DC Solicitation Sneaks: May 2026
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Poison Ivy vol. 7: Amuse-Bouche
Vol. 6 (review forthcoming) ended on something of a cliffhanger as the least plot-armored member of the principal cast – Janet From HR – was taken off into the swamp to answer for her betrayal of the title character. Pamela Isely has mellowed a bit over the course of her ongoing series, but will that be enough to spare the title’s most adorable normie? We shall see, along with events hint at a major change to the title’s status quo. Which, based on the headlines I’ve been reading, I can assure you is a big one even though I’d bet that there’s no way it lasts for that long or doesn’t go down in flames in the end. All this, plus extra stories from the title’s first “Annual” and one-off crossover with Swamp Thing – both examples of things that I never thought we’d see after this title was first announced.
Absolute Catwoman #1 (of 6) & Absolute Green Arrow #1 (of 6): The expansion of the Absolute Universe continues with these miniseries that aim to spotlight key characters and build off recent plot developments. “Catwoman” is co-written by Che Grayson and Scott Snyder with art from Bengal and features Selina’s past coming back to haunt her. “Green Arrow” comes to us from writer Pornsak Pitchetshote and artist Rafael Albuquerque and sounds like the more interesting of the two as Executive Protection Specialist Dinah Lance has to deal with dead corrupt billionaires. The only connection between them being the green arrows sticking out of their corpses. Pitchetshote’s work tends to be more notable for its messaging than its quality, but if what I’ve heard about the setup for this miniseries is true, this could make for a fun horror/action series. Particularly if Albuquerque embraces his older, rougher style from “American Vampire.” Otherwise, I’ll have to give the artistic edge to the always fantastic Bengal who knows how to deliver kinetic action like no one else.
Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1: From writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Amancay Nahuelpan comes this (mini? ongoing?) series that sees the title character thrown into Gotham Police Commissioner Vandal Savage’s new supermax prison. While we’re promised that the true danger for Barbara is just beginning… c’mon. I mean, this is Batgirl and it’s the kind of setup that begs for a “YOU’RE TRAPPED IN HERE WITH ME!” kind of twist. Should be fun if that’s the case, or more of a grind if not.
Superman: Father of Tomorrow #1: Now here’s an interesting setup – what if Jor-El came to Earth instead of his son? That probably won’t win him any Father of the Year awards, but it may be exactly what Earth needs. Unless it hastens our destruction, which is a very real possibility for this clearly out-of-continuity (mini? ongoing? c’mon DC, make these things clear) series. Kenny Porter writes, Danny Earls draws, and best of luck to them in trying to deliver on this promising setup.
Batman: The Black Casebook Deluxe Edition: Grant Morrison adopted an “It’s All True” approach to every “Batman” story when crafting his epic, multi-title run with the character. That is to say he read some of the Caped Crusader’s more eccentric adventures and found ways to reference or incorporate them along the way. The specific stories that inspired Morrison have been collected once before, but now you can get them in an oversized hardcover if you missed them the first time and are curious about his influences here.
John Constantine: Hellblazer by Paul Jenkins & Sean Phillips Omnibus HC: I’m pretty sure this has been solicited before, but this is still my pick for the most underrated “Hellblazer” run from its original 300-issue series. Part of that’s down to how long it took for these issues to actually get collected, as well as Vertigo editorial’s decision to bring in Garth Ennis and Warren Ellis to follow-up Jenkins with the express intent to jazz up the title some. That was unfair to the creative team, who delivered some very memorable stories over the course of their run while effectively incorporating characters from previous writers and broadening John’s world and history as well. Highly recommended for any “Hellblazer” fan, particularly if you’ve never considered it before.
Planetary Compendium: While I believe that this series has been offered in Absolute and Omnibus editions before, I think this is the first time we’re seeing the entire series collected in paperback form. So if you’ve been holding out on reading one of the best things Warren Ellis has ever written, as well as the work that made the late, great John Cassaday one of the best and most acclaimed artists in the industry, stop doing that and pick up this compendium when it’s released!