DC Previews Picks: August 2014
It seems that it’s time for one of DC’s periodic culls of its ongoing titles. With this latest batch of solicitations, the company announced that “All-Star Western,” “Superboy,” “Birds of Prey,” “Batwing,” “Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger,” and “Trinity of Sin: Pandora” will all be wrapping up in August. If you’re guessing by the fact that this is the first time I’ve mentioned some of these titles in a while (if not ever) I’m not exactly broken up about this, then you’d be right. I didn’t find Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray’s take on “Jonah Hex” to be nearly as compelling as Joe Lansdale’s, “Phantom Stranger” was apparently quite dire until J.M. DeMatteis took over for DC Publisher Dan Didio, and the rest I’ll just give a *collective shrug* to. The cancellation of these titles opens up some room for more new ones in the same “throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks” approach the company has been employing since the start of the “New 52.” Expect to find out what DC has in mind for this at Comic-Con if not sooner.
The Multiversity #1: Now, you’d think that this would be one such title to fill those abandoned spaces, but you’d be wrong. Grant Morrison’s take on the DC Multiverse has been in the works for YEARS now and even though it’s not indicated in these solicitations, I’m certain this is meant to be a limited series. In the same way that his recent run on “Batman, Inc.” was. As for the title itself, it sounds as wonderfully bizarre and far-out as I’ve come to expect from the writer as it starts with Calvin Harris, the African-American President Superman of Earth-23, and Captain Carrot (as you’ve never seen him before — which actually sounds more like a promise than a threat here) then continues with “Vampire League of Earth-43, the Justice Riders of Earth-18, Superdemon, Doc Fate, the super-sons of Superman and Batman, the rampaging Retaliators of Earth-8, the Atomic Knights of Justice, Dino-Cop, Sister Miracle, Lady Quark, the legion of Sivanas, the Nazi New Reichsmen of Earth-10 and the latest, greatest Super Hero of Earth-Prime: YOU!” All this and art from Ivan Reis to kick it off. It sounds wildly ambitious, and like a welcome return to the writer’s weird roots when he started out with DC.
Constantine #17: That’s a nice cover from Juan Ferreyra. Would’ve fit right in as one for “Hellblazer.”
Batman #34: It always amuses me to see what titles get the ALL CAPS treatment whenever a company lists what else a writer or artist has done either here or in a collection. Usually without fail, the title that the creator has done for the company will get the ALL CAPS treatment to signify that it is worthy of your intention. But what if a creator is doing their first work for the company? What title gets the ALL CAPS treatment then? In the case of Matteo Scalera, DC has chosen to promote the artist’s work on “DEADPOOL” over his creator-owned Image title “Black Science.” I realize this is just a minor detail in the big scheme of things; however, it does seem a bit telling that DC would want to play up a creator’s company-owned work than anything they’ve done for themselves.
Batman vol. 5: Zero Year — Dark City: In which Batman find out that he can Tune… No, not really, but the two or three of you who got that joke can give yourselves a pat on the back. This is the second collection of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s exploration of the title character’s formative year. To my surprise, even though this was meant to be a three-arc epic (thus warranting three separate collections) the final two arcs are being collected here. Considering that I enjoyed my copy of Batman vol. 4: Zero Year: Secret City much more than I thought I would for something that overwrites “Batman: Year One” in continuity, this volume can’t arrive soon enough. (Yes, I know that “Year One” and everything else was kicked to the curb when the “New 52” launched, but I like to keep pretending that it hasn’t unless it has been specifically indicated. As it was here.)
Wonder Woman vol. 5: Flesh: I know I haven’t been writing up the volumes of this series as they come out, but I’ve still been reading them. Let me say that while Brian Azzarello’s decision to incorporate Orion and the New Gods into the title hasn’t been as successful as I was expecting, the title still remains a compelling read. Seeing Diana match wits with her bloodthirsty family and still retain her honor has made for some good stories, and as this is likely the next-to-last volume in Azzarello’s run, the drama should be ramping up to a critical point here.
Batman: Gordon of Gotham: Hey! Did you know that there’s a “Batman” prequel series set to premiere on FOX in the Fall? It’s also going to feature a young Detective James Gordon as its main character. To celebrate this occasion, DC is digging way back into their archives of “Batman” miniseries from the late 90’s for this collection. Courtesy of very veteran Bat-writers Chuck Dixon and Denny O’Neil, we get “Gordon of Gotham,” “Gordon’s Law,” and “GCPD,” showing us what life was like for Commissioner Gordon and the rank-and-file before “Gotham Central” came around. I may not agree with Dixon’s politics, but the man wrote some great “Batman”stories back in the day. I’ll be picking this up for certain when it arrives.
New Teen Titans vol. 1: I’ve never read this series, but I’m aware of its historical importance. Back in 1980, DC was being trounced by Marvel in such a way that the people running the company were seriously considering throwing in the towel. Then Marv Wolfman and George Perez came along and delivered a mega-hit with this series that revitalized the company and eventually led to even bigger things when DC had them revamp the whole universe in “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” It’s also supposed to be quite good, even though its signature storyline — “The Judas Contract” — has been spoiled for me for well over a decade now. Even so, I may go ahead and pick this up just to see if has held up after all these years.
Astro City: Through Open Doors: Hey, I finally picked up the very first volume of this series at WonderCon this year. So now I can finally see what all the fuss is about. That said, how many volumes do I have to read before I’m ready to tackle this first volume of new stories from Vertigo?
Punk Rock Jesus: Deluxe Edition HC: I didn’t like this series enough to consider re-buying it in hardcover for $40. However, I will concede that Sean Murphy’s art is likely to impress even more now that it’ll be on glossy paper instead of the recycled pulp that helped keep costs for the original volume down. There’s also the fact that this edition promises over 100 pages of bonus content. That sounds like a great deal, but without any indication as to what this content consists of it makes my decision to pass on this an easy one.