DC Previews Picks: April 2020
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
The Joker 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1
Yes, I know what I said about DC needing an intervention regarding these anniversary issues. This isn’t even the only one arriving this month: Catwoman is also celebrating her 80th anniversary in similar fashion in these solicitations. Still… a Joker-centric anniversary issue feels like more of a license for the creators involved to get darker and weirder than you’d expect for these kinds of things. While I have no doubt that creators like Brian Azzarello, Lee Bermejo, Dennis O’Neill, Tom Taylor, James Tynion IV, Mikel Janin, and Simone Bianchi know how to get dark and weird, this issue gets my pick because of two names: Paul Dini and Scott Snyder.
Dini’s take on the Joker as the kind of psycho who could turn on a dime from being funny and silly to frightening and intimidating helped make “Batman: The Animated Series” an instant classic, with that approach translating flawlessly to the “Batman: Arkham Asylum” and “Batman: Arkham City” games he helped write. Snyder, on the other hand, is the rare modern writer who finds something new to say about the relationship between the Caped Crusader and the Clown Prince of Crime in each story he writes about them. The cover price for this issue is $10, and I’d bet that it’ll be worth it just for the stories these two will be writing.
Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1: After talking up the Joker’s big issue, I’d be remiss in not mentioning Catwoman’s. What does hers have to offer? Female creators for one: Ann Nocenti and Mindy Newell are writing stories while Emanuela Lupaccino and Tula Lotay are illustrating ones. Paul Dini is also pulling double duty with the “Joker” issue as he’s writing a story here. Finally, the writer of the one “Catwoman” run I own is reuniting with the artist of its middle third to revisit that era. That’s right, it’s Ed Brubaker’s return to superhero comics after a few years away, with Cameron Stewart in tow.
Event Leviathan: Checkmate #1 (of 6): Bendis and Maleev’s take on the espionage-laced underbelly of the DC Universe gets a follow-up miniseries. I’m assuming that it’s only going to get espionage-er as Checkmate has long been regarded as one of the DCU’s foremost spy organizations. I don’t really have more to say about this than that. The original “Event Leviathan” miniseries went straight to hardcover along with the rest of Bendis’ “Superman” titles. So no thoughts from me about its quality until it hits paperback.
The Dreaming #20: Not just the end of Simon Spurrier and Bilquis Evely’s run on the title, but the series itself. Which is a little odd when you consider that DC announced that G. Willow Wilson was going to be taking over for Spurrier as the writer on this title. Then again, it may not be so bad if they’re just going to relaunch the title with her in another month or two. That way you’ve got a clear demarcation between “The Dreaming by Simon Spurrier” and “The Dreaming by G. Willow Wilson” to sell to readers. It helps sell these titles as genuinely writer-driven, which is what I’d want to see in a line spun off from the work of Neil Gaiman.
Doomsday Clock Part 2 HC With Free Slipcase: Hmmmmm… is the addition of a free slipcase to collect both volumes of this sequel to “Watchmen” enough to get me to pick it up? HA! No. It’d be one thing if this maxiseries had incredible reviews and good word-of-mouth like the TV series had to get me to check it out. (Still haven’t bothered with it, though.) Except it doesn’t. In fact, everything I read about the final issue makes me glad that I haven’t invested any money in DC’s exploitation of the series. I’m all for stories where Superman’s optimism and compassion triumph over all. But having it serve as the climax for a “Watchmen” sequel. That just cheapens it and everything around it. Now that it’s done, let’s hope writer Geoff Johns gets back to doing what he does best: Reminding us why old superheroes can still be vehicles for worthwhile stories.
Superman: Action Comics vol. 2 — Leviathan Rising: Okay, so my hope here is that this volume is all about stories setting up “Event Leviathan” and not actually tying into the event itself. It’d also be nice if Bendis can split the difference between building on the street-level stories he was telling in the first volume and the buildup to the main event. Still, Steve Epting and Yanick Paquette are on art duties for this volume, so expect the Man of Steel to look darker, shadowier, and stylish as all get out.
Wonder Woman: The Many Lives of Maxwell Lord: In case you haven’t heard, the millionaire industrialist with psychic powers is going to be in the new “Wonder Woman” movie. That’s what the title is meant to be tapping into, but I think it’s kind of bland. I would’ve gone with, “Wonder Woman: A Bunch of Issues Leading Up to the Time She Snapped Maxwell Lord’s Neck.” Good times, that issue was.