DC Previews Picks: August 2018
There’s an easy way to tell when a DC event means business. It’s when they use “Crisis” in its title. The original “Crisis on Infinite Earths” set the standard for being the crossover that really changed everything as it streamlined DC’s continuity in significant fashion. Subsequent events, such as “Zero Hour: Crisis in Time,” “Infinite Crisis,” and “Final Crisis,” tried in their own way to change things and some were more successful at it than others. Early on there was word that “Metal” was going to have the title “Dark Crisis,” but Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo managed to convince DC to let them keep their title for this event. Which worked out pretty well from what I’ve heard.
I’m bringing this up because in the wake of “Metal” and all of the things it unleashed onto the DC Universe, there’s been talk of the company planning another “Crisis.” Only this time it’s just going to be called… “Crisis.” Which has a certain purity in it if nothing else. So it’s possible that this could be the lead-in to the “fresh start” or “creative refresh” that DC is planning, or god help us another reboot. Right now all we can take away from word of this latest “Crisis” is the same thing that all events with its name have tried to do in the past: that it’s going to try its best to change the DC Universe. Whether or not it’ll be successful or even good is another matter entirely.
Adventures of the Super Sons #1 (of 12): There are two things that strike me as odd about this new maxiseries: That it’s a maxiseries instead of a new ongoing and that it’s billed as a flashback story. Given that Jon “Superboy” Kent and Damian “Robin” Wayne have only been interacting since “Rebirth” I can’t imagine that there’s much in their relationship that needs fleshing out or flashing back to. The fact that this is going to involve the two of them fighting off the attention from an interstellar gang called “The Gang” doesn’t inspire much confidence either. “Superman” co-writer Peter Tomasi flies solo here with artist Carlo Barberi on art. Tomasi also wrote the previous “Super Sons” series so it’s curious to see him back so soon for this flashback tale.
The Sandman Universe #1: Gerard Way’s Young Animal imprint was set to be the next Vertigo, until it crashed and burned due to a lack of interest in titles that weren’t the Way-written “Doom Patrol” and that title’s own lateness. Now DC is gearing up to give Vertigo another shot in the arm and it’s bringing in the biggest names it can to do so: Neil Gaiman and “The Sandman.” The writer has returned to the character and his world infrequently enough over the years that his involvement with this latest relaunch still counts as something of an event. However, Gaiman is only providing the basic story for this one-shot while the heavy lifting will be done by the four writers who will be writing the four titles that will be spinning out of this event. They are “The Dreaming” from Si Spurrier, “House of Whispers” by Nalo Hopkinson, “Books of Magic” by Kat Howard, and “Lucifer” by Dan Watters. Naturally I’m most interested in “The Dreaming” since it’ll give Spurrier a license to be as weird as he wants, though “House of Whispers” sounds interesting since it’s a new concept. I’ve not had much interest in “Books of Magic” outside the original miniseries, and it’s hard to get excited about another new “Lucifer” series after Mike Carey’s came to us from The Land of Far Better Than it Has a Right to Be. Still, if word of mouth demands it, I’d be willing to give those two series a shot, but that’s how this latest relaunch is looking to me at the moment.
Pearl #1 (of 6): My first thought on seeing that this new title was coming to us from Bendis, with “Alias/Jessica Jones” artist Michael Gaydos, my first thought was, “Goddamnit. Not another new creator-owned title from this guy.” After letting “Scarlet,” “The United States of Murder, Inc.” (whose only volume is getting a softcover reprint this month), “Brilliant,” and even “Powers” fall by the wayside over the years, I’ve got little faith that the writer will be able to stick with another new series at this point. Then I saw that this was being solicited as a miniseries. Which sounds like a much better fit for the writer, so long as he can keep this on schedule. As for the series itself, it’s about a tattoo artist for the Yakuza in San Francisco and the special ability she has that keeps her tied to that life. It sounds fine enough, but I’d imagine your excitement for such a thing depends on how much patience you have left for Bendis after what’s happened to all of his other creator-owned work over the years. Speaking of which…
Scarlet #1 (of 5): So this is being solicited as a miniseries too? Without any indication that it’s effectively the start of the third volume of the series? It’s worth noting that the second volume, published back in 2016, promised the next arc in 2017. At least we’re getting it now… or just the first issue of it in August. Whether or not we get any more after that is anyone’s guess.
Batman and the Justice League Manga vol. 1: In which a young boy travels to Gotham from Japan to solve the disappearance of his scientist parents following an explosion at the Lexcorp factory they were working at. If that sounds like a setup for Lex Luthor to team up with the Joker in order to tap into a mystical power source discovered by said scientist parents, then you’d be right. Oh, and Batman is going to bring in the rest of the Justice League once he finds out this is something he can’t handle alone. Props to DC for bringing over this manga title from Shiori Teshirogi, but this sounds like it’s meant for readers with way less familiarity with the DC Universe and cynicism than me.
Batman: Kings of Fear #1 (of 6): Worth mentioning because the solicitation makes it sound more artist-driven than I’ve come to expect from your average “Batman” miniseries. It’s of interest to me because the artist driving this is Kelly Jones whose spooky, over-the-top style provided a memorable look for the character in the 90’s. The setup for this miniseries, written by former “Batman” editor Scott Petersen, sounds like it’ll give the artist plenty of opportunities to cut loose illustrating the title character’s rogues gallery after the Scarecrow orchestrates a riot at Arkham Asylum.
Lex Luthor/Porky Pig Special #1: DC has a new round of Looney Tunes crossovers this month. I’m mentioning this one not because of its story, but because Ben Oliver’s take on Porky for the issue’s cover is downright frightening. Instead of looking like the comic character we all know and love, he looks like some freakish humanoid pig-man. Which, if interior artist Brad Walker follows suit, will make him the perfect fall guy when Luthor needs one of his employees to take the fall for the latest scandal at his company. Writer Mark Russell reportedly got a lot of mileage when he used his run on “The Flintstones” to discuss modern social issues, so expect to see him try that approach here. Assuming you can get past that cover…
Batman: Detective Comics vol. 7 — Batmen Eternal: The finale to James Tynion IV’s run that asks whether or not Batwoman will be able to continue bearing the symbol of Batman after all that she’s done. My guess is that the answer will be a resounding “YES” after the appropriate amount of drama has ensued. I mean, why should I expect any kind of dramatic change to the status quo after Tynion has spent the entirety of his run so far sticking to it.
Before Watchmen Omnibus HC: Back when the “Savage Critics” website was still operational, retailer/comics reviewer Brian Hibbs dubbed this project “Fuck Alan Moore” whenever he reviewed a new title from it. Which sums the whole enterprise up pretty well in my opinion.