You will go ape for the DC Comics February 2024 trade paperback and hardcover solicitations! Too much? Sorry. But indeed the big surprise here is JLApe: The Complete Collection. It’s not what I would say is the most notable of DC’s annuals crossover events1 — though certainly fun and speaks to DC’s long tradition of, well, ape stories — but I do like the precedent this sets for maybe more annuals collections to come.
Also notable this time, we’ve got contents for the Lobo: Big Fraggin’ Compendium One, the Justice League Dark: Rebirth Omnibus, and the Flash by Joshua Williamson Omnibus. These are all big books — crossover stuff and minutiae beyond what I might expect from these. Combined with the very complete Fourth World Omnibus from December 2023’s solicitations and the Justice League International Omnibus from January 2024’s solicitations, I continue to be very optimistic about DC’s collections releases in the new year.
Regular series collections sees Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing Vol. 2 HC and Tim Drake: Robin Vol. 2. Coming out of Lazarus Planet, we’ve got City Boy, Vigil, and Spirit World. The Tales of the Titans book is interesting to me, leading as it does into some future DC events. I’m always up for more Batman: White Knight (though I’m a little behind right now) with Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker, and I’m glad to see Gail Simone’s new-classic Birds of Prey collections continuing.
Not much 2023 left! Here’s the full list.
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Recent DC Comics Trade Solicitations |
• 100 Bullets Book One (2024 Edition) TP
Issues #1–19 of the series by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso.
• Absolute All-Star Superman (2024 Edition) HC
New printing of the Absolute.
DC all-ages title written and drawn by Yehudi Mercado, including the Joker’s dog Jester and Dr. Hugo Mange. This was solicited for November but apparently held and resolicited.
• Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 4: Riddle Me This TP
Paperback of issues #1059–1061, Mariko Tamaki’s final Detective volume.
• Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker HC
The six-issue miniseries by Katana Collins set in the “White Knight Universe,” as the solicitation calls it, but everyone knows it’s the “Murphy-verse.” Coming in April.
• Batman/Superman: World’s Finest Vol. 1: The Devil Nezha TP
Paperback of the intro story from Detective Comics #1050 and issues #1–5 of the Mark Waid/Dan Mora series.
Collects Birds of Prey #92–103 from the “One Year Later” post-Infinite Crisis era, being “Progeny” (#92–95), “Headhunt” (#96–99), and “Blood and Circuits” (#100–103). Gail Simone’s run for the first “Birds of Prey” series went to issue #108.
Issues #1–6 of the series by Greg Pak and Minkyu Jung, part of DC’s “We Are Legends” AAPI community-led initiative, spinning out of Lazarus Planet.
Paperback, following the hardcover, collecting issues #7–12, by James Tynion and Matthew Rosenberg.
• Deathstroke Inc. Vol. 2: Year One TP
Paperback of issues #10–15 by Ed Brisson, following the hardcover.
• The Flash by Joshua Williamson Omnibus Vol. 1 HC
I have opinions about Joshua Williamson’s Flash run, to be sure, but I say in all seriousness that I respect Williamson writing over 100 Flash issues; this is certainly an epic you could immerse yourself in.
This first hardcover volume collects Flash: Rebirth #1, Flash #1–35, Batman #21–22 (“The Button” crossover), Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #32, Justice League #32–33 (both titles being part of the Dark Nights: Metal “Bats Out of Hell” crossover), and a story from DC Holiday Special 2017 #1, with an introduction by Williamson. Coming in April and listed at 1,008 pages.
• I Am Batman Vol. 2: Welcome to New York TP
Paperback collection of the John Ridley series, issues #6–10, following the hardcover. I enjoyed I Am Batman Vol. 2 even more than the first volume.
• JLApe: The Complete Collection TP
Now this is a great and unexpected collection. Celebrating DC’s long tradition of weird sci-fi ape stories, the Justice Leaguers become monkeys and encounter the various simian denizens of the DCU.
Collecting the lead in from Legends of the DC Universe #19 (with Impulse!) plus the whole event across the Leaguer annuals — JLA Annual #3, Batman Annual #23, Aquaman Annual #5, Wonder Woman Annual #8, Flash Annual #12, Superman Annual #11, Green Lantern Annual #8, and Martian Manhunter Annual #2. There are other longer and more consequential “annuals” events; dare we hope this is the start of seeing some of those collected? Coming in March, by talents including Len Kaminski, John Ostrander, Keith Giffen, Pop Mhan, Jason Orfalas, Graham Nolan, and M.D. Bright.
• The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing Vol. 2 HC
By Matthew Rosenberg, issues #7–12 in hardcover in April.
The six-issue miniseries by Daniel Warren Johnson, in paperback following the hardcover.
• Justice League Dark: Rebirth Omnibus HC
Y’know, talk about a comprehensive collection, this is Justice League Dark #1–29, Justice League Dark Annual #1, Justice League Dark 2021 Annual, Justice League Dark/Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour #1, Aquaman #66, Black Adam: Endless Winter Special #1, Flash #767 and #777–779, Justice League #58 and #72–74, Justice League: Endless Winter #1–2, Superman: Endless Winter Special #1, Teen Titans: Endless Winter Special #1, Wonder Woman #56–57, Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1, and stories from Justice League #59–71, Future State: Justice League #1–2, and Secrets of Sinister House #1.
That’s Justice League Dark from James Tynion through to Ram V, plus the whole of the Justice League: Endless Winter crossover even though it’s not wholly a Justice League Dark story, the Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark: Witching Hour crossover, and tertiary bits like the JLD appearing in Flash (fantastic Jeremy Adams story) and a story from 2019’s Secrets of Sinister House Halloween special. No kidding, if you want to read just about every major JLD appearance from just after Dark Nights: Metal/New Justice (not Rebirth, despite this volume’s title) through to the cusp of Dark Crisis, this is it.
• Lobo: Big Fraggin’ Compendium One TP
And this is only book one! Collects Omega Men #3, Lobo’s first (albeit different) appearance, and then a whole mess of stuff including the first four-issue Lobo miniseries, Lobo #0–9, Lobo Annual #1–2, Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special #1, Lobo’s Back #1–4, Lobo: Blazing Chain of Love #1, Lobo: Infanticide #1–4, Lobo: Portrait of a Victim #1, Lobo: Un-American Gladiators #1–4, Lobo Convention Special #1, Lobo: A Contract on Gawd #1–4, Lobo: In the Chair #1, Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #8 (Lobo vs. Jack T. Chance!), Superman: The Man of Steel #30 (the one with the Colorforms cover!), Demon #11–15, profile pages from Who’s Who #8, and Lobocop #1.
My guess is we’re looking at more of the main series for the next volume. Includes work by Alan Grant, Keith Giffen, Simon Bisley, and Val Semeiks.
The six-issue miniseries by Brian Michael Bendis, David F. Walker, and Jamal Campbell, in paperback following the hardcover. I reviewed Naomi: Season Two this past June.
By Alyssa Wong and Haining, part of DC’s new AAPI community-led initiative spinning off from Lazarus Planet. In paperback; issues #1–6.
In paperback in April, leading in to the next big Titans crossover. Writers here include Tini Howard and Steve Orlando; I’m hopeful in particular that this one can iron out Donna Troy’s history for the post-Dark Crisis era.
• Tim Drake: Robin Vol. 2: A Case of Chaos TP
The second and final collection of the Meghan Fitzmartin series. Issues #7–10.
By Ram V and Lalit Kumar, in paperback in April. Another spin-off of Lazarus Planet and part of DC’s AAPI community-led initiative.
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Not an annual (yearly) crossover event, though there’s that too, but back when crossovers used to take place between all the titles' annuals. ↩︎
I'm VERY happy Williamson's Flash run's finally getting the Omnibus Treatment.
ReplyDeleteI'd planned to get the DC Rebirth Deluxe Hardcovers, until they abruptly and inexplicably canceled it with only about 1/3 of the run collected.
And I agree the Williamson-era Flash has its flaws. But it's still my favorite run on the book since Geoff Johns, Scott Kolins, and Howard Porter ended their Wally West tenure back in 2005. It's also the defining modern Barry Allen for me (in contrast, I STILL don't like Johns' Flash encore over a decade ago).
I'm glad you're glad. And for all I know, maybe it'll read better all together. It is certainly, again, a lot of Flash written by one person, and that's a good thing irrespective of how it worked out storyline to storyline.
DeleteYeah, now that it's wrapped, I need to do a re-read of the entire thing to see how it holds together.
DeleteFrom what I remember from the original publication, I DO think Williamson stayed on the book a little too long. It definitely lost steam and direction in the second half following FLASH WAR (I was not a fan of the Forces storyline or Cold's darker direction in ROGUES REIGN).
I didn't dig the forces, though I thought the series picked up with some of the late-run time travel stuff. I'm still (unreasonably) salty about some of the _early_ stuff, like the Shade appearance that never ultimately mattered (likely a consequence of the "Mr. Oz" stuff getting kicked further and further down the road until Dark Nights: Metal supplanted it).
DeleteYeah, the Forces felt too much like Williamson trying to replicate GL's Emotional Spectrum for the Flash mythos (something which, ironically, I think Johns likely would've done himself based on those hints in his Barry run that never came to fruition). I wasn't a fan of when The CW show adapted that storyline during the closing Seasons.
DeleteSpeaking of Johns, I think one of the core aspects I enjoyed about the run was that it WAS a sequel to both Johns' Flash runs -- or at least picked up loose ends lost to Flashpoint (ex. Hunter Zolomon) and closed out the Johns / Van Sciver Barry paradigm going into Infinite Frontier.
As for the Shade, yeah, that was obviously tying into DOOMSDAY CLOCK and never paid off.
Ironically, I ended up using "Speed of Darkness" a few years ago for WB's TV Writers Workshop application. I did a Flash Spec Script that loosely adapted Williamson's story for The CW show (and with additional elements of STARMAN's "Grand Guignol").
Probably my favorite Spec Script, heh, but I'm still ticked my application didn't advance to the next round.