DC Solicitation Sneaks: December 2023
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Absolute Superman by Geoff Johns & Gary Frank
Johns did write the Man of Steel a lot during his heyday in the 00’s and early ‘10’s at DC but he never actually did a proper run on his monthly adventures. He did, along with Frank, do a number of short stints on “Action Comics,” originally reprinted in “Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes” and “Brainiac,” along with a “Secret Origin” miniseries that were all really good. These are all reprinted here along with additional stories from “Action Comics Annual #10,” “Superman: New Krypton Special #1,” and “Action Comics #900,” along with a host of behind-the-scenes material including sketches from Frank and one of Johns’ scripts. This is on the pricey side, $150 for 640 pages of content, but you’re getting this in the Absolute format, so it’s as much about the presentation as the comics inside. Which are absolutely *rimshot* worth picking up in this format if you don’t already have them in your library.
Kneel Before Zod #1: It may not be Krypton, but Zod finally has a planet of his own to rule along with his family. While it may look like the former criminal has got everything he’s ever wanted here, now he wants more. Showing you what that is will be writer Joe Casey and artist Dan McDaid in this new ongoing series. Detailing a villain’s unrestrained lust for power does have a certain dark appeal to it, even though my gut tells me that such ambition would be better suited to a miniseries rather than an ongoing. We’ll see if Casey has a plan for this aside from his usual modus operandi of doing things differently for the sake of doing them. Which certainly worked out well in “Wildcats 2.0/3.0” and delivered mixed results almost everywhere else. Looking in your direction, “Sex.”
Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight #4 (of 4): Just an FYI that the concluding issue of this miniseries is currently scheduled to ship on December 26, 2023. Which means that any Christmas Joy you were looking to get from it is going to be gone when it hits store shelves. Shame, that.
Peacemaker Tries Hard! HC: I’ve been looking forward to reading this since it was announced. I’m a little disappointed that it’s getting the hardcover treatment out of the gate, but oh well. We’ll see if writer Kyle Stark’s major DC debut is worth the fancy packaging when it comes out. The setup does come off as a bit formulaic as it involves Peacemaker trying to go straight after getting out of the Suicide Squad and getting roped back into supervillainy after some bad guys kidnap the cute dog he rescued. Still, Starks has shown that he’s got a demented enough mind to mine some quality dark comedy from the title character, and artist Steve Pugh has shown over the years that he’s more than up for creative kinds of ultraviolence.
Knight Terrors, Knight Terrors: Knightmare League, Knight Terrors: Dark Knightmares (all HC): If you’ve been waiting for this event to be collected, then wait no longer. A villain named Insomnia has put the world to sleep and the heroes of the DC Universe now have to struggle with their darkest fears. The main series (and a few of the tie-ins) come to us from Joshua Williamson, who clearly has his fans even though I’ve never been one of them. Even reading the spoiler-filled recaps of this event didn’t make it seem more interesting to me as there’s not much more to it than how I described it above. Oh, and maybe people in the DCU are more distrustful of metahumans now, which will feed into further event stories like this one. So now you know.
Creature Commandos Present: Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Book One: This collects the four-issue miniseries written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Doug Mahnke that was originally part of the writer’s “Seven Soldiers of Victory” network of comics. I remember it being fun, even if it wasn’t the best thing either creator ever did. DC eventually followed it up in the New 52 era with “Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.” from writer Jeff Lemire and artist Alberto Ponticelli. I didn’t bother with it and I’m less inclined to now. The reason these issues are getting packaged together is because Frankenstein is going to part of the “Creature Commandos” animated series that’s coming as part of James Gunn’s new era as the new co-head of all DC TV and film projects at Warner Bros. That sounds like it’ll be fun, and they get points for getting these comics back into print for synergy reasons if nothing else.