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.

Review: Justice League #66

Justice League #66 came out last week continuing the United Order story arc pitting the UP version of the League against the freed Synmar Utopica. It also is a sort of side crossover with the ongoing Checkmate book as well. 

It is always hard to judge an arc by a middle chapter. The plot has to be nudged along. There has to be action. Writer Brian Michael Bendis gives us a decent chapter. We learn the motivations of the bad guy. We see how powerful he is, adding some uncertainty to the proceedings. And we end with a very solid cliffhanger.

And I think there would be a major moment in this issue, the first time we see Naomi unleashing her power. But I think a page snafu muted it to the point that I don't know if I saw what I saw. And the Checkmate side plot sort of has an odd moment within it that makes me wonder about those characters.

The art is by Phil Hester and he brings a sturdy realism to the proceedings. The flow and movement of this issue felt better than the recent Superman story Hester did. There is a tangible feel to the fights and the damage. 

Still, I am a bit reeling from the ending and that Naomi page. Help me out.

On to the book!

Review: Justice League #65

Justice League #65 was released last week and as it has a strong crossover feel with Checkmate. That makes me happy.

The book basically has two plots running concurrently. One is Black Canary and Ollie hashing out his involvement in the new Checkmate and the reveal of Daemon Rose's identity. There is some great dialogue here. And the Daemon reveal is quite the eye-opener. There is even a super-villain sighting and a small mystery.

The second plot is the attack by Synmar Utopica on the JL. This also has some great dialogue and some fun moments. It once again shows how Synmar is a worthy foe of Superman as he brings down the house around the team.

I very much enjoyed the issue. So I won't bury that fact. I read comics to be entertained and I was very much entertained. But it felt to me like this was an extension of the Checkmate book and that the Synmar plot was sort of a filler to keep the rest of the League present in the pages. I don't mind that at all. But I wonder about others.

Steve Pugh is again on art and brings a lot of energy to the action here. We get both street level scuffling and super-powered throwdowns and both flow nicely. 

On to the book!

Review: Justice League #63

Justice League #63 came out last week, a sort of  ending to Brian Michael Bendis' first arc as writer on the title. I say 'a sort of ending' because it feels more like a pause. The ultimate ending, the defeat of Zumbado and the freeing of Naomi's world, doesn't happen here. Instead this felt like the first round.

But there are other goals here as well. Bendis is making a new team here with some interesting new recruits - Black Adam, Hippolyta, and Naomi. Much like the odd roster of Bendis' New Avengers way back in the day, this team is going to be filled with individual personalities and outlooks. And after a few years of the 'big seven' or a sort of DCAU JLA, it'll be good to bring in some new blood.

And, of course, bringing Naomi back into the spotlight of the DCU given her upcoming appearance on the CW as well as a 'second season' of her comic was another goal. And here she is, graduating from Young Justice to the big Leagues, pun intended.

This issue seems to accomplish those goals in a fast moving, splash page full issue. The front half is crazy action packed. The back end is the coda to that battle with one moment that stands out as excellent.

As usual, the art is by David Marquez and I have gushed about his art on this book before. But here, the battle sequences are even more spectacular. The art is eye candy and probably worth the cover price alone.

On to the book!

Review: Justice League #62

Justice League #62 came out this week and was another interesting middle chapter of this storyline exploring Naomi's version of Earth while simultaneously building a new team. 

Brian Michael Bendis is no stranger to team books and certainly no novice at putting together unconventional super-hero squads. His New Avengers was a hodgepodge of characters like Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman and Wolverine ... certainly not the classic Avengers we were used to when that book first came out.

And as someone who doesn't mind a little bit of a shake-up in JL teams (I am a big fan of James Robinson's Legacy JL team from a decade ago), the addition of new voices like Black Adam, Hippolyta, and Naomi adds a little new spice into the staid team of big sevens. Bendis writes characters well so seeing these members interact is great reading.

Add to that David Marquez near flawless art and you have a solid beginning to this era. Marquez is a master showing movement and energy. And this issue, predominantly a big splash page brawl across a devastated landscape lets  him cut loose. From maces to faces, sonic screams, and giant tanks, it is all magical. But his expressive work in the character scenes also shines.

It has to hang on the plot. I have been waiting for answers surrounding Naomi and her world and we are now 4 issues in and I still don't think I know much. So overall success is going to be in how this wraps up.

On to the book.

Review: Action Comics #1016

Action Comics #1016 came out this week, wrapping up the quick visit to Metropolis by Naomi while ratcheting up the Invisible Mafia storyline. As has been the norm with this book, there were great moments and snappy dialogue. This also, like last issue, showcased the difference in Superman and Batman regarding new heroes and advice. In many ways, this was just a sort of primer on Naomi for all those who have missed out on her solo comic.

The growth in the character of the Red Cloud and the subsequent fallout with the Invisible Mafia is the main push in this issue regarding the ongoing plots in the DCU. Leviathan is barely mentioned. There isn't any 'Legion of Doom' sigils. But what I did find interesting is how this issue shows the citizens of Metropolis and how they respond to super-fights and destruction.

Writer Brian Michael Bendis does a great job capturing the voices of all the characters. In particular, I love his Metropolis denizens and how they all seem to be behind their hero even if destruction occasionally happens.

Artist Szymon Kudranski has to kick it up a notch with his action sequences as it looks like a block is leveled in this fight. But there are plenty of dialogue scenes and close-ups which are rendered well.

Another fine issue. On to the details!

Review: Action Comics #1015

Action Comics #1015 came out this week and was a very entertaining issue which focused on Naomi, the latest young hero in the DCU. But it also added some important details to both the Invisible Mafia storyline and some Event Leviathan information.

For someone like me, who collects Naomi, this issue was a great recap of that title and its hero. I love that book and so seeing Naomi now entering the bigger DCU was a treat. It also hammered home the fact that her origin is a little bit Superman and a little bit Batman, one of the wrinkles I like.

On top of that, her interaction with Superman cements that writer Brian Michael Bendis has Superman's voice down pat. Between his helping Naomi here and his inspirational turn in Superman #15, this has been one heck of a month for the Man of Steel.

But this is more than a primer on Naomi. The Red Cloud side plot continues to plod along. And a huge juicy clue about the identity of Leviathan was dropped here. Remember though, this is my review post. The clues will be reviewed next week. But I am starting to have some resurgent confidence about my Leviathan Theory. Maybe this time I'm right.

This is my favorite issue so far from artist Szymon Kudranski. This issue has him drawing pages from Naomi's point of view. It has quiet moments and battle moments. And it has his usual elan about page layout and panel borders. Strong stuff here. On to the book itself!