DC Solicitation Sneaks: January 2026
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
John Constantine: Hellblazer by Paul Jenkins & Sean Phillips Omnibus HC
While runs before (Delano & Ennis) and after (Ellis & Azzarello) it were collected first, this one didn’t get that treatment for a good long while. I don’t know exactly why that was, but it didn’t deserve that neglect. Jenkins took the status quo he inherited from Ennis (and interim writer Eddie Campbell) and ran with it, building on what previous writers had done while making the series his own. It’s one thing for him to rescue the little girl he damned to hell in Newcastle, but still very much in character for Constantine to screw over someone else in the process. There was a lot of cleverness to be had in the writer’s storylines, and it was expertly realized by Phillips who was the best artist “Hellblazer” ever had. The man was just so good at creating a lived-in space in London, while also making the supernatural elements pop when necessary. Now their run is being re-solicited in one omnibus edition and it’s well worth your time if you’re a fan of Constantine who has never read their stories before.
DC K.O.: The Kids Are All Fight #1: Jon Kent watches over some teen superheroes during the crossover. Written by Jeremy Adams and illustrated by Travis Mercer. I’m not actually interested in reading this. I just thought the title was cute. On that note DC K.O.: Green Lantern Galactic Slam #1 is also being solicited here and it’s also written by Adams, with art from Cian Tormey, along with the anthology special DC’s Supergirl Next Door #1.
50th Anniversary Treasury Edition – Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man Facsimile Edition & DC and Marvel Present: Superman & Spider-Man (Marvel Treasury Edition #28) Facsimile Edition: As I understand it, these “Facsimile Editions” are meant to be reproductions of classic comics with modern production values and pricing. So imagine my surprise when I saw that these two were being priced at $20 and $18, respectively. That’s A LOT OF MONEY and even though it may be explained by the 96-page count of the first and 64-page count of the second, it doesn’t explain what kind of extras you’ll be getting with them (if any). These were included as part of the “DC vs. Marvel Omnibus” I talked about last year and while I wouldn’t say they were great, it felt like I was getting a better value for my money when I got those as part of that omnibus.
Batman: H2SH vol. 1: Yes, they’re really going with that subtitle, because it’s clearly much cooler than “Hush 2.” It’s also dubious as to whether this will actually arrive in March as scheduled given the delays that have plagued this title from its halfway point. Not that I’m expecting it to be worth the wait as what I’ve been hearing about this has generally been negative and that anyone interested would be better off just skipping straight to Matt Fraction’s run on the relaunched “Batman.” If I do read this at all, I’ll do it in one of the ways I did the first “Hush:” Borrowing the softcovers from John or getting the complete story softcover as part of a buy-two-get-one-free sale on Amazon.
Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman: Wherein the title character goes into the timestream to find her deceased father, Steve Trevor, only to set off a new Crisis. A Crisis of Infinite Corgis! Writer Tom King may be killing it on the main “Wonder Woman” title, but I have a hunch that we may not be expected to take this miniseries as seriously as his work there. Even the parts with Detective Chimp in them. I’ve got no problem with that as King has shown that he can be very funny when he wants to. That may even be part of his plan here as he gets us to drop our guard while he sticks the knife in at the end. We’ll see about that and how the art from Belen Ortega goes as well.
Superman: Action Comics vol. 1 – Boy of Steel: While writer Mark Waid did do a twelve-issue stint on “Action Comics” with the “Phantoms” arc, he subsequently turned it into a series for Superboy. Not Jon Kent. I’m talking about Superman when he was a young man in Smallville. So get ready for the story of when he revealed his powers to the world and earned the wrath of a long-forgotten hero in the process. “Phantoms” was a bit of a mixed bag, but Waid’s track record is such that I’m willing to give him, and the expectedly solid art from Skylar Patridge and Cian Tormey, the benefit of the doubt here.
Nightwing: Leaping Into the Light – DC Compact Comics Edition: These compact editions are meant to offer large chunks of notable comics runs in a smaller and more affordable package. So you’re getting around two volumes of writer Tom Taylor’s run in one for the low, low price of $10. That’s pretty great and this run is certainly deserving of wider notice. However, I had to go on to Amazon to find out what issues were collected here. While the entirety of vol. 1 is here, this also collects the “Fear State” tie-in issues that got their own collection afterward as well as the first two issues of vol. 2, including the dazzling “Get Grayson” issue which is laid out as one continuous image. It’s not surprising DC wanted to include that issue as it’s an example of the series at its best. While we’re on the subject of Taylor…
Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter: This is the follow-up to the writer’s DC Universe as feudal fantasy series, “Dark Knights of Steel.” That was a really good example of alternate universe storytelling as it used our expectations of the characters we knew against us and led to some good surprises along the way. While I’d normally be excited about a follow-up, this one isn’t written by Taylor. He’s contributing a story about Aquaman here, but “Allwinter” is being written by Jay Kristoff who tells the story of the legendary assassin known as Deathstroke who winds up embroiled in a plan to lift the icy curse on the land he’s currently in. I hope it’ll be fine as Taylor set a high standard for this universe with his original maxiseries.
Lobo: Back to Back: Collects the 90’s miniseries “Lobo” and “Lobo’s Back” from co-writers Keith Giffen and Alan Grant, and with art from Giffen and Simon Bisley. With this character, those creators and this time period, you should have a pretty good idea of what you’re getting here. I only bring this up because, unless the solicitation here isn’t mentioning it, this seems like a missed opportunity to collect “Lobo’s Back’s Back” along with it. Why isn’t DC doing it? Who knows. Maybe they thought that “Lobo: Back to Back to Back” was just too much of the Main Man for its readers to handle in one go.