DC Solicitation Sneaks: July 2022
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
The Joker Presents: A Puzzlebox HC
The Riddler is dead and only one person knows the truth behind his death. Unfortunately for Commissioner Gordon and the rest of the GCPD, that person is the least reliable witness possible. So it’s up to them to figure out what truths (if any) the Joker has given them as part of his testimony. It’s a clever premise and what I’ve read from writer Matthew Rosenberg suggests that he’s smart enough to give us a good reason early on to actually believe that the Clown Prince of Crime may actually be telling some truths… as he leads whoever’s interrogating him down the well-paved path to madness.
Assisting the writer in that regard is an art team that consists of fourteen artists! I recognize a lot of them – Jesus Merino, Keron Grant, Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, Freddie E. Williams II, Mike Norton, to name a few – to know that this collection is in good hands. That said, this is a 248-page hardcover that’s retailing for $40, so it is on the pricey side. This page count/price point is similar to the disappointing “Strange Adventures,” but my guess/expectation/hope is that seeing Rosenberg team with many talented artists for a story about the Joker trolling the GCPD is going to be a lot more entertaining.
Batman #125: It’s a new era on this series as Chip Zdarsky takes over as writer. One of these days I’ll sit down and read something of his, probably his “Daredevil” run, to see if he’s a better writer than what I saw in “Spider-Man: Life Story” or if that really was the best he had to offer. Zdarsky is joined by returning artist Jorge Jimenez, whose presence assures that this series is going to look fantastic even if the writing isn’t on the same level. As for what this first arc is going to be about, it turns out that someone is going around murdering Gotham City’s billionaires. Good thing Bruce Wayne is no longer one of them, or else he might have something to worry about! *rimshot*
Detective Comics #1062: It’s a new era over at “Detective” as well as Ram V and Rafael Albuquerque take over as writer and artist, respectively. The solicitation text talks about creeping dread taking over Batman and the city with the Caped Crusader wondering if there’s been a demon working alongside him all this time in Gotham. This sounds fine, but I’m more interested in the team who’s doing the backup stories for this series: Simon Spurrier and Dani. If you’ve been reading this blog long enough, then you should know that I’m down for anything featuring Spurrier. Dani is also an interesting choice as an artist as she did some quality work with the writer in the pages of “The Dreaming.” As for what they’re doing and whether or not it ties into the story that Ram V and Albuquerque are telling, that’s not mentioned here.
Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League #1: It’s not a proper comics event without tie-ins and the team attached to this one is quite impressive. “Worlds Without a Justice League” comes to us from writer Tom King and artists Chris Burnham as they explore the world of Superman’s post-death dreams. I know that sounds confusing, but that’s how I’m interpreting the solicitation text here. More telling is the “Batman”-esque cover from Burnham which features his take on the famous Batman and Robin posing in a spotlight issue only with Superman and a Robin-esque sidekick smiling as they shrug off a hail of bullets. All this is to say that I don’t have a good idea of what kind of story to expect from this, but the team assembled here is strong enough to make me want to check it out once it’s collected (assuming the rest of the tie-ins it’s collected with are on the same level).
Black Adam – The Justice Society Files: Hawkman #1: You’d think that this would be a Black Adam-centric issue, what with the character’s movie coming out in the same month (and with the character now looking very much like Dwayne Johnson on the cover). Except that the solicitation text makes it sound like a Hawkman-centric story as he has a fateful encounter with the Gentleman Ghost. Black Adam doesn’t even sound like the main character in his story as it looks to introduce antiquities professor by day, cultural recovery specialist by night Adriana Tomaz. Which, if I’m being honest here, does sound like a good setup for a new hero in the DC Universe. It’s just that anyone expecting this issue to really be about Black Adam may want to check their expectations at the door before picking this up.
Superman: Space Age #1 (of 3): From writer Mark Russell and artist Mike Allred comes the story of Superman as he prepares to face the Crisis on Infinite Earths! Or is it the story of Superman making his existence known to the world for the first time and dealing with all of the dangers that presents? Or is it both? The solicitation text doesn’t exactly make that clear. While I’ve not read much by Russell (I did pick up the first volume of “Not All Robots” – review forthcoming) this is a “Superman” story that’s illustrated by Mike Allred. Which means it’ll likely be worth reading just to appreciate the art.
Batman: White Knight Presents – Red Hood #1 (of 2): The fate of Jason Todd was left hanging in a really tantalizing way at the end of “Curse of the White Knight” and somewhat fumbled as it was awkwardly nodded to in the “Harley Quinn” miniseries. Now writer Sean Murphy, along with co-writer Clay McCormack and artist Simone Di Meo look to do right by the character as we get a look at what the Red Hood version of the character is like in the “White Knight” universe. The answer appears to be complicated as Jason is asked by a girl to help save her neighborhood from a super-criminal. That sounds simple enough, except that the girl wants to fight alongside him, and we all know how Jason’s stint as a sidekick turned out here. Either he’ll find a way to turn her off this path, or train her to avoid the fate that he wound up with.
DC vs. Vampires: All out War #1 (of 6): The main “DC vs. Vampires” maxi-series must be doing the business for the company as we’ve now been graced with this spinoff from the co-writer of that series, Matthew Rosenberg. He’s teaming up with co-writer Alex Paknadel and artist Pasquale Qualano for this story about one of the last secret underground human cities that is also being run by John Constantine. If that wasn’t bad enough, the city is also under attack from the vampire army and it’s going to fall unless someone does something drastic. Something like sending Booster Gold, Deathstroke and Mary Marvel out on a suicide mission to kill a vampire lieutenant in the hopes that will cause enough chaos to stop the attack. It could work, but I’m left wondering if Constantine has been in charge of this city long enough to make everyone inside hope that the vampires will take them all out sooner rather than later.
Batman: One Dark Knight: Jock has illustrated some memorable “Batman” stories, but this will be the first one he’s written as well. It’s got a good premise as well with Batman helping transport supervillain E.M.P. (no points for guessing what his powers are) from his holding cell to Blackgate Prison. Naturally the villain gets out and the city is plunged into darkness. Now Batman has to get this villain to Blackgate all the while navigating a city that has become even crazier now that the power is out.
I Am Batman vol. 1: After two volumes of buildup, we finally see Jace Fox as a new Batman in the present-day DCU. This looks to be a tie in to the “Fear State” event as the solicitation text talks about Jace mixing it up with the Anti-Oracle, who’s seeking to foment armed rebellion in the streets of Gotham. It sounds fine, but the previous two volumes haven’t really made a case for what makes this version of Batman distinct from the original. Maybe writer John Ridley has an answer here. If not, the art team of Stephen Segovia, Oliver Coipel, and Travel Foreman are on hand to make sure the action looks good.