Batman: Battle for the Cowl Companion, DC Library Death in the Family, and More DC Fall 2009 Collections

Apparently it's that time again, because more solicitations for DC Comics Fall 2009 collected editions, hardcovers, and trade paperbacks keep spooling out every day. Here's the highlights:

* Batman: Battle for the Cowl Companion
Constant readers know I love these companion collections, which contain either older relevant issues or tie-in miniseries. My guess is that this is Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon, Battle for the Cowl: Man-Bat. Battle for the Cowl: Arkham Asylum, and Battle for the Cowl: The Underground, and maybe also the Gotham Gazette issues.

* DC Classics Library: Batman: A Death in the Family
The infamous Jim Starlin/Jim Aparo story that did away with Jason Todd now gets hardcover treatment at a whopping $40 (yes, I said forty dollars). The page count is near double the paperback version of this story, suggesting this might have interviews and other material (maybe even a full-color version of the alternate ending?).

* Gotham Central Vol. 2: Jokers and Madmen HC
The recent first Gotham Central hardcover collected the first two Gotham Central trade paperbacks, In the Line of Duty and Half a Life, reprinting issues #1-10 between them. This second hardcover suggests it'll contain, at least, the Joker story from the third Gotham Central paperback, Unresolved Targets; the big question is whether it'll also have some of the previously-uncollected Gotham Central issues, like #11. If so, I'm selling my Gotham Central paperbacks and getting these.

* Outsiders: The Deep
The first post-Batman RIP Outsiders trade. The Batman RIP aftermath issues might appear here, or in the Battle for the Cowl Companion

* Flash Chronicles Vol. 1
These "Chronicles" books don't have much appeal to me since they're reprinting from way, way back, at times when Superman and Batman weren't even entirely recognizable as the characters they are today. (If someone's really digging these, chime in and let me know what you like.) Now the Flash series gets the same treatment, though I'm not sure if this'll start with Jay Garrick or Barry Allen.

* Flash vs. The Rogues
With Flash: Rebirth coming up, my guess is this collects classic battles between the Flashes and their various Rogues (hence the name).

* Supergirl: Who is Superwoman?
This is the first Supergirl paperback by Sterling Gates, and picks up threads of Superman: New Krypton. Art is by Jamal Igle, whose work I've been digging on Tangent: Superman's Reign.

* Wonder Woman: Rise of the Olympian
The next Gail Simone hardcover, collecting the storyline meant to be on par with Batman RIP and Superman: New Krypton

* Blackhawk: Blood and Water
A three-part 1988 miniseries by Howard Chaykin.

* Superman: Adventures of Flamebird & Nightwing
Includes Superman Family stories, I think, by Paul Kupperberg.

Coming up in paperback:
* Legion of Super-Heroes: Enemy Rising SC
I'm just slightly surprised to see DC Comics coming out with a paperback of this, given that they themselves disassociated themselves from it after it came out in hardcover. Seems a little disingenuous, no?

* Batman: Private Casebook SC
Not to be confused with Batman: The Black Casebook, this is the next Detective Comics/Paul Dini collection. It was already released in hardcover, but I for one wasn't going to start collecting Dini's Detective in hardcover after the series started in paperback.

* Booster Gold: Blue and Gold SC

* Tangent: Superman's Reign Vol. 2

* Justice Society of America: Thy Kingdom Come Part II SC

* Superman/Batman: Search for Kryptonite SC

* Superman: Kryptonite SC

* Wonder Woman: The Circle SC

What do you think of DC's high-priced Death in the Family? Interested in the Battle for the Cowl Companion? What hasn't DC collected that you'd still like to see?

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