DC Previews Picks: May 2020

Above-the-Board Recommendation:

Generation One (One-Shot)

Guess what?  The DCU is getting rebooted again.  Well, maybe reboot is too strong a word.  “Continued” may be a better one based on what I’ve heard is planned for it.  Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and a lot of other current heroes are either getting aged up, retired, or both to make way for a new generation of heroes.  If that sounds like a rather extreme thing to do, then consider the fact that DC has been losing ground to Marvel ever since “Rebirth” and they just haven’t found a sustainable way to keep the growth they manage with all previous relaunches.  So it’s time to do something REALLY different.

And it looks to have started with the firing of DC co-publisher Dan Didio.  He was at DC for close to two decades, been running things for a little more than half that, and had fans braying for his blood for just a little longer.  I’m not one of those and kicking out Didio as abruptly and unceremoniously as DC did seems like a mistake. If they’re going to try and make a major change like “Generation Five” is supposed to be, it would make sense to have someone who knows the business inside and out like him on hand to make sure it goes smoothly.  At least Didio can sit back and play the “Don’t Blame Me” card if this latest stunt goes over like “New Coke” did.

That said, it’d be interesting if this does succeed and we wind up getting a lot of new superheroes and creatives into the industry.  DC is even said to be recruiting outside the normal comic channels for this. I’d like nothing more than to see the company succeed in what they’re doing here and find some lasting success as a result.  I also think I’ll be fine with losing the current versions of the characters as well because they’ve already had so many great stories written with them that I could probably spend the next decade just catching up on them all.

The problem facing this relaunch is an expectation as to why it should be any different than the previous ones.  The New 52 and Rebirth started out strong before sales settled back down to normal levels, and while the existing fanbase is likely going to be curious regarding these new changes a good portion is also likely to be pissed off by them as well.  I applaud DC for swinging for the fences on this. I just hope they don’t wind up smacking themselves in the face and knocking themselves out in the process.

Before this happens, however, you can look forward to…

Dark Nights:  Death Metal #1 (of 6):  Ok, I was honestly considering giving this “Dark Knights:  Metal” sequel the recommendation based on its name alone. Problem is that I found the original “Metal” to be a little underwhelming in how writer Scott Snyder kept grinding his heroes down, where each of their attempts to turn the tide always ended in failure until the very end.  No complaints from the art by Greg Capullo, however. “Death Metal” also has the awkward job of being the capstone to Snyder’s run on “Justice League” as his final issue #39 leads directly into this (never mind that its new writer Robert Venditti started his run with #40).  Regardless, it makes sense to see Snyder and Capullo at the helm of the project that might close the door on this version of the DCU since their collaborations have helped define this current era more than anyone else’s at the company.

Batman:  The Adventure Continues #1 (of 6):  Paul Dini has done a lot of work in the DC Universe over the years, including a pretty good run on “Detective Comics” that segued into “Streets of Gotham.”  However, he’ll always be best known for his contributions to the classic “Batman: The Animated Series.” In a move that screams, “Why didn’t we do this sooner?” DC is now publishing a (digital-first) series that has Dini returning to the universe of “The Animated Series” along with another veteran writer of that title, Alan Burnett.  Joining them on art will be Ty Templeton, an artist who already has more than a few “Animated Series” comics to his name. I’m expecting quality nostalgia from this series, especially as its first issue advertises Batman fighting a giant robot whose appearance may tie into Lex Luthor’s sudden arrival in Gotham!

Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-page Super Spectacular #1:  Another month, another DC anniversary event issue.  This time it’s Hal Jordan’s turn, though you should also expect to see Kyle Rayner get his due here as well.  Especially since his creator, Ron Marz, is one of the credited writers here. Other creators you can expect to see are Peter Tomasi, James Tynion IV, Dennis O’Neil, Ivan Reis, Darryl Banks, Mike Grell, Rafa Sandoval, and returning to the (solo) title character for the first time since his definitive run, Geoff Johns.  More than any of the other creators mentioned here, I’m interested in seeing what the man who brought Hal Jordan back has to say about the character and his current status now

Batman:  The Smile Killer #1:  Ah-ha!  So that’s how Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino’s “Joker:  Killer Smile” is going to be collected — with an extraneous-but-still-related-to-the-main-story issue to pad out the collection.  Where the main story involved a psychiatrist trying to get inside the Joker’s head, this one-shot showcases the effect that “The Mister Smiles Show” had on one of its youngest viewers:  Bruce Wayne. The solicitation text tells us to expect one last gut-punch from the creators, but I’ve learned to lower my expectations when Lemire is involved after the past year. If there’s any gut-punching to be done, it’ll likely be from Sorrentino’s art.

The Dreaming:  Waking Hours #1 (of 12):  Looks like I was right and “The Dreaming” is getting a relaunch.  This time it’s being reinvented into the newly fashionable 12-issue format that DC has embraced in the past year.  As promised, G. Willow Wilson is writing the series with new name Nick Robles on art. The story involves Dream’s creation of a new nightmare, Ruin, who is the embodiment of catastrophic failure.  Problem is that Ruin lives up to his name all too well, sowing fresh chaos within the Dreaming. Things are only going to get worse when Shakespearean scholar/exhausted mother Lindy dreams of Ruin and delivers him unto the waking world.  It all sounds very promising. I’d be even more excited for it my current thoughts on “The Dreaming” weren’t consumed with seeing how Simon Spurrier’s story will be turning out in its final volume.

Shazam! #13:  “He’s Baaaaaaaack!” is what the solicitation text tells us.  Naturally my first thought upon reading that was Black Adam, Billy Batson’s archenemy who became an antihero with real depth under writer Geoff Johns’ watch.  Except that no, it’s not him who’s returning. It’s Superboy Prime. The teen version of Superman with none of his morals who tried to wipe out the DCU in the pages of the Johns-written “Infinite Crisis” and became the representation of fanboy entitlement in the writer’s hands.  On one hand, I’m curious about what Johns has to say about the current state of fandom as it’s only gotten more entitled since he first wrote Superboy Prime. On the other, one of the more laughable parts of “Infinite Crisis” was how continuity errors were explained away by Superboy Prime punching the universe.  My question is how many times does he have to punch it before “Doomsday Clock” is wiped out of existence? No Geoff, you’re not off the hook for that yet.

Legends of the Dark Knight:  Matt Wagner HC: In most circumstances I’m sure that Wagner would be honored with having a hardcover dedicated to collecting his “Batman”-related work (minus the “Grendel” crossovers).  It also helps that the extended stories here, “Batman and the Monster Men/Mad Monk” and “Faces” are pretty good. The sticking point is the inclusion of the recent “Batman” #54, a story about the father/son relationship between Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson.  Wagner was supposed to have illustrated it with his son Brennan coloring it, but DC nixed those colors for not being consistent enough with his house style. It’d be nice if the original colors were restored for this edition, but if I were Wagner I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

Justice League vol. 5:  Justice/Doom War:  This is the final volume of Scott Snyder’s run on the series and is set to lead right into “Death Metal.”  With that in mind, are we heading for a downer of a conclusion to the writer’s run? Is Luthor set to win it all, with his final comeuppance being saved for that miniseries or the “Hell Arisen” mini?  Will this volume end with any closure at all? So many questions. I may have my reservations, but I’m going to have to buy this volume if I want to get any answers. Regardless of how things turn out, I appreciate DC making this and vol. 4 extra-sized as a whopping eleven issues are collected here.  Oh, and speaking of “Hell Arisen”…

Year of the Villain:  Hell Arisen:  Who do you root for in a battle between a powered-up Lex Luthor and The Batman Who Laughs?  Luthor’s side includes Lobo, so I guess I’ll have to root for him. Unless the Joker shows up and kills them all!  I wouldn’t mind an ending like that, but I don’t think writer James Tynion IV is prepared to take things that far. He has shown on “Justice League” that he’s better with writing villains than heroes, so I’m optimistic about how this will turn out.  Having Steve Epting on art is a plus too. Padding out the page count is the “Year of the Villain” one-shot, which will feature additional villain-centric stories from Tynion, Snyder, and Bendis as well. Which sounds like some nice value-added content in my opinion.