DC Solicitation Sneaks: February 2024
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest vol. 1 – The Devil Nezha
Finally available in softcover. Mark Waid’s career has been one of ups and downs that best resembles a sine wave that has been going on for decades now. It shows that you should never count him out, and his recent resurgence at DC, starting with this series, is yet more proof of this. There have been Batman and Superman team-up series before, but Waid’s, and artist Dan Mora’s, work on this series has been successful to the point where it’s going to be entering its third year soon. With the two creators still working together on it no less. I know this volume has been available in hardcover for a while now, but everyone should all be aware of my biases toward series that are collected in that format from the start. So I’ll be looking forward to finally checking out this series in softcover this February – assuming it doesn’t get canceled like other DC softcovers have of late.
Batman #’s 142-144: I’ve written before that if we can’t have one definitive origin for the Joker (and if it can’t be “The Killing Joke”) then we should have as many origins for the character as possible. Because his origin should be unknowable, otherwise. These issues… aren’t another origin for the character. They’re actually telling something that hasn’t been touched upon a whole lot in the wider Bat-continuity as its title, “Joker: Year One,” lets us know. While the Clown Prince of Crime’s definitive origin is up for grabs, what he actually did after his debut is something that can be objectively told – in so much as it can in a shared, corporate-owned superhero universe before the retcons set in. Chip Zdarsky is here to do the telling, with Giuseppe Camuncoli providing the art for the main story, and Andrea Sorrentino showing us how this will affect Batman in the far future.
Sinister Sons #1: I’m sure there are fans out there who want to see what writer Peter Tomasi and artist David Lafuente do with the sons of General Zod and Sinestro in this miniseries. I’m only bringing it up here because this is where I learned that Sinestro’s son is called Sinison. Just leaving that out here and moving onto the next title…
Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum #1 (of 5): Resolicited to coincide with (what is hopefully) the actual release of the “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League” game. It’s still written by John Layman, so I’m still interested in reading this when it’s collected. Which may be around the time I decide to pick up the game, unless I hear it’s THAT good. Which it sadly won’t be because of all those live service elements that are still attached to it.
Batman: White Knight Presents – Generation Joker HC: If you thought that Jack “Joker” Napier and Harley Quinn’s kids weren’t given enough focus in “Beyond the White Knight,” like I did, this is where they get their moment in the sun. The twins have entered their rebellious phase and have taken the Batmobile for a joyride, something which has only made them a target to anyone still with a mad-on for the Batman. Fortunately the holographic personality of their dad is still around and he’s made it his mission to bring them home safely before he fades away. “White Knight” creator Sean Murphy only looks to be providing the story for this volume as “Harley Quinn” and “Red Hood” co-writers Katana Collins and Clay McCormack are also credited here. Mirka Andolfo provides the art, which likely means that while this series will look a whole lot different, it’ll be no less stylish. That said, enjoy this for what it’s worth because it sounds like it’ll be a while before Murphy returns to the world of “White Knight” for any kind of World’s Finest business.
Lobo: Big Fraggin’ Compendium One: Collecting the character’s early appearances in “The Omega Men” through his multiple one-shots and miniseries from the 90’s and the first nine issues of his ongoing series from the time. That’s a fraggin’ lot of the Main Man, you know. Considering that this is all the stuff which showed that the character was worthy of an ongoing series, I’m thinking of picking this up for historical significance more than anything else. Plus, one of the one-shots was called “A Contract on Gawd” and I have to think that Will Eisner would’ve approved… or tried to take a crowbar to Giffen and Grant when they showed up at the Eisners one year.
Naomi: Season Two: Now in paperback. I figure I should pick this up since I’ve got the first volume in my library. With the character’s origin out of the way, it’s time to see if Bendis and David Walker can tell a proper solo story with the character.