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Soliciting Multiversity: DC’s Top 10 for April 2021

By | January 25th, 2021
Posted in Columns | % Comments

One way that DC in 2021 is clearly differentiating itself from past years is the relatively low number of series being published. For all those who thought that month two of ‘Infinite Horizon’ would have a ton of new ongoings announced, we were proven wrong by just a couple of new ongoings and a couple of minis. That said, there’s still plenty to dig into here. Let’s get to it.

10. Not a clean break

When almost all of the books DC was publishing got cancelled or a new creative team post-“Death Metal,” it appeared that many of those stories would be memory holed until relevant or helpful down the road somewhere. One of those books appeared to be Cecil Castellucci’s “Batgirl,” but looking at the solicit for “Batman: Urban Legends” #2, it appears that Castellucci is getting to follow up on some of the threads of her series here.

This is, fundamentally, a good thing, whether or not you were a fan of Castellucci’s series. All too often, we see creators exiled off of a title, and then never again get to play with those characters again, or not for quite some time. By allowing creators to tell small Gotham stories in this anthology, you can find a great balance between revisiting older tales, getting new creators into the fold, and taking some chances. It is yet another reason why anthologies are fundamentally good for comics.

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #2
written by CHIP ZDARSKY, MATTHEW ROSENBERG, BRANDON THOMAS, and CECIL CASTELLUCCI
art by EDDY BARROWS, RYAN BENJAMIN, MAX DUNBAR, and MARGUERITE SAUVAGE
cover by HICHAM HABCHI
variant cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA
variant cover by DERRICK CHEW

PRESTIGE FORMAT | ON SALE 4/13/21
$7.99 US | 64 PAGES | FC | DC
The new Batman anthology series continues! In part two of Chip Zdarsky and Eddy Barrows’s epic Batman/Red Hood story, Jason Todd has taken a man’s life, and now his mission is to keep the dead man’s young son safe. But Batman plans to take down Jason before he can make another mistake.
Then, in chapter two of Matthew Rosenberg and Ryan Benjamin’s senses-shattering tale, Cole Cash earns his pay as personal bodyguard to billionaire Lucius Fox, but what led him to Gotham in the first place? How does the mysterious HALO Corporation play into it all? And which Bat-Family character does he have an unfortunate meeting with in this chapter?
And in part two of Brandon Thomas and Max Dunbar’s epic Outsiders story, see Katana’s perspective on what brought the Outsiders to Japan, who wants her dead, and what her ultimate punishment will be for no longer having her husband’s spirit in the Soultaker sword.
Plus, Barbara Gordon has identified a citywide system hack from a foe she faced before as Batgirl…but this time around, Babs may have found a way to defeat her for good as Oracle!

9. Ruh-roh

One of the themes of this month’s solicits, and DC’s current plans in general is this idea of bulking up the non-monthly superhero, Wednesday warrior comics. More miniseries, more OGNs, more all-ages stuff. “The Batman and Scooby Doo Mysteries” is a fun idea that creates a bridge between the traditional DC offerings and the all-ages licensed books that DC has been doing. Much like the lamented “Scooby Doo Team-Up,” this sees the Hanna-Barbera characters paired with DC’s most popular cape character for a series that, hopefully, will bring some folks from each group over to the other.

THE BATMAN & SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES #1
written by IVAN COHEN
art and cover by DARIO BRIZUELA

ON SALE 4/13/21
$2.99 US | 32 PAGES | FC | DC
It’s an all-new, all-ages series that teams the Dark Knight with Scooby-Doo and the sleuths of Mystery Inc.! When Batman discovers his original purple gloves have gone missing, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo travel back in time to Batman’s Year One era to solve the case! Will this “Glove Story” have a happy ending?

8. The end?

It was a shock when Jeff Lemire returned to the world of “Sweet Tooth” for a new miniseries, and as that series comes to a close, the question must be asked: will Lemire return again? The solicit makes it seem like, while this is tying up “this chapter,” it leaves the door open for a return for later stories. On one hand, I want Lemire to do whatever he wants; on the other, there is something nice about letting stories lay without too many addenda, especially when the main series wrapped up so nicely. Only time will tell if this is truly the end (again) for “Sweet Tooth.”

Continued below

SWEET TOOTH: THE RETURN #6
written by JEFF LEMIRE
art and cover by JEFF LEMIRE

ON SALE 4/13/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 6 OF 6 | FC
DC BLACK LABEL | AGES 17+
Once upon a time a young boy with antlers lived in a little house under the earth. He had a father and two nannies. They raised him to be good and to obey their every command. They said they loved the boy, and maybe some of them did, but Father? Well, he only loved himself. Father says the boy is a weapon against those who stand in opposition to humanity, while the rebellious Undersider dissidents believe the child to be the second coming of a mythological savior from the past. Haunted by dreamlike memories of a life he never lived and hunted by the man who created him, the boy must choose what and who he will be, and bring this chapter of his life to a close.

7. Bringing some juice to the digital first realm

While DC has been announcing more – and more interesting – digital first series as of late, “The Next Batman: Second Son” seems like the only one as of late that may have some impact on the main line of comics, or at least the one with the most prestige behind it. In what is likely scripts left over from when ‘5G’ was going to be more than ‘Future State’ wound up being, these four issues feature art by Tony Akins, Travel Foreman, and Mark Morales, and tell more tales of Tim Fox’s Batman.

Yes, it is a little silly to read the description I just wrote as ‘important,’ made up of old scripts for an Elseworlds-like tale. But Tim Fox as Batman seems like one of the four or five ideas from ‘Future State’ that will stick around in some form or another, and anytime you have John Ridley writing for you, there’s some prestige involved.

THE NEXT BATMAN: SECOND SON #1
written by JOHN RIDLEY
art by TONY AKINS, TRAVEL FOREMAN, and MARK MORALES
cover by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
card stock variant cover by KEN LASHLEY

ON SALE 4/6/21
$4.99 US | 40 PAGES | 1 OF 4 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $4.99 US
DIGITAL FIRST
A new miniseries by Academy Award-winning writer John Ridley and artists Tony Akins and Travel Foreman begins!
Readers now know that after the events of Future State, Tim Fox is the next Batman…but what’s his origin story? Why has he been estranged from Lucius Fox and his family for so long? Connected to the dramatic events of March’s Infinite Frontier #1, these questions and many more will be explored in this thrilling new digital first miniseries!

6. Inter-company madness

Continuing the idea of attracting people outside of the weekly superhero fans, DC is continuing its partnership with Rooster Teeth to do a crossover between manga/anime hit “Rwby” and the good ol’ Justice League. Written by criminally underrated/underused Marguerite Bennett and illustrated by Aneke, the series looks to be much more of a “Rwby” book than anything else, and that’s exactly the way it should be. This is a chance to get manga readers to check out a Justice League book – why would you not lean into their preference?

RWBY/JUSTICE LEAGUE #1
written by MARGUERITE BENNETT
art by ANEKE
cover by MIRKA ANDOLFO
card stock variant cover by TBD

ON SALE 4/27/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 1 OF 7 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $4.99 US
The DC Universe and the world of RWBY collide in this new miniseries! Discover the Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, and Diana Prince of Remnant as Team RWBY comes face to face with new versions of DC’s paragons of justice. A new Grimm is running rampant around the island of Patch, and Ruby and Yang must team up with a young farm boy to stop it! Meanwhile, Blake meets a mysterious woman who’s appeared on Menagerie, but what is her purpose? And why does she act like she hasn’t been around modern society?

Continued below

5. More ‘Future State’ bleed

While “Future State: The Flash” was, perhaps, the worst #1 in the entire batch, the ‘Infinite Horizon’ era looks bright for the book, with Wally West taking a more prominent role. We are also seeing one of the ‘new’ characters from ‘Future State,’ Gold Beetle, show up, which allows this to act as both sequel and prequel to the character’s appearances in January and February.

Plus, bringing in Impulse is a move that “The Flash” title has not done enough of in the last few years.

THE FLASH #769
written by JEREMY ADAMS
art by DAVID LaFUENTE
and BRANDON PETERSON
cover by BRANDON PETERSON
card stock variant cover by ZI XU

ON SALE 4/20/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | FC | DC
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $4.99 US
After an accident pushes Wally West into the time stream, the former Kid Flash lands in the body of his onetime partner, Impulse. Now sprinting through the 30th century side by side with the mysterious (and, yeah, ridiculous) Gold Beetle, Wally must uncover what’s causing the destructive explosions that keep propelling him through time and the bodies of other speedsters.

4. “Batman: Europa” Vol 2?

Tom Taylor has been building us way up the DC ranks as of late, and doing a Batman book is always a surefire sign of DC’s stamp of approval. However, with the Bat-books in good hands right now, Taylor is getting a miniseries to play around in. A travelogue series with Andy Kubert on art, this isn’t going to be a big-deal Bat story, but it is a good thing for Taylor to be doing right now. Hopefully, this paves the path for a Batman ongoing down the road. Until then, I’m more than happy with Taylor on “Nightwing.”

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #1
written by TOM TAYLOR
art and cover by ANDY KUBERT
card stock variant cover by ANDY KUBERT
1:25 card stock variant cover by RICCARDO FEDERICI
blank card stock variant cover

ON SALE 4/13/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 1 OF 6 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVERS $4.99 US
An epic tale begins that will take Batman on a harrowing, action-packed European adventure in a new miniseries by superstar creators Tom Taylor and Andy Kubert!
A horrific tragedy in the United Kingdom sends a very personal and deadly message to the Dark Knight—one that will draw Batman out of Gotham City to investigate! From the moment he lands in Europe, Batman will face a difficult investigation and unheard-of adversaries and find the assistance of a partner once more—all in the hunt for the villain known as Equilibrium!
New villains! New allies! A thrilling overseas adventure begins for the Dark Knight, starting with an extra-sized 26-page debut story!

3. Some real weirdness and some spoilers

OK, so this solicit spoils something really strange and intriguing for the end of ‘Future State,’ so if you’re trying to avoid spoilers, skip down to #2 on the list. But if you’re in, here we go:

OK, so “Action Comics” is continuing the “Future State: Superman Worlds of War” feature of having Midnighter backups. This is already an odd choice, as the character is so clearly a spin on Batman, but it’s cool, so I’m not complaining. But check out this line from the solicit:

Meanwhile, in the Midnighter backup story, the bad boy of the Authority has to figure out what Andrej Trojan is up to in the present if he ever wants to get back to Future State and swap places with the Midnighter of 2021, whom he left stranded on Warworld.

OK, so does this mean ‘the Midnighter of 2021’ is our Midnighter, and the ‘Future State’ Midnighter is from an alternate reality? Or is this a time travel situation, where the FS Midnighter is the potential future Midnighter? I’m leaning towards the latter, but we know so little about the mechanics of ‘Future State,’ beyond a panel and some vague explanations in the “Death Metal” finale, it could honestly be either.

Continued below

To me, this is DC’s way of opening the door for not just more stories set during ‘Future State,’ but also a way of bringing characters from that era into the current DC product.

ACTION COMICS #1030
written by PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON
art by DANIEL SAMPERE
backup story written by
BECKY CLOONAN and MICHAEL W. CONRAD
backup story art by MICHAEL AVON OEMING
cover by MIKEL JANÍN
card stock variant cover by JULIAN TOTINO TEDESCO

ON SALE 4/27/21
$4.99 US | 40 PAGES | FC | DC
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $5.99 US
“Warworld Rising” starts here! A new chapter in Superman’s life begins as the challenges of Dark Nights: Death Metal are causing Clark Kent to feel…a change in his powers. Is it possible the Metropolis Marvel could be losing a step? His struggles in taking down the creatures from the Breach would suggest as much! If he’s going to continue to protect the people of Earth, he’ll have to adapt—especially with threats like Mongul out there waiting to launch their biggest attacks on the Earth yet. That’s right, those are Warworld battleships just outside our orbit, and they are heading straight for us!
Meanwhile, in the Midnighter backup story, the bad boy of the Authority has to figure out what Andrej Trojan is up to in the present if he ever wants to get back to Future State and swap places with the Midnighter of 2021, whom he left stranded on Warworld.

2. Damian, on his own

Joshua Williamson and Gleb Melnikov doing a Damian Wayne Robin series that sees him venture out on his own is a great idea for a few reasons, not the least of which is that Melnikov is an absolute beast of an artist who is going to make this a can’t miss visual book. Beyond that, Williamson bringing in Rose Wilson (a character he will briefly touch on in ‘Future State’) and getting Damian out of Gotham both have lots of interesting implications. Damian has been in something of a holding pattern since, I suppose, his ‘resurrection’ towards the end of the New 52, or at least since the “Super Sons” ongoing wrapped up. Let’s get him some new stuff to do.

ROBIN #1
written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
art and cover by GLEB MELNIKOV
wraparound variant cover by GLEB MELNIKOV
team card stock variant cover by ANDY KUBERT (minimum order 250 copies)
1:25 variant cover by RICCARDO FEDERICI

ON SALE 4/27/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | FC | DC
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVERS $4.99 US
After learning of the deadly League of Lazarus tournament, Damian Wayne has a new mission: winning the tournament and prove he is the greatest fighter in the DC Universe! But first he must find the secret island where it’s all going down! This brand-new solo Robin series will force Damian Wayne to find his own path away from both sides of his family! New mysteries! New supporting cast! First appearances of new characters! And lots of fights!

1. The future looks bright green

I don’t want to ignore a very important piece of discourse around this issue: the firs “Future State: Green Lantern” issue written by Geoffrey Thorne was among the worst comics I’ve read in January. It was boring and undercooked, and left me totally unexcited for him to take over “Green Lantern” in April. However, this cast/concept, sans Hal Jordan, is too exciting to sleep on. Thorne was working with a dumb status quo and a less exciting artist than Dexter Soy (sorry, Tom Raney!), so I’m more than willing to give him a second chance to impress me. But seeing Teen Lantern, Jo Mullein, and John Stewart together is a very cool and unexpected turn for this book.

That said, where’s Jessica Cruz? I’m fine siloing Hal for a few years, but Jessica has been such a misused character, and with her really excellent backup in “Future State: Green Lantern,” I don’t want to see her gone for long.

GREEN LANTERN #1
written by GEOFFREY THORNE
art by DEXTER SOY
cover by BERNARD CHANG
card stock variant cover by BRYAN HITCH
1:25 card stock variant cover by ALEX MALEEV

ON SALE 4/6/21
$4.99 US | 40 PAGES | FC | DC
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVERS $5.99 US
As this new Green Lantern series begins, the newly formed United Planets and the Guardians of the Universe hold an intergalactic summit to decide who can best serve and protect the cosmos from danger. With the majority of Green Lanterns called back to Oa, John Stewart arrives alongside Teen Lantern Keli Quintela, whose powerful gauntlet could be one of the most powerful and unstable weapons in the universe. With the entire landscape of the universe in flux, is this the end of the Green Lantern Corps…or a new beginning?

For the full solicitations, check out Newsarama.


//TAGS | Soliciting Multiversity

Brian Salvatore

Brian Salvatore is an editor, podcaster, reviewer, writer at large, and general task master at Multiversity. When not writing, he can be found playing music, hanging out with his kids, or playing music with his kids. He also has a dog named Lola, a rowboat, and once met Jimmy Carter. Feel free to email him about good beer, the New York Mets, or the best way to make Chicken Parmagiana (add a thin slice of prosciutto under the cheese).

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