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Soliciting Multiversity: DC’s Top Ten for November 2018

By | August 28th, 2018
Posted in Columns | % Comments

It is becoming cliche for me to say how big a certain month is in this column, but great googly moogly. Any of the top 5 books here would’ve topped this column at various points in the past few years. Hell, #2 is arguably the biggest book DC will release in the fourth quarter, for a variety of reasons. This month is so, so good. Let’s dig in.

10. Suicide Squad Most Wanted Secret Files Black Files

Before we get to the good stuff…we get more Suicide Squad.

DC has tried, through a variety of titles, to get a second Suicide Squad book up and running, either as a mini or an ongoing. And while I understand the reasoning behind that, I really wish they would do so not by having the same characters pop up in both titles. I don’t need more El Diablo or Enchantress! Give me a new team, like the flawed but on the right path “Suicide Squad Annual” #1 from last week did. More of the same is just overkill with these already somewhat limited characters.

SUICIDE SQUAD BLACK FILES #1
written by MIKE W. BARR and JAI NITZ
art by PHILIPPE BRIONES and SCOT EATON
cover by FRAZER IRVING

Two members of Task Force X are back in these all-new adventures! First up: “REVENGE OF KOBRA” by writer Mike W. Barr and artist Philippe Briones. To oppose the terrorist Kobra is to earn his un-dying hatred, and that’s what the samurai Katana did when she killed his beloved Eve. Now Kobra stalks Katana beyond the bounds of the Earth itself, to a supernatural world where he will steal from her everything that she has—including her very soul!
And in “SUICIDE SQUAD BLACK,” by writer Jai Nitz and artist Scot Eaton, Sebastian Faust, the U.S. government’s top arcane operative, has gone rogue! To track down America’s most dangerous magician, Amanda Waller assembles a special-ops team unlike any other: an expendable coven of dark-arts experts including El Diablo, Enchantress and Gentleman Ghost. They are Suicide Squad Black, and they will take you to places where even the dead can die!
RESOLICIT
ON SALE 11.07.18
$4.99 US | 1 of 6 | 48 PAGES
FC | RATED T+
This issue is resolicited. All previous orders are cancelled.

9. A new “Essential”

I’m always surprised which comics sort of get the ‘classic’ seal of approval. While I thoroughly enjoyed Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino’s run on “Green Arrow,” it didn’t seem to get the contemporary praise that often times iconic stories get. People dug it, but it didn’t seem to be moving the needle as much as say, Tom King’s “Batman” run currently is (shudders).

That said, I’m really glad to see this run get the spotlight. Despite appearing on Smallville and having Arrow on the air for six plus seasons now, Green Arrow doesn’t get many spotlight titles. In fact, since the ‘Longbow Hunters’ in 1987, I can think of two runs that really get singled out: Lemire’s, and Kevin Smith’s. And this is, by far, the more successful comic.

GREEN ARROW: WAR OF THE CLANS (DC ESSENTIAL EDITION) TP
written by JEFF LEMIRE
art by ANDREA SORRENTINO, DENYS COWAN and BILL SIENKIEWICZ
art and cover by ANDREA SORRENTINO

Oliver Queen thought he had it all figured out. As the heroic archer Green Arrow, he’d finally found a sense of purpose, friends to aid him, even a place on the Justice League of America. But now he’s not even sure where he came from…or whom he came from.
As Green Arrow discovers that his stranding on a desert island was more than just an accident, there seem to be more sinister forces at work behind all these sudden revelations. The Queen family is embroiled in a war generations old. A war of clans. A war of outsiders. Collects Green Arrow #17-34, #23.1, Green Arrow: Futures End #1 and a story from SECRET ORIGINS #4.
ON SALE 12.26.18
$29.99 US | 480 PAGES
FC | ISBN: 978-1-4012-8562-3

8. “Let us return to old times, and that will be progress.”

Continued below

So, after many delays, an artist change, the shuttering of the line around it, “Doom Patrol” is finally wrapping up its first year on Halloween (which DC is counting as November solicitation, for some reason). We know that there will be more “Doom Patrol” in the not-too-distant future, and this sounds like a really fun one-shot of a story, but it also feels weirdly out of place.

Then again, it’s a D&D style adventure in a Gerard Way “Doom Patrol” book – who cares if it feels disjointed? This will likely be one of the more fun releases of the month.

DOOM PATROL #12
written by GERARD WAY
art by DAN McDAID
cover by NICK DERINGTON
variant cover by DAN McDAID

A quest for adventurers level 16-20! Far beyond the mortal realms, the Reynolds family must overcome their familial challenges in order to claim Lucius’ rightful place as the ruler of the Daemonscape, a place of horror, conflict and sorcery. It is filled with traps, beasts, difficult challenges, the Five Daemon-Lords of the Crystal Hells and Agantha, a demon trapped in the body of a dead squirrel.
RESOLICIT | ON SALE 10.31.18
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | MATURE READERS
This issue will ship with two covers.
Please see the order form for details.
This issue is resolicited. All previous orders are cancelled.

7. Christmas at Ground Zero

I’m on record as being pro-silly one-shots, and this is a weird, fun concept for an anthology title. It is also shockingly dark, and a little weird for DC to call 2018 a post-apocalyptic wasteland in solicit text, isn’t it? But hey, Steve Orlando, Mark Russell, and Mairghread Scot writing these stories is enough to get me in the door.

DC NUCLEAR WINTER SPECIAL #1
written by PAUL DINI, STEVE ORLANDO, PHIL HESTER, MARK RUSSELL, MAIRGHREAD SCOTT and others
art by CULLY HAMNER, PHIL HESTER, GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI, YASMINE PUTRI and others
cover by YANICK PAQUETTE

The holidays are tough enough as it is, but when you’re living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland (or, you know, 2018) the world can seem bleaker than ever. So do yourself a favor this holiday season, break out your best eggnog and enjoy 10 all-new stories featuring the World’s Greatest Heroes, including looks at the futures of Batman, Superman and the Flash, as well as many more denizens of the DC Universe.
PRESTIGE FORMAT
ON SALE 11.28.18
$9.99 US | 80 PAGES
FC | RATED T

6. Patriotic Symbiote

We were lucky enough to get an advance review copy of this comic and, let me tell you, Bryan Hill continues to distinguish himself among the most recent crop of new(ish) DC writers. This book feels perfectly calibrated to 2018, and features some truly expressive artwork from Leandro Fernandez. The book is the most recent of the newly relaunched Vertigo, and continues to diversify that line into something that both is indicative of the past and something that feels new.

AMERICAN CARNAGE #1
written by BRYAN HILL
art by LEANDRO FERNANDEZ
cover by BEN OLIVER
variant cover by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE

A new, thrilling crime saga from the writer of WILDSTORM: MICHAEL CRAY and the artist of The Old Guard! Disgraced FBI agent Richard Wright is offered a chance for redemption when his old mentor sends him undercover to infiltrate a white supremacist group believed to be responsible for the death of a fellow agent.
ON SALE 11.21.18
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | MATURE READERS
This issue will ship with two covers.
Please see the order form for details.

5. It’s almost like there’s a movie coming out.

There’s been a lot of talk of Aquaman-centric “Justice League” arcs in the past. ‘Rise of the Seven Seas’ was a discussed arc from Geoff Johns that never materialized and, in an effort to ‘legitimize’ Aquaman, there’s always been the impulse to let the Justice League do the heavy lifting there.

Well, things have somewhat changed in the past couple of years. With a critically acclaimed run by Dan Abnett coming to an end, as well as a film opening just a few weeks after this crossover begins, the relationship between the King of Atlantis and his team is less lopsided. While I could really do without these confusingly named booked issues, I’m looking forward to what Tynion, Snyder, and Abnett do with this crossover.

Continued below

JUSTICE LEAGUE/AQUAMAN: DROWNED EARTH #1
written by JAMES TYNION IV
art and cover by HOWARD PORTER
variant cover by FRANK CHO

“Drowned Earth” part one! The Ocean Lords—ancient sea gods with a grudge against Aquaman and Wonder Woman—invade the Earth with an alien army and flood the globe. As Batman, Superman and the Flash race to stop the waters from rising and turning everyone into aquatic monsters, Mera seeks the advice of an old enemy, and Arthur must face down Black Manta…or lose his connection to the ocean forever!
RETROSOLICITED | ONE-SHOT
ON SALE 10.31.18
$4.99 US | 48 PAGES
FC | RATED T+
This issue will ship with two covers.
Please see the order form for details.

4. Finally!

G. Willow Wilson on “Wonder Woman” is one of those ideas that seemed too good to be true. Wilson is one of the true breakout writers of the past 5 years, and putting her on a DC trinity book is yet another feather in her cap. But with “Ms. Marvel,” Wilson has already been writing a character/book that fits right into Wonder Woman’s worldview of acceptance and fighting for the good of all. I think there will be very few growing pains for Wilson coming onto this book, and I can’t wait to see what she does with it.

WONDER WOMAN #58
written by G. WILLOW WILSON
art by CARY NORD
cover by TERRY DODSON and RACHEL DODSON
variant cover by JENNY FRISON

blank variant cover available
“THE JUST WAR” part one! A new era of Wonder Woman begins as best-selling writer G. Willow Wilson (Ms. Marvel) makes her return to DC with art star Cary Nord (Conan, THE UNEXPECTED) joining the series!
Far below Themyscira, Ares, the God of War, has been imprisoned for generations, repenting his past sins. But his new cellmate Grail may have an unexpected effect on him…and the plan they’ve come up with will change Themyscira—and the world— forever! When Wonder Woman rushes to Eastern Europe to rescue Steve Trevor from a mission gone wrong, she’ll find herself face-to-face with a very new, very different God of War!
ON SALE 11.14.18
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T
This issue will ship with three covers.
Please see the order form for details.

3. Boogie Woogie Woogie Woo

Steve Orlando is the current DC king of big ideas and connecting arcane bits of continuity. “Electric Warriors” continues that trend. Set in the future of the “Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth,” taking its name from an obscure title from DC’s past, and gorgeously illustrated by Travel Foreman, “Electric Warriors” is the sort of risk taking comic that Orlando has succeeded at so frequently since coming over to DC. Let’s hope enough readers pick this up to give him the chance to tell a full and satisfying story.

ELECTRIC WARRIORS #1
written by STEVE ORLANDO
art and cover by TRAVEL FOREMAN
variant cover by BENGAL

A new tale of the future DC Universe, set in a previously unexplored timeline—the Cosmic Dark Age!
Years after the Great Disaster, the Earth has started to rebuild and rejoin the universal coalition. In order to prevent a galactic war, different worlds throughout the known cosmos have created a new system of competitive combat to give each participating planet their own voice in the intergalactic struggle. Each world has one diplomatic gladiator, chosen to possess the Electric Seed and fight for their homeland as the Electric Warrior! Each fighter forsakes their personal life in the name of peace.
So what happens when Earth can’t choose a single combatant and sends two instead? The bruiser War Cry represents the humans of Earth, while Deep Dweller, a shape-shifter from the Octopus Tribe, represents the animal kingdom. Can they maintain one common goal, or will they tear Earth’s tenuous coexistence to shreds and destroy the rest of the universe with it? Oh, and War Cry also has a powerful relic from Earth’s past: Superman’s cape!
ON SALE 11.14.18
$3.99 US | 1 of 6 | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T+
This issue will ship with two covers.
Please see the order form for details.

Continued below

2. People are going to be pissed this isn’t #1

Ok, throw your tomatoes at me. I know many, if not all, readers to this column would place this at #1, and I totally understand why. Grant Morrison making his return to monthly comics, on a Hal Jordan-centric book, with Liam Sharp on art – that’s a big deal! Morrison playing in cosmic DC is a dream come true, and Sharp, with his ‘Rebirth’ return to DC on “Wonder Woman,” has re-established himself as one of the premier talents in comics.

The book, according to Morrison, is bringing Hal back to his ‘space cop’ routine, and while the Corps appears to be part of the story, according to the solicits, this seems to be concerned more with Hal and his role as the first Earth based Lantern. For a line that has been overstuffed and without real focus for a few years now, a book with Hal at the center, as much as that grinds the gears of this Kyle/John fan, makes a lot of sense.

THE GREEN LANTERN #1
written by GRANT MORRISON
art and cover by LIAM SHARP
variant cover by FRANK QUITELY
blank variant cover available

Superstar writer Grant Morrison (Batman, All-Star Superman) returns to DC alongside red-hot artist Liam Sharp (The Brave AND the Bold, Wonder Woman) to launch a new, ongoing series: THE GREEN LANTERN!
In this debut issue, when Earth’s space cop, Hal Jordan, encounters an alien hiding in plain sight, it sets off a chain of events that rocks the Green Lantern Corps—and quite possibly the Multiverse at large—to its very core. There’s an inter-galactic conspiracy afoot, as well as a traitor in the GL Corps’ ranks, so strap in for more mind-bending adventures in this masterpiece in the making.
ON SALE 11.07.18
$4.99 US | 40 PAGES
FC | RATED T
This issue will ship with two covers.
Please see the order form for details.
Includes a code for a free digital download of this issue.

1. I’ve been waiting for this forever

As I mentioned in my interview with Dan DiDio from last year, he’s been promising a “Shazam” series since 2011. Well, seven years later, we are finally getting one! Geoff Johns and Dale Eaglesham are continuing the story that Johns started with Gary Frank in the New 52 “Justice League” backups, with an extended family (Shazam Family? Marvel Family? Will Mary Marvel now be Mary Shazam? Shazam Jr? Dudley Shazam?) and an approach that will, likely, match the tone of the upcoming Shazam feature film.

The character has always been a bit of an odd fit at DC: an acquisition based more on putting Fawcett out of business than bringing on a new character, the at one time more popular than Superman character has never really found his footing, despite lots of high profile attempts at integration. With Johns at the helm, this is likely the best chance for the Marvel family to get their proper place in the DC Universe for the first time…well, maybe ever.

And that is why this is the #1 book at the week. Don’t @ me, folks.

SHAZAM! #1
written by GEOFF JOHNS
art and cover by DALE EAGLESHAM
backup story art by SEN
variant cover by GARY FRANK
blank variant cover available

The superstar team of writer Geoff Johns and artist Dale Eaglesham reunite to launch the first all-new SHAZAM! monthly title set in the DC Universe in almost 20 years! (What took you guys so long?!)
Teenager turned super-hero Billy Batson struggles to balance school and superheroics! (Guess which one is more fun?) But when Shazam unlocks a shocking secret deep within the Rock of Eternity, it challenges everything he knows about the worlds of magic and his family’s future as its champions! Also, witness the bizarre team-up of Dr. Sivana and Mr. Mind as they set off to build a society all their own! Don’t miss the start of an epic run in the making as “Shazam and the Seven Realms” begins!
ON SALE 11.21.18
$4.99 US | 40 PAGES | FC
RATED T
This issue will ship with two covers.
Please see the order form for details.
Includes a code for a free digital download of this issue.

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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