Over at Blastr and HitFix, DC has announced the second week of “Convergence” tie-ins, this time featuring on the heroes of the late 80s/early 90s.
In case you’ve forgotten, “Convergence” is DC’s two-month event, comprised of both a weekly miniseries and 40 two-part miniseries, starting in April 2015. Last week, we saw ten titles based around the immediately pre-“Flashpoint” DCU, whereas this week is more of the “Zero Hour” era DC properties.
What is interesting here is that these stories seem to be drop-in stories to these past times, this time featuring a number of “Kingdom Come” characters, much like how last week featured some “Flashpoint” tie ins.
While none of these titles match the excitement of the return of Greg Rucka to the Question or Donna Troy returning, this does have a decent representation of what the mid-90s was like, character-wise. However, the talent assembled seems like a bit of an odd mix; sure, era-specific writers like Fabian Nicieza, Ron Marz, and Keith Giffen are all present, but none are working on the properties associated with their 90s work. In addition, writers who are associated with some of these titles, like John Ostrander on “Suicide Squad,” or Kevin Smith on “Green Arrow,” still do work for DC, and might have worked on these titles. Writers like Peter David (who, in all fairness, may still be Marvel exclusive) and Karl Kesel are both still active, and would have made the “Aquaman” and “Superboy” books, respectively, more appealing. The two exceptions are Louise Simonson working on “Superman: The Man of Steel” and Larry Hama writing “Batman: Shadow of the Bat.”
On the art side, we see another batch of odd decisions. June Brigman has experience with Supergirl, but is drawing “Man of Steel;” Mike Manley has drawn both Superman and Batman, but is on “Justice League International;” Ron Randall did many JLI issues, but is on “Catwoman.” The oddest one, however, is Tom Mandrake on “Suicide Squad.” Mandrake is well known for his collaboration with John Ostrander, the aforementioned iconic “Suicide Squad” scribe, who isn’t working on that title.
I can understand the impulse to shake things up, but the express point of these series are to relive past glory days, and by not making wise creative team decisions, DC runs the risk of potentially shooting themselves in the foot.
Check out the full listing below, along with the available artwork. As this seems to be a weekly occurrence, check back on Tuesday for Week Three’s announcements.
SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL
(Writer: Louise Simonson; Artist: June Brigman and Roy Richardson, with color by John Rauch)
Metropolis was taken when Superman was missing, so it’s up to Steel to guard the city from the heroes of GEN13 in his absence.
BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT
(Writer: Larry Hama; Artist: Philip Tan and Jason Paz, with color by Elmer Santos)
A year ago, Batman got trapped in Metropolis when hunting down Azrael. Now he must team with the man that replaced him, and see how differently they operate as Batmans.
JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL
(Writer: Ron Marz; Artist: Mike Manley, with color by Sotocolor)
The levity of the JLI team collides with the severity of the world of Kingdom Come.
CATWOMAN
(Writer: Justin Gray; Artist: Ron Randall, with color by Gabe Eltaeb)
A year under the dome can change anyone, even Catwoman. She’s set aside her life of crime to become the protector of Suicide Slum, but when the dome falls she will face her greatest challenge—Kingdom Come Batman.
SUPERGIRL: MATRIX
(Writer: Keith Giffen; Artist: Ramon Bachs, with color by Hi-Fi)
What do Supergirl, Lady Quark, and Ambush Bug have in common? Well… nothing really. But that didn’t stop us from sticking them in a story together. You are SO welcome.
SUPERBOY
(Writer: Fabian Nicieza; Artist: Karl Moline and Jose Marzan Jr, with color by Hi-Fi)
Has Kon-El earned the right to be the man of steel? Kon will have to prove his mettle in battle against the Superman of Kingdom Come! But what if the only way to save Metropolis is to lose the fight?
AQUAMAN
(Writer: Tony Bedard; Artist: Cliff Richards, with color by John Rauch)
Trapped in the domed city, Aquaman struggles with the loss of his hand as he confronts a deadly adversary—Deathblow.
SUICIDE SQUAD
(Writer: Frank Tieri; Artist: Tom Mandrake, with color by Sian Mandrake)
When Kingdom Come’s floating fortress of New Oa threatens Metropolis, it’s up to Amanda Waller to put together a team of the city’s deadliest villains to stop it.
GREEN LANTERN/PARALLAX
(Writer: Tony Bedard; Artist: Ron Wagner and Bill Reinhold, with color by Paul Mounts)
Rookie Green Lantern Kyle Rayner gears up to battle invaders, but is he ready to fight Hal Jordan, also known as Parallax?
GREEN ARROW
(Writer: Christy Marx; Artist: Rags Morales and Claude St-Aubin, with color by Nei Ruffino)
Oliver Queen meets Connor Hawke for the first time, but is he ready to hand over the Green Arrow mantle to his son?
