DC Solicitation Sneaks: April 2022
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Superman: Son of Kal-El vol. 1 – The Truth
This isn’t the first time that DC has tried to replace Clark Kent as Superman, but it could wind up being the most successful. As a result of developments over in “Action Comics” that have seen Clark’s powers fluctuate and sent him off to dismantle the oppressive systems of Warworld, his son Jon Kent has stepped up as Earth’s new Superman. The thing is that he’s not just content to fight crime and save people from natural disasters. No, Jon wants to change the world as well. The problem with that is there are a lot of people who don’t want that, and some of them – like Gamorran President Henry Bendix – aren’t as subtle or as nice as Lex Luthor in how they go about pushing back against his efforts.
Tom Taylor is writing this series and he’s made his awareness of social issues known throughout the series he’s written. From “All-New Wolverine,” to “Suicide Squad: Bad Blood,” and even “DCeased,” it’s clear that he recognizes that there are problems with this world and wants to raise people’s awareness of them. He’s also really good about telling entertaining stories while doing this, which is a trend I’m expecting to see him continue here along with artists John Timms and Daniele Di Nicuolo.
Oh, and in case anyone is wondering what I think about the major development in Jon’s character that has already garnered major media attention? I say, good for him and I hope it works out without Jay getting fridged later in the series.
Flashpoint & Flashpoint: The 10th Anniversary Omnibus: Yes, it has been ten years since the Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert event story hit stands. What seemed like just another alternate-universe event story with a host of tie-ins that showed “What If?” versions of familiar DC characters was actually the capstone on the current continuity for the DCU and led directly into the “New 52.” So while now’s as good a time as any to reissue these stories (and the omnibus collects the main story along with all of its tie-ins) there’s a more pertinent reason for why that’s being done here…
Flashpoint Beyond #0 & Flashpoint Beyond #1 (of 6): Because what good is an anniversary in comics if you can’t capitalize on it somehow. Better still if you can get at least one of the original creators involved, as DC has done with Johns here. However, Johns’ involvement is almost of a nominal variety here. I say this because he’s only writing issue #0 himself, and co-writing the miniseries with Jeremy Adams and Tim Sheridan. The zero issue also features a different artist than the miniseries in Eduardo Risso. He may seem like an odd choice to be involved with a superhero event series, but he actually illustrated the miniseries featuring “Flashpoint’s” biggest contribution to the DCU: Thomas Wayne as Batman. Thomas looks to be the main character in the story being told here as the zero issue looks to do the heavy lifting, continuity-wise, to explain how he’s back in the “Flashpoint” universe, and setting up the threat of the Clockwork Killer to the DCU. I don’t think that “Flashpoint” was one of the better DC events, but Thomas Wayne was a great idea and Tom King used him to great effect in his “Batman” run. If nothing else, I’d be interested in seeing how Johns’ acknowledges the character’s presence there since he’s long been a proponent of taking the most unwieldy bits of continuity and making them work for the character they’re associated with.
Justice League #75: In this anniversary issue… EVERYONE DIES! That’s right, the Justice League has died in battle against a new Dark Army of supervillains that has gathered on the edges of the multiverse. Someone made it back to tell the tale, but there’s no indication as to who that person is here. If I was twelve, this would be Earth-shaking news. Today… I can see it as the latest building block in whatever the next event DC is planning. Maybe I’d be interested in this if it was written by someone other than Joshua Williamson, but as I’ve said many times before here, he hasn’t written anything that I’ve been genuinely interested in.
Justice League: Prisms HC: Meanwhile, Bendis’ first arc on “Justice League” finally gets collected. It certainly took DC a while to get around to it, and the end result is that his fifteen-issue tenure on the title comes off looking like an extended filler run more than anything else. That’s not to say that there aren’t likely to be any good stories here… buuuuuuut it’ll be a little while longer before I’ll find out. I say this because while I’ve always been a fan of Bendis, and of this volume’s artist, David Marquez, I’m sure as hell not going to pay $25 for the five issues collected here.
The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country #1: James Tynion IV was all set to walk away from the DCU, what with the tremendous success his creator-owned comics have been enjoying. Then he got a call from an editor friend who wanted to know if he’d be interested in writing the latest extension of “The Sandman Universe.” Just like that, Tynion was back in. He’s a huge fan of “The Sandman” and this was apparently too good an opportunity to pass up. All I can say is good for him. I’ve written about how I’ve found his work to be very uneven, with only “The Department of Truth” really clicking for me. Having him write about the further adventures of the Corinthian doesn’t sound bad, exactly. It just doesn’t sound as appealing as letting G. Willow Wilson run around in the Dreaming for another twelve issues, or letting Si Spurrier do that second year of “Hellblazer” he had planned out.
Batman: Reptilian: There’s something new in Gotham that’s striking fear into the hearts of its villains. With characters like Riddler, Two-Face, and the Penguin left bruised and bloodied in its wake, it’s up to Batman to find out who, or what, the culprit is. I’m going to guess that it’s not Killer Croc, because that would be too obvious. This is basically a standard-issue premise that is likely only going to be enlivened by the art from Liam Sharp. I have real doubts that it’s going to come from Garth Ennis’ script. The writer may have written some of my all-time favorite comics, but he’s made his contempt for the superhero genre plain in both his public words and the comics he’s written. Which is why I’m afraid that the best we can expect from the writing here is basic confidence, and that assumes Ennis actually cares about writing a “Batman” story that doesn’t involve making fun of the Dark Knight.