As I’m not getting any of the Future State mini-series, January and February next year are looking to have slim pickings. What does March have for me…?
INFINITE FRONTIER #0
written by SCOTT SNYDER, GEOFF JOHNS, JAMES TYNION IV, JOSHUA WILLIAMSON, GEOFFREY THORNE, PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON, BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, BECKY CLOONAN, MICHAEL W. CONRAD, JOËLLE JONES, and TIM SHERIDAN
art by JOHN TIMMS, HOWARD PORTER, JOËLLE JONES, JORGE JIMENEZ, ALITHA MARTINZEZ, DAVID MARQUEZ, STEPHEN BYRNE, JAMAL IGLE, DEXTER SOY, RAFA SANDOVAL, ALEX MALEEV, JOHN ROMITA JR., and others
wraparound cover by DAN JURGENS and MIKEL JANÍN
card stock variant cover by JOHN TIMMS
The next phase of the DC Universe begins here! Dark Knights: Death Metal presented the darkest threats of the Multiverse. DC Future State revealed what may lie ahead. Now it’s time to look into the Infinite Frontier of the current-day DC Universe.
In Gotham City, The Joker jolts citizens awake with an attack even the Dark Knight never expected. In Brazil, a young woman discovers her destiny and her connection to the Amazons. In Belle Reve, Amanda Waller plots an invasion of Arkham Asylum. In the far reaches of space, Mongul dreams of galactic domination, while the Green Lantern Corps hosts a summit of its greatest enemies. At the Hall of Justice, the League joins forces with Black Adam. Beyond the mortal world, Wonder Woman settles into a new role in the godsphere. And somewhere in the DC Universe—it’s the return of Stargirl, in an all-new tale written by Geoff Johns!
Okay, so here we go again – another line-wide reset/reboot/reinvigoration for DC. Anyone taking bets on how long this will last before the next one? The New 52 was 2011; Rebirth was 2016; Infinite Frontier is 2021 – so every five years we’re getting a reset, is that it?
It’s nice to see Ted Kord’s Blue Beetle in the picture, along with Obsidian and Jade, but I feel underwhelmed by this.
CRIME SYNDICATE #1
written by ANDY SCHMIDT
art by KIERAN McKEOWN
backup story art by BRYAN HITCH
cover by JIM CHEUNG
variant cover by SKAN
Spinning out of Dark Nights: Death Metal, the Multiverse is reborn—and Earth-3 with it! In this six-issue miniseries, witness the true origins of the malevolent makers of mayhem known as the Crime Syndicate as a common foe unites them! But how long can alliances last between villains like these?
Also in this issue, it’s the origin of Ultraman in our special backup story drawn by superstar artist Bryan Hitch!
A new multiverse is coming (no surprise there) and we get a new Earth-3 complete with the villains we love to hate in the Crime Syndicate. Sucker as I am for these guys, I will probably get this.
THE SWAMP THING #1
written by RAM V
art and cover by MIKE PERKINS
variant cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA
Swamp Thing returns in a new 10-issue series that stars Levi Kamei as the next Guardian of the Green. Unable to control his transformation into the monstrous Swamp Thing, Levi is thrust into the harsh, unforgiving mystery of grisly murders committed by a supernatural desert legend. Levi must revisit past events in his homeland of India and face the deadly reality of a ravenous new villain in order to comprehend what he is truly, and horrifyingly, becoming. A new era of global action and horror blossoms here, and Swamp Thing will be at the root of it!
Looks like Alec Holland doesn’t make it out of DARK NIGHTS: DEATH METAL and we have a new Swamp Thing. Happy to give this a go as I’ve enjoyed Ram V’s work in the past.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #59
written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
art and cover by DAVID MARQUEZ
backup story written by RAM V
backup story art by XERMANICO
wraparound variant cover by DAVID MARQUEZ
variant cover by KAEL NGU
Writer Brian Michael Bendis reunites with artist David Marquez (Miles Morales, Iron Man, Batman/Superman) for a new, star-studded Justice League featuring Superman, Batman, the Flash, Hawkgirl, Aquaman, Hippolyta, new DC powerhouse Naomi, and…is that Black Adam?! Superman is leading the charge to reinvent the Justice League—and at the same time, a new, cosmic-powered threat arrives from Naomi’s homeworld to rule the Earth!
And in the backup story, dark days lie ahead for the new Justice League Dark. Zatanna and John Constantine take a road trip, only to discover horror around the bend as a friend—and sometime foe—is reborn in fire! A legend is destroyed, and another takes a terrible turn, as Merlin reveals the beginning of a new, blood-drenched plot for all humankind. So begins writer Ram V’s new journey into the abyss with the Justice League Dark and artist Xermanico!
Brian Michael Bendis takes over JUSTICE LEAGUE – I heard mostly good things about his stint on Superman and I’ve read some of his AVENGERS stories from a few years ago so I’m expecting solid stories with lots and lots of dialogue.
Sad to see that Justice League Dark loses their own book and becomes a back-up in this title, though.
THE GREEN LANTERN SEASON TWO #12
written by GRANT MORRISON
art and cover by LIAM SHARP
variant cover by LADÖNN
It’s Hal Jordan vs. Hector Hammond, and our Emerald Knight will need to summon all of his willpower to face down the psionic madman. Check out Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp’s grand finale more than two years in the making! This tale touches on every plot thread from the entire run, and it’s fully charged with fantasy, sci-fi, and Green Lantern lore. Say it with us now, “In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night…”
GREEN LANTERN: SEASON TWO comes to an end . . . and I sort of hope that’s it for Morrison’s run which has seemed, as I find a lot of his stuff, to be full of ideas but so scattershot in execution that it just seems like a mess.
TRUTH & JUSTICE #2
written by BRANDON EASTON
art by JAHNOY LINDSAY
cover by KHARY RANDOLPH
variant cover by RYAN BENJAMIN and RICHARD FRIEND
As DC’s new anthology series continues, prisoners around Metropolis are waking up in their old homes, unaware of how they got there and being accused of escaping from Stryker’s Island. Superman will need to use all of his powers, and his journalistic skills, if he’s going to save the prisoners and get them properly exonerated!
Last month’s solicitations made a big play of this title starring Vixen and the Global Guardians; while I’m interested in the anthology series, I really hope it’s not going to become another vehicle for Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman. Let’s have a place with the second tier characters can shine, eh?
And that appears to be it – no AQUAMAN so it looks like that’s finishing just before Future State kicks in. This means as of March, I will be collecting two ongoing series from DC – everything else is one-shots or mini-series. I don’t think the number of ongoings from DC has ever been so low for me.
Crisis on Earth-Prime 
Yeah, DC seems to have drastically pared down their line, which given how few characters actually seem able to support books, might make financial sense, but it definitely doesn’t improve the odds of me finding something I want to read.
The one book I might consider is that one Gotham Knights or something, the one that looks like it’ll do stories about all the Bat-family characters. And that’ll be on a case-by-case basis. Like, if it’s something about Spoiler or CassBat, I might get it, depending on the creative team.
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Yeah, DC used to be a massive part of my weekly pick up; from March onwards, I think independents are going to outnumber them for the first time.
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So…
Yeah looks like another soft “reboot”, and you’re dead-on with the every 5 years assessment. So fucking lame, especially when there’s no readership turnover like that to match, making the whole thing unnecessary. But whatever…
Bendis on JL? Yikes. Good luck to any JL fans. You have my sympathies. Bendis tends to work better on street-level, 2nd-tier characters than the main ones and all of his mainstream runs outside of Ultimate Spider-Man reflect that. Could it be good? Sure? Will it? Only time and sales will tell.
New Swamp Thing huh? Well I guess it was time to test a new Swamp host out since the one time they chose to focus on his daughter didn’t exactly pan out. Plus she doesn’t exist anymore, so there’s that too. Honestly hope the new guy survives and thrives for awhile before DC inevitably roles it back.
I feel the same way about Khalid Ben-Hassin’s tenure as Dr. Fate before that too got abandoned.
Glad I’m not the only one not exactly thrilled w/ Morrison’s GL run. On paper it just seemed SOOO good but the execution is a lot to be desired. I’m not sure who or what’s to blame exactly for everything getting lost in translation but it’s clearly not working like it should’ve. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he did it rather letting a lackluster writer do Hal harm, but still…
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Yeah, Morrison’s GREEN LANTERN just hasn’t worked for me; I think part of it is the almost complete divorce from the rest of the DCU, like Morrison’s been given carte blanche to do anything with the GL universe and not worry about anything else. The revamp he did on the Guardians, for example, came out of nowhere; Venditti spent a fair amount of time giving them actual names and personalities, and then that was just tossed aside without any explanation. No word at the moment if there will be a Season Three but I sort of hope not.
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Depends on Morrison and sales I guess. I’m sure they’re not super-great but solid enough for consistency based off his name alone. Besides, isn’t he the EIC of Heavy Metal now? How is he NOT preoccupied w/ that and selling his wares to Hollyweird/Netflix/Hulu/HBO Max?
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