DC Preview Review for November Part 1 of 2

Jim: Very little in the way of brand new, but DC and Marvel always give us some stuff to talk about.
Gwen: Sometimes it's good to have a month of regular stuff as I don't always need something new and shiny.
Lee: It’s gotten to the point that Marvel/DC are interchangeable. Spiderman/Superman? It doesn’t matter they’re all the same at this point. Well on that cheery note, let’s see what massive crossover we have going on this month.

BLACKEST NIGHT #5 Written by Geoff Johns Art and cover by Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert Variant cover by Rodolfo Migliari Sketch variant cover by Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert The moment you've hungered for finally arrives! Who controls death in the DC Universe? NEKRON - Lord of the Undead! The dark being behind the undead Black Lanterns makes his presence and purpose known, and our heroes discover they re not only fighting for their lives, but their after-lives as well. Don t miss this game-changing issue from superstar writer Geoff Johns and stellar artist Ivan Reis!Retailers please note: This issue will ship with three covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Rodolfo Migliari). For every 100 copies of the Standard Edition, retailers may order one copy of the Sketch Variant Edition (with a cover by Ivan Reis). On Sale November 25 • 5 of 8 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US


GREEN LANTERN #48
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #42
ADVENTURE COMICS #4
BOOSTER GOLD #26
DOOM PATROL #4
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #39
SUPERMAN/BATMAN #66
R.E.B.E.L.S. #10
TEEN TITANS #77
THE OUTSIDERS #24


Jim: DC succumbed to event madness this month and while they dropped the ancillary mini-series they have eight regular series crossing over into Blackest Night. Now for a big DC fan like myself I’m okay with this because I get these books, but for the regular fan I think this is a mistake. If it is a one month aberration, then fine, but if it is not then shame on DC after keeping Final Crisis so restrained.
Gwen: Nekron? Am I supposed to know who that is?
Lee: This just goes to prove that DC is in pure follow mode. Marvel showed that these huge cross-overs with a million mini’s sells lots of books. This is the way of the future. It’s great if you wrapped up in the monthly adventures but if you’re not… Let’s just say I won’t be getting any of these in fancy hc format.

BATMAN/DOC SAVAGE SPECIAL #1 Written by Brian Azzarello Art by Phil Noto Sketchbook material and variant cover by Rags Morales Cover by JG Jones Doc Savage returns to DC Comics& and comes face-to-fist with the Batman! Superstar scribe Brian Azzarello (100 BULLETS, JOKER) and the breathtaking art of Phil Noto combine to shine the first light on a shadowy new version of the DC Universe, where the thugs run rampant, corruption runs deep, and even heroes can t be trusted! Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze, hates what he's heard about the connections between a grisly murder and Gotham City's violent new vigilante. But the Batman can t abide do-gooders getting in his way& and his .45 just won t stay in its holster! Be here for this vital prologue to an upcoming 6-issue miniseries by Azzarello and Rags Morales (IDENTITY CRISIS), which will pull back the curtain to reveal the full width and breadth of DC's new pulp-influenced universe. This special issue also features sketchbook material by Rags Morales that will show you just what you re in for! You might think you re ready but you re very, very wrong& On Sale November 11 • 56 pg, FC, $4.99 US

Jim: This sounds different. I’m curious to see how well this plays out. I like Azzarello, but his super hero work has been uneven at best, still a chance for him to play in with this type of set-up sounds interesting.
Gwen: I don't know the Doc Savage character all that well so I can't say I'm especially interested in this. Still the creative team seems to have the potential for an interesting book.
Lee: My problem with this is simple: who under 30 cares about Doc Savage?. Or knows who he is for that matter! I think Gwen answered this for me with her “who” statement. Which raises another question, why does anyone care about the pulp origins of the DCU? I know lots about comics but I know very little about the pulps. If I don’t know/care, then who is the target market? This looks like a waste to me, good creative team or not.

THE GREAT TEN #1 Written by Tony Bedard Art by Scott McDaniel & Andy Owens Cover by Stanley Artgerm Lau Part 1 of a 10-part miniseries! Join writer Tony Bedard (R.E.B.E.L.S.) and artist Scott McDaniel (NIGHTWING, GREEN ARROW) for an adventure exploring the extraordinary characters from the pages of 52 and CHECKMATE! At the dawn of the Chinese Century, the 10 official "super-functionaries" of the People's Republic face their greatest challenge as the gods of Ancient China return to destroy communist rule! Will the most populous nation on Earth drag the rest of the world down with it? Do its heroes even want to save a government that treats them like pawns? Don't miss this tale that redraws the map of the DCU and fleshes out the most exciting and mysterious new characters from the mind of Grant Morrison! Featuring a gorgeous cover by rising artist Stanley Artgerm Lau (FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH: DANCE).On Sale November 4 • 1 of 10 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Jim: DC needs to fire whoever the hell is green lighting new books lately with Magog, Red Tornando, Azrael and now the Great Ten, are you kidding me. It maybe a great series and after Bedard’s work on Rebels I will give this a shot, but come on there has to be better proposals out there.
Gwen: I have to agree with Jim here - who thinks these titles are of interest to the general public? Even as someone who reads quite a bit as far as comics go I could care less about these titles beyond the fact that Tony Bedard is a solid writer.
Lee: Hold on now you two. During the Marvel reviews, we all complain that Marvel is rehashing ideas such as the Spidey clone saga. YET, when DC tries a new title, you won’t support it. What do you want? More of the same old stories ala Marvel or new character ala DC.

LOBO: HIGHWAY TO HELL #1 Written by Scott Ian Art and cover by Sam Kieth A Lobo story like nothing you ve seen before! You can imagine that when you live life the way the Main Man lives life loud, loose, and ludicrously violent you might pick up an enemy or two along the way. An enemy like, say, oh I don t know, Satan himself. And Satan, my friends, does not play around. Hell's iron-fisted ruler has a serious mad-on for the last Czarnian, and he's gonna hit Lobo right in his blackened, scabrous heart. So Lobo's just gonna have to hit him harder. Repeatedly. In the FACE. But first, Lobo has to go to Hell...a little sooner than anticipated!Metal icon Scott Ian of Anthrax makes his comics debut, joining forces with visionary creator Sam Kieth to bring you a Lobo story that's so over the top, you won t even remember what the top used to look like! Bleeding dolphins, demonic Chihuahuas, the world's worst cruise ship, exploding moons, severed heads, and still more sick fraggin' stuff all await you on the Highway to Hell don t miss a single twisted page!On Sale November 4 • 1 of 2 • 64 pg, FC, $6.99 US

Jim: PASS. $7 price tag by a “music star” writer and you have a recipe for me to say no way. I almost wish Umbrella Academy had not been a success as now every musician thinks they can write. Of course DC put Sam Keith on it, so you could just buy it for the art if you like Keith’s work.
Gwen: At least I know My Chemical Romance - I work at Spencers and still have no idea who Anthrax is. Of course I wouldn't have been terribly interested in a Lobo story anyway - he makes a much better background character in my opinion.
Lee: Actually, based on Ian's musical style, he's probably perfect to write a Lobo story. All you need is a good artist and a pointless plot full of violence and people will love this. Keith is a good artist and I bet Ian can supply a pointless plot with the best of them. AND, before you doubt his comic cred, he did write the song “I am the Law” about Judge Dredd. With an awesome shout out chorus, ‘Drokk it!.’ That’s more than enough experience to write a Lobo story.

VIGILANTE #12 Written by Marv Wolfman Art and cover by Rick Leonardi and John Stanisci The Vigilante aims to settle the score with the mob by going after the big boss. But this boss just so happens to be his father-in-law! Family matters turn into grave matters, and blood will run for the Vigilante in this, the final issue of the series!FINAL ISSUE • On sale November 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Jim: Oh look this book made it to twelve issues, good job DC another winning new series. I tried this book for Leonardi’s art as much as anything, but Wolfman never let me know who the Vigilante was, so I lost interest and cancelled this book a few months ago.
Gwen: As this book was canceled by Jim I haven't read this book for awhile. I was never all that interested as the story never really grabbed me.
Lee: This was still being published?

ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH HC Written by Geoff Johns Art by Ethan Van Sciver, Darwyn Cooke, Prentis Rollins, Marlo Alquiza and Mick Gray Cover by Ethan Van Sciver In 2004, writer Geoff Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver the team behind the current blockbuster THE FLASH: REBIRTH restored Hal Jordan to his place as the greatest Green Lantern of all with the best-selling miniseries GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH! Now, DC Comics is pleased to present this perennial favorite in the slipcased, Absolute format. Follow Hal Jordan on his journey from fearless test pilot to Super Hero, from villain to the spirit of vengeance, and finally, returning to his true calling as Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814. This amazing Absolute edition includes GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH #1-6, GREEN LANTERN #1, the preview story from Wizard Magazine and a tale from GREEN LANTERN SECRET FILES 2005 featuring spectacular artwork by Darwyn Cooke. Advance-solicited; on sale April 21 • 8.25 x 12.5 , 224 pg, FC, $75.00 US

Jim: I really hemmed and hawed about buying this book. If it was $100, it would have been no and at $75 I think it is $25 too much, but I finally decided to go for it and I’m already having buyers remorse. I hope the extras round it out well. At least Gwen gets my old collected edition come April.
Gwen: Yay, hand-me-downs!
Lee: This is a complete waste and easy pass. The worst format to read comics in has to be Marvel’s Omnibus, followed closely by DC’s Absolute Editions. These don’t have as many pages but they are so oversized and heavy they aren’t easily read. This is a complete waste.

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: WONDER WOMAN VOL. 3 TP Written by Robert Kanigher Art and cover by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito Wonder Woman's Silver Age adventures continue in this value-priced collection of issues #138-156. Don t miss the amazing Amazon's battles with The Angle Man, The Phantom Sea-Beast, The Brain Pirate and so many more. Advance-solicited; on sale December 16 • 496 pg, B&W, $17.99 US

Jim: I don’t remember reading any of this material, but I’m pretty sure this was some of the worse crap ever produced and has aged poorly. It is probably funny from a how could they have written this kind of way.
Gwen: Are you saying that it has MST3K value?
Lee: The only late Golden Age material worth reading are the horror/crime stories. And even then you better off going pre-code. The only reason to get this is for the art. Superheroes don’t age well at all.
Jim: This was actually silver age, Lee, but it did not age well at all.

PART 2 on Friday