DC Hardcover Collected Editions Part 3

[Vilynne]

If DC use the same GA/SA break point as the archives then the first SA issues are Batman 164 & Detective Comics 327 which are the first "New Look" appearances when Batman gained the yellow symbol on his emblem

Also I have heard from others that the GA Batman Omnibus vol 5 will be the first "new" material collected beyond what was in the archives

That makes more sense.

[JAG2045]

That makes more sense.

No probs, I just went with what DC started with in the "Dynamic Duo" Archives

[Vilynne]

No probs, I just went with what DC started with in the "Dynamic Duo" Archives

DC Has a funny way of.doing this. Regardless, as long as the content is finally out there in print.

[JBatmanFan05]

Also I have heard from others that the GA Batman Omnibus vol 5 will be the first "new" material collected beyond what was in the archives

Which will be really exciting.

To see all of the 40s in the Omnibi for Batman and Superman would be a dream come true for me. And then I'd hope the 50s would get the same treatment.

[FlashingSabre]

Which will be really exciting.

To see all of the 40s in the Omnibi for Batman and Superman would be a dream come true for me. And then I'd hope the 50s would get the same treatment.

Whereas younger fans like myself don't care about the material at all, and would prefer DC put their resources into more recent series, which would have a broader appeal. (I'm glad you are enjoying them, though)

[Captain Craig]

Also I have heard from others that the GA Batman Omnibus vol 5 will be the first "new" material collected beyond what was in the archives

Apologies in advance, I know you have "new" in quotes for a reason. It just (possibly) escapes me.
So the material in GA Batman vol. 5 is material that has never before been collected? The DC Archive Editions only went so far as material through GA Batman vol. 4?
That's how I understand it. Am I right?

If so that's very cool and would seem to be a reason that fans of that material would come on board if they've passed on the Omni's thus far because they have the material in the DC Archives format. Meaning, in theory, some uptick in sales for subsequent GA volumes of Batman could occur. Also the same for Superman once the same point is crossed, unless his vol. 5 is also doing that.

[Hawkgirl_70]

Which will be really exciting.

To see all of the 40s in the Omnibi for Batman and Superman would be a dream come true for me. And then I'd hope the 50s would get the same treatment.

I'm excited that they are carrying on Superman and Batman GA Omni's too! I have all of those that have been released now.
I'm crossing fingers and toes that they continue on until they get to the Silver Age. Then start again there.

[JAG2045]

Apologies in advance, I know you have "new" in quotes for a reason. It just (possibly) escapes me.
So the material in GA Batman vol. 5 is material that has never before been collected? The DC Archive Editions only went so far as material through GA Batman vol. 4?
That's how I understand it. Am I right?

Yes thats correct, the material in volume 5 will contain the first reprints of issues that the archives never reached (in the archives the Batman comic reached issue 37 from 1946 and Detective Comics reached 170 from 1951)

Although I dont know if it will take to Omnibus 6 (or 7) to start reprinted previously uncollected issues of Detective Comics as the archives for that series managed to get up to 1951 (compared to 1946 for Batman)

[The Lucky One]

Here's a question for an expert: I've recently bought the Golden age of Batman 3 volumes and have ordered the fourth, my question is what issue does it change to Silver age and roughly how many Golden age volumes would it take to get there. Thanks in advance for any replies.

The Golden/Silver Age dividing line is easy for Wonder Woman... it's WW #98 from May 1958. That issue retold WW's origin without any World War II trappings and changed Hippolyta from a brunette to a blonde.

Unfortunately, it's more complicated for Batman and Superman, as neither of them had any kind of "break" between the Golden and Silver Ages. Some fans will tell you Silver Age Batman started with Detective Comics #327, when he first acquired the yellow oval around his chest emblem. But that issue was from May 1964, well into the Silver Age... Batman had already been a member of the JLA for four years at that point, and they're definitely Silver Age, not Golden Age!

Since the introduction of Barry Allen as the second Flash is almost uniformly considered the start of the Silver Age, technically DC could just use the Batman/Detective Comics issues released that same month as the beginning of Batman's Silver Age volumes. That might be kind of arbitrary, though. Mike (from Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics) has a very complex explanation that basically settles on Batman #81 and Detective Comics #203 as the first Earth-1 Batman issues, which generally correlates with the Silver Age, so that might be the best bet.

http://www.dcindexes.com/index.php?p...oy&articleid=9

As for Superman, it's even more complex because the Golden Age Superman was established as never having been Superboy as a kid, only becoming a costumed hero as an adult... yet Superboy stories (generally identified with the Silver Age) started being published all the way back in 1945, in the heart of the Golden Age! Be that as it may, a lot of fans consider Action Comics #241 (June 1958) as the beginning of Superman's Silver Age. That issue introduced the Fortress of Solitude (the Golden Age Superman had had an unnamed mountain retreat), and the next few years would bring many of the Silver Age Superman hallmarks: Brainiac, Kandor, Supergirl, the Legion of Super Heroes, Bizarro, different kinds of Kryptonite, etc.

So if Wonder Woman's Silver Age began in May 1958 and Superman's in June 1958, it's not too much of a stretch to think they'll probably use 1958 or so as the cutoff point between the Golden and Silver Age volumes. As for how many volumes it'll take to get there, though... sorry, haven't a clue!

[The Lucky One]

Whereas younger fans like myself don't care about the material at all, and would prefer DC put their resources into more recent series, which would have a broader appeal. (I'm glad you are enjoying them, though)

Just playing devil's advocate, but would recent series necessarily have broader appeal, in omnibus format anyway? I'm not especially young (36), but I'm not old either, and I love the hell out of the Golden Age, I'll buy every volume they put out. (Although Green Arrow will test that resolve... really, no Green Lantern or Flash or JSA?) Whereas I don't care about the Silver Age and won't buy any of those volumes, but I'll happily skip ahead to the Bronze Age and get most of them.

That's not knocking modern stuff at all, but I'm sure part of the appeal of the Golden Age omnibuses for DC was that they already had the issues recolored and ready to go from the Archives volumes. (Hence why the upcoming volumes, where they start pushing past where the Archives reached, really need to have strong sales to justify the expense of the recoloring, reformatting, introductions, etc.) And, if we're being honest, would an omnibus of modern runs automatically outsell the Golden Age volumes? A Grant Morrison Batman omni would, I'm sure, and Scott Snyder, sure. But a lot of other books? I'm not so sure.

(And I don't know enough to speak with any level of expertise to it, but don't reprint fees factor in too? I've heard that at a certain point in the Bronze Age, DC reworked their freelance contracts and have to pay more to creators to reprint their stories than they used to have to. So it's probably a lot cheaper to produce a Golden or Silver Age omnibus than it would be to do a modern run. That doesn't mean it'll sell better, but DC gets to keep more of what they make.)

Bottom line, more modern runs might appeal to more people, but they're also probably more expensive to produce. I'd guess that's at least part of the reason why DC's omnis are focused so heavily on their back catalog.

[Judge Dredd]

Not a fan of Golden Age books at all, but nice to see they are cranking them out and people are buying. Just waiting for them to get around to Silver Age Superman hopefully the line remains strong enough to make it to that point.

[Beyonder595]

Hey guys, the Omnibus Collector is staring a DC top 10 Most Wanted Omnibus Ballot
You don't need to sign up for anything, anyone can submit their own ballot
You can find the rules here http://theomnibuscollector.com/post/...cs-most-wanted
The email to submit your ballot is DCSECRETBALLOT@gmail.com

[Captain Craig]

Hey guys, the Omnibus Collector is staring a DC top 10 Most Wanted Omnibus Ballot
You don't need to sign up for anything, anyone can submit their own ballot
You can find the rules here http://theomnibuscollector.com/post/...cs-most-wanted
The email to submit your ballot is DCSECRETBALLOT@gmail.com

Deadline is June 30th, 11:59 Central Standard Time (US timezone) e.g. Chicago,IL; St.Louis,MO; Nashville,TN
Not for Absolutes, if you want an existing Absolute done as an Omni that's ok, don't suggest new material as an Absolute in this poll.
Not for Vertigo titles.
Specify a run as best you can, don't just say Swamp Thing or Aquaman, give a creator, volume, year it started.
You can vote for a continuation volume of existing line, e.g. WW by Perez vol.3 or GA Superman vol.6

Votes tallied as follows: #1 vote=10pts, #2 vote=9pts, #3 vote=8pts etc

I didn't see it stated NOT to post your votes in this thread or elsewhere but like the Marvel Most Wanted I nominate that we don't reveal our own votes either.

[awayne83]

I thought someone else was already doing a DC poll

[Vilynne]

Boy, I'd kill for a complete Amethyst Omnibus. I won't vote it in, since im probably the only one, so I'll just clutter his email. Very curious to see the results.