DC Solicitation Sneaks: June 2023
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
The Flash #800
It’s a big ol’ anniversary issue that marks the end of one run, by writer Jeremy Adams, with the start of another, by writer Simon Spurrier. This is going to be the first time I’ve started reading a run of “The Flash,” despite its history of being written by luminaries such as Mark Waid and Geoff Johns (who are also contributing stories to this issue). Longtime readers will know that I’m a fan of Spurrier, even if his success in the field of superhero comics has been, shall we say, limited. I’ve previously noted that his biggest success was his 24-issue Legion storyline in the pages of “X-Men: Legacy” and subsequent efforts on “X-Force” and “Legion of X” crashed and burned within a year. Will this one turn out to be his most successful? The words “cosmic horror” have been thrown around in regards to what the writer is aiming to explore in the pages of “The Flash” and that makes it sound interesting to me. As does the presence of artist Mike Deodato, who’s been showing off his range in recent years with various projects at AWA.
Nightwing #105: Writer Tom Taylor and artist Bruno Redondo previously did an issue of this series that was meant to tell an entire story if you put all of its pages together side-to-side. It was a huge success from what I heard (I’m still waiting for that story to be collected in paperback) and this looks to be a similarly adventurous issue in terms of pushing the comics form. This is because it’s meant to put the reader entirely in Nightwing’s shoes as it’s told from a first-person perspective. It sounds neat and I’m looking forward to reading it and seeing what surprises the story holds. Someday.
Wonder Woman # 800: “The Flash” isn’t the only comic reaching an eight-hundred issue milestone this month. However, it is the one with a larger amount of contributors to its issue with only its outgoing and incoming teams contributing to it. That means you’ll get to see co-writers Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad wrap up their run and writer Tom King begin his. Despite his prolificacy at the publisher, this will only be the second ongoing series King will have worked on aside from “Batman.” It’ll be interesting to see what he’s got in store for the Amazing Amazon, assuming that he’s got a multi-year plan for her. I mean, this could be just a feint to get us to believe he’s the new ongoing writer when he’s actually going to leave after twelve issues. Making his tenure on “Wonder Woman” just another maxiseries under his belt! We’re wise to your ways, King! I hope it’s not, though. His “Batman” run was good while he’s batting .500 in terms of the maxiseries he writes.
Lazarus Planet HC: A volcano has spewn the magic juice from the Lazarus Pits into the world at large. People who don’t have powers get them, and those that already do find them amplified or changed. With Batman out of commission, it’s up to Damien Wayne to assemble a team and put a cork in the volcano (figuratively… I think) and take down the bad guys who started all this. “Lazarus Planet” is spinning out of the events of “Batman vs. Robin,” which is on my “to read” list when it hits softcover. Which means I won’t be getting to this for a while. Which is the start of a mini trend in these solicitations…
Batman: Detective Comics vol. 1 – Gotham Nocturne: Overture HC: Collects the first four issues of Ram V’s run, which would be cause for concern if this collection wasn’t listed as being 232 pages long. The storyline being started here involves a demonic presence haunting Gotham, with the Dark Knight thinking that the source might be within him. Not a bad start for a “Batman” story, particularly one with art from Rafael Albuquerque. I’d be more excited if V wasn’t responsible for the less interesting issues in the current “Venom” run. That said, this volume also collects the backup stories from Simon Spurrier and artist Dani. I’m much more interested in reading those… once this volume hits softcover.
WildC.A.T.s vol. 1: Better Living Through Violence HC: Matthew Rosenberg has shown that he knows how to craft entertaining superhero action with enjoyably snarky dialogue. Stephen Segovia has delivered high quality superhero art while also letting the comedic impulses in the writing come through effectively. In short, they sound like the perfect team to revive one of WildStorm’s premiere superhero titles as Cole “Grifter” Cash leads a team of undesirables into the darkest parts of the DC Universe to save the world. Are they perfect enough to get me to buy this volume in hardcover? Nope, or else I would’ve listed this as the “Above-the-Board” recommendation for this month.
Wonder Woman by Brian Azzarello & Cliff Chiang Omnibus (2023 Edition): There’s nothing in the solicitation text to indicate that this 2023 edition is any different from the previous editions of this omnibus. So you’re just getting a collection of one of the best “Wonder Woman” runs in recent memory. One for anyone’s shelf if they haven’t bought it already.