By Todd Allen
DC has announced their December solicitations on their blog and, as usual, we have some creator changes and a metric ton of crossovers.
New creators:
- Fabian Nicieza is writing Nightwing
- Adrian Syaf is drawing Aquaman
- Savage Hawkman is now plotted by Rob Liefeld and scripted by Fabian Nicieza (Is that an X-Force flashback I feel coming on?) — this doesn’t necessarily mean Nicieza is taking over Hawkman, but I wouldn’t rule it out, either.
- Deathstroke is now written by Justin Jordan and drawn by Scott Clark
- Grifter is now written by Frank Tieri and drawn by Marat Mychaels and Dave Beatty
How crossover-heavy is the DC in December? Right around 50-50. 26 issues are definitely part of a crossover. 2 issues sure sound like they’re leading into one. 24 sound like they _probably_ aren’t… and I’ve pulled relevant parts of the solicitations when it sounds like something might be brewing, crossover/event-wise)
Crossovers (26 issues)
- Rise of the Third Army: Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Green Lantern: New Guardians, Red Lantern
- H’EL on Earth: Superman, Supergirl, Superboy
- Death of the Family: Batman, Detective Comics, Batman and Robin, Batgirl, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Nightwing, Suicide Squad, Teen Titans
- Black Diamond/Eclipso-related: Catwoman, Demon Knights, Team 7, All-Star Western
- Throne of Atlantis: Justice League, Aquaman
- Hawkman: Wanted: Hawkman
- Rotworld: Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Frankenstein, Ravengers (“Beast Boy deals with side effects from The Rot, and Caitlin asks Superboy the unthinkable!”)
I’m not sure what this is, but it sure sounds like the lead up to a crossover (2 issues)
- Firestorm: The Nuclear Men (“Don’t miss this issue’s shocking conclusion as the first hints of a disturbing new force in the DCU are seen!”)
- Phantom Stranger (“The future and past of The New 52 collide in this issue!”)
Probably not in a crossover (but… you never know — 24 issues)
- Action Comics (“Plus, in the backup feature: A crucial piece of information is revealed!” March towards Trinity War or just Superman-related?)
- Talon (“Plus, what is the mysterious organization that has ties to Talon?” Crossover or self-contained?)
- Batman, Incorporated
- Batman, The Dark Knight
- Batwoman
- Batwing
- Birds of Prey (“Meanwhile, something strange is happening to Black Canary, and Starling’s not sure what to do about it. Is this a hint of darker things to come?” Self-contained or Black Diamond/Eclipso foreshadowing?)
- Wonder Woman (“Massive changes are coming for Wonder Woman and the entire DC Universe!” New Gods hyperbole or crossover lead up?)
- The Flash
- DC Universe Presents
- Earth 2
- Worlds’ Finest
- Green Arrow
- Sword of Sorcery
- Justice League Dark
- Dial H
- I, Vampire
- GI Combat
- Grifter
- Deathstroke
- Stormwatch
- Blue Beetle
- Legion of Super-Heroes
- Legion Lost (“Superboy and The Ravagers guest-star!”)
I love Fabian Nicieza. Red Robin was my favorite DC book before the relaunch. When Bob Harris started bringing in his old buddies I was hoping Fabian would come in.
Are DC running out of creative people? They never seem to have any new faces… just ex-Marvel people from the ’90s or folks poached from Vertigo.
And what about DC pros like Dennis O’Neill, Steven Grant or Roger Stern or WildStormers like Adam Beecham, Adam Warren or Mike Costa? They used to write fun stuff. Where are these people now – and why not at DC?
DC don’t want authors, they want people who’ll write what they’re told to without complaint.
Chris Yost’s year on Red Robin before Nicieza was really good too (including a memorable portrayal of Ra’s al Ghul).
Maybe I missed it, but it sure seems like that book didn’t get the credit (or the sales) it deserved at the time.
(But then the same could be said for Miller’s Batgirl).
Just a thought – I wonder if there are efficiencies and advantages to giving one writer two books rather than two writers one book each.
Like with procedures and stuff. That’s one check per month you’re cutting, not two. One guy’s e-mail address to keep up with. One shipment of comp books. Stuff like that.
I’ve never written or drawn a comic, but I’m up for applying for a book. Anyone want to team up with me? It would be fun. If we apply now, at this rate, it’ll be our turn at it by next Feb or March.
It looks to me like Nicieza is taking over Batwing not Nightwing.
Oh, yay, crossovers! Not being able to follow Rotworld without Animal Man made me decide to drop Swamp Thing. What other no-longer-comprehensible-crossover-tie-in will be next, I wonder?
@Richard H: Justin Jordan is a “new face”.
And complaining about a lack of new faces, then complaining about a lack of old faces… is a bit of a mixed message. :)
@Richard H Adam Beechen is writing Batman Beyond. It’s one of those digital-first books. There are also a lot of different writers for Legends of the Dark Knight (also digital first). Those stories are eventually collected in print.
Frank Tieri is taking over Hawkman not Fabian Nicieza.
@ Jason Green. You don’t need to buy all of Animal Man if you only read Swamp Thing. You only need 2 issues (#12 and #17). Not all crossovers make it necessary to buy all issues. It just some people who are OCD about it.
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