Birds of Prey

New Comics & Collected Editions Releases: DC Comics – January 8 2025

January 3, 2025 by krisis 1 Comment

Next week is the 2nd new comic book day of 2025! This post covers DC Comics January 8 2025 new releases. Missed this week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering DC Comics January 1 2025 new releases.

This week in DC Comics: A shocking Aquaman collection, a hunk of Ellis Stormwatch, a new superstar run on Action Comics, creepy Dark Patterns for Batman, a Fractured Spectrum of Lanterns, and more!

The Krisis Pick of the Week: Batman: Dark Patterns (2024) #2! I cannot get the first issue of this Dan Watters & Hayden Sherman comic out of my head. Sherman’s page layouts were mind-blowing, as was the final page twist in both art and story. More about why I’m so excited below.

This post includes every comic out from DC this week, plus collected editions in omnibus, hardcover, paperback, and digest-sized formats. This isn’t the typical comic releases post you can find on other sites. Why? I explain each collection and review every in-continuity series with a new issue out this week. Plus, for most new releases, I’ll point you to a personally-curated guide within the Crushing Comics Guide to DC Comics to find out how to collect that title in full! There’s no other website on the internet that can claim that.

And now, onto DC Comics January 8 2025 new releases!

DC Comics January 8 2025 Collected Editions

The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries Vol. 5
(2025 paperback, ISBN 978-1779528582 / digital)
Collects The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries (2024) #1-6. These stories are more or less standalone, so you don’t have to worry about picking up Volumes 1-4.

Birds of Prey Vol. 2: Worlds Without End
(2025 paperback, ISBN 978-1779528575 / digital)
See Guides to Birds of Prey. This is very much the epic conclusion to the set-up in Volume 1, so I would not recommend starting here! This is easily one of the most-binge-able books of the past year full of action, humor, and tremendous colors from Jordie Bellaire. You can read more of my thoughts on the run in last week’s DC New Releases post.

DC Finest – Aquaman: King of Atlantis (DC Finest, Silver Age Vol. 1)
(2025 paperback, ISBN 978-1779529893 / digital TBA)
See Guide to Aquaman. This is the most interesting DC Finest volume yet! Not only does it collect material in color for the first time, but it does something I don’t think anyone would have predicted!

Generally, DC has always treated Adventure Comics (1938) #260 from May 1959 as the beginning of Silver Age stories for Aquaman and their collections have reflected that. An old Showcase collection starts there. Issue #260 is collected with “origins” collections and Aquaman’s anniversary collections.

Yet, this book reaches back to begin with Adventure Comics (1938) #229-259, which began in October 1956 – the same month Barry Allen debuted as Flash in Showcase (1956) #4.

Generally, the beginning of the Silver Age at DC Comics isn’t treated as something that happened all at once. Flash got things started in an obvious way because he was a brand new character (as was Hal Jordan as Green Lantern), but the start of the Silver Age for the Trinity and Aquaman tends to have more to do with when their origins were redefined to their definitive Earth-1 pre-Crisis versions.

As DC Silver Age collections go, this is a pretty wild development! All of the other various breakpoints between Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Post-Crisis ages are well-defined down to the issue. I had to change elements of my guide to reflect this new break point.

I am SO EXCITED to own and read this material in color!!! This is one of the books that nudged me over the line to start picking up DC Finest Collections despite having a relatively slim collection of physical DC Comics outside of Wonder Woman. [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions Releases: DC Comics – January 8 2025

New Comics & Collected Editions Releases: DC Comics – January 1 2025

December 27, 2024 by krisis Leave a Comment

You didn’t think I’d leave out DC, did you? Next week is the 1st new comic book day of the new year, and that means I’m back to cover DC’s new releases! This post covers DC Comics January 1 2025 releases.

This week in DC Comics: The Amalgam Age in Omnibus, Ram V’s Gotham Intermezzo, Aaron’s Absolute Krypton origin, DC’s Atomic trio makes a comeback, Ivy takes Seattle, Shazam family fun, and more!

The Krisis Pick of the Week: Absolute Superman (2024) #3! This book is so good I am giddy every time I see one of its pages. Check out my write-up below on why I am so overwhelmingly positive on a Jason Aaron comic (not a common occurence in these parts).

And now, onto DC Comics January 1 2025 new releases!

DC Comics January 1 2025 Collected Editions

52 Book 2 [2024 Edition]
(2025 paperback, ISBN 978-1779527622 / digital)
See Guide to DC Universe Events – Trinity, 52, & One Year Later. This collects the back half of DC’s weekly anthology title launched in the wake of Infinite Crisis. This features a lot of stories from many creators and different characters in several different plot threads. Note that it does not collect the “World War III” mini-event that ran alongside the end of this series.

DC Versus Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus
(2025 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1779523266)
See Guide to DC Elseworlds – The Amalgam Age of Comics. We never thought we’d see these comics collected again, let alone in a single deluxe edition! This tome collects the entire Amalgam Age in one place – every single issue of this 1996-1997 inter-company mash-up crossover. This isn’t a book that will often (or ever) be reprinted, so you should get it now if you’re interested!

Detective Comics [by Ram V] Vol. 4: Gotham Nocturne Intermezzo – Batman, Outlaw
(2024 hardcover, ISBN 978-1779528568 / 2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1779529459 / digital)
See Guide to Detective Comics (Post-Crisis). I was struggling slightly with Ram V’s run on Detective Comics as he closed out Act II. It didn’t feel like it was going anywhere. But, this tight act-break arc cured that!

Catwoman and Gordon engineering a breakout is the kind of great Bat-Family stuff that we should be getting in ‘Tec. It’s just nice to see some of the Bat-Family doing something kinetic, even if it flattens some of the business from the first two acts into a more generic “let’s save Gotham” plot. Orgham business into a typical “save Gotham” plot.

Actually, it felt like by getting Batman out of Gotham and widening the focus to his supporting cast, this run finally became what it has always meant to be. Also, based on the credits this includes the back-up stories by Dan Watters, which were outstanding!

Read on for a summary of all of the DC Comics January 1 2025 single issue releases! [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions Releases: DC Comics – January 1 2025

New Comics & Collected Editions Releases: DC Comics – June 5 2024

June 1, 2024 by krisis

It’s the 23rd new comic book day of the new year! This post covers DC Comics June 5 2024 releases, which actually hit comic stores on Tuesday June 4 2024. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering DC Comics May 29 2024 new releases.

(DC is still releasing their comics on Tuesday until the start of July, but I think most folks think of Wednesday as release day, so that’s how I’m labelling my posts until then.)

This week in DC Comics: DC debuts Compact Comics for Batman & Watchmen, Dawn of DC collections for Hal Jordan & Shazam, climaxes for Zdarsky Batman & GWW Ivy, a My Adventures with Superman cartoon comic and more!

This list includes every comic and digital comic out from DC this week, plus collected editions including omnibus, hardcover, paperback, and digest-sized formats. I recap and review every new single issue. Plus, for every new release, I’ll point you to the right guide within my Crushing Comics Guide to DC Comics to find out how to collect each character in full – and, if a guide is linked from this post, that means it is updated through the present day!

DC Comics June 5 2024 Collected Editions

Barda
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1779511133 / digital)
A new out-of-continuity Big Barda graphic novel exploring her origins and relationship to Scott Free from author/illustrator. Ngozi Ukazu.

Batman: The Court of Owls Saga – DC Compact Comics Edition
(2024 smaller-than-digest-size paperback, ISBN 978-1779527271 / digital)
See Guide to Batman. DC’s new Compact Comics are upon us! These are chunky paperbacks that collect 10+ issues of massive hit runs for just $10 in a format that is slightly smaller than “digest” size. It’s a bane for old eyeballs like mine, but a perfect format for newer fans and manga readers! This book collects the first 11 issues of Scott Snyder’s New 52 Batman run, possibly the single best Batman book to hand to someone curious about the character’s in-continuity adventures.

Green Lantern Vol. 1: Back In Action
See Guide to Green Lantern – Hal Jordan. I disliked this opening Hal Jordan arc from Jeremy Adams, Xermánico, Romulo Fajardo Jr., & Dave Sharpe, but not for any deficiency in their craftsmanship. I didn’t like it because it gets Hal Jordan so right, and Hal is my least favorite main character in all of Big Two comics! In fact, you could almost say I loved to hate it, because the level of craft was pretty damned great on every issue.

Adams leans in to writing a Hal Jordan as a man without a ring and with no redeeming qualities other than his willpower. Quarantined to Earth and with no powers or influence left to his name, Hal leans heavily into his privilege to get exactly what he wants – from demanding a job flying test planes to forcing himself into moments alone with Carol Ferris.

Along the way, we really do see how Hal’s willpower makes him one of the most formidable Lanterns. There are moments of this where I feel like we’re on the knife’s edge between Hal Jordan being a “nice guy” who always gets what he wants versus him turning into a full on villain and sexual predator.

For me, that clearly echos his previous downfall as Parallax, which in a way brings this around from being hate-worth back to being intriguing. Is Adams playing these beats deliberately to try to show us how Hal’s willfulness brings him right to the edge of villainy? Or, is Adams writing Hal totally straight, thinking we would all root for him to get everything he wants?

Either way, I think if you are fascinated by Hal Jordan and want to see him tackling a new set of challenges, this book could work for you. And, beneath that, there is a tickle of mystery about why Hal is ringless on Earth and what the Green Lantern Corps are like under new management. Despite my hatred, I’m still reading every month! [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions Releases: DC Comics – June 5 2024

DC Teams: Birds of Prey, Titans, & Suicide Squad Omnibus Mapping for the Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus 1st Annual Poll

May 15, 2024 by krisis

It’s time for a team-up! All of the remaining team-ups, to be precise. I’ll be loosely mapping missing and most-wanted DC omnibus volumes every day until May 19th! Then, on the 19th, I’ll be joining with Near Mint Condition to launch the first annual Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Annual Poll! This post covers every DC team we haven’t covered so far, including mapping for Birds of Prey, Legion of Super-Heroes, Outsiders, Titans, Suicide Squad omnibus volumes – and much, much more!

This post explains potential DC Teams omnibus mapping for votes on the Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus 1st Annual Secret Ballot. I’m posting all of these maps before the poll begins to give people the time to consider their favorites, correct our mapping mistakes, and catch books I might have missed.

Here’s the full list of the teams and groups this post covers: Birds of Prey (including Black Canary!), Challengers of the Unknown, Checkmate, Dial H for Hero, Doom Patrol Legion of Super-Heroes, Metal Men, New Gods, Outsiders, Power Company, Sovereign Seven, Stormwatch, Suicide Squad, The Terrifics, Titans & Young Justice, Trinity of Sin, and even Watchmen!

If you don’t know DC well enough to know what to vote for, stick around for my explanations! Learn why the team behind the poll decided on these books and titles – including giving us feedback if we missed the mark.

If voting is now open, you can use this as your crib sheet! Or… just find some great comics to read!

Remember: These mappings are just my suggestion of how DC could assemble these books. They are meant to help you decide on your votes and build your personal reading list, but your vote on the poll is NOT an endorsement of my specific map. It’s a vote in favor of DC creating a book with that title or covering that period.

High-effort, heavily-researched, over-the-top comics posts like this one are made possible via the support of Patrons of Crushing Krisis. For less than the cost of a single comic issue a month you can fuel my in-depth comics coverage, plus gain access to dozens of exclusive collecting guides & reading orders – including all of the Crushing Comics Guide to DC Comics.

New for Patrons: Guide to Birds of Prey

September 11, 2023 by krisis

After a lengthy southern hemisphere winter hiatus, I’m back with the first of a new series of guides for Patrons of CK! This wasn’t the next guide on my list before last week, but thanks to a brilliant new #1 issue from Kelly Thompson, Leonardo Romero, Jordie Bellaire, & Clayton Cowles last week I decided it was time for this new guide to fly: Guide to Birds of Prey!

Guide to Birds of Prey

Birds of Prey is a comic with a dedicated fanbase, in large part to Gail Simone’s star-making turn writing it for the better part of seven years prior to DC’s 2011 Flashpoint event. And, it got a raised profile with the Harley Quinn & The Birds of Prey flick in 2020.

But, if I had to boil down the title to a single summary or mission statement for my new Birds of Prey Guide, what would that be? [Read more…] about New for Patrons: Guide to Birds of Prey