I still prefer something like James Tynion's Detective run where the title, for the first time in a long time, held its own in relevance against the Batman title. However, if one is going to admit defeat, this is the way to do it, as Dini did before, making Detective the Batman anthology title, the place for the experiment, the one-off, the quick spotlight on an oft-neglected corner.
Review: Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 3: Greetings From Gotham hardcover/paperback (DC Comics)
Sunday, June 28, 2020


Review: Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy hardcover/paperback (DC Comics)
Wednesday, June 24, 2020


Review: Nightwing: The Gray Son Legacy trade paperback (DC Comics)
Sunday, June 21, 2020


Review: Batman/Superman Vol. 1: Who Are the Secret Six? hardcover/paperback (DC Comics)
Wednesday, June 17, 2020


DC Trade Solicitations for September 2020 - Detective #1027 Deluxe, Batman Vol. 1 by Tynion, Batman: Knight Out by Dixon, Jimmy Olsen by Fraction, Doomsday Clock Complete, Hard Time by Gerber, New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 5
Sunday, June 14, 2020
Outside of that, I note Doomsday Clock gets its first full collection here, in paperback — undoubtedly there's a deluxe or Absolute coming, but I wonder if it says anything that neither of those came first. There's the first collection of the John Constantine: Hellblazer from the Sandman Universe imprint, but given that imprint seems all but discontinued, my interest has somewhat waned, and frankly that even makes me debate the Sandman Deluxe Edition book that's coming out also. I'm a lock for the Jimmy Olsen miniseries, of course, and probably sometime eventually I'll read Tom King's Mister Miracle, too, out in deluxe edition.
Let's dig in and see what else is coming.
If I'm not mistaken, DC has released an Absolute Planetary before, but it only contained the preview from Gen 13 #33 and Planetary #1-12, whereas this has the preview, Planetary #1-27, Planetary/Batman: Night On Earth #1, Planetary/The Authority: Ruling the World #1, Planetary/JLA: Terra Occulta #1, and a pinup from WildStorm: A Celebration of 25 Years. That tracks closer to the Planetary Omnibus from 2014, though I don't believe that had the Wildstorm anniversary story.
Issues #1-7 of the Hill House Comics imprint title.
• Batman Adventures: Nightwing Rising TP
Collects The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years #1-5 and Batman: Gotham Adventures #1.
• Batman by Tom King and Lee Weeks Deluxe Edition HC
What had originally seemed like just a joint collection of Batman Vol. 9: Cold Days and Batman Vol. 10: Knightmares in deluxe format, following from the previous Rebirth Batman deluxe format collections turns out indeed to be a specific King/Weeks spotlight volume. On one hand, I’m not sure that’s what the market wants; on the other hand, this collects the Batman/Elmer Fudd by King and Weeks special alongside the sequel issue, Batman #67, and that seems well worthwhile.
The solicitation seems at cross-purposes, advertising Cold Days and Knightmares, but the contents are said to be Batman #51-53 ("Cold Days") and #67 (just the Weeks chapter of "Knightmares" that includes "William Ernest Coyote"), Batman Annual #2 (the acclaimed future Batman/Catwoman story), and the aforementioned Batman/Elmer Fudd — plus chapters of "Prodigal" (!) from 1994 with art by Weeks. Y'know, I often theorize, there's a buyer for everything.
• Batman Vol. 1: Their Dark Designs HC
The first collection of the Batman run by James Tynion with Tony Daniel, in hardcover (and newly renumbered). Introducing Punchline, if you like that kind of thing.
Paperback of the miniseries by Scott Snyder, Jock, and Eduardo Risso, following the hardcover.
• Batman: 80 Years of the Bat-Family TP
Collects Detective Comics #1000 (and not also Detective Comics #1000: The Deluxe Edition, as a previous solicitation suggested), Detective Comics: 80th Anniversary Giant #1 (formerly Walmart exclusive), Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1, Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1, and the The Joker 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1. I wonder if this is indeed the entirety of all of these issues or just the new material. Anyway, I wondered if there’d be a way to read these without buying each one individually, and I’m glad there is.
• Batman: Curse of the White Knight HC
Hardcover collection of the eight-issue miniseries by Sean Murphy, plus the Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze special.
• Batman: Detective Comics #1027 Deluxe Edition HC
Solicited alongside the regular issue, this deluxe edition doesn’t seem to have any additional contents, so much as being hardcover and the bigger size. Due out in November, vs. September for the single issue. I don’t mind these special single issues coming out as “trades”; looks good on the shelf and all that.
• Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 3: Greetings From Gotham TP
Issues #1006-1011 by Peter Tomasi, including appearances by the Spectre Jim Corrigan, Joker, and Deadshot, in paperback following the hardcover.
• Batman: Gotham by Gaslight Deluxe Edition HC
Collects all the various "Gotham by Gaslight" character appearances, including Gotham by Gaslight, Batman: Master of the Future, Convergence: Shazam! #1-2, and Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Gotham by Gaslight.
We're long overdue for some dedicated Chuck Dixon collections, given his outsized contributions to the Batman titles in the 1990s and on. The solicitation says this collects Detective Comics #703-718 (previous solicitations had this skipping #716 for no reason I can see), bridging from "Legacy" to "Cataclysm" (and from there to "No Man's Land") and including a Final Night tie-in. Art too by Graham Nolan.
• Batman: The Man Who Laughs: The Deluxe Edition HC
Deluxe edition of the graphic novel by Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke (whose recent depicition of the Joker in Detective Comics reminded me just how good Mahnke’s Joker is). Also includes Detective Comics #784-786 by Brubaker and Patrick Zircher, teaming Batman with Green Lantern Alan Scott.
• DC Poster Portfolio: Greg Capullo TP
Timely, this’ll include covers from both Dark Nights: Metal and Dark Nights: Death Metal.
Collection of the Hill House series by M. R. Carey and Peter Gross.
• Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds TP
All seven issues of the Gerard Way series.
• Doomsday Clock: The Complete Collection TP
In paperback, collecting all 12 issues — so if I’ve got this right, there’s two six-issue hardcovers, but we’re getting a full paperback before a full hardcover. Only a matter of time, of course, and probably deluxe or Absolute when it comes.
Collects issues #1-41, Fables: The Last Castle, Fables: 1,001 Nights of Snowfall, and the prose story "A Wolf in the Fold" from the Fables: Legends in Exile collection. This equals about the first six trade paperbacks or the first four/five-ish deluxe editions.
• Hard Time: The Complete Series TP
Hard Time was one of the titles under the short-lived DC Focus imprint from the early 2000s (with Kinetic by Kelley Puckett, Fraction, and Touch by John Francis Moore). Written by the late Steve Gerber and Mary Skrenes, I read some early issues and liked it, and I’ve always understood it to be well-regarded. The first series ran 12 issues, and Hard Time: Season Two ran seven and was never collected, so this seems a smart release.
• House of Whispers Vol. 3: Watching the Watchers TP
Collects issues #13-22, the final issues of the “Sandman Universe” series, from which titles seem to be dropping quickly.
• John Constantine: Hellblazer Vol. 1: Marks of Woe TP
The first five issues of the new Sandman Universe series by Si Spurrier, plus the Sandman Universe Presents: Hellblazer special and Books of Magic #14.
• JSA by Geoff Johns Book Four TP
Collects JSA #32-45, the Stealing Thunder and Savage Times trades.
• Justice League International Omnibus Vol. 2 HC
Collects Justice League America #31-50, Justice League Europe #7-25, Justice League America Annual #4, Justice League Europe Annual #1, Justice League Quarterly #1, and Justice League International Special #1, which have largely not, to my knowledge, been previously collected. With a recent new paperback released (collecting almost three volumes worth of earlier collections), hopefully there's more to come. One more omnibus would probably finish this, but the paperbacks are, of course, something else.
Issues #1-6 by Carmen Maria Machado from the Hill House imprint.
• Mister Miracle: The Deluxe Edition HC
Deluxe-size edition of the Tom King/Mitch Gerads 12-issue "maxiseries," with sketches, scripts, and the full pencil art for the first issue.
• New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 5 HC
The New Teen Titans #32-49, The New Teen Titans Annual #3 (first appearance of Danny Chase) and #4, Tales of the Teen Titans #91 (as this was a reprint of New Teen Titans #31, this is probably just the cover or a short recap section), Secret Origins #13, Secret Origins Annual #3, and Infinity, Inc. #45. The title became New Titans with issue #50.
• The Sandman: The Deluxe Edition Book One HC
I just finished collecting the 30th anniversary Sandman paperbacks, and now here comes a hardcover collecting both "Preludes & Nocturnes" and "Doll's House" (issues #1-16) plus the Sandman Midnight Theatre special. That special is welcome and relevant, though an anachronism, and I wonder if there’s any more stories like that (issues of the old Dreaming series, maybe?) that’ll appear in subsequent volumes. Still thinking about whether I’ll double-dip or not.
• Shazam!: The Deluxe Edition HC
Deluxe-size edition of the New 52 Justice League backups that introduced Geoff Johns' new Shazam. Said to have “never before seen extras” and a new introduction by Johns.
• Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen: Who Killed Jimmy Olsen? TP
The 12-issue miniseries by Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber.
The final collection of Peter David's Young Justice, issues #33-55. This includes tie-ins to "Our Worlds at War" and "Joker's Last Laugh," as well as the "World Without Young Justice" crossover with Impulse #85, Superboy #99, and Robin #101. Just “pages from” the Superboy and Impulse issues are listed in the solicitation (previously it was none of them); we’ll see if Robin gets there once it’s printed.


Review: Harley Quinn Vol. 4: The Final Trial trade paperback (DC Comics)
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
With no small amount of fourth-wall-breaking and comics within comics, The Final Trial manages to be funny and satirical, both irreverent and relevant when it comes to the ongoing "Year of the Villain" event, and also moving and emotional in the way that shows just how far Harley has come from her one-note origins. Were this even Humphries' finale, I'd happily say he stuck the landing, and one can only hope that the actual ending will live up to what came before.


Review: Superman Vol. 3: The Truth Revealed hardcover/paperback (DC Comics)
Sunday, June 07, 2020
Cynical as we are, there's no use debating whether Brian Michael Bendis should or not have had Superman reveal his secret identity in Superman Vol. 3: The Truth Revealed. Given Bendis inevitably one day moving on or some higher-up worrying that Superman's moved too far from the corporate IP baseline or the back-to-basics approach of another reboot, it won't be long till Clark Kent's just a mild-mannered reporter again.
If anything, the fact that Clark's secret is out and that other thing happened in Batman Vol. 12: City of Bane Part 1 suggests we're pretty far from baseline IP already. It's these kinds of landscapes where one starts to expect a reboot as is, if (1) that wouldn't be completely ludicrous right now and (2) seemingly one was already in the offing with 5G before it was torpedoed. Basically, it's not 1992 anymore and none of us sooner believe Superman will have lost his secret identity forever than we did — checks watch — less than a half-dozen years and a continuity ago when Superman's identity was also revealed. The impermanence of that speaks volumes for this.


Review: Harley Quinn Vol. 3: The Trials of Harley Quinn trade paperback (DC Comics)
Wednesday, June 03, 2020
[Review contains spoilers]
The Christmas issue that begins this book, something of a prologue to the "Trials of Harley" stories, solidifies the break with what came before. Gathered around the table toward the end of the issue are Harley; her mother, father, and brothers; Catwoman (as an awkward stand-in for Poison Ivy); Coach; the Apokoliptian Tina; continuity cop Jonni DC; and prescient young comics artist Meredith Clatterbuck. These final three have been newly introduced to this title by Humphries over the last dozen or so issues; notably, nowhere pictured are Harley's stalwart companions from the Amanda Conner/Jimmy Palmiotti run like Big Tony, Eggy, or Red Tool.

