Talking about solicitations.
For parity's sake, here's my take on the DC Solicitations for March '07. They say that, anyway. You'll note that some are for April, and others are for May. That's just how DC rolls.
Again, across the board, nothing new in the singles format to really capture my heart. But, you know, who needs single issues of Justice League of Emo when they can get this:
File under: About Fucking Time.
This obvious statement of the day is brought to you by Go-Gurt, who ask "Have you squirted super-pastuerized dairy products into your mouth lately?"
Now, this is exciting:
Again, across the board, nothing new in the singles format to really capture my heart. But, you know, who needs single issues of Justice League of Emo when they can get this:
JACK KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HCThank you for listening to my pleas. I appreciate it. One request: I note there are no measurements. Please make these oversized. And now, the obligatory Showcase Presents purchases:
Written by Jack Kirby
Art and cover by Kirby & Vince Colletta
After co-creating a number of legendary comic book heroes - including The Fantastic Four and The Hulk - legendary writer/artist Jack Kirby came to DC Comics in 1970 to create his magnum opus: four interlocked adventure series that were known collectively as "The Fourth World."
Now, for the first time, DC collects Kirby's four series - THE NEW GODS, THE FOREVER PEOPLE, MISTER MIRACLE and SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN - in chronological order as they originally appeared. These comics spanned galaxies, from the streets of Metropolis to the far-flung worlds of New Genesis and Apokolips, as cosmic-powered heroes and villains struggled for supremacy.
THE FOURTH WORLD VOL. 1 features the debuts of Orion of the New Gods, the evil Darkseid, super-escape artist Mister Miracle and many others, and features numerous appearances by Superman, from the pages of SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #133-139, FOREVER PEOPLE #1-3, NEW GODS #1-3 and MISTER MIRACLE #1-3!
Advance-solicited; on sale May 30 o 396 pg, FC, $49.99 US
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES VOL. 1 TPAaah, sweet Silver Age insanity. I do question calling the latter the "third volume collecting early Superman adventures" because the character had been around since 1938; they were hitting his Silver anniversary at this point. "Early" isn't the term I'd use to describe these stories that really started to capitalize on the character's established mythology. To me, they represent the Golden Age of Superman, absent of the phrase's medium-specific etymology, when the stories being told were at their most potent and wonderfully bizarre.
Written by Jerry Siegel, Otto Binder, Edmond Hamilton and various
Art by Curt Swan, George Papp, John Forte and various
Cover by Swan & Stan Kaye
A massive black-and-white volume collecting classic tales of the Legionnaires, from ADVENTURE COMICS #247, 267, 282, 290, 293, and 300-328, ACTION COMICS #267, 276, 287 and 289, SUPERBOY #86, 89, 98 and 117, SUPERMAN 147, SUPERMAN ANNUAL #4, and SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN#72 and 76!
Advance-solicited; on sale April 4 o 552 pg, B&W, $16.99 US
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SUPERMAN VOL. 3 TP
Written by Jerry Siegel and others
Art by Curt Swan and others
Cover by Swan
The third volume collecting early Superman adventures in black-and-white at a value price! This amazing collection includes appearances by Supergirl and Krypto and a retelling of Superman's origin, plus threats from Lex Luthor, Brainiac, the Legion of Super-Villains and the Fifth Dimensional imp known as Mr. Mxyzptlk!
Advance-solicited; on sale April 18 o 560 pg, B&W, $16.99 US
File under: About Fucking Time.
WONDER WOMAN: THE GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD TPI'm not even much of a Wonder Woman fan, but this has been a glaring hole in DC's collections policy, especially considering how much of the newer material is available in trade.
Written by Charles Moulton and various
Art by H.G. Peter and various Cover by Alex Ross
The greatest adventures of the world's most renowned super-heroine are collected in one volume for the first time. From her beginnings in the early 1940s to today's epics, these are the stories that made Wonder Woman a comic book legend. Included in this anthology are Wonder Woman's origin story, plus her epic battles with the Cheetah, Dr. Psycho and others.
Advance-solicited; on sale April 18 o 192 pg, FC, $19.99 US
WILDCATS #2Either DC should stop yanking Jim Lee from his drawing desk to toil away on designs for the forthcoming MMO and all of the corporate model work he's been doing or they should just let a different artist take over his titles.
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and cover by Jim Lee & Scott Williams
Variant cover by Erik Larsen
The amazing new adventures of WildStorm's flagship super-team continue in this series written by Grant Morrison (SEVEN SOLDIERS, WE3) with art by fan-favorites Jim Lee & Scott Williams (BATMAN, SUPERMAN)! A deadly super-villain escapes from a prison space station by leaping to Earth. The Wildcats, in order to capture him and still maintain their covert status, must use all their cunning, strength and brains to stop him. All goes according to plan except for one little hiccup: He kills them all - on live television! Retailers please note: This issue is resolicited. All previous orders are cancelled. This issue will feature two covers that may be ordered separately. The Standard Edition cover is by Jim Lee & Scott Williams; one copy of the Variant Edition, with a cover by Erik Larsen, may be ordered for every 10 copies of the Standard Edition ordered. Please see the Previews Order Form for further details.
Resolicited; on sale March 28 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
This obvious statement of the day is brought to you by Go-Gurt, who ask "Have you squirted super-pastuerized dairy products into your mouth lately?"
Now, this is exciting:
ARMY@LOVE #1Rick Veitch is one of my favorite creators. Seeing him do an up-to-date war book that appears to skewer the necessary targets is exactly that I want.
Written by Rick Veitch
Art and cover by Veitch & Gary Erskine
Comics iconoclast Rick Veitch (SWAMP THING, CAN'T GET NO) writes and pencils a subversive new ongoing series, joined by inker Gary Erskine (THE FILTH).
Comedy collides head on with tragedy when a New Jersey National Guard unit is deployed indefinitely to a never-ending series of wars in the Middle East. These are citizen soldiers - kids fresh out of high school shoulder-to-shoulder with middle-aged corporate manager. To motivate them, a modernized military has gone into full, take-no-prisoners marketing mode.
Equal parts blistering battle action, sensuous soap opera and pitch-black satire in the vein of PREACHER and TRANSMETROPOLITAN, Army@Love is unlike anything Veitch - or any other comics creator - has ever attempted. And you won't believe your eyes when you see what it takes to become a member of The Hot Zone Club! Don't miss a Sneak Peek at this issue in Y: THE LAST MAN #55.
On sale March 21 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US o MATURE READERS
AMERICAN SPLENDOR: ANOTHER DAY TPI don't know if it's me finally "getting" what Pekar does, or the man experiencing a second wave of renewed creativity, but I thought The Quitter was fantastic and I quite liked the two review issues DC sent me a few weeks ago. I'll pick this one up.
Written by Harvey Pekar Cover by Dean Haspiel
Art by Haspiel, Eddie Campbell, Ty Templeton and others
Harvey Pekar returns to celebrate 30 years of autobiographical comics with his newest volume collecting the 4-issue acclaimed miniseries.
Advance-solicited; on sale April 7 o 136 pg, B&W, $14.99 US o MATURE READERS
SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE VOL. 5: DR. DEATH AND THE NIGHT OF THE BUTCHER TPYes, I do love this comic and hope that DC manages to collect the entire series eventually.
Written by Matt Wagner & Steven T. Seagle
Art by Guy Davis & Vince Locke Cover by Gavin Wilson & Richard Bruning
Reprinting issues #21-28 of the legendary Vertigo series, this volume follows Wesley Dodds through two new cases of serial murderers, each more grisly than the last.
Advance-solicited; on sale April 11 o 208 pg, FC, $19.99 US o MATURE READERS
