It seems like lately people want to give DC some slack. After a long term of bad decisions and strange editorial maneuvers, the dark skies are supposedly clearing up and the future is looking bright.
But not for me! No, I’m steadfast in my ways! Anger all the time, obstinance only education! There’s nothing you can say that’ll interest m-
What’s that? Oh. Hmm. Well.
As revealed at USA Today, it appears that Charles Soule will be exiting “Superman/Wonder Woman” in November (probably because he has eight new books to write), and the new team of the series will be Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke. And that sound you just heard, as faint as a whisper just behind you, was even stubborn ol’ me saying, “Oh, hey, that’s a really good team.”
Tomasi has certianly made a name for himself at DC. Whether it was his ongoing role in exploring the mythology of the Lanterns in “Green Lantern Corps” pre-/post-New 52 or his handling of “Batman and Robin” with long-time collaborator Patrick Gleason, Tomasi is a mainstay and a pretty solid writer. (Even I’ll admit that “Batman and Robin” #18 was one of the best New 52 issues to date.)
Doug Mahnke is also a DC/Lantern staple, having partnered with Geoff Johns for the large majority of his run on “Green Lantern.” Mahnke excels at huge stories, ones of colossal size, and if anything seems fit to his talents its a book starring two of DC’s heaviest hitters.
So, uh, yeah, for all intents and purposes this is a pretty darn good team. And while the interview is full of the usual platitudes you see about these characters, including a mention that the first arc will bring in Major Disaster, Atomic Skull and some other villains to throw down with Supes and Wondy, even I do sincerely hope that this is a win in DC’s column. Both are DC staples, but I’ve seen both also break the “rules” of the otherwise homogeneous beginnings of the New 52; I’d keep my fingers crossed for this.
(As a bit of a side note, David wrote his piece about the strength of the Bat-line thanks to Mark Doyle, and I would hope that while DC does seem to be throwing the bulk of its weight behind keeping Gotham, this creative change and Johns/Romita on “Superman” does seem to indicate attention to their other big properties. Here’s hoping Wonder Woman can get some decent treatment in there as well, though certain comments from the upcoming creative team of her solo book came out fairly off-balance.)
“Superman/Wonder Woman” #13 sees the new team taking over in November.
