DC Solicitation Sneaks: November 2024
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Kneel Before Zod
This gets the spot less because I’m expecting it to be good, but because I’m letting it serve as a referendum on the man who’s writing it. Joe Casey has delivered entertaining comics in the past like “Wildcats” because he didn’t let them be chained down by superhero convention. This didn’t always work, see his run on “Uncanny X-Men,” but it was still refreshing to see a writer so willing to try something different for the sake of being different. These days, though, that gets us stuff like the not-as-good-as-I’d-hoped “Sex” and what-was-even-the-point “Junior Baker the Righteous Faker.”
So, does returning to DC for an eight-issues-and-change miniseries about one of Superman’s most powerful foes change things at all? We’ll see about that, as I’m still interested by the basic premise of what happens to a villain who gets everything he ever wanted. You’d think Zod would be at peace when that happens, but the impression is that he’s just going to have to contend with a whole new set of issues that will cause him to become more violent than he has before. All rendered under frequent and skilled Casey collaborator Dan McDaid’s pencil.
Justice League Unlimited #1: Believe it or not, it’s been a while since DC has published a “Justice League” series. It’s making a proper comeback now with an unexpected new lineup. Sure, expected characters like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash are here, but so are Black Lightning, Captain Atom, and Star Sapphire. This isn’t an issue as DC is putting an A-List creative team behind them: The “World’s Finest” and “Absolute Power” team of writer Mark Waid and artist Dan Mora. This isn’t Waid’s first time at the helm of a “Justice League” title as he wrote “JLA” for a time back in the 90’s and gave us the classic “Tower of Babel” storyline where Batman’s contingency plans to take down the League were used against them.. His recent work shows that he hasn’t lost a step since then, so this should wind up being a fantastic return to form.
Speaking of Black Lightning, we’re getting a Black Lightning #1 in these solicitations as well. It’s about Jefferson Pierce leading the Justice League’s metahuman outreach program, looking to help new metahumans with their powers before they hurt someone. Which takes on a new twist when it’s his daughter, Anissa, coming to him for help. I’m mentioning this not because it’s coming from writer Brandon Thomas, but “No One Left to Fight” artist Fico Ossio. He can be a fantastic artist as that series of miniseries has shown us, but he has yet to receive the same chance to shine on his DC work. Maybe that will change with this new series.
JSA #1: The original superteam gets another go as Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Jesse Quick, Obsidian, Hourman, Ted “Wildcat” Grant, and Wesley “Sandman” Dodds team up again to face their greatest and most personal challenge yet. No idea what that is, but I imagine it’ll be a fairly generic and straightforward addressing of all their greatest fears by their archenemies. I mean, Jeff Lemire is writing this, so why would I expect a new and forward-thinking threat to assail the latest version of this team?
Black Canary #1 (of 6): Wherein the title character takes on Lady Shiva to determine who the greatest hand-to-hand fighter of the DCU is. That’s all the solicitation tells us, aside from the fact that they’ll be going six rounds with each other. Which seems kind of ridiculous when you consider that this is a six-issue miniseries. Is each issue going to be one round? Given that this is being written by someone who loves writing comics that play with the structure of the form, Tom King, and is being illustrated by an artist who can make that kind of thing look good, Ryan Sook, it’s entirely possible that’s what we’re looking at here.
The Question: All Along the Watchtower #1: This is actually a miniseries, right? Because it’s not indicated as such in the solicitations. Which seems kind of dumb since its title and concept – Renee “The Question” Montoya investigating a murder in the Justice League’s new Watchtower – seems like it was made to be a limited series. Maybe it will be corrected or DC will come to its senses next month. Or maybe the first issue from writer Alex Segura and artist Cian Tormey will be SO GOOD that nobody will mind that it’s an ongoing series.
Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #1: This isn’t listed as a limited series either, but let’s not kid ourselves. It’s a follow-up to the “Batman/Santa Claus” miniseries from last year from writer Jeff Parker. Only this time it won’t be Batman teaming up with Jolly Old Saint Nick. No, this time circumstances have forced a team-up between Damien Wayne and Santa (Zatana is here too). This sounds delightful as I’m sure Damien will have strong opinions on Santa’s moral code, while this Ripe Jolly Old Elf is likely to have issues teaming up with someone who has been on the Naughty List his whole life. Lukas Ketner illustrates, and it should be interesting seeing how an artist whose style screams “Halloween” handles this holiday.
Batman: Battle for the Cowl – The Complete Collection: This is a 436-page collection that covers the transition from Grant Morrison’s “Batman: R.I.P./Last Rites” to his “Batman & Robin” series that wasn’t written by the man himself. Tony Daniel wrote and illustrated the main series and a bunch of other creators handled the rest. I didn’t feel the need to read the original miniseries when it was published, and that didn’t dampen my enjoyment of Morrison’s run as a whole. Consider this one only for the most die-hard of completists.
Stormwatch: The Road to Authority Compendium: Or, “All of the ‘Stormwatch’ Issues Warren Ellis Wrote Before it Became ‘The Authority.’” This is likely being published in advance of “The Authority” movie that’s supposed to be coming out in a few years. It’s good stuff, even when you consider that most Image superhero titles at the time were only distinguished by their art, rather than their writing. That being said, this isn’t a complete compendium of what the writer did for this title. It’s missing the “WildC.A.T.s/Aliens” crossover that Ellis used to kill off most of the “Stormwatch” cast and led to its transformation into “The Authority.” Given that the “Aliens” license is now held by Disney, that issue is likely NEVER to be reprinted, and your only hope of reading it is to track down the issue itself, or the out-of-print “Stormwatch vol. 5: Final Orbit” collection. Which is too bad since it was pretty good as far as these kinds of crossovers go.
Birds of Prey vol. 2: This is another title where I can’t say if I’m excited to read it since I haven’t read the first volume yet. I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to look forward to it, though. That said, vol. 1 was titled “Megadeath” so will this one be subtitled “Slayer” by the time it goes to press. Or “Anthrax?” Or “Metallica?” Okay, probably not that last one, but that first volume started a trend, you see.