DC April 08 Previews - My Take

One thing's for sure, I think the Wisconsin weather will be better in April. Anyway, I took a look at DC's Previews for orders being taken in February and shipping in April. (see the solicitation here)

Countdown ends in April. Another year of weekly comics done. And DC says they'll be another one after this.

Death of the New Gods mini-series also ends. It hasn't been too bad, to be honest. I see superman on the cover - I'm wondering if some of the major heroes become New Gods themselves once the Final Crisis ends. Guess we'll see this spring.

Titans #1 by Judd Winick. Someone just asked me a couple of weeks ago when "that new Teen Titans comic" was coming out. Looks like April 9th. And it's ongoing - cool.

Batman #676 starts an arc called "Batman RIP." Interesting, since last I'd heard they weren't killing Batman, since they've got that movie coming and all. Gimmick? I'm thinking it is.

Manhunter might not have her own comic at the moment, but I bet she'll be cool in Birds of Prey #117 (pictured).

They're already soliciting for the first volume of the Countdown TPB. Looks like they jumped on that quicker than they did with the 52 trades.

The Sinestro Corps story in hard cover is also being solicited. If you missed it in single issues, be sure to get it in trade. GOOD STUFF!

The Really Late (or All Star, if you prefer) Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder volume 1 Hard Cover is being solicited. It only took a few years to get enough issues out for a collection.

In the ongoing quest to reformat and reprint products they already own, DC is repackaging the first 11 issues of ExMachina into a "Deluxe Hard Cover." $30 isn't a bad price, but the paperbacks are about the same price and have been readily available.

The solicitation for "Number of the Beasts" mini-series makes it sound like they're revamping the Wildstorm universe once again.

The newest Supernatural comic mini-series is being solicited. Be sure to let your comic book store staff know if you're going to want it - the last series sold really well and you won't want to miss an issue.

There are two graphic novels being solicited that were not comics first, and they both sound pretty good. Burnout by Rebecca Donner and Water Baby by Ross Campbell.

Another American Splendor series is coming. This is one of those different, nitchy comics that has a small but loyal following.

Cinderella is back in Fables #72 (pictured). I think the last time I read an issue with her in was the first Fables issue I ever read, and loved it. She really kicks butt in those glass slippers.

Not only is All Star Batman getting a trade paperback in this catalog, it's also getting a series of action figures. Not bad. Sometimes I get sick of Batman action figures, but still, if you like Jim Lee art, they're not bad. The set also includes Superman & Lois from All Star Superman, based on the art of Frank Quitely.

Overall it looks like a decent month! The big events are right around the corner - so the current mini-series are all wrapping up. I only saw one mini-series starting and one one-shot for the main DCU (not Wildstorm or Vertigo), and several ending. So that's good. I would really like to see the DCU more focused and not so riddled with these unnecessary mini-series. Countdown has its last issues being solicited, which feels good. Plenty of graphic novels coming out, and not a ton of new stuff starting. It should be a good time for people to catch up on the stuff they missed this fall/winter before the summer blitzkrieg starts up again. Too many multiple cover & variant cover listings though. These aren't nearly as popular as they were a mere 2 years ago, and I'd be fine if publishers decided to cut way back on these - we hardly order them anymore anyway.