After what’s seemed to be a couple light months, it feels like there’s more to enjoy in the DC Comics March 2022 hardcover and trade paperback solicitations (though the Summer 2022 catalog is very much missing right now). Among regular series titles we have an embarrassment of riches with three (three? three.) collections, Future State: Gotham Vol. 1, Shazam: To Hell and Back, and Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom. Also, not new-new but significant, is the Batman: Fear State Saga, which collects Fear State: Alpha and Omega that were strangely omitted from the Batman Vol. 5: Fear State collection proper.
Other promising ones include a DC Black Label Suicide Squad collection, Suicide Squad: Get Joker!, the big Talon by James Tynion collection, Tynion’s Nice House on the Lake Vol. 1, and the classic Who’s Who Omnibus Vol. 2. Batman: The Dark Knight Detective Vol. 6 had been cancelled (supposed to be released last month), but is back on the schedule now, thankfully. The DC Pride collection contents have been cleared up satisfactorily; also in a wonderfully insane endeavor, DC will be reprinting the entirety of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman in four volumes over eight weeks — trying to decide if I’m going to do something special for that.
So that’s your quick rundown — let’s take a look at the details.
• Batman Black and White Box Set
Includes five Batman: Black and White trades.
• Batman vs. Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham
The new six-issue miniseries by Bill Willingham, in paperback in April. Still not sure what to make of this. Is Fables back? Is it part of the DCU now?
The Batman Vol. 5: Fear State collection seems to collect just Batman #112-117, so this seems like a demonstrably better purchase given that this includes those issues plus Batman Secret Files: The Gardener #1, Batman Secret Files: Peacekeeper #1, Batman Secret Files: Miracle Molly #1, Batman: Fear State: Alpha #1, and Batman: Fear State: Omega #1. Those latter two, especially, one would think would be pretty important, making this the big seller. So far this volume does not include the I Am Batman, Harley Quinn, or Catwoman issues of "Fear State," which one assumes will appear in their own collections.
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Recent DC Comics Trade Solicitations |
• Batman: The Dark Knight Detective Vol. 6
This was supposed to be out in November but was cancelled, but thankfully now it's back on the schedule. Collects Detective Comics #622-633 from 1990-1991. Nothing particularly noteworthy I could discern about these issues (but that doesn't mean I wanted it cancelled!), though they include stories by John Ostrander and by Marv Wolfman and Peter Milligan with art by Jim Aparo. Issue #627 is a multi-story "anniversary" issue of Batman's 600th appearance in Detective.
In comparison, this volume lines up with about Batman #455-466, or the contents of Batman: The Caped Crusader Vol. 4; this past January's Batman: The Caped Crusader Vol. 5 collected Batman #466-473 and Detective #639-640, to give you a sense of where the two books are in relation to one another.
What's collected as "Prelude to Knightfall" beings with Batman #484 and Detective #654, so given about 10 issues a book, Caped Crusader probably has about one more volume to go (if indeed these volumes stop at Knightfall) and Dark Knight Detective has about two.
Paperback collection of Dark Knights: Death Metal #1-7, in April.
• DC League of Super-Pets: The Great Mxy-Up
Movie tie-in paperback graphic novel by Heath Corson (Bizarro).
• DC One Million Omnibus (2022 Edition)
A new release of the DC One Million Omnibus. No new contents listed; by now we know it collects all the DC One Million things.
I wondered if DC Pride would receive a collection and I'm glad that it is. This current solicitation mentions "six additional short stories," which differs from an earlier collection that mentioned it would include Mysteries of Love in Space, New Year's Evil, and Young Monsters in Love. My guess then is that these will be only the relevant stories from those books (Crush, Harley, etc.), with maybe some continuity of creator as well. Works for me; that seems more appropriate than, for instance, a whole issue of Halloween stories alongside DC Pride, though I do wish DC would collect the entirety of those other holiday specials together sometime elsewhere.
Paperback of issues #1-7 by new DC exclusive Tom Taylor, following the hardcover..
• Death and Return of Superman Omnibus (2022 Edition)
Marks the 30th anniversary of Death of Superman. Near as I can tell, nothing different here than in the previous edition.
The Future State anthology series launches with a Red Hood story by Joshua Williamson; said to collect Future State: Gotham #1–7 and Future State: Dark Detective #2–4 (presumably the Red Hood stories).
YA graphic novel by Jadzia Axelrod and Jess Taylor, about an alien princess living in hiding as a boy on Earth and the girl from Metropolis who changes everything. Really, really interested in these YA books that set themselves against the backdrop of the DCU but introduce new characters.
• Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom
The six-issue miniseries by Brandon Easton and Fico Ossio, spinning out of Future State. In hardcover in April.
• The Nice House on the Lake Vol. 1
Collects issues #1-6 by James Tynion and his Detective Comics artist Alvaro Martinez, ahead of the series return in March. Surprised this isn't in hardcover, but maybe that's for the combo edition.
This was previously announced in DC Comics Fall 2020 solicitations in March 2020, so not entirely surprising it never made it to print. Here it is again, due out in May 2022. No contents listed, but previously this was said to have The Phantom Stranger #1-6 (1952), The Phantom Stranger #1-41 (1969), stories from Saga of the Swamp Thing #1-13, Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #18, Brave and the Bold #89, #98, and #145, Showcase #80, Justice League of America #103, House of Secrets #150, DC Super-Stars #18, and DC Comics Presents #25 and #72.
What seems particularly notable about these is that, at least in terms of Sandman issues proper, these collect more than the usual number of issues, even more than the deluxe. That is, this is issues #1-20, more than the regular Preludes and Nocturnes (issues #1-8) and more than the first deluxe edition (being Preludes and The Doll's House, issues #9-16). This book has both of those plus Dream Country, issues #17-20.
Issues #21-37, Sandman Special, and stories from Vertigo: Winter's Edge.
Issues #38-56 and a story from Vertigo Preview #1.
Issues #57-75 and stories from Vertigo Jam and Dust Covers.
In paperback in April, collecting the four-issue miniseries by Tim Sheridan, tying in to Teen Titans Academy.
Paperback by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo, following the hardcover. I enjoyed Suicide Squad: Bad Blood quite a bit.
In hardcover in April, collecting the three-issue miniseries by Brian Azzarello and Alex Maleev.
You'd think we would have seen this before — a collection of Silver Age super-pets stories. Includes Action Comics #261, #266, #277, #292, and #293; Batman #125; Adventure Comics #210, #256, #293, #322, and #364; Superman #176; Wonder Woman #23; and Superboy #76.
In paperback, coming in April, this is issues #1-17 of James Tynion’s first DC series, plus Birds of Prey #21 (crossover with Talon #8-9). Though not a seminal work, it had a lot of ties to the DCU at the time, and I’m pleased for a chance to read the whole thing all together.
• Teen Titans by Geoff Johns Omnibus (2022 Edition)
New printing of the Geoff Johns run. Previously this was Teen Titans #1/2-26, 29-46 and 50, Legends of the DC Universe #2, Titans Secret Files #2, Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files 2003, Beast Boy #1-4, Teen Titans/Legion Of Super Heroes Special #1, Outsiders #24-25, Robin #147 (maybe also #146?), Infinite Crisis #5-6, and Teen Titans Annual #1.
Continuing the long-awaited collection series, this is Who’s Who in the DC Universe #1-16 (what I believe is the 1990s "loose-leaf" version), Who’s Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes #1-7, and Who’s Who Update 1993 #1-2.
Much bigger offering than the last couple months, but I'm not buying a thing on there. My wallet is happy, but it's pretty stunning since that hasn't happened, well, ever - some of it is that books I'd be inclined to get are just in between volumes (e.g. Action Comics), but some of it is the lack of follow through on any number of archival lines (we can do the whole list some other time, but let's just point out we're one Flash by Johns volume short of completion).
ReplyDeleteConsidering how closely the recent Shazam! mini ties into Tim Sheridan's Titans Academy series, I'm surprised it's getting its own separate collection. Since its solicited contents don't match the listed page count (152), I'm guessing it will also include the two fill-in issues of the latest Shazam! ongoing (#12 and #15, not collected in the Shazam and the Seven Magic Lands TPB) as extras.
ReplyDeleteI would like those two Shazam! fill-in issues to be here, but I wonder if it might be Tim Sheridan's Future State: Shazam issues instead; of late, DC has shown a willingness to collect the Future State stories in their "related" volumes as well as on their own (see Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Becoming),
DeleteSome good stuff here.
ReplyDeleteIf it were up to me, that Phantom Stranger omnibus would also include the PS-centric JLA #145. One of the better stories from that Steve Englehart run.
Agreed that seems like an important addition.
DeleteHi, is any news on the keith giffen's justice league TPB they started on 2020? I have been waiting for the third trade, but it seems DC does not care about scheduling it.
ReplyDeleteNot so far, but DC's entire advance catalog seems to be arriving later this year than previous as is.
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