Complete Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War, paperback deluxe JLA in new DC 2011 solicitations

When DC Comics announced an Absolute Identity Crisis collection last week, I couldn't help but ask, where's our Absolute Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War?

Well, we're not quite there yet, but I'm thrilled -- as DC's new collection solicitations start rolling out -- to see a single $30 paperback volume collecting the entire Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War saga.

That this book is paperback is a little offputting -- I, for one, am not about to ditch my hardcovers for a paperback -- but it's probably necessary for both size and cost reasons, and to market as an easy buy for Green Lantern movie fans. What pleases me about this is that it shows DC is getting the fans' message that we don't like these multi-volume, flip-around-to-read collections; here's everything all at once, hopefully with the Tales of the Sinestro Corps War interspersed.

And not that it's a big surprise, but the Green Lantern train has most definitely left the station: DC already has a late 2011 release date for collecting the Green Lantern: The Movie prequels.

Trend to watch: The paperback editions of the Gotham Central omnibus volumes seems not to have been a fluke; October sees a paperback of the first deluxe JLA volume, with the other three certainly to follow. Makes one wonder if the Starman omnibuses are coming in paperback, too.

Speaking of hardcovers, early reports show Superman/Batman: Sorcerer Kings in hardcover -- returning that series to hardcover after a paperback deviation for Superman/Batman: Big Noise. I'm going to be annoyed if it turns out some of this series is going back and forth between paperback and hardcover without the equal volumes of each; not so great for the shelves.

Quick shots: The Spy vs. Spy Omnibus seems long overdue; has Warner Brothers ever released a Spy vs. Spy collection before? Also, I'd be pleased if Showcase Presents All Star Comics collects the 1970s series that leads into the new Infinity Inc. collections.

It also looks like JSA All-Stars gets another collection despite the series's cancellation with The Puzzle Men; this gives we Doom Patrol and REBELS fans that we'll see final collections of those as well. Series-wise, there's also Titans: Family Reunion and Zatanna: Shades of the Past in the offing.

Still, the most exciting thing for me remains the complete Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War collection. It's no Legion Lost or Showcase Presents Trial of the Flash, but the season is still early ... stay tuned!