DC Comics has released its solicitations for August 2013, and there are definitely a few things worth noting for your next trip down to your comic book store.
Before a month highlighting villains in September, lots of the solicitations promise the rise, appearance or emergence of a villain from the past/unexpected place.
Highlights for the month include the continuation of the Trinity War across the Justice League titles, a battle (to the death?) between the DCU and the Masters of the Universe, a new Jeff Lemire series (Trillium), and a American Vampire anthology from Vertigo looks to be a must-read.
While Batman Incorporated comes to a close in July, but the Batman Incorporated Special #1 ensures that Grant Morrison’s historic run goes out with a bang.
The end for Dial H, Threshold, Legion of Super-Heroes and Demon Knights
Time for the next wave of the Newish 50-or-so. Frankly, we don’t know how some of these lasted as long as they did. Indeed, at least two of the covers to these final issues feature the lead characters holding their heads in shame. Dial H #15, Threshold #8, Legion of Super-Heroes #23 and Demon Knights #23 represent the last outings, in this form at least, of those titles, and only Dial-H gets an “extra sized conclusion”. Should we expect another version of Sgt. Rock in the near future? We’ve already had two cancelled in the last year or so. Perhaps the Trinity War will throw up some opportunities for new titles as well. Stay tuned for the September solicitations to fill in that void. Or the eventual collapse of DC Comics. We think the September solicits will come first.
Batman Incorporated Special (minus Morrison)
It’s also the end for Batman Incorporated, but this offers a slightly different vibe than the end of the other four titles. This solicitation offers appearances from “Man-of-Bats, Red Raven, El Gaucho, Dark Ranger, Knight, Batman himself and more!” Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to feature any involvement from series creator Grant Morrison. Featuring stories “written and drawn by a collection of industry greats”, those names would be the likes of Chris Burnham, Joe Keatinge, Ethan Van Sciver, Jason Masters and “others” Plus, if there was one like that has us more excited than any other for the month of August, it has to be “Bat-Cow makes her solo debut in a tale by writer Dan DiDio and artist Ethan Van Sciver!” You know it is going to be wacky when even Grant Morrison won’t touch it!
Lemire and Trillium
DC Comics/Vertigo
Click to enlarge
When we spoke to author and artist Jeff Lemire earlier this year, he already had a lot on his plate. In August, he has no less than 5 titles coming out. Along with the Trinity War crossover issues of Justice League of America #7 and Justice League Dark #23, not to mention the twenty-third issues of Green Arrow and Animal Man respectively, his brand new original work is sure to excite fans. Following the end of Sweet Tooth and the superb graphic novel The Underwater Welder, the new 8-issue mini-series Trillium sees a return to Lemire as both artist and writer. Set in the years 3797 and 1921, it promises to weave two “separate but connected stories” across space and time. The first issue is solicited as “28-pages of story in a flip-book with two covers and two…stories”. The artwork for this is nothing less than spectacular already, but what intrigues us most is this line from the solicits: “This isn’t just a love story; It’s the LAST love story ever told”. Can we have this now please?
DCU vs The Masters of the Universe
Or Injustice: Toys Among Us, as we shall now be calling this. If they are truly the Masters, surely they’d win? It’s finally come to this. He-Man vs. Superman. I guess those arguments about who would win can finally stop. Following DC’s Masters of the Universe mini-series last year, the whole DCU gets pitched against the Masters of the Universe. We remember something like this happening with the Mortal Kombat crew (krew?), and that didn’t even well for anybody.
American Vampire Anthology
Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque’s American Vampire series is currently on hold, but it is one of the few ongoing series at Vertigo that still has some traction. Apart from the American Vampire: The Long Road to Hell one-shot coming in June, this special promises 8 new stories from the world of American Vampire from the series creators, as well as other amazing comics creators like Becky Cloonan, Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, Jeff Lemire (oh wait, that’s six titles this month), Greg Rucka, Gail Simone and many more! Even if you aren’t a fan of the series, with talent like that involved, you’d be mad not to give this one a read!
Batman Beyond Universe #1
It might be sometimes easy to dismiss these spin-off series from cartoons that finished over a decade ago, but that’s not the case with this creative team. Written by Kyle Higgins (Nightwing) and Christos N. Gage (Angel and Faith), it has a cover by the incomparable Sean Murphy. This might be more than just a curiosity. It also says something about an out of control Superman. Sold?
These statues…
‘Nuff said.
