DC Hardcover Collected Editions Part 3

[Vilynne]

Same. For the 8 bucks it cost me, I'm pretty happy. It's a pretty good one shot, and some of the stories that have spun out of it have been great. Looking forward to DC's new ohc initiative with these new series. I just hope they stick with it

I remember DC giving away a ton of free digital Rebirth # 1 issues as well. That's how I got my copy.

[Master Destructo]

Disappointed to see its not fully sewn. Same deal with the rebirth deluxe. Which copy is everyone going with?

I went with the Deluxe. I enjoyed the story when it first came out. Seems like an important milestone in DC continuity. It was only $8.99 pre-ordered. I read several of the Rebirth #1 issues but didn't find any of them to be too memorable. I also shy away from collections like this that include multiple, largely unrelated and totally incomplete narratives.

[mtop2036]

Looks like ill be getting the deluxe. I hope the other rebirth ohcs coming out are going to sewn.

[VanWinkle]

Looks like ill be getting the deluxe. I hope the other rebirth ohcs coming out are going to sewn.

Oh I'm sure they will be. DC has had sewn bindings on every deluxe edition since the beginning of this year, except for the DC Rebirth Deluxe (since it's only 96 pages. It's actually sewn anyway but glued to the spine).

[The Flicker Fade]

Yeah, I have zero incentive to buy this. I don't like a collection of separate #1s like this anyway.



I went with the DC Rebirth Deluxe Edition, which I'm happy with. It's the only part I cared about.

Yeah. Also, any of these series you're going to read via collected edition, its Rebirth special will be at the start of its first volume, whether TPB or hardcover. I don't really see the point of this book. It's just another book like the New 52 #1s omnibus, or the New 52 zero issue omnibus, or the New 52 villains month omnibus, none of which I'd venture very many of us own.

The deluxe of the actual 80-page Rebirth issue, though, is worth owning on its own, and you won't have it in your collection anywhere else if you skip this omnibus. Totally a solid buy, imo.

[Hawkgirl_70]

Even though I've set up boundaries in my collecting and stopping at flashpoint, I've been so tempted to jump back in at Rebirth and skipping the new52. I've asked on the general forum before, twice maybe, and have been reassured that i would be ok going from the end of Flashpoint right into rebirth. So are there no cliffhangers or carry over stories from new52 into rebirth? Does every story stop with new52 ending? Still wondering if I won't need some explanations on some stories or is DC just ignoring those 5 years now?

[The Flicker Fade]

Even though I've set up boundaries in my collecting and stopping at flashpoint, I've been so tempted to jump back in at Rebirth and skipping the new52. I've asked on the general forum before, twice maybe, and have been reassured that i would be ok going from the end of Flashpoint right into rebirth. So are there no cliffhangers or carry over stories from new52 into rebirth? Does every story stop with new52 ending? Still wondering if I won't need some explanations on some stories or is DC just ignoring those 5 years now?

Rebirth is taking great pains to reintroduce all the characters and teams to new and lapsed readers as if everything is brand new again. All the stories from the New 52 are over, and most have minimal impact on the stories in Rebirth, but they still happened. Some have been retconned, and I expect even more retcons to happen as it goes on, but it will mostly be of the "ignoring that ever happened rather than addressing it specifically to fix it" retcon-type.

Mostly the great thing about Rebirth has been that the "mood" of the old (real) DC universe has been restored, and the characters are acting more like themselves. They're running around acting like they have relationships and history and rapports with each other even if, according to their "official" New 52 histories, they haven't honestly established those. This is because the New 52 is being framed as having been an attack on the characters and the DCU, specifically removing ten years of experiences and bonds between the heroes and changing them in many ways, but the way things are supposed to be is starting to "bleed through" because these things are impossible to repress.

So at the end of the day, if I'm right, anything in the New 52 that contradicts the traditional depictions of the characters and their histories will be revealed to have been lies, but lies the characters still lived through and experienced, so they still happened, even if the world is different now and has been "fixed." And then the New 52 will be mostly put away in a box, keeping only the few things that worked (the Court of Owls aren't going anywhere, for example).

All of which is to say, No, you don't need to read any of the New 52 and it won't be important in the future, and Yes, you can start right with Rebirth and not be missing anything. Everything you absolutely need to know from the New 52, which isn't much, will be explained for you.


It's actually kind of amazing how much of a middle finger the Rebirth special was to the entire direction of the company over the last five years. Just a massive middle finger to all of it. Part of me still can't believe the company was willing to suck it up and publish it like that. It was absolutely the right move, to call a spade a spade and say "this isn't working and no less than this is what we need to do fix it" and honestly I think they were right that the fans wouldn't have accepted anything less either, but you really don't often see a company filled with creative-types (who sweated and fretted to create everything they're now flipping off) swallow their hubris like that, like, ever.

[drd]

Even though I've set up boundaries in my collecting and stopping at flashpoint, I've been so tempted to jump back in at Rebirth and skipping the new52. I've asked on the general forum before, twice maybe, and have been reassured that i would be ok going from the end of Flashpoint right into rebirth. So are there no cliffhangers or carry over stories from new52 into rebirth? Does every story stop with new52 ending? Still wondering if I won't need some explanations on some stories or is DC just ignoring those 5 years now?

Theres only really two stories going in to Rebirth you need to know happened, 1) Darkseid War - the final double length arc of Johns Justice League and 2) The Death of the New 52 Superman, New52 Superman died, everyones kinda sad, post-crisis/pre-flashpoint superman is now flying around and its taken everyone a bunch of issue to trust him.

DC arn't completely ignoring the New 52 they just made Rebirth a clean jumping on point and re-established a bunch of relationships that had kind of been forgotten, and like flicker fade said, the tone of the books feels lighter and more 'fun'.

[Vilynne]

Although I'll still fight that there are a handful of N52 stories that are worth reading. Not like, Ann Nocenti's Catwoman, but more like John's Aquaman. Or Amethyst....

[ER Prest]

Although I'll still fight that there are a handful of N52 stories that are worth reading. Not like, Ann Nocenti's Catwoman, but more like John's Aquaman. Or Amethyst....

Some titles and characters didn't change, like Green Lantern, which was barely affected by it, or Morrison's Batman

[DCJdog]

Even though I've set up boundaries in my collecting and stopping at flashpoint, I've been so tempted to jump back in at Rebirth and skipping the new52. I've asked on the general forum before, twice maybe, and have been reassured that i would be ok going from the end of Flashpoint right into rebirth. So are there no cliffhangers or carry over stories from new52 into rebirth? Does every story stop with new52 ending? Still wondering if I won't need some explanations on some stories or is DC just ignoring those 5 years now?

I am also one who limits my collection to pre-Flashpoint. I would say that, if you do try to get into Rebirth, go slowly and buy a few TPB's cheap. I was into comics as a kid and teen in the 80's and 90's and then I got back into D.C. about in the late 2000's. I love a lot of the runs and also the stuff like Infinite Crisis and even Final Crisis. I quit following because of a career move but last year, I was given a BOM gift card and picked up some new 52 stuff. I'm not going to bash it or say that it was bad . . . it was just not for me. I was confused and the characters were very off to what I was used to. Everything just kind of left a bad tasted in my mouth. Rebirth is something to be about doing away with the "mood" of the new 52. From the books that I have read, this is somewhat the case, and from others it is not the case. I still see a whole lot of "grimdark." And some of it feels a bit contrived, like the sons of Batman and Superman. The cuteness just comes off weird. I tried it out and will keep up with it . . . but it is definitely not "amazing" as I hear so many others say.

But now, you may like it. Everybody's tastes are different. If you go in, I would just go in slowly and buy cheaply. That way you won't have lost much money if things don't float your boat. I personally do not have much confidence in the current editorial staff . . . not a fan of Didio. Also, Grant Morrison is not with D.C. right now and Geoff Johns is doing more office work than writing. The writing and the editorial direction was the main problem with new 52. I just don't see how those things have gotten much better with Rebirth.

[Vilynne]

Some titles and characters didn't change, like Green Lantern, which was barely affected by it, or Morrison's Batman

Yeah. I'm a big GL fan, so I'd say thats worth reading. He Venditti stuff isn't bad...I'd say it just lacks vision.

[TomSlick]

Even though I've set up boundaries in my collecting and stopping at flashpoint, I've been so tempted to jump back in at Rebirth and skipping the new52. I've asked on the general forum before, twice maybe, and have been reassured that i would be ok going from the end of Flashpoint right into rebirth. So are there no cliffhangers or carry over stories from new52 into rebirth? Does every story stop with new52 ending? Still wondering if I won't need some explanations on some stories or is DC just ignoring those 5 years now?

Ha ha, so long as you don't read Superman.

[ER Prest]

Ha ha, so long as you don't read Superman.

Honestly, I don't even find this part of it that confusing. It's actually got me interested again in the Superman titles again

[TomSlick]

Honestly, I don't even find this part of it that confusing. It's actually got me interested again in the Superman titles again

Naw, I was making a joke. And I'm the same way. This is the first time ever that I've bought floppies of Action and Superman, although Tomasi's brilliance on GL Corps and Batman and Robin is what sold me on Superman.

That said, I knew what was going on in the New 52, so if you skipped it entirely and then went from old DC to Rebirth, there would be a discussion about the younger/deader superman and, yet two clark kents walking around, and multiple supermen, woman, children, families.