DC Solicitation Sneaks: October 2021
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
The Dreaming: Waking Hours
I don’t know if this is the last of “The Sandman Universe.” If it is, then my guess is that it’s going to go out on a high note. After Simon Spurrier, Bilquis Evely, and friends got to do the big “Fate of the Dreaming” story in their excellent run, writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Nick Robles, with Javier Rodriguez and M.K. Perker, are doing something decidedly different. “Waking Hours” is about Dream’s latest nightmare, Ruin, and how he winds up falling in love with the very first dreamer he meets. Hijinks, that most certainly do not involve a fallen angel and a sorcerer with a connection to Dream, ensue. I’ve generally enjoyed Wilson’s writing, which has an irreverent streak to it that will likely mesh well with the “anything goes” ethos of the Dreaming. I’m less familiar with Robles, but what I have heard has been universally positive so I’m optimistic he’ll be a good match for the writing on this series.
Batman: The Imposter #1 (of 3): In the tradition of “Blind Justice”… you remember, the storyline that “Batman ‘89” screenwriter Sam Hamm wrote in “Detective Comics.” Okay, it was over 30 years ago so maybe you don’t remember. Anyway, my point is that DC is giving another “Batman” movie screenwriter a shot at writing their own Bat-comic. This time around it’s Mattson Tomlin, who’s co-writing next year’s “The Batman” and has already written films like “Little Fish” and “Project Power.” Here, he’s giving us a “Year One” era story with a twist. Rather than have mobsters or early versions of Batman’s rogues gallery show up, this time the villain is another person who has decided to dress up like the Dark Knight. One who has no problem murdering those who break the law. It’s a good setup for a story in this era as Batman’s reputation and modus operandi won’t have been established enough for anyone to give him the benefit of the doubt. Andrea Sorrentino will be illustrating this miniseries, which means it’s going to look great even if the story is going to be somewhat lacklustre. At least all these years of illustrating Jeff Lemire scripts has shown that the artist knows how to elevate mediocre material.
Task Force Z #1: If Task Force X is the Suicide Squad, what does that make Z? And why did they skip Y for that matter? Probably because the answer to the first question is zombies. Rather than just let the villains who died in A-Day rot in the ground, the government has decided to put them back into action to further account for their crimes. Which is how we have a team made up of Bane, Man-Bat, the Arkham Knight, Sundowner, and Mr. Bloom that happens to be led by… Jason Todd? I know that the man under the Red Hood has been up to some sketchy stuff in the time since his own resurrection, but how the hell did he find himself running this team? At least he’ll look like a relative boy scout next to these guys. Matthew Rosenberg writes, which gives me hope that this series will have some self-awareness about how ridiculous it is, and Eddy Barrows illustrates, which means it should look pretty good.
Batman: The Long Halloween Special: As the solicitation text so helpfully informs us, it’s been 25 years since Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale delivered their classic Bat-story. “The Long Halloween” was a maxi-series about Gotham’s transition from being run by mobsters to being at the mercy of freaks and how Batman, Commissioner Gordon and D.A. Harvey Dent’s efforts to fight back against it only led to tragedy. It’s a great story that has informed many subsequent TV and film interpretations of “Batman” and has recently received its own animated adaptation. As for why Loeb and Sale are deciding to return to it now… your guess is as good as mine. It could just be pure nostalgia, since Loeb has built a lot of his comics career reminding us how good certain characters were way back in the day (to good effect and ill), so why not cash in on something he and Sale did in the same fashion. Another explanation is that the explanation regarding the mystery of who was the Holiday killer felt somewhat confused at the end of the story. As if Loeb was trying to outsmart everyone who had guessed the killer’s identity before the final page. If the creators are trying to smooth out that particular wrinkle, then all I can say to that is, “Good luck.”
Catwoman: Lonely City #1 (of 4): Writer/artist Cliff Chiang gives us “Old Lady Selina.” Well, not really as it’s only been ten years since the incident that sent Catwoman to jail and claimed the lives of Batman, Nightwing, Commissioner Gordon and the Joker. Gotham City has changed a lot in that time as Mayor Harvey Dent and his Batcops have turned it into a secure, crime-free surveillance state. Selina doesn’t care about that. She’s just concerned with the secrets that are still hidden in the Batcave. Darwyn Cooke showed us that seeing Selina Kyle go after a seemingly impossible heist could be a lot of fun in “Selina’s Big Score.” I’m getting similar vibes from this story, even if it has yet to be seen that Chiang’s writing skills can match his impressive artistic chops.
DC vs. Vampires #1 (of 12): After DC struck it rich with the expanding universe of “DCeased,” it makes sense that they’d want to give the apocalypse another try with a different horror creature. Bloodsuckers are the monster du jour this time and the creative team foisting them on the DCU are co-writers James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg, and artist Otto Schmidt. Of the three, only Rosenberg really engenders any genuine goodwill from me. Here’s hoping his wiseass sensibilities rub off on Tynion and we get a crazy, unpredictable horror story that Schmidt can draw the hell out of. I’m optimistic, but as a 12-issue maxiseries, there’s always the concern that this could run out of invention before it reaches the finish line. That said, do you know who doesn’t have a problem with maintaining the pacing on their maxiseries…?
Human Target #1 (of 12): …Tom King, that’s who. Mr. Maxiseries is back with another 12-issue joint that looks to reintroduce Christopher Chance to a whole new generation. For those of you unfamiliar with the character, Chance’s gimmick was that he’d impersonate potential targets of crimes in order to foil them. Believe it or not, there were two different TV series that tried to do justice to the character’s exploits. However, it’s Peter Milligan’s Vertigo-era take on the character which remains the best as his Chance was so good at impersonating his targets that he started to lose his own sense of self.
King isn’t going with that approach here as he’s taking the character back to basics. This Chance is someone who will impersonate anyone for the right amount, and this time that person is… Lex Luthor. That sounds bad, but what’s worse is that Chance is outfoxed and winds up having to fake his death as Luthor. Now he’s got twelve days to figure out who wanted one of DC’s biggest villains dead. I can think of at least one person who wouldn’t; though, I can’t say the same about his wife… Anyway, this is a solid setup from King and his artist this time around is Greg Smallwood, who is definitely inventive enough to find a way to give us some clever spins on the writer’s favored nine-panel-grid layouts.
Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons #1 (of 3): It’s been a while since this was announced, but Kelly Sue DeConnick’s series about the history of the Amazons is almost here. Expect secret plans, misogyny, a new society, a despairing Hippolyta, and a war in heaven once everyone’s agendas are exposed. While I’ve yet to read anything from DeConnick that has really clicked with me, I’ve yet to read anything truly terrible from her either. Plus, this first issue is being drawn by the great Phil Jimenez, who has been away from comics too long. He won’t be doing the subsequent issues, as they’ll be done by the equally talented Gene Ha and Nicola Scott. So yeah, I think I’ll give this a chance once it’s collected.
Refrigerator Full of Heads #1 (of 6): HILL HOUSE LIVES! I’d thought that Joe Hill’s horror imprint at DC was over and done with after its initial batch of miniseries didn’t make much of an impression after their debuts. So either DC really wanted to give this imprint a second go, or we’re getting this through the magic of “Contractual Obligations.” That said, even though this is a follow-up to the Hill-written “Basketful of Heads,” he’s not writing it. This time around the writer is crime novelist Rio Youthers with Tom Fowler providing the art. The setup is that it’s been a year since the events of the previous series and a vacationing couple have come across a certain axe that has washed up on the shore. While I can’t say that I was expecting a sequel to the original series, it had enough of that slasher movie style to make this feel like a natural extension. Plus, there’s plenty of room for Youthers to deliver a tighter, more focused take on Hill’s fun but overlong execution of the original concept.
Superman and the Authority HC: Grant Morrison and Mikel Janin deliver their take on the Man of Steel would run the premier fascist superteam. While that setup has some bite to it, Morrison has indicated that we’re more likely to see Superman lean into an authoritarian image as a means of serving the greater good. Which is a take I can get behind. What I’m less sure about is the fact that this appears to be an “Elseworlds” story in all but name as it has its origins in DC’s failed “5G” initiative where Superman and Batman were meant to be replaced by their children, among other changes. That leaves this story unmoored to regular continuity which may leave some people saying, “What’s the point?” Well, when you’ve got a creative team as strong as Morrison and Janin on a “Superman” story, I think that’s all the point you need.