‘Tis the season, folks! This is one of the most exciting months of solicitations that DC has put out in some time, and not even specifically because of (or, sometimes, in spite of) the titles listed blow – instead, their line just seems to have a cohesion and a consistency that it hasn’t seen in ages. Sure, there are some clunkers, but overall, this is the healthiest the DCU has looked in, dare I say, years.
10. Deck the Halls with Boughs of Harley
DC decided that Harley Quinn is the character they can put anywhere – she is the character that they will let break the fourth wall or, like they do here, feature in a holiday issue. This is one of those times when I am totally ok with admitting that, with few exceptions, I just don’t “get” Harley Quinn. I see her appeal to others, but that appeal is minuscule, at best, to me.
However, if you want me to pick up a book I’m only lukewarm on, let Darwyn Cooke do some art and my chances of buying it skyrocket. The tricky thing here is that “holiday special” screams all ages, and Harley is not exactly a kid-friendly character, especially the way Conner and Palmiotti have been writing her lately. I’ll be interested to see how DC handles this.
HARLEY QUINN HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1
Written by AMANDA CONNER and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art by DARWYN COOKE, JOHN TIMMS and others
Cover by AMANDA CONNER
New Year’s Eve Variant cover by AMANDA CONNER
On sale DECEMBER 10 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.
We got you a present, comics fans – a gut-busting (sometimes literally) collection of short stories featuring Harley and her special brand of holiday cheer! Can she get through Christmas dinner without blowing something up? Who will survive the war of the department-store Santas? Don’t miss this one – after all, you can’t spell “holidays” without “Harley!” (Give or take a couple letters.)
9. God(head) Rest Ye Merry Lanternmen
“Godhead,” a three month space epic featuring two of my favorite entities in the DCU, the New Gods and the Lanterns, wraps up this month. Aside from a tie-in in “Infinity Man and the Forever People” this month, the event was completely contained to the 5 monthly Lantern books, a special #1 and this annual wrap up. While that is still a lot of books to digest in the course of a few months, the Lantern books have done a really nice job of maintaining a balance between having their own plotlines, while still crossing over relatively frequently. It is, perhaps, DC’s best use of a true “shared universe” – unlike the Bat books, say, that would require Batman to be awake 40 hours a day to do all he does over the course of his line, here we see a more “realistic” (time wise) and complete story being told.
Plus, I did mention the New Gods, right? The Lanterns are a perfect way to more fully integrate them into the DCU proper.
GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #3
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by BILLY TAN and ROB HUNTER
Cover by ETHAN VAN SCIVER
On sale DECEMBER 24 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
“Godhead,” act 3, part 6: The massive finale is here! On one side stand the New Gods, on the verge of conquering our universe in order to save it! On the other stand the combined might of the various Lantern Corps – or what’s left of them. And in the wings wait the unlikeliest of allies: Hal Jordan and Black Hand. Changes are coming to the heroes of interstellar space, and it all starts here, in the climactic final battle of mortals vs. gods!
8. We Three Volumes of “Superman: Earth One”
File this, again, under “not my bag,” but the “Earth One” series has been a very financially successful line for DC. Volume 3 was an inevitability, but what is surprising is that Shane Davis is no longer illustrating the book, but rather Ardian Syaf. Davis was one of the selling points of the series when first announced – I wonder what led to his departure? This was not announced by DC ahead of the solicitation to my knowledge, and marks a drastic shift in the marketability of the books – and that’s no knock on Syaf, who is a fine talent, but someone without the star-power that Davis has.
Continued belowUPDATE: Commenter Alexander Knox pointed out that this change was announced back at Emerald City Comic Con. I’ll say I was on the plane when it was announced and forgive myself appropriately. Thanks, AK!
SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE VOL. 3 HC
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Art by ARDIAN SYAF and SANDRA HOPE
Cover by ARDIAN SYAF
On sale FEBRUARY 4 • 136 pg, FC, $22.99 US
Who will save Superman? He may be invulnerable – but he’s also alone! In his brief career as a costumed hero, Clark Kent has run a gantlet of the world’s most deadly and monstrous villains. But his most dire threat may come from two powerless humans who happen to be the two smartest people on the planet. Lex and Alexandra Luthor have been paid to find a way to cancel Superman’s powers – and the man who destroyed Krypton has been welcomed by the world’s governments to complete his mission – with the murder of Kal-El! Betrayed and at his most vulnerable, there’s no place to hide and no one Superman can trust!
Don’t miss the follow-up to the New York Times #1 best-selling graphic novels SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE VOL. 1 and 2!
7. Blue and Gold Decorations In Every Justice League
You probably won’t find a bigger Booster Gold and Blue Beetle fan in the Multiversity staff than yours truly (although Brandon Burpee may come in a close second, with Chad Bowers a distant third), and yet, this bugs me. In a landscape where editors interfere with even the smallest decisions and don’t let creators tell their stories, two “old school” writers can not just bring back pre-Flashpoint versions of these characters, but the pre-Flashpoint versions from an out of continuity series the creators wrote. This isn’t the Ted Kord killed by Maxwell Lord or the heroic Booster of “52” – this is the “Bwahaha-verse” of the “I Can’t Believe It’s Not the Justice League” Super Buddies books.
And, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE those books, but this seems like flagrant favoritism benefitting a book that a) isn’t very good and b) doesn’t sell like gangbusters. “Justice League 3000” is a dark, weird book, and it seems like a really strange place to drop these two beloved, optimistic characters.
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000 #12
Written by KEITH GIFFEN and J.M. DeMATTEIS
Art and cover by HOWARD PORTER
On sale DECEMBER 3 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Two words: Blue and Gold. Well, okay, three. Three words, the Blue and the Go…Wait, that’s four words. Okay, let’s try this. The team of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold are BACK! By Giffen and DeMatteis! Is the universe ready for either of them…? Are you?
6. Swimming In a Gorilla Wonderland
Jeff Parker and Paul Pelletier have done something really interesting in their time on “Aquaman” – they’ve kept the more serious tone that Geoff Johns launched the book with, but have managed to place a ton more fun into the book. Case in point: Aquaman vs. Gorilla Grodd. Yes, yes, yes. Keep it up, fellas.
AQUAMAN #37
Written by JEFF PARKER
Art and cover by PAUL PELLETIER and SEAN PARSONS
Variant cover by DARWYN COOKE
On sale DECEMBER 24 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.
The King of the Seas takes on the Warlord of Gorilla City when Aquaman and Grodd collide!
5. Damian Wayne is Coming to Town
“Robin Rises” has been a truly weird, inconsistent, and not exactly great arc, but this represents the end, and is illustrated by Damian Wayne co-creator Andy Kubert. Whether Damian Wayne actually returns, and whether he actually returns to the role of Robin remains to be scene, but if the Futures End stories are even somewhat accurate, the clones from the last page of “Batman Incorporated” are on the rise, if not Damian himself.
Continued belowROBIN RISES: ALPHA #1
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by ANDY KUBERT and JONATHAN GLAPION
Cover by ANDY KUBERT
1:50 Variant cover by CLIFF CHIANG
On sale DECEMBER 24 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.
It all ends here! Batman’s been to the hells of Apokalips and back just to retrieve his son’s body. But what has he brought back with him? And who is the new Robin?
4. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Darwyn, Everywhere We Go
A “New Frontier” deluxe hardcover with the “New Frontier Special #1” included is reason to celebrate. The aforementioned piece in the “Harley Quinn Holiday Special” makes that book far more appealing. But throw in 20+ variants, and we are talking a huge month for fans of his exceptional art.
DC: THE NEW FRONTIER DELUXE EDITION HC
Written by DARWYN COOKE
Art by DARWYN COOKE, J. BONE, DAVE BULLOCK and others
Cover by DARWYN COOKE
On sale FEBRUARY 11 • 480 pg, 7.0625” x 10.875” FC, $49.99 US
Darwyn Cooke’s acclaimed take on the Silver Age heroes of DC Comics is back in a new hardcover collecting the 6-issue miniseries plus, for the first time, JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER SPECIAL #1! When Cold War paranoia outlawed the heroes of the Golden Age, stalwarts such as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman continued to fight for truth and justice. But as the world hurtled toward an uncertain future, a new breed of hero would define the American Way!
3. Walking in Morrison’s Thunderworld
I don’t think I really need to sell this to anyone who cares enough about DC to read an article about their solicitations. Morrison + Stewart + Captain Marvel – New 52 = Joy of joy. Some of us have been waiting a long, long time for this. A long, long time.
THE MULTIVERSITY: THUNDERWORLD #1
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Art and cover by CAMERON STEWART
1:10 B&W Variant cover by CAMERON STEWART
1:25 Variant cover by CLIFF CHIANG
1:50 Variant cover by CULLY HAMNER
1:100 Variant cover by GRANT MORRISON
On sale DECEMBER 17 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with five covers. Please see the order form for details.
The fifth chapter of the greatest adventure in DC Comics history is here!
Acclaimed for their collaborations on BATMAN AND ROBIN, SEAGUY and SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY: THE MANHATTAN GUARDIAN, superstar writer Grant Morrison and renowned artist Cameron Stewart deliver some magic to THE MULTIVERSITY with a breathtaking journey to Earth-5 – A.K.A. Thunderworld!
With a single word, Billy Batson transforms from boy reporter for Whiz Media into the world’s Mightiest Mortal – Captain Marvel! Along with the other members of the Marvel Family, Captain Marvel battles dastardly villains like Mr. Mind and the Monster Society of Evil! But now, his greatest foe has attacked the Rock of Eternity – the source of the Marvel Family’s power – and it could mean the end of reality as we know it! What impossible villains are Sivana teaming up with who could spell doom for the Multiverse? From where did Sivana’s children get their newfound super powers? And what does the appearance of one mysterious comic book mean for the heroes of Thunderworld?
Find out all that and more in this exciting issue that acts as chapter five of THE MULTIVERSITY.
2. DC’s Making a List and Checking it Twice, Gonna Make Sure “The Unwritten” Wraps Up Nice
True confession time: I’ve never read “The Unwritten.” Editor Emeritus Walter Richardson is screaming and banging his head on his keyboard right now, but that is true. I’ve never gotten around to it. However, people I trust greatly have loved this book from the beginning, and it is on my short list of “must read now that it is wrapped up” books. More than anything, though, with “Fables” wrapping in a few months, too, this represents the end of a certain era of Vertigo comics. DC is still trying to figure out what the new era looks like, but with books like “Wolf Moon” starting up this month, it appears that creator-driven minis will remain their main focus, and there ain’t nothing wrong with that.
Continued belowTHE UNWRITTEN: APOCALYPSE #12
Written by MIKE CAREY
Art by PETER GROSS
Cover by YUKO SHIMIZU
On sale DECEMBER 17 • 40 pg, FC, $4.99 US • MATURE READERS • FINAL ISSUE
“And I awoke, and found me here…”
Wilson Taylor delivers the apocalypse the only way he knows how: at his son Tom’s expense. It’s the end of the world as we know it. But there’s no need to worry because it’s just a story. Isn’t it? Don’t miss the extra-sized conclusion to the fan-favorite Vertigo series!
1. Six Anti-Heroes, Five Catman Claws! Four Unknown Members, Three “Secret Six” series, Two new artists, and Gail Simone must be happy!
While Gail Simone made her biggest fans on “Birds of Prey,” “Secret Six” always seemed to me to be the perfect distillation of her talents – the humor, the heart, the darkness – and I couldn’t be more thrilled that it is both back and that it will be a new take on the concept. While I would love her “getting the band back together,” in the New 52, that makes little to no sense, given how some of those characters have been handled. Now, come on folks, don’t mess this up! Support this book!
SECRET SIX #1
Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art by KEN LASHLEY
Cover by DALE EAGLESHAM
Blank variant cover
1:25 Variant cover by KEN LASHLEY
On sale DECEMBER 3 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.
Gail Simone is back with the NEW 52 debut of the fan-favorite team – THE SECRET SIX! Six strangers are brought together under mysterious circumstances for an explosive first issue that will leave everyone asking, “What is the Secret?”
For the full solicitations, check them out over at Comic Book Resources.
