DC Comics September 2020 Solicitations

[lordultimus]

source: CBR.com

DETECTIVE COMICS #1027
written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, KELLY SUE DeCONNICK, MATT FRACTION, TOM KING, GRANT MORRISON, GREG RUCKA, SCOTT SNYDER, MARIKO TAMAKI, PETER J. TOMASI, JAMES TYNION IV, MARV WOLFMAN, and others
art by CHRIS BURNHAM, JAMAL CAMPBELL, JOSÉ LUIS GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, EMANUELA LUPACCHINO, DAVID MARQUEZ, DAN MORA, IVAN REIS, EDUARDO RISSO, JOHN ROMITA JR., RILEY ROSSMO, BILL SIENKIEWICZ, WALTER SIMONSON, BRAD WALKER, CHIP ZDARSKY, and others
wraparound cover by ANDY KUBERT
BATMAN FRIENDS AND FOES VARIANT COVERS
Batman and Nightwing variant cover by LEE BERMEJO
Batman and Batgirl variant cover by J. SCOTT CAMPBELL
Batman and Batwoman variant cover by STANLEY "ARTGERM" LAU
Batman and Robin variant cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
Batman and Superman variant cover by TBD
Batman and Bane variant cover by JIM CHEUNG
Batman and Harley Quinn variant cover by OLIVIER COIPEL
Batman and Scarecrow variant cover by GABRIELE DELL'OTTO
Batman and Catwoman variant cover by ADAM HUGHES
Batman and The Joker variant cover by MARC SILVESTRI
blank variant cover
ON SALE 09/15/20
$9.99 US | 144 PAGES | FC | DC
Light the Bat-Signal, because Detective Comics #1027 is here! In honor of Batman’s first appearance in Detective Comics #27, this special, book-size celebration brings you the biggest names in comics as they chronicle the most epic Batman adventures Gotham City and the DC Universe have ever seen! The World’s Greatest Detective has a mountain of cases to crack: Who murdered Gotham’s most corrupt police officer? What does The Joker’s annual visit mean for Bruce Wayne? And most importantly, what WayneTech mystery will sow the seeds of the next epic Batman event? All this and more await you within the pages of the biggest Batman issue of them all!



BATMAN: THREE JOKERS #2
written by GEOFF JOHNS
art and cover by JASON FABOK
variant cover by JASON FABOK
1:25 variant cover by TBD
1:50 variant cover by TBD
PRESTIGE FORMAT | ON SALE 09/29/20
$6.99 US | 48 PAGES | 2 of 3 | FC | DC
DC BLACK LABEL | AGES 17+
As Batman and Batgirl follow an unexpected thread linking the three Jokers with someone from the Dark Knight’s past, Red Hood dives headfirst into trouble and finds himself struggling to stay afloat without the aid of his allies.
Batman: Three Jokers continues its trajectory as the ultimate examination of The Joker and his never-ending conflict with Batman. Prepare yourselves for the second chapter of one of the most terrifying and personal mysteries Batman has ever faced!



DARK NIGHTS: DEATH METAL TRINITY CRISIS #1
written by SCOTT SNYDER
art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
variant cover by KYLE HOTZ
ONE-SHOT | ON SALE 09/08/20
CARD STOCK COVERS
$5.99 US | 48 PAGES | FC | DC
With Superman freed from his New Apokolips prison, the classic Trinity lineup is reunited and ready to rock! Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman amp up their power to launch an assault on Castle Bat, and that’s just the warm-up act! Three walking nightmares are hidden deep inside the fortress—but these Dark Multiverse versions of the Anti-Monitor, Superboy Prime, and Darkseid hold the key to humanity’s survival. The Justice League have to face down their old nemeses, but will round two be the end for our heroes?



DARK NIGHTS: DEATH METAL SPEED METAL #1
written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
art by EDDY BARROWS and EBER FERREIRA
cover by HOWARD PORTER
variant cover by PEACH MOMOKO
ONE-SHOT | ON SALE 09/22/20
CARD STOCK COVERS
$5.99 US | 48 PAGES | FC | DC
It’s the drag race from hell in this one-shot tie-in to Dark Nights: Death Metal! Taking place after the events of Dark Nights: Death Metal #3, the Darkest Knight is after Wally West and his Dr. Manhattan powers. Thankfully, Wally has backup in the form of Barry Allen, Jay Garrick, and Wallace West! It’s a knockdown, drag-out race through the Wastelands as the Flash Family tries to stay steps ahead of the Darkest Knight and his Lightning Knights!



DARK NIGHTS: DEATH METAL MULTIVERSE’S END #1
written by JAMES TYNION IV
art by JUAN GEDEON
cover by MICHAEL GOLDEN
variant cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
ONE-SHOT | ON SALE 09/29/20
CARD STOCK COVERS
$5.99 US | 48 PAGES | FC | DC
Perpetua, mother of all existence, has culled all life and creation in the Multiverse, condensing all beings to one planet: Earth-Prime. In her quest for power and dominance, she rules absolutely and in totality, using her children—the Monitors and Anti-Monitors—as her heralds and destructors. But a group of heroes has banded together across multiple worlds in a last-ditch effort to stop her from destroying all of existence: Owlman, President Superman, Iris West, Captain Carrot, Guy Gardner, and others have chosen to make their final stand in a battle they’re destined to lose!



JUSTICE LEAGUE #53
written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
art by XERMANICO
cover by LIAM SHARP
variant cover by BEN OLIVER
ON SALE 09/15/20
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | FC | DC
“Doom Metal” part one of five—the Dark Nights: Death Metal tie-in that will directly impact the finale of that event! Nightwing’s on a mission to free the Legion of Doom from Perpetua’s clutches. But to do so, he’ll need the help of none other than…Lex Luthor?! The surprises are only just beginning, as Nightwing, Lex, and a new Justice League must fight their way through an Earth twisted by the Dark Multiverse. Titans will be tested, hearts will be broken, and blood will be spilled!



VICTOR AND NORA: A GOTHAM LOVE STORY TP
written by LAUREN MYRACLE
art and cover by ISAAC GOODHART
ON SALE 11/03/20
$16.99 US | 200 PAGES | 6" x 9" | FC | DC
DC GRAPHIC NOVELS FOR YOUNG ADULTS
ISBN: 978-1-4012-9639-1
New York Times bestselling author Lauren Myracle (ttyl, ttfn) and artist Isaac Goodhart (Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale) reunite in this gorgeous young adult story about living life to the fullest, and how far one will go for love.
Seventeen-year-old Victor Fries has a cold heart. After his brother died in a tragic house fire for which Victor feels responsible, his parents have isolated themselves, and Victor has dedicated his whole life to one thing: science.
Nora Faria is full of life. She is suffering from an incurable illness that will slowly consume her, so she’s decided to live her last days to the fullest at her summer home outside of Gotham City until her birthday. On that day, she plans to take her own life.
When Victor and Nora happen to meet at the cemetery outside of town, they are astonished to find the connection they have each been missing in their lives. Their summer quickly spirals into a beautiful romance, and Victor’s cold heart begins to thaw, allowing him to enjoy life just a little more. But when Victor learns of Nora’s illness, he’s driven to try to find a solution to keep from losing another person he loves...by any means necessary.
Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story is a tragic tale about living life to the fullest and what it truly means to love...and to let go.



ACTION COMICS #1025
written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
art and cover by JOHN ROMITA JR. and KLAUS JANSON
variant cover by LUCIO PARRILLO
ON SALE 09/22/20
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | FC | DC
Welcome to the House of Kent! Superman’s truth is out there—and now it’s time to rewrite the rules! The invisible mafia has taken advantage of the chaos that’s descended on Metropolis, so the House of Kent is going to talk to them in a language they’ll understand. It’s a new adventure featuring Superman like you’ve never seen him—or them—before, in a story guest-starring Supergirl and two—yes, two!—Superboys!



BATMAN/SUPERMAN ANNUAL #1
written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
art by DALE EAGLESHAM, CLAYTON CRAIN, and GLEB MELNIKOV
cover by GABRIEL RODRIGUEZ
ON SALE 09/29/20
$4.99 US | 48 PAGES | FC | DC
On a dark and stormy night in the fifth dimension, two mortal foes meet to settle an age-old question once and for all: In a fight between Batman and Superman, who would win? The combatants? Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite. And in this battle for the ages, you will find out if a fifth-dimensional imp can bleed. It’s all in this, the ultimate slugfest between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel—plus a whole lot of magic!



THE GREEN LANTERN SEASON TWO #7
written by GRANT MORRISON
art and cover by LIAM SHARP
variant cover by HOWARD PORTER
ON SALE 09/08/20
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 7 of 12 | FC | DC
This issue catches you up on everything you need to know and tees up Green Lantern Hal Jordan’s ultimate battle ahead!
In the lethal aftermath of the war with the Anti-Matter Lanterns, Hal finds himself in a bizarre afterlife facing the judgment of the Young Guardians. Nothing will ever be the same again as the truth about the coming Ultrawar and the Cosmic Grail is finally revealed. Hal must gird himself to face death and rebirth to save the universe…one more time.



HAWKMAN #27
written by ROBERT VENDITTI
art by FERNANDO PASARIN and OCLAIR ALBERT
cover by MIKEL JANÍN
variant cover by SEBASTIAN FIUMARA
ON SALE 09/08/20
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | FC | DC
Hawks reborn! Hawkman and Hawkwoman receive the precious gift of life one last time and return to the past where they were happiest—back with the Justice Society of America! But nostalgia’s not all it’s cracked up to be with the Injustice Society on the loose! And who’s the mysterious figure plotting to cut Hawkman’s final life short from the shadows?



LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #9
written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
art by ARTHUR ADAMS, BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, JIM CHEUNG, NICK DERINGTON,
MICHEL FIFFE, GARY FRANK, JENNY FRISON, MITCH GERADS, MIKE GRELL, JAMES HARREN, TULA LOTAY, EMANUELA LUPACCHINO, DAVID MARQUEZ, KEVIN NOWLAN, JOE QUINONES, IVAN REIS, JOHN ROMITA JR., RILEY ROSSMO, NICOLA SCOTT, RYAN SOOK, GENE LUEN YANG and others
cover by RYAN SOOK
variant cover by ANDRE ARAUJO
ON SALE 09/29/20
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | FC | DC
Continuing a very special two-part comics storytelling event! The United Planets have found the Legion of Super-Heroes guilty of crimes against the galaxy, and it’s up to our young heroes to prove their innocence! Featuring an all-star cast of artists, this issue will feature a surprise 1,000 years in the making! Long live the Legion!



SHAZAM! #15
written by JEFF LOVENESS
art and cover by BRANDON PETERSON
variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
ON SALE 09/22/20
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | FC | DC
FINAL ISSUE
After a night battling robots across the globe, Billy Batson finds out not everyone loves 
superheroes when one of his teachers unleashes a lecture on the ethics of unchecked power and privilege. It’ll take more than just the wisdom of Solomon for the teen hero to figure this one out.

Comments

[zachbeacon]

Not gonna lie, Detective 1027 looks more impressive than 1000. I wonder what the variants will look like.

Speaking of variants ... kinda overdoing it on the LoSH, aren't they? Also, that Triplicate Girl design is hideous.

[shakalooloo]

Those aren't Legion variant covers; the cover is a collection of tesselated smaller images.

[icon_uk]

I appreciate that artists have said that Triplicate Girl's power to turn from one ordinary girl into three ordinary girls who look identical is not exactly cosmic levels of exciting, but having them look different renders it even less useful as a power far as I can see (Previous Triplicate Girls/Triad's have been on the Episonage Squad for a reason)

I mean, the cartoon had the same problem, but at least they did it with STYLE!

[crinos]

I read the fanfic Legion of Lawndale heroes back in the day (Which is a crossover fic where the kids from Daria get the powers of the Legion, its better than it sounds although I have some problems with it). There Sandi gets the power of triplicate girl.

They try to make her triplicate power a bit more impressive by saying that having three bodies in one person effectively triples her strength and endurance, and splitting doesn't divide that strength, so you have three girls who are much stronger and tougher than they look (Add to it the Daria kids hire an actual military guy to train them in combat and stuff and she carries a sidearm).

[zachbeacon]

I see the pros and cons of putting them in different costumes (or giving them different hair colors). Its a good thing that their teammates can tell them apart. Its a bad thing that their enemies can. It could go either way for the readers.

(It isn't surprising how Bendis feels, given his use of the Stepford Cuckoos)

I just think the actual costume they gave her is awful.

[icon_uk]

Oh yeah, objectively that/those costume(s) is/are hideous.

[zachbeacon]

I especially "love" the mask. They could be ANY set of three identical women with rainbow hair.

[deh_tommy]

I actually kind of like the costume...

[bruinsfan]

Dawnstar, Saturn Girl, and the White Witch are the only ones whose new costumes I'm really sold on. Though I am glad to see Mon-El retained his signature puffy sleeves.

[zachbeacon]

Really anything would be an improvement on Dawnstar's classic look.

[silicondream]

I think Triad just had the right amount of visual individuality in the reboot--different eye colors, different icon colors on their costumes, otherwise identical. Similar enough for espionage but easy for the readers to tell apart.

As for the power itself, I think they've never really exploited its potential in terms of sheer sensory and psychological weirdness...what could actually be possible for a human with three brains, three pairs of eyes and ears, etc? She should be a genius at physical and mental triangulation...

[matrix_dragon]

The multiverse has been killed off AGAIN?

[zachbeacon]

Eh, give it a month and one of the more popular universes will show up again.Probably either the one with the JSA or the one with the Crime Syndicate.

[matrix_dragon]

The Kents may or may not be dead again.

[zachbeacon]

They are Schrödinger's Farmers; neither dead nor alive until you check on them.

[silicondream]

They need to learn from the Waynes. Always dead, except in flashbacks. And if they're not dead it's clue #1 that you're in a dark alternate universe.

[zachbeacon]

I prefer the Kents alive.

[icon_uk]

There'll be another one along in a minute.

[crinos]

Not only that, apparently they are ripping off that Marvel story where the universe was destroyed and Dr. Doom remade it in his own image, with everyone separated into different sub dimensions.

Also: ENOUGH WITH THE GODDAMN CRISES DC. Goddamn can we go five minutes without the multiverse falling apart? Let the dust settle a bit.

[matrix_dragon]

Continuity is just a broken thing with DC. Everything we know died horribly or was just plain undone via time travel nonsense. It makes it hard to care. We used to know the general shape of the setting, but now it's all up in the air at all times, and claiming the stakes are everything every single time just makes it boring.

[crinos]

I'm gonna come out and say it. I think the original crisis of infinite earth's was a mistake.

I hate the idea that you HAVE to destroy all these worlds and people and stuff just to "Simplify" the setting. Because you don't need to do that. You know how you make the setting more simple?

Editor: Okay, new company policy, for the time being we're gonna focus on Earth 1 only. Nothing else, you can maybe mention other earths in passing but we wanna keep the focus on the main earth, that okay with everyone? Good.

See? Is that hard? Is that difficult. These worlds, these characters, they are fictional constructs. They're not gonna spoil or go feral if you don't do anything with them. You can set them and forget them.

But know, they did crisis, and it was a big hit, and it also cemented the idea that if you want to start over with things in comics you have to destroy what came before. Which is a bad policy.

I mean we saw it when Wanda Wiped out most of the mutants. Was that really needed? Was that necessary? There are too many mutants? Well just don't focus on most of the mutants, focus on the ones you want to focus on (Also, if you want to sell the whole "Mutants are an oppressed minority" in the Marvel Universe you kind of need to have a large enough group of mutants for them to be a demographic, to have their own subculture, which aside from Grant Morrison and the current crap with Krakoa you've never really done, but that's a rant for another time).

And now DC"s go to answer for anything is crisis after crisis, just blow up the multiverse again because sales are lagging and we don't actually know what to do. Its like all they have as a hammer, and their solution to try and improve sales in the china shop the own is to smash all the plates and teapots.

DC I am begging, BEGGING, ON MY KNEES. No more fucking crises. How about you actually tell a story with the characters you have, instead of getting bored and throwing them away every five minutes?

[deh_tommy]

“No More Mutants” is annoying to me because the event made that very clear Mutants were depowered... and in classic X-style they turned that into everyone dying horribly (like that guy who died because he suddenly couldn’t sustain his really long neck, even though his really long neck WAS his mutation so he should have just gotten a regular sized neck instead).

[crinos]

Not to mention that entire buss of depowered kids that Stryker blew up. I mean I was reading through that particular X Book and kind of getting into all the different teams of mutant kids, and how they interacted and what was going on behind the scenes with the one kids dad, but OOPS, SCRAP ALL THAT, NO MORE MUTANTS WANDA SAID IT. PUT ALL THE KIDS ON THE BUS. BLOW UP THE BUS.

I haven't seen a removal of characters that lazy since they shipped half the Power ranger team off to a "peace conference".

And of course there were all those reports of non powered mutants being murdered by anti mutant bigots now that they were defenseless, so yeah way to go Wanda, you really made the world a better place there. I mean I think its a bad idea for them to be brainwashing kids to hate you on krakoa on general principle, but you didn't exactly do the mutant race any favors there by including them in on your daddy issues.

[bruinsfan]

I'd love to see someone like Sage do a calculation of the mortality rate among depowered former mutants compared to their projected mortality rate if they'd retained their mutations. Because it seems like every decade or so someone would come up with a genocidal event that killed off the vast majority of known mutants.

[repto]

Completely agree with this. I'm a big D&D nerd, and every time they put out a new edition there are many rule changes. So sometimes characters and monsters change quite a bit because the underlying rules have changed. Then they have an event in their main setting (Forgotten Realms) to explain the rule changes -- this god is fighting with that god and did something with the ultimate nullifier that changed the rules of magic and this is why first level wizards can only memorize three spells at a time instead of two and oh my god just stop. I think Marvel handled this pretty well up until the last couple of decades -- don't like a particular story or character? Okay! Just ignore them! Continuity doesn't have to be so rigid, let it be a little bit fluid!

[scorntx]

Fluid is one thing, but DC's continuity at the moment seems more like soup.

[silverhammerman]

What gets me about the riff is that Secret Wars is built around Doctor Doom, one of the greatest supervillains of all, achieving godhood, his greatest longterm goal, and dealing with the hubris that's core to the character. Death Metal is built around The Batman Who Laughs, a character who repels the very idea of interiority or characterization and whom everyone got sick of six months after his debut.

[deh_tommy]

Secret Wars was also a big celebration of MARVEL’s stories and history (the only “cleaning house” so to speak being the supposed end of the Ultimate universe), whereas DC’s approach is usually to make nothing else matter but the present until the past suddenly matters again (that’s mostly why I didn’t really appreciate Rebirth as much as everyone else did and why I get so frustrated reading Wonder Woman).

That said, I’m actually kind of hyped for Death Metal.

[crinos]

Also I love the Mr. Freeze YA novel ideal. Its basically like "The fault in our Stars" only it ends with one of them becoming a super villain.

[silverhammerman]

I was also going to comment to say that I love that. The concept seems much more legible to me than some of the other graphic novels they've done, and the potential of having superhero comics strangeness intruding on or at least hanging over a conventional teen romance story is really fun.

[scorntx]

Is it naïve to hope the Dark Knights Flash tie-in will undo Wally's Manhattaning and bring him back to being regular Wally?
(Also, yay, Jay!)

And another version of Superboy-Prime... combined with the word "Crisis"...
How odd, to suddenly break out in hives at that combination...
(Mind, it's a version of SBP not written by Geoff Johns, so there might be a sliver of hope there maybe?)

Not big on the Yet More Multiversal Destruction idea, but it is nice that Dark Knights is just going fully bonkers.

Shame Shazam's ending, and so soon after Johns is off it. Guess it's back to limbo for Billy and the gang.

And Williamson off Flash? Hmm. His run was solidly okay, though since Flash War... hrrn...

[jlbarnett]

Shazam is ending? That's a surprise

[crinos]

Yeah and a shame too, since I started reading it on DC Universe.

Its a sequel to the B story that was running in Justice League, but if you haven't seen that all you really need is to watch the Shazam movie, and that will get you up to speed (And the series kind of serves as a continuation of that movie, with everyone exploring the realms of magic Mr. Mind mentioned at the end of the movie, and the troubles they run into there).

[deathcrist2000]

So it looks like Grant's just going all in with the silent DeMatteis influence come September.

[zachbeacon]

I'm fine with that. DeMatteis is one of the few writers who could make me tolerate Hal anyway.

Seems like it would be cheaper to just hire DeMatteis though.

[bruinsfan]

It would probably involve a lot less bloviating over how visionary and unique the storyline is, too.

[zachbeacon]

The biggest downside is that most of it will never get collected and the parts that do will take decades.

[silverhammerman]

That trio of Death Metal tie-ins really runs the gamut from interesting to execrable. Speed Metal, carrying on the utterly unfathomable Wally-West-as-Doctor-Manhattan thread, looks like the worst of them, but I wouldn't be surprised if Multiverse's End was also terrible. Considering that the last time Multiversity got touched on DC killed off Red Racer (despite the literal point of that character being that he subverted expectations of speedster and gay characters being killed off) I would be completely unsurprised if this book constituted yet another writer missing the point of Multiversity.

I love that Green Lantern looks to be possibly exploring the Spectre stuff. I keep holding back on that series and I guess maybe I'm waiting for it to end before I dive in.

Tragic that Shazam gets cancelled as soon as somebody other than Geoff Johns starts writing it.

[deathcrist2000]

To be fair, the actual last time Multiversity got touched on was when Grant did a riff on Don Quixote. That said, Red Racer was what killed Tomasi for me.

[thezmage]

It’s a little hard to care about which villain gets Doctor Manhattan’s powers

[scorntx]

Even Condiment King?

[deh_tommy]

You jest, but I honestly wouldn’t put that past Scott Snyder at this point.

[scorntx]

You don't think he could cut the mustard?

[deh_tommy]

No, I’m saying he very well would cut the mustard and mayobe more, and that that will be glorious.

[zachbeacon]

You're really relishing the food puns.

[scorntx]

Savouring them, maybe...