Pre-Previews:
DC’s October Solicits

Hey all! The DC October solicitations were released today, so let’s take a look at a few of the books coming out in a few months:

Blackest Night- I have no idea. I’m trying to avoid all possible spoilers for this crossover, because it’s the only thing I’ve been really excited about in comics in quite a long time (which might help explain my recent sabbatical from Doomkopf). Superman, Batman and the Titans all have their own mini-series, written by James Robinson, Peter J. Tomasi and J.T. Krul, respectively. I’ve been nothing but impressed by Tomasi’s work on Green Lantern Corps and Nightwing, so I’ll definitely be reading the Batman mini. James Robinson’s work is unfamiliar to me (more on him later), although he’s got a reputation as a decent writer. I’ve never heard of this Krul guy though. Wikipedia tells me he wrote Fathom and Soulfire, and we here at Doomkopf are huge fans of anything Michael Turner’s done. Man, sarcasm just doesn’t come off right written down.

Final Crisis- How is this garbage still going on in October? Is there anyone out there that cares how the Human Flame, Tattooed Man, and the Super Young Team are dealing with the fallout of the lamest Crisis of them all? No, there isn’t.

Batman Family- Good news, everybody! Azrael’s got a new series! Plus Judd Winick’s leaving Batman so Tony Daniel can make that series as unreadable as Battle for the Cowl was. Yippee!

Superman Family- It’s Red Robin guest star month as he teams up with Superboy in Adventure Comics and Nightwing (the lame one) in World’s Finest. I can only assume the latter title is ironically named. As has been the norm for the past several months, Superman still isn’t appearing in any of his comics. At least we can look forward to Secret Origin, though.

Justice League- There’s a new creative team this month, as well as a new JLA team. James Robinson is taking over the writing reins, and the art duties fall to one of my all-time faves, Mark Bagley. Bagley’s name alone is enough to get me to pick this up, which is good because Robinson is a mixed bag. He wrote the first One Year Later Batman arc which I enjoyed, but then again he wrote the Heroes Reborn/Wildstorm crossover from the mid-nineties. His team seems to include Vixen, Red Tornado, John Stewart, Zatanna and Plastic Man. I really hope that’s not true.

Astro City- In which I think might be a first, DC has decided to “retro-solicit” the first issue of the Astra Special for September, in addition to regular soliciting the second issue for October. That’s good news for a book that’s never been able to keep up with its solicited ship dates. And for Astro City fans in general.

Planetary- Holy crap! The long-awaited 27th and final issue of Planetary is finally on its way! I haven’t read this series for a good three or four years, and I honestly couldn’t remember the artist (the superb John Cassaday; sorry John!), but I remember being blown away when I first read it. Planetary is easily the best thing Warren Ellis has ever done. If you’ve never given it a try, do yourself a favor and pick up the first trade now so you’ll have time to catch up before October.

The Unwritten- It’s been a very, very long time since a Vertigo series hooked me, but Mike Carey’s the Unwritten has managed to do it. Actually, this may be the first time I’ve ever read a Vertigo series in issue form instead of trade.