We’ve covered Dark Horse and Image (or, the only ones I’m guaranteed to only say positive things about) for this column, so today we dive headfirst into the first set of solicits from the Big Two with DC’s May 2012.
Check behind the cut for the commentary, and check out the full solicitations right here
6 Words On 6 New Titles
Earth Two: Meh.
World’s Finest: Feh.
Dial H: Huh.
GI Combat: Ugh.
The Ravagers: Uhh…
Batman Incorporated: YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sometimes I feel like I’m one-dimensional.
Cliff Chiang Officially Steps Up
Last month I noticed that Cliff Chiang had been added as co-writer in addition to art duties, and apparently that wasn’t just a one-time thing. For all intents and purposes it would appear that Cliff Chiang is now officially the co-writer of the book, assumedly because Brian Azzarello is spending a heavy amount of time with that Watchmen thing.
It will be interesting to see how this pans out for Wonder Woman. Azzarello’s work on the title has been surprisingly atypical, not at all falling into his usual tropes. I would’ve assumed his Wonder Woman story would’ve been similar to his Superman story, in which he infused Superman with a dark and gritty story that Superman truly had no place in. Wonder Woman needed a story that proved to everyone why she belonged in the upper echelon of DC’s pantheon, and Azzarello and Chiang have been delivering that in spades, with a great deal of that going to the infusion of mythology Azzarello has injected into the book.
So with Azzarello just co-writing (assumedly giving out the story, which Chiang then finishes) it’ll be interesting to see if it has any discernable effect on the title. I would imagine it wouldn’t, but I’ll keep reading either way.
Oh, and hey — Grant Morrison keeps saying how he wants to write Wonder Woman and bring bondage back into it, and what do you get on the cover? Pretty sneaky, guys.
Hey Hey, It’s The Monkeys!
I used to really love Flash comics. I say “used to,” but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the current run — I do! Quite a bit, in fact. Manapul’s art alone sells the book for me, and to see him continuously push past his own boundaries and turn the book into something visually fluid is a treat. I’m just not gung-ho on the New 52 initiative as I miss a lot of things about the “old” Flash, particularly his rogues (and not just The Rogues).
However, Manapul just re-introduced Captain Cold into the book, and now we’re getting Gorilla Grodd and Gorilla City. Fingers crossed that a) it plays out well and b) there is more like it planned in the future. (Not that I want a total regression, but… well, you know. You know!)
OMAC “Joins” The JLI
…by apparently beating them all up and then forcing the book to crossover with the Firestorm title.
Oh well. Either way, I won’t be reading. At least they haven’t fully abandoned the character, even if they let his book die while Captain Atom and four Batman books reach their 9th issue when you only really need the one Batman book: Batman.
Super-Obama and the Multiverse
Back in Final Crisis, Morrison brought together a legion of Supermen from alternate Earths to battle together in the final issue. The issue notably opened with a black president Superman, who looked very much like current US President Barack Obama. It was a not-so-subtle reference, and certainly not the only comic book on the market today to throw Obama into the mix as a bastion of hope.
Now Super-Obama makes his return in the DCnU, and he is bringing with him a third Earth. DC is releasing a whole book about Earth Two, but so far the Multiverse has been largely unexplored. I suppose given the discussion around the possibly never-to-be-released-at-this-point Multiversity, it only makes sense for Grant Morrison to open up the multiversal doors for the DCnU.
Of course, not only does Super-Obama have a grossly oversized S on his chest, but he also apparently has a v-neck, so let nothing be said about President Supeman’s fashion sense.
Oh, but speaking of the Superman family…
Can We Please All Give Mahmud Asrar A Bit More Praise?
I’ve seen some things on the internet highly critiquing, for better and for worse, DC’s current line of females in comics, but very little is said about Mahmud Asrar and the absolutely bang-up job he’s doing in Supergirl. The book may not be the crown jewel it was when Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle worked on the book together, but it is shaping up quite well and deserves a little bit more positive re-enforcement than it seems to be getting.
And it’s all thanks to Mahmud Asrar’s artwork. Way to go, Asrar!
Too Many Talons
9 out of the 12 Batman-related families will be involved in the Batman crossover this May plus an additional one over in All-Star Western, and all of them have their own version the new villain the Talon in it. I get that it’s a crossover and that the Court of Owls is ramping up the stakes to take down the Family of Bats, but is the Talon really the only codename they have available to them?
Then again, if you read Batman #6, it makes sense why there is a Talon in every single Batman title. You could also read the solicit for Batman #9 for a big clue. Either way, for a group of people as old as the city itself, you’d think that maybe they could come up with more than one “bad ass villain name” aside from Talon.
Lemire Goes Dark
Peter Milligan on Justice League Dark was something I always understood. The guy who has been writing Hellblazer since #250? Makes sense to me. I “got it”, and subsequently got it (translation: I understood, and bought accordingly).
Jeff Lemire? The guy behind Essex County, which made me want to call my mother and tell her I love her immediately after finishing reading? The guy behind Lost Dogs, the sad story of a poor pugilist? The guy behind Superboy, re-imagining the Boy of Steel to be as full of hope and character as his namesake?
Oh, wait. You mean the guy behind Frankenstein, Animal Man and Sweet Tooth.
Ok, yeah. I get that, too.
Annuals, Less Than A Year Later
It’s an easy shot, I know, but it bears mentioning: DC is publishing three Annuals in May, but it hasn’t actually been a full years worth of storytelling yet. They’re just putting out an extra issue and slapping the world “Annual” on it instead of “Special” or “Point One.”
But, hey, whatever works?
Oh, Hey. Look: Another Batman
May will see the release of Batman: Earth One, a book that has been in the works for quite some time now. Of course, I can’t be the only one waiting to see how many confused new readers there are as to why there is now a new Batman book that isn’t connected to any of the other Batman books, right?
I am? Well, alright.
I Legitimately Can’t Believe It Took This Long To Come Out
In 2005, DC debuted a new mini-series entitled Justice, written by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger with art by Ross and Doug Braithwaite. It’s a pretty damn entertaining story if a bit slowessentially paying tribute 70’s era of DC superheroes but with an apocalyptic modern day slant over the light-hearted tone of the Super Friends. It was completed in 2007.
It is 2012, and DC is now — for the first time — releasing a semi-affordable single collection of the entire 12-issue story. Before now it was split into three volumes (hardcover for $19.99 each, or $60 total; softcover for $14.99 each, or $45 total), a single hardcover ($39.99) and an absolute edition ($99.99). May will see the release of all twelve issues in a single trade ($29.99), although anyone who purchased the series in single issues ($2.99 each, $36 total) might be feeling a little sore right now.
Still, though — 7 years for a “reasonably” priced collection of the series? I’m a bit shocked it took so long.
And Vertigo Is Still Better Than All Of The Aforementioned
American Vampire, Fables and Fairest, iZombie, Mystery in Space, Scalped (the penultimate issue!), Sweet Tooth, Saucer Country, the Unwritten, a trade collection for the final story of DMZ and a deluxe hardcover of a few works by Neil Gaiman.
I would be absolutely fine with only reading these comics from DC in May.
