DC’s new status-quo shaking event begins here, along with a bunch of interesting reprints and some new series. Let’s dig in.
10. Going all in on Elseworlds
With DC reviving the ‘Elseworlds’ banner last month, it’s not surprising to see a renewed interest in reprinting older titles from under that banner. This is one of a few collections of Elseworlds stories coming out this summer, but this particular collection caught my eye due to a couple of titles included, specifically the William Messner-Loebs/Phil Winslade “Wonder Woman: Amazonia” and the Chuck Dixon/J.H. Williams “Justice Riders.” Both of those books were favorites when I read them in high school but haven’t picked them up since. In general, I’m a fan of the Elseworlds banner but am a little sad that the new titles under that banner are all sequels instead of new stories. This is a hit of the classic Elseworlds to tide us over until some new stories appear.
ELSEWORLDS: JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 1 (2024 EDITION)
Written by JOHN FRANCIS MOORE, ED HANNIGAN, WILLIAM MESSNER-LOEBS, and others
Art by KIERON DWYER, J.H. WILLIAMS III, PHIL WINSLADE, and others
Cover by JOHN VAN FLEET
$34.99 US | 432 pages | 6 5/8″ x 10 3/16″ | Softcover | ISBN: 978-1-77952-955-8
ON SALE 8/20/24This Elseworlds volume features the League of Justice battling the insane sorcerer Luithorr, Diana Prince and the Justice Riders against the evil robber baron Maxwell Lord, Batman and Superman as pulp heroes, a gender reversed World’s Finest teaming up to save Lex Luthor, and other tales! Collects Elseworld’s Finest #1-2, Elseworld’s Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl, Justice Riders, League of Justice #1-2, Titans: Scissors, Paper, Stone, and Wonder Woman: Amazonia!
9. The freaking WORLD?!
I love the idea behind collecting international talent for a book like this. DC should absolutely do more of these.
But why does it have to be the Joker? Joker stories are notoriously icky and one-faceted or an arch attempt at ‘saying something.’ Just give us some cool Green Lantern or Supergirl stories or something, please.
JOKER: THE WORLD
Written by GEOFF JOHNS, DAVID RUBIN, TORSTEN STRÄTER, ENRICO BRIZZI, FELIPE CASTILHO, ALVARO FONG VARELA, STEPAN KOPRIVA, METIN AKDÜLGER, SATOSHI MIYAGAWA, INPYO JEON, MATÍAS TIMARCHI, DR. EJOB GAIUS, and TOMASZ KOŁODZIEJCZAK
Art by JASON FABOK, DAVID RUBIN, INGO RÖMLING, PAOLO BACILIERI, TAINAN ROCHA, OSCAR PINTO, MICHAL SUCHÁNEK, ETHEM ONUR BILGIÇ, KEISUKE GOTOU, JAEKWANG PARK, GERMÁN PERALTA, BERTRAND MBOZO’O ZEH, and JACEK MICHALSKI
Cover by JASON FABOK
$24.99 US | 184 pages | Hardcover | 6 5/8″ x 10 3/16″
ISBN: 978-1-77952-822-3
ON SALE 9/17/24Gotham’s Clown Prince of Crime goes global in this worldwide anthology, Joker: The World. This 184-page book will feature Joker stories by creative teams from 13 different countries, showcasing how The Joker has truly inspired chaos on a global scale. This original Joker project launches worldwide on September 17, 2024, and the complete anthology will be localized to the following international territories: Spain, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, Czech Republic, Turkey, Japan, Korea, North America, Argentina, Cameroon, and Poland.
What does The Joker do when on holiday in Spain? How has he inspired others to follow in his footsteps, creating Joker duplicates in Germany and Turkey? How does a Joker in Cameroon find inspiration? Only the top writers and artists from each country can tell these stories about the world’s best-known villain (who happens to have a movie coming out in October!).
8. Now this is retconning!
The ‘fans vote on Robin’s death’ gimmick is one of the more infamous and successful publicity stunts in comics history and, honestly, I’m shocked it took DC this long to release the material that would’ve followed the other results. You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, and it is undoubtedly a more interesting story with Jason Todd dying, so it is hard to imagine that this story is so great that it makes anyone reconsider the fate of Jason, even if it did lead to lots of edgelord Red Hood stuff.
Continued belowFROM THE DC VAULT: DEATH IN THE FAMILY: ROBIN LIVES #1
Written by J.M. DeMATTEIS
Art and cover by RICK LEONARDI
Variant cover by MIKE MIGNOLA
1:25 variant cover by MIKE MIGNOLA
$4.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 7/10/24In 1988, DC fans made a seminal choice in the history of DC publishing—voting to kill off Jason Todd’s Robin in the Death in the Family storyline. Now, for the first time, we want to find out what would have happened if fans had voted to let him live. And it begins—with the murder of The Joker!
7. Allwinter? In this economy?
The ‘Dark Knights of Steel’ books have been retroactively included under the Elseworlds banner with the new “Allwinter” spinoff one of the first of the new Elseworlds titles. On one hand, this is fine, and it certainly falls under the traditional understanding of that line, but on the other, this is both diluting the “DKOS” books by having Tom Taylor only co-writing (likely not scripting) this book, as well as giving off the impression that Elseworlds are meant to be a more legacy line than a place for new ideas.
DARK KNIGHTS OF STEEL: ALLWINTER #1
Written by JAY KRISTOFF and TOM TAYLOR
Art by TIRSO CONS and RICCARDO FEDERICI
Cover by TIRSO CONS
Variant cover by GERARDO ZAFFINO
Variant cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA
1:25 variant cover by HOMARE
1:50 variant cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA
Foil variant by HOMARE ($6.99 US)
$4.99 US | 40 pages | 1 of 6 | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 7/17/24The snow falls thick, blood runs black, and color itself is only a distant memory. The legendary assassin Deathstroke stalks a frozen wasteland, killing for coin among a nation of ever-warring jarls. But when our murderer for hire finds himself cast in the role of reluctant guardian, will he fight to end the icy curse destroying his land or be consumed by the sins of his own dark past?
The red-hot Dark Knights of Steel epic expands into bone-chilling new territories with new surprises in store!
6. Honk honk [this is Penguin-speak for ‘my book is over’]
This was a very strange book, as it had an A-list writer, working (somewhat) within continuity, but I don’t think I ever heard one person talking about it after its first issue hit. If a Tom King book comes out in a vacuum, does anyone get outraged about it or overpraise it?
That said, I’m all in favor of giving top talent books they want to do, even if the character isn’t super popular or the story isn’t particularly relevant to the current moment. Let’s get more weird tiles that fall within continuity!
THE PENGUIN #12
Written by TOM KING
Art by RAFAEL DE LATORRE
Cover by CARMINE DI GIANDOMENICO
Variant cover by FELIPE MASSAFERA
$3.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 7/24/24Oswald Cobblepot’s master plans for Gotham had him feeling like he had the whole city in the palm of his flipper. But it’s all gone so very wrong. Now, trapped in the Batmobile alongside his most hated enemy, sinking into a watery grave, the Penguin has found himself wondering if it was all for naught. But Batman’s avian adversary may have one more scheme up his feathered sleeve—if it isn’t too late. The Penguin’s epic saga ends here!
5. This machine kills fascists
Jaime Reyes is one of the most successful legacy characters of the 21sts century, with a film and multiple series under his belt, and is one of the more prominent Latinx characters in all of comics. For that reason, it is a good thing that DC is telling a difficult story about politics and immigration using Reyes as the central character.
However, if you read just the title of the comic and then asked the average comic fan to write a synopsis, it would be exactly what this sounds like. There’s a fine line to walk between making a comic that deals with important issues but making sure that it also isn’t boilerplate stuff AI could write up. I have no preconceptions about the actual quality of this book – Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo are talented folks who deserve a fair shake – but the solicit makes it sound like we know exactly what this will be before we even open it up.
Continued belowTHIS LAND IS OUR LAND: A BLUE BEETLE STORY
Written by JULIO ANTA
Drawn by JACOBY SALCEDO
$16.99 US | 208 pages | 6″ x 9″ | Softcover | ISBN: 978-1-77952-282-5
ON SALE 10/1/24Writer Julio Anta and artist Jacoby Salcedo, the dynamic team behind the young adult graphic novel Frontera, take readers on a gripping and inspiring journey filled with high stakes and heart as Jaime embraces his new calling as Blue Beetle!
Jaime Reyes is an ordinary high school student in El Paso, Texas, with a deep love for his family, culture, and home, and loves nothing more than his neighborhood’s spontaneous gatherings that go late into the night. But lately, he’s begun to realize that he and his border community are being used as pawns in an increasingly toxic immigration debate. The last few months have seen armed troops deployed along the U.S. and Mexico border, manufactured crackdowns at official border crossings, and a mounting resentment among a group of disaffected and reactionary youth.
Jaime’s problems get even more complicated when he finds an odd bug-like artifact while stargazing. He starts feeling a little different—like there’s another voice in his head pushing him toward his most base instincts. And to make matters worse, he’s been having surreal dreams that show him that the true threat El Paso faces isn’t “illegal aliens” but actual aliens known as the Reach. In fact, according to his dreams, Jaime is meant to pave the way for the Reach’s impending invasion!
4. This is why we can’t have nice houses
Since the fall of Vertigo and the sort of non-entity that Black Label has been since it began, there are only a handful of DC-published books that aren’t either superheroic or a continuation of an older property. When “The Nice House on the Lake” debuted from James Tynion and Álvaro Martínez Bueno, it was a reminder of the great creator-owned work that used to be a staple of DC’s fringe publications. With its sequel, let’s hope that DC is continuing to seek out work from creators that doesn’t so neatly fall into a pre-existing IP or cateogy.
THE NICE HOUSE BY THE SEA #1
Written by JAMES TYNION IV
Art and cover by ÁLVARO MARTÍNEZ BUENO
Variant covers by NICK ROBLES and HAYDEN SHERMAN
1:25 variant cover by DANI
$4.99 US | 48 pages | Variant $5.99 US | 1 of 12
ON SALE 7/24/24No one who was invited to the House knew Max—but she knew each and every one of them. Masters of their fields, titans of industry and knowledge, they all represented the best and brightest of humanity. So when Max whispered to each of them the truth of what they deserved—to be saved from disaster, to carry on the flame of civilization in a paradise built just for them—they all leaped at the chance. Why not? Why shouldn’t they be the ones to live forever? Isn’t it their destiny to survive the culling of the lesser herd? Wouldn’t being named the future of humanity be…nice?
With the Eisner Award-winning The Nice House on the Lake, honored as Best New Series by the prestigious Angoulême International Comics Festival, James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno shocked the comics industry and unleashed a classic of contemporary horror…and no matter what you might think is coming, you aren’t ready for their second act!
3. They have a fight, triangle wins
For folks who love superhero comics for expanse and bombast, there were few times as robust as the ‘Triangle Era’ of Superman comics. Four monthly series, all interconnected but telling their own stories and festooned with an easy to understand reading order inside a – you guessed it – triangle, this era was a testament to telling big stories with comics’ biggest character. It doesn’t hurt that this was the era in which I started really reading Superman comics, and so there’s a lot of nostalgia baked into the Triangle era. I’m very excited to revisit these stories.
SUPERMAN: THE TRIANGLE ERA OMNIBUS VOL. 1
Written by DAN JURGENS, LOUISE SIMONSON, ROGER STERN, and JERRY ORDWAY
Art by DAN JURGENS, JERRY ORDWAY, JON BOGDANOVE, BOB McLEOD, and others
Cover by JERRY ORDWAY
$125.00 US | 1376 pages | 7 1/16″ x 10 7/8″ | Hardcover | ISBN: 978-1-77952-816-2
ON SALE 9/3/24The Man of Steel soared to new storytelling heights during the fabled Triangle Era, where each Superman title contained a new numbering sequence that allowed readers to follow the action across four weekly issues. Under the direction of group editor Mike Carlin, the creative dream team of Dan Jurgens, Louise Simonson, Roger Stern, and Jerry Ordway crafted some of Superman’s most earth-shattering storylines that would go on to define the Superman mythos for decades to come.
This inaugural Triangle Era volume collects the story arcs “Time and Again,” “Red Glass,” “Blackout,” and more, and features a brand-new introduction by Mike Carlin. Collects Superman #49-63, Starman #28, Adventures of Superman #472-486, Action Comics #659-673, and Superman: The Man of Steel #1-8.
2. It’s Gail’s world, we’re just living in it
Gail Simone is having quite the 2024 so far: later this year, she will become the first woman to be the regular writer of “Uncanny X-Men,” and now she is also coming aboard “Action Comics” for an arc. Simone is one of the best writers in comics, period, and her stories are always impeccably plotted and cleverly executed. It is fascinating that her Action story, part of the “Superman Superstars” line, is one set in Superman’s past, but I’ve got no truck with Simone wanting to do a classic Superman story.
Continued belowThis issue also features a backup by Rainbow Rowell and Cian Tormey, focusing on the Daily Planet. Be still, my heart.
ACTION COMICS #1067
Written by GAIL SIMONE and RAINBOW ROWELL
Art by EDDY BARROWS and CIAN TORMEY
Cover by EDDY BARROWS and DANNY MIKI
Variant covers by WES CRAIG and PABLO VILLALOBOS
1:25 variant cover by BEN OLIVER
Foil variant cover by EDDY BARROWS ($7.99 US)
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 7/10/24SUPERMAN AND THE CHALLENGE FROM THE STARS
SUPERMAN FIGHTS FOR TWO WORLDS! When a massively powerful alien race makes EARTH their ARENA, Superman must stand ALONE against impossible challenges that threaten locations all around the world AND the lives of those he loves! A not-to-be-missed EPIC tale of Superman’s STRENGTH, WIT, and RESOURCEFULNESS in an early stage of his public career!
Plus, New York Times bestselling author RAINBOW ROWELL makes her DC debut and takes on the most powerful woman in Superman’s life…LOIS LANE!
1. Abso-lutely
I have so many conflicting thoughts about new events at DC. It has been some time since they felt like anything, and so there’s this natural inclination to be disinterested. They all tend to include Amanda Waller, which also bums me out, and they tend to go on too long and have too many tie-ins.
But also…events are fun. Events remind me of doing extra chores around the house to save enough money to get all the “Zero Hour” tie-ins. Events are the dumb foundation that smart comics are built upon.
And “Absolute Power” has two things going for it: Dan Mora and Mark Waid.
Two great creators, taking a story that’s been slowly building for a year now, and (hopefully) doing something interesting with it. Let’s do it.
ABSOLUTE POWER #1
Written by MARK WAID
Art and cover by DAN MORA
Variant covers by JIM LEE, STEPHEN BLISS, PUPPETEER LEE, CHRIS SAMNEE, CHRISSIE ZULLO, and more
Raised UV variant cover by WES CRAIG ($7.99 US)
Connecting variant cover by JOHN TIMMS
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 7/3/24THE TRINITY OF EVIL HAS WON.
DC’s epic summer event kicks off with a bang, as the combined might of FAILSAFE and the BRAINIAC QUEEN has at last given Amanda Waller the ability to steal the metahuman abilities of every hero and villain on planet Earth. As chaos erupts in the streets and a massive misinformation campaign sways public opinion to her side, the founder of the Suicide Squad methodically targets each superhero dynasty one at a time, starting with SUPERMAN. But even in this darkest of hours, a resistance is forming…and BATMAN is out for vengeance. It’s a shocking blitzkrieg across the globe that is decades in the making—and will shape the course of the DC Universe for years to come! Brought to you by the superstar talents of MARK WAID and DAN MORA—it all starts here!
Find the full solicits by using a search engine, dummy.
