DC Trade Solicitations for August 2012 - Dark Knight: Alan Davis, Green Arrow, Knightsend and more

Middle of the month, and another round of DC Comics solicitations -- August 2012 -- weighted heavily toward the DC New 52 books. If I'm calculating it right, it should be this coming August itself when we begin to see trade solicitations for December -- the second round of DC New 52 collections, but also maybe some new collections of older material; that's my wish, at least.

* Superman: Earth One Vol. 2

(UPDATE: Can't believe I forgot this one first time around!) I am quite excited for the second volume of Superman: Earth One. At this point the concept of an accessible, younger Superman has been superseded by the DC New 52; the Earth One volumes are emerging too slowly to be a viable reading alternative for trade-waiters; writer J. Michael Straczynski is even more controversial (if possible) with his statements on Before Watchmen; the "Earth One" concept is even more confusing (if possible) with the advent of James Robinson's Earth 2 series; and remarkably the Earth One Superman costume actually begins to look a little "old" in comparison to the DC New 52 costume -- and still, Superman: Earth One Volume 1 was such a plucky little volume, such a widescreen cinematic Superman story, and such a media sensation that I'm counting the days to the sequel. Bring it on.

* Legends of The Dark Knight: Alan Davis HC

I salute DC for releasing these artist-focused collections -- we can't forget comics are a collaborative process -- but the contents stymie me. The first part of Batman: Year Two and the sequel Full Circle, but not Year Two chapters two, three, and four? Personally, I'd rather read selections from various comics eras, with full stories but emphasis on the artists, or have the collections dedicated to one artist but fill out full stories anyway, than have the reading experience be so incomplete. Does anyone know if these collections include the scripts for comparison purposes, by chance?

* Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 1 -- Knight Terrors HC
* Birds of Prey Vol. 1: Trouble In Mind TP
* Fury Of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men Vol. 1 -- The God Particle TP
* Green Lantern: New Guardians Vol. 1 -- The Ring Bearer HC
* Legion Lost Vol. 1: Run From Tomorrow TP
* Teen Titans Vol. 1: It's Our Right To Fight TP
* Voodoo Vol. 1: What Lies Beneath TP

This is a month of DC New 52 collections I'm rather not sure of. Can David Finch and company provide readable Batman that stands toe-to-toe with Scott Snyder's? How will Duane Swierczynski's Birds of Prey stand up to the legendary runs of Gail Simone and Chuck Dixon? Will Firestorm be engaging enough to follow when it's just Ethan Van Sciver's on his own? I haven't liked Tony Bedard's Green Lantern Corps and Fabian Nicieza's work is sometimes hit or miss for me -- what does that portend for New Guardians and Legion Lost? Is Voodoo more than just a "bad girl" book? Can Scott Lobdell provide a respectable Teen Titans? These are a bunch of books I'm on the fence about, and that's exciting and intimidating all at the same time.

* Batman: Knightfall Vol. 3 -- Knightsend TP New Edition

No improvement here from the contents as originally solicited by DC, in terms of including aspects of the "Knightfall: The Search" storyline that appears to be omitted from these collections. I guess we'll just see when the books come out -- but again, if they exclude the actual chapters where Bruce Wayne's broken back is healed, that seems a big omission from the "full" Knightfall collections.

* Stormwatch Vol. 2 HC

Also showing no improvement from the original DC solicitations is this second "classic" Stormwatch volume, which still does not include the WildCATS/Aliens special that ended Stormwatch and lead into Authority. I don't know if perhaps Stormwatch #11 ends on a high note and DC wanted this collection to feel "complete" and not beholden on Authority, but I'd still like WildCATS/Aliens in here (and no counting on it appearing in the WildCATS collection now that that's cancelled.

* Showcase Presents: Amethyst, Princess Of Gemworld Vol. 1 TP

I won't be picking this up right away, but the fact that Amethyst's ties to the origin of Legion of Super-Heroes villain Mordru are back in continuity (I think) puts this on my list to check out one of these days.

* Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters TP New Edition
* Green Arrow: The Archer's Quest TP New Edition

Not surprised to see these two jump back on to the solicitations list not long after the new CW series Arrow got the green light. Longbow is definitive Green Arrow (read my review) and Archer's Quest is plenty good, too, though neither offers the kind of "young Green Arrow" that CW fans might expect; most likely Andy Diggle's Green Arrow: Year One is still in print.

What's on your buying list for August? Are you buying more trades lately, less, or about the same?