The Trades Thread: Collected Editions

Topic

TPBs, HCs, Absolutes, Omnibuses… discuss them all here!

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[Ben]

Justice League Unlimited / World’s Finest: We Are Yesterday

Huh, interesting, this trade has a Road to DC KO tag added.  As to the book itself, it is Waid having fun with an old comics technique – wrap up a story, start the next story running. And so it proves, as the League battles the revealed “Inferno”.

As this is a time travel story, it falls squarely in the category of don’t think about it too much. Waid does find a good few new riffs on temporal matters which keeps it interesting. Art is shared across Mora, Moore and Henry, who have complimentary styles.

• This reply was modified 2 weeks, 4 days ago by Ben.

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Dave

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow OHC

I’m generally hot and cold on King because, well, his work is exactly that. There’s no middle ground, either it works very, very well or it falls flat completely. His long Batman run embodies both. This one? This has acquired quite the reputation, one that it lived up to. This is King on form.

Evely I’ve seen less work by but her Dreaming run was good. But this? Several levels up from that. After reading this, I’m far more interested in that deluxe edition of Helen of Wyndhorn due early 2026.

Then there’s the story that they spin. Of Supergirl and Ruthye crossing paths, their pursuit of Krem, and its examination of Supergirl, along with exploring how evil, justice and vengeance can link up. By placing the story through Ruthye’s eyes, we get an intriguing portrait of Supergirl, and her history. The final resolution with Krem is particularly good.

But, you don’t need to read this, right? After all, there’s going to be a film based on it. Might as well skip to that, right? Wrong, if you have any interest in comics. The film will not be this, it may tell a similar tale but it will not, nor could, be the same. This is a dazzling display of what comics can be, and you can’t get that from a film.

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Sean Robinson, Dave

Catwoman Volume 1

I picked this up having enjoyed Gronbekk’s Nina Petrova story in Battle Action Volume 3.  Along with both artists, Mascolo and Ignazzi, this gives the book a majority women creative team. I don’t know for certain but suspect this is rare. It is also a team that has a European view of an American character.

Of course, none of that matters if it isn’t good and it is very good. The story veers away from the vigilante aspect and runs with the theft and espionage elements. Of identities, shifting agendas and past secrets. It is also a story entirely independent of Batman.

It helps too that Mascoli and Ignazxi have similar, complimentary styles that give the six issues a very consistent look. At the same time, they bring Gronbekk’s dense, twisting tale to vivid life.

There’s only one flaw here and that is the cliffhanger ending, but I read this at the right time, as the next collection is out end of the month.

Batman and Robin: Jason Todd

This sees Lemire and Ngyuen doing a sequel to their Batman and Robin book, but with a different Robin. One that might be beyond the efforts of Batman, Nightwing and Alfred to aid, while they each question if they truly gave Jason a fair chance.

Into this volatile mix steps Wraith, a villain who preys on Jason’s trauma and insecurities, while offering him what Batman won’t.  It might be said what follows is conventional and predictable, but it is also very well-executed.  Of course, how good that is depends on how much you like the creative duo of Lemire and Ngyuen. I like their work a lot.

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Dave

The second DC Finest Peter David Supergirl book is confirmed.

DC Finest: Supergirl: Die and Let Live

576 pgs. – May 26th ’26

Supergirl faces her most dangerous mission yet in Die and Let Live, a thrilling chapter of DC’s Finest collection. Packed with high-stakes action, emotional depth, and bold storytelling, this volume showcases Kara Zor-El’s resilience as she battles powerful enemies and uncovers shocking truths about her destiny.

In DC Finest: Supergirl: Die and Let Live, Kara Zor-El takes center stage in a gripping saga of survival and identity. From cosmic clashes to personal reckonings, Supergirl must confront deadly threats and make choices that will define her legacy. A must-have for fans of DC’s most fearless heroine.

Collects Adventure Comics 80-Page Giant #1, Resurrection Man #16–17, Supergirl #19–35, Supergirl #1 ML, Supergirl/Prysm Double-Shot #1, Team Superman #1, and Team Superman Secret Files #1.

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Ben, paul f

Frankenstein: New World: Volume 2: The Sea of Forever

This is a good, middle volume, hopefully they get the chance to conclude it.  The shattered, post-human world a few centuries on makes for an intriguing setting.  Art is good but overall it’s one for the more dedicated Mignolaverse fan.

Usagi Yojimbo: Book 41: Ten Thousand Plums

This is another masterclass in perfect visual story telling. It may be asked what is left after achieving perfection? I suspect Sakai’s answer he doesn’t view his art as perfect, but also, he still has stories he wants to tell.  Whatever the reason, long may it continue because this series continues to be a superb read. His afterword on his younger brother’s life is excellent too.

Sandman Mystery Theatre Compendium Two

It still feels like a minor miracle that this books even exists after so many false starts on collecting the series. It’s almost surreal to get to read the comic’s conclusion. A little bittersweet. Somewhat naively, given how long the series ran and with such a stable creative team, I had assumed that it ended on its own terms. But nope, sudden cancellation that forced a two-part finale. Despite that, Seagle mostly sticks the landing. I think his end-note after explaining what happened and his reasoning for how the story went makes me appreciate what it does more, admittedly.

End aside, there are lots of good stories in here, though a couple that are less compelling. Slightly over complicated in places. Dian seems to ricochet between charity work, working for her dad at the DA’s office then not and doing charity work again on the whims of what would be more convenient for each story. And it’s weirdly heavy on JSA elements at the start of the this volume (and tail end of the previous), which has diminishing returns. Jim Corrigan being introduced and then doing nothing, as far as I could tell (maybe I missed some subtle Spectre related shenanigans?) was a pretty pointless. But I guess that was to try and drive sales.

But when the book is left to be itself, it’s great. What other superhero comic from a mainstream publisher would have an extended, sensitively handled plot thread about one of the main characters getting an abortion? Even before that, it’s nice that Dian and Wes, well, fuck, frankly. Superhero relationships are usually so chaste or juvenile, but by the time they’re properly together here it’s clear they really enjoy each other’s company and get to express that as real humans do (and then have consequences for it).

Unfortunately, it seems that there’s a side one-shot (Sandman Midnight Theatre) that sits between Compendium 1 and this volume that’s been omitted, because DC are always going to DC.

 

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Ben

Wow, that second volume actually came out.

Ben wrote:

Wow, that second volume actually came out.

I’m bemused that somrthing with Sandman in the title, Vertigo on the spine (and not by Neil Gamian in 2025) couldn’t get a hardcover.

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Ben

Martin Smith wrote:

Unfortunately, it seems that there’s a side one-shot (Sandman Midnight Theatre) that sits between Compendium 1 and this volume that’s been omitted, because DC are always going to DC.

It’s included in Absolute Sandman Vol. 5, along with Endless Nights and The Dream Hunters. IIRC, it’s more of a Sandman story than a SMT story (Gaiman wrote the script), so might have been a bit confusing to include, or they didn’t want to give Gaiman more money.

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Ben

paul f wrote:

Martin Smith wrote:

Unfortunately, it seems that there’s a side one-shot (Sandman Midnight Theatre) that sits between Compendium 1 and this volume that’s been omitted, because DC are always going to DC.

It’s included in Absolute Sandman Vol. 5, along with Endless Nights and The Dream Hunters. IIRC, it’s more of a Sandman story than a SMT story (Gaiman wrote the script), so might have been a bit confusing to include, or they didn’t want to give Gaiman more money.

I haven’t read it (yet), so I can’t say if it should be in there. Without it, it does feel a bit like there’s something missing. v1 ends with Dian going off to the UK, v2 starts with her and Wes coming back. Their references to the events of their trip make more sense now knowing that there’s actually a story containing them. It seemed a bit odd that they’d left so much just alluded to.

DC Compact Comics has lots of nice priced gifts/stocking stuffers.
Lots to choose from and more coming:

Batman: Under the Red Hood: DC Compact Comics Edition

384 pgs. – June 16th

collects the full original Red Hood saga from Batman #635–641, #645–650, and Batman Annual #25.

Batman: White Knight: DC Compact Comics Edition

216 pgs. – Feb. 16th

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow: DC Compact Comics

504 pgs. Jan. 6th

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Dave, Ben

Stargirl: The Lost Children

This is such a weird comic.

I’m not the greatest fan of Geoff Johns generally, but I do love Todd Nauck’s art and seeing that Secret from Young Justice was in this was enough to get me to bite.

And in one regard it’s great. Nauck’s art is possibly the best it’s ever been. He absolutely kills it here, with loads of crowd scenes that would break a lesser artist. Plus, there’s loads of new character designs in here, most of which are great (I especially like The Boom, although I’m not sold on her name).

Unfortunately, the reason behind all those new characters is less compelling. Part of the problem I’ve always had with Johns is that he’s a very regressive writer. His work is always about looking back to some halcyon past and rewinding comics to it, from bringing back Hal Jordan and Barry Allen, to reviving the JSA and ditching all the cool 90s reinventions like the android Hourman with facsimiles of the Golden Age originals.

His big idea for this mini-series is similar but of a slightly different approach. He seems to have decided that every Golden Age superhero should have had a kid sidekick (you know, that trope that went out in the 60s) and so retcons loads more into existence, even for heroes that no-one particularly cares about. Did anyone really think Dr Fate was missing a sidekick? Or the Dan Garrett version of Blue Beetle? Or the Red Bee?!

Quite what the point of all this is, I don’t really know. Apparently this is part of a wider thematic event – The New Golden Age – though there’s no mention of this anywhere on this collection (which is maybe for the best, as it probably would have deterred me from it). Is anyone going to make any further use of Cherry Bomb or Sparky outside of a crowd scene? It seems unlikely and most of these characters don’t get to do much here (Secret seems present entirely as fan service for Nauck and/or his existing fans, but at least it’s the same version of her from Young Justice, for whatever continuity matters these days). The entire premise of this series seems utterly self-indulgent and pointless.

It’s not a terribly satisfying story really. Although Stargirl gets to keep centre stage, Red Arrow gets increasingly marginalised through out, drowning in a sea of sidekicks. The plot doesn’t really make much of any sense (not helped by taking half an issue to have someone wang on about Flashpoint) there’s an island, whose beach is made of ground up Miraclo, on which loads of forgotten sidekicks have somehow ended up. Stargirl and Red Arrow, after being involved in a time-bending event, think Wing is still alive and follow in the footsteps of Dan The Dyna-Mite to said island, where a Baba Yaga called the Childminder is holding some of the kids and trying to capture the others, to deliver them to her buyer, who is the android Hourman from the 90s, except he’s working for Corky the Junior Time Master (who turns up to help the kids)’s evil adult self, who needs Wing to still die in the temporal event that killed him original, but not let any of the other kids back into continuity, for reasons. But he has his own time machines, cos he’s a Time Master, so I don’t get why he’s using Hourman nor Childminder, why they need Jay Garrick’s retcon daughter The Boom running on a treadmill to power something or other, nor why/how most of the kids ended up there beyond just “Flashpoint did it”.. And while I can buy Stargirl caring about the fate of Wing (the Crimson Avenger’s sidekick apparently), I’m not totally sure why most readers would. The attempts to build a theme around being forgotten and unloved doesn’t really work because, despite throwing in something about her biological dad, it’s not really relevant to Stargirl. It is to Red Arrow, but as I said, she gets increasingly displaced from focus.

Still, looks gorgeous.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle

So, this is bonkers, Omar of Neat Mint Condition announced a new X-Men omnibus for August 2026…
X-Men: Blue and Gold: Bloodties Omnibus….
…except it turns out I already own the various, out-of-print OHC pieces of it! Surreal.

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Todd

Superman: Love and Mercy

This volume effectively wraps up the Supercorp, Lex and Superweapon plots.  And it does so in rather interesting ways.

Lex is back but not entirely reset either. It’s notable that his view of Lois losing her powers is way off too. It adds up to an intriguing status for the character, possibly more anti-hero than out-right villain.

One oddity is the next trade is not yet listed, but that’s OK as DC trades can take a while to turn up.  I’m sceptical that they would cease collecting it.

Absolute Green Lantern Volume 1

An intriguing and very clever opening collection.

What’s particularly smart about it is it all works regardless of how much the reader knows. Know Green Lantern? Clever re-invention. Don’t know? Smart introduction. Know the Absolute line? It fits in well and adds to the others? Don’t know it? There’s refs to a larger world but the story works with them and they’re not the centre of it.

Will be back for the next trade in June 2026

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Todd, Dave