After DC Comics announced a two-month break from its regular publishing schedule starting in January for FUTURE STATE, it wasn’t a huge leap to expect a new lineup in March. This past week. we got a look at what DC Comics would look like going forward.
Unlike the New 52, which completely reimagined the heroes and villains that were once very familiar, and the Rebirth event that brought everything back, the newly-announced “Infinite Frontier” that DC Comics will undergo is more of a soft reboot. Comic books get new directions from new creative teams. Some characters get set on wild new courses while others mostly stay the course.
Of course, it should come as no surprise that this new direction is pretty Bat-heavy, but there are some interesting nuggets for other heroes, including SUPERMAN.
The biggest change to look at in these solicits, I think, is the price point. While many of the announced books keep the $3.99 price point that’s become the standard minimum comic book price, DC Comics is experimenting here with bigger books – some with backup features following other characters – with higher price tags. Only time will tell how that works for the company’s bottom line. But if the higher prices scare you, the comics will be available on the new DC Universe Infinity app 6 months later.
Let’s go week by week with the new reveals.
March 2
Infinite Frontier 0 – $5.99
Batman 106 – $4.99
Crime Syndicate 1 – $3.99
Sensational Wonder Woman 1 – $3.99
Suicide Squad 1 – $3.99
The Swamp Thing 1 – $3.99
What an interesting first week to a new era. The Infinite Frontier special will set the course, in a 64-page anthology by pretty much everyone. I like that DC Comics isn’t even pretending that the new slate won’t be “grim and gritty” by kicking the first week off with a new Suicide Squad series, written by Robbie Thompson and a book focusing on the evil Crime Syndicate of Earth 3 by Andy Schmidt.
The new Squad book gives us a new team, led by Peacemaker (which will tie nicely into his HBO Max series) and has Amanda Waller trying to recruit Superboy. Superboy?!? But which one? I wouldn’t mind some more Kon-El, but I’ll assume they mean Jon Kent until I see proof otherwise.
March 9
Batman: Urban Legends 1 – $7.99
The Joker 1 – $4.99
Superman 29 – $4.99
Wonder Woman 770 – $4.99
Outside of yet another Batman anthology book to explore his family of characters, the Bat-line expands even more with a book about his biggest villain. After being completely oversaturated with Joker stuff the last few years, the character gets his own ongoing. While at first I was dismissive of the book, the synopsis – a ready-to-retire Jim Gordon tracks the Joker down after one final deplorable act – has me at least intrigued.
We also get new writers and new worlds to explore with Superman and Wonder Woman. Phillip Kennedy Johnson takes over Superman (and Action Comics) and opens with a two-parter between the two books that could set up another Death of Superman story.
Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad take over Wonder Woman and literally send her to Valhalla – and the Amazon has no idea what she’s doing there.
March 16
Superman: Red and Blue 1 – $5.99
Catwoman 29 – $3.99
The Flash 768 – $3.99
Justice League 59 – $4.99
Nightwing 78 – $3.99
Week 3 is probably the week I’m most excited about. Finally, a Superman anthology book! Wally West back with Barry Allen! Brian Bendis takes over Justice League! Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon teaming up in Nightwing! Pretty much everything here feels targeted directly to me as a reader, and I have a hard time believing I’ll be able to hold off on reading these stories for 6 months on DCUI.
March 23
Action Comics 1029 – $4.99
Detective Comics 1034 – $4.99
Harley Quinn 1 – $3.99
Teen Titans Academy 1 – $3.99
Batman/Superman 16 – $3.99
The final week of new content brings yet another new concept for the Teen Titans. The original idea of young sidekicks hanging out and learning and living is now a school setting, with the older Titans trying to shape the next generation of heroes. It’s an interesting idea, but I can’t see it having legs for very long and will likely be a DCUI read for me.
On the other hand, Mariko Tamaki taking over Detective Comics – the first woman to get the full-time writing gig – is definitely something I look forward to supporting. I’ve loved her work on Willow and WONDER WOMAN these last few months, and think she’ll do a great job on ‘Tec.
This, of course, doesn’t include the BLACK LABEL comics being released in March – which, again, are mostly Bat-related – or the young readers line of books – which may be down to just Scooby Doo at this point – but it’s still a very small list of new releases.
Nowhere to be found on this list is Supergirl (who keeps getting ignored despite having a successful TV show), Black Lightning (ditto), the Legion of Superheroes, Green Lantern, Black Canary and a host of other heroes who seem to have been sent off into limbo for way too long. We know a Green Lantern book is likely coming in April, but DC Comics has a lot of room to expand its offerings some.
What are you looking forward to? What will you be reading later on DCUI? Let us know in the comments!