Sunday 15 September 2019

Upcoming Huntress Collections, Multiverse Comics, And More!

DOLLAR COMICS: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1
Written by MARV WOLFMAN
Art by GEORGE PEREZ and DICK GIORDANO
Cover by GEORGE PEREZ and ALEX ROSS
Reprinting the first chapter of the 1980s classic CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS!
ON SALE 09.25.19
$1.00 US | 32 PAGES | FC












CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS GIANT #1
Includes 24 pages of new stories plus classic reprints!
ON SALE 12.18.19
$4.99 US | FC | 96 PAGES | DC















ALL-STAR COMICS: ONLY LEGENDS LIVE FOREVER TP
Written by PAUL LEVITZ and GERRY CONWAY
Art by JOE STATON, BOB LAYTON, WALLACE WOOD, KEITH GIFFEN and others
Cover by JOE STATON and DICK GIORDANO
The classic 1970s run of the Justice Society of America is now collected in a single volume from the pages of ALL-STAR COMICS #58-74, ADVENTURE COMICS #461-466 and DC SPECIAL #29! Witness the continuing adventures of the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Doctor Fate and Wildcat as they’re joined by younger heroes Robin, Power Girl and Star-Spangled Kid to battle the Psycho-Pirate, the immortal Vandal Savage, the Injustice Society and more.
ON SALE 10.9.19
$34.99 US | 448 PAGES
FC | ISBN: 978-1-77950-071-7

THE BAT AND THE CAT: 80 YEARS OF ROMANCE HC
Written by TOM KING, PAUL LEVITZ, ALAN BRENNERT, and others
Art by MIKEL JANIN, DAVID FINCH, JOELLE JONES, MITCH GERADS, NEAL ADAMS, ANDY KUBERT, BECKY CLOONAN, JOSE LUIS GARCIA-LOPEZ, FRANK MILLER, LEE BERMEJO, and others
Cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
This new hardcover features Batman and Catwoman’s greatest team-ups from their 80-year history together by some of the best writers and artists in the industry! Follow the famous duo’s ups and downs from the 1940s on opposite sides of the law to their recent engagement and more in stories from (EDITORS: NEED CONTENTS).
ON SALE 01.29.20
$39.99 US | 264 PAGES
FC | ISBN: 978-1-4012-9585-1

THE HUNTRESS: ORIGINS TP
Written by PAUL LEVITZ
Art by JOE STATON, BOB LAYTON, and others
Cover by BRIAN BOLLAND
These are the 1970s stories that first introduced the Huntress: daughter of Batman and Catwoman of Earth-2! But after her mother is murdered, Helena dons a costume of her own. With her crossbow as her weapon, the Huntress vows to avenge her mother’s death. This title collects stories from DC Super Stars #17, Batman Family #18-20, and Wonder Woman #271-287, #289, #290, #294, and #295.
ON SALE 01.22.20
$19.99 US | 224 PAGES
FC | ISBN: 978-177950724





2020 is shaping up to be a great year to be a Huntress fan. Not only is DC reprinting some of Helena Bertinelli's post-Crisis stories along with Gail Simone's run on Birds of Prey in anticipation for the upcoming Birds of Prey film, but they're also rereleasing Helena Wayne's pre-Crisis stories in various upcoming comics and collections also in anticipation for the upcoming film and television events.

One comic that's going to be released next week is the One Dollar comic edition of Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 in anticipation for the upcoming DCTV event of the same name on the CW. While Helena Wayne is not actually featured in the first issue (she doesn't appear until issue #5), it's still a pretty significant story in the character's history because that's the event that retconned her out of existence.

While the chapter addressing how Helena Wayne felt to be erased from history was one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever read in a comic, and her death in particular was a hard blow for me as a Helena Wayne Huntress fan, it's still a comic that gives the character mainstream exposure. It can hopefully entice new readers to check out upcoming reprints of her pre-Crisis stories. This brings us to the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Earths Giant #1 this December.

For almost a year now, DC has been doing Wal-Mart exclusive DC Comic Giants as a way of exposing mainstream consumers to both new and old DC comics. Much like the One Dollar comic line that DC is doing, it reprints older DC material essentially as previews to existing or upcoming trade collections.

The initiative is a great way of exposing mainstream consumers to a lot of great stories, and the DC Giants in particular also create new original stories for these new readers that are not tied to mainstream DC continuity. I'm happy to see that DC is now extending this initiative to the DC Multiverse with Crisis on Infinite Earths Giant #1, which means we can possibly expect to see more reprints of Helena Wayne's pre-Crisis stories, and hopefully new material as well.

On the subject to trade collections, DC is also going to be reprinting Helena Wayne's pre-Crisis origin in two upcoming collections: The Bat and the Cat: 80 Years of Romance and in Huntress: Origins. The latter is also going to be reprinting the other stories from 2006's Huntress: Dark Knight Daughter, which is great for both new and old fans who didn't get a chance to buy the book a decade earlier and don't want to pay nearly $50 for it on eBay.

I did notice that for the new Huntress: Origins cover, DC added dagger-shaped earrings to Helena Wayne's ears this time around, possibly for aesthetic continuity. She didn't have them in the previous edition. More than that, however, I'm hoping that the new collection will fix a few issues that existed with the Dark Knight Daughter trade, and hopefully it'll come with new bonus material like original sketches, maybe the original pitch, maybe some scripts, cool stuff like. So definitely be on the lookout for that, and sure to pre-order a copy at your local comic book store now that it's been officially solicited! If more copies sell this time around, maybe this will entice DC to reprint Joey Cavalieri's run!

Also, don't forget that either later this month or early next month, DC is releasing All-Star Comics: Only Legends Live Forever, which reprints ALL of Helena Wayne's pre-Crisis stories with the Justice Society! I don't doubt this book will sell like hot cakes, but I do like that between The Bat and the Cat, Huntress: Origins, and the upcoming All-Star Comics collection, Helena Wayne will be getting a tonne of exposure in the upcoming months, which I hope will entice DC to start publishing new stories with the character.

And, of course, I can't end this post without mentioning Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV's Justice League. The Justice Doom War event finally started last month with the return of the Classic Justice Society of America from 1941 and is set to conclude this December. While both Snyder and Tynion have been tightlipped about which past DC characters will appear in the event, if there is one place the Classic Helena Wayne Huntress is highly likely to appear in, it's definitely in Justice Doom War given the nature of the story. We may end up seeing the post-Flashpoint version as well (hopefully back in her Huntress costume instead of in a Batsuit).

That's it for now. I look forward to talking about each and every one of these books as they come out in the upcoming months!

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