DC Solicitation Sneaks: April 2026
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Wonder Woman by Tom King vol. 4: The Island of Mice and Men
Diana may have defeated The Sovereign, the secret King of America, in vol. 3, but that just means she can get back to dealing with Amazon business. Like finding out what happened to the missing Amazon who went on a rampage and killed several American citizens – while pregnant – back in vol. 1! The good news is that Diana knows where she is. The bad news is that she’s on an island being lorded over by the tyrant known as the Mouse Man, and… yeah, if the previous three volumes of this series are any indication, that guy’s going to be in for a bad time. Maybe not the new villain known as The Matriarch intervenes, however.
The previous three volumes had King and artist Daniel Sampere demonstrating how to do a proper superhero epic that balances seeing the hero(ine) struggle and succeed in equal measure. It has also managed to sneak in some timely social commentary without feeling overbearing or depressing in a way that makes you wonder how the writer bungled it so badly in “Animal Pound.” It’s all enough to keep my excitement for “Wonder Woman” as high as it’s ever been to see where the creators take Diana’s story next.
Batman/Wonder Woman: Truth #1: It’s not marked as a one-shot or a miniseries, but I’d bet on the former over the latter. That’s because it’s coming from the talented but very slow Jim Cheung and the fact that we’re getting a 48-page issue from him implies that he’s been working on this for a while. He’s certainly had the time to do so as this is being billed as a follow-up to “Hush 2” from its writer Jeph Loeb as the Dark Knight and Amazing Amazon team up to recover the stolen Lasso of Truth from the only characters crazy enough to steal it: The Joker and Harley Quinn. Loeb’s previous work with A-list artists at DC implies that we’re getting a continuity-lite story that you really shouldn’t think too hard about to enjoy, and at least he’s working with an artist capable of delivering work that will allow you to do just that.
Bizarro: Year None #1 (of 4): Promising the indefinitive origin story of the beloved backwards boy from co-writers Kevin Smith and Eric Carrasco that may not directly involve the Man of Steel. That’s because this first issue has Perry White and Jimmy Olsen going on an outer space adventure which has them going into a strange, backwards dimension with its own warped recreation of Metropolis. I’ll admit that I’m curious about where Smith and Carrasco are going with this, and the fact that this is being illustrated by Nick Pitarra makes it even more enticing. Possibly less likely that this will ever see all four issues published, but I guess we’ll find out.
Swamp Thing 1989 #1 (of 4): Some history: When Alan Moore finished his legendary run on this title, he picked Rick Veitch as his successor. While things were fine for a little while, Veitch promptly quit the series after DC refused to publish an already-completed story drawn by Michael Zulli where Swamp Thing met Jesus. Though the series continued on after he left, it’s been a sore spot in the title’s history for years, until it was announced at the recent New York Comic-Con that DC would not only be re-publishing the spiked issue, but that Veitch would be working with artist Tom Mandrake to deliver a three-issue finale for his run. I don’t think anyone was expecting to ever see this happen and it goes to show what’s possible in comics – when a publisher is so desperate for any kind of audience engagement in a harsh sales environment such as the one we’re seeing right now.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #50: When it was announced that Mark Waid would be writing a Batman/Superman team-up series featuring adventures of the title characters set in the recent past, I don’t think anyone was expecting it to last this long. Solid stories, and the art of the incredible Dan Mora made believers out of a lot of fans and now this series is celebrating its fiftieth issue. That’s an incredible milestone by any standard, and Mora has even made a temporary return to the title to co-illustrate this issue with regular artist Adrian Gutierrez, and give us an April Fools cover featuring Weird Al Yankovic. Truly the best of both worlds here!
Absolute Green Lantern vol. 2: I was thoroughly excited for this series because I thought we’d be getting Al Ewing’s reimagining of DC’s cosmic setting in the Absolute Universe. That wasn’t what we got in the first volume (review forthcoming) as it wound up embracing the writer’s more spiritual and theological side as seen in his “Immortal Hulk” run, his “Defenders” miniseries, and his reinvention of Star-Lord. I don’t think that necessarily resulted in a bad comic, but it was hard having to adjust my expectations for what I got. With that done, the hope is that vol. 2 will go down smoother as Jo Mullien and Hal Jordan deal with the fallout from what went down previously.
Batman by Matt Fraction vol. 1: Daylight: I wasn’t sure what to expect from Fraction taking over the main “Batman” title, given how inconsistent his work has been over the years. The early word is that we may be in for another Bat-Golden Age, which strikes me as overhyping things just a bit. Still, it’ll be easy enough to find out whether or not that’s the case as DC is collecting the first six issues of his run in softcover and hardcover. In case you’re wondering: The softcover will set you back $20 while the hardcover will cost you $30. I don’t think that seeing Batman deal with the likes of Killer Croc, Police Commissioner Vandal Savage, and new villains Lady Death Man, and the Minotaur, is worth a $10 premium, so it’s good to have that softcover option available.
Superman: Action Comics vol. 1: Boy of Steel: It may have taken a decade or two longer than it should have, but Mark Waid is now the writer on a mainline “Superman” title. Only, not in the way you’d expect. The writer’s “Action Comics” run has been set in the past exploring a young Clark Kent’s life growing up in Smallville. These kinds of retro stories can be tricky to make work since there’s always the feeling that they don’t quite “matter” regarding regular continuity. Of course, Waid has been making these kinds of stories work regularly in the pages of “World’s Finest,” so seeing him try to work that kind of magic again here is definitely worth a shot.
Justice League: Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League: Does what it says on the tin, I would imagine. It also sounds like a more straightforwardly fun series than I’ve come to expect from writer Greg Rucka who has made his name doing serious crime and spy procedurals for DC in the pages of “Batman” and “Gotham Central,” and in his own “Queen & Country” and other creator-owned work. That includes the still-uncompleted “Black Magick” series he started with this title’s artist, Nicola Scott. So yeah, this should be good fun seeing both creators flex their fun and comedy muscles a bit.