DC Comics February 2020 Solicitations

[Vampire Savior]

I'm happy Amethyst is getting attention, but I don't like her design and I don't find the art presented to be inspiring.

[Digifiend]

For the first time, perhaps, DC did not include an image of even a single variant cover.

They used to show a few; then, they briefly they showed them ALL (minus just one or two); then fewer again. Now, for the first time that I'm aware of, not even one.

Can anyone speculate on the business logic of withholding the covers?

Maybe they haven't even been drawn yet?

[CellarDweller]

Definitely getting Young Justice #13, and Wonder Twins #12, which ends their maxi-series.

Hope we see more of them soon!

[Robanker]

Some thoughts:



THE FLASH #750 Man, they really want to chase those Action/Detective #1000 vibes between this and Wonder Woman hitting a milestone. Shame that the Mattina cover is going to be the '90s one. I love Wally, but I don't care for his covers. Always overrendered, washed out colors and angry faces because KEWL. Not my bag. Nevertheless, I may buy this one just to see Wally get some page time.

AMETHYST #1 I'll give the book a look to see what Reeder has planned for the series. I've never been much of an Amethyst fan, but who knows?

DCEASED: UNKILLABLES #1 Much like the main book and Injustice before it, I don't care for watching heroes I love be brutalized and murdered. Just not for me.

THE GREEN LANTERN SEASON TWO #1 I've been sitting out the mid-season interlude but I'll jump back in for season two. Moreover, why are seasons becoming a thing in comics? It makes no real sense.

HARLEY QUINN AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #1 Amanda and Jimmy are always going to get me for an issue at least. Should be fun, even if I don't care much for modern Harley Quinn. Conner pencils are always a treat.

LEVIATHAN DAWN #1 Why isn't this issue 7? Leviathan ended in a whimper and while I feel committed at this point six issues in, I really don't know if I want to stick around for the after word. I think Bendis misses Omega issues.

SUPERMAN: VILLAINS #1 I'm far less interested in villain reactions than hero reactions, but I'll consider getting this based on the strength of the former issue.

YEAR OF THE VILLAIN: HELL ARISEN #3 The Year of the Villain really is shaping up to be a bore. I really can't stand the Batman Who Laughs and this remains a hard pass for me.

ACTION COMICS #1020 Does JRJR really need to draw Superman anymore? Can we please stop. I was loving Action for playing to Bendis's strengths but this is getting away from him. Love him or hate him, Bendis can wrangle in some great artists, but I'm done with JRJR on Superman.

AQUAMAN #57 KSD's run has been a treat thus far and I'm excited to get Aquababy back.

BATMAN: CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT #7 That alternate cover makes me realize how amazing SGM would be on a Zorro book and I kind of need that in my life now. Maybe an elseworlds crossover with Batman?

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #7 Is Zod already going back to full-tilt villain? Hope not because that's way too quick a turnover... But Nick Derrington? Dope. I'm enjoying the book enough thus far, though I'm behind an issue, but TBWL is really grating on me and I'm debating if I want to keep on reading. I'll for sure check out the first issue of this arc, however.

Detective Comics #1020 So they officially caught up to Action Comics! It was bound to happen. Any Bat book with Two Face gets a look for me. He's Batman's best villain and I cannot be swayed otherwise. Walker's recent Death of Superman Dark Multiverse pencils were great and I'm eager to see him in Gotham.

FLASH FORWARD #6 To think my most anticipated Flash product from DC is a Lobdell book, but there it is. Hoping this positions Wally in a more positive place going forward as we distance ourselves from the character assassination that was Heroes in Crisis.

HAWKMAN #21 Venditti taking over Justice League as well as continuing on Hawkman should give me hope Kendra will return to the book eventually, but I know better. Still, I've been enjoying the run thus far.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #20 One of DC's sleeper hits decides it needs more Animal Man and you won't hear a complaint from me. I am so damned ready for more Kyle Hotz at DC as well. Loved his work on the Spectre issues of Detective Comics.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #40/41 Who is that lady with the glyphs? I'm drawing a blank. She seems to be of some importance given the cover of #41 has her the only one recovering from their savage beatdown.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #4 "Another gorgeous issue of DC’s future superstars also reveals clues to how Aquaman’s lost trident may be the key to Earth’s future and survival!" Didn't we establish in issue #1 that they believe it can restore the oceans? I really hope that was an urban legend and the true purpose of Arthur's trident is revealed or else this is betraying that this book will suffer from slow pacing.

LOIS LANE #8 You have to be some kind of stupid to target someone who you know is both wife to Superman and mother to Superboy, to say nothing of the fallout of crossing Lois flippin' Lane. Been enjoying this series a lot. Sad to think 5G means we won't get another Lois book, but I'll take what I can get.

METAL MEN #5 We're only an issue in, but I'm glad to see the Metal Men getting more exposure. The first issue is destructive to the IP in a vacuum but does genuinely work for telling a big story that progresses the characters and ends in a good spot. It's got potential and I'm for the time being.

Nightwing #69 Calling this book Nightwing is downright fraudulent. They need to stop Ric Grayson and Dan Didio's personal hit against Nightwing. This is embarrassing.

RED HOOD: OUTLAW #43 Given that Artemis and Bizarro have returned to Red Hood, I'll give the book a look again. Hoping Artemis loses the lame half-shaved head.

SHAZAM! #11 I keep forgetting this is even coming out. I liked what Johns was doing, but at this point they really do need to find someone else to do this. I remember Gail Simone wanted to work on the Shazam family a while back and perhaps she'd come back to take over?

SUPERMAN #20 The struggle to make Mongul work continues. I think he's got potential. Let's see if Bendis is the one to crack it.

SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN #3 Everyone not reading this should be ashamed of themselves.

SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #8 See above. This book is too much fun to ignore.

THE TERRIFICS #25 Been reading this in trade and it's been super fun. May pick this up for that lovely Dan Mora cover, who is my pick to draw a Nightwing for what it's worth.

DIAL H FOR HERO #12 I've been enjoying the book a lot, particularly the artwork. A bit sad to see it conclude, but I do need to trim my pull list.

YOUNG JUSTICE #13 Skartaris, huh? Seems like Bendis is really jazzed to play with other parts of the DCU not limited to Gotham, Metropolis, Central City or Themyscira. Everywhere else, heroes generally pop up in real cities and I'm glad at least Bendis wants to keep the fictional locations alive.

[ohfellow]

Maybe they haven't even been drawn yet?

In a few cases that's certainly true. But not in most, I think.

There is some evidence of variant covers being shown but then hidden - but it gets to be a wordy explanation, so I won't burden you. Just briefly - the Suayan variant for Joker/Harley Criminal Sanity #3 was revealed months ago when the book was due in December, but now that it was resolicited for February on-sale, that variant was not included in the resolicitation - consistent with no reveal of any variant.

You can look that up in CBR's old list for comics due in December, which shows only the variant, or at the Previews web site for December comics, which shows both covers even though orders for those have been cancelled (due to the resolicitation for February).

It's an odd example, because in this rare case the variant cover was shown before the main cover. (DC may have made a mistake.)

Sometimes artists post their variants to Instagram before they are officially revealed at previewsworld, though perhaps they aren't supposed to.

Right now DC has passed Initial Orders for Wonder Woman #750, while none of the many decades-based variants cover have been revealed. So - not one has been finished? It's coming out in January. Orders for it are due Nov 18. DC is probably going to reveal these before Final Order Cutoff, but has not revealed them in time to make a wisely chosen simple Initial Order.

[ohfellow]

Some thoughts:

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #4 "Another gorgeous issue of DC’s future superstars also reveals clues to how Aquaman’s lost trident may be the key to Earth’s future and survival!" Didn't we establish in issue #1 that they believe it can restore the oceans? I really hope that was an urban legend and the true purpose of Arthur's trident is revealed or else this is betraying that this book will suffer from slow pacing.

Speaking of this book, you won't find it in the soliciations, but Alex Garner has already revealed his fantastic variant on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B45QmxPHM6q/

[Digifiend]

Check again. That one IS in the solicits. Looks like you was completely wrong, ohfellow. There's plenty of variants shown. I bet Newsarama just took their time adding them to the article.
https://www.newsarama.com/47882-dc-c...citations.html

[ohfellow]

Check again. That one IS in the solicits. Looks like you was completely wrong, ohfellow. There's plenty of variants shown. I bet Newsarama just took their time adding them to the article.
https://www.newsarama.com/47882-dc-c...citations.html

Ah - you are right! I usually work with CBR's list, and it is usually identical to the list at Newsarama, though CBR shows covers above rather than to the right of the solicitation text. I've never seen CBR update their soliciations, and didn't know that Newsarama did either.

But this time I only checked CBR. (Newsarama probably posts them slightly sooner, which may be why this monthly thread refers to the Newsarama article.)

The reason I generally do use CBR's is because ultimately it's easier:

1) They include links to all solicitations on one aggregation page at:

https://www.cbr.com/tag/solicitations/

2) Each month's soliciations has links back to prior months

2) The URL for each month follows a pattern that you can type by hand if you like:

https://www.cbr.com/dc-comics-solici...february-2020/

Newsarama's solicitations are just in randomly named pages. But in this case - more complete!

Thank you!

[Hatut Zeraze]

Hmmm, let's see...

Flash #750
Pennyworth: R.I.P. #1
DC Crimes of Passion #1
- I love the themed anthologies. DC has this down, and I see Riley Rossmo is doing one of the stories.
The Green Lantern Season Two #1
Aquaman #57
The Batman's Grave #5
Batman/Superman #7
- Has Nick Derington been on this comic the whole time? I only just recently figured out how much I like his art.
Lois Lane #8
Shazam #11
- I am loving the peek at the new Monster Society of Evil on that cover. I eagerly await this one.
Superman Smashes the Klan #3
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #8
The Terrifics #25
Far Sector #4

New stuff
Harley Quinn and The Birds of Prey #1
- I am as sick of HQ as the next guy, but Amanda Conner is actually doing the art on this one. I'm in.
Amethyst #1
- What the heck. I'll give it a whirl.
The Plunge #1
- As I am getting older and more decrepit, my interest in new things has waned, but this new thing has Stuart Immonen art.

Departing Titles
Gotham City Monsters #6
- I assume this is the last issue, but the way Orlando writes Frankenstein, I would have bought 5 more years of this.
Inferior Five #6
- I learned long ago that we can't always get the kinds of fun, weird experiments that we used to be able to get. Still, I sigh.
Martian Manhunter #12
- I have loved this comic and, like I said earlier, would have bought years more of it, if the market would have supported a continuation.
Dial H for Hero #12
Wonder Twins #12

Sorry, but no thanks
Flash Forward
- I just can't do it. I can't let them jerk me around with Wally again. There probably isn't a way even the most talented writer can make me enjoy another finality for the character since editorial seems so determined to dismiss him.

[Frontier]

Thoughts:

- It's really cool to see a big, huge, milestone celebration for Flash, although it would've been nice to have Mark Waid in there with the top-notch creative team.

- I'm genuinely surprised Alfred's death is sticking, and will probably be the biggest fallout from King's run. A consequence of 5G? Although I trust Tomasi and Tynion to deliver a heartbreaker of a tribute.

- So it sounds like Amethyst already had all her old adventures when she was younger going from that solicit.

- I wonder how far DC will be able to carry this DCeased story.

- "Crime of Passion" seems like a fun and unique of celebrating Valentine's in the DCU. And Slam Bradley! I didn't know Jay Baruchel wrote comics.

- "The Young Guaridans?" Only Morrison could pull something like this off.

- Conner and Palmiotti look like they're treating the new Harley and BoP book like a sequel to their run, which I guess is fair. I hope the brand doesn't get permanently attached at the hip to Harley though.

- Leviathan: Dawn sounds like it should've been the actual finale of the Leviathan story.

- Luthor fighting the Batman Who Laughs does nothing for me.

- Sounds like there might be some complications with the birth of the new Aquababy.

- Batgirl to take on real estate?

- So now it's Catwoman with the deep, dark, secret that Batman has to find out about? Although it's still kind of random to read about Penguin in Arkham even if I know the plot reason why he's in there.

- I think this might be the first ever team-up between Zod and Ra's Al Ghul, given they share similar roles in their respective heroes' Rogues Galleries.

- Tomasi writing Two-Face again? Should be interesting. Although an assassin group who all have split personalities sounds kind of...random.

- "The finale of Flash Forward is here, and Wally West must make the toughest choice of his life: save the day, or save his family." Let's face it, he's going to choose save the day. But hopefully this doesn't ruin all hope of Wally getting his family back.

- I'm surprised it's only taken now for Harley to take up wrestling.

- "Will Harley Quinn be able to make the ultimate sacrifice to become the hero she so desperately wants to be?" I hope not. I'm tired of hero Harley.

- Atom and Adam Strange in Hawkman? Sounds cool. I wonder if they'll reference that "Death of Hawkman" mini given Adam was in that.

- So now we're going back to where it all started with Filmation He-Man? Cool.

- Somebody finally remembered Animal Man !

- Venditti is obviously a fill-in on Justice League, but hopefully he can deliver some solid stories. I am concerned about how he might write the female heroes though. I'm also not sure why Eradicator would be leading a bunch of Starro's...

- Interested to see what Bendis' take on the Legion's founding is. Might also expand more on the characterization of the main three.

- "J’onn must put his past behind him for good and become the hero we know him to be" which I guess means getting a cape.

- Didn't Tynion confirm he was going to bring Dick back as Dick? So the solo is just basically treading water at this point.

- "Penultimate chapter" of Shazam? Will the book go on past issue 12?

- I'm surprised Wonder Woman is seemingly more involved with stopping evil Supergirl then Clark is. Although I wonder if "atomic threat" means some variant of the Atomic Knights?

- Young Justice seems to be stuck in different DC areas a lot rather then actually settling down and doing team stuff.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #40/41 Who is that lady with the glyphs? I'm drawing a blank. She seems to be of some importance given the cover of #41 has her the only one recovering from their savage beatdown.

I think it's Madame Xanadu.

SUPERMAN #20 The struggle to make Mongul work continues. I think he's got potential. Let's see if Bendis is the one to crack it.

I have my doubts. Bendis has always really struggled with characters in Mongul's character type.

[Vordan]

Bendisspeak Mongul is going to be... interesting.

Dial H and Wonder Twins ending is bittersweet but I have every hope they’ll go out on a high note.

[Robotman]

Superman reveals his secret identity and Alfred is dead. Yep, there’s definitely a Crisis reboot down the line.

[Robanker]

Superman reveals his secret identity and Alfred is dead. Yep, there’s definitely a Crisis reboot down the line.

I'd argue two of them. I don't expect DC to stick to a future generation for more than three years, to be honest. Especially not one without Bruce, Clark or Diana.

[failo.legendkiller]

Nothing interests me anymore.
Entire Bendis line is slowly becoming boring.
Most of my favorite characters are ruined or in a bad shape.
Writers I don't like are running wild holding DC in their hands.

Waiting for better times...

[Lvenger]

Nothing interests me anymore.
Entire Bendis line is slowly becoming boring.
Most of my favorite characters are ruined or in a bad shape.
Writers I don't like are running wild holding DC in their hands.

Waiting for better times...

I feel you, this is a bad time to be a DC fan for me anyway. I'm down to just The Green Lantern and Detective Comics once Deathstroke finishes.