DC Previews Picks: November 2017

The big ticket item in this month’s solicitations is the first issue of Doomsday Clock, the twelve-issue maxiseries from Geoff Johns and Gary Frank that will further the integration of “Watchmen” into the DCU.  This is problematic for a couple of reasons — aside from the fact that integrating “Watchmen” into the DCU is still a morally and ethically dicey thing to begin with.  First off is the fact that it’s debuting while “Metal” is still ongoing.  Not only does it run the risk of cannibalizing sales for both series, but “Metal” has been very well-received so far.  Putting them head-to-head like this is going to invite comparisons and if “Doomsday Clock” comes up short then its twelve-issue run is likely going to feel much, much longer for DC.  Though I’m sure DC Publisher Dan Didio wouldn’t mind that too much since “Metal” is more his thing in the ongoing “My Relaunch Is Better Than Yours” he’s having with Johns behind the scenes.

That aside, “Doomsday Clock” is likely to actually to take that much longer regardless given its creators’ track record.  While Johns and Frank have a good history together for quality — see their run together on “Action Comics,” “Superman:  Secret Origin,” and the two “Batman:  Earth One” volumes — they’re not the most timely of creators.  While it takes time for Frank to deliver the detail he’s known for in his work, Johns also has his day job overseeing Warner Bros. slate of DC films.  Unless the two will have eleven issues of “Doomsday Clock” in the can before the first issue hits, expect plenty of delays over the course of its run.

Hawkman:  Found #1:  Hawkman’s history was a notorious tangle for years until Geoff Johns offered up his own take on it in the pages of “JSA.”  That led to an ongoing series with a decent run and the character falling into the background since its end.  Now Jeff Lemire is back at DC for this one-shot which will reintroduce the character while tying him to the events of “Metal.”  I’m not sure whether that’ll do the character any favors, but this one-shot is going to look GREAT since it has both Bryan Hitch and Kevin Nowlan drawing it.  When it finally comes out, that is.

Batman and the Signal #1 (of 3):  Rather than just take him on as the new Robin, Batman has been training Duke Thomas to be his own hero in the pages of “All-Star Batman.”  Now it looks like that training is finally going to pay off as Duke makes his hero debut as the Signal.  The description of his hero modus operandi is a little vague — he protects Gotham during the day/when Batman isn’t available — and that’s going to have to change if he wants to have a career that’s more than a glorified footnote.  Fortunately Duke’s creator, Scott Snyder, is co-writing this miniseries, albeit with the completely unknown Tony Patrick with art from the always-impressive Cully Hamner.  I like Duke’s character and I hope Snyder and Patrick find the right angle for his superhero career to succeed with this miniseries.

Justice League of America Annual #1:  In which we learn why Lobo joined up with the JLA, something only Batman has known before now.  I haven’t started reading this series so I can’t make an educated guess as to why the Main Man has decided to become a team player after all these years.  But I can make an uneducated one.  You see, a while back Lobo had a run in with Tommy Monaghan, seen in “Hitman/Lobo:  That Stupid Bastich” that had the former chase the latter all over town.  It took Tommy a while but he finally managed to put one over on Lobo by getting him married to the most depraved member of Section Eight, Bueno Excellente.  (Did I mention this was written by Garth Ennis?  Because it was.)  So if Lobo were ever to exact his revenge on Tommy, then video of the “ceremony” would find its way into the superhuman community.  My guess is that Batman got ahold of that video and used it as leverage to get Lobo on the straight and narrow.  At least, that’s what I want to think is the case.  If that’s what actually happened then I’ll have all the reason I need to finally start reading this series.

Batman:  Creature of the Night #1 (of 4):  Several years ago Kurt Busiek teamed with Stuart Immonen for “Superman:  Secret Identity” about an ordinary boy named Clark Kent in a world much like our own with no superheroes.  That is, until Clark develops his own and has to deal with the fallout that comes from being the world’s only super-powered individual.  It’s one of the best “Superman” stories out there and a high point in both Busiek and Immonen’s careers.  Now Busiek is back with a spiritual sequel of sorts, telling the same kind of story only with “Batman.”  This was originally announced a while ago so I can only assume that the reason we’re getting it now is because Busiek wanted to get it right.  Immonen won’t be back for this, but the art will be in the hands of the supremely talented John Paul Leon so this should be something to watch out for when it arrives.

JSA by Geoff Johns vol. 1:  Collecting issues #1-15 and The Secret Files #1 from the writer’s run on the series, co-written with James Robinson and David Goyer.  If memory serves, these were some fun stories which did a good job of bringing the members of the original super-team into the modern age.  If you’re wondering about the arc where Johns brought back Hawkman and worked through his continuity issues, that’ll be in vol. 2.

Suicide Squad vol. 7:  The Dragon’s Hoard:  Collecting issues #50-57 from the classic John Ostrander/Kim Yale run.  Not much to say about this volume story-wise as the solicitation text just tells us that members of the original team are being assembled for a mission to preserve Rick Flag’s legacy.  I just wanted to point out that there’s only one more volume to go before this run will be collected in its entirety.

Imaginary Friends #1 (of 6):  I know Tim Seeley best from his work on “Revival,” but he’s also been writing a number of titles for DC over the past few years including “Nightwing” and “Green Lanterns.”  As someone who has had success publishing a title through Image, I have to wonder why he’s going through Vertigo for this new miniseries with artist Stephen Molnar.  It’s not like his previous Vertigo title, “Effigy,” did all that great coming from the imprint.  Maybe DC offered him more money than he could possibly make by going to Image… and maybe monkeys just flew out of my butt.  Anyhow, this miniseries is about a ten-year-old-girl named Melba who tried to murder her best friend because her imaginary friend, a spider-girl named Polly Peachpit, told her to.  She was sent away to juvie and as she’s about to be transferred to a federal prison after turning eighteen, Melba is contacted by an FBI agent who says that her “imaginary friend” is actually a mental parasite.  One of many that have found their way into our world.  You can probably see where this is going.  For what it’s worth, this sounds fine and completely unlikely to change Vertigo’s trajectory or vault Seeley into the upper tier of creators.  I could be wrong, but let’s be realistic here…