The December DC solicitations are out, bringing with them the cleverly titled Infinite Christmas Special. Too bad it’s not this Infinite Christmas, the sequel to 1985’s Christmas On Infinite Earths. [Dear DC: No hard feelings -- but a George Pérez sketch of Santa, brandishing the Red Ryder BB Gun and the security blanket, would help ease the pain. Love, Tom.]

FEATS OF STRENGTH: SUPERMAN

A few things stick out this month with regard to the Superman titles. First, as if the new Fortress Of Solitude weren’t enough, I suspect that the belt buckle on the cover of Action #846 will really spark fannish speculation about a “Donner/Singerverse” takeover. We’ll see.

Second, obviously I look forward to every new All-Star Superman, but I have a feeling that this month’s Bizarro issue will be extra good. The phrase “round and square Earths collide” recalls happy memories of Morrison and Quitely’s JLA: Earth 2.

Third, I thought the “Emperor Joker” storyline had been collected already, but I guess not. That arc was pretty trippy in its original serialized form. I suppose the revelation that it was the inspiration for one of Jeph Loeb’s later efforts is the reason for its collection now. On balance, “EJ” was better than its sequel, but that’s not saying much.

Finally, I have to admit that, sadly, I hadn’t given much thought to Krypto since he fought Superboy-Prime in Infinite Crisis, and I trust Kurt Busiek and Rick Leonardi will treat him right in Superman #659.

QUICK DCU HITS

I can’t decide — is the new 52 tagline “America’s only weekly super-hero adventure” a dig at Marvel’s delays?

Aquaman: Sword Of Atlantis #48 continues to connect New Aquaman more closely to Old Aquaman, and with issue #50 right around the corner, an integration probably isn’t far off. (You probably figured that out too.)

The Joker shows up in this month’s Detective, as well as in this month’s Creeper. I thought he was getting a bigger post-Infinite Crisis reintroduction — was it supposed to be his getting shot in the face?

I’m a little worried about a “new sensibility” being advertised for Darwyn Cooke’s Spirit revival, but it’s probably only marketing puffery. Still, no “Christmas Spirit” issue? Next year, I suppose.

Also, DC, why bother whiting out the silhouette if it’s clearly Amazo? I know — so we won’t see his tears! Even An Android Can Cry….

TRADES, ONGOINGS, AND KEEPING UP

The new Birds of Prey lineup has me interested in the title again, but I dropped the book around #75 and catching up now might be cost-prohibitive, even with this paperback. Speaking of which, at first I thought DC was helping readers get caught up with Justice by offering the collected issues 5-8 in the same month as the new #9, but then I saw the collection comes out in February. See, I would think about getting the two hardcovers, and then #9, if they all came out in December, but now, why not wait until February to get issues 9 and 10 along with the two hardcovers? And by that point, I wonder — why not just wait for the last hardcover, or even the inevitable Absolute Edition?

Firestorm #32 wraps up the Stuart Moore era, but what gets me (and why it’s in this section) is that there are no paperback collections of the new book and/or no Showcase Presents for the old stuff. Heck, there’s not even a reprint of Ronnie and the Professor’s first JLA mission in the Justice League Hereby Elects… paperback. (Not that that paperback won’t be good otherwise.) Meanwhile, Manhunter and Fallen Angel get their second paperbacks each (also good, don’t get me wrong), and Fallen Angel isn’t even a DC book anymore. Of course, I’ll have to buy Manhunter #26 or risk the scorn of every other DC blogger.

Looking at the other reprint volumes, I think I will get the Showcase Presents Brave & Bold - Batman Team-Ups. From what I understand, Bob Haney didn’t get really wacky until later, but this should be a good warmup. Don’t need the new Showcase Presents Justice League Of America, since shortsighted me already spent significantly on the Archives. Another Grant Morrison Doom Patrol collection is always welcome, though, and I echo the call for the next one (which should conclude Morrison’s run) to include the Doom Force special.

OLD FOLKS

The new Justice Society of America drops in December, now with considerably more Alex Ross. Personally, it’s seemed to me that ever since they got put on the same Earth, the JSA has had a harder time justifying its existence in light of the Justice League. Yes, DC says it offers a “moral compass” and training opportunities, but in practice, it seems like “legacy” translates into “a collection of Earth-2 names, plus Alan Scott, Jay Garrick, and Wildcat.” However, all of that still gives the JSA more freedom to reposition itself. The Justice Society could be just a group of old-timers who get together every month to reminisce and occasionally go out adventuring with their younger counterparts (or would that infringe too much on Gail Simone’s fine-sounding Tranquility series?). It could be a Defenders-style “un-team” with a free-flowing membership. It could even be an excuse for JLI-style character comedy. In other words, it could be something different from what Geoff Johns has been doing over the past several years; but since Johns is heading up the relaunch, probably not. Still, under Dale Eaglesham and Art Thibert, the book will look pretty, and Eaglesham sounds very excited about his work.

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT WILDSTORM AND VERTIGO

Not sure why, but this month’s solicits make me somewhat more inclined to check out the relaunches of Gen13 and The Authority. It’s probably the reminder that they’re being written by Gail Simone and Grant Morrison, respectively. Still, I’m not committing until I see their #1s.

Weird how the new Sandman Mystery Theater is being called “a Vertigo classic.” Wasn’t it a Vertigo-ized version of the Golden Age Sandman, with corresponding takes on other Golden Age heroes? Now, though, it seems to be picking up from the modern history of the original Sandman as told in mainstream DC books like Starman and JSA. I know regular Vertigo readers don’t have this kind of cognitive dissonance, but wasn’t Infinite Crisis supposed to make this less confusing? I say this because the Sandman characters seem to have been planted in the mainstream DCU for the past several years, and I’m not sure which audience Vertigo hopes to attract.

BATMAN, AND THE AIRING OF GRIEVANCES

The very fine hardcover version of Batman: Year One gets a new paperback edition this month. Buy it for the revised coloring job by original colorist Richmond Lewis, and for the excellent Batman essay by David Mazzucchelli, exploding the notion of a “realistic” Batman that “Y1″ helped cement.

Speaking of “Year One,” I just don’t see the need for Legends of the Dark Knight anymore, especially in light of Batman Confidential.

By now, the Year One period of Batman’s career bears the same relationship to the original “Batman: Year One” story as “M*A*S*H” does to the Korean War. The bulk of Legends of the Dark Knight was devoted to this period, as were its Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale “Halloween” spinoffs. Those, in turn, led to the Long Halloween and Dark Victory maxi-series, which aimed to be definitive explorations of the period. Still, last year alone saw the Journey Into Knight maxi-series and the beginnings of Matt Wagner’s “Dark Moon Rising” project, both set therein. Never mind that virtually all of these stories ignore the original sequels to “Year One,” namely “Batman: Year Two” in Detective Comics #s 575-78, and “Batman: Year Three” in Batman #s 436-39, both of which seem to have been retconned away.

It’s easy to see the appeal of a Year One setting. The young Bruce/Batman is fresh from his globetrotting and eager to clean up Gotham with both fists. His only allies in the corrupt city are Jim Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth (no Robin in sight), and he hasn’t yet lived through years of continuity that would otherwise hamstring writers and editors. In short, he’s leaner, meaner, and more hard-core, but his inexperience also makes him vulnerable. All of this is symbolized by the old-school costume he wears, free of that distracting yellow oval.

However, both “Year One” and its predecessor The Dark Knight were counterpoints to the comparatively superhero-y Batman and Robin (pre-makeover Jason Todd, remember) on display in the regular titles. Not long afterwards, they became the model for those regular titles. In fact, Legends of the Dark Knight premiered in the fall of 1989, when the Bat-books were recovering from Jason’s death and preparing to install Tim Drake. The succession of Bat-events that followed — especially the massive Bane/Azrael arc and “No Man’s Land” — served to spin supporting characters into their own titles, isolating Batman and his allies in their own little fiefdom. Recently, LOTDK dropped its Year One focus in favor of stories set in the present, because there didn’t seem to be much difference between the two settings. Big crossovers from “Knightfall” to “War Games” have tried to show that Batman is still vulnerable in one way or another; and even the yellow oval was gone after “No Man’s Land.”

And yet, LOTDK continues to exist for another month, alongside Batman, Detective, Superman/Batman, All-Star Batman & Robin, and now Batman Confidential. Solicits for paperback collections of Sam Kieth’s Secrets and Paul Pope’s Year One Hundred (hooray!) remind us further that, like Matt Wagner, high-profile creators can have their own Batman miniseries, outside the LOTDK anthology umbrella.

So, why does LOTDK persist? Is it just burning off Batman inventory stories (and won’t DC need those, as demonstrated this month with John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake’s two fill-in issues of Batman)? Batman Confidential has now taken over the Year One beat, and LOTDK hasn’t otherwise replaced the occasional miniseries, high-profile creator or not. Will LOTDK, launched at the height of Batmania ‘89 as “the first ongoing Batman title since 1940,” limp off into the twilight after 200-odd issues?

It doesn’t have to. I’d love to see a Legends Of The Dark Knight retooled as a kind of Batman Through The Ages, with stories set anywhere in the character’s history, and maybe even drawn from different media. (The eponymous animated episode did a Dick Sprang homage and a Frank Miller adaptation — why not the other way around?) A revamped LOTDK could set stories on Earth-2 and/or in the ‘50s sci-fi period. It could revisit the Robin careers of Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Stephanie Brown. It could offer alternative takes on the characters in the vein of Solo, the Bizarro anthologies, or Batman: Black & White. In short, freed from the strictures of any continuity, but inspired by the characters’ rich histories, LOTDK could really do justice to to its title, and maybe expand readers’ artistic horizons along the way.

But that won’t happen, because there are still inventory stories to burn off and, clearly, more Year One stories to tell.

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As always, this roundup reflects my own predilections and well-worn ruts in my buying habits. If something else looks good to you, please feel free to comment.

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