Monday, December 20, 2021

DC March 2022 Solicitations

The DC solicitations for March 2022 came out last week. 

To peruse all the listings you can head here, the Newsarama coverage:
https://www.gamesradar.com/dc-comics-march-2022-solicitations/

Let's not bury the lede. There is no Supergirl to be found. It will be interesting to see if there is any return for Kara in the near future. Who knows how Tom King's mini-series will end. But that story has Kara aged and off-world and miserable. It is doubtful she will show up in Action to help Kal or in Superman to help Jon given that send-off. 

Now there is a new title on the shelves this month which looks like it will be a lot of fun so my pull list will grow slightly. And there is the Legion book. But otherwise, DC's reliance on Batman books and new Earth-3 mini-event aren't grabbing me.

Let's get to the books!

ACTION COMICS #1041
Written by PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON and SHAWN ALDRIDGE
Art and cover by RICCARDO FEDERICI and ADRIANA MELO
Cover by DANIEL SAMPERE and ALEJANDRO SÁNCHEZ

REMATCH! Superman puts what he's learned on Warworld to the test as he faces Mongul's unstoppable, reanimated warrior known as the Unmade. But it may be too late for Mongul to salvage his empire before an ancient prophecy is fulfilled. One of Superman's inner circle will fall, another will be resurrected at a terrible cost, and the Authority's traitor will be revealed in the conclusion to part one of the Warworld Saga!


I have been loving this title so far. This solicit sounds great. I am going to assume that it is Apollo who is resurrected. I hope Natasha doesn't die. And who is the traitor? Enchantress might be the easy guess but I am going with Lightray.

Nice cover too. The S-shield made from chains is great.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #9
Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art and cover by BRUNO REDONDO
Variant cover by TRAVIS MOORE and TAMRA BONVILLAIN

Superman/Nightwing crossover part 2 of 2! Nightwing promised Clark Kent that while he's off-planet, Nightwing would look after Clark's son, Jon, as he tries to fill his father's shoes as Superman. But with someone out there murdering superpowered people, is Nightwing in over his head? Read Nightwing #89 (in stores 2/15/22) for part 1 of this crossover story!


As I said before, Tom Taylor having his socially conscious heroes team up seems like a no-brainer.

But this sounds more like a fun romp than a politically charged story. Looking forward to it.

And nice idea to have Bruno Redondo do both issues. 
BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD'S FINEST #1
Written by MARK WAID
Art and cover by DAN MORA
Variant covers by JIM LEE, STANLEY "ARTGERM" LAU, and JASON FABOK

The Dark Knight. The Man of Steel. They are the two finest superheroes that the world has ever known...and they're together again in an epic new series from the legendary talents of Mark Waid and Dan Mora! In the not-too-distant past, Superman's powers are super-charged from a devastating chemical attack by the villain Metallo...and the only ally that the ultra-powerful Man of Tomorrow can turn to in this turbulent hour is Gotham's own dark vengeance: the Batman. A nearly fatal burst of power drives Bruce Wayne to his own extreme measures to help his friend...enlisting none other than the Doom Patrol for aid. It's the world's greatest superheroes from the world's greatest comic book talent in an epic comic book experience that kicks off the next big events in the DCU. Get ready, it's time to soar.


I am looking forward to this book more than I can say in words. I trust Mark Waid. I love Dan Mora's art. I hope I am able to grab this variant cover by Art Germ reminding me of beloved older issues that teamed Kara and Steph. 

But even the story sounds great. We have seen super-charged Superman in the past. I wonder if Negative Man is somehow called on to help with the energy surge.

Can't wait.
JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #3
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Art and cover by SCOTT GODLEWSKI
Variant cover by TRAVIS MOORE

The Justice League is trapped in the 31st century with the Legion of Super-Heroes, while the looming terror of the Great Darkness hovers over both time period simultaneously. Even as the great heroes of the 21st century get to experience the fantastic far-flung future, the mysteries behind the Gold Lantern and the Great Darkness threaten all of existence. What is the secret behind the Great Darkness? And will the greatest heroes of two ages be able to stop it before it's too late?


At least the VS part of the title seems to be a little bit of a feint. 

I am glad that the hinted at Great Darkness from the Legion title is going to be told. 

Seeing some sneak panels by Godlewski on line and this looks like it will be pretty too.
WORLD OF KRYPTON #4
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by MICHAEL AVON OEMING
Cover by MICO SUAYAN
Variant cover by AUD KOCH

The trial of the millennium! As Jor-El and his brother investigate the mysterious mass-extinction events ravaging Krypton's natural world, a much more public event holds the planet's attention—a member of the House of El stands trial for aiding violent revolutionaries. As all of Krypton watches, a betrayal is revealed that threatens to shatter the long-standing friendship between Jor-El and General Zod.


Loved the first issue so I think this mini-series will be a winner.

A betrayal being revealed makes me think my guess that Zod was behind the attack on the Els in issue #1 is going to be right!

Still hoping I see the Fire Falls.
DARK KNIGHTS OF STEEL #5
Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art and cover by YASMINE PUTRI
Cover by DAN MORA
Variant cover by JOSHUA MIDDLETON

Betrayals and assassinations have brought the world to the brink of war! As the Kingdom of Storms and Themyscira prepare for invasion, the El family is reunited at last to mourn their father...but what secrets does Bruce Wayne have that could prove vital to the future of the land?


What secret does Bruce Wayne have? It is going to be the reveal that Jor-El hired whoever assassinated Martha and Thomas Wayne, another theory I posited in issue #1 of this series.

Liking this one more than others. But it is big and loud so far.
NAOMI SEASON TWO #1
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
and DAVID F. WALKER
Art and cover by JAMAL CAMPBELL

She's back! Naomi returns to the pages of her own series to uncover the truth behind the new mysteries around herself and her powers. The entire creative team (Brian Michael Bendis, David F. Walker, and Jamal Campbell) behind the critically acclaimed and Eisner Award-nominated debut series has returned to answer all the questions that surround Naomi, her legacy, and her place in the DC Universe pantheon. Guest-starring Black Adam, Superman, and the Justice League, plus the return of…Zumbado! Soon to be a CW television show from Ava DuVernay!


You might ask why I am putting Naomi here.

Well, I liked the first series. 
But mostly I want to showcase a book about a young female superhero who is idealistic and learning and accepted by the super-hero community. It can be done. Just not for Supergirl it seems.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"I hope I am able to grab this variant cover by Art Germ"

It's just a regular card stock open order variant - just tell your comic shop to pre-order one for you. If you wait you don't know if they will order enough. There are so many variants for this issue that comic shops are not going to be able to buy a lot of each unless they have orders for them.

This is Artgerm's homage to his own cover for Batgirl #14 from 2010, "Terror in the Third Dimension." It's great.

Tom King was on Word Balloon and they spoke a tiny bit about Supergirl. He praised the art and color and they talked about Steve Rude who drew this week's variant cover. King said #6 is his favorite issue.

He spoke proudly of Ruthye's vocabulary and manner of speaking, so I guess he hasn't been reading some comments from around here and at Martin's blog. He also talked about how he never used narration boxes until pretty much now, that he was never any good at it - I guess Supergirl was his experiment, and he's unapologetic about the result.

T.N.

Anonymous said...

Ruthye would make just as obtuse and unpleasant an impression if she was all speech balloon driven or entirely consigned to narration boxes. She's a malevolent moppet designed to ruin Supergirl, get her exiled to the moon to be a sort of pain wracked nun and really nothing else.
If I had to speculate on the Supergirl-less schedule...I'd say DC is gearing up for a splashy reintroduction of "The New Supergirl" some other kryptonian female will take on that mantle a'la "Ms Marvel".
I'm sure the broad parameters are already in place.
One question though at the end of a rough year for Supergirl...why does DC HATE Supergirl fans so much? I mean every decision this year was designed to "own us" etc...what did we do to them? All we ever did was buy comics devoted to a character they both own and some at the same time despise. Seriously DC should talk to a psychiatric professional or something.
:)

JF

Anj said...

Loved Batgirl #14 and reviewed it back in the day.

That's the World's Finest book we need!

Hope we don't get the Thao-La Supergirl book but it seems like it is in the cards.

Anonymous said...

I'd say at this point Thao-La has a lock on Supergirl, whether or not I buy that book remains to be seen.

JF