Happy solicits week, everyone! Last week DC dropped their full roster of solicits for the month of February, let’s take a look at some of the stand outs and news from that corner of the DCU, starting with the three major team shake ups are on the horizon. Aquaman, Suicide Squad, and Teen Titans are all changing hands.
Aquaman is being taken over by writer Dan Abnett and artist Vicente Cifuentes starting with issue #49. We’ve actually known about this particular changing of the guard since late last month when current Aquaman writer, Cullen Bunn, announced he was stepping down over “negative fan reaction” to his run. Abnett and Cifuentes’ first issue solicit promises:
“In the aftermath of the Thule invasion, Aquaman must show the people of Atlantis that he was the target of a conspiracy and earn their trust once more. And no, it’s not going to be easy…”
New Suicide Squad is being handed off to Tim Seely and Juan Ferreyra at issue #17. I’m actually pretty excited about this particular change up. I’m not a huge Suicide Squad reader in general, but I am a pretty big fan of Seely’s work so this is a book I’m going to be picking up. The solicit for their first issue reads:
“Indentured super villain Harley Quinn has made covert contact with someone outside the walls of Belle Reve prison, and this mysterious savior has discovered the secrets of Amanda Waller and Task Force X.”
Incidentally this is the second book featuring Harley that Seely is writing for the month of February. The second being a digital first set in the Arkham Knight universe titled “Batman: Arkham Knight – Batgirl and Harley Quinn #1”. Say that ten times fast.
And finally, the team change up that made me do a little fist-pump to no one in particular during my lunch hour at work when I read the news: Teen Titans is being picked up by Greg Pak and Noel Rodriguez.
Now, the Teen Titans are one of my all-time favorite teams, so you can probably imagine my overwhelming disappointment with… well, pretty much everything to do with them since the start of the New 52. The reboot was kind to some characters but not so kind to others, and that pretty much whole generation of kids really fell into the latter category. The fact that the book has been helmed by one of my least favorite writers in the industry probably didn’t help much.
But! If you’re like me and have felt the same, Pak and Rodriguez’s take over seems likely to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Pak’s work on Action Comics and Batman/Superman has been consistently excellent and Rodriguez’s work on Red Hood/Arsenal has been fantastic. All signs are pointing towards Teen Titans finally being the book it should have been all along. Fingers crossed.
Here’s the solicit for the new team’s first issue:
With their backs against the wall, the Titans are wanted across the country! Now, Tim Drake must find a way to clear the team’s name while staying one step ahead of the law. But Wonder Girl’s past is also catching up with her and it won’t wait for the Titans’ troubles to calm down.
Now, in lieu of a proper ICYMI section, some hidden gems you may have missed in the solicits this week:
The Gotham Central omnibus gets a release date of May 4th, and a price point of $100. I don’t know about you guys, but I plan on saving up. The omnibus will collect every issue of the series in one glorious hardcover.
Batman: Contagion is returning to print, getting a new trade paperback that’s set to hit shelves on March 9th. This is a story set before No Man’s Land about a deadly virus sweeping through Gotham. It’s one I’d recommend reading (or re-reading) if you’re a Batfamily fan.
The first trades for We Are Robin and DC Comics Bomshells are on their way on March 30th and March 2nd respectively . If you’re reading these books (and you should be) and you’ve been waiting for an easy way to force your friends to read them with you, this is excellent news.
Ah March seems so far away for We Are Robin and Bombshells. But I am very curious about what Seeley’s run on Suicide Squad will be like.
I am DYING for the We Are Robin tradeback. And curious about Seeley on SS. I like some of his other work but I’m not a huge fan of SS.
Pak’s work on Superman has been under the tenure of some of the worst treatment of Lois Lane in decades. Pak has essentially written her out of Action Comics. She hasn’t appeared in her own book in over two years. That’s a disgrace. This also doesn’t even touch the fact that women are blacklisted from the Superman offices bc of sexism and harassment. Not for nothing, but is it too much to ask for a site that is supposed to specifically give two s—s about WOMEN in comics to hold writers accountable for these things? Pak and Kuder are solid writers but they should be called out on what’s going on in the Superman offices right now. It’s not excusable.
Mary, if you’d like to write an investigative piece for us on the Superman offices, please get in touch.