Thursday, December 20, 2012

March 2013 Solicits

It is crazy to believe that the March solicits have already been released. I am still worrying about holiday shopping!

These solicits are interesting in that Marvel seems to be surging, Gail Simone was just announced to be off Batgirl, and both big DC families - Superman and Batman titles - are coming off major crossover events. After a time where DC seemed to be surging, it feels like (outside of the Batman titles) things are a bit unsteady at the company right now. No real big surprises this month outside of one potential new title.

Anyways, here is a link for all the DC solicits over on Newsarama:   http://www.newsarama.com/comics/dc-comics-march-2013-solicitations.html

And here are the pertinent solicits.


SUPERGIRL #18
Written by MIKE JOHNSON
Art and cover by MAHMUD ASRAR
• It’s a new dawn for the Girl of Steel after the nightmare of “H’EL ON EARTH”!
• Nothing will be the same for Supergirl as she embarks on a new mission that brings her face to face with one of DC’s deadliest villains!
I have commented on the cover before but I will say it again. Having an evil looking Supergirl crushing the Earth on the cover sends a wrong message. Unless you want an evil Supergirl in your book which means you don't understand Supergirl. I hope that Mike Johnson can keep the editorial barbarians at the gates.

As for the solicit itself, there is a new mission and a new villain. One of DC's deadliest villains. I hope it isn't the Silver Banshee again. I'd rather see a new villain battle this Supergirl. Any guesses?




ACTION COMICS #18
Written by ANDY DIGGLE
Art by TONY S. DANIEL and BATT
Cover by TONY S. DANIEL
1:25 B and W Variant cover by TONY S. DANIEL
“We Can Be Heroes” blank variant cover available

• Welcome the new creative team of writer Andy Diggle and artist Tony S. Daniel!
• Inside the nefarious mind of Lex Luthor, who bares his scars—but how did he get them?
• Luthor’s plan to eradicate Superman may make Kal an alien pariah!
• The Oracle awaits at the edge of the Solar System to pass judgment on Superman—and he is not alone.
• You won’t believe who comes calling on the final page!

Morrison's run is over. Let the Diggle era begin.

Certainly, starting out a new run with Luthor arc is the right way to go. I feel like what the Superman titles need right now is a bit of a throwback story - a heroic Superman battling one of his arch-enemies. And the cover looks way more slick than I am used to from Tony Daniel.

Add to that the Oracle and some mystery guest star (I am leaning towards a New Gods character) and I am optimistic.

I have to say, I am intrigued by the new team. Friends of mine whose opinion I trust love Andy Diggle. I only hope he moves away from the isolated, aloof Superman we have seen recently.


SUPERMAN #18
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art and cover by KENNETH ROCAFORT
1:25 B and W Variant cover by KENNETH ROCAFORT

• The new H.I.V.E. makes its stunning first appearance in The New 52 by trying to take over Metropolis!
• More on Clark Kent’s life as a reporter away from The Daily Planet!

I sometimes think that an organization like H.I.V.E. might have a better success against Superman than a single big bruiser. So having someone come in to try to insidiously take control of Metropolis should lead to a good story.

Still, we'll wait for the execution of the arc.




SUPERBOY #18
Written by TOM DeFALCO
Art by R.B. SILVA and ROB LEAN
Cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND

• “H’EL ON EARTH” has ended, and Superboy’s about to land in a new city, with a new secret identity and a surprising new foe on his trail!
• Guest-starring Superman!

The re-re-reboot of Superboy begins. First he was a weapon of NOWHERE. Then he was pumped full of subliminals to destroy Superman by Harvest. Now he has a new secret identity (I guess bank robber didn't work) and a new city. Maybe we'll get a young hero not an addled living weapon thief.

And Superman guest stars ... maybe to be supportive?

So Superboy lives in a city, has a secret identity, gets visited by Superman.
Meanwhile Supergirl lives alone at the bottom of the ocean, no secret identity or interaction with people, no visits from family.

I have no idea what is happening on this cover.



WORLDS’ FINEST #10
Written by PAUL LEVITZ
Art and cover by KEVIN MAGUIRE

• After being attacked by a group connected to the missing Mr. Terrific, Power Girl and Huntress take the fight to Holt Industries, where they make a shocking discovery!
• Plus: Huntress is personally affected by a tragedy in The New 52!

Lots to digest here.

First off, Kevin Maguire on solo art again. Let me ask the Worlds' Finest crowd that comes here. Would you prefer the half/half approach per issue or would you rather Perez and Maguire alternate whole issues instead? I can't decide in my head.

Holt is stuck on Earth 2 so I wonder if the discovery is some connection to their old world.

And the 'Death in the Family' ending must be what affects Helena. So ... as a non-Batman reader ... could Damien be the one who dies in that mega-story? Of course, she probably had an Alfred on Earth 2, so he could also affect her as well.



SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 #11
Written by BRYAN Q. MILLER
Art by PERE PEREZ
Cover by SCOTT KOLINS

• In order to face Bart’s demons, Superman and Impulse confront a reluctant ally: the JSA’s Jay Garrick!
• Lois’s investigation into Lex takes a surprising turn.
• Chloe’s journey through her doppelganger’s memories turns dangerous.
  
According to Bryan Q. Miller's twitter feed, Jorge Jimenez is the artist on this arc.

Is there any word on how many print issues this is going to be?

I keep waiting to hear about the impending 'crisis' in the solicits.

I wonder if Bart's demons aren't true beings from Hell, but more personal demons. After all, Vegas seems to be in the reflection of Impulse's glasses.   




SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES #11
Written by ART BALTAZAR and FRANCO
Art and cover by ART BALTAZAR

• Ma Kent finally meets Lois Lane!
• What startling questions might they have for one another?
• Is trouble brewing in the big city?
• Time to take the Super-Pets for walkies in Metropolis!

Is there any character that is comedy gold than Ma Kent in an all ages book. The idea of an elderly farm woman disciplining super-beings is just waiting for shenanigans. We saw it in Super Best Friends Forever. We saw it here with Solomon Grundy. So why not a whole issue!

And I can't wait to see Lois with her. I think Lois knows who Clark is in Superman Family Adventures. 




AME-COMI GIRLS #1
Written by JUSTIN GRAY and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art and cover by EDUARDO FRANCISCO

• The new, monthly AME-COMI ongoing series begins here!
• The Ame-Comi Girls team up for the final showdown with Brainiac!
• Starring Wonder Woman, Power Girl, Supergirl, Batgirl, Robin, Steel and The Flash!

And then the surprise of the month ... and ongoing Ame-Comi Girls book.

I am buying the print version of the current single issue character books (although there is a running story through them) and enjoying them so far as a sort of fun trippy DC Universe. I have heard that Supergirl gets, once again, used and turned evil in the upcoming issues.

Anyways, on this cover, it looks like Supergirl is ready to throw punches at Power Girl. I shouldn't be surprised at this given Jimmy Palmotti is writing. I hope Supergirl gets a fair shake here. I guess I'll give it a try.

But the big thing is the post-H'El tenor of the Supergirl book. What will it be like. 

12 comments:

  1. Didn't Mahmud say he was staying on Supergirl?

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  2. Yes.

    I prepared this so long ago I forgot to remove that line!

    Thanks for catching it. Now removed.

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  3. Nice one. Delete us ... send us into the white space!

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  4. Hi Anj, about your Smallville questions, every "episode" of season 11 lasts 4 issues, so Haunted will end in #12.
    And in a couple of solicits (or spoilers I think) it has been said that this arc featuring Impulse will also deal with the Crisis, that little thing in the solicit about Chloe is about her learning about Earth Two by watching Chloe of Earth Two memories.

    Hopefully that helps!

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  5. Hi Anj,

    I think your numbering for Ame-Comi Girls is off a bit. I just got issue #3 the Duela Dent issue.

    I recommend the Ame-Comi Girls starting at the tween girl set. The bloodletting isn't graphic but it isn't hidden in this series.

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  6. "First off, Kevin Maguire on solo art again. Let me ask the Worlds' Finest crowd that comes here. Would you prefer the half/half approach per issue or would you rather Perez and Maguire alternate whole issues instead?"

    I would prefer anything that would allow me to see more Perez art.

    "I have commented on the cover before but I will say it again. Having an evil looking Supergirl crushing the Earth on the cover sends a wrong message. Unless you want an evil Supergirl in your book which means you don't understand Supergirl. I hope that Mike Johnson can keep the editorial barbarians at the gates."

    I agree with you so much...

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  7. I know that you're upset about the Supergirl cover showing her as potentially bad, but it's probably deceiving and I'm sure that it'll intrigue a lot of people enough to read the issue.

    As for Superboy, I have a theory that the city that he's moving to is Metropolis and instead of Superman visiting him, he'll be living with Superman as "Conner Kent". I know that it seems a bit early for him to get the "Conner Kent" ID in issue 18, but issue 6 also seemed a bit early for him to be named "Kon-El". As for him living with Superman in Metropolis, I figure that after "H'el on Earth", Superboy would want to live with someone who could give him stability, protection, and answers about his heritage and Superman would be willing to be that someone.

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  8. hey anj the cover is straight crazy,thats why i like it.looks like the joker got ahold of him.

    it would definelty help the superboy book to be in metroplis and living with supeman,and it is a good way of having the conner kent name in play so soon,course i wouldnt mind superman and batman set him up with a secret identity,to hide him from h'el,and Harvest.

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  9. that sueprboy cover is bizzare.

    as for the ame comi girls one, I'm sure that's an old image that's been around for months. I'd be surprised it will be the cover of the monthly series.
    Kara already went bad in Ame Comi girls, but second to last (I think) issue had Avril Palmer go in and remove the black kryptonite poison. So hopefully that won't happen again.

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  10. Thanks for all the comments!

    I think the Superboy cover is appropriately crazy. But I have no idea what it means about the story. I think Metropolis might be too close to Superman but we'll see.

    I think the prior Ame Comi books were collecting the individual characters arcs. I think this one is a new monthly and therefore there will be a renumbering.

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  11. "I think Metropolis might be too close to Superman but we'll see."

    If you read my comment again, you'll see that I did mention that Superboy might be living WITH Superman in Metropolis. And I think that it makes sense, since if he's gonna move to a new city with a secret ID, he has nowhere else to go, as he wouldn't want to go live with Fairchild and her gang again and there's no one to take care of him in Smallville.

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  12. PRGirl, thanks for the comment. It would be interesting to see Superman kick Jimmy out of his apartment and let 'Conner' in.

    But I don't think DC wants this Superman to be that nurturing right now.

    And I wonder if other Superboy fans want him to be a more independent character.

    We'll see!

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