DC Previews Picks: May 2015
I was prepared to talk about the new titles arriving post-”Convergence” in June, but then I read that “Lucifer” was getting a pilot order from Fox today. Now I really like the Mike Carey-written “Sandman” spinoff that effectively hails from the land of “far better than it has any right to be.” The problem here lies in the description that the Hollywood Reporter is giving for the pilot is… troubling. Imagine if you will a Lucifer who abandons Hell and takes up residence in Los Angeles (so far so, good…) where he spends his days amusing himself by helping the LAPD arrest criminals.
Let me put on my “Angry Fanboy” hat for a minute so I can go NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!
Not only is it an incredibly wrongheaded approach to the character, it’s a reductive one as well. You take the majesty and grandeur of the character that he had in “Sandman” and his solo title and strip it away to give us another goddamn police show! This is network television so it’s likely that the driving narrative of “Lucifer,” of the Morningstar’s quest to prove himself better than his creator by embarking on the creation of his own universe, may have been too expensive to pull off and would’ve offended who knows how many religious types. As if calling a show “Lucifer” isn’t going to do that regardless. I have no intention of watching “Lucifer: The Cop Show,” and unless its creative team — including uberproducer Jerry Bruckheimer, “Underworld” and “Sleepy Hollow” director Len Wiseman, and “Californication” creator Tom Kapinos — decide to, you know, actually adapt the comic they’ve decided to bring to TV I’ll just keep that hour reserved for when Seth Rogen and Evan Handler’s “Preacher” adaptation hits.
Yeah, that’s enough “Angry Fanboy” for now. My thoughts on all of the not-”Convergence”-related comics follow the break:
Black Canary & Zatanna: Bloodspell: Hey, I meant to pick this up when it originally came out in hardcover. Since I missed out on picking it up then, I’ll just get this graphic novel when it comes out in softcover. I like Zatanna, have never been a big fan of Black Canary, but do like writer Paul Dini and artist Joe Quinones. While I’m not expecting greatness from this, I am hoping to be thoroughly entertained by two creators who are very good at their respective crafts.
Gotham Academy vol. 1: Imagine “Scooby Doo” taking place at the most prestigious academy in Gotham. Lots of things to go bump in the night and mysteries to be investigated as well. Co-written by Becky Cloonan and Brendan Fletcher, this title has been getting near-universal acclaim and goodwill since its launch earlier this year. Unlike Fletcher’s “Batgirl,” this is hitting softcover first so I’ll be picking it up as soon as it comes out. Art is from Karl Kerschl, who has to contend with my “But I want to see Cloonan drawing this!” mentality. He’s done some great work in the past (see the “Flash” story from “Wednesday Comics”) so I may just need to take in a few pages before that mindset fades away.
Superman: Action Comics vol. 5 — What Lies Beneath: Here’s a series which infamously went adrift after Grant Morrison left. Andy Diggle was meant to take over, but he didn’t take too well to editorial interference from DC and bolted after turning in his first issue. Then Scott Lobdell ran things for awhile before Greg Pak came on as the new regular writer. Best known for “Planet Hulk” and “The Incredible Hercules” with Fred Van Lente at Marvel, Pak’s run has been very well-liked so far. While there has been much grousing about how the Man of Steel has been characterized in the New 52, the word is that this writer delivered a version of the character we can be proud of. That sounds like something I’d like to see.
Justice League vol. 6: Injustice League HC: In the wake of “Forever Evil,” the team undergoes some changes to its roster. Most notably, it’s being led by the world’s most famous hero: Lex Luthor! For the first time, I’m actually interested in reading Geoff Johns’ “Justice League” beyond its status as the flagship of the New 52. We didn’t get as much of the “Luthor as Hero” action that I was expecting in “Forever Evil,” but to see the character as part of the Justice League? Now that’s an idea which has potential. While the fact that this is the hardcover edition would normally be a dealbreaker in terms of getting me to pick it up now, it’s 256 pages for $25 — a page/price ratio I can actually get behind!
Batman: Gothic Deluxe Edition HC & Cataclysm: Two older Bat-tales are getting reprinted here. The former is Grant Morrison’s first extended story with the character, and I remember it being pretty good. Here, Batman has to deal with the sudden murders of several of Gotham’s crimelords. While this would ordinarily be a good thing for the city, it turns out that their deaths are part of the latest payment owed to the Devil by a man who sold his soul years ago for power and immortality. Given that this was the second story from the “Legends of the Dark Knight” anthology, which featured stories from the “Year One” era of the character, Batman may be in a little over his head here. Much as he was in “Cataclysm” when Gotham was hit by an earthquake and suffered unparalleled devastation. I say “unparalleled devastation” because this was the crossover which preceded the epic “No Man’s Land” storyline that saw the city written off by the country as a lost cause. That was a great event which has received the “expanded edition” treatment in recent years as well. I didn’t pick up those editions because I already own the original five-volume edition, but not this.
Mad Max: Nux & Immortan Joe #1: I want to see the new movie, yet after the “Django Unchained” adaptation I figured that Vertigo would be going after uh… more prestigious films to adapt into comics. At least this boasts the involvement of director George Miller in the writing credits. As well as art from Riccardo Burchielli and Tommy Lee Edwards. So it’ll look good if nothing else.
The Sandman: Overture #5: Only one more issue to go! DC hopes to have the collected edition out in time for Christmas. At which point I hope to say that this series is as good as it was late!
Hinterkind vol. 3: The Hot Zone: Solicited for June alongside the final issue of the ongoing series in May. This title, about the creatures of myth who come out of the shadows to reclaim the world in the wake of a post-apocalyptic event, never caught on or got a whole lot of attention from the comics media on the internet. I’ve enjoyed the first two volumes and am sad to see it end here. I can only hope writer Ian Edginton saw the writing on the wall early enough to give this series the proper wrap-up it deserves, and hopefully live on as a cult favorite in trade paperback form.