Tuesday, February 25, 2014

May 2014 Solicits

The DC May solicits have come out and look interesting. The big news is the Superman Doomed story arc which kicks off here. But Kara and her red ring still seem to be dominating my thoughts. Here are the solicits as seen on Newsarama: http://www.newsarama.com/20351-dc-comics-may-2014-solicitations.html

And here are the solicits that grabbed me.

SUPERGIRL #31
Written by TONY BEDARD
Art EMANUELA LUPACCHINO
and RAY McCARTHY
Cover by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO

Beware her rage! Supergirl joins the Red Lanterns and sets out to learn more about her new status in the group! But a surprising new villain tells Kara that she’s more alone in the universe than she ever suspected...

So I was hoping that this would be "Red Daughter Part 3 of 3" but it looks like this Red Lantern phase is going to last longer than I initially thought.

This new villain has to be World Killer 1. At least Kara isn't that! This will also be the first issue of Emanuela Lupacchino on interiors. Can't wait to see her take.




RED LANTERNS #31
Written by CHARLES SOULE
Art and cover by ALESSANDRO VITTI

Guy Gardner thought the power of Supergirl would make his team of Red Lanterns unstoppable…but he wasn’t counting on the arrival of the deadliest Red yet: The Judge! When she makes her ruling, the fate of the Red Lanterns, Earth and an entire space sector will hang in the balance!

And we still have Supergirl in Red Lanterns as well. It will be interesting to see if the two titles and there representation of Kara align. I want a consistent characterization.

It seems like Supergirl will fit in here, at least for the time being, giving her finally a place she belongs.

Supergirl as a Red Lantern for an unknown amount of time.




SUPERMAN: DOOMED #1
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL with GREG PAK and CHARLES SOULE
Art and cover by KEN LASHLEY

Beginning the super-event you have been waiting for in The New 52: Superman vs. Doomsday in a way you’ve never seen before! And with Doomsday’s deadly new abilities, in this battle there can be no winners. The Man of Steel must unleash insane levels of power in order to do the job, only to terrify the world he’s saving. Beating Doomsday is only the beginning of this never ending battle!


Not Death of Superman ... something different.

This was hinted at in Pak's Doomsday issue in Villains month issue. Will Superman die again? This isn't a story I wanted to see again .. even homaged. And I don't like Soule and Lobdell having so big a part in it.

And ... of course ... Superman fighting Doomsday terrifies the world. Just what we need, more stories where Superman is rejected by humanity.




ACTION COMICS #31
Written by GREG PAK
Art and cover by AARON KUDER

The SUPERMAN: DOOMED epic continues! Superman barely survived his battle with Doomsday and now realizes that his wounds are not healing. Not only that, but he’s suffering disturbing physical and emotional side effects. He is changing…and the newly enlisted Men of S.T.E.E.L. – Metallo, Ghost Soldier, Atomic Skull and Steel – are about to find out into what!


All that said. the Men of STEEL sounds like a neat concept. And this Atomic Skull seems much more mainstream and less like the purple headed character in the Max Landis story. That's fine with me!!!

How does Superman heal after all this?




SUPERMAN #31
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art and cover by ED BENES

“SUPERMAN: DOOMED” continues as Superman continues to change. Plus, Lois’s psi powers spike again as we see the looming shadow of Brainiac!


I thought all this Brainiac stuff ended with the Parasite. Looks like Lobdell wants to go out with an off-putting bang.

And Lois fights Superman. Why not?? Everything else has been done improperly with Superman in the New 52.

SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN #8
Written by CHARLES SOULE
Art and cover by TONY S. DANIEL and BATT

Continued from this month’s SUPERMAN: DOOMED #1! Wonder Woman must deal with what Superman is becoming. Will she have to slay her lover to save him?



Now it seems like Superman is becoming Doomsday. It is sad.

But almost eerie how much it mirrors Morrison's Super-Doom, the mass produced non-hero Superman of a bitter universe. Oh Morrison, you looked into the future again.

And Wonder Woman contemplates killing Superman too! Well, if Lois is fighting him, why not Diana!

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #11
Written by GREG PAK
Art and cover by JAE LEE

A new arc begins following the events of “FIRST CONTACT.” The worlds of Batman and Superman come to an explosive clash as something terrible happens to the World’s Finest team, and a Dark Knight who is not quite himself must team up with Lois Lane to find a missing Man of Steel. Meanwhile, Selina Kyle encounters a person of amazing strength who has no idea who he is.


At least we Pak and Jae Lee back on this book and doing an Earth 2 story. I loved the first arc. And this cover looks sooooo beautiful. I love that Lois.

This looks great!

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #1
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art and cover by MIKE McKONE

In Canada, the team of Animal Man, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter and Stargirl is joined by Adam Strange to fight an unstoppable forced called the Unimaginable.

I remember reading some of the JLA fights against the Unimaginable in the late Silver/early Bronze age so I am intrigued to see an updating.

And the cover has another hero in shadow ... while Supergirl is missing. It must be Supergirl but DC is being coy about which costume she is wearing ... her classic or her Red Lantern one.



SMALLVILLE SEASON 11: LANTERN #2
Written by BRYAN Q. MILLER
Art by MARCIO TAKARA
Cover by CAT STAGGS

Clark Kent is just beginning to grasp the potential of the Green Lantern ring, but all of John Stewart’s training hasn’t prepared him for the battle they’re about to face. Will Clark need to use his natural super powers to defeat an enemy John fears?

John Stewart in the Smallville universe!! We really have a DC pantheon there!


ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #13
Written by B. CLAY MOORE
Art and cover by GABRIEL RODRIGUEZ

While the Man of Steel takes down Metallo in the streets of Metropolis, a down-on-his luck reporter for The Daily Star attempts to break the “story of the century” by revealing a suspicious connection between Superman and The Daily Planet!

I don't know much about either creator but the plot sounds good. The cover is also slick, reminding me a bit of Leinil Yu.

WORLDS’ FINEST #23
Written by PAUL LEVITZ
Art by R.B. SILVA and JOE WEEMS
Cover by BARRY KITSON

Can Huntress and Power Girl at last return to Earth 2? Now that the duo know their home world still exists, the heroines debate whether to return!
 
This might be the big issue we have been waiting for! Maybe the Worlds' Finest team goes back to Earth 2. And maybe Levitz leaves the book opening up the way for a bold new direction!

Love the cover. Kitson is awesome!

Still hoping the Red Lantern phase is brief!

6 comments:

garethkirkland said...

It's definitely not Kara on the cover of Justice League United #1 (unfortunately), if you Google Image Search it you can see versions of the cover which show (it seems) the teenage female Native Canadian character previously mentioned in relation to this title.

Kara needs to shake off her Red Lantern-ness first, but when?

AndNowInStereo said...

^ What Gareth said. See it here:
https://twitter.com/CubReporterK/status/437241431166423040/photo/1

That new character's someone I'm looking forward to learning about.

I imagine Supergirl, Alana Strange, and Hawkman will come into that story later on.

garethkirkland said...

Thanks for the link Thomas, I couldn't find a good one to post.

I'm looking forward to it anyway, even without Supergirl (yet).

Anonymous said...

On the topic of the Supergirl/Red Lantern solicits… Now I'm worried. The longer it goes on, the more risky it gets: inconsistency of portrayal, misdirection in character development, etc. Alas. But I'll keep my fingers crossed that Soule/Vitti's excellent handling of Red Lanterns positively affects their Supergirl crossover.
I've said it before and I'll lament it again: there is no Super-family any more. That's sad. I have to agree that the constant slew of negativity around the Superman comics has been slow. I stopped purchasing any of them after Morrison destroyed young Superman in Action Comics. Pak gave me some hope, but…still…
I always thought that the versatility of the Super-family was sort of that characters like Kara or Superboy could be used to explore Kryptonian or 'darker' elements, but that Superman was, and must be, the rock: the human, who anchors them to Earth… Alas.

Anj said...

Thanks for the link.

She sort of reminds me of the Young All Star Tsunami. Hmmm ....

And yes Clan, Superman hasn't been treated much better in the New 52. And just when I think things are getting better, they seem to take a step back.

Jay said...

Gotta disagree with you on Superman being treated badly in the New 52. I think outside of Wonder Woman and Aquaman the character has by far benefitted the most.