DC Solicitation Sneaks: May 2023
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Peacemaker Tries Hard! #1 (of 6)
Considering what a resounding success the first season of “Peacemaker” was, you’d have thought that DC would’ve pushed more comics out the door featuring the character in its wake. We’ve had, what, a one-shot written by Garth Ennis, a presence on the version of the squad featured in Simon Spurrier and Aaron Campbell’s “Blaze” (review forthcoming), and now this. Which is easily the most promising project I’ve seen to feature the character since it’s being written by a writer who has yet to disappoint me: Kyle Starks.
The setup involves Peacemaker rescuing an adorable little pug from some terrorists, only for it to be kidnapped by an unnamed supervillain. This dog is the best thing to happen to the character in quite some time, so he’s going to have to go along with the villain’s plans to get his hands on some rare superhero DNA in order to get it back. That this is coming from the man who gave us the likes of “Assassin Nation” and “I Hate This Place” implies that it’s going to go to the weirder and stranger parts of the DCU in some very strange ways. I certainly approve of that, along with seasoned veteran Steve Pugh providing the art. Will it be as memorably demented as the streaming series? I’d say the possibility is there, and that’s enough for me to give this a shot.
Titans #1: The Justice League still hasn’t reformed in the wake of “Dark Crisis,” so it’s time for another team to step into the role of protecting the world. This latest iteration of the adventures of the Titans comes to us from writer Tom Taylor and artist Nicola Scott. While I’ve never bought a “Titans” book before (“Teen” or otherwise), this is a solid enough creative team that I’m willing to give it a shot. Once their adventures are collected in paperback form, of course. That said, while Nicola Scott is a great artist, her presence here implies bad news for anyone still waiting on another volume of her and Greg Rucka’s modern-day witchcraft story “Black Magick.”
Shazam! #1: This will be a couple months late for the debut of the new movie, but it should be in time for its streaming debut. Billy Batson’s latest adventures come to us courtesy of the “Batman & Superman” team of Mark Waid and Dan Mora. While I have yet to read that series (still waiting on the paperback collections) the word from it has been good enough to indicate that Waid has hit another upswing in a career that has been full of them. That he’s working with Mora again here also implies that he’s found another artistic partner to produce good work with, like he did with Chris Samnee on “Daredevil.” As for what to expect from this new series, I’ll let the solicitation text speak for itself: “Dinosaurs from space! The Clubhouse of Eternity! Homicidal worms and talking tigers! Atomic robots, alien worlds, mad scientists, sinister curses, and villains from throughout the DC Universe!”
Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1: “Batman: Urban Legends” was a monthly 64-page anthology featuring all sorts of Bat-related stories inside it. Then it was canceled to make way for another monthly 64-page anthology that features Batman and other major DCU characters. This new anthology is starting off with significantly more star power in terms of its creative teams, with Tom King and Mitch Gerads returning to the Dark Knight for a four-part story about Batman and the Joker’s first encounter. Then we have Ed Brisson and Jeff Spokes showcasing the latest iteration of Stormwatch, while Dan Mora kicks off a new series of “Batman Black & White” stories. Last, and definitely not least, is Christopher Cantwell and Javier Rodriguez teaming up for a Superman story involving a decoder ring with the message “Save Me.” All of this sounds very promising, and this first issue alone should produce some collected editions worth reading down the line.
Batman: White Knight Presents – Generation Joker #1 (of 6): It turns out that “Beyond the White Knight” isn’t the end of the “White Knight” saga. In fact, it may only be the beginning of the Murphyverse – a version of the DCU overseen by creator Sean Murphy. That doesn’t necessarily sound like a bad thing, given how “Curse of the White Knight” turned out; but, I wasn’t that impressed with the “Harley Quinn” spinoff, and its writer, Katana Collins, returns to co-write this with Clay McCormack, and Murphy providing the story. The solicitation sounds vaguely spoilerish for the events of “Beyond” so I’ll just stay it involves Harley’s kids and their uncertain future. Mirka Andolfo provides the art and that’s the one part of this series that I feel unreservedly good about following her work on “Mercy” and “Sweet Paprika.”
Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum #1 (of 5): It’s a prequel to Rocksteady’s “Kill the Justice League” game. While I’m feeling less enthused by the fact that it’s sounding like more of a live-service multiplayer game than I’d have liked, this miniseries sounds like it could be a lot of fun. Why? Six words: John Layman writing the Suicide Squad. The man has shown he’s very good at writing absurd characters in absurd situations very well in “Chew” and that sounds like what we’re getting here. What with Amanda Waller locking down Arkham Asylum and turning the inmates against each other to find the most vicious recruits for the latest iteration of Task Force X.
The Human Target vol. 2 HC: Still waiting for 1) both volumes to be released in softcover, or 2) one hardcover edition of the whole miniseries. Really, it just feels like DC is nickel-and-diming us by splitting up maxiseries like this into two volumes. What’s next, splitting up six-issue miniseries into two parts?
DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War vol. 1 HC: Collects issues #’s 1-3 (of 6) and the “Hunters” special. OH GOD DAMN IT!!!
The Joker Presents: A Puzzlebox: Now in softcover for $25, which is $15 less than the hardcover price. That’s more like it. If I’d known that’s how things were going to shake out for this collection I wouldn’t have put it on my wishlist. That way I could’ve been mildly disappointed by this on my own dime instead of John’s.