DC PUBWATCH: January 2023 Edition

DC Pubwatch - October

Hope everyone’s 2023 is going well! I’ll tell you who it’s not going well for: Catwoman. Between Catwoman: One Bad Day and Catwoman #51, she’s had a rough month. It’s also not going great for the Flash family in the “One-Minute War” saga. And a new status quo is established in Action Comics #1051.

The News

The biggest news of this month is that the Justice League is staying out of the limelight for the time being. Instead the DC’s premier superteam for the next while is going to be the Titans, and with that comes a series relaunch. Nightwing writer Tom Taylor and greatest artist of Nightwing’s ass Nicola Scott will be the creative team on the new book, and it’s sure to be a fun one.

Highlights

My book of the month is Catwoman: One Bad Day #1, but I spoke at length about that book over at ComicsBeat.

Action Comics #1051
Elizabeth Breitwieser (colors), Becca Carey (letters), Matt Herms (colors), Philip Kennedy Johnson (writer), Dan Jurgens (writer), Rob Leigh (letters), Dan Mora (cover), Rafa Sandoval (art), Marguerite Sauvage (art), Dave Sharpe (letters), Lee Weeks (art), Leah Williams (writer)
January 24, 2023

The entier Superfamily Superboy, Supergirl, Steel, Superman (Jon), Super-Man (Kenan), Superman (Clark), and the new Supertwins flying in the cloudy sky.

With this issue, Action Comics has moved to an anthology format with three stories per issue. The first and third stories are the ones I want to really shine a light on though. The first story by Philip Kennedy Johnson and Rafa Sandoval really does a fantastic job of setting up the new status quo for Metropolis and the Superman family. It sets up the Steelworks as a competition to LexCorp, and even gives the new building the (momentary) distinction of being the largest building in the city. A new addition to an already iconic skyline is very nice to have. Also, I shouted him out for this at ComicsBeat, but thank you again to Philip Kennedy Johnson for bringing back the fact that Lois and Clark are absolutely horny for each other all the time. This was a key thing that made the 90s Superman comics great and it’s fantastic to have it back. And the way that Rafa Sandoval illustrated that scene absolutely beautifully.

Jon discovering that Lois and Clark kept the Superman Warworld barbarian armor for "reasons". And Lois quickly closing the closet door.

The other story I wanted to talk about was the second part of Leah Williams’ and Marguerite Sauvage’s Power Girl story. This new power for Karen is a wonderful way to set her apart from the rest of the Superfamily. And Sauvage’s art is so ethereal and dreamy, it really makes the story pop.

Grade: A

The Flash #790
Jeremy Adams (writer), Matt Banning (inks), Taurin Clarke (cover) Roger Cruz (art), Wellington Dias (inks), Luis Guerrero (colors), Rob Leigh (letters)
January 10, 2023

The Flash family getting thrown from an explosion

I’m giving this one a conditional grade. The grade won’t go up, but it may go down. I was excited for “One Minute War”, and for most of the issue I was very intrigued and interested in what happens next. But all my goodwill for this event evaporated on the last page of the issue. It’s 2023, can we please leave fridging of love interests back in 2022? Iris deserves better, and if she isn’t miraculously brought back during the event, I will change my grade for this book and every book in the event to an “F”. This was thoroughly disappointing.

Grade: C (Conditionally)

DC’S Harley Quinn Romances #1
Becca Carey (colors), Raphael Draccon (writer), Ig Guara (artist), Carolina Munhóz (writer), Ivan Plascencia (colors)
January 31, 2023

Clark Kent holding Lois Lane in a romance cover pose before a setting Kansas sun

Speaking of things to leave in 2022, can we also leave queer baiting there? When the credits page for this book, the annual Valentine’s Day DC special, was released about a month ago, I and several of my friends got excited about Fire and Ice being included in the lineup. DC’s done a great job recently of resetting subtext and allowing it to become text, and Fire and Ice being included in a romance special gave us hope that their own subtext would finally be made canon. But no, we get a stupid “Will you be my Galentine” ending. I’m not saying friendships between women aren’t important, but don’t fucking bait us along by hinting that they might get a romance in a book entitled DC’s Harley Quinn Romances. The covers are excellent and most of the stories are worth reading, but that one left a foul taste in my mouth.

Grade: F

Grades

A+

Catwoman: One Bad Day #1

A

Action Comics #1051
Batgirls #14
Catwoman #51
DC Power: A Celebration #1
GCPD: The Blue Wall #4
Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton #1
Lazarus Planet: We Once Were Gods #1
The New Champion of SHAZAM! #4

B

Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #3
Batman #131
Batman Incorporated #4
Batman: Fortress #8
Batman: Legends of Gotham #1
Batman: Urban Legends #23
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #11
Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #3
Dark Knights of Steel #9
Detective Comics #1068
Harley Quinn #26
I Am Batman #17
Lazarus Planet: Alpha #1
Lazarus Planet: Legends Reborn #1
Monkey Prince #10
Nightwing #100
Poison Ivy #8
Punchline: The Gotham Game #4
The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #4
The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives #2
Tim Drake: Robin #5
WildC.A.T.s #3
Wonder Woman #795

C

Batman – One Bad Day: Bane #1
Black Adam #7
Danger Street #2
DC Horror Presents: Sgt. Rock vs. The Army of the Dead #5
Fables #157
Gotham City: Year One #4
Justice Society of America #3
Stargirl: The Lost Children #3
Sword of Azrael #6
The Flash #790-1
The Flash: One-Minute War Special #1

D

The Human Target #10-11

F

DC’s Harley Quinn Romances #1

Solicitation Situation

THE POWER OF SHAZAM! BOOK 2: THE WORM TURNS

  • Written by JERRY ORDWAY, ROGER STERN, RON MARZ, and PETER DAVID
  • Art by PETER KRAUSE, GIL KANE, CURT SWAN, and others
  • Cover by JERRY ORDWAY
  • $39.99 US | 424 pages | 6 5/8″ x 10 3/16″ | Softcover | ISBN: 978-1-77952-174-3
  • ON SALE 5/30/23

The adventures of the World’s Mightiest Mortal continue! Young Billy Batson, in his superhero guise as the adult Captain Marvel, uses the powers of Shazam to face challenges in Fawcett City, New York, Venus, and the far future. Through it all, a small but terrifying new danger is inching its way closer—and this threat wants to take over the world!
Collects The Power of Shazam! #13-23, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #4, Showcase ’96 #7, The Power of Shazam! Annual #1, Superboy Plus #1, and Supergirl Plus #1.

Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr fighting in midair while Mary Marvel tries to separate them.

The Jerry Ordway written and drawn Power of SHAZAM! series is an excellent read, and I’m glad the second volume of it is finally coming out. It was quietly canceled about a year ago, but now is back in solicits.

Next month brings two books I’ve been eagerly anticipating: Superman #1 by Josh Williamson and Jamal Campbell and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #12, featuring the very terrible first date between Robin and Supergirl! See you then!

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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.

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