DC Trade Solicitations for May 2024 - Batman and Robin Adventures Omnibus, Wonder Woman and Penguin by King, Flash Vol. 1 by Spurrier, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow Deluxe, Superman by Busiek Book One, Adventures of Young Diana

Looking back, there were a lot more books announced last year at this time than there are in the DC Comics May 2024 trade paperback and hardcover solicitations. I can’t fully quantify why it is that this is a smaller month this year, though looking over the single issues in the May 2024 listings, I notice there’s just less overall — no companion Teen Titans book to go with Titans, no Aquaman, no Green Arrow, no three Justice League books, and so on. And I don’t think DC publishing fewer series with more focus is a bad thing, either, but fewer series (and I realize I’m putting cart before horse here to an extent) also means fewer collections.

What we’ve got among regular series is the first volume of Simon Spurrier’s Flash, the first volume of Tom King’s Wonder Woman, and also the first volume of King’s Penguin. All of those are books I’m anticipating, but in terms of regular series, yeah … that’s it.

Which is not to say there aren’t other gems announced. I know the Batman and Robin Adventures Omnibus will be of interest to some of the readers here, and fingers crossed that it results in still more DC Animated Universe omnibuses to come. Just a year ago, DC solicited the deluxe edition of Kurt Busiek and the late Carlos Pacheco’s Superman: Camelot Falls, and now we have Superman by Kurt Busiek Book One, which ought ultimately collect “Camelot Falls” but also a whole lot more.

There’s an alternate script for an issue in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow: The Deluxe Edition that might at least necessitate flipping through in a bookstore, and I’m glad DC did finally see fit to collect all of Jordie Bellaire’s Wonder Woman: The Adventures of Young Diana in one book.

In other collections-related news, by the way, DC recently announced upcoming omnibus collections of both all their inter-company crossover specials, and their three "Amalgam/Access" crossover miniseries and at least some of the "Amalgam Age of Comics" mash-up titles. At the moment, the released listings for DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus does not list all of the mash-up comics, though it _does_ list ones from both "Amalgam Age" and "Return to the Amalgam Age," so I'm hoping that's an indication "and more" means the entire package.

Let’s look at the full May 2024 list.

Recent DC Comics Trade Solicitations

April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 More upcoming collections ...

• Absolute Batman: Death of the Family HC

Absolute collection of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s noted Batman: Death of the Family crossover (I reviewed it in 2013). Interesting about this volume is that it’s also got the first issue of Tony Daniel’s Batman: Detective Comics: Vol. 1: Faces of Death, a book that’s not really related except that the first issue establishes the Joker’s “new look” that factored into Snyder’s run.

• Absolute Justice (2024 Edition) HC

Absolute collection of the 12-issue series, pitting the Justice League against the Legion of Doom, written by Jim Krueger and painted by Alex Ross. Have not read this one either, but maybe I should.

• Absolute Mister Miracle by Tom King and Mitch Gerads HC

Collects the 12-issue miniseries by Tom King and Mitch Gerads. I reviewed Mister Miracle in 2021 and I think my first paragraph still holds up: “Mister Miracle is dead, Mister Miracle is alive, Mister Miracle is in heaven, Mister Miracle is in hell, Mister Miracle has the opportunity to escape from both but doesn’t take it. All of this is real. None of this is happening. Darkseid is. Batman kills babies. The sins of the father are visited on the son. The Fourth World is always arriving, never arrived. What color were Big Barda’s eyes again? Tom King and Mitch Gerads' collected Mister Miracle isn’t telling.”

• The Batman and Robin Adventures Omnibus HC

In Zach King’s review of Batman Adventures: Batgirl - A League of Her Own, he about predicted it — “one could easily imagine a compendium each for The Batman Adventures and Batman & Robin Adventures (the latter including The Lost Years …” Indeed, following last year’s Batman Adventures Omnibus, this July we’ll get The Batman and Robin Adventures Omnibus, collecting the animated tie-ins Batman & Robin Adventures #1–25, Batman & Robin Adventures Annual #1–2, Batman Adventures: The Lost Years #1–5, and Batman & Robin Adventures: Sub-Zero #1. The solicitation says “and more,” so I expect maybe we’re also hoping for the Batgirl Adventures special?

• The Flash Vol. 1: Strange Attractor TP

Contents for the first collection of the new Simon Spurrier run, in hardcover in July, include Flash #1–6, Titans: Beast World Tour: Central City #1, and a story (presumably Spurrier’s) from Flash #800.

• The Flash: Year One (2024 Edition) TP

A new collection of Flash: Year One by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter, collecting issues #70–75 from Williamson’s DC Rebirth run.

• Harley Quinn: Black + White + Redder TP

Collection of the sequel anthology series, in paperback in July. Among contributors, Chip Zdarsky, Gail Simone, Juni Ba, Babs Tarr, Bisques Every, Bruno Redondo, Kevin Maguire, and more.

• The Human Target Volume Two TP

Said to collect issues #7–12 by Tom King and Greg Smallwood. Previous solicitations also listed Tales of the Human Target #1, though that’s not mentioned here; anyone who has the hardcover can say for sure?

• JSA: The Golden Age (2024 Edition) TP

A new collection of James Robinson’s four-issue Justice Society reimagining, with art by Paul Smith, in paperback.

• The Penguin Vol. 1 TP

Said to collect Penguin #0–7 in hardcover in June. Issue #0 is a reprint of the Penguin/Catwoman backups by Chip Zdarsky, also collected in Batman Vol. 1: Failsafe; the rest is by Tom King, Rafael de Latorre, and others.

• Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow: The Deluxe Edition HC

Deluxe version of the Tom King and Bilquis Evely eight-issue miniseries, coming in July. I reviewed Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and loved it. I’m not inclined to double-dip, though the included “never-before-published alternate script for issue #6” (the “destruction of Krypton” issue) is enticing.

• Superman by Kurt Busiek Book One HC

Collects Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen’s four-issue Superman: Secret Identity (I haven’t read it yet. I know!); World’s Finest Comics #308–309 (Superman/Batman team-ups by Busiek from 1984!); and then Action Comics #837–843 and Superman #650–658, the Up, Up, and Away and Back in Action storylines tying in to the “One Year Later” event that followed Infinite Crisis, as well as some of the initial issues of Superman: Camelot Falls. Also included, Superman: The Man of Steel Annual #5, a “Legends of the Dead Earth” annual by Busiek and artist Paul Ryan.

Published alongside Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s Superman: Brainiac and into New Krypton, Busiek’s seemed the also-ran series, like Detective often is to Batman, but still it’s nice to see this slice of Super-history collected. Even as this is “Superman by …,” I wonder if we’ll end up seeing Busiek’s 52-issue weekly Trinity re-collected before all of this is done.

• Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Outlaw TP

In hardcover in July, collecting Wonder Woman #1–6 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere, as well as a story from Wonder Woman #800.

• Wonder Woman: The Adventures of Young Diana TP

I was hopeful, after some of Jordie Bellaire’s “Young Diana” stories were collected piecemeal in Tales of the Amazons and elsewhere, that the whole thing might see collection at some point. Here we have it, kid-friendly but with some ties to then-current DCU events, with art by Paulina Ganucheau.