DC Comics May 2023 Solicits

The DC May solicits were released last week and continue to sound very interesting. I have to say, outside of a lack of a Supergirl monthly, the Super-family seem on very solid creative grounds these days. We are really getting a deep dive into all the non-Kara corners of the family.

Here is a link to all the comics:

https://www.cbr.com/teen-titans-injustice-dc-continuity-superman-batman-dc-may-2023-solicits/

And onto the Super-books.

ACTION COMICS #1055

• Written by PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON, DAN JURGENS, and DORADO QUICK
• Art by RAFA SANDOVAL, LEE WEEKS, and YASMIN FLORES MONTANEZ
• Cover by SEBASTIAN FIUMARA
• Variant covers by RAFA SANDOVAL and DAVID TALASKI
• 1:25 variant cover by AL BARRIONUEVO
• 1:50 foil variant cover by SEBASTIAN FIUMARA
• AAPI Heritage Month variant cover by BERNARD CHANG
• $4.99 US | 48 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)

• Superman’s true enemy has been revealed: the Cyborg Superman, Hank Henshaw! Everything the Super-Family has built stands on a knife’s edge, and Superman and Metallo become the unlikeliest of allies as they hunt for Metallo’s missing sister. Can they prevent the inevitable devolution of Metallo’s mind and body long enough to save his sister from Henshaw’s monstrous plans?

I am really pumped to see the Cyborg back, especially as Hank Henshaw and not Zor-El (is that even still in continuity?). I am betting that Phillip Kennedy Johnson will do him right. I can't wait to read this. And I don't know which variant this is but love the call back to the Reign of the Supermen.

Unfortunately, no other info in the solicit regarding the back up features. I think Dorado Quick and Yasmin Flores Montanez are on a Steel back-up.

SUPERMAN #4

• Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
• Art and cover by JAMAL CAMPBELL
• Variant covers by GABRIEL RODRIGUEZ, RAMONA FRADON and SANDRA HOPE, and NATHAN SZERDY
• 1:25 variant cover by PAMELA HOOGEBOOM
• 1:50 variant cover by MICO SUAYAN
• 1:100 foil variant cover by JAMAL CAMPBELL
• $4.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)

• Introducing the Kryptonite Klaw! Superman is vulnerable to Kryptonite, but what happens when other dangerous superhumans are exposed to it? If Superman wants to stop Metropolis’s newest enemies, he must uncover Lex Luthor’s secret past!

Well, I am hoping that exposure to Kryptonite doesn't give other villains new powers. That seems a little too close to the Lazarus Planet plot than I'd like. So I'll have to wait and see.

Had to include the Streaky variant by Pamela Hoogeboom.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #15

• Written by MARK WAID
• Art and cover by DAN MORA
• Variant covers by DANIEL SAMPERE and BRUNO REDONDO
• 1:25 variant cover by WALTER SIMONSON and LAURA MARTIN
• 1:50 variant cover by NIKOLAS DRAPER-IVEY
• $3.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)

• The rise of Ultra-Morpho! Years ago, Professor Anthony Ivo built Amazo, a killer android who could duplicate the powers of the Justice League. But now an even deadlier android stalks the DC Universe: Ultra-Morpho! Able to transform into any element, including Kryptonite, Ultra-Morpho can kill Batman, Superman, Robin, and Metamorpho in one fell swoop! But who created him? Who does he work for? And what has he done to Will Magnus, inventor of the Metal Men?!

More Kryptonite this month!! Ultra-Morpho sounds like someone who is 1/3 as powerful as Animal/Vegetable/Mineral Man.

Time to take guesses on Ultra-Morpho's creator. T.O. Morrow? Simon Stagg? 

I do hope the last line means we'll see some Metal Men in the story. Can't wait to see how Dan Mora draws them. 

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: JON KENT #3

• Written by TOM TAYLOR
• Art and cover by CLAYTON HENRY
• Variant covers by ZU ORZU and AFUA RICHARDSON
• 1:25 variant cover by TRAVIS MERCER
• 1:50 foil variant cover by CLAYTON HENRY
• $3.99 US | 32 pages | 3 of 6 | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)

• Jon Kent arrives on an Earth he’s never seen...the world of Injustice! While a Kal-El rules this world in seeming peace, why does everyone Jon meets fear the S symbol on his chest? And why is Batman public enemy number one? Jon has to pick a side, and the consequences make either choice a dangerous one!

Who knows how to interpret sales these days but I don't think we can call Superman Son Of Kal-El a hit. If it was a runaway hit, I don't think it would have ended.

Now we have Jon in a mini-series and also being sent to the Injustice World? Is DC trying to get rid of Jon, even geographically? 

The further we get away from the aging of Jon, the less it feels like it was a good idea.

SUPERBOY: THE MAN OF TOMORROW #2

• Written by KENNY PORTER
• Art and cover by JAHNOY LINDSAY
• Variant cover by SIMONE DI MEO
• 1:25 variant cover by JASON HOWARD
• $3.99 US | 32 pages | 2 of 6 | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)

• Conner Kent is captured by the young space-adventuring team the Cosmoteers! On a mission to stop Dominator X, these former experiments believe Superboy is just another weapon created by the cloning mad scientist. It’ll take all of Conner’s charm to convince them he’s one of the good guys, or it’s lights out for Superboy!

This feels like it is going to be a fun series and hopefully a rejuvenation of the Conner character who has been sidelined for far too long. 

SUPERMAN: LOST #3

• Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
• Art by CARLO PAGULAYAN and JASON PAZ
• Cover by CARLO PAGULAYAN and JASON PAZ
• Variant cover by LEE WEEKS
• 1:25 variant cover by TONY HARRIS
• $4.99 US | 32 pages | 3 of 10 | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)

• With the assistance of advanced technology from an unnamed planet, Superman begins his voyage home—only to discover that, even at fantastic rates of speed, Earth could still be several lifetimes away. However, hope arrives in the form of a familiar species allowing Superman to hitch a ride with them, but they encounter a grave threat to their existence on a mysterious planet along the way.

Hold on ... could that be a Sand Superman on the cover? Could the familiar species be the Quarmm? I can dream, can't I?

Looking forward to this one.

POWER GIRL SPECIAL #1

• Written by LEAH WILLIAMS
• Art and cover by MARGUERITE SAUVAGE
• Variant covers by STANLEY “ARTGERM” LAU and AMANDA CONNER
• 1:25 cover by TULA LOTAY
• 1:50 cover by TAJ TENFOLD
• $5.99 US | 48 pages | Variant $6.99 US (card stock)

• Power Girl takes center stage!
• With new powers and a new mission, Power Girl faces a challenge unlike any she’s experienced before in this shocking one-shot rising from the events of Lazarus Planet and Action Comics! With Omen’s guidance, Power Girl now strives to battle the demons—literal and figurative—lurking within the minds of some of the greatest superheroes in the DC Universe! But the nefarious Johnny Sorrow has been searching for a connection to Earth-0, and the superheroines’ work may unwittingly give him the means to make their world his personal stage! Can Power Girl and her estranged Super-Family bring down the curtain on Sorrow’s evil plans? And at what cost?

I'm glad that Power Girl is getting some attention. And great covers!!!

But as a therapist entering people's minds to help them? She has always been one of the most physical characters of the DCU. She is the DC's She-Hulk! I just don't know if I am going to be on board for this long term. 

Johnny Sorrow is a villain I have always loved. So at least it has that. 

DARK KNIGHTS OF STEEL #11

• Written by TOM TAYLOR
• Art by YASMINE PUTRI
• Cover by DAN MORA
• Variant cover by EJIKURE
• 1:25 variant cover by LUDO LULLABI
• $3.99 US | 32 pages | 11 of 12 | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)

• The Trinity have united under a banner of hope as they go to war against the White Martian threat in this penultimate chapter! But how deep has the betrayal fractured the tentative alliance? Can bitter differences be set aside to save the planet?

Heading to the end of this series I have enjoyed. Check out that Dan Mora cover!

I hope the ending is one of hope!

Okay! What did I miss??