By Todd Allen
Sometimes you get a fuller story when the solicitations are announced, and today would be one of those times. Let’s start out with another primary creative change: Dan Jurgens is taking over Firestorm:
THE FURY OF FIRESTORM, THE NUCLEAR MEN #13
Written by DAN JURGENS
Art by DAN JURGENS and RAY McCARTHY
Cover by DAN JURGENS and NORM RAPMUND
On sale OCTOBER 24 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T• Ronnie and Jason not only not only have to deal with a new twist to the Firestorm powers, but they also must face off against the murderous DataXen!
• New series writer/penciller Dan Jurgens blasts Firestorm in a whole new direction beginning this issue!
Also from the Justice League solicits, the announcement of a Green Arrow/Hawkman crossover. Looks like Freddie E. Williams II might be sticking around on Green Arrow:
GREEN ARROW #13
Written by ANN NOCENTI
Art by FREDDIE E. WILLIAMS II and ROB HUNTER
Cover by AARON LOPRESTI
On sale OCTOBER 3 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• Green Arrow in China battling zombie warriors!
• Side by side with the Chinese kung fu genius extraordinaire, Suzie Ming!
• Ollie comes home to find trouble in the sky over Seattle – trouble that will lead to the “HAWKMAN: WANTED” storyline starting next month in GREEN ARROW and THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN!
THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN #13
Plotted by ROB LIEFELD
Scripted by ROB LIEFELD and MARK POULTON
Art and cover by JOE BENNETT and ART THIBERT
On sale OCTOBER 24 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• “HAWKMAN: WANTED” begins here!
• The secrets of Hawkman’s past are coming to claim him in an adventure that will span the entire DC Universe before its shocking conclusion!
• Continues next month in both THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN and GREEN ARROW!
Please note that the Action Comics Annual is written by Sholly Fisch, not Grant Morrison
ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #1
Written by SHOLLY FISCH
Backup story written by MAX LANDIS
Art and cover by CULLY HAMNER
Backup story art by RYAN SOOK
On sale OCTOBER 31 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
• The secrets of the “missing five years” between when Clark Kent came to Metropolis and the present day continue to be revealed!
• In the wake of Brainiac’s attack on Metropolis, Superman faces his first Earth-born villain: the Kryptonite Man!
• Plus: A special backup story by the screenwriter of CHRONICLE, Max Landis!
Over in the Bat-section, we see that the Layman era of Detective Comics is still $3.99/40 pages, but no back-up is solicited. Double-sized stories?
DETECTIVE COMICS #13
Written by JOHN LAYMAN
Art and cover by JASON FABOK
Backup story art by SZYMON KUDRANSKI
1:25 B&W Variant cover by JASON FABOK
On sale OCTOBER 3 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
• All kneel before Emperor Penguin!
• There’s a hit out on Bruce Wayne!
• This new story from writer John Layman (Chew) gueststars Nightwing!
This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.
Adriana Melo is penciling Ann Nocenti’s first issue of Catwoman. Melo filled in on Catwoman #7 and #8, so it isn’t clear it this is another fill-in or she’s the new regular.
CATWOMAN #13
Written by ANN NOCENTI
Art by ADRIANA MELO and JULIO FERREIRA
Cover by ANDY CLARKE
On sale OCTOBER 17 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
• New series writer Ann Nocenti takes Catwoman deep under cover!
• Catwoman is the best thief in the world, but stealing another person is a new challenge!
• The true origin of Selina Kyle revealed!
Over in the Green Lantern division, it’s finally time for the “Rise of the Third Army” Event. Of course, 4 titles is a small Event by modern standards. We’ll see if the Green Lantern line can get a similar bounce to the Night of the Owls affair for the Bat-titles.
And finally, over in the “Edge” section, the war drums for the return of W.I.L.D.Cats keep pounding in Grifter and Deathstroke.
GRIFTER #13
Plotted by ROB LIEFELD
Scripted by ROB LIEFELD and FRANK TIERI
Art by SCOTT CLARK and DAVE BEATY
Cover by ROB LIEFELD
On sale OCTOBER 10 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• Grifter and Voodoo seek a super weapon in the fight against Helspont, but it turns out to be much more than they bargained for!
• The war against the Daemonites on Earth is heating up – and casualties are coming!
DEATHSTROKE #13
Written by ROB LIEFELD
Art and cover by ROB LIEFELD
On sale OCTOBER 10 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
• Deathstroke and Zealot learn the terrible fate of the planet Kheran and brace for the long-lasting repercussions it will have on the DC Universe.
For the first time since the New 52 began, I’m finally excited for my favorite hero, Firestorm.
“Backup story art by SZYMON KUDRANSKI”
This would indicate that there is a backup story in TEC 13.
So who wants to bet that Max Landis is writing a backup that chronicles Superman dying in some way….
Who/what is Sholly Fisch?
Sholly Fisch has been around for a long while, mostly writing one-shots and all-ages books:
http://comicbookdb.com/creator.php?ID=2540
The most shocking thing I saw was Tony Daniel doing a two-part story in Justice League. Looks like the guy (inexplicably) hasn’t been demoted just yet.
Sholly Fisch, Cullen Bunn, Sterling Gates…
These cant be real peoples real names. Not possible.
Hoping it’s not too late to save Firestorm…can ANYONE explain why out of Hawk And Dove and Firestorm at the end of Brightest Day they tossed out all the Firestorm stuff and kept the Hawk And Dove stuff? :(
Hamner and Sook on the Action Annual?!?
YES PLEASE!! :)
Jurgens on Firestorm??…. Will we get the writer from Booster Gold (great!) or JLI (shockingly bad!). Loved Firestorm in Brightest Day – but this series has been craptacular! So who knows??
Go, Sholly! We’ve been friends for years, and I even got to edit him on the one Ghostbusters novel he wrote that was published a lifetime ago by ibooks, inc. An extremely talented writer, and deserving of the recognition. I don’t follow the Superman titles, but I’ll definitely pick up the Action Comics annual.
Oh, and for all those wondering about his name/background, here’s part of his bio from the Proctor & Gamble Web site (he’s a Board Member):
“Shalom (Sholly) Fisch is president and founder of MediaKidz Research & Consulting, a consulting firm that provides educational content development, hands-on testing, and writing for children’s media companies, such as Thirteen/WNET, DC Comics, and Sea World/Busch Gardens, among others. Prior to founding MediaKidz in the summer of 2001, Dr. Fisch was vice president for program research at Sesame Workshop, producers of Sesame Street and other educational media… In the academic realm, he has been an adjunct professor at Fordham University and New York University, where he received a Ph.D. in experimental/developmental psychology. Rounding out the picture, Dr. Fisch has also maintained an active sideline as a freelance writer since 1984, with most of his credits consisting of comic book stories for Marvel and DC Comics.”
On the other hand, he also wrote for Epic’s Hellraiser comic, so not everything he does is for kids…
Not to be THAT guy, but it’s WildC.A.T.S not W.I.L.D.Cats.
The CATS was for something like Covert Action Teams.
Sorry for the extreme nerd moment. My OCD kicked into overdrive for some reason.
It could be
Wickedly Insane Lethargic Demon Cats . . . plotting to destroy the world, hmmmm…maybe next week?
Freddie Williams on Green Arrow? Way to kill the book, DC!
@ Nikoli – you beat me to it!
Talking of the Cats, DC have really ruined the WildStorm characters. Surprising too, since Jim Lee created a lot of them and is now Co-Publisher. Does he not care about his creations? Does he think Rob Liefeld’s crap version of Grifter is an improvement on his own ideas for the character??