DC Previews Picks: September 2019
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Harleen #1
I was very tempted to pick something else for this spot, until I realized that I’d rather wait to read that in softcover. Even though I’ll be waiting to read this new Black Label miniseries when it’s collected I’ll be buying it when it comes out. Regardless of whether it’s in hardcover or softcover. That’s because this miniseries comes to us from “Sunstone’s” Stjepan Sejic who has shown with that series to have a really good understanding of how to make an unconventional romance work.
With “Harleen” he’s taking on the most unconventional, and arguably least healthy, of DC romances. I’m speaking of the one that exists between Harley Quinn and the Joker. Or rather, Dr. Harleen Quinzel as this is another take on her origin story. The basics are still here: She’s still a doctor who has just started working at Arkham and is looking to treat the Joker’s madness. Given how well Sejic managed to get into his characters’ heads in “Sunstone” I’m expecting to see the same quality character work here. Only in service of a much darker and more disturbing objective. Done right this will be a read that proves to be as compelling as it is uncomfortable, with some absolutely stunning art to go along with it.
Lex Luthor: Year of the Villain #1: In which the new “Apex Lex” version of the character takes to the multiverse to see what the other versions of himself think about his current plan to tip the balance of power in the DCU. The solicitation text promises that the meetup will either result in the greatest team-up of all time or a complete bloodbath. Were I a betting man, I’d tell you all to place your bets on the latter outcome. One of Luthor’s defining traits is his sense of self-superiority — that the people need him to be their leader because he’s better than all of them. If you think that kind of mindset lends itself to teaming up with other versions of himself then I’ve got a bridge in San Francisco I’d like to sell you. This multiversal murder tour will be brought to you by writer Jason Latour and artist Bryan Hitch, a team which suggests that any issues with the writing stand a good chance of being redeemed by the art.
Powers: The Best Ever HC: Bendis and Oeming said that their signature series would be heading to an original graphic novel format with its move to DC. This is the first of those, even if it’s not 100% original. I say this because the solicitation text mentions that this OGN will include “remastered” pages from issues #7 & 8. These were the last two issues Marvel published before the series went on hiatus until now. So it sucks to be you if you bought those two issues when they came out because buying this hardcover is going to be the only way you’ll get to see the conclusion to the story those issues started. As for me, I’ll just keep waiting until this and the previous volume receive softcover collections.
Wait, what’s this volume about? It’s billed as a celebration of the series’ 20th anniversary and as the most significant “Powers” story ever. With an apparently sincere “Really” in the solicitation text to back it up. Yeah. I think I’ll keep waiting for the softcovers.
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy #1 (of 6): Insert joke about, “Boy did they pick the wrong month to start a new Harley Quinn miniseries.” Jody Houser and Adriana Melo tackle the characters’ current DCU incarnations in a series that looks to address all that has happened to them over the course of “Heroes in Crisis” and “Year of the Villain.” That doesn’t mean we’ll be getting a drastically different version of Ms. Quinn here, but I believe this will be the first time we’ll see how the new “Avatar of the Green” version of Poison Ivy is meant to work. Best of luck to Houser in wringing a meaningful story out of what has come before. And on that note…
Flash Forward #1 (of 6): Here’s where Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth try to do the same thing for Wally West. He’s a character with a lot of fans and they all universally hated what was done to him in “Heroes in Crisis.” Short version: Wally was the individual responsible for the massacre at Sanctuary in that series due to depression brought on by how his family was wiped out of existence with the advent of the New 52. He tried to fix things, but in the end he was still a murderer and locked up for it. The problem with this setup is that I don’t think Wally’s fans are looking for the character to have a redemption story, which is what this miniseries is advertised as being. They want nothing less than to see the events of “Heroes in Crisis” kicked to the curb of continuity. Anything less will be seen as patronizing. So best of luck to Lobdell and Booth with this miniseries!
Legion of Super-Heroes: Millenium #1 (of 2): Bendis takes on DC’s teen team of superheroes in the future. We’ll see how it goes. I’ve never been a huge fan of the “Legion” even though I’m aware that there have been some pretty good runs involving the team over the years. There’s also the fact that this miniseries is advertised as being an epic that spans the course of 1,000 years and that kind of storytelling has never been one of Bendis’ strengths.
DCeased: A Good Day to Die #1: It’s official, “DCeased” is the new “Marvel Zombies.” The miniseries debuted at the top of the sales charts and is now spawning this one-shot story from series writer Tom Taylor. While the main series spotlights the efforts from Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman to turn the tide of the undead invasion, “A Good Day to Die” shows us how some of the B and C-list heroes are managing. Specifically, a team organized by Mr. Terrific which includes the likes of Mr. Miracle, Big Barda, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, and… John Constantine? Putting aside my usual reservations about seeing this character in the DCU, are none of these people aware of what happens to anyone who teams up with Constantine in a time of crisis? Maybe they should ask Sargon the Sorcerer or Zatara for some insight. Oh wait, they can’t because those two died during a seance organized by Constantine when he was trying to help Swamp Thing save the world. Maybe that won’t happen here, but I kinda doubt it.
Doomsday Clock: Part One HC: Haha, no. Both to the idea of actually buying this and the thought that it’ll actually be out before the end of the year.
Naomi: Season One HC: This was the other contender for the “Above-the-Board Recommendation” this month. Naomi is a new character introduced into the DCU who starts investigating her history after a Superman/Mongul fight that crashes into her town brings some new questions for her. This comes to us from co-writers David Walker and Bendis and artist Jamal Campbell as part of Bendis’ “Wonder Comics” imprint at DC. While introducing all-new characters to Marvel or DC is a very dicey proposition these days, “Naomi” looks to have struck a chord with readers and has been greeted with good word-of-mouth and strong sales. It’s enough to make me want to read this series, but not quite to get me to pick it up in hardcover form (barring a deep discount).