DC's May previews reviewed

ACTION COMICS SPECIAL #1
Written by DAN JURGENS, MAX LANDIS and MARK RUSSELL • Art by WILL CONRAD, FRANCIS MANAPUL and JILL THOMPSON • Cover by WILL CONRAD
“The Last Will and Testament of Lex Luthor”! When Superman’s world was reborn, his greatest enemy became his most unexpected ally. But does that truly reflect Lex Luthor—or was it all a sham? Now, as Lex Luthor’s path toward righteousness reaches its apex, he finds himself involved in an adventure in which Superman stands to be destroyed. What choice will Luthor make? Will he save Superman or watch him die at the hands of a foe he could not possibly imagine? This oversized special also features stories from the acclaimed teams of Max Landis and Francis Manapul (in a story previously slated to appear in the DC UNIVERSE HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2017 #1) and Mark Russell and Jill Thompson!
One-shot • On sale MAY 2 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T

SUPERMAN SPECIAL #1
Written by PETER J. TOMASI, PATRICK GLEASON, MARK RUSSELL and IAN FLYNN • Art by SCOTT GODLEWSKI, BRYAN HITCH and KAARE ANDREWS • Cover by JORGE JIMENEZ
“THE PROMISE”! Superman’s world is about to change in a big way, but before it does, the Man of Steel has some unfinished business to attend to…on Dinosaur Island! Superman and a forgotten soldier of the past take one last trip together into the abyss of tomorrow, as Captain Storm now stands face-to-face with the world of today! This extra-sized special also features stories by writers Mark Russell and Ian Flynn with art by Kaare Andrews and Bryan Hitch!
One-shot • On sale MAY 9 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T

Curious. Based on the creative teams and the announced content, these appear to be the conclusions of the current runs on Action and Superman, shunted into specials as opposed to appearing in issues of the regular series, which writer (and Clevelander!) Brian Michael Bendis is slated to be taking over in the near future. But the page counts look pretty low, especially as both have back-up stories, so it's not like they are squishing multiple issues worth of content into them in order to justify the "special" (aside from those back-ups, of course). And there are no regular issues of Action and Superman scheduled for May, either. So I'm a little confused as to why these exist in this format at all.

I sure am interested to read Superman stories drawn by Jill Thompson and Kaare Andrews, in any case.

AQUAMAN: TEMPEST TP
Written by PHIL JIMENEZ, JOHN OSTRANDER, DAN MISHKIN and GARY COHN
Art by PHIL JIMENEZ, JOHN STOKES, ERIK LARSEN, ART THIBERT, SCOTT KOLINS and others • Cover by PHIL JIMENEZ
It’s the best of the hero sometimes known as Aqualad in these stories from TEMPEST #1-4, TEEN TITANS SPOTLIGHT #10 and 18 and SHOWCASE ’96 #1! While Tempest trains to reclaim his birthright, an ancient evil captures the very gods of the sea! And when that same evil turns its eye on Garth’s ally Atlan, the young hero gets some unexpected help from Tula, whom he believed was dead! Also features Garth’s true origin and why he was abandoned as a child.
On sale JUNE 13 • 168 pg, FC • $16.99 US • ISBN: 978-1-4012-8048-2

I am 100% certain that I did not read those Teen Titans Spotlight issues, and I am fairly certain I read the short story that would have appeared in Showcase '96, although I have no memory of it. I did read Jimenez's Tempest miniseries, though, and I quite liked it. It was a big part of why I liked the character at all. It's the story of how Garth went from being Aqualad to being Tempest, complete with a new costume and powers to go with his new codename; essentially, it was the Nightwing-ification of the original Aqualad.

The character got pretty screwed up after Peter David left Aquaman, to the point where he ended up marrying his mentor's love interest Dolphin and having a child with her, and then the publisher lost its collective mind in the fall of 2011, and Garth, like the rest of his generation of characters, has been screwed-up ever since. Still! This is a pretty great comic, with lots of great art! I have it in singles, but will be buying the trade.

BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #22
Written by JULIE BENSON and SHAWNA BENSON • Art by ROGE ANTONIO • Cover by TERRY DODSON and RACHEL DODSON
Variant cover by KAMONE SHIRAHAMA
“WHO IS ORACLE?” revisited! Batgirl and Black Canary must find Huntress and save her from Calculator and Blackbird’s nefarious plan. But everything comes full circle when the answer to Calculator’s question—“Who is Oracle?”—is at last revealed. The Birds of Prey have always been a tight-knit team, but here, in what could be their final hours, they truly become a family.
On sale MAY 9 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE

There's a gargoyle in Gotham City that looks exactly like Beast from Disney's Beauty and The Beast...? That's weird.

So it looks like the latest iteration of a Birds of Prey book has met its fate. I'm hardly surprised, and actually kind of pleased. Not out of spite for the creators, but because the book was pretty bad--at least that first arc or so of it that I read was pretty bad--and it seemed so ill-considered in the first place that it seemed DOA upon announcement.

I bet they would have lasted at least 36 issues.

The previous Batgirl creative team spent a lot of time gradually, effectively building up a new, cool Birds of Prey team spinning out of their book, including a new Oracle, and instead of following that natural momentum and releasing a Batgirl and The Birds of Prey that would naturally flow from Batgirl, DC instead hired a couple of TV writers to do something else, something that also involved introducing a new Oracle (but a different new Oracle than the other new Oracle, who ended up going by The Operator, because DC wouldn't let them call her Oracle, I guess...?) and a fairly forced feeling line-up that awkwardly grafted post-Flashpoint Huntress II/Helena Bertinelli III onto a team with Babs and Black Canary. (I imagine James Tynion having some plans for Spoiler in his Detective Run might also have been a factor in why DC went with the untested Bensons' pitch instead of that of the successful Batgirl creative team.)

BATMAN BEYOND #20
Written by DAN JURGENS
Art by MARCO CASTIELLO and MARK MORALES
Cover by VIKTOR KALVACHEV
...
“Target: Batman” part one! After his first outing as a vigilante, Matt is hungry for another chance to prove himself, but Bruce and Terry butt heads over what’s next for Matt. Will Terry shut his brother down for good, or will the original Batman succeed in training him to become the latest Robin? Meanwhile, a hostage crisis turns deadly, and Commissioner Barbara Gordon has to sort out why the Jokerz are resorting to far more violent and extreme measures than ever before.
On sale MAY 23 • 32 pg, FC, • $3.99 US • RATED T

I don't actually have anything to say about this comic. I just like to occasionally stop and marvel that it is still being published.

BOMBSHELLS UNITED #17
Written by MARGUERITE BENNETT • Art by SIYA OUM • Cover by PAULINA GANUCHEAU
The final chapter of the BOMBSHELLS epic begins! An invasion from beyond the stars comes crashing down upon a world at war, and all must unite before everything humanity is, and was, and could be, is lost—forever!
On sale MAY 2 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+ • DIGITAL FIRST

So just a couple of Wednesdays ago I was thinking aloud about how I was losing interest in Marguerite Bennett's Bombshells series, and was contemplating dropping it. It looks like I wasn't the only one losing interest. It's a really fun setting that the book takes place in, and there are some pretty neat characters in it, so I don't think the premise is necessarily creatively exhausted, and I imagine a different creative team could perhaps reinvigorate it. That said, Bennett has had a good long run on the series--remember, this iteration follows the 2015-launched DC Comics Bombshells--and it's kind of cool that DC respected the fact that the book has long since become "her" book that they aren't trying to relaunch it with a new writer or new direction.

This is Liam Sharp's cover for the May issue of the over-titled The Brave and The Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman miniseries. It features Batman riding a horse. I am always interested in images of batman riding horses.

DC NATION #0
BATMAN wedding prelude written by TOM KING with art by CLAY MANN
JUSTICE LEAGUE: NO JUSTICE PRELUDE written by SCOTT SNYDER, JAMES TYNION IV and JOSHUA WILLIAMSON with art by JORGE JIMENEZ
MAN OF STEEL prelude written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS with art by JOSE LUIS GARCIA-LOPEZ
Cover by JORGE JIMENEZ
...
These stories will appear only in this comic book and will not be reprinted in another comic book before each series’ collected editions. Only the first printing of this issue will have a cover price of $0.25. This issue will ship with four covers. Please see the order form for details.
Just in time for Free Comic Book Day, this special comic priced at just $0.25 US features three brand-new stories from a lineup of superstar talent—and each tale serves as a prelude to some of the biggest DC events of 2018!

First, find out how The Joker reacts when he discovers Catwoman has turned her back on crime and plans to marry his archnemesis. Can the Clown Prince of Crime stand to see Batman happy? Writer Tom King and artist Clay Mann set up the events that lead to BATMAN #50!

Then, DARK NIGHTS: METAL shook the DC Universe to its deepest foundations—now it’s time to rejoin legendary writer Scott Snyder, along with all-star artist Jorge Jimenez and co-writers James Tynion IV and Joshua Williamson, for the prelude to JUSTICE LEAGUE: NO JUSTICE! Discover what universe-shattering mysteries have emerged from the most wondrous and chaotic corners of the cosmos to hunt the Justice League in DC’s summer blockbuster event!

And get your first glimpse at Superman’s new world in this exclusive preview of the upcoming six-issue miniseries MAN OF STEEL, written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by José Luis García-López. With Truth, Justice and the American Way all under attack, both Superman and Clark Kent find there’s never been a more important time to stand up for what they believe in.
On sale MAY 2• 32 pg, FC, $0.25 US • RATED T

Well, you can't beat that price! 

I think a big component in how successful (and/or how readable) Bendis' Superman run ends up being is going to be which artists they pair him with. Other extremely exciting "gets" for the publisher have been sunk by having those writers work with artists who are considered hot or popular, but aren't actually very good. They certainly aren't making that mistake here, having Garcia-Lopez drawing one of Bendis earliest Superman stories.

Regarding the Batman/Catwoman nuptials, this solicitation reminded me a bit of the Mike Barr-written comics of the 1980s, most of which I've never read. But based on the bits I did read ("Catch as Catscan" from 1986's Detective Comics #569, which I read in the 1990 collection Stacked Deck: The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told from Longmeadow Press; I just went and checked), it seems as if there was a time there where Catwoman had gone straight and acting as Batman's crime-fighting partner as well as his girlfriend, up until The Joker intervened and made her into a bad guy again.

ELSEWORLDS: BATMAN VOL. 3 TP
Written by DOUG MOENCH, MAX ALLAN COLLINS, MIKE GRELL and BOB LAYTON
Art by JIM APARO, BRET BLEVINS, NORM BREYFOGLE, TOM GRUMMETT, MIKE MANLEY, GEORGE PÉREZ, JIM BALENT, EDUARDO BARRETO, MIKE GRELL, BOB LAYTON, DICK GIORDANO and others
Cover by EDUARDO BARRETO
More Elseworlds tales of the Dark Knight are collected in this new title, including BATMAN: BROTHERHOOD OF THE BAT #1, BATMAN: KNIGHT GALLERY #1, BATMAN: SCAR OF THE BAT #1, BATMAN: MASQUE #1 and BATMAN: DARK KNIGHT OF THE ROUND TABLE #1-2. In these stories, Ra’s al Ghul creates a league of Batman-like assassins in the far future; Batman takes on Al Capone in the 1920s; the Batman and Harvey Dent fight over the love of a ballerina in an operatic tale; and the Dark Knight seeks vengeance in Camelot.
On sale JUNE 13 • 328 pg, FC, $34.99 US • ISBN: 978-1-4012-6596-0

Yikes, they're on volume three already? I'm still less than halfway through volume one--I left off at Robin 3000, I think--so I guess I better hurry up and catch-up.

This volume will be an exciting one, if and when I get to it, because I don't think I read any of these the first time around, even though these are all from prime Caleb-buying-Batman-comics years. I am especially interested in Knight Gallery; in fact, just a few months ago I shopped around online a little bit seeing if I can find a copy of it. That is basically a collection of costume redesigns by Norm Breyfogle and others (I think) that were drawn up when DC was planning Tim Drake's new Robin costume. None of them made the cut, but there are some very weird, very fun drawings in there (I didn't buy it, but I remember flipping through it at a Waldenbooks in the Ashtabula Mall when it first came out). I believe there's a very basic framing devices serving to buttress the sketches into the foundation of a story too, like it is supposedly Batman's own journal when he was working on redesigns for Robin's costume and his own costume.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: NO JUSTICE #1
Written by SCOTT SNYDER, JAMES TYNION IV and JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
DARK NIGHTS: METAL left the DCU transformed in ways both terrifying and wondrous—and only the Justice League is strong enough to face the threats to come…or are they? Four giant beings comprised of the universe’s major energies—Mystery, Wonder, Wisdom and Entropy—who sustain their life force by devouring planets are on their way to destroy the planet of Colu. The only way to take down this unimaginable threat is for the superhero teams of Earth to forget everything they thought they knew and form new alliances.

What secrets of the cosmos will Superman, Martian Manhunter and Team Mystery discover? Will Zatanna, Wonder Woman and Team Wonder awaken alien magic they cannot put back to sleep? What can Harley Quinn possibly have to teach the rest of Team Wisdom? And most importantly…why the heck is Beast Boy on Team Entropy with Lobo and Batman? Find out all this and much more in the most exciting, bombastic event of summer 2018!
In this kickoff issue to the four-issue miniseries, after Brainiac systematically takes down all of Earth’s super-teams, the last thing the League expects is for him to ask for their help! Without their aid, his home planet and the universe are both doomed!
WRAPAROUND COVER • On sale MAY 9 • 32 pg, FC, 1 of 4 •$3.99 US • RATED T

One of the most interesting aspects of Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and company's Dark Nights: Metal comic book series, which actually still has one more issue left to go, is how it is basically just a Justice League story with a few guest-stars, albeit the biggest and craziest Justice League story in a good long time. I was only a few pages into the first issue before I started wishing Snyder and Capullo would follow it with a run on a relaunched Justice League comic. It looks like I'm getting my wish...sort of.

This isn't quite that, at least not yet. In May, there will be a four-part Justice League series by Snyder, his frequent co-writer James Tynion and Justice League Vs. Suicide Squad writer Joshua Wiliamson. Rather than using an expanded line-up based on the events of Metal, it looks like the Leaguers will be allying themselves with a curios assortment of villains and Teen Titans and Justice League Dark alum, and they will be splitting up into little sub-leagues which evoke the theme Leagues from the deeply weird 2001 "Justice Leagues" story that ran through a series of one-shots, wherein each Justice Leaguer had their own JLA in which the A stood for something different (Justice League of Aliens, Justice League of Amazons, Justice League of Arkham, etc).

Also, they have uniforms, and they are all wearing very bright reflector-like lights, like trick-or-treaters whose protective parents don't want them to get hit by cars when they are crossing the street. While I'm a fan of temporarily altering the appearance of a superhero costume for the sake of a story, the vast majority of these look pretty bad (that's the Wonder Woman-led "Team Wonder," which is wearing pink because, I don't know, girls like pink...? (Girls and Etrigan, The Demon.) I think Cyborg might be the only character whose story-specific redesign actually looks kinda cool, but we'll see.

What I am most interested in--aside from seeing more of Metal's version of Starro in action, of course--is what will follow this. I am hoping it is a single, really good Justice League book written by Snyder and drawn by Capullo and featuring a larger team of heroes pulled from here and the cast of Metal (Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, Plastic Man, Mister Terrific), and not a suite of two-to-four books. But I guess we'll see.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 6: THE PEOPLE VS. THE JUSTICE LEAGUE TP
Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST • Art by PETE WOODS and IAN CHURCHILL
Cover by PETE WOODS
When the League is confronted by three concurrent threats, a sleep-deprived Batman makes a crucial error that causes an unthinkable—and potentially unforgivable—tragedy. The team must regain its balance quickly, as an alien infestation threatens the Earth. But nothing can prepare them for an attack closer to home…one that will reveal devastating truths about the League itself!
Collects issues #34-39.
On sale JUNE 20 • 128 pg, FC, $14.99 US • ISBN: 978-1-4012-8076-5

I'm not sure that those issue numbers are quite right, as #39 just came out this week, and it is part one of a new Priest-written story arc, so it seems a strange place to cut the run...but then, there are so few issues left in it, and Priest is apparently telling one long story arc, so deciding where to cut for the sake of collection is probably harder than it might otherwise be. As I've said repeatedly over the last few months, this is the strongest the Justice League comic has been since at least Infinite Crisis, and while I understand the appeal of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee rebooting the World's Greatest Heroes as the kick off to the 2011 "New 52" initiative, in retrospect, the League books would probably have been in much better shape had they enlisted Priest for The New 52's Justice League #1.

Anyway, if you like the League, you should buy this. Aside from some janky continuity and uneven art, it's pretty good Justice League comics, and not at all boring, which has been the first word to come to mind whenever I've considered a Justice League comic in forever.

I would be a lot more excited about reading this Mister Miracle series if cover artist Nick Derington were drawing the interiors, and not just the covers. Because man, what a great cover that is. I love Kalibak's mini-dress too, showing off his hairy legs. That's how bad-ass he and his father are; they ain't the least bit self-conscious about what they look like in such short hemlines.

SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP #36
Written by SHOLLY FISCH
Art and cover by WALTER CARZON and HORACIO OTTOLINI
Why has the Blue Falcon suddenly transformed from a bright, sunny superhero into a dark and gritty vigilante who sends his most monstrous villains fleeing for safety? Dynomutt wonders: could the Blue Falcon be…possessed? Scooby and the gang will have to join forces with the Dog Wonder to crack the mystery when the dark kite returns!
On sale MAY 23 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E

Well it's about damn time. I've been wondering where the Blue Falcon and Dynomutt have been.

Not only are they among the most obvious of Hanna-Barbera properties to team-up with Scooby-Doo, having co-starred in the 1976 Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt hour (which included crossovers between the two casts), and both B.F. and the Dog Wonder were on the Scooby Doobies in the 1977 Laff-A-Lympics. Much more recently, Dynomutt and Blue Falcon kinda crossed paths with the comics convention-set direct-to-DVD movie, Scooby-Doo: Mask of The Blue Falcon. Despite that, they were MIA from the pages of Scooby-Doo Team-Up, didn't pop-up among any of the many weird Hanna-Barbereboot books DC has been publishing (and they would have been pretty much perfect for Future Quest) or the Hanna-Barbera/DC Comics team-ups.

I've been waiting to see these two in this book for literally years now, and I imagine this will kick-off future appearances elsewhere. I mean, if the fucking Jetsons or Ruff and Ready get their own DC Comics, surely a Batman parody character could carry one; at the very least, I would hope to see a Blue Falcon/Batman crossover miniseries...

SUPERMAN: ZERO HOUR TP
Written by DAVID MICHELINIE, KARL KESEL, DAN JURGENS and LOUISE SIMONSON
Art by JACKSON GUICE, BARRY KITSON, PETE KRAUSE, DAN JURGENS, CHRIS BATISTA, JON BOGDANOVE, TOM GRUMMETT and others
Cover by DAN JURGENS and BRETT BREEDING
Time is collapsing in on itself. The villainous Extant has ushered in a series of black holes that are swallowing the universe—past, present and future! The result? Krypton never exploded. The Kents never found a baby in a field. Superman isn’t the protector of Metropolis. How can the Man of Steel put back time as it should be?
Collects ACTION COMICS #0 and #703, ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #0 and #516, SUPERMAN #0 and #93, STEEL #0 and #8, SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL #0 and #37 and SUPERBOY #0 and #8.
On sale JUNE 20 • 320 pg, FC • $29.99 US • ISBN: 978-1-4012-8053-6

Say, I was imagining this very collection while reading DC's recent-ish Batman: Zero Hour and, in fact, had said it would be the next easiest Zero Hour-related collection to do, and look, here it is! I'll be a lot more excited to read this one than I was to read the Batman one though, as had previously read the majority of the Batman Family Zero Hour tie-ins and #0 issues, but I think I've only read a handful of these ones.

Hmm, now what will be next? Justice League: Zero Hour or Legion of Super-Heroes: Zero Hour...?


WONDER WOMAN #46
Written by JAMES ROBINSON • Art by STEPHEN SEGOVIA • Cover by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO • Variant cover by JENNY FRISON
“The Dark Gods” part one! In the wake of DARK NIGHTS: METAL, new secrets of the cosmos have been revealed and taken form…and though she doesn’t know it yet, Wonder Woman is at the center of their plans!
On sale MAY 9 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

WONDER WOMAN #47
Written by JAMES ROBINSON • Art by STEPHEN SEGOVIA • Cover by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO • Variant cover by JENNY FRISON
“The Dark Gods” part two! Wonder Woman seeks answers from the Greek pantheon about the strange new beings barreling towards Earth —but can she convince her creators not to abandon their creation?
On sale MAY 23 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

I could have sworn that when James Robinson was announced as the new writer following Shea Fontana's fill-in arc, he too was going to be doing a one-arc fill-in run, but, well, this is a completely different arc, so I guess Robinson is actually kinda of a semi-permanent Wonder Woman writer now...?

Huh.

The plot description above sounds somewhat similar to what Marvel's Hercules was up to in his last book, fighting a new pantheon of dark, new gods that better reflected the current world than their ancient forbears, although I suppose it will remain to be seen just what these Dark Gods are and what they're up to.