the Superman: Leviathan Rising special. Due out in May, the same day as Action Comics Vol. 3.

• Superman: Action Comics Vol. 3

Issues #1015-1020 in hardcover, due out the same day as the paperback of the previous volume.

• Superman: The Golden Age Vol. 5

World's Finest Comics #6-8, Superman #16-19, Action Comics #48-57.

• Superman: The Trial of Superman 25th Anniversary Edition

This one's a head-scratcher for me, because it comes from the same waning years of the Triangle Titles as Superman Blue Vol. 1 where the books were not running on all cylinders and art, especially, was lacking in some areas. Among selling points, I guess, is that it's a "Super-Family" story, including Superboy Kon-El, Supergirl (Matrix), and Steel, but I don't think the book has aged terribly well. I can't see filling a slot for this already-collected Superman trade versus bringing out Superman Blue Vol. 2 — no better quality but at least uncollected.

• Superman: Up in the Sky

The Walmart-exclusive stories by Tom King and Andy Kubert. That's a strong team; though I might not ordinarily be so quick to nab a one-off out-of-continuity volume, I'm curious to read King's take on Superman outside of the Batman title.

• Swamp Thing by Tim Seeley & Joelle Jones

Collects Tim Seeley and Joelle Jones' Swamp Thing stories from the Walmart 100-page giants, in paperback.

• Tales from the DC Dark Multiverse

Being the first hardcover collection, already solicited for March, of the upcoming revisionist takes on Killing Joke, Identity Crisis, Death of Superman, Knightfall, and so on.

• Tales of the Batman: Marv Wolfman

In hardcover, collecting Batman #328-335 (assorted stories and the "Lazarus Affair" four-parter), #436-439 ("Batman: Year Three"), Detective Comics #408 ("The House That Haunted Batman," with Len Wein and Neal Adams), The Brave and the Bold #167 (team up with Blackhawk), World's Finest Comics #288 (team up with Superman), and New Teen Titans #37 and Batman and the Outsiders #5 (crossover between the two titles).

• Teen Titans Vol. 3

Issues #31-36 in the wake of the Terminus Agenda crossover with Deathstroke, now tying in to "Year of the Villain."

• Teen Titans: H.I.V.E. Conquest

Walmart-exclusive stories by Dan Jurgens, from the Teen Titans Giants; I believe Jurgens has another set of stories appearing in Titans Giant that may be collected after this. This one isn't an immediate "get" for me; I'm not sure which Robin this is supposed to be, but the fact that I can't tell from Jurgens' depiction is off-putting for me from the start.

• Transmetropolitan Book Three

No contents listed, but the last one was #13-24, so I'd guess this is maybe #25-36, the fifth and sixth original trade paperbacks.

• WildCATS: The Authority

Not a small thing for Warren Ellis to be writing a new book with "Authority" in the title. Issues #1-6, with Grifter on the front cover. (Though now apparently the miniseries has been delayed, so obviously that'll affect the trade as well.)

• Wonder Twins Vol. 2

Issues #7-12 by Mark Russell and Stephen Byrne as part of Brian Michael Bendis' Wonder Comics imprint; apparently the end of the series unless they renew it.

• Wonder Woman & The Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour

Paperback collection of Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1, Wonder Woman #56-57, Justice League Dark #4 and Justice League Dark and Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour #1. I read this recently and liked it.

• Wonder Woman 1984 Mass Market Trade

At first I actually thought this was a movie tie-in, but it's just an anthology collection in time with the movie.

• Wonder Woman by Gail Simone Omnibus

Some excellent stories here, including Wonder Woman's truly brutal battle with enemy Genocide, plus a precursor to Gail Simone's Red Sonja stories as Diana teams with various swords and sorcery figures from DC history — plus Diana's relationship with Nemesis Tom Tresser. Collects Wonder Woman #14-44 (pre-Flashpoint), #600, Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman #1, and a story from the Wonder Woman 75th Anniversary Special. A well-deserved accolade by Simone.

• Wonder Woman by George Perez Vol. 4

Continuing the cut-down of the Wonder Woman by George Perez omnibuses, this is issues #36-45 and the Annual #2, finishing out the second omnibus (so one more to go, or likely two more paperbacks).

• Wonder Woman by William Messner-Loebs Book One

Immediately following War of the Gods and the end of George Perez's run, DC launched William Messner-Loeb's tenure with Wonder Woman Special #1 and a team-up with Deathstroke, suggesting (in implication if not in fact) a tougher, more down-to-earth Wonder Woman. Messner-Loebs would write almost 40 issues, including the introduction of Artemis going in to Wonder Woman #100. This is the aforementioned special and Wonder Woman #63, #64, #67-75, and the Annual #3 ("Eclipso: The Darkness Within" tie-in).

• Wonder Woman Through the Years

Another anthology in time for the movie.

• Wonder Woman Villains: Cheetah

Clearly the Batman: Arkham and Flash: Rogues books must be doing well; probably no coincidence too that Cheetah's about to be in the next Wonder Woman movie. Collects Wonder Woman #6 (1943) (first appearance, Priscilla Rich), #274, #275 (1980) (first appearance, Deborah Domaine), #9 (1987) (first major appearance, Barbara Minerva), The Flash #219 (2005), Wonder Woman #214 (2005) (crossover with Flash), Justice League #13-14 (2012) (New 52 two-parter), Wonder Woman #23.1 (2013) (New 52 Villains Month issue by John Ostrander), Wonder Woman #8 (2016) (Rebirth origin by Greg Rucka), and Who's Who in the DC Universe #4 (1990) (Priscilla Rich by Trina Robbins).

• Wonder Woman: Come Back to Me

The Walmart-exclusive stories by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti.

• Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth

Hardcover of the painted prose story by Paul Dini and Alex Ross.

• Wonder Woman: Steve Trevor

I'm highly in favor of these "supporting cast" collections (see also Batman Allies: Alfred); one for Etta Candy would be as interesting as this, tracking how both characters changed from their original appearances with Wonder Woman to post-Crisis to today.

• Wonder Woman: War of Gods Omnibus

No contents listed but please, oh please, oh please let this be every tie-in issue of War of the Gods. Not only would that be great, but also a great precedent for omnibuses to come. If you ever wanted to see, among many other things, Etrigan romancing Wonder Woman, and Captain Marvel vs. Lobo, this is the book for you.

• World's Finest: The Guardians of Earth

Collects World's Finest Comics #195-214, 1970s team-ups between Superman and Green Lantern, Aquaman, Batman, Hawkman, Green Arrow, the Atom, and the Diana Prince-era Wonder Woman.

• Young Justice Vol. 1: Gemworld

Paperback release (following the previous hardcover) of the new Wonder Comics Young Justice #1-6 by Brian Michael Bendis and Patrick Gleason.

• Zatanna and the House of Secrets

DC Zoom by Matthew Cody and Yoshi Yoshitana.