Tuesday, November 24, 2015

February 2016 Solicits

The February Solicits for DC were announced last week and there were a couple of surprises. Here is a link to  Newsarama so you can review all the books being offered. There were long awaited items finally solicited that made me happy.

But the bottom line is this ...

There is still no Supergirl book.

Insanity.

Here are the super-books and a couple of other items that caught my eye.


JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #9
Written by KEITH GIFFEN and J.M. DeMATTEIS
Art and cover by SCOTT KOLINS
After suffering a brutal defeat by Lady Styx’s legion, the remaining members of the Justice League are forced into hiding—but there are eyes everywhere. And what’s the best way to hide in plain sight? Create secret identities! But even that may not be enough deceive Styx’s deadliest bounty hunter: Eclipso!

Supergirl isn't listed in the solicit but she is right in the center of the team if you look close enough. There is something sort of art deco about this cover by Scott Kolins. I'll miss Howard Porter on the book.

I do like the idea of the League being fought by an overwhelming foe. And Eclipso is a big bad. So it'll be fun to see this new incarnation of the team  fight him.


DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS #9
Written by MARGUERITE BENNETT
Art by SANDY JARRELL, ELIZABETH TORQUE and MARIA LAURA SANAPO
Cover by ANT LUCIA
Mera realizes that the only way to achieve victory at sea is to call upon the King of Atlantis. But the price for his assistance may be more than she wants to pay. Stargirl makes plans to return to Russia and rescue her father, while Supergirl comes up against none other than the wealthy American industrialist, Lex Luthor.

Here is the one comic solicit which does name Supergirl.
I have enjoyed this comic much more than I anticipated. I love this Mera cover by Ant Lucia.
And I can only hope that Supergirl doesn't swoon over Luthor. Fingers crossed.
People should be reading this fun book.


ACTION COMICS #49
Written by GREG PAK and AARON KUDER
Art and cover by AARON KUDER
Variant cover by NEAL ADAMS
“Savage Dawn” continues! Now powered by Kryptonite, Superman is confronted by the first of Vandal Savage’s children! It’s a creature with unrelenting bloodlust and the power to match it!

The depowered Superman may be gone here, replaced by one fueled by Kryptonite. You know who that sounds like? 

Ultra Man!

I guess the slow evolution of Superman into the villain version of him is near complete.

I do like the idea that Vandal Savage has a brood of super-powered kids wandering the Earth. And I trust Pak and Kuder to make this into a silk purse. 

As for the variant cover, it might look Crisis-y, but I think it is based on Lois Lane #128


SUPERMAN #49
Written by GENE LUEN YANG
Art and cover by HOWARD PORTER
Variant cover by NEAL ADAMS
“Savage Dawn” continues! Superman and Wonder Woman lead an army of gods and monsters against Vandal Savage and his deadly spawn!

So this also looks like a K-fueled Superman.

We see Superman, Frankenstein, Uruk, and others. Perhaps the rest are the fallen gods from the mythological fight club?

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #49
Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art by ROBSON ROCHA
Cover by YANICK PAQUETTE
Variant cover by NEAL ADAMS
This epic tale from another era in Clark and Bruce’s history continues! Someone has put a bounty on Batman’s head, and Lobo’s come to collect. Can Superman stop this intergalactic bounty hunter in time?

I guess DC realized that it is hard to sell a Batman/Superman book when the stars are depowered and armored right now. Depowered Clark and mechanized Gordon aren't friends. To force them into a story would be rough.

So why not just print a flashback!

I'll be interested in seeing Tom Taylor's take on these characters mostly because I haven't read much of his stuff.



SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN #26
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by DOUG MAHNKE and JAIME MENDOZA
Cover by ED BENES
Variant cover by NEAL ADAMS
Superman Triptych variant cover by KIM JUNG GI
“Savage Dawn” continues! Suffering a terrible loss, Wonder Woman comes to the aid of the Kryptonite-charged Man of Steel to face the terror of the twins of Vandal Savage!
Plus, world-renowned visualist Kim Jung Gi puts his stamp on the DC Universe with a wall-to-wall-to-wall action triptych featuring the Big Three!

I doubt I'll be collecting this book in February.

But is it me or do those twins of Vandal Savage look like the Wonder Twin analogs from the Justice League United cartoon?


That can't be coincidence.



SUPERMAN: LOIS AND CLARK #5
Written by DAN JURGENS
Art by LEE WEEKS and SCOTT HANNA
Cover by LEE WEEKS
Variant cover by NEAL ADAMS
How do you fight a villain who is a reality TV star and still stay undercover? That’s what Superman is up against as he faces a threat created just for ratings: Blackrock! Meanwhile, Intergang has Lois Lane in their crosshairs!

I'm an old school reader so I'll be very interested to see how Dan Jurgens can update Blackrock for the current comic world. Fascinating.

And that cover looks a lot like the classic Jim Steranko Hulk cover.


SUPERMAN: THE COMING OF THE SUPERMEN #1
Written by NEAL ADAMS
Art and cover by NEAL ADAMS
1:25 B and W Variant cover by NEAL ADAMS
From legendary writer/artist Neal Adams comes a threat so epic it will take more than one Man of Steel to handle it in this new 6-issue miniseries!
As Darkseid and the hordes of Apokolips lay waste to the world, even Superman is overwhelmed—but not for long, as three heroes from the miniaturized city of Kandor emerge at full size, armed with all the vast powers of Kal-El, ready to become the new Supermen!
This battle of titans also features the machinations of Lex Luthor, plus fan favorites Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane aiding in the fight for Truth, Justice and the American Way.

I am up in the air about this new mini-series announced this month. Neal Adams is writing and drawing a six issue Superman story where Kandorians are enlisted to help the Man of Steel. That sounds Silver Age-y. So that is a plus.

But I haven't heard many good things about the recent Adams' written books for Batman and others. So I am wary.

Guess I'll try the first issue.


DC COMICS DESIGNER SERIES: DARWYN COOKE—BATMAN, SUPERGIRL, HARLEY QUINN AND ADAM STRANGE ACTION FIGURES
Eisner Award-winning artist Darwyn Cooke lends his amazing design skills to a new line of action figures, beginning with BATMAN, SUPERGIRL, HARLEY QUINN and ADAM STRANGE.
EACH FIGURE SOLD SEPARATELY
1. BATMAN – 6.57”
2. SUPERGIRL – 6.6”
3. HARLEY QUINN – 6.6”
4. ADAM STRANGE – 6.75”

We saw pics of this series of figures from the San Diego Comic Con. Now they are solicited. It is pricey at $28. But I love Cooke's design. And I can forgive the price tag since it comes with Krypto and Streaky. And that is one happy Dog of Steel!

These will be available in June.


WONDER WOMAN EARTH ONE VOL. 1 HC
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Art and cover by YANICK PAQUETTE
In this new installment of the New York Times best-selling Earth One original graphic novel line, Grant Morrison (THE MULTIVERSITY) joins with Yanick Paquette (SWAMP THING, BATMAN, INC.) to reimagine Wonder Woman for a new era. Encompassing the vision of her original creator, William Moulton Marston, Morrison presents a Diana who yearns to break free from her mother and the utopian society on Paradise Island to learn about the forbidden outside world. Her dreams may come true when Air Force pilot Steve Trevor crashes on their shores, and she must defy the laws of the Amazons to return him to Man’s World.
Is she ready for the culture shock that awaits her in America? And is the world ready for this Wonder Woman?

While I know that this isn't a Super-book, I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette's Wonder Woman Earth One book. So I was giddy to finally see the book solicited.

I will definitely be getting this book!

Anything grab you?

6 comments:

Jay said...

The K-powered Superman is kinda interesting, but to be honest I'm more interested in the idea that this appears to be the final part of the story. Another year, another Superman event that went on too long, lol. Seriously though, the books need to go their own directions again after the #50 landmarks. Truth didn't do anything for sales, and thus all things being equal the response was much better for the Superman line before this event started and the titles were for the most part on their own.

Anonymous said...

These days I'm buying "Justice League 3001", DC Bombshells (as meshugginah as it is), Batman '66, Wonder Woman '77 (which is a quarterly for as long as it lasts), The Secret Six., The Sensational Wonder Woman...and after that pfft the rest of the line is pretty much dedicated that with enough short term sugar high driven cheap heat DC must prevail.
At least two of these books are about to canceled and I don't give long odds to The Secret Six ...and as for the lack of a Supergirl book maybe we should be thankful under the present circumstances that DC has no creatives worth of the character given the alternatives.


JF

Uncle Screensaver said...

I agree, no Supergirl book might be the best thing, especially with the non-original Ultraman-Superman who DC really seems to want to destroy. At least we have (for now) Pre-Flashpoint Superman still with us.

Still, that there is no Supergirl monthly title is just ridiculous. Not only is she iconic enough to justify an ongoing, and except for about a year, as another blog pointed out, she had a title published for almost 20 years. The fact that her TV show is the number 2 new series right now (just after "Blindspot") that should mean something.

DC has decided to put out multiple trades for her, every series is now available digitally, as well as many other appearances, so someone must realize that maybe they should be trying to cash in on the TV series.

The Superman books still show how little regard DC has for Supergirl or at least the continual disregard for the obvious. All this, and there's no sign of Supergirl anywhere. Of course, DC left New52 Kara depowered then allowed her to show up powered in Convergence which was fine despite the lack of resolution but who then seeemingly retconned The Red Lantern story since she's afraid of her friends and even thinks in wonder that they'd want to be with family when New52 heroes gave up and ran. Why can't they just tell us where or what the New52 Supergirl is doing? I figured that that variant was the Lois Lane cover redone to be more Crisis #7 but I wonder if that's what they're going to do with her inside the book also.

I *want* to get the Neal Adams Superman series because it's a classic looking Superman, even if the reviews of his writing aren't favorable but again ... Superman needs help but there's no Supergirl to do that apparently. In addition, I guess this is a Kandor where anyone can be full sized coming out of the bottle. Anyway, I met Mr. Adams and he is very down to earth and friendly. He's a legendary artist and I'm happy that he's getting work, in a series and in variant covers.

Aw, no. It does seem to be the New52 induction of the Wonder Twins. I've always loved them (I never had the cartoon growing up but I read the comics). I always thought they were overlooked and not the losers people commented on, which is how I had felt. It makes me sad they're going to be villains - possibly a commentary on how they're not good. Of course, DC wants Superman to be an anti-hero/ villain, so I shouldn't feel too bad. Aside from Sg and PG, there's not many versions of the characters in DC I even like/ want to read about anymore.


Anonymous said...

Only thing I see of interest is Wonder Woman. The figures are not going to be in my budget as I'm trying to cut back a lot on buying things like that. The Superman books I have utterly and completely lost interest in.

Bombshells and JL look like they could interest some people, just not for me. I don't really want to play cat b up on the issues, might check out a trade later. No Supergirl book is absolutely insane. I mean what are they thinking?!

Much like my video games I've pretty much just gone retro with my comics as well. The gems you find in back issue bins makes a lot of the current DC line up look like trash and there are so many older, better stories to read through with the heroes I love. I still pick up a few current issues, but my pull list has dropped significantly.

Martin Gray said...

Oh wow, Blackrock! I guess Dan Jurgens is going to the well of old Superman foes that haven't been Nee 52-ed. maybe we'll get the Viking From Valhalla. Or the Purple Piledriver...

And I want Happy Krypto!

Anonymous said...

Superman Lois and Clark looks interesting, Blackrock is an untapped villain to write a story about, it's hardly as if the current villains are being written that well.

The Batman/Superman Tom Taylor story sounds much better than everything we've gotten from the series so far. Though I hope Taylor draws more from his one off classic Superman story than his Injustice comics.

Lastly, despite the New Gods and promises of classic Superman stories, I'm mistrustful of Neal Adams' recent work. Batman Odyssey sounded like a horror show and I haven't seen good feedback for it. Whether he gets Superman might be another story but it's not a good track record with Batman Odyssey before it.

Louis