DC Trade Solicitations for April 2019 - "New Justice" Justice League Vol. 2, Justice League Odyssey Vol. 1, Wonder Woman and the Justice League Dark: Witching Hour, Batman: Faces in the Shadows Essential Edition, Outsiders by Winick Book One

DC Comics's April 2019 trade paperback and hardcover solicitations has a selection of interesting books in it, the second volume of Scott Snyder's "New Justice" Justice League and the first volume of Joshua Williamson's Justice League Odyssey, plus the hardcover of the Wonder Woman and the Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour crossover. We also see a DC Essential Edition of Batman: Hush just as news arrives that the Batman: The Hush Saga Omnibus has been cancelled. All this and the start of expanded collections of one of my all-time favorite series, Judd Winick's Outsiders, and Batman: Faces in the Shadows, an Essential Edition that isn't all it seems ...

Read on for more about this month's books.

• Absolute Art of Adam Hughes HC

I'm updating this as news of some high-profile layoffs at DC is spreading. I tend to let these kinds of things shake out before speculating too much, but for a company that says it's going back to its roots, I wonder what place books like an Absolute edition of Adam Hughes' covers has. Certainly, if this is your thing, by all means enjoy, but clearly this is a book for a reader with a more studious interest in comics than just whether Batman will marry Catwoman, and again I wonder how profitable that is and what place it holds in the modern "superheroes as mass media" landscape. I do think books like this are important, but also I just lost my Batman: Hush Omnibus, so what do I know.

• Astro City: Aftermaths HC

Hardcover collection of the final issues of the latest Vertigo Astro City series by Kurt Busiek, #47-52.

• Batgirl Vol. 5: Art of the Crime TP

Collects issues #26-29, the Annual #2, and a story from issue #25, being the first collection of the new run by Mairghread Scott and Paul Pelletier.

• Batman: Faces in the Shadows (DC Essential Edition) TP

The DC Essential Edition line has so far been paperback collections of major DC events or storylines, sometimes in slightly expanded or newly combined editions. The so-called Faces in the Shadows, however, is an interesting beast, being a combination collection of Tony Daniel's New 52 Detective Comics Vol. 1: Faces of Death and Detective Comics Vol. 2: Scare Tactics. The hook is good, and it's obvious why DC would want to make sure this one is perennially out there -- this is the story in which the Joker has his face cut off, ahead of Scott Snyder's best-selling Death of the Family -- but that's only the first four issues of this.

From there, as my reviews linked above attest, Daniel's Detective run becomes wildly uneven, with stories melodramatic, broken, and confused -- in one story a character is erroneously referred to by different names, in another Daniel tries halting to reconcile pre- and post-Flashpoint continuity, and there's also a Two-Face story completely out of step with anything. One issue picks up from events in David Finch's Dark Knight Vol. 1: Night Terrors; another is a "Night of the Owls" tie-in issue.

All of that is to say, while the initial Joker issues are actually great, there's a lot more going on in this book than just that, and a lot of it problematic. I don't recall seeing another Essential Edition book like this, which is not one whole story but rather a collection of multi-part stories. They are stripped down and continuity-light (mostly just Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and Alfred), and maybe that would appeal to the Essential Editions' audience, but this seems to me stretching the perceived definitions of this line.

• Batman: Hush (DC Essential Edition) TP

Far more logical for DC Essential Edition paperback format is Batman: Hush, the perennial Jeph Loeb/Jim Lee story, now released in another format. To be sure, this is a piece of DC canon and well-deserves to remain in print.

I'd be remiss however not to mention that word just came down of the cancellation of the Batman: The Hush Saga omnibus. Sad day, though I tend not to attribute this to the current shakeups at DC so much as that there was not as much interest as I had hoped among the general pre-ordering public for a large collection of Hush's lesser-regarded cackling appearances in the pages of Gotham Knights. I'm disappointed but I can't say I'm terribly surprised.

But we've been conditioned of late not to see an omnibus cancellation as the end, so I very much look forward to a "Hush Saga" paperback set, separating out the Loeb/Lee stories from AJ Lieberman's and Paul Dini's, with matching spines a la the newest "Death of Superman" and "Knightfall" paperbacks.

• Challengers of the Unknown by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale TP

Trade of the Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale miniseries, which I admit I've never read. Aside from being by Loeb and Sale, the Challengers aren't exactly a known quantity, and I'm somewhat surprised DC keeps it so constantly in print unless it's just that good. This is the paperback release of last year's hardcover but I don't see that this has any additions from earlier collections, except for the more market-friendly title vs. the original title, "Challengers of the Unknown Must Die!"

• Cover Vol. 1 TP

Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack's miniseries about comics creators recruited to the intelligence community, apparently based on a true story (sounds a bit like Argo), now collected.

• The Flash by Mark Waid Book Six TP

Collects Flash #119-129, Flash/Green Lantern: Faster Friends #1-2, Flash Plus Nightwing #1, and a story from DC Universe Holiday Bash. These are kind of interstitial Flash/Waid stories, coming after "Dead Heat" and "Race Against Time" and leading up to when Grant Morrison and Mark Millar took over for ten or so issues, before Waid returned for his final twenty-ish issues (for then). There's a tie-in to Final Night and a sequel to Waid's Underworld Unleashed, and I'm very glad to see some of these specials and miniseries included too.

• Frank Miller's Ronin TP

Black Label trade of the six-issue miniseries, with promotional art and fold-out pages.

• Green Lantern: Earth One Vol. 1 TP

Paperback of the Earth One OGN by Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko.

• Green Lantern/Green Arrow: Hard-Traveling Heroes New Edition TP

The classic Green Lantern/Green Arrow #76-87 and #89 and the backups from Flash #217-219 and #226. No word on anything special here aside from a new printing.

• Green Lanterns Vol. 9: Evil's Might TP

The final volume of the Green Lanterns series, collecting issues #50-57, by Dan Jurgens.

• Harley Quinn by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti Omnibus Vol. 3 HC

Collects issues #1-34 of the Harley Quinn Rebirth series, plus the Harley Quinn 25th Anniversary special. This may be the end of this omnibus series, as all the New 52 material and most of the miniseries and specials seem to be in the first two volumes, unless I'm overlooking something.

• Hitman Book One TP

A new set of more-issues Hitman collections by Garth Ennis; this is Hitman #1-8, the Demon Annual #2, Hitman Annual #1, and a story from Batman Chronicles #4, having been the Hitman Vol. 1: A Rage in Arkham and Hitman Vol. 2: Ten Thousand Bullets collections.

• House of Secrets: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 2 HC

The 1970s House of Secrets #112-154.

• Justice League Odyssey Vol. 1: The Ghost Sector TP

The new cosmic "New Justice" series by Joshua Williamson, collecting issues #1-5. This is also said to include a behind-the-scenes art section by Stjepan Sejic; at some point Sejic had to redraw two issues due to some kind of problem and Sejic has shared "lost" art from that time, so it'll be interesting to see if this is some of that art.

• Justice League Vol. 2: Graveyard of Gods TP

Collects Justice League #8-12, Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth #1, and Aquaman/Justice League: Drowned Earth #1, in paperback. I'd feel there's some restraint here in DC not plastering Aquaman's name at the top, except of course last month just saw the solicitation of Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth in hardcover, being the same two specials, Justice League #10-12, and the Aquaman and Titans tie-in parts.

This is either good news or bad news, depending on whether the Aquaman and Titans issues are also collected in their own independent trades. If you can find all the disparate parts of the hardcover also in paperback, then it's all good and read it how ever you want. But if the Aquaman and Titans issues are only available in the hardcover (and my guess is, the Titans issue will appear in its own trade, but the Aquaman issues are up in the air), then it's double-dip city and nobody likes that.

• Legends of the Dark Knight: Michael Golden HC

In hardcover; includes Batman Family #15-20, Batman #295 and #303, DC Special Series #15, Detective Comics #482, Batman Special #1, and Batman: Gotham Knights #22, plus cover work.

• Lucifer Omnibus Vol. 1 TP

Collects Sandman Presents: Lucifer #1-3, Lucifer #1-35, and the Lucifer: Nirvana special, by Mike Carey. The series continues to issue #75, followed by a second series by Holly Black and others, and a new "Sandman Universe" series. It remains to be seen if these omnibuses will only collect the Mike Carey run or all of it.

• The Outsiders by Judd Winick Book One TP

Among my all-time favorite series, Outsiders by Judd Winick is what Titans series are always striving to be -- hip, mature, smart, and character-driven. This is Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #1-3, Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files #1, and Outsiders #1-7 (being the Graduation Day and Outsiders: Looking for Trouble trades).

• Pearl Vol. 1 TP

Collects issues #1-6 of the new series by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos.

• Raven: Daughter of Darkness Vol. 2 TP

I am not enthused by DC collecting this twelve-issue miniseries in two volumes, and I didn't hear much praise for Marv Wolfman's first iteration of this ("Daughter of Darkness" is the sequel to the first six-issue miniseries). But, the pairing of Wolfman's Raven and his Night Force creation is inspired, one of those things that's astounding it didn't happen sooner, and that piques my interest for this a bit more.

• Sandman Vol. 8: Worlds' End 30th Anniversary New Edition TP

Issues #51-56 with a new introduction by Joe Hill.

• Scooby Apocalypse Vol. 5 HC

Collects issue #25-30; this series will be ending with issue #36, so probably one more trade after this.

• Shazam!: The World's Mightiest Mortal Vol. 1 HC

Collects issues #1-18 of the 1970s series with Dennis O'Neil, Otto Binder, Elliot S. Maggin, E. Nelson Bridwell, C.C. Beck, and Dave Cockrum, among others. This series went 35 issues, so maybe one more volume after this. Do I need to say "Where is Power of Shazam?"

• The Silencer Vol. 2: Hell-Iday Road TP

Collects issues #7-12 and Annual #1. Silencer is one of the few "New Age of Heroes" titles still going strong, and I'd like to think it'll last at least until Brian Michael Bendis' "Leviathan" event.

• Suicide Squad Vol. 8: Legerdemain TP

Collects the final issues of John Ostrander and Kim Yale's Suicide Squad, issues #59-66, including a War of the Gods tie-in issue (which guest-stars Grant Morrison as a character). After so many collections series cancelled before their time, I'm glad this one made it (also Mike Grell's Green Arrow).

• Superman: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book Four TP

The solicitation for this volume describes the events of Superman Vol. 6: Imperius Lex as well as Superman Vol. 7: Bizarroverse, but the Imperius Lex issues were in the last Rebirth volume, so clearly they're not here. This is then issues #37-45, Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason's Superman Special, and their story from Action Comics #1000, which is a couple single issue stories from Vol. 6 plus the entirety of Vol. 7 and two parts of the "Super Sons of Tomorrow" crossover.

• Swamp Thing: Protector of the Green (DC Essential Edition) TP

This is Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette's New 52 Swamp Thing series. The solicitation says issues #1-10, the Annual #1, and Jeff Lemire's Animal Man #12 and #17. Those latter issues, however, are part of the "Rotworld" crossover, tying in around the end of Snyder's run, issues #12-18. I'd guess this is the entirety of Snyder's run; indeed the 2015 deluxe edition was all of those issues and the Animal Man ones.

• Takio New Edition TP

The first Takio graphic novel about two super-powered siblings, by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming.

• Teen Titans by Geoff Johns Book Three TP

Issues #20-26, #29-31 of the Geoff Johns run, with Outsiders #24-25 (Teen Titans #27-28 were a Hawk and Dove story by Gail Simone and Rob Liefeld. This starts with an Identity Crisis tie-in and goes right up to Infinite Crisis.

• Wonder Woman and the Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour HC

People, we haven't even talked about the fact that the first Justice League Dark trade collects issues #1-3 and #5-7 of that series, and for issue #4 (and Wonder Woman #56-57 and Justice League Dark/Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour #1 and Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1 [!]), you have to go to this hardcover instead.

It is not even that the first volume is in paperback and the crossover is in hardcover (so if you wait for the paperback, you'll probably have to wait another year to fill in that gap), so much as that there is that gap in the first place. I don't mind crossovers, even crossovers in other volumes, but pulling the fourth issue from a book seems inconvenient; I'd as soon they put the "Witching Hour" issues in the first volume and save #5-7 for the second.

Omitting the crossover issues didn't work recently, for instance, with Teen Titans Vol. 3: The Return of Kid Flash, where reading all the way through, Titans Tower is suddenly destroyed because of events in Super Sons of Tomorrow; I fear the same kind of thing here.

Anyone who's read Justice League Dark in single issues, will omitting the crossover from the trade affect my reading of issues #5-7?

Review: Curse of Brimstone Vol. 1: Inferno trade paperback (DC Comics)

With shades of Walking Dead, Curse of Brimstone is suddenly, unexpectedly the horror book that's been missing from DC Comics' Rebirth lineup. Despite that the title is already cancelled, against all odds Brimstone Joe Chamberlain might be among the most viable of the characters to come out of the "New Age of Heroes" initiative, easy to slot into Justice League Dark or elsewhere. In Curse of Brimstone Vol. 1: Inferno, writer Justin Jordan offers a set of stories episodic and terrifying, anchored by a brother-sister team not often seen in mainstream superheroics. This book is surprisingly strong, and if DC can't make it work for Jordan with an unknown protagonist, they'd do well to get Jordan on another title with a similar aesthetic posthaste.

Review: Batgirl Vol. 4: Strange Loop trade paperback (DC Comics)

Through a couple of stories in Batgirl Vol. 4: Strange Loop, Hope Larson seems to be finding a distinctive voice for the series, making the fact of the end of her run unfortunate. But no sooner does this book get good than it stumbles, reminding of some of the other misses over the past 25 issues, and at that point the end seems right. There's sufficient here to remind of the best of the Burnside era, including plenty good art, but also sufficient tidbits to whet my appetite for Mairghread Scott's new run, too.

[Review contains spoilers]

The premise of Larson's Rebirth Batgirl run has been to affect a certain distance between Batgirl Barbara Gordon and her adopted Burnside neighborhood. Larson -- being the first (and essentially only) writer to tackle the Burnside Batgirl besides creators Brendan Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, and company -- first sent Barbara overseas; upon her return, Barbara was still "of" Burnside, but the narrative was peppered with Barbara's recognition of differences, including Burnside's growing gentrification.

Review: Trinity Vol. 4: The Search for Steve Trevor trade paperback (DC Comics)

That Trinity Vol. 4: The Search for Steve Trevor marks the end of the Rebirth Trinity series is not a great surprise. The series started with an interesting premise, the pseudo-New 52 Batman and Wonder Woman getting to know the pre-Flashpoint Superman, but with Superman Reborn, this became simply a "Big Three" team-up book.

Not that that might not have a place, but especially with Trinity Vol. 3: Dark Destiny, we've increasingly been seeing a title that wants for a regular creative team and also a storyline with some relevance. I like that this volume launches from Wonder Woman's search for Themyscira, but nothing significant happens in that regard; with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman regularly appearing in one another's titles these days and in Justice League, a toothless team-up of this sort no longer impresses just for existing.

Review: Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 8: On the Outside trade paperback (DC Comics)

Bryan Hill's Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 8: On the Outside whets my appetite for Hill's Batman and the Outsiders series, just as the future of that series unfortunately becomes murky. Even so, as my first exposure to Hill's comics work, I was satisfied and would be happy to read this author again; I also thought artist Miguel Mendonca was solid here, with shades of Eddy Barrows' good work earlier on Detective.

In this age of multiple Leagues and ubiquitous Bat-families, the dynamic original Mike W. Barr Outsiders lineup has less to distinguish it now as necessary and relevant except for nostalgia value. However, I thought Hill did a good job here of presenting Black Lightning Jefferson Pierce as a teacher above all, and that's a laudable hook on which to hang a team book, teen heroes with leader as teacher-mentor. Hill also brings a believable "outsider's view of the Bat-family" perspective to the book; we see this both in Pierce's interactions and in some of the missteps in Hill's story, totally forgivable from a new Bat-writer in an overall impressive first outing.

Review: Superman Vol. 7: Bizarroverse trade paperback (DC Comics)

Superman Vol. 7: Bizarroverse brings to a close Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason's run on Superman. Surely this series was better than Superman has been in a while, though this volume offers prime examples of how quickly heartfelt in this run could turn to cloying. No doubt there's something to be said for humorous, all-ages Superman stories like these and an ode to the rural Superman aesthetic we're probably unlikely to see again for a while. I wouldn't besmirch what Tomasi and Gleason have accomplished here, but this finale makes me more excited for the new team than nostalgic for the past.

[Review contains spoilers]

Tomasi and Gleason's Superboy Jon Kent has grown on me. There's a particular tone the writers give Jon when he's semi-panicking -- usually caught between a hard place and his parents finding out about the hard place -- that cracks me up every time, here when "Boyzarro" has crashed into Jon's room. I also think the writers' conception of a boy Jon's age is particularly apt, as when Jon has been eager to venture to Dinosaur Island to save Captain William Storm but then gets cold feet right before departure.

Review: Immortal Men: The End of Forever trade paperback (DC Comics)

Immortal Men was the first of DC Comics' "New Age of Heroes" titles to be cancelled; since that time, we've also seen the ends announced for The Unexpected, Curse of Brimstone, and Sideways (plus the straight-to-miniseries New Challengers), leaving only Silencer, Damage, and The Terrifics from the original pack. As such, Immortal Men: The End of Forever is the first "done in one" "New Age of Heroes" collection I've read, and the first via which we can begin to speculate about the outcome of the "New Age of Heroes" experiment (not good, essentially, though to be fair three [for now] ongoing series with new characters out of seven might not really be a failure).

Immortal Men itself is not bad (lesser than Silencer, on par with Terrifics, and ahead of Damage), though the premise is considerably more interesting than the execution. James Tynion writes, ostensibly following up from his strong team-book work on Detective Comics, and art in the first issue is by Jim Lee, arguably DC's biggest-draw artist. But even with all that power, Immortal Men never quite grips, and never quite finds its hook nor its heart. I'd have kept reading, but the book's end is not a surprise.

DC Trade Solicitations for March 2019 - Zero Hour Omnibus, Batgirl of Burnside and Batman Eternal Omnibuses, Catwoman by Jones, Justice League: Drowned Earth, Justice League by Priest Deluxe, Action Comics by Bendis

With the new year, a little late on my coverage of DC Comics' March 2019 trade paperback and hardcover solicitations, but here it is! If you're an omnibus lover, isn't this the month for you, because we've got a Batgirl of Burnside Omnibus, Batman Eternal Omnibus, and the Zero Hour 25th Anniversary Omnibus, none of which I remember hearing about before. I'll get to the contents of the Zero Hour Omnibus later in this post, but it looks comprehensive to me and there's a bunch of rarely collected series in there.

For me the Zero Hour Omnibus is the headline, but other notable books include a deluxe edition of Christopher Priest's Justice League and also we get a third volume of Mike W. Barr's Batman and the Outsiders. In terms of "regular series" trades, there's the Justice League: Drowned Earth collection, the first "New Justice" Teen Titans, and Brian Michael Bendis' Action Comics and the tie-in Supergirl volume by Marc Andreyko. So what seems to me a good month with both solid books and surprises.

For the first time in 2019, let's take a look ...

• Adventures of the Super Sons Vol. 1: Action Detective TP

Issues #1-6 of the twelve-issue Adventures of the Super Sons miniseries, which is never how I like miniseries collected. This is paperback; I'll hold out for the guaranteed hardcover. DC is collecting Marv Wolfman's second Raven miniseries the same way, though that one I don't expect to come out in hardcover. (Though, DC might do well to collect both the first and second miniseries, maybe with some other Raven material, in a deluxe book. But I digress.)

• All-Star Superman (DC Modern Classic) HC

Hardcover with slipcase.

• Batgirl of Burnside Omnibus HC

Collects issues #35-52 of the Brenden Fletcher/Cameron Stewart run with art by Babs Tarr and others, plus the Batgirl: Endgame special and the Annual #3 (guest-starring then Dick "Grayson" Grayson and others).

• Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 3 HC

Collects Batman and the Outsiders #24-32, Batman and the Outsiders Annual #2, and DC Comics Presents #83. Previously also listed was excerpts from Who’s Who #12-15. This is Mike W. Barr's final collection of this title before it becomes Adventures of the Outsiders.

Aside, having Looker on the Black Lightning TV show last year was inspired. Grace Choi is around too, of course, and now seemingly with powers, plus Dr. Jace. I am all for Rex Mason being one of the Green Light kids and that show going full-on Outsiders within a couple of years.

• Batman Eternal Omnibus HC

This was a giant Batman weekly. In the final tally I liked it a lot, but it was huge, and especially reading it three trades (the amount of material, consider that fills seven or eight trades regularly) made it feel unending. Omnibus buyers will get their money's worth.

Contextually, the book follows Forever Evil and ends just before Batman: Endgame; with contributions by Scott Snyder, the series seems an oft-forgotten piece of Snyder's run (except now getting this new collection). The series closed also just before the New 52 became DC You, and there's lots of proto-DC You material here if you were a fan of that era -- lead-ins to a more grounded Catwoman, Gotham by Midnight, etc., as well as shades of co-writer James Tynion's later Rebirth Detective Comics.

One wonders if maybe a Batman and Robin Eternal omnibus might be next, maybe with "Robin War" issues included.

• Batman Noir: Gotham by Gaslight HC

Black and white pencils and inks of Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola's inaugural Elseworlds story, recently adapted as an animated movie.

• Batman: Death of the Family Saga (DC Essential Edition) TP

Originally listed at 300 pages, this is up to almost 400 pages now. Contents are the Batman issues #13-17, Batgirl #14-16, Nightwing #15-16, Batman and Robin #15-16, plus "pages from" Batgirl #13, Nightwing #14, Red Hood and the Outlaws #14-15, and Teen Titans #16, making this sound like a "re-cut" kind of edition (Titans and Red Hood particularly had a lot of series-specific scenes not related to the crossover). Ordinarily I'd prefer to have whole issues in a trade but this is a cute "definitive" way to re-collect the story.

• Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 9: Deface the Face TP

Issues #988-993 in paperback, by James Robinson. I don't remember Robinson's post-Infinite Crisis "One Year Later" Batman: Face the Face that clearly (I reviewed it some eleven years ago), so I might have to give it a re-read to see to what extent Robinson calls out to his earlier story in this one.

• Batman: Detective Comics: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book Four HC

The solicitation for this collection still says issues #974-982, which is the Vol. 6 Fall of the Batmen and Vol. 7 Batmen Eternal collections, the final issues by James Tynion, plus one guest issue by Mike Moreci (#982) before Bryan Hill's story. Issue #982 isn't in Detective Vol. 7, so I'm surprised to see it here (and a little skeptical that it will be).

• Catwoman Vol. 1: Copycats TP

Issues #1-6 of the new Joelle Jones series.

• Damage Vol. 2: Scorched Earth TP

The second collection of the Robert Venditti series, collecting issues #7-12.

• DC Poster Portfolio: Jim Lee TP

Some of these new Poster Portfolio books seem clearly right for collecting an artist's contribution to DC's recent bevy of variant covers (still waiting for the book of Joshua Middleton's Aquaman covers). For this, however, I wonder how far back DC will go, including Lee's Batman: Hush work or earlier, or just recent stuff.

• Elseworlds: Superman Vol. 2 TP

The contents of this one have changed considerably since it was advance solicited. Whereas this was originally said to include Superman/Wonder Woman: Whom Gods Destroy by Chris Claremont and Dusty Abell and Superman: The Dark Side by John Francis Moore and Kieron Dwyer, this is now Son of Superman (with Howard Chaykin and J.H. Williams), Superboy's Legion (Mark Farmer and Alan Davis), Supergirl: Wings (J.M. DeMatteis), and Superman: True Brit (John Cleese and Kim "Howard" Johnson).

• Final Crisis (DC Essential Edition) TP

In paperback, Final Crisis #1-7, DC Universe #0, Superman Beyond #1-2, and Batman #682-683.

• The Flash/Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold Deluxe Edition HC

Deluxe-size collection of the Mark Waid/Barry Kitson miniseries, with a new introduction and "never-before-published full-issue script."

• Fortune and Glory: A True Hollywood Comic Book Story TP

Collects Brian Michael Bendis's three-part comics autobiography. Introduction by Paul Dini.

• Injustice 2 Vol. 4 TP

Issues #18-24.

• Injustice 2 Vol. 5 HC

Issues #25-30. Tom Taylor's series ends with issue #36 so it would seem the next volume is the last.

• Injustice Vs. Masters of the Universe HC

The team-up you never knew you wanted until it happened. Issues #1-6 by Tim Seeley and Freddie Williams, in hardcover.

• Justice League by Christopher Priest Deluxe Edition HC

Collects the entirety of Christopher Priest's run on Justice League, issues #34-43.

• Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth HC

Said to collects Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth #1, Justice League #10-12, Aquaman #40-41, Titans #28, and Aquaman/Justice League: Drowned Earth #1, though the Aquaman issues should actually be #41-42 (issues #39-40 are part of a Suicide Squad crossover and issues #41-42 are "Drowned Earth" tie-ins).

Those four Aquaman issues mentioned above aren't enough to make their own trade (unless someone gets creative), so probably here is the only place we'll see Aquaman #40-41. Remains to be seen if the Titans issue will also be in one of that series' trades or just here.

• The Kamandi Challenge TP

Paperback edition of the hardcover released earlier this year.

• Kingdom Come TP

Black Label edition, with the "never-before-published original proposal."

• Plastic Man TP

Collects the six issue miniseries by Gail Simone and Adriana Melo.

• Powers Book Four TP

Previously said to be issues #23-30 and #1-11, the new solicitation says Powers (series 2) #1-18, by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming.

• The Sandman Vol. 7: Brief Lives 30th Anniversary TP New Edition

Issues #41-49 with a new cover by Dave McKean.

• Scarlet Vol. 1 TP

Issues #1-5 of the new Scarlet series by Bendis and Alex Maleev.

• Supergirl Vol. 1: The Killers of Krypton TP

Collects issues #21-26 by Marc Andreyko, spinning out of the new Brian Michael Bendis Superman run.

• Superman: Action Comics Vol. 1: Invisible Mafia HC

Issues #1,001-#1,006 by Brian Michael Bendis with Patrick Gleason and others. In hardcover.

• Superman: World Against Superman (DC Essential Edition) TP

"Essential" (paperback) edition. Previously this was solicited as issues #1-18, the entirety of Grant Morrison's 18-issue run on the New 52 Action Comics. This solicitation says issues #1-10, which doesn't seem right because it ends on a cliffhanger, unless DC plans a follow-up volume.

• Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen by Jack Kirby TP

Continuing the individual-series breakdowns of the Jack Kirby's Fourth World omnibuses, this is issues #133-139 and #141-148.

• Teen Titans Vol. 1: Full Throttle TP

The new team of Adam Glass and Bernard Chang; I'm dubious but I've been hearing good things. Collects the special and issues #20-24.

• Wonder Woman Vol. 8: Dark Gods TP

The next collection by James Robinson, issues ##46-50 and Annual #2 (the solicitation says Annual #3, but there hasn't been one). Steve Orlando comes on with the next book before G. Willow Wilson joins after that.

• Zero Hour 25th Anniversary Omnibus HC

At almost 1,000 pages, this is said to include Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #4-0, Steel #8, Outsiders #11, Detective Comics #678, Batman #511, Superman: Man of Steel #37, Superboy #8, Green Lantern #55, The Flash #94, Superman #93, The Flash #0, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #31, Hawkman #13, Legionnaires #18, Valor #23, Adventures of Superman #516, L.E.G.I.O.N. ’94 #70, Green Arrow #90, Guy Gardner: Warrior #24, Team Titans #24, Legion of Super-Heroes #61, Action Comics #703, Justice League of America #92, Justice League Task Force #16, Justice League International #68, Robin #10, Anima #7, Catwoman #14, Damage #6, Darkstars #24, Green Lantern #0, and stories from Showcase '94 #8-10.

That is indeed the event itself and every Zero Hour tie-in from that period. Surely this is the first time an issue of Anima has been collected, and surely there’s some others in there for which it’s only the second or third time they’ve been collected -- Damage, Team Titans, Valor, etc.

I agree with the inclusions of Flash #0 and Green Lantern #0; Wally West disappears in Zero Hour and the zero issue offers a little resolution (not a lot but enough), whereas Green Lantern #0 takes place in the aftermath of the last issue. There’s maybe a couple others that could have been included -- Damage #0 or Green Arrow #0, though the latter doesn’t really mention Zero Hour’s events. The two that are included are probably enough.

I’m glad to see that what’s offered here doesn’t exclude what’s in the already-released Zero Hour tie-in paperbacks (including the upcoming Justice League: Zero Hour, which I’m very excited about). At this point, if you excluded the already-collected tie-in issues, you’d have about 14 issues, which is not much bigger than some of the existing Zero Hour tie-in collections; maybe DC can finish their paperbacks with just one more “Zero Hour Companion” book.

So ... Zero Hour Omnibus: too heavy or just what you always wanted?

Review: Green Arrow Vol. 6: Trial of Two Cities trade paperback (DC Comics)

There feels a change in the wind for DC Comics' Rebirth titles. Aside from stalwarts Tom King on Batman and Joshua Williamson on Flash, we've seen upsets in the Super-titles, Dan Abnett departing Aquaman, Robert Venditti leaving the Green Lantern titles, Rob Williams' run on Suicide Squad scheduled to end, and with Green Arrow Vol. 6: Trial of Two Cities, the end of Benjamin Percy and Juan Ferreyra's run on Green Arrow. To me, Percy's Green Arrow has been one of the best-looking but under-recognized Rebirth titles, and it's a shame it won't be on the stands any more.

We also know now this title only has twelve issues or so to go under other writers before it's cancelled. Trial isn't then the last trade of this iteration, but as the last book by a regular team, it's another way the trade feels like the end of the era. Another Green Arrow book has been promised, but there's big artistic shoes to fill especially for the next time DC gives the Emerald Outlaw a go.