DC Solicitation Sneaks: February 2026
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
DC K.O.: Boss Battle #1
I’ll admit that when the promotional image for this issue came out, I thought it was an obvious fake. I mean, it promised all of these characters – who were obviously not part of the DCU – would be taking part in the company’s big battle royale of an event. It turns out that I was wrong and this one-shot, written by Jeremy Adams with art from Carmine Di Giandomenico, Ronan Cliquet, and more, will involve the likes of Vampirella, Sub-Zero from “Mortal Kombat,” Annabelle from her own and “The Conjuring” movies, as well as Samantha Strong from “Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees?” While that last one would appear to be the most head-scratching inclusion (of which more are promised), the fact that Homelander from “The Boys” would be in here as well was what really surprised me.
Before it was a hit Amazon streaming series, “The Boys” was a comic from writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson, and later Russ Braun, that sought to take the writer’s utter dislike of superheroes to the next level. It did that and after six issues at DC/Wildstorm it was promptly canceled by the publisher because its outrageous content, usually involving and at the expense of thinly-veiled versions of familiar superheroes, was deemed to be too much by the publisher (and then-current editor-in-chief Paul Levitz, if memory serves). The series was subsequently picked up by Dynamite where it ran to its conclusion and the rest is history.
The one thing I want to bring up here is that Garth Ennis Hates Superheroes. So the idea of Homelander participating in DC’s big event just really came off as unbelievable to me. Was this the result of some behind-the-scenes wrangling that saw the character being used without the approval of his creators? Well, there was some behind-the-scenes wrangling and it apparently involved a phone call from publisher Jim Lee. We’ll likely never know the specifics, but I can only imagine that Ennis must have been amused to have a character from the series he co-created that was canned by DC back at the publisher at the request of its current president. If Homelander also punches Superman’s head off during the event, then that might indicate what else was discussed during that phone call.
New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident #1: I didn’t think a miniseries about the secret history of minority superheroes was going to produce any spinoffs or follow-ups, particularly after it came and went without a lot of fuss, but I guess I was wrong. This one-shot will tell the story of how a murder led to an all-out-war between the heroes of Dakota City and the U.S. Government. Sounds like a fun time, to be sure. Which is probably one of the reasons its predecessor doesn’t appear to be talked up much these days. Nobody would be surprised to know that the secret history of minority superheroes was likely a terrible one and this looks to be producing even more misery on top of that.
In somewhat more pleasant news, DC’s legendary Vertigo imprint is returning in these solicitations. Shuttered due to declining sales and the influence of former president Pam Lifford, there were lots of rumors about its return prior to the formal announcement last month. DC recruited a lot of writer/artist teams that have worked together before for this relaunch, and the initial offerings are, well… you’ll see.
The Nice House by the Sea #7 (of 12): Continuing the maxi-series as it jumps to the Vertigo imprint. While I was very impressed with this series first volume (“The Nice House on the Lake” vol. 1”) subsequent volumes have been considerably less impressive. To the point where if writer James Tynion can’t right the course, and I’m not optimistic that he can, I’ll be consigning what I’ve bought of this series to my To Sell pile. I can’t find the article that says so, but apparently the end of this series will represent the halfway point of the story that Tynion and artist Alvaro Martinez want to tell. Which is more of a threat than a promise when the quality of each volume has been on a downward trend.
Bleeding Hearts #1: The zombie apocalypse happened and guess what: The zombies won! In the time since, they’ve developed their own zombie culture; though, eating humans has never gone out of style. Until one day when one zombie’s heart starts beating again and humans stop looking like food to him. Clearly we’re getting a story about tolerance and understanding told with all of the subtlety and surprise you get when you don’t move out of the way of the brick that’s coming right for your face. I say this because New Creator-Owned Work from Deniz Camp, the writer of “20th Century Men” and “Assorted Crisis Events” is definitely a threat in my book after how bad those turned out to be. This is being illustrated by “20th Century’s” Stipan Morian who will undoubtedly make this look a lot better than it deserves to.
End of Life #1: Professional hitman Eddie Stallion has screwed up bad. Real bad. So bad that he’s now forced to hide out in his old hometown where he has to deal with his resentful father, former childhood love, and a cancelled newspaper strip creator turned local crime lord. It’s almost a relief when people start showing up to collect the price on his head, because he knows how to deal with them. This comes to us from writer Kyle Starks and artist Steve Pugh who gave us the pretty decent “Peacemaker Tries Hard!” which only suffered because it trod much of the same ground as the first season of the streaming series. With the two of them tackling something original, I’m a lot more hopeful about the results.
The Peril of the Brutal Dark: A Ezra Cain Mystery #1 (of 6): The title character is a former archaeology student turned private investigator who’s not afraid of some fisticuffs when it comes to solving a case. Yet it’s his former life that proves to be relevant here when the Museum of Natural History asks him to track down a stolen anvil that’s reported to contain the power of gods. Which then leads to him taking on a cult known as the Brutal Dark with logic-defying powers and a plan to overthrow America! “That escalated quickly,” is the feeling I got from reading the solicitation text for this miniseries from writer Chris Condon and artist Jacob Phillips. While the latter is a capable artist, the former hasn’t produced anything that’s really surprised me with the best of his work, “The Enfield Gang Massacre,” topping out at pretty decent. Maybe some cult-inspired nuttiness will do Condon good, or I may just not bother with Ezra’s future adventures.
Justice League Unlimited vol. 2: The Omega Act: It may say vol. 2 on the cover, but vol. 1 left off on a cliffhanger that led directly into the “We Are Yesterday” crossover with “World’s Finest.” Hopefully that will be addressed in this volume, but my copy of that crossover is already in the mail. So no worries here. That said, and if the title itself wasn’t already an indication, this is being billed as a prelude to “DC K.O.” as it also collects the “Dark Tomorrow” and “Omega Act” one-shots leading into it. While I’m not expecting co-writers Joshua Williamson and Marc Guggenheim to drag regular writer Mark Waid down, I am concerned about his ability to tell an ongoing story in this series if it’s going to be joined at the hip with this crossover for the next two volumes.
Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum HC: Superman confronts the lingering trauma associated with the loss of his homeworld as he encounters newer and even more bizarre forms of the mineral that’s also his greatest weakness. This got some good reviews when it was serialized over this past summer and while I was hoping it’d be released in an affordable paperback edition, we’re getting a $30 oversized hardcover. Which does give me pause as “The Ice Cream Man” team of writer W. Maxwell Prince and artist Martin Morazzo, isn’t a sure thing in my book. Then again, if I could shell out the same amount for questionable Black Label stuff like “Aquaman: Andromeda,” I can at least do the same for something that has more potential.
Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2: You know what they say, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…” The first series managed to make the titular conflict pretty dull. I have no doubt that writer Brian Buccellato and artist Christian Duce will do the same for Amanda Waller’s new Suicide Squad of Titans.
Batman: Dark Patterns; This maxi-series of four three-issue series detailing cases early in Batman’s career also got some positive notices over the course of its run. I’ll admit that writer Dan Watters isn’t a must-read name with me, but Hayden Sherman has done some great work on “Absolute Wonder Woman.” I am a bit concerned about how this volume is being pitched as the solicitation text as it plays up the series as a more grounded experience with relatable mysteries that steer clear of cosmic or supernatural distractions. Yet I’ve also read that one of the arcs in this series has Scarface possessing a building, so I’ve got no idea what the writer was going for here.
Birds of Prey vol. 4: On the Run: The final volume. “Gone too soon,” only in the sense that it finally delivered its most satisfying volume with vol. 3. Which might have been part of the reason why it got the axe with issue #28. Still, I’m expecting good fun here as writer Kelly Thompson and artist Sami Basri along with Vicente Cifuentes have the Birds go up against the Shadow Army for the fate of Sin.
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight – The Kryptonian Age: “Gotham by Gaslight” was the first “Elseworlds” story and it stood as an example of how good taking a familiar character out of their regular context could be. So it’s a little surprising that it only got one sequel, “Master of Reality,” before now. Writer Andy Diggle and artist Leandro Fernandez deliver this expansion of the original story, which had Batman emerging in Victorian London to combat Jack the Ripper, in ways that are both obvious (see the subtitle) and less so. Diggle and Fernandez have both done good work in the past, and since I managed to avoid buying this in hardcover, I may as well pick up this softcover edition to see how they did. Which will certainly provide a direct influence on whether or not I’ll get its follow-up Batman: Gotham by Gaslight – A League for Justice which is solicited in hardcover here.