DC Previews Picks: February 2014
DC Comics is… MOVING! To the East Coast! That was the big news that broke two weeks ago, though I can’t imagine that the announcement itself is going to have too much impact on the comics they publish. At least, that’s until we find out which staff members and editorial persons will actually be making the move along with the company. While a good number of employees will be accommodated, compensated and even wooed to move, the word is that DC may also be using this action as a way to divest itself of some staffers that they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise without a convincing cover story. Who are these people? Not Dan Didio — his position is about as secure as it gets. Word will likely be leaking out about who won’t be making the move and why as the physical relocation gets closer.
Oh, and DC’s big event for next September will be “Five Years Later” with a weekly series written by Dan Jurgens, Brian Azzarello, Keith Giffen and Jeff Lemire spinning out of it. Greg Rucka was supposed to be on the team as well, but had to bow out due to “scheduling conflicts.” The scare quotes are there because the last time I read about his thoughts on working at the company, I’m surprised to find his name was even brought up in connection with this.
Forever Evil #6: We’re told here that this issue contains the final fate of Nightwing! Call it a hunch, but I think he’s going to live through this. A bigger question is whether I’ll actually buy the collected edition for this event. I’ve not heard any compelling argument one way or the other for it in spite of its importance to the DCU. Well, they’ve got four months to convince me otherwise, so we’ll see how that goes.
Batman #28: Okay, I’ll admit that’s a pretty sweet cover.
Batman: Joker’s Daughter #1: This is a one-shot which explores the character introduced in one of the more popular “Villain’s Month” one-shots. Aside from the name, I really didn’t know anything about her until I read the solicitation text here. It describes her as “More than a crazy person who stumbled across the Joker’s face,” which is only slightly spoilery for people like me who are still reading through “Batman vol. 3: Death of the Family.” (It’s quite good so far. I’ll be finishing it off after I’m done writing this.)
Green Lantern/Red Lanterns #28: Now this is quite clever. It’s a flip book that contains two issues for the price of one. The connecting tissue between the two issues is that while many sectors in space are in revolt against the Green Lanterns, there’s a crisis in Sector 2814 (Read: Earth’s) that demands Hal Jordan’s attention. This is also an issue because the Red Lanterns, with Guy Gardner undercover and in charge, are apparently now taking over policing that sector. If nothing else, DC deserves credit for finding a bargain-priced way to draw some attention to both series.
All-Star Western #28: And if you thought Jonah Hex looked hideous with his scars…
Justice League vol. 4: The Grid: Collects issues #18-20 and 22-23. I see this and think, “Well what was so special about issue #21 that prevents it from being collected here. A quick jaunt over to DC’s website reveals that the issue in question was the culmination of the Shazam! back-up strips that were running in the title up to that point. MYSTERY SOLVED!
Animal Man vol. 4: Splinter Species: After the dismal outcome of “Rotworld” can the title make a creative turnaround? We’ll have to wait until March to find out, but I’d like to hope so. This title did have such a promising start after all. Speaking of “Rotworld,” because I’m a glutton for punishment I’ve gone ahead and ordered “Swamp Thing’s” side of the event. It’ll be arriving sometime next week. Will Scott Snyder be revealed as DC’s true writing MVP? Or will his contributions here just show that this whole event was a giant mistake that required far more out-of-the-box thinking than he or Lemire could muster?
Batman ‘66 vol. 1 HC: A hardcover for this? REALLY?
Superman: Earth One vol. 2: No, I don’t think this will read any better now that it’s in softcover.
Batman: Bruce Wayne — Murderer? (New Edition): Even though this came out during the glory days of the Greg Rucka/Ed Brubaker tenure, I never got around to picking it or the subsequent “Bruce Wayne: Fugitive” volumes up. I’d have to check the dates, but I think that was because I was out of a job at the time and had to watch my income. I guess it’s a good thing that I didn’t because now I can pick up this expanded version which contains additional issues that the first one didn’t. Why didn’t they include these issues the first time around? Who knows, but it works for me now.
The Royals: Masters of War #1 (of 6): It’s 1940, the Blitz is killing Londoners by the thousands as the royal family looks on. Then Prince Henry uses his superpowers to intervene and start to turn the tide. That’s right: It’s superhero royalty trying to change the course of history! I’ve not read anything from the writer of this series, Rob Williams, though I’ve heard that he did make the adventures of Wolverine’s son Daken actually interesting for the first time in his solo series. Given that this is also a miniseries, and won’t have to draw its concept out to sustain a monthly title, this sounds promising.
The Sandman: Overture #2: You’ll hear me rant a bit about this on Wednesday’s podcast, but this was originally scheduled to come out in December. That means there’ll be a four month wait between these two issues! No, you can’t rush greatness, but this is also the reason I’ve stuck to buying collected editions over the years. However, since Neil Gaiman is a class act he has already gone on record and copped to the fact that he hadn’t gotten as much of the script written as he wanted. Even if it is his fault, it’s still nice to have someone in comics actually step up and take responsibility for a delay like this.
Astro City: Through Open Doors HC: A hardcover collection of the first six issues of the latest relaunch of the series through Vertigo. This is yet ONE MORE reminder that I’ve never read any of it and would probably do well to finally get around to checking out the first volume one of these days.
Daytripper Deluxe Edition HC: Yes. This is truly deserving of the format.
Hellblazer: Shoot: Originally, this Warren Ellis-written, Phil Jimenez-illustrated title was destined to be consigned to an editor’s desk drawer after DC refused to publish it in the wake of the Columbine shootings over a decade ago. Ellis walked off “Hellblazer” in response and the completed issue languished in infamy for many years. Then, it was finally republished in “Veritgo Resurrected” along with a host of other errata from noted creators from the imprint that had never been collected until that point.
We’re seeing much the same thing here as the issue is being re-published along with five other issues from the title that have never been collected before now. There’s a two-part story about a Croatian magician from Darko Macan that served to bridge the aborted Ellis run with Brian Azzarello’s title-reviving work. We also get another two-issue story from Jason Aaron and Sean Murphy about a group of filmmakers venturing into Newcastle and Constantine having to clean up their mess. Then there’s issue #250 which served as a “Christmas” issue and featured some memorable work from all the creators involved. This is strong stuff all around and highly recommended for any fan of the series.