DC PUBWATCH: March 2021 Edition

DC Pubwatch - October

The Ides of March have passed us by and with it, another month of DC Comics. The first month of the Infinite Frontier era of DC started with a bang, with the one-shot of that same name, which in turn is leading into a mini-series to continue stories started in that issue. And of course, The Dreaming: Waking Hours #8 continues that series quest to remain the best book of the month.

The News

Of course, the day that I published that Michelle Wells was still being credited in DC Comics, is the day that she announced that she was moving to Tapas as the webcomic publisher’s new Chief Creative Officer. While her voice will be missed at DC Comics, this is a fantastic move for her and for Tapas.

The other bit of big news was the company’s Pride celebration announcement, which is wonderful news.

Highlights

The Dreaming: Waking Hours #8
Simon Bowland (letters), Matt Lopes (colors), Nick Robles (art and cover),  G. Willow Wilson (writer)

Ruin, Heather and Jophiel entering the realm of the fae

What a surprise, The Dreaming: Waking Hours continues its streak on the top of the ratings for March with #8. This issue starts the second full arc, with Robles coming back onto art after taking the two issues between arcs off for a break. And while the last two issues were not the start of this arc properly, it did do the work to set it up, with Heather After owing a debt to the deposed former king of the fae.

Robles and Lopes are always great, but as our heroes enter the realm of the fairy, they take their collaboration to a whole new level. Everything is bright and psychedelic, a perfect interpretation of what that magical land must be like. The pure chaos of the realm is both delightful and terrifying, and this arc is going to be an absolute blast.

Grade: A+

Infinite Frontier #0
Brad Anderson (color), Jordie Bellaire (color), Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Tamra Bonvillain (color), Stephen Byrne (art and color), Becky Cloonan (writer), Michael Conrad (writer), Hi-Fi (color), Jamal Igle (art), Mikel Janin (cover), Klaus Janson (art), Jorge Jiminez (art), Geoff Johns (writer), Philip Kennedy Johnson (writer), Joëlle Jones (writer and artist), Dan Jurgens (cover), Emilio Lopez (color), Alex Maleev (art), David Marquez (art), Alitha Martinez (art), Mark Morales (art), Tomeu Morey (color), Todd Nauck (art), Troy Peteri (letters), Howard Porter (art), John Romita, Jr. (art), Alex Sinclair (color), Scott Snyder (writer), Dexter Soy (art), Geoffrey Thorne (writer), John Timms (art), James Tynion IV (writer), Josh Williamson (writer)

The heroes of the DC universe looking over a sunrise

Sigh. They got me again. When it came out in 2016, DC Rebirth was supposed to herald a change, for a brighter and happier DC Universe. And for sure, that was true for a bit, but then Metal came around, and things got right back to the dark and depraved universe that I’d disliked so much. And now, five years later, here we are again with that same promise. This time feels different though because the structure at the top of the company has changed too, so there’s less possibility for that same backslide. And really, there was an awful lot to love in this issue. It sets up exciting new status quos for several characters and undoes some damage done to others. Most notably, Alan Scott’s story is heartfelt and touching.

Grade: A

Nightwing #78
Wes Abbott (letters), Adriano Lucas (colors), Bruno Redondo (art and cover), Tom Taylor (writer)

Nightwing #78 cover Nightwing portrait with a cityscape in his chest emblem

I talked at length about this issue ahead of its release, but needless to say, this is the best a Nightwing series has been since Devin Grayson was the writer.

Grade: A

Teen Titans Academy #1
Rob Leigh (letters), Alejandro Sanchez (color and cover), Rafa Sandoval (penciler and cover), Tim Sheridan (writer), Jordi Tarragona (inks and cover)

Red X and the new students of the Teen Titans Academy

So this is one of the few series that doesn’t feel like it is moving the DC Universe forward. The concept for this series is fantastic, and if it lived up to the concept, it would probably be one of my favorites. Unfortunately, Tim Sheridan is not the writer to make this work. His teen characters come off as aggressively “woke,” the kinds of people who internet conservatives dream of when they think of liberal teens. Sheridan makes two really tasteless jokes that revolve around gender identity, including one that sets Nightwing up as a clueless adult. I beg DC to get someone younger, and

Grade: F

Grades:

A+

The Dreaming Waking Hours #8

A

Action Comics #1029
Batman: Urban Legends #1
Batman/Superman #16
Catwoman #29
Future State: Superman vs Imperious Lex #3
Infinite Frontier #0
Nightwing #78
Superman #29
Superman Red & Blue #1
The Other History of the DC Universe #3

B

Batman #106
Batman Black & White #4
Crime Syndicate #1
Detective Comics #1034
Harley Quinn #1
Justice League #59
Sensational Wonder Woman #1
The Joker #1
The Swamp Thing #1
Wonder Woman #770

C

American Vampire 1976 #6
Inferior Five #5
Man-Bat #2
Suicide Squad #1
Sweet Tooth: The Return #5
The Flash #768
The Green Lantern Season Two #12

D

Batman vs. Ra’s al Ghul #5
Batman: White Knight Presents Harley Quinn #6
Batman/Catwoman #4
Rorschach #6
Strange Adventures #9

F

Teen Titans Academy #1

Solicitation Situation

Infinite Frontier #1

  • written by Joshua Williamson
  • art by Xermanico
  • cover by Mitch Gerads
  • card stock variant cover by Bryan Hitch
  • $4.99 US | 40 PAGES | 1 (OF 6) | FC | DC
  • DC ON SALE 6/22/2021
  • When our heroes saved the Muliverse from Perpetua in Dark Nights: Death Metal, everything was put back where it belonged…and we do mean everything. All the damage from all the Crises was undone, and heroes long thought gone returned from whatever exile they had been in. Most of them, at least. Alan Scott, the Green Lantern from the Justice Society of America, has noticed some of his allies are still missing in action, and he’s determined to find them. There are others, though, who would rather remain hidden than explain themselves, like Roy Harper, a.k.a. Arsenal, a man who should be dead but now is not. Plus, what does all this mean for the DCU’s place in the Multiverse? On opposite sides of a dimensional divide, both Barry Allen and President Superman ponder this question. Not to mention the Darkseid of it all! Or a team of Multiversal heroes called Justice Incarnate!

Justice Incarnate loomed over by Darkseid

Alright, as I said, Infinite Frontier #0 won me over, so I’m all in on the series going forward, and especially with Alan Scott and Roy Harper playing big roles.

Green Arrow 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1

  • written by Jeff Lemire, Benjamin Percy, Mike Grell, Phil Hester, Mariko Tamaki, Stephanie Phillips, Tom Taylor, Ram V, Vita Ayala, Brandon Thomas, Devin Grayson, and Larry O’Neil.
  • art by Andrea Sorrentino, Otto Schmidt, Mike Grell, Phil Hester, Javier Rodriguez, Christopher Mooneyham, Nicola Scott, Jorge Corona, Laura Braga, Christopher Mitten, and Jorge FornÉs
  • cover by Dan Mora
  • decade variant covers by Michael Cho, Daniel Warren Johnson, Neal Adams, Derrick Chew, Gary Frank, Howard Porter, Jen Bartel AND Simone Di Meo
  • ON SALE 6/29/2021
  • $9.99 US | 96 PAGES | Prestige | FC | DC
  • CELEBRATING THE EMERALD ARCHER’S 80TH ANNIVERSARY! For the last eight decades Green Arrow has been one of the premier (and loudest) characters in the DCU, always at the forefront of where the superhero genre is headed. This over-sized anniversary issue follows in those footsteps, as an all-star lineup of Green Arrow creators, alongside some of the gifted creators of the modern era who have been inpsired by Oliver Queen, unite to pay tribute to the Battling Bowman. See what the past, present and future have in store for Oliver Queen, Black Canary, Connor Hawke, Arsenal, Red Arrow, Speedy, and more in this epic special!

Connor Hawke, Arsenal and Black Canary with the spirit of Ollie in the background

Mostly what has me excited about this one is Devin Grayson writing a Roy and Lian Harper story. Those characters always shined under her scripting, and she’s a big part of why I fell in love with them in the first place.

Action Comics 2021 Annual

    • written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson
    • art by Siya Oum
    • cover by Scott Godlewski
    • variant cover by Valentine De Landro
    • ON SALE 6/29/2021
    • $5.99 US | 48 PAGES | FC | DC
    • card stock variant cover $6.99 US | FC | DC
    • The return of Future State’s House of El! It’s time to head back to tomorrow, as Superman’s descendants face a threat from today. This special tale connects to “Warworld Rising” as the actions of Clark Kent in the present reverberate, leaving long-lasting changes…and a deadly threat for the House of El to reckon with. Can Brandon Kent, the Superman of his era, stop the danger from hurting the next generation? Also, for those wanting to know more about Brandon’s relationship with Theand’r, the Tamaranean queen, prepare yourself for a little romance as well.

The House of El in front of a looming bearded man

The return of the House of El from Future State is something I had hoped would come eventually, and did not expect it this soon, so this really excites me.

The rest of the DC solicits for June can be found here.

That’s it for March, let’s hope that DC continues this string of successes into April.

Advertisements
Cori McCreery

Cori McCreery

Cori is a life long comic nerd residing in Northern California. A life long Supergirl and DC Comics fan, she is the DC Comics Beat Reporter for Women Write About Comics.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Close
Menu
WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com