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DC has released their non-New 52 collections list for September-November and it’s chock full of goodies, including, at long last, a Collected Amethyst of Gemworld, which, as Kevin Melrose reports, is something people have been asking for for a long time. We’re Amethyst fans from way back in the day (we even owned a piece of Ernie Colon original art from the series once, before it was destroyed in a fire. Blogger TangognaT has a longer rundown of the series, an occidental take on shojo manga before anyone even knew what that was—and also a fairly typical example of the kind of books Karen Berger edited before she got to launch Vertigo. Lots more at TangognaT’s blog, where she has been keeping track of Amethyst stuff for several years.

AMETHYST is about Amy Winston, a normal 12-year-old who gets transformed into a 20-year-old princess in something called the Gemworld where she has to battle all kinds of gem-based heroes and villains. Simple-sounding premise—and one that appealed to the “I’m really a secret prince/princess” desire that most kids have at some time—but the execution was great for the time.

While there was usually a “no chance in hell” given for collecting this book, WB has decided to bring back the character on the DC Nation cartoon block—probably because AMETHYST is a ready-made princess fantasy for that very lucrative and popular genre.

ANYWAY, some other books of note on the list: an Amanda Conner collection; a 52 omnibus edition collecting the 52-week event that kicked it all off; the collected Batman Odyssey, for the fans of Road House out there; a WEIRD WAR TALES Showcase; a second collection of the OOP Warren Ellis STORMWATCH and several Jack Kirby collections. Good times!

DC Universe titles coming in September 2012:

BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY TP
Writer: Paul Dini
 Artists: Carlos D’Anda, Dustin Nguyen, Ben Herrera, Ted Naifeh and Derek Fridolfs 
Collects: BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY #1-5 and BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY digital issues #1-5 
$16.99 US, 168 pg

BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL VOL. 3 – KNIGHTS END TP NEW EDITION
 Writers: Doug Moench, Alan Grant, Chuck Dixon, Mary Jo Duffy and Dennis O’Neil 
Artists: Mike Manley, Dick Giordano, Bret Blevins, Graham Nolan, Scott Hanna, Ron Wagner, Tom Grummett, Jim Balent, Rick Burchett, Barry Kitson, Mike Vosburg, Mike Gustovich, Lee Weeks, Joe Rubinstein, Phil Jimenez and others 
Collects: BATMAN #509, 510, 512-514, BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #29, 30, 32-34, DETECTIVE COMICS #676, 677, 679-681,
BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #62 and 63, ROBIN #8, 9, 11-13, CATWOMAN #12, 13 and SHOWCASE 94 #10
 $29.99 US, 652 pg

BATMAN: ODYSSEY HC
Writer: Neal Adams Artists: Neal Adams, Josh Adams, Michael Golden, Kevin Nowlan, Bill Sienkiewicz, Scott Williams and Paul Neary
 Collects: BATMAN: ODYSSEY VOL. 1 #1-6 and VOL. 2 #1-7 
$29.99 US, 368 pg

BRIGHTEST DAY VOL. 3 TP
Writers: Geoff Johns and Peter J. Tomasi
 Artists: Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark and Joe Prado
 Collects: BRIGHTEST DAY #17-24
$16.99 US, 224 pg

THE DC COMICS ART OF AMANDA CONNER HC
 Writers: Barbara Kesel, Chuck Dixon, Jai Nitz, Terry Moore, Geoff Johns, Jimmy Palmiotti, Judd Winick, 
Artists: Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti
 Collects: SUPERMAN: LOIS LANE #1, BIRDS OF PREY #47-49, JSA CLASSIFIED #1-4, SUPERGIRL #12, WEDNESDAY COMICS #1-12, and stories from SECRET ORIGINS 80-PAGE GIANT #1, JOKER: LAST LAUGH SECRET FILES #1, the GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY WEDDING SPECIAL #1 and WONDER WOMAN #600
 $39.99 US, 304 pg

THE FLASH: THE ROAD TO FLASHPOINT TP 
Writer: Geoff Johns
 Artists: Francis Manapul and Scott Kolins 
Collects: THE FLASH #8-12 
$14.99 US, 120 pg

GREEN LANTERN: WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS TP
 Writers: Geoff Johns, Peter J. Tomasi and Tony Bedard 
Artists: Doug Mahnke, Tyler Kirkham, Fernando Pasarin, Cam Smith, Christian Alamy and Batt 
Collects: GREEN LANTERN #63-67, GREEN LANTERN CORPS #58-60 and GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD WARRIORS #8-10 
$16.99 US, 272 pg

PENGUIN: PAIN AND PREJUDICE TP
Writers: Gregg Hurwitz and Jason Aaron
Artists: Szymon Kudranski and Jason Pearson
 Collects: PENGUIN: PAIN AND PREJUDICE and JOKER’S ASYLUM: PENGUIN #1
 $14.99 US, 144 pg

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: AMETHYST, PRINCESS OF GEMWORLD VOL. 1 TP
Writers: Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohen 
Artists: Ernie Colon, Ric Estrada, Pablo Marcos, Alex Saviuk, Bob Smith, Gary Martin, Romeo Tanghal, Kurt Schaffenberger and Karl Kesel
 Collects: LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #298, AMETHYST, PRINCESS OF GEMWORLD #1-12, AMETHYST ANNUAL #1, DC COMICS PRESENTS #63 and AMETHYST #1-11 
$19.99 US, 648 pg

THE STARMAN OMNIBUS VOL. 2 TP
 Writer: James Robinson
 Artists: Tony Harris, John Watkiss, Guy Davis, J.H. Williams III, Chris Sprouse, Craig Hamilton and others
 Collects: STARMAN #17-29, STARMAN ANNUAL #1 and stories from SHOWCASE 95 #12 and SHOWCASE 96 #4-5 
$29.99 US, 416 pg

SUPERMAN: THE BLACK RING VOL. 2 TP
 Writers: Paul Cornell and Gail Simone
Artists: Pete Woods, Jesus Merino, Marco Rudy, Ed Benes, J. Calafiore and others 
Collects: ACTION COMICS #896-900, SECRET SIX #29 and ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #13 
$16.99 US, 224 pg

DC Universe titles coming in October 2012:

THE 52 OMNIBUS HC
 Writers: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid
 Artists: Keith Giffen, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Jack Jadson, Chris Batista, Jimmy Palmiotti, Ken Lashley, Eddy Barrows, Rob Stull, Shawn Moll, Tom Nguyen, Todd Nauck, Marlo Alquiza, Dale Eaglesham, Art Thibert, Patrick Olliffe, Drew Geraci, Ray Snyder, Phil Jimenez, Andy Lanning, Rodney Ramos, Dan Green, Tom Derenick, Jay Leisten, Jamal Igle, Keith Champagne, Andy Smith, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund and Darick Robertson 
Collects: 52 #1-52 
$150.00 US, 1216 pg

BIRDS OF PREY: THE DEATH OF ORACLE TP
 Writer: Gail Simone 
Artists: Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes
 Collects: BIRDS OF PREY #7-15
 $16.99 US, 200 pg

GREEN LANTERN CORPS: THE WEAPONER TP
 Writer: Tony Bedard 
Artists: Tyler Kirkham and Batt
 Collects: GREEN LANTERN CORPS #53-57
 $14.99 US, 128 pg

HUNTRESS: CROSSBOW AT THE CROSSROADS TP
 Writer: Paul Levitz
 Artists: Marcos To and John Dell 
Collects: HUNTRESS #1-6 
$14.99 US, 144 pg

LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT: ALAN DAVIS HC
 Writer: Mike W. Barr 
Artists: Alan Davis, Paul Neary, Mark Farmer, E.R. Cruz, Terry Beatty, Carmine Infantino, Dick Giordano,
Collects: DETECTIVE COMICS #569-575, BATMAN: FULL CIRCLE #1 and a story from BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #25
 $39.99 US, 272 pg

LEGION: SECRET ORIGIN TP
 Writer: Paul Levitz
 Artists: Chris Batista, Rich Perotta and Marc Deering 
Collects: LEGION: SECRET ORIGIN #1-6 
$14.99 US, 144 pg

STORMWATCH VOL. 2 HC
 Writer: Warren Ellis 
Artists: Tom Raney, Oscar Jimenez, Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary, Randy Elliot and others
 Collects: STORMWATCH #48-50 and #1-11 
$29.99 US, 384 pg

SUPERMAN/BATMAN: SORCERER KINGS TP
 Writers: Cullen Bunn, Joe Kelly, Chris Roberson and others 
Artists: ChrisCross, Jesus Merino, Brett Booth and Ed Benes 
Collects: SUPERMAN/BATMAN #78-84
 $14.99 US, 168 pg

THE WONDER WOMAN ARCHIVES VOL. 7 HC
 Writers: William Moulton Marston, Joyce Murchison and Robert Kanigher
 Artist: Harry G. Peter
 Collects: SENSATION COMICS #50-57 and WONDER WOMAN #16-18 
$59.99 US, 224 pg

DC Universe titles coming in November 2012:

BATMAN: THE BLACK MIRROR TP
 Writer: Scott Snyder
 Artists: Jock and Francesco Francavilla
 Collects: DETECTIVE COMICS #871-881
 $16.99 US, 304 pg

BATMAN: EYE OF THE BEHOLDER TP
Writer: Tony S. Daniel
 Artists: Tony S. Daniel and others
 Collects: BATMAN #704-707, 710-712 
$14.99 US, 168 pg

GREEN LANTERN: SECTOR 2814 VOL. 1 TP
 Writer: Len Wein 
Artists: Dave Gibbons, Dick Giordano, Mike DeCarlo and Mark Farmer 
Collects: GREEN LANTERN #172-176, 178-183 and 185-186
 $16.99 US, 192 pg

KUBERT COVERS WAR HC
 Writer/artist: Joe Kubert
 Collects: Covers from various DC war comics 
$24.99 US, 208 pg

THE NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES TP
 Writers: Marv Wolfman and George Pérez
Artists: George Pérez, Mike Perkins and Al Vey
 Original graphic novel
 $16.99 US, 144 pg

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: WORLD’S FINEST VOL. 4
 Writers: Cary Bates, Leo Dorfman, Jim Shooter, Robert Kanigher, Dennis O’Neil, Mike Friedrich and Bob Haney
Artists: Pete Costanza, Jack Abel, Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, Curt Swan, Ross Andru, Mike Esposito, Dick Dillin and Joe Giella 
Collects: WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #174-178, 180-187, 189-196, 198-202
 $19.99 US, 520 pg

SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE VOL. 2 HC
 Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
 Artists: Shane Davis and Sandra Hope 
Original graphic novel
$22.99 US, 136 pg

THE WONDER WOMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 3 TP
 Writer: William Moulton Marston
Artists: Harry G. Peter and Frank Godwin 
Collects: SENSATION COMICS #15-18, WONDER WOMAN #4-5 and COMIC CAVALCADE #2
 $14.99 US, 168 pg

YOUNG JUSTICE VOL. 2: TRAINING DAYS TP
Writers: Kevin Hopps and Greg Weisman
 Artists: Christopher Jones and Dan Davis 
Collects: YOUNG JUSTICE #7-13
 $12.99 US, 160 pg

DC Universe titles coming in December 2012:

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: GIL KANE HC
 Writers: Martin Pasko, Bob Rozakis, Marv Wolfman, Gil Kane, Cary Bates, Roy Thomas and Joey Cavalieri
 Artist: Gil Kane 
Collects: SUPERMAN #367, 372, 375, ACTION COMICS #539-541, 544, 545, 546 and 551-554, SUPERMAN SPECIAL #1, 2 and DC COMICS PRESENTS ANNUAL #3 
$39.99 US, 392 pg

BATMAN: ARKHAM UNHINGED TP
 Writer: Derek Fridolfs 
Artists: Mike S. Miller and Brian Ching 
Collects: ARKHAM UNHINGED #1-5
$22.99 US, 160 pg

THE BATMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 11 TP
 Writers: Don Cameron, Bill Finger, Jack Schiff, Alvin Schwartz, Joseph Greene and Mort Weisinger 
Artists: Jack Burnley, Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, George Roussos and Dick Sprang 
Collects: BATMAN #20-21, DETECTIVE COMICS #82-85 and WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #12
 $14.99 US, 168 pg

BATMAN: NO MAN’S LAND VOL. 4 TP NEW EDITION
 Writers: Devin Grayson, Greg Rucka, Chuck Dixon, Dennis O’Neil, John Ostrander, Jordan B. Gorfinkel
 Artists: Dale Eaglesham, Damion Scott, Rick Burchett, N. Steven Harris, Paul Ryan, Roger Robinson, Jim Balent, Scott McDaniel, Greg Land, Sergio Cariello and others 
Collects: BATMAN CHRONICLES #18, BATMAN #572-574, DETECTIVE COMICS #739-741, BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #125-126, ROBIN #73, BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #93-94, AZRAEL: AGENT OF THE BAT #59-61, CATWOMAN #75-77, NIGHTWING #38-39, BATMAN: NO MAN’S LAND #0 
$34.99 US, 552 pg

DEADMAN VOL. 3 TP
 Writers: Bob Haney, Arnold Drake, Paul Levitz, Cary Bates, Martin Pasko and Gerry Conway 
Artists: Dick Dillin, Mike Grell, Fred Carrillo, Jim Aparo, Kurt Schaffenberger, Romeo Tanghal and others 
Collects: WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #223, 227, PHANTOM STRANGER #33, 39-41, THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #133, SUPERMAN FAMILY #183 and DC SUPER STARS #18 
$16.99 US, 176 pg

JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOL. 4 TP
 Writer: Jack Kirby 
Artists: Jack Kirby, Mike Royer, D. Bruce Berry and Greg Theakston
 Collects: MISTER MIRACLE #10-18, THE FOREVER PEOPLE #11, THE NEW GODS #11, NEW GODS (REPRINT SERIES) #6 and DC GRAPHIC NOVEL #4: THE HUNGER DOGS 
$29.99 US, 424 pg

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: OMEGA TP
Writer: James Robinson 
Artists: Brett Booth, Pow Rodrix, Mark Bagley, Rob Hunter and Norm Rapmud 
Collects: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #49-53 and STARMAN/CONGORILLA #1
 $16.99 US, 200 pg

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH OMNIBUS VOL. 2 HC
Writer: Jack Kirby, Gerry Conway and Paul Levitz 
Artists: Jack Kirby, D. Bruce Berry and Mike Royer
 Collects: KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH #21-40
 $49.99 US, 416 pg

SUPERMAN: GROUNDED VOL. 2 TP
 Writers: J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Roberson
 Artists: Eddy Barrows, Allan Goldman, JP Mayer and others
 Collects: SUPERMAN #707-711 and 713-714
 $14.99 US, 168 pg

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: WEIRD WAR TALES VOL. 1 TP
 Writers: Robert Kanigher, Bob Haney, Hank Chapman, Bill Finger, Dave Wood, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Jerry DeFuccio, France E. Herron, William Woolfolk, Sheldon Mayer, Raymond Marais, Jack Oleck, George Kashdan, Michael J. Pellowski 
Artists: Russ Heath, Joe Kubert, Irv Novick, Frank Thorne, Mort Drucker, Ross Andru, Mike Esposito, Reed Crandall, Gene Colan, Mort Meskin, George Roussos, Carmine Infantino, Jerry Grandenetti, Joe Giella, Tony DeZuniga, Steve Harper, Neal Adams, Alfredo Alcala, Alex Niño, Alex Toth, Walter Simonson, Gerry Talaoc, Don Perlin, Nestor Redondo, George Evans, Ernie Chan, Frank Robbins and Bernard Baily
 Collects: WEIRD WAR TALES #1-21 
$19.99 US, 520 pg

1 COMMENT

  1. I initially like the idea of the Showcase Presents trades, but alas I got tired of the black and white. I’d rather pay a bit extra for full color (how the comics were originally presented).

  2. Right now I have withdrawn library copies of the four ’52’ TPBs ($1 each!), one of which was chewed on by my dog when she was a puppy. All four books are now out of print. I’d be interested in replacements, but I’m not sure the ’52 Omnibus’ is the solution. I’m scared off by the very high price and the awful binding/paper combo used in DC’s thick omnibus collections (resulting in severe gutter loss and books that won’t lay flat). Same goes for the coming omnibus collections of ‘The Invisibles’ and ‘Infinite Crisis.’ I hope DC’s trades department gets its quality control in gear before these books are printed.

  3. Argh, yes, AMETHYST is one of the few comics of its period that absolutely *requires* color.

    Far better to have done a color reprint of just the first miniseries, which was significantly better than the later material. At least the SHOWCASE volume will end before the actively bad Giffen-Newell-written issues of the second volume.

  4. >> GREEN LANTERN: SECTOR 2814 VOL. 1 TP
 Writer: Len Wein 
Artists: Dave Gibbons, Dick Giordano, Mike DeCarlo and Mark Farmer 
Collects: GREEN LANTERN #172-176, 178-183 and 185-186
$16.99 US, 192 pg >>

    Hnh. Why leave out #177?

    Sure, it’s a reprint, but it’s a reprint of a Len Wein story (and has a framing sequence to fit it into the ongoing continuity), so it’d fit in just fine and make the book more of a complete Len Wein run. Nice art, too.

    Still be a nice book, though.

    kdb

  5. A b&w Showcase Amethyst? That ain’t right. Good thing I had the original maxiseries collected in a library-bound hardcover last year–at least mine’s in color.

    Seriously, I don’t know why DC has always ignored what is basically “Harry Potter for girls”–before there was a Harry Potter. Considering the huge interest in young adult fiction in the book industry these days, that women and girls are its biggest buyers, and given that Amethyst is one of the few titles that might actually appeal to young female readers, they’re doing both the creators and the readers a disservice.

  6. Picking up WW Archive vol. 7 and will check out Amethyst. Showcase volumes don’t bother me because they’re cheap. Couple of others sound interesting.

  7. I like the Showcase series. But my retailer doesn’t stock them anymore. So it’s up to me the customer, to order them in at full price and assume full risk.

  8. >> I like the Showcase series. But my retailer doesn’t stock them anymore. So it’s up to me the customer, to order them in at full price and assume full risk.>>

    Or get them via mail-order at a discount.

    kdb

  9. While I’m happy that I have all the color issues of Amethyst, I’m very excited for the showcase edition. I hope it inspires new fans for the series.

  10. The black & white aspect is a bummer, but here’s a thought: true (and new) Amethyst fans can have a great time coloring their copies of the Showcase book.

    We could even make it a contest! Scan and submit your best page, and Gary and Ernie and I will select a winner (for whom Gary and I will make Ernie draw something cool).

  11. Be great if DC released Amethyst as single issues on their app like they did just recently with Kamandi at $1 per issue. Then follow it up with a (re)colored trade.

  12. There will be a volume 2, so the Giffen-written stuff will be there.

    …As a collector of Amethyst original art, I HAVE to ask: which piece got destroyed in the fire? I’m almost dreading the answer…

    & I can certainly attest that the Ernie colon art truly stands up for itself in either color or b&w. Check out comicartfans.com for some scans of the original art pages :)

  13. LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT: ALAN DAVIS HC
Writer: Mike W. Barr
Artists: Alan Davis, Paul Neary, Mark Farmer, E.R. Cruz, Terry Beatty, Carmine Infantino, Dick Giordano,
Collects: DETECTIVE COMIS #569-575, BATMAN: FULL CIRCLE #1 and a story from BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #25
$39.99 US, 272 pg

    2 things wrong with this book.

    The first is that it’s going to omit parts 2-4 of a story just because they were drawn by Todd McFarlane, even though there’s going to be material by other artists in the volume.

    The second is that it’s being printed as a consumer-unfriendly hardcover.

  14. Really looking forward to the Alan Davis “Batman” book. I LOVED those issues of “Detective Comics” when I was a kid.

  15. Here’s the origin of Amethyst:

    Her parents are the rulers of Gemworld.
    They are assassinated while Amethyst is a baby.
    The court sorceress sends her to Earth, where a couple adopt her and raise her as a normal child. Gemworld continues with its court intrigue.

    Eventually, her secret is discovered by the assassin, she learns her ancestry, and when she is transported back to Gemworld… SHAZAM! She’s an adult! And a princess! Heir to the throne of Gemworld! With magic powers! Who must gather together a coalition of houses to battle the evil man who killed her parents!

    How powerful is she? Modru-powerful. Fight-the-Spectre-powerful. Which makes sense, since she’s a Lord (Lady?) of Order.

    THAT’S WHY DC should collect Amethyst. That’s why Bruce Timm and Lauren Montgomery should start work immediately on an animated movie. What a goldmine!

  16. >> 2 things wrong with this book.
    The first is that it’s going to omit parts 2-4 of a story just because they were drawn by Todd McFarlane, even though there’s going to be material by other artists in the volume.
    The second is that it’s being printed as a consumer-unfriendly hardcover.>>

    Some of us consumers like hardcovers.

    Those McFarlane issues were included in the TPB-consumer-friendlier BATMAN YEAR TWO: FEAR THE REAPER TPB some years back, but I gather it went out of print after a while.

    The Beatty/Infantino/Cruz art are actually chapters of a story within a Davis-drawn frame, so they’d be a tad harder to cut out. But I agree; even in an “art of” book, the stories should conclude…

  17. THE WONDER WOMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 3 TP
 Writer: William Moulton Marston
Artists: Harry G. Peter and Frank Godwin 
Collects: SENSATION COMICS #15-18, WONDER WOMAN #4-5 and COMIC CAVALCADE #2
 $14.99 US, 168 pg

    Is this the first reprint of the Comic Cavalcade story-or did I miss it in an Archive somewhere?

  18. There are probably some who would prefer the Alan Davis book be published at 3 times the size and 3 times the price with those non-drawn portions cut out entirely. That doesn’t mean it would be a good idea. DC should focus on keeping the costs down. $40 (as a base price) is way too expensive.

    There’s also the idea of leaving the Year Two story incomplete. Doesn’t DC think about the consumer experience at all?

  19. For Ernie colon fans, I recommand the blog I opened 2 months ago, http://erniecolonunlimited.blogspot.com/

    It details every comics Ernie ever worked on.

    We were also lucky to have an exclusive Tim FISH cover for our issue devoted to Ernie COLON, depicting Amethyst, which you can see here:
    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zusD5h_AHpQ/TevJUAUwkrI/AAAAAAAAFnQ/6xEJ-9CQuOY/s1600/scarce77mini.jpg

    It’s way time that DC reprinted amethyst (with the preview I hope!)

  20. >> There are probably some who would prefer the Alan Davis book be published at 3 times the size and 3 times the price with those non-drawn portions cut out entirely. That doesn’t mean it would be a good idea.>>

    If they could sell a bunch of those, maybe it would be.

    While I agree with a part of your argument, mainly what you’re saying is, “DC should aim these books at me, not at people who’d like the features I don’t.” But those other people’s money spends just as well as yours, and if DC projects that they’ll do better with a hardcover than with a TPB, that doesn’t make it dumb just because you don’t like that format.

    They did do TALES OF THE BATMAN: TIM SALE in TPB about a year after they’d done it in HC, so it may well be that you’ll see the other artist-focused Batman collections come along in TPB, too. But they’ve apparently been selling well enough in HC to justify being published that way.

    But now you’ve got me thinking of an IDW artist’s edition-sized Alan Davis book. Mmmmm….

    kdb

  21. Nelly, there was no 4-issue mini. After the preview story, it started off as a 12-issue maxi series. I remember thinking how ambitious it was at the time. And I enjoyed the series immensely. And there was either an Annual or Special, but I don’t believe both.

    Of course, you could always ask Dan Mishkin, the writer, just to double-check.

  22. Outside of the beautiful four-issue minseries illustrated by Esteban Maroto, what’s left of Amethyst to reprint that isn’t in the Showcase volume? She’s made some appearances from time to time, but they’re in the context of guest appearances in other stories (some related to Legion of Super-Heroes due to their shared histories regarding Gemworld and Mordru), but nothing comes to mind that is specifically a story starring Amethyst, much less anything that could fill another 500- or 600-page Showcase volume. Okay, *maybe* one could count the “Weirdoverse” crossover issues (Scare Tactics, Night Force, Challengers, Night Force), but that four-issue story features an alternate version of Amethyst mythology that isn’t evocative of the original concept and moreover, adding that arc’s page count to that of the Maroto miniseries still falls several hundred pages short of filling a second Showcase book.

    Given the importance of birthstone gems and their colors to the story, I’d rather see a simultaneous release of two full-color trades corresponding to the original two series followed soon thereafter by a third full-color trade reprinting the Maroto miniseries and the Weirdoverse arc, an appropriate pairing given the miniseries’ change toward the Weirdoverse’s darker (but far from nihilistc) tone from the youth-oriented originals.

  23. “And there was either an Annual or Special, but I don’t believe both.”

    Yes, there was both, Drew. An Annual to make the connection beetween the maxi serie and the ongoing one and a special finishing the ongoing serie and previewing the ‘ mini to follow by Maroto.

  24. “Outside of the beautiful four-issue minseries illustrated by Esteban Maroto, what’s left of Amethyst to reprint that isn’t in the Showcase volume?”

    The end of the ongoing series (12 to 17) + the special and the mini by Maroto you already mentionned.

  25. Although I can’t imagine it was done to make Gary and me feel good, I did enjoy learning that the only Amethyst stories that would be collected in the Showcase volume were ones that we had written.

    But I’d love to see the maxi-series reprinted in color, perhaps with the preview and the Superman team-up interpolated, since they do cover story points not addressed elsewhere (though in the case of the preview, not with a perfect continuity fit).

    As to the question of whether DC was “ambitious” in committing to the 12-issue series, that’s a mixed bag. That they published Amethyst at all was a remarkable step into new territory for them; but the decision to do a maxi and have it be closed-ended was based on their expectation that it couldn’t succeed as an ongoing series in the not-very-long-at-all run.

    The decision to go on to an open-ended series was largely driven by the fact that a major toy company was interested in the property, and a no-longer-published character was thought to be less appealing to licensees (you should have seen the presentation piece Charlie Vess did for the toy company, btw…wow!). Being told to come to a definitive ending and then to pick up where we left off made for a hard transition, and left me less satisfied with the second series.

  26. I second Mr. Busiek’s “Mmmm….”
    (And then I remember the Catwoman story Mr. Davis drew which was collected in The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told… Purrrrr…)

    Since IDW has a working relationship with Marvel (have you ordered the John Romita Artist Edition yet?), they could issue an Alan Davis edition.

    Perhaps Excalibur. Or maybe his Clan Destine. Is Captain Britain worthy?

  27. Okay, I missed the other six issues, but the page count *still* falls hundreds of pages short of a second volume.

    Amethyst Vol. 2 #12-16 –> 6 x 22 pgs = 132 pgs
    Amethyst Vol. 3 #1-4 –> 4 X 22 pgs = 88 pgs
    Weirdoverse “Convergence” (alternate universe) –> 4 x 22 pgs = 88 pgs
    Covers –> 14 pgs

    Total –> 312 pages, plus or minus

    In other words, a second Showcase volume would run, at best-ish, about half the length of the first. Really, 50-60% of the typical page count of a Showcase book.

    It makes me think that they have no intentions of doing a second Amethyst Showcase, which just begs the question of why they would tack a “Vol. 1” onto it.

    Reprinting the whole thing in full color across three TPBs makes waaay more sense to me. Even if they did them in something approaching Dark Horse’s smaller Omnibus size. 400-500 pages per full-color volume for about $25-30, $5 or so less for an atypically short 312-ish page third volume.

    Comics stores and chain bookstores don’t stock the Showcase or Essentials books in-depth to begin with, so it makes even less sense to me to do the color-based Amethyst as a black-and-white Showcase over any sort of a color format. The Showcase/Essentials take up a lot of rack space versus even color volumes of the same or similar page counts due to the increased thickness of the cheaper paper stock and the appeal of the black-and-white format has seriously waned as the base price of the Showcase and Essentials lines have crept upward. And Marvel’s inexcusable lack of interest in keeping any trade paperback series in print, much less the Essentials, have IMO crippled both the retailers’ desire to sell these books and the consumer’s desire to buy them. *Both* the Essentials and the Showcases.

  28. Re: Torsten Adair’s well-meant comment about how cool Amethyst is–as far as I’m concerned, anything written about Amethyst after Dan and I left is apocryphal. I regret the Superman crossover, because she should never have been integrated into the DC Universe. Shoehorning disparate fantasy universes together is one of the idiocies of current sf/f. It was a cute idea a few times. After that, it just dilutes everyone’s creative achievements.

    So to my mind, Amethyst’s powers are not comparable to anyone else in the DC Universe, since in my mind she’s not a part of the DC Universe, and she’s certainly not a”Lord of Order,” since that teleology doesn’t pertain in her reality. Regarding this reprint…I’m pleased that it’s being published, I wish it was in color, I don’t see a need for Vol. 2, and I’ll probably be able to buy a new motorcycle helmet with the royalties I get from it. A cheap one.

  29. DAN: Thanks for the insight. I often wondered about the second series and why it was put out after the definitive ending of the first series.

    I’m looking forward to rereading this… but like many of you expressed above, I wonder what will be included in the second volume.

  30. Rob J: I’m lucky. My local comic store carries a LOT of the collected Essentials and Showcase books. One of the guys there said they are steady sellers, which is why they expanded their shelf space to hold even more.