Trade Paperbacks

[Gernot1962]

Unfortunately, I cannot afford to get back issues as I once was.  However, I AM able (and have done so) to get several of the TPBs that have come out starring the Earth-1 and Earth-2 Superman, most notably the Showcases and Chronicles (on the Marvel side, I've gotten many of the Essentials, as well).

Now I've heard from one of the creators of '70's comics (I THINK it may have been Marty Pasko, but I'm not positive) that reprint fees paid to the creators of the comics back then are simply too high to warrant doing too many more reprints. 

That's truly a shame, as Superman's Showcase Volumes ended in the very early '60's, while Batman and JLA continued well into the '70's, though I'd have liked both of THOSE to have continued, as well. 

I guess this is merely a rant because I'd hoped to continue my Superman collection for several more years.  I feel DC is sitting on a goldmine and they would practically be printing money if they continued the two lines.

Thoughts?

[nightwing]

I think the Showcase line ended because DC is focusing on the new "Silver," "Bronze" and "Golden Age" trades, much the same way Marvel abandoned their "Essential" line in favor of "Epics." But at least in both cases they've upgraded to color.

 Unfortunately, while the Marvel Epics are jumping around chronologically, DC seems determined to reprint everything in order, so Silver Age Superman is still a good ways off and the Bronze Age material may not show up til I'm dead.

The way I heard it, royalty deals were much more fair once the 70s rolled around, which cuts into the profit margins.  But they are putting out omnibuses of Bronze Age JLA and Brave and the Bold (and soon House of Secrets and Swamp Thing) so there's always hope. But if they keep to the "finish one Age before starting the next" rule, we've got a long wait for BA Supes, Bats and Wonder Woman.

[Nykor]

I remember reading, I believe on the Marvel Masterworks DC Message Boards, a contributor named Drew Moore, who was/is a colorist @ DC, saying that he heard from DC staffers that sales on the last (2008) Showcase Presents: Superman were disappointingly low, as may be evidenced by a recent trip to AmazonBooks Land, where several new full-color Silver Age collections are/will be offered for sale this year and next, but none of them devoted to the Silver Age solo adventures of Superman.

[Nykor]

I should have added that Amazon is offering full-color, Silver Age Supergirl tpb's, World's Finest (Batman-Superman) tpb's, Justice League tpb's, Legion of Super-Heroes tpb's, Flash tpb's, and Green Lantern tpb's, but no full-color, silver-age Superman solo tpb's, which is really too bad, because I'd buy them--discovering the Showcase Presents: Superman volumes at my local Borders is what drew me back into this hobby more than 10 years ago.

Maybe DC is waiting until SPOILER Supes returns to life in the Justice League movie in November, but, if so, they haven't told Amazon.

[Gernot1962]

Wow...  I hope DC changes their minds about these books and DOES offer solo Superman Silver Age books.  I MAY have to go after the Digests and get the reprints THEY have in color, though I'd probably COMPLETELY ruin my eyes that way!   

It's too bad the PTB decided profits weren't good enough on the Showcases.  I don't know if they CAN print the stories on cheaper paper!

[nightwing]

I think DC has a real problem marketing Superman in general; they've turned him into kind of a corporate albatross through their mismanagement of the character.

That said, there's a larger pattern emerging with these reprint books: until the "Silver Age" Justice League material was completely reprinted, there was no "Bronze Age" JLA collection, and the same with "Teen Titans.". That suggests we won't see any Omnibuses or tpb's of SA Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman until the Golden Age material runs out.  So unfortunately, we've got at least a couple years to go for SA Superman and - -even worse for me -- still longer before BA Batman.

[Nykor]

DC did reprint some of the Bronze Age Batman stories in the last (the very last) Showcase Presents, Batman, no. 6, which came out 2 1/2 years ago, though I suppose it's arguable that these aren't Bronze Age but "In-between Eras Age", since the stories first appeared while DC's sales were in the doldrums of the early '70s, before things took off again in '75.

[nightwing]

I wasn't counting the Showcase volumes, which is a dead line (Batman v. 6 was the last of them).  That line saw plenty of BA material, including the Legion of Super-Heroes, Phantom Stranger, Brave and the Bold and arguably Enemy Ace. Yes, I would definitely count volumes 5 and 6 of Showcase Presents: Batman as "Bronze Age," and it's no surprise those are the only two I own.  But even then, they followed the same pattern of starting with the Silver Age and working their way up to Bronze.  Superman never made it that far as his Showcase line died with Vol. 4 (a crying shame, BTW: I bought and loved all of them).

The good news is the omni line will soon be ready to move to the Bronze Age of the Flash (another fave) and we've already got the JLA going.  The bad news is I'll likely be in a retirement home before the Batman and Superman omnis get that far.