DC Previews Picks: February 2015
Working forward from last month, DC’s big “We’re moving to Burbank in March and April of next year and need something stockpiled to cover for it!” event is called “Convergence.” It’ll be spinning out of the ends of the finales for two of their weekly series “Earth 2: World’s End” and “Future’s End” with a zero issue that will kick off the eight-issue spine of the event. Alongside it will be 40 two-issue miniseries spotlighting characters from the many different continuities of the DC Universe. What’s interesting about these miniseries is that they appear to be creator and character specific. Gail Simone is writing the “Nightwing/Oracle” series, while Greg Rucka will be giving us Renee Montoya as The Question once more. Of note is that the main series is being written by comics newcomer Jeff King, whose background is in writing TV shows like “White Collar.” I’d say that handing someone like him a big event like this is a way of being thrown into the deep end of this profession, but I’m not sure how necessary quality is going to be for this thing. It is, after all, just cleverly disguised filler to cover DC’s coastal move. Then again, maybe we’ll get lucky and the whole throwaway nature of the event will produce some unexpected gems along the way.
The Multiversity: Mastermen #1: Believe it or not “Superman: Unchained” wrapped up recently and Jim Lee is now a free artist again, in addition to his duties as a co-publisher at DC. So what’s he following up his take on the Man of Steel with? Why showing us what the Man of Steel would have been like had he landed in Nazi Germany and helped Hitler win WWII. I’m assuming this is going to be a far less “shades of gray” take on the character compared to how we saw the character as a communist in “Red Son,” though I am interested in seeing how the whole “directed world culture for 60 years” is going to play out here. Grant Morrison is good at finding unexpected avenues to explore in material like this. While having Lee draw it is certainly a bonus, I’m even more interested in reading this series once it’s finally collected.
Harley Quinn: Valentine’s Day Special #1: “A date with Bruce Wayne!” is the playboy billionaire’s latest gift for charity and it’s going to be sold to the highest bidder. Now, guess who just came into some money of her own. It sounds ridiculous and highly implausible — how does Harley Quinn go out in public without attracting all kinds of attention from the law — but also just a little bit irresistible as well. I’ll admit that I kind of want to see how these normally antagonistic characters interact when one of them is in his civilian identity.
Batman vol. 6: The Graveyard Shift: In which all of the odds and ends from the period after “Death of the Family” and during “Zero Year” are finally collected. Expect hidden tales from the epic “Zero Year” arc, tie-ins to “Batman Eternal,” and the novelty of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo doing short one and two-issue stories. I doubt this is going to be anyone’s favorite volume of the Snyder/Capullo run (the artist isn’t even doing the art for most of these stories), but there should be some intrigue to be had from the errata gathered here.
Justice League vol. 5: Forever Heroes: This volume collects the tie-in issues for “Forever Evil.” Given how “Blackest Night” became a better read after I checked out the tie-in issues from “Green Lantern,” I’d be expecting a similar experience here. Assuming that Geoff Johns follows the pattern of using “Justice League” to fill the gaps of “Forever Evil.” Then again, “Blackest Night” was a pretty good read by itself, while “Forever Evil” left a little to be desired. I guess the deciding factor will be whether or not I remember writing all this when the softcover collection arrives.
Wonder Woman vol. 6: Bones: All good things must come to an end, and such is the case with the Azzarello/Chiang run on this title. I’ve never been that much of a fan of the character’s ongoing adventures, but this one made a believer out of me. Now we’ll see how long it’ll take before another team produces a run of similar quality with the character’s monthly title.
Suiciders #1: A new ongoing series from writer/artist Lee Bermejo. I have some problems with the information in that sentence, but it’s how DC is describing this series about a post-apocalyptic L.A. after the “big one” finally hit. Re-christened New Angeles, its inhabitants participate in a blood sport known as Suiciders which combines drug-fueled contestants, hand-to-hand combat, and deadly futuristic obstacles. The sport has resulted in a thriving city, but what happens when one Suicider starts to rise above his fellow contestants? Though this sounds solid enough, Bermejo has never been known as an artist who works fast enough to keep to a monthly schedule. As this isn’t indicated to be a miniseries or bi-monthly title, my biggest question here is how long it’ll be before the title’s schedule takes a hit and another artist is brought on to get it back on track.
The Filth: Deluxe Edition: Back when he was working on “New X-Men,” everyone was wondering when he’d get around to doing the kind of crazy stuff we saw from him on a regular basis in Vertigo. This miniseries was the answer, and it’s bizarre even by the writer’s lofty standards in that area. Ever wanted to see giant black sperm descending upon Los Angeles? This title has you covered. As for the actual story, it’s either about a retiree in London who is slowly losing his mind or is being re-inserted into the extra-dimensional organization he left years ago. What’s the truth? That’s for you to decide. Also worth reading for the brilliant consumer advisory that kicks off the collected edition too.