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Among others, this month also sees the next collections of both Tom King's Batman and James Tynion's Detective Comics. But I'm excited for Batman: The Dark Knight Detective Vol. 1, a collection of the just-post-Crisis Detective Comics that seems to be running parallel to the Batman: The Caped Crusader collections of Batman issues (really this one is parallel to Batman: Second Chances). I'm a sucker for complete runs, even without a lot of consequence, and these actually do have consequence, weaving in and out of Legends, Millennium, Invasion!, Death in the Family, and more; I'm glad to see both Batman and Detective be being collected so comprehensively.
One last time this year, let's go ahead and take a look.
• Absolute Authority Vol. 2 HC [New Edition]
Following the recent new edition of Absolute Authority Vol. 1, this is issues #13-29 from the original Absolute Authority Vol. 2, plus the Authority Annual #1 (2000) and a story from the Wildstorm Summer Special.
• Absolute Batman: The Killing Joke HC
As I think I've mentioned before, for me some of the magic is gone from Killing Joke; what might've been the definitive tale of the Joker has been so subsumed at this point by what were meant to be (rightly or not) tertiary aspects of the story that it's hard to see Killing Joke in it any more. The recent animated movie was the last straw, crystalizing what was worse about this story instead of what was better. The solicitation for this volume nearly doesn't know what to do with it itself, positing the book mainly as a battle between the Joker and Commissioner Gordon.
Interestingly, the solicitation says the book has Brian Bolland's "reimagined colors and the original edition's colors"; I wonder if that means two differently colored versions in one book (there have been differently colored versions over the years) or if it will be just one version and then a comparative section later on.
• Batman Vol. 5: The Rules of Engagement TP
Batman Vol. 4: War of Jokes and Riddles left me a little cold (good story but I didn't totally understand the point), but I'm eager for this one, which gets back to the present action and includes the reaction of the Bat-family to recent events, including a team-up with Superman and Lois Lane. Collects issues #33-37 and the Annual #2.
• Batman: Arkham -- Hugo Strange TP
I love how random these Batman: Arkham books have become, and how no Bat-villain is off-limits no matter how obscure. Hugo Strange is not obscure-obscure, but I never thought he'd get his own trade. Really glad to see Devin Grayson's Gotham Knights "Transference" story in here; with the popularity of James Tynion's Detective Comics, we're overdue for dedicated trades of Grayson's Gotham Knights, that book's spiritual predecessor.
• Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 5: A Lonely Place of Living TP
Being the other big Rebirth Bat-book of the month (Dark Nights: Metal notwithstanding), this is the moment we've all been waiting for -- the return of Tim Drake to Detective Comics. This is what James Tynion's Detective Comics has been building to all along and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Collects issues #963-968.
• Batman: The Dark Knight Detective Vol. 1 TP
We've been seeing bandied about for a while a Batman: The Caped Crusader series and a Batman: The Dark Knight Detective series, at times even seeming to replace one another. Now both are scheduled for the coming months, with Caped Crusader collecting the just-post-Crisis Batman title, mostly by Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo (including "Ten Nights of the Beast" and "Death in the Family"), and Dark Night Detective collecting the Detective Comics stories of the same time by Mike Barr with Alan Davis and Norm Breyfogle, among others. Issues #568-574 and #579-582 start with a Legends tie-in through to a Millennium tie-in, skipping over the already-well-collected Batman: Year Two. (Hopefully Year Three is in the next Caped Crusader volume.)
• Bug!: The Adventures of Forager TP
Collects issues #1-6 of the Young Animal series by Lee Allred and Mike Allred. I'm not grooving on this one necessarily; I'm leaning more toward the Shade and Mother Panic urban horror than some of Young Animal's wackier material.
• Dark Nights: Metal HC
Collects issues #1-6 of the event miniseries; said to arrive in stores June 6 with a foil-embossed cover.
• Dark Nights: Metal: The Nightmare Batmen HC
Scheduled for June 20 in hardcover and also with a foil-embossed cover. The solicitations have this as Batman: The Red Death #1, Batman: The Devastator #1, Batman: The Merciless #1, Batman: The Murder Machine #1, Batman: The Drowned #1, Batman: The Dawnbreaker #1, The Batman Who Laughs #1 and Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt #1, though Scott Snyder tweeted when this came around the first time that Wild Hunt is going to be in the Metal trade proper, so we'll see.
• Dark Nights: Metal: The Resistance TP
Earlier when we saw the Dark Nights: Metal trade solicitations, the Bats Out of Hell and Gotham Resistance trades were separate, but almost immediately they combined into this Resistance collection. Due out June 13 in paperback, this is Teen Titans #12, Nightwing #29, Suicide Squad #26, Green Arrow #32, Flash #33, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #32, Justice League #32-33, and Hawkman: Found #1. The solicitation still lists Batman: Lost #1 even thought Scott Snyder also said this would be in the Metal collection proper.
• DC Universe by Brian K. Vaughan TP
No question why it behooves DC to have as many collections out there with Brian K. Vaughan's name on it as possible, but this is a pretty eclectic collection. There's Titans #14, a Tempest story; Sins of Youth: Wonder Girl from the middle of that fifth week event; Young Justice #22, a "day in the life" story; the JLA Annual #4 from the 2000 "Planet DC" event; and parts, but not all, of the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern: Circle of Fire story.
• Deathstroke Vol. 4: Defiance TP
Collects issues #21-25 of the Christopher Priest series in the aftermath of the Lazarus Contract crossover, plus a story from DC Universe Holiday Special.
• Flash by Mark Waid Book Four TP
Previous solicitations for this book listed the contents of the third book; finally (but not unexpectedly), this is listed as issue #0, #95-105, and the Annual #8. That's the "Terminal Velocity" story and then some (co-written by Michael Jan Friedman), ending shortly before an Underworld Unleashed tie-in (notable because Waid wrote Underworld Unleashed). The annual is a "Year One" story.
• Flash: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book Two HC
Collects issues #14-27, the third and fourth paperback collections,Rogues Reloaded and Running Scared, and including the Flash half of the "Button" crossover with Batman.
• Infinite Crisis Omnibus HC [New Edition]
A new collection of, let's face it, about the best event DC Comics has ever done, this comprehensive hardcover includes Action Comics #826 and #829, Adventures of Superman #639 and #642, Countdown To Infinite Crisis #1, Day of Vengeance #1-6, Day of Vengeance Infinite Crisis Special #1, JLA #115-119, Infinite Crisis #1-6, Infinite Crisis Secret Files 2006 #1, The OMAC Project #1-6, The OMAC Project Infinite Crisis Special #1, Rann-Thanagar War #1-6, Rann-Thanagar Infinite Crisis Special #1, Superman #216 and #219, Villains United #1-6, Villains United Infinite Crisis Special #1, and Wonder Woman #219.
• Injustice 2 Vol. 1 TP
• Injustice 2 Vol. 2 HC
The paperback of issues #1-6 and the hardcover of #7-12 and #14. Not sure why issue #13 isn't in there (if the solicitation is right) except that it seems to be a standalone Supergirl issues.
• JSA: The Golden Age TP [New Edition]
James Robinson's definitive JSA Elseworlds just had a deluxe edition, so a new paperback is pretty common.
• Justice League: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book Two HC
The second deluxe hardcover collection of Bryan Hitch's Justice League includes issues #12-25, the third and fourth paperbacks, Timeless and Endless.
• Kamandi Challenge HC
Collecting the serial story. I thought this was twelve issues but the solicitation says "14 ... teams of writers and artists."
• Nightwing Vol. 5: Raptor's Revenge TP
Collects issues #30-34 of the Rebirth series, tying back to the first volume.
• Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 3: Bizarro Reborn TP
Previously this was solicited as issues #12-17, but now it appears to be #12-18 and the Annual #1.
• Suicide Squad Vol. 5: Kill Your Darlings TP
Collects issues #21-25, ending just before the Dark Nights: Metal tie-in issue.
• Supergirl Vol. 3: Girl of No Tomorrow TP
A markedly short trade, collecting just issues #12-14 and the Annual #1.
• Superman Vol. 5: Hopes and Fears TP
Collects Superman #27-32 (not, as we thought before, any longer, and not collecting the "Imperious Lex" storyline yet), with two issues respectively by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason, Keith Champagne, and James Bonny. This feels a bit like the book biding its time during greater Rebirth-centric events in Action Comics.
• Wonder Woman by George Perez Vol. 3 TP
Collects Wonder Woman #25-35. Not to be confused with the recently announced Omnibus Vol. 3. Among these are a couple of Invasion! tie-in issues.
One last time for 2017 ... what are your latest acquisitions? What books are you still hoping to be gifted this year? Closing thoughts?
Posted in: Collected Editions
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