Odds and Ends for 1-2-17 - DC Universe: Rebirth Omnibus contents and Legends of Tomorrow/Star Wars crossover ~ Comics Live Updates

Happy new year! If you're just joining us after the holiday, don't miss a variety of new material on Collected Editions, including my recent review of the DC You Flash Vol. 8: Zoom, my series on the Justice League 3000/3001 books, the recent update to the DC Comics Trade Paperback Timeline, and you can also chime in on our Talkback thread to share what gifts you got this season or just talk about the year.

New reviews will resume later this week, but in the meantime, a couple of odds and ends to discuss:

• Contents of the DC Universe: Rebirth Omnibus Vol. 1

Over the holiday I had a chance to lay my hands on a DC Universe: Rebirth Omnibus Vol. 1, and I can confirm that it contains "only" the DC Universe: Rebirth special and all the individual series' Rebirth specials (plus covers and sketches) and not any of the first issues of the series.

I was under the impression that the first issues were in there, so I thought if I was still confused, maybe you were, too.

The book does notably say "Volume 1," so whether a second volume might contain the first issues or something like the Justice League of America Rebirth specials or, projecting, Justice Society of America or Legion of Super-Heroes Rebirth specials remains to be seen.

• Star Wars: Legends of Tomorrow

I've never been one to take sides in DC/Marvel rivalries; you can like what you like and I enjoy DC Comics, DC television, Marvel television and movies, Marvel's Star Wars comics, and so on. But when DC struggles in the movie department, in my opinion, and among I think their lesser successful shows is Legends of Tomorrow, it seems rather defeatist to devote an episode to Lucasfilm properties including Star Wars and Indiana Jones, given that they're owned by Disney (a rival media company of Warner Bros., even aside from Disney owning Marvel).

I have to hand it to Legends of Tomorrow for telling the story they want to tell despite the external politics, and for telling a story that's matters, as I understand it, to the makeup of their characters Nate "Steel" Heywood and Ray "Atom" Palmer. At the same time, we understand Legends has tried to improve their historicity this season but it's still suspect at best, and made up -- as we saw in the mid-season finale "The Chicago Way" -- mainly of most of the characters being markedly ignorant so other characters can info-dump to them.

Which is to say, it's kind of interesting that they're going to do a George Lucas episode, but they could just as soon not do a George Lucas episode and instead accomplish the episode's goals some other way. To the extent Legends struggles (I find it patently un-funny, except that I've tried to start viewing it through a Justice League International lens), to spend an entire episode basically paying fan service to another company's properties again seems like throwing in the towel and acknowledging the others' superiority.

Still going to watch it, though.

New reviews coming up. Happy 2017!