Wednesday, September 19, 2007

DC December Solicits - My Opinions

HOW did I miss that DC had their solicits out before Marvel? I was waiting for them all day and then as I read other blogs I realized they must have already been out. So anyway, here are my opinions on the upcoming DC December solicitations. You can view the full solicitations here.

  • Countdown is moving out of the 20's and into the 10's - WOW time has flown!
  • Countdown Arena - a WEEKLY 4 issue mini. DC could not say enough about this at the Retail Summit. It might be the best thing since the microwave oven, but I really don't like short, weekly mini-series comics because they are impossible to order. By the time we figure out how many we can sell the series is over. Thankfully, and I hope this continues, DC is pretty good at doing overprints so that the issues stay in stock for a while.
  • Two more "Countdown Search for Ray Palmer..." #1's. WHY are you torturing me this way, DC?
  • I'm not much of a western fan, but Bat Lash sounds like those that enjoy that genre will really like it.
  • The second half of the "Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" is in there. Be sure to let your local comic shop know if you want to follow this but don't usually get: Robin, Detective Comics, Nightwing or Batman. This will probably be a good story and tricky for retailers to stock.
  • A new All-Star Superman. Cool.
  • Basically disregard the description for Superman #671. DC has already announced changes in the issue line-up. (You're killing Superman sales - please stop it!)
  • We've got a TV Writer (Michael Green of Heroes) writing what looks to be a 6-issue arc for Superman/Batman. Expect it to be late.
  • Sean McKeever's FIRST Birds of Prey issue!!!! If you've never read BOP, check out this issue. If you did in the past but stopped, give this a try!
  • The covers for JLA and JSA look good.
  • Not content with a Christmas comic, DC is doing an entire Christmas paperback. And it says "reoffered" so I'm wondering if they've released this last year too? Anyone know?
  • Supergirl is off of Legion of Superheroes - it's just their book again. Comic character killer Jim Shooter is writing. Still, DC says they've got big plans for the Legion, so it's probably worth a look.
  • The Gail Simone Wonder Woman story arc sounds so fun - I can't wait for it to start.
  • Another Manhunter trade. If you haven't read this series, you should. My question - DC said they were bringing the series back - but WHEN was not mentioned and I have yet to see a new issue be solicited.
  • Brian Wood is writing a new Vertigo book - Northlanders. It sounds interesting, and I like his writing, so I'll check it out. Plus he's still doing DMZ - another really good series everyone should check out.
  • They're reprinting Pride of Baghdad in a soft cover.
The Mini-Series/One-Shot Count for December for DC:
  • Only 2 new mini-series issues that are #1 issues, thank goodness
  • 5 one-shots
  • 15 issues mid-series mini-series
  • and 3 mini-series issues that are final issues (one of which is one of the two that started, since Arena starts and ends in December)

A grand total of 25 mini-series and one-shot issues from DC for the month of December. Note - this is ONLY the DC imprint, not any of the Vertigo or Wildstorm stuff.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think for the past few years, Vertigo and Wildstorm have been producing much much better comics than the normal "DC" Universe.

Lisa said...

I agree Scott. DC regular has a couple of good books, but I've liked several of the new Vertigo series.