DC Hardcover Collected Editions Part 3

[Nomads1]

Conversation Starter: What canceled collection do you wish the most actually got released?

Ostrander and Mandrake's Martian Manhunter Vol. 3 (which would, probably, round up the series).
Ostrander and Mandrake's Spectre Vol. 3 (and subsequent vols until the series is concluded).
Legionnaries vol. 3 (that should conclude the Fatal Five arc, which, IMHO, rounds up the best storylines of that relaunch, however, I'd be open to see the series continue).
DnA's The Legion Vol. 3 (Legion World) and onward.
Justice League Zero Hour.

Peace

[JPAR]

I'm reading the Snyder Batman run and like it a lot. I've also read the Loeb and Sale omnibus. Now I have my eye on the Road to no man's land and the two no man's land omnibusses. Are they worth the purchage?

[bob.schoonover]

I'm reading the Snyder Batman run and like it a lot. I've also read the Loeb and Sale omnibus. Now I have my eye on the Road to no man's land and the two no man's land omnibusses. Are they worth the purchage?

If you haven't read the material before, I'd say yes. It's a lot of fun and you'll see strong stories about most of the prominent bat family members and villains.

[JPAR]

No, I haven't read them. And what do you think of the Morisson run?

[bob.schoonover]

No, I haven't read them. And what do you think of the Morisson run?

The Morrison run is the single greatest thing that ever happened to Batman, IMHO. Okay, that might be a slight overstatement, but it's probably the best extended run on the character by any writer. There are a few caveats. Volume 3 lags a little at the end - the New 52 happens halfway through that story arc and it clearly throws Morrison off a bit. And it's not light reading - especially not Vol 2, which interweaves stories from Return of Bruce Wayne, a re-telling of the Batman moments of Final Crisis, and a fun annual in with the main Batman & Robin story. The story has its detractors, but I'd definitely recommend getting Volume 1. If you don't like it, I don't think there will be much of a chance you'd enjoy the future volumes.

[Charliemouse]

Totally agree.

While at times it’s not the easiest read, it’s probably one of the greatest runs on a super-hero there has ever been.

[Judge Dredd]

Morrison on Batman was great really well done run and Batman and Robin portion was a great shake up killer book.

[JPAR]

What holds me back (and why I only just started on Batman) is all of the stories on the side that runs trough. Different series, events etc. That makes it difficult to follow at some times. I stopped reading comics in the early 90s. I shifted to European only. For a couple of years I'm back at comics. At first only the Indies and not the big 2. But lately more and more the big 2.

[KyleWayne]

No, I haven't read them. And what do you think of the Morisson run?

The Morrison run drove me off the Batman books after coming back with Hush. I hate Damian and resent his existence (Batman should only have kids with Catwoman).

I eventually read the complete run via my library and I hated it. I don’t regret jumping off the Batbooks. The only good thing to come from the Morrison era was Stephanie Brown as Batgirl.

If you want good Batman stories, I recommend anything by Doug Moench, Alan Grant, Chuck Dixon, and Gerry Conway.

[bob.schoonover]

What holds me back (and why I only just started on Batman) is all of the stories on the side that runs trough. Different series, events etc. That makes it difficult to follow at some times. I stopped reading comics in the early 90s. I shifted to European only. For a couple of years I'm back at comics. At first only the Indies and not the big 2. But lately more and more the big 2.

If you get all three NML books (Road, v1, v2), that's a complete story that shouldn't need anything except a basic familiarity with the characters. It's a mammoth story, but I don't recall any weird tie-ins that aren't included or plot points that come out of nowhere. Maybe you should be aware that two deadly pathogens passed through Gotham a bit before the story started, but that's it.

Morrison's run, just in the first volume, crossed over with the other Bat-titles for the Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul. The final two-issue arc takes place during Final Crisis. In both cases, there are new summary pages, with art and writing, that gives the you the gist of what happened so you don't have to put the omnibus down if you don't want to. It references old stories, but never in a particular way that requires you to have read them (some of them get re-cast or retconned, anyway).

Dini's run is also mostly self-contained and in omnibus format (other than the Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul crossover, and I don't think the Dini one has summary pages) and fun. It starts about the same time as Morrison v1

Tomasi and Gleeson's omnibus (which is being reprinted next month) starts at the same time as Morrison v3 and runs past it, dealing with some of the fallout of that arc.

[JPAR]

Ok, thanks. That gives some perspective. I'll look into NML first. And the reprint of Batman and Robin. In regard to Morrison, I'll first read some issues online and decide after.

[KyleWayne]

I'm reading the Snyder Batman run and like it a lot. I've also read the Loeb and Sale omnibus. Now I have my eye on the Road to no man's land and the two no man's land omnibusses. Are they worth the purchage?

No Man’s Land is the greatest Batman event of all time. Reading it as it was released was magical. The lead-up to it is also great. Hopefully the Road to No Man’s Land omnibus contains Cataclysm, which was a fun Batman event.

[bob.schoonover]

No Man’s Land is the greatest Batman event of all time. Reading it as it was released was magical. The lead-up to it is also great. Hopefully the Road to No Man’s Land omnibus contains Cataclysm, which was a fun Batman event.

Yeah, Cataclysm, Aftershocks, and the actual Road to NML arc are all in the Road to No Man's Land omnibus

[KyleWayne]

Yeah, Cataclysm, Aftershocks, and the actual Road to NML arc are all in the Road to No Man's Land omnibus

That’s good. I have all those stories in softcover but I’m tempted to double dip for these omnibuses.

[JBatmanFan05]

The Morrison run drove me off the Batman books after coming back with Hush. I hate Damian and resent his existence (Batman should only have kids with Catwoman).

IMHO Batman shouldn't have biological kids with anyone (unless it's some possible/alternate future story), his adopted sons should be his only children in "the present." I started hating Damian and I'd maybe undo his existence entirely, but Morrison made him interesting, nuanced, distinct (the writers of Damian besides/after Morrison rendered Damian boring and lame). I love Morrison's Batman run, so I tolerated Damian basically (understanding of course that Morrison intended Damian to die by the end of his run, kinda to put the sand back in the sandbox, but DC wouldn't let Damian die).