Monday, January 30, 2012

The Savage Hawkman v.1 Announced (Again)

From The Source, DC has updated the listing for all of the first round of the New 52 collected editions.  Hitting the shelves in October 2012 is the first collection of The Savage Hawkman.  Here's what we have so far:

THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN VOLUME 1: DARKNESS RISING TP
Writer: Tony S. Daniel and James Bonny
Artist: Philip Tan
Collects: THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN #1-8
$14.99 US, 192 pg

I don't remember what this was originally solicited as, 6 issues or 8.  Looking at the future of this title as we know it, 8 issues is the correct length for collection.  The first four issues obviously are the Morphicius storyline, then no.5-7 deal with the Gentleman Ghost.  Issue #8 evidently will have the return of Aksana and introduce more alien characters, and then Rob Liefeld comes in at #9.  Beyond the simple fact that #9 is the creative team change (meaning that the entire Daniel/Bonny/Tan run will be collected in one volume), since I expect the series to take something of a right turn (or left turn if you prefer, I'm not picky) when Liefeld takes over the writing chores, it makes sense to stop there.  

13 of the 52 (25% for the mathematically challenged) are collecting 8 issues; of course, the 6 cancelled titles are part of that number.  And additional 19 titles collect the first 7 issues, meaning that less than half of the New 52 are being collected as the "traditional" (ha!) 6 issue trade paperback.  Is this the start of a trend for DC with how they handle their collected editions?  While I understand the concept of getting one story arc in a trade, I have to admit that I do like trades where you get two full stories, or perhaps two stories and a done-in-one or something.  To me that adds "re-read value" to a trade.  A lot of the collections for Hawkman volume 4 are like this and make for an enjoyable reading experience -- to this fanboy, anyway.

Also, 8 issues for $15 is a pretty darn good value I think.  Of course the cynic in me wonders if DC expects low sales for this volume and is putting it out there as a low cost purchase to spur some impulse buys.  Either way, I'm not buying it because I don't double-buy comics; I don't have the budget nor the inclination for that.

2 comments:

Diabolu Frank said...

$15 makes a HUGE difference in my likelihood to buy any of these. I'm still fighting buying Wonder Woman or Captain Atom, but something like Firestorm will likely my list.

The Irredeemable Shag said...

$15 is definitely a decent price for a trade. It is interesting to see who gets a hardcover and who gets a soft cover.

By the way, I recommend everyone give the JLI and Deathstroke trades a try. Fun comics!

The Irredeemable Shag