February may be the shortest month, but I’ve still got a fair amount to say about DC’s solicitations.

[A couple of things before we begin: first, unless otherwise noted, all the collections solicited are for March. Second, thanks to my own buying habits, this is a DC Universe-centered post. Still, if you want to comment on Vertigo, Johnny DC, or CMX, please feel free.]

I’m still not quite sure why DC doesn’t promote its Jeph Loeb and/or Tim Sale material with references to NBC’s “Heroes.” Is it a Time-Warner vs. NBC-Universal corporate-rivalry thing? Maybe; but after looking at these solicits, it looks more like a series of stealth advertisements for other pricey/high-class DC product. Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween (out in April) links Loeb with Batman: Hush and Sale with Superman For All Seasons. All-Star Superman Vol. 1 Hardcover (also an April release) references Batman: Arkham Asylum and We3. Naturally, Hush and Arkham Asylum have both been re-issued with fancy special editions, including an Absolute for Hush, and I wouldn’t be surprised if similar treatment weren’t forthcoming for Superman For All Seasons and We3. Reminding potential buyers that Loeb and Sale contribute to a hit TV show is probably outweighed by the notion that the more money those buyers spend on “Heroes” merch, the less they’ll have for related DC product.

Anyway, behind-the-scenes material for the Absolute Long Halloween includes a section on the LH action figures, which smells like more product placement; and “a 4-page sequence cut from the original miniseries and previously released only in script/breakdown format!” No extras are advertised in the All-Star Superman collection, but it’s $20.00 for 6 issues, so not much more than retail.

“One Year Later” provides the background for three collections of stories that many would rather forget: the Bruce Jones Nightwing (subtitled Brothers In Blood, which sounds more like it should be a Teen Titans collection), the Robin arc (Wanted) that revealed Cassie Cain’s switch to the dark side; and the bizarre Supergirl-and-Power-Girl-in-Kandor arc (Candor) which featured Kara kissing a version of her super-cousin. Good luck with those, DC! The Danny Bilson/Paul DeMeo/Ken Lashley et al. relaunch of The Flash also gets its first paperback, just in time for the end of that creative team. Better-received “OYL”-era collections include the first volume of Shadowpact and the about-to-conclude Secret Six miniseries.

The latest Greatest Stories Ever Told focuses on Superman and Batman, with the cruise-ship hijinx of Superman #76 and the Superman/Batman Annual from a few weeks ago bookending a series of decent stories, mostly from 1960s-era World’s Finest Comics or otherwise in that vein. No Super-Sons, unfortunately.

The Showcase series gets around to the Silver Age Hawkman, making me wonder how confusing it will be for readers raised on the current reincarnation-flavored model. Meanwhile, Showcase Presents House of Mystery Volume 2 brings back unpleasant memories of an evildoer getting his comeuppance via giant worm growing out of his mouth. That one’s probably in there, I bet; but sorry, DC, still not over it. (Still a little queasy thinking about it now, in fact….)

I wouldn’t have picked Snow, a Legends of the Dark Knight arc from last year written by D. Curtis Johnson and J.H. Williams III, with art by the late Seth Fisher, to get the trade paperback treatment, but I’m glad it has. It was another “Year One”-era tale about the origin of a classic Batman villain, but with a couple of important differences. First, it revealed Batman’s flirtation with coordinating a team of “operatives,” a la the Shadow or Doc Savage, to be his assistants. Second, while Fisher’s art isn’t as wild as it was in, say, Willworld, it still complements this story of inexperience and best intentions pretty well. Snow was an unusual Batman story that’s worth a look.

Actually, Snow might just fit with the more superhero-y Batman on display from DC recently. Detective Comics #828 pits him against a sea monster; Batman #663 brings back the Joker (at least, from the point Grant Morrison had him shot in the face); Batman Confidential #3 continues its account of Bat-tech vs. LexCorp robots; The Brave and the Bold #1 sends him into space with Green Lantern; and Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator is pretty self-explanatory.

Complaints about the 3-D glasses included with Superman Confidential #1 apparently didn’t reach DC in time to rethink Action Comics #847, which will come in your choice of 3-D or non-3-D versions. As for the other big news from this issue, if I were DC’s solicitation writer, I’d lead off with “The new Superman Revenge Squad is comin’ at ya!”

Speaking of Superman Confidential, does changing Lex Luthor back to an evil criminal scientist mean that Confidential’s Businessman Lex is now considered retro? I suppose so, at least as of 52 #40.

If you liked the last Superman, which mixed post-apocalyptic Metropolis with a cranky Arion, Lord of Atlantis, good news! According to February’s Superman #661, Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco aren’t quite through with it.

However, Aquaman: Sword Of Atlantis #49 signals the end of the Busiek Era, and kicks off our roundup of creative-team changes. In a bid to stop chronic fill-ins, Blue Beetle #12 brings aboard new artist Rafael Albuquerque. Glad to see Firestorm back, especially with new writer Dwayne McDuffie and new artists Dan Jurgens and Ken Lashley. Jurgens comes over from Nightwing, switching books with Jamal Igle, and Lashley comes over from Flash, where howls of Internet protests probably had no effect whatsoever on that book’s complete creative overhaul. Bart’s still the Flash, apparently, but Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo’s 12-issue plan has been cut short in favor of new writer Marc Guggenheim and new artists Ron Adrian and Art Thibert. Flash: Fastest Man Alive #9 also sees Bart choose between the Justice League and the Teen Titans, so it looks like there will be guest stars a-plenty. Maybe he can sneak into the Batcave where the Big Three are probably still drafting….

DC’s Collected Editions department must be relieved to see the solicitation for Wonder Woman #5, the final issue of Allan Heinberg’s relaunch. Now it can get to work on the hardcover, which will surely be out in time for #6.

The Helmet Of Fate series looks more interesting this month, at least to me, because a) I thought Sargon the Sorcerer was dead; and b) Steve Gerber writing Zauriel the angel sounds too funky to pass up.

Gail Simone’s two ongoing DC Universe series seem devoted to bringing together elements of the DC Universe that hadn’t previously interacted, but probably should; Big Barda joining the Birds of Prey, for example. (And really, what better way to celebrate one of DC’s best female butt-kickers than to offer a statue of her in revealing circus clothes, holding her man’s cape? Good grief.) Having a Linear Man muck around with the old Ivy Town time pool in The All-New Atom #8 is also a fine idea.

Finally, Jeff Smith’s Monster Society Of Evil miniseries arrives in February, but my excitement is tempered somewhat by the Angry-Eyes Cap staring out from that cover. Seems like whenever a new creative team wanted to show how hardcore and awesome their take on Superman would be, they’d put his face in shadow to bring out the glowing embers of heat vision. Cannot even the creator of Bone sell readers on a happy Captain Marvel?

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 16th, 2006 at 12:00 pm and is filed under DC Comics, Grumpy Old Fan, Version 1.0 Blog@. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.