DC Solicitation Sneaks: August 2023
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
DC Horror Presents: Sgt. Rock vs. The Army of the Dead HC
There are some very slim pickings this month when it comes to stuff that I’m looking forward to reading from DC. Which is why the hardcover edition of this miniseries is getting this slot more for the potential it represents rather than the quality I’m expecting from it. That potential is due entirely to its writer: Living legend Bruce Campbell. Usually the best thing about any film or TV show he’s in, this is his first major work from DC. So the immediate question is whether or not he can write as good as he acts. That’s followed closely by: Is this going to be a straight-up horror story or is it going to be a horror-comedy like the “Evil Dead” movies that made him famous. I’m hoping for the latter because if you can’t laugh at the slaughter of Nazi zombies, what can you laugh at?
Providing art for this miniseries is the great Eduardo Risso. Best known for his collaborations with Brian Azzarello on “100 Bullets,” “Spaceman,” and “Moonshine,” his loose, expressionistic style can work with either horror or comedy. Whichever genre it is, it’ll be of the “dark” variety for sure.
The Penguin #1: Re-solicited here after being bumped from previous solicitations a few months back. Oswald Cobblepot “died” a while ago and was glad to be rid of anything involving Batman, his companions, or even his own partners in crime. Which is why he’s not happy at all to be forced back into Gotham as a pawn of the U.S. intelligence community. It’s doubtful anyone’s going to be glad to see him, including his bastard children who are now running the Iceberg Lounge. And Batman? He might be a little upset that Oswald’s death activated a nearly-unstoppable robot designed by his backup personality to stop him in case he ever went too far. So yeah, Batman may have some issues with finding out that the Penguin is still alive. Veteran Bat-writer Tom King returns to the city (again) for this new ongoing series with “Daredevil’s” Rafael De La Torre providing the art.
G’Nort’s Illustrated Swimsuit Edition #1: The furriest Green Lantern hosts DC’s first ever swimsuit special… almost 30 years too late for anyone to care. I know these were a thing back in the 90’s, but since then? Not so much. Still, DC got a lot of talented artists to draw their favorite heroes in swimwear, so if this is your thing then you’re probably not going to be disappointed by what’s on display here.
The Nice House on the Lake Deluxe Edition: If you’ll recall, the first volume of this series wound up on my “Best of 2022” list. Mainly due to the fact that it had a premise which genuinely surprised me, while the execution of it was pretty darn solid. Vol. 2 has been on my “to review” list for a while now, and… it’s not as good. That’s partly down to its own execution, but mainly the fact that “The Nice House on the Lake” turned out NOT to be a maxiseries as advertised. That’s right, people: This “Deluxe Edition” is a hardcover collection of the “First Cycle” of this series. What I thought was a complete story was only the start of one and following it from here on out is going to be due to morbid curiosity rather than genuine excitement. If you are looking to check this out, I’d recommend getting the two softcover volumes for $20 each rather than shelling out $50 for this hardcover.
The Dead Boy Detectives Omnibus HC: Collecting all of the adventures of Charles Rowan and Edward Paine from their Vertigo years. There’s some good stuff here, including a four-issue miniseries written by Ed Brubaker with art by Bryan Talbot. You’ll also get their first appearance from “Sandman” #25, the “Dead Boy Detectives” OGN from Jill Thompson, and most of Vertigo’s (only) event series “The Children’s Crusade” in this collection as well. Making up the majority of this collection is the twelve-issue “Dead Boy Detectives” series from writer Toby Litt. I’d forgotten this existed, which doesn’t bode well for its overall quality. So while I can appreciate DC putting all of Charles and Edwin’s adventures together in one place, I’d say tracking down the Brubaker/Talbot miniseries would be a better use of your time and money than shelling out $100 for this 800-page collection.
Batman: The Adventures Continue – Season Three #8 (of 8): Not just the final issue of this cycle, but apparently of “The Adventures Continue” overall. The solicitation text makes it sound like co-writers Paul Dini and Alan Burnett are wrapping things up here and giving “Batman: The Animated Series” the proper series finale it never had. The last foe the Dark Knight has to defeat before the end: None other than Ra’s Al Ghul. Even if vol. 2 wasn’t as good as vol. 1, I appreciate that they’re giving this series a proper send-off and that ensures I’ll be here for when “Season Three” is collected.