DC Comics Ongoing Discussion

[Kai "the spy"]

August Solicits are out.

- Swimsuit variant covers. Ugh. Once again, current DC is trying to be 90s Marvel.
- DC is trying to engineer "Killing Joke"-level stories for the other Batman villains besides Joker in a new series of oneshots, starting with the Riddler. Because we all know that level of cultural impact can be planned. And sorry, Tom King is far from being as good as Alan Moore. They did pay up for a Brian Bolland variant cover, though. Still, I'll probably wait for the reviews before giving this project a chance.
- "Batman: Dear Detective", written and illustrated by Lee Bermejo. I can dig Bermejo, I can dig a Batman detective story, and my wallet certainly likes the sound of the word "oneshot".
- "Sword of Azrael" mini-series, might have had me interested were Denny O'Neil still around to write this. The need to accompany a freshly-launched mini-series with a spin-off oneshot doesn't make me any more interested, either.
- "Saved by the Belle Reve", anthology special with a school theme. Nope.
- Facsimile editions for "Sandman" #1 and "Detective Comics" #27. I like facsimiles of old comics, so unless the final tally of my order gets out of hand, I'll probably get both.
- Harley Quinn goes weekly, including an annual, and variant covers putting Harley on iconic Batman covers. Not for me, but nice idea.
- One-shot tie-in to the Harley Quinn animated series. Betting this will be included in an eventual tradepaperback, so that's how I'll get it.
- Annual for "The Flash", centered around Wally and Linda, sure to get that. Also, although she does not have a monthly at the moment, Wonder Girl does also get an annual.
- "Olympus: Rebirth" one-shot sees Hippolyta join the Greek Gods in the pantheon. Yeah, I'll get that one.
- "The New Champion of SHAZAM!" is Mary, in a four-issue mini-series that I'm totally up for.

 

[TheSeeker]

I didn’t realize Wonder Girl got canceled. I’m a little behind.

Lee Weeks posted his variant cover for Olympus: Rebirth and I would have purchased it just for the cover, but the story sounds good too.

 

[thribs]

I used to love dc comics but there hasn’t been anything I’ve wanted to read in over 10 years. Nothing has been appealing like the good old days with Johns’ GL run.

 

[JD]

August Solicits are out.

- Swimsuit variant covers. Ugh. Once again, current DC is trying to be 90s Marvel.

Seriously? I thought comics were finally moving past that kind of stuff.

 

[thribs]

Seriously? I thought comics were finally moving past that kind of stuff.

Maybe it’s male superheroes.

 

[The Realist]

Maybe it’s male superheroes.

Some are:

It's a bit of silly fun. I sometimes feel like our cultural efforts to be less exploitative and objectifying have swung to being downright sex-negative. Maybe it's a necessary overcorrection.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

Well, of course, Nightwing gets the swimsuit treatment. He famously has the best male butt in comics. Captain America can suck it.



That sounded like Captain America can suck Nightwing's butt, which wasn't actually my intention. If the mental picture tickles you, though, well, enjoy. There might be fan art for you out there.


And for the record, the one I saw first was the swimsuit cover for Action #1046:

For the record, Supergirl doesn't seem to actually be in that issue. So, they don't have Supergirl even co-starring in any current series, but they apparently needed to have a swimsuit cover of her, anyway.

 

[theenglish]

Some are:

It's a bit of silly fun. I sometimes feel like our cultural efforts to be less exploitative and objectifying have swung to being downright sex-negative. Maybe it's a necessary overcorrection.

Yes, I agree a necessary overcorrection. However, we are living in a puritanical moment with a large segment of the population on the opposite side of that. The silent majority that continues to live between those extremes needs to kind of wait it out.

 

[The Realist]

Artist Tim Sale "has been admitted to the hospital with severe health issues":

https://twitter.com/JimLee/status/1536401890048520192

I've read negative comments about Sale's work from a couple of posters here, which is utter bollocks. His work on Superman for All Seasons and Superman: Kryptonite, both of which I'm proud to own in deluxe hardcover editions, is beyond awesome. (I hear tell he might have done a little Batman thing here and there, too.) My thoughts are with him in the crisis he's battling.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

Artist Tim Sale "has been admitted to the hospital with severe health issues":

https://twitter.com/JimLee/status/1536401890048520192

I've read negative comments about Sale's work from a couple of posters here, which is utter bollocks. His work on Superman for All Seasons and Superman: Kryptonite, both of which I'm proud to own in deluxe hardcover editions, is beyond awesome. (I hear tell he might have done a little Batman thing here and there, too.) My thoughts are with him in the crisis he's battling.

I'm a big fan of Sale myself. He has a unique, noir-ish style that lends itself to deeper stories with a lot of character study. He is great at facial expressions, shadowplay and composition. Whether it was Batman, Superman, or the Marvel color books, he never disappointed.

Here's hoping he makes a full and speedy recovery.

 

[dupersuper]

August Solicits are out.

Action Comics 1046
Superman: Son of Kal-El 14
World's Finest 6
Justice League Vs Legion of Super Heroes 6
Young Justice: Targets
Dark Crisis 3
Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League - Green Lantern 1
Dark Crisis: Young Justice 1
Flash 785
Flashpoint Beyond 4
Multiversity: Teen Justice 3
Naomi season two 6
Batman: Dear Detective
Batman: Fortress 4
DCeased: War of the Undead Gods 1
DC: Saved by the Belle Reve 1
DC Vs Vampires 8
DC Vs Vampires: All Out War 2
DC Mech 2
Jurassic League 4
Harley Quinn Animated Series: The Real Sidekicks of New Gotham special 1
Tales of the Human Target 1
Cyclone 1
Nightmare Country 5

trade waiting: Zdarsky's Batman, One Bad Day: The Riddler, Wilson's Poison Ivy, Priest's Black Adam, Taylor's Nightwing and Fables

will pick up the JLA Watchtower arc in Harley Quinn if Superman shows up

 

[The Realist]

I'm a big fan of Sale myself. He has a unique, noir-ish style that lends itself to deeper stories with a lot of character study. He is great at facial expressions, shadowplay and composition. Whether it was Batman, Superman, or the Marvel color books, he never disappointed.

Here's hoping he makes a full and speedy recovery.

Sale has passed.

https://deadline.com/2022/06/tim-sale-dead-batman-comic-book-artist-1235047288/

Cause of death not disclosed, but fuck whatever it was.

RIP.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

Shit.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

It's really been a shitty year for great superhero comic artists, hasn't it. Adams, Pérez, and now Sale.
My first exposure to Tim Sale's art was when my mom got me the wrong book for my twelfth birthday. I had asked for a novelization of the Two Face episodes from TAS, but the German title had "Gotham City" at the end, and so did the German edition of the first LotDK Halloween Special. So, that's what I got. But, even though it wasn't the book I asked for, I was only disappointed until I flipped through the book.
That looked dark. Timeless. The gangsters wore suits and hats like in old b&w movies. Batman lurked on top of buildings next to gargoyles, only distinguishable from them when there was when a lightning bolt lit up the scene. His Bat-ears were long and thin and slightly turned inwards, to this day the way I prefer them. Bruce Wayne looked tall and muscular and awkward as shit. It also didn't hurt that the story was pretty cool.

So, goodbye to Tim Sale. I've been re-reading that book every year around Halloween for 25 years now, and I will until my copy falls apart, and even then I probably go buy another copy.

Edit: Bleeding Cool has collected some responses by Sale's colleagues and friends, including Jim Lee, Matt Wagner and Gail Simone.



Well, onto less sad matters, September solicits are out.

Notes:

- Batman vs. Robin, new mini-series. Wouldn't even look at it twice if it wasn't written by Mark Waid and apparently spinning out of both Shadow War AND World's Finest. Damn. It is tempting, but I have to cut back on new comics for financial reasons, so I'll probably wait to see if this matters to World's Finest at all, and then maybe get the TPB.
- Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary Special, anthology book, and Connor & Palmiotti and Paul Dini contributed stories. But, dammit, looking at the long list of writers I don't care about, the two stories I might want to read are probably less than 8 pages each, and I'm not paying ten bucks for that.
- Tim Drake gets his own solo-title again. Again, tempting, but I'll have to hold off on this, too. Haven't even gotten the trades from the 90s series, yet.
- DC apparently wants to get the whole Warworld Saga over with, so the conclussion comes in a special over-sized one-shot. Fuck you, DC, for making me pay another 7 bucks on this.
- The Flash movie tie-in miniseries is resolicited for September. Man, did nobody in the office look at the news and think "maybe we should hold off on that for a little longer until that whole Ezra Miller shitshow is sorted out"?
- Sgt. Rock vs. The Army of the Dead, six-issue miniseries written by Bruce Campbell. Fuck, this is tempting. *sigh* I'll get the TPB eventually.
- New Titans United miniseries. The first one was alright, but nothing special. I think I'll skip this one, might get a collection down the line if it comes across at a reasonable price.
- George Pérez Poster Portfolio. Would be cool, but I'm not gonna bite for the said budgetary reasons.
- Facsimile edition of Action Comics #1. I think I got one, already? I definitively have one of Superman #1. Anyway, as much as it pains me, I think I'm gonna skip it.

 

[StCoop]

DC have pulled a variant cover for their upcoming prequel to the Flash movie drawn by director Andy Muschietti. Can you guess why?

 

[The Realist]

That looked dark. Timeless. The gangsters wore suits and hats like in old b&w movies.

Sale brought a similar '30s-'40s flavor to his rendering of Lois Lane -- a style in which the character lives very comfortably:

 

[Mr. Adventure]

DC have pulled a variant cover for their upcoming prequel to the Flash movie drawn by director Andy Muschietti. Can you guess why?

Oh no, what's Ezra doing to that poor suit?

 

[theenglish]

Regarding September solicitations, I am a little shocked. There is none of the following: Suicide Squad, Titans Academy, Aquamen, still no Green Lantern-- are these cancelled or just taking a break for Dark Crisis? It looks like the excellent Warworld story in Action Comics is getting resolved in a one-shot to make way for some kind of build up to Action Comics #1050.

EDIT: It looks like Aquamen will end in July after only 6 issues. I don't think I have ever seen such a lack of variety of Super-Hero titles in DC in my lifetime.

 

[dupersuper]

Well, onto less sad matters, September solicits are out.

Superman: Warworld Apocalypse #1
Action Comics #1047
Superman: Son of Kal-El #15
Superman: Space Age #2
World's Finest #7
Dark Crisis #4
Dark Crisis: World Without a Justice League - Wonder Woman #1
Dark Crisis: Young Justice #4
The Flash #786
Flashpoint Beyond #5
Batman Vs Robin #1
Batman: Fortress #5
Multiversity: Teen Justice #4
Titans United: Bloodpact #1
Nightmare Country #6
The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1
Black Adam: Atom Smasher #1
Shazam: Thundercrack
American Vampire 1976
Human Target #7
DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #2
DC Vs Vampires #9
DC Vs Vampires: All Out War #3
DC Mech #3
Jurassic League #5
Dark Knights of Steel: Tales from the Three Kingdoms #1

trade waiting: Zdarsky's Batman, One Bad Day: The Riddler, Wilson's Poison Ivy, Priest's Black Adam, Taylor's Nightwing, Sgt Rock Vs The Army of the Dead, Batman: The Audio Adventures and Fables

 

[Kai "the spy"]

And another death that hits hard.

Alan Grant has died at the age of 73.

Grant was one of the major Batman writers of the late 80s and 90s, as well as being the primary writer of Lobo comics in the 90s, including the ongoing monthly series. He also wrote novelizations for Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, which I still like better than the actually movies (admittedly not hard in the case of B&R), as well as DC novels Batman: The Stone King, and Superman, Martian Manhunter & Lobo: Last Sons.

He co-created lasting characters like Scarface, Victor Zsasz, Anarky, Ratcatcher, as well as almost the entire supporting cast of the Lobo series.

Outside of DC, he's best known for his work on 2000AD's Judge Dredd universe, including an almost exclusive run on Judge Anderson: Psi-Division from 1988 till 2005.
He was a fantastic writer, and certainly an underrated one.