DC Solicitation Sneaks: April 2021
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Batman: Beyond the White Knight HC
I know I put the first issue of this miniseries in this spot over a year ago, but this is still the one thing I want to read most from these solicitations. That’s because the previous installment, “Curse of the White Knight,” did such a good job of dismantling my expectations of what to expect from it. Where the initial installment, “White Knight,” had a killer concept that it didn’t take as far as it could have, “Curse” went a lot further than I expected. It was a great argument for how a creator, in this case writer/artist Sean Murphy, can deliver great work when they’re working in their own world unbound by continuity.
Or rather, by just dealing with the continuity they want to. This is a series that addressed the dichotomy between the movie and animated versions of Harley Quinn, after all. For the finale, Murphy looks to bring in one of the most memorable villains from “Batman Beyond” as Derek Powers seizes the Wayne fortune to transform the Gotham Terror Oppression unit into something far more fascist. Bruce Wayne may still be in prison and no longer Batman, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to try to save his city. This may be a familiar premise, but I’m eager to see what surprises Murphy has in store for the finale to his story. Including and in addition to the apparent case he’s going to make for a “Murphyverse” going forward from this miniseries.
Harley Quinn #29: The main story in this issue is from writer Tini Howard and artist Sweeny Boo and talks a lot about magic, curses, multiverses, and court-mandated community service. All of that put together may result in a fun and entertaining story, but that’s not what I’m here for. That would be the backup story featuring a dream of Harley from the two characters that know her best: Her hyenas Bud and Lou. What elevates this setup from “intriguing curiosity” to “must-read (at some point)” for me is that it’s from the one and only Adam Warren. While it was great to see a new volume of “Empowered” in the Dark Horse solicitations this month, it’s also good to see him get work in the Big Two as well. Because more work for them means we’ll be getting volumes of “Empowered” faster now, right?
The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country – The Glass House #1 (of 6): The collected edition of the first volume of this series-of-miniseries from writer James Tynion IV and artist Lisandro Estherren is still forthcoming. I’m expecting it to be a good read coming as it is from this creative team and the fact that I heard things got pretty crazy at its end. For this second volume, Tynon and Estherren set the Corinthian upon Silicon Valley as he pursues something known as the Smiling Man. I’d say I’m worried for everyone in the Valley, but recent events have reduced that level of concern to a shrug. Also, prepare to see a character that hasn’t appeared in the “Sandman” mythos since “A Doll’s House.” I’m not sure if anyone was clamoring for their return, but they’re back regardless!
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths HC: Still not interested in its writer, Joshua Williamson, and reading all of the spoiler-filled highlights of each issue at Bleeding Cool didn’t do anything for my interest in this event series. If I do pick up one thing related to this, then it’s going to be…
Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League HC: All of the current members of the Justice League died in “Justice League #75.” They didn’t die, die, however. They just… went somewhere else. To their own pocket dimensions where they got to live the lives they always wanted. Bringing those lives to reality are an all-star team of creatives including Simon Spurrier, Tom King, Philip Kennedy Johnson, Stephanie Phillips, Chris Burnahm, Ryan Sook, Fernando Blanco and more. I could be wrong, but it doesn’t look like there’s any knowledge of “Dark Crisis” necessary to enjoy these stories. If nothing else I’m glad that this event allowed these creators the freedom to offer these new perspectives on familiar characters.
Poison Ivy vol. 1: The Virtuous Cycle: First it was a miniseries. Then it was a maxiseries. Now it’s an ongoing series. Something clearly went right with G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara’s series about Batman’s most ecologically-minded foe. Or is she even a villain anymore as she moves away from saving the Earth by ending humanity to just killing the humans who are poisoning the world? I’m interested in finding out, particularly as it’s coming from a solid creative team like this.
Black Adam vol. 1: Theogony: That would be “the genealogy of a group or system of gods” which makes sense as Adam is part of the Marvel family. Not for much longer, though, as he’s suffering from a plague that’s eating away at his immortal body. Wanting to do what’s best for his homeland of Khandaq, Adam searches for a worthy successor to his powers. This is something he manages to do, only to wind up magically handcuffed to this person and having to share powers with him. If nothing else, it sounds more interesting than the story we got from the actual “Black Adam” movie. Writer Christopher Priest and artists Rafa Sandoval Eddy Barrows have a low bar to clear if we’re comparing this to that movie, but I have a feeling they’ll deliver something actually good given their respective track records in comics and at DC.
Gotham Academy: It’s the story of the latest group of kids to be admitted to the most prestigious school in Gotham. It also had a first volume that was utterly delightful, a second volume that was less so, a third volume that was an anthology which got things back on track, and two more volumes which brought the series to a satisfying conclusion. Story aside, this series will always be remembered by me for introducing “Maps” Mizoguchi to the world of “Batman” as her infectious fangirl energy has managed to elevate just about every story she’s been a part of since.
Batman: Fortress HC: Earth is about to be invaded by aliens and Superman is nowhere to be found. What does Batman do? He decides to break into the Fortress of Solitude to find out what has happened to the Man of Steel. I don’t recall the premise to this miniseries being stated so clearly in its initial solicitation, but the way its phrased in these solicitations makes it sound much more interesting. It comes to us from writer Gary Whitta and artist Darick Robertson, and I think they stand a decent chance of doing justice to that particular setup. $30 for a hardcover edition of this eight-issue miniseries does sound a bit steep, but I think it’s justified after looking at the other “Batman” hardcovers I’ve shelled out for over the past year.