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But surely what you really want to hear about are the brand-new releases in DC Comics's Summer 2019 catalog, which contains such shiny new things as Kelly Sue DeConnick's Aquaman, Grant Morrison's Green Lantern, Robert Venditti's Hawkman, Bryan Hill's Batman and the Outsiders, and Peter Tomasi's Detective Comics. There's also an Impulse trade (replacing the canceled omnibus), more Aquaman by Peter David, Justice League: Zero Hour, finally finally a collection of Keith Giffen's Legion of Super-Heroes: Five Years Later, and the third Wonder Woman collection each by Greg Rucka and John Byrne.
I've got both of those below — all the February releases and some of the summer releases. The full list of summer releases will get their own post soon, but hey, why wait to start talking about them?
February 2019
• Absolute Batman: Arkham Asylum (30th Anniversary Edition) HC
Absolute edition of the Grant Morrison/Dave McKean book.
• Absolute Dark Knight New Edition HC
Dark Knight Returns and Dark Knight Strikes Again in absolute (back in print), with an extended Again sketch section.
• Absolute Daytripper HC
Previously canceled and now resolicited, this is the 10-issue Vertigo miniseries by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba from 2010.
• The Authority by Ed Brubaker & Dustin Nguyen TP
Collects The Authority: Revolution #1-12.
• Batman and Harley Quinn TP
Paperback of the digital-first Batman and Harley Quinn #1-7 and Harley Quinn and Batman #1-5 by Ty Templeton and Rick Burchett ahead of the recent animated movie.
• Batman: Arkham: Ra's Al Ghul TP
Another one so obvious I think I thought they already did it. Collects Batman:#232, Batman #243-244, DC Special Series #15, The Brave & the Bold #159, Detective Comics #750, Batman Annual #26, Nightwing #152, Batman & Robin #23.3, and Who’s Who in the DC Universe: #13. I like that this is single issue material and not the more noted graphic novels.
• Batman vs. Deathstroke HC
In hardcover, because DC's not playing here. Issues #30-35 (used to be #30-35) by Christopher Priest.
• Batman Vol. 9: The Tyrant Wing TP
Now titled The Tyrant Wing, this is said to be issues #58-63, updated from #57-62.
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 3 HC
Issues #157-200 from the 1980s, as Batman teams up with Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Swamp Thing, and the Joker, among others.
• Batman: The Long Halloween (DC Modern Classic) HC
Hardcover with slipcase.
• Catwoman by Jim Balent Book Two TP
Jo Duffy, Chuck Dixon, Deborah Pomerantz, and Jim Balent's Catwoman #14-24, #0, Catwoman Annual #2, and Showcase ’95 #4, including Zero Hour and "Year One" material.
• Dark Nights: Metal: Dark Knights Rising TP
Paperback of the recent hardcover with the same contents (Metal proper will get some of the issues from Dark Knights: Metal: The Resistance).
• DC Meets Looney Tunes Vol. 2 TP
Collects Catwoman/Sylvester and Tweety Special #1, Harley Quinn/Gossamer Special #1, The Joker/Daffy Duck Special #1, and Lex Luthor/Porky Pig Special #1.
• Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman Deluxe Edition HC
With a cover by Jim Lee, this is out in March 2019, same time as Detective Comics #1000. Said to also include the first appearances of Robin, Batwoman, Bat-Mite, Batgirl, Two_Face, Riddler, Clayface, and Man-Bat, plus Martian Manhunter and more.
• The Flash: Reckoning of the Forces Vol. 9 TP
Issues #52-57 (changes from #52-56), following "Flash War."
• The Flash: The Silver Age Vol. 4 TP
Flash #148-163 (previously said to be #133-147).
• Grayson: The Superspy Omnibus New Edition HC
Not sure why this is getting a new edition as I don't see any content changes, but y'know, good book anyway.
• Harley Quinn Vol. 2: Harley Destroys the Universe TP
The newly renumbered trade run (while the series keeps its same numbering) by Sam Humphries, which hopefully will as promised tie more closely to the DCU. Issues #50-54 (previously #50-56).
• JLA: New World Order (DC Essential Edition) TP
Previously said to be JLA #1-5, but now at JLA #1-9 and the first Secret File, which makes more sense. That's the New World Order and American Dreams trades, or the first deluxe edition.
• Justice League Dark Vol. 1: The Last Age of Magic TP
Issues #1-3 and #5-6 by James Tynion (previously issues #1-6). Good news is you don't have to double dip for the "Witching Hour" issues; bad news is it's awful strange to skip a chunk in the very first trade.
• Justice League of America: The Bronze Age Vol. 1 TP
Justice League of America #77-95
• Promethea: The Deluxe Edition Book One HC
Deluxe size of the Alan Moore/J. H. Williams series, collecting issues #1-12.
• The Joker: The Bronze Age Omnibus HC
Includes Batman #251, 260, 286, 291-294, 321, 353, 365-366, and 400; Brave and the Bold #111, 118, 129-130, 141, and 191; Joker #1-10; Detective Comics #475-476, 504, 526, and 532; Wonder Woman #280-283 and DC Comics Presents #41 and 72. Joker #10 has never before been published (the 1970s series was canceled with issue #9), but features Joker versus the Justice League.
• New Teen Titans Vol. 10 TP
The classic New Teen Titans paperbacks keep rocking and rolling like they should have done from the beginning. Collects issues #10-15 and Annual #1, including the book's tie-in to Crisis on Infinite Earths.
• Sandman Vol. 6: Fables & Reflections 30th Anniversary New Edition TP
Issues #29-31, #38-50, Sandman Special #1, and a story from Vertigo Preview New cover by Dave McKean.
• The Wild Storm Vol. 3 TP
Issues #13-18.
Summer 2019
• Aquaman by Peter David Book Three
Issues #21-34 and Annuals #2-3, including a Final Night tie-in, "Legends of the Dead Earth" and "Pulp Heroes" stories, and appearances by Martian Manhunter and Swamp Thing.
• Aquaman Vol. 1: Unspoken Water
The first collection of the new Kelly Sue DeConnick run, issues #43-47 in paperback.
• Batman & Son (DC Essential Edition)
Essential Edition of Grant Morrison's Batman #665-658 and #663-666, originally in paperback almost ten years ago (read my Batman and Son review).
• Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 1
Issues #1-6 of the new series by Bryan Hill.
• Batman Beyond Vol. 5: The Final Joke
Issues #25-29 by Dan Jurgens and Will Conrad.
• Batman by Grant Morrison Omnibus Vol. 2
This should start to get into Morrison's Batman and Robin series.
• Batman Vol. 10: Tom King
Issues #66-69 and the Batman Secret Files #1 by Tom King. I won't spoil it but the solicitation has some salient details if it's to be believed.
• Batman: Arkham Asylum (DC Black Label Edition)
Paperback Black Label edition.
• Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1
The new run by Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke, collected in paperback; issues #994-999 plus a story from Detective Comics #1000. As with Action Comics, looks like DC is restarting the trade numbering even as the issue numbers keep on.
• Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (DC Black Label Edition)
Black Label edition of the four-issue miniseries.
• Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again (DC Black Label Edition)
Black Label edition of the three-issue miniseries.
• Batman: The Dark Knight: The Master Race (DC Black Label Edition)
Black Label edition collecting the nine-issue miniseries.
• Batman: The Endgame Saga (DC Essential Edition)
Batman #35-40 and the Annuals #2-3 plus all the tie-in specials, in paperback.
• Batman: The Long Halloween (DC Modern Classics)
Modern Classics edition, so hardcover with slipcase, and with sketches, introductions by Christopher Nolan and David Goyer, and four previously-cut story pages.
• Batman: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 4
Issues #45-57 and the DC Nation #0 story, being the Wedding and Cold Days collections.
• Batman/Flash: The Button
The Rebirth story in paperback.
• DC Universe Bronze Age Omnibus by Jack Kirby
Collects In the Days of the Mob #1, Spirit World #1, The Demon #1-16, The Sandman #1-6, OMAC #1-8, Our Fighting Forces #151-162, Super Powers #1-5 (1984), Super Powers #1-6 (1985), 1st Issue Special #1, 5 and 6, DC Comics Presents #84, Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #3, Weird Mystery Tales #1-3, and Forbidden Tales of the Dark Mansion #6.
• The Flash by Mark Waid Book Six
Issues #119-128 and Green Lantern and the Flash: Faster Friends by Mark Waid, I'm actually guessing it'll end at #129 since that's the final part of a three-parter. There's a "Final Night" tie-in within. Issues #130-141 are by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, and then Waid writes #142 to about #159-ish, and then returns again for a stint in the #200s.
• The Flash Vol. 10: Force Quest
Issues #58-63 by Joshua Williamson. This ends just before the new "Coldest Case" crossover with Batman.
• Flash/Impulse: Runs in the Family
We lost, as you'll recall, the Impulse Omnibus solicited a while back and then canceled, but DC promised they'd release this in another format. This first new volume collects issues #1-12, plus the Flash "Dead Heat" tie-in issues, #108-111.
• The Green Lantern Vol. 1: Intergalactic Lawman
Hardcover collection of issues #1-6 by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp.
• Green Lantern/Green Arrow: Hard Travelin' Heroes (New Edition)
New collection of Green Lantern #76-87 and #89 and the backups from Flash #217-219 and #226, with an introduction by Dennis O'Neil.
• Green Lanterns Vol. 9: With This Ring ...
The final issues of this series ahead of the new Grant Morrison book, this is issues #50-57 by Dan Jurgens.
• Harley Quinn Vol. 3
Issues #55-60 by Sam Humphries.
• Hawkman Vol. 1: Awakening
In paperback, issues #1-6 by Robert Venditti and Bryan Hitch, due out (finally) in August.
• Infinite Crisis (DC Essential Edition)
The seven-issue miniseries with scripts and sketches in the paperback Essential format.
• JLA: Tower of Babel (DC Essential Edition)
Paperback by Mark Waid and Howard Porter collecting JLA #43-46 and stories from JLA Secret Files #3. I wouldn't be surprised if DC re-titles this so it's "Justice League" and not "JLA."
• Joker (DC Black Label Edition)
Black Label edition by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo.
• JSA by Geoff Johns Book Three
JSA: All Stars #1-8, JSA Annual #1, JSA Secret Files and Origins #2, and JSA #26-31.
• Justice League Vol. 3
Issues #13-17 and the first annual by Scott Snyder and Jorge Jimenez, just after "Drowned Earth."
• Justice League: Zero Hour
After the Superman and Batman volumes, this was the most likely one if it was going to happen; maybe they could do a Justice League: Zero Hour Vol. 2 that collects various Leaguers' stories (Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Hawkman, Aquaman, Green Arrow), but there's not another franchise all on its own, I don't think, that has enough issues to fill a trade like these do.
Another option is DC could call it, like, Deathstroke: Zero Hour and then collect the story that starts in Deathstroke, the Hunted #0 — like, it wouldn't be as time-travel Zero Hour-y connected as the others, but DC marketing could still make the case across a variety of titles that this "came out" of Zero Hour, so to speak. The Green Arrow title's another candidate for that.
This is Justice League America #92 and #0, Justice League International #67-68, Justice League Task Force #15-16 and #0, Ray #0, Extreme Justice #0, and Guy Gardner, Warrior #0, and fills a couple of interesting gaps — it comes immediately after both Wonder Woman and the Justice League of America Vol. 2 and Justice League Task Force Vol. 1: The Purification Plague. There is within here the three-part Zero Hour tie-in story "Return of the Hero" written by Christopher Priest that introduced time-lost hero Triumph, but also epilogues to "Judgment Day" (from that Wonder Woman trade), up to and including the first-ever collected issue of Extreme Justice. The Ray and Guy Gardner issues are welcome kind of oddball additions, maybe not entirely related to the main story except that the characters appear in the other books.
Writers here include Priest, Dan Vado, Mark Waid (the main writer credited, though he only does one JLTF issue), and Gerard Jones. As we've discussed before, DC is at a crossroads now where they've collected up to where they could do a Wonder Woman and the Justice League Vol. 3 collection (especially around the new movie), but it'd be totally written by Jones. On the other hand, they're well in place to release another Justice League Task Force trade now, totally written by Priest.
• Justice: The Deluxe Edition
Deluxe-size hardcover of the 12-issue minisers by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and Doug Braithwaite.
• Legion of Super-Heroes: Five Years Later Vol. 1
The solicitation is way off, talking about post-Zero Hour (which came in the middle of this series), but it seems clear this is finally a hardcover collection of Keith Giffen and Tom and Mary Bierbaum's "five years later" Legion relaunch. One of DC's modern classics, a gritty, lauded take on the Legion, it's about time this was collected. Giffen was on the book until the mid-issue #30s, so if this is #1-12 and an annual, it can probably be done in three books.
• Luthor (DC Black Label Edition)
Black Label edition by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo.
• The Man of Steel
Paperback of the Brian Michael Bendis miniseries, coming in July.
• Nightwing by Peter Tomasi
This was the end of the original Nightwing series (the one started by Chuck Dixon), issues #140-153, and collected in the books Freefall and The Great Leap (see my 2009 reviews). Obviously this is being collected in paperback in one volume because of Tomasi, but art is no slouch here either, by Rags Morales and Don Kramer. I liked these, saying almost ten years ago that "Peter J. Tomasi offers the most respectful, appropriate rendition of Nightwing that we've seen in a long, long time" and that "The Great Leap cements Peter Tomasi as a writer to watch."
• Nightwing Vol. 8: Knight Terrors
Issues #50-55; the solicitation still says Benjamin Percy but we know Scott Lobdell is taking over.
• Old Lady Harley
Collects the Rebirth Harley Quinn #42 and the five-issue miniseries by Frank Tieri.
• Red Hood & the Outlaws Vol. 5: The Outlaw
New direction for the series by Scott Lobdell, collecting the second annual and issues #26-31.
• Shazam by Geoff Johns & Gary Frank Deluxe Edition
Pushing this pretty hard as DC's definitive Captain Marvel origin du jour, this is a hardcover deluxe-size edition of the New 52 Justice League backup story, due in August, whereas a paperback of the same will be out in February.
• Shazam: The World's Greatest Mortal Vol. 1
The 1970s Shazam! #1-18 by Dennis O'Neil. Paging a Jerry Ordway collection ...
• Sideways Vol. 2
Said to be issues #7-12 and the annual, but with Dan DiDio's Sideways ending with issue #13, surely that'll be in there too. With guest-writing by Grant Morrison and appearances by the Seven Soldiers and other significant multiversal characters.
• Suicide Squad: Black Files: El Diablo
Collects the El Diablo stories by Jai Nitz and Scot Eaton from the recent Suicide Squad: Black Files miniseries.
This was, in essence, a part sequel to the Suicide Squad: Secret Files anthology miniseries from a couple years ago, with Jai Nitz writing the "Suicide Squad Black" story (after his El Diablo story in the previous) and Mike W. Barr writing another Katana story (also after the previous). While I appreciate Barr and Nitz writing the (version of the) characters they created, both previous stories were relatively troubled, such not to make me run out to get these two new trades.
It's interesting that DC labeled this one "El Diablo" when it's supposedly a Suicide Squad Black story proper (which includes El Diablo); I'm surprised they think El Diablo's name carries that much cache, I'm guessing after the movie, but good if it does.
• Suicide Squad: Black Files: Katana
The Katana half of the recent Suicide Squad: Black Files miniseries, by Mike W. Barr. Solicitations suggest Barr is writing within his own continuity (or major elements of former Outsiders history have been grafted on Rebirth).
• Swamp Thing: Roots of Terror
Collects stories from Swamp Thing Winter Special 2018 and Swamp Thing Halloween Horror Giant. Tom King and Brian Azzarello are here, plus Len Wein's final Swamp Thing story with art by Kelley Jones. I think this'll mark the first collection of a story from the Walmart-exclusive books.
• The Terrifics Vol. 2: Tom Strong and the Terrifics
The sizzle's right up there in the name, isn't it? Said to collect issues #7-12 of the Jeff Lemire series, but if he's leaving with issue #14, maybe they'll up the count.
• Titans Book Two: Deathtrap
Continuing DC's new collections of the 2008 Titans series (not my favorite but maybe most like the new TV series?), this is issues #12-23 by Sean McKeever (also JT Krul), the Deathtrap and Fractured trades. That issue #23 is by Eddie Berganza; with issue #24, Titans became a villains-focused team book by Eric Wallace; hard to say if the collections are going to continue beyond this one.
• Titans Vol. 6
Issues #28-32 by Dan Abnett in the wake of Justice League: Drowned Earth.
• The Trials of Shazam: The Complete Series
Judd Winick's twelve-issue miniseries, following in some respects his Superman/Shazam: First Thunder mini, plus the Brave New World story in the wake of Infinite Crisis. This is when Freddy Freeman was "Shazam" and Billy Batson took on the Wizard's role, with a painterly style by Howard Porter. Not a bad miniseries necessarily, but at this point DC is collecting so much Captain Marvel minutia that they really need to do something special with Jerry Ordway's Power of Shazam.
• Wonder Woman by George Perez Vol. 4
Paperback cutdown finishes out the second omnibus, collecting issues #36-45 and the second annual. At this rate they'll need two more volumes to finish the third omnibus material.
• Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka Vol. 3
Your patience has paid off, because here's Wonder Woman #218-226, completing this re-collection series, plus Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #1-3.
• Wonder Woman by John Byrne Vol. 3
This does not, as I'd hoped, include John Byrne's Wonder Woman-connected Genesis event miniseries, though it does include the Wonder Woman tie-in issue, plus significant JSA and Donna Troy material. Issues #125-136, finishing this collection set. Hey, who knew Christopher Priest did two issues right after Byrne?
• Wonder Woman Vol. 9: The Enemy of Both Sides
Collects issues #51-55. This is advertised as being written by James Robinson, but it's actually all of Steve Orlando's stories between Robinson and G. Willow Wilson.
• Wonder Woman: Goddess of War (DC Essential Edition)
Just the first 12 issues of the Brian Azzarello/Cliff Chiang run, the Blood and Guts trades. It is a good introduction to the Azzrello run, though far from complete and it ends on a cliffhanger; maybe that's right for these introductory Essential Editions.
Wow, that's a lot! What have you got to say?
Posted in: Collected Editions
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