DC Solicitation Sneaks: May 2025
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Shade, The Changing Man by Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo Omnibus vol. 1
The first time they tried collecting this, we got one volume.
The second time they tried collecting this, we got three volumes.
Third time’s the charm? It will be if you thought the series should’ve ended with issue #50, which is where Milligan originally planned to wrap things up. Unfortunately DC was planning to continue the series after he left, so he stayed on until the title was canceled with issue #70. So are we just getting The Good Years with this omnibus? Can’t say because I’ve only read this series up to that third collected volume mentioned above. Reading more has been on my To Do list for quite a while now and it looks like that time has finally come. If this is just The Good Years, I’ll let you know after I’ve read it. That said, it does make me wonder what they’ll be including for vol. 2, aside from the remaining 20 issues, if it ever gets made.
Superman Unlimited #1: Dan Slott joins the DCU with his very own “Superman” title, featuring Rafael Albuquerque on art. The hook for this issue is that a meteor the size of Metropolis is headed straight for Earth. While that doesn’t sound like that big a deal for the Man of Steel, this one is a bit more… green than others. The last time we had a former Marvel-exclusive writer tackle Superman, we got runs on “Superman” and “Action Comics” that definitely had their moments, but didn’t really tell satisfying ongoing stories. Slott has always been a more traditional superhero comic book writer than Bendis, best seen in his lengthy and legendary “Amazing Spider-Man” run. His subsequent turns on “Iron Man” and “Fantastic Four” weren’t on the same level, but here’s hoping that getting a crack at one of the most iconic superhero characters of all time will have Slott bringing his A-game again.
Mr. Terrific: Year One #1 (of 6): Michael Holt may be one of the foremost scientific minds of the DCU, but it wasn’t always that way. Witness how the head of Holt Industries went from incredible tragedy to become a real hero, courtesy of writer Al Letson and artist Valentine De Landro. Also, see how Mr. Terrific’s investigation into what happened to Darkseid in the “All In” special illuminates his past as well. So this might be the first “Year One” series to actively involve the featured character’s present. Let’s see how it turns out.
Superman: Action Comics – Phantoms: Everyone knows that the Phantom Zone holds the absolute worst criminals in the galaxy – the ones who just can’t be reasoned with and who would rather see it all burn down around them. So when someone manages to break out of it, Superman has to figure out how they did it, or else the universe will pay the price. Written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Clayton Henry. The solicitation text also tells me that Waid will be giving us the secret history of the Phantom Zone, which is a real “SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!” kind of incentive. Can’t wait.
Poison Ivy vol. 5: Human Botany: Jason Woodrue is finally dead (or at least as dead as supervillains get), so it’s time for Ivy, Harley, and Janet From HR to kick back and enjoy life a little. Just after Pam takes care of an eco-terrorist group that may have been inspired by her actions. And deals with the primordial force that has emerged from an ancient site in Gotham. And survives the ages-old rivalry between the Green and the Gray. If you were worried that writer G. Willow Wilson had run out of things to do with the title character after the previous volume, it doesn’t sound like you’ve got anything to worry about. Better still is that the softcover edition of this volume will be arriving right alongside the hardcover!
Absolute Wild C.A.T.s by Jim Lee: Collecting everything the superstar artist has done involving the first superhero team he created. This is notable for a couple reasons:
- It collects the “Wild C.A.T.s/X-Men: The Silver Age” crossover issue he illustrated. I’m honestly surprised no one has mentioned this yet, but it means Marvel and DC had to agree to let this be included here. Did Lee ask for this when the two publishers were negotiating to release the “DC Versus Marvel” omnibi? Did Marvel offer it as a gesture of goodwill when they were trying to lure him back to the X-Men? Or was this part of the negotiations for the upcoming DC/Marvel crossover issues set to arrive later this year? I wonder…
- Not only do we get the one issue of the aborted “Wild C.A.T.s” relaunch Lee did with Grant Morrison, we’re getting the writer’s script for the second issue as well! Which, uh, honestly seems more cruel than anything else. That said, if you’ve been dying to know what happened after that first issue, here you go.