DC Preview Review for September Part 9 of 11

DEATHSTROKE #1
Written by KYLE HIGGINS
Art by JOE BENNETT and ART THIBERT
Cover by SIMON BISLEY
On sale SEPTEMBER 14 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
“Friends die, family disappoints, but a legacy... That lives forever.”
Slade Wilson is the best mercenary in the DCU, and he’s been doing this a long time. Some might say too long. But they’ll learn: Never turn your back on Deathstroke the Terminator. He won’t quit, no matter how high the stakes. Kyle Higgins (BATMAN: GATES OF GOTHAM) and Joe Bennett (TEEN TITANS) team up to bring you the finest in mayhem and gore.

Higgins talks about writing that will kill.

Jim: So Higgins shows up out of the blue for all intents and purposes and is teamed up with Scott Snyder on Gates of Gotham and has two ongoing series from DC. I don’t know if I like him or not, but again happy to see a bunch of new names out there for DC. The trick is how to make the bad guy have an ongoing series. Also to not let the good guys beat the crap out of him all the time or else he looks like a lightweight. A few years back they did a book about Deathstoke that set him up as a lone gunman type who would take out the bad guy. The twist was the bad guy maybe a CEO of a company as well as a street criminal. I thought that premise had legs and I’m wondering what Kyle’s hook will be for Slade.
Gwen: Selling villain books is hard. Honestly the only one that ever worked for me for most (if not all) of the run was Secret 6. It's really hard (well, for me anyway) the empathize with someone like Slade Wilson these days - He was a better character back in the Marv Wolfman/Teen Titans days.
Thomm: Cool as Deathstroke's costume is, I've never been a big fan.
Lee: I want to love this series but I have no clue where it is going. The hype almost reads like a character bio instead of giving direction to the series. Deathstroke interests me enough to give it a try, but I wish I knew more.

SUICIDE SQUAD #1
Written by ADAM GLASS
Art by MARCO RUDY
Cover by RYAN BENJAMIN
On sale SEPTEMBER 14 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
They’re a team of death-row super villains recruited by the government to take on missions so dangerous – they’re sheer suicide!
Harley Quinn! Deadshot! King Shark! Defeated and imprisoned, they’re being interrogated about their mission – and about who’s pulling the strings behind this illegal operation. Who will be the first to crack under the pressure?

Jim: So Adam Glass is best known as a writer for Supernatural TV series, which I have never seen. I have no qualms about screenplay writers doing comics as long as they understand one art form is different from the other. Also I worry that a higher paying job can take their attention from a series and I like seeing a consistent writer. While I will miss Secret Six, I’m glad DC is giving us the Suicide Squad again as the John Ostrander series was one of the best series ever done.

Gwen: Umm... I usually love Harley Quinn - but I'm concerned that she's the girl on the cover. I mean, talk about unnecessary.
Thomm: It's not the Secret Six. It's not Simone. It's not for me.
Matthew: Supernatural was always too intensely creepy for me, but I always enjoyed the opening rock song. Maybe this book should have a recommended soundtrack to go with it.
Lee: Wow, is that Harley Quinn on the cover? When did she get slutter-ized?


O.M.A.C. #1
Written by DAN DIDIO and KEITH GIFFEN
Art and cover by KEITH GIFFEN and SCOTT KOBLISH
On sale SEPTEMBER 7 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
The all-seeing Brother Eye satellite has unleashed a new beast upon the DC Universe in this smashing new series! Kevin Kho has become an unwilling participant in a war between Checkmate and Brother Eye as he is transformed into the One Machine Army Corp known only as O.M.A.C.!

The OMAC crew talk about channeling Kirby.

Jim: So Giffen and Didio seem to be quite the team. I think that is important for Didio because he needs someone to help write the story as I have been less than impressed by his writing talent. I also have to give him credit for putting his a** on the line with writing a book as he makes an easy target for those of us out here in the world wide web. The concept itself seems to be a difficult one and I hope these guys a have a couple of years of stories laid out as this concept feels too finite for an unlimited series. No matter what you have to like all the diversity in the offerings from DC.
Gwen: This doesn't seem to have the potential to last very long.
Lee: If anyone can channel Kirby visuals, it's Giffen. I've avoided Dido's writing for so long I just might have to poke myself in the eye and try this. I know I will regret it but I love Omac to much to resist. I officially nominate this as the first book of the relaunch to get canceled.
Matthew: I love my Kirby-esque OMAC. If Didio wasn't writing it, I don't think I'd have any qualms at all. I hope this is good and doesn't disappoint like G0DLAND did, because it's one of the more exciting books I've seen all month. Didio's Metal Men feature in Wednesday Comics was okay, but I'm such a fan of Jose Garcia-Lopez that I might have glossed over any deficiencies in the writing.
Thomm: Sorry, can't get out of my head what Didio did to The Outsiders.


BLACKHAWKS #1
Written by MIKE COSTA
Art and cover by KEN LASHLEY
On sale SEPTEMBER 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Welcome to a world waging a new kind of war that’s faster and more brutal than ever before. It’s fought by those who would make the innocent their targets, using computers, smart weapons and laser-guided missiles. The new enemy is hard to find – and closer to home than we think.
Between us and them stand the Blackhawks, an elite force of military specialists equipped with the latest in cutting-edge hardware and vehicles. Their mission: Kill the bad guys before they kill us.

Jim: So DC gets GI Joe Cobra co-writer Mike Costa to take on the Blackhawks. This is one of those titles no one would have guessed as being part of the 52 titles that would make up this bold re-launch. Given that the 18-34 male audience is a key demographic this book is playing into the core 18-24 year old I would think. This could be fun or it could be a crash and burn.

Gwen: Not my genre at all - the only Blackhawk character I ever cared for was Zinda - and I don't see her on the cover.
Thomm: I am not the target audience, so it's missing me by a mile.
Matthew: Wasn't Lashley the artist on the Bart Allen Flash series? Has he improved since then?
Lee: Is it me or isn't having a stated objective to "kill the bad guys" slightly illegal? I don't know, isn't murder more or less wrong? Let's compare this to say... the Punisher. Yes, Punisher kills people in droves but he is outside of the law. This looks to be a very obvious, government supported organization. How do you have Superman, save everyone, in the same DCU as Blackhawks, kill everyone? It has a good creative team, and will certainly appeal to the target audience, I just have trouble with the concept.

MEN OF WAR #1
Written by IVAN BRANDON
Art by TOM DERENICK
Cover by VIKTOR KALVACHEV
On sale SEPTEMBER 7 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T+
On the ground and on the front lines, a young, headstrong soldier known as Joe Rock assumes command of Easy Company – a team of ex-military men turned contractors. Will they survive the battle-scarred landscape carved by the DCU’s Super-Villains? Find out in this explosive new series from Ivan Brandon (Viking, DOC SAVAGE) and Tom Derenick (JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA)!

A quick Q& A with Ivan.

Jim: talk about mixing up your lineup, Blackhawks is border line a war comic and this jumps right in as a War Comic. Ivan has done some good work, nothing great yet, but I hope he can channel a little Garth Ennis here and give us a good modern day war comic. Heck all DC missed was giving us a romance book and a true crime story (which Vertigo has).

Gwen: Yup, war comics, I avoid them as much as possible. As much as I claim I'm not a girly-girl (I did take martial arts for seven years and rarely if ever approach makeup or nail polish) I did play with My Little Ponies over GI Joes.
Thomm: I know nothing of the creative team but this is taking a new approach. The mere idea of military contractors being good guys, in the shadow Xe/Haliburton, is fairly daring in and of itself.
Other: So, non powered soldiers take on super powered villians. Is that the concept? Wasn't that Stormwatch: PHD? That series was very good so this stands a chance. It all depends on a basically unproven creative team.

Part 10 soon, I hope, - this is harder than it looks to pull together, need a little more steam to make it two more times.