According to some of the most recent DC Comics listings on Amazon, it looks like there may be a new format of comic collected editions coming soon. As of now, there are three listings for collections with the “Essential Edition” quantifier added to the end of the solicitation title. These collections include Batman: The Court of Owls Saga (Essential Edition), The Flash: Starting Line (Essential Edition), and Justice League: The Darkseid War (Essential Edition). All of these are comics that have been collected before, yet no previous collection has been tagged as an “Essential Edition.”

From the product description, we know that each of these new volumes collect popular material that was previously collected in two or more volumes. However, besides this, we don’t know much about the composition of these volumes. The only official information we have is a short paragraph given at the end of the product description: “The DC Essential Edition series of graphic novels highlights the best standalone stories the medium has to offer featuring comics’ greatest characters. These trade paperback editions focus on the easiest entry points DC has in its vast library, with seminal, groundbreaking tales that transcend the printed page. Start with the Essentials.”





The aim of these “Essential Editions” seems to be to provide stories that require little background knowledge to jump into. All of the volumes listed require very little comic experience to access and also provide readers with a more thorough understanding of the characters they are about. For example, someone can easily read “The Court of Owls” without having to know anything else about Batman.

The other benefit here is price. Each of new collections provide material that previously required readers to go out and buy two separate trade paperbacks. In the case of “The Court of Owls,” readers would have to buy Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (Review) and Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls (Review). With Batman: The Court of Owls Saga (Essential Edition) readers simply have to buy a single volume that is cheaper than the previous two together. It is also likely that the price tag on these essential editions will fall further, since that is typically what happens for these early listings.

I’m personally pretty excited for these new “Essential Editions” and am hoping we see a few more good comics get collected as a result of this publishing effort. Make sure to follow ComicBookWire.com on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest to stay up to date with this information as it develops.

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