I rant about the DC October solicitations

Yes, I know there are a load of other bloggers out there that mock the comic companies output. But they are not me. I have been meaning to do this for a while, and since the solicits are up now over at CBR, there is no time like the present.

CAPTAIN CARROT AND THE FINAL ARK #1
Written by Bill Morrison
Art by Scott Shaw! & Al Gordon
Cover by Shaw! & Morrison

The Zoo Crew is back in a 3-issue COUNTDOWN tie-in miniseries! Captain Carrot reunites the team to face a threat that begins at the "Sandy Eggo Comic-Con" and quickly menaces the entire world ! The gang's all here: Fastback, Pig-Iron, Yankee Poodle, American Eagle, Alley-Kat-Abra, and the Captain himself, taking on the Salamandroid!
On sale October 10 o 1 of 3 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

• I am torn about this. I was a big fan of Captain Carrot as a young-in. And while I appreciate the Captain Carrot 'book within the book" that was in Teen Titans a while back as a form of parody, I don't know if I'd really like it as canon, as I heard that it is.

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #1
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Koi Turnbull & Art Thibert
Cover by Turnbull
Variant Cover by Ryan Sook
Tony Bedard (BIRDS OF PREY, COUNTDOWN) and Koi Turnbull (Fathom) launch a bold new direction for the DCU's misfit heroes! The rules have changed all over the DC Universe - but for the Outsiders, they're still just things that were made to be broken!
It's a fresh game of dirty pool for the Outsiders as the Dark Knight sends his new team to the frontlines of a massive assault on metahumans. Batman and the Outsiders must fight even dirtier than their enemies...and risk becoming the supervillains they despise!
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers that may be ordered separately. For every 10 copies of the Standard Edition (featuring a cover by Koi Turnbull) ordered, retailers may order 1 Variant Edition (featuring a cover by Ryan Sook). Please see the Order Form for more details.
On sale October 17 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

• The Outsiders are back! Boo! Batman's with them! Eh. Judd Winick's not writing it! YAY!

GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY #1
Written by Judd Winick
Art and cover by Cliff Chiang
Variant cover by Chiang
The new Green Arrow/Black Canary team investigates the shocking results of the Wedding of the Century in an all-new adventure that brings the Star City-crossed
lovers together!
Retailers please note: Issue#1 will ship with two covers that may be ordered separately. For every 10 copies of the Standard Edition (featuring a cover by Cliff Chiang) ordered, retailers may order 1 Variant Edition (also featuring a cover by Chiang). Please see the Order Form for more details.
On sale October 10 o 40 pg, FC, $3.50 US

• Green Arrow and Black Canary are in a series together! YAY! The Green Arrow is Connor, not Ollie! WTF!?! Winick is writing! BOO! (I hope that the 'shocking results" isn't the death of Ollie. They should have learned their lesson)

DEATH OF THE NEW GODS #1-2
Written by Jim Starlin
Art and covers by Starlin & Matt Banning
Variant cover issue #1 by Ryan Sook
The title says it all! For months now readers have witnessed the unimaginable and unthinkable as New Gods across the DCU have seemingly died, with Lightray's death in COUNTDOWN the biggest of them all. Now, the carnage continues but the mystery and adventure is just beginning! Jim Starlin - master of the cosmic odyssey - writes and illustrates this epic tale of death and destruction on a scale never seen before. With a cast of hundreds and cameos by the entire DCU, this intergalactic 8-part series cannot be missed!
Retailers please note: Issue #1 will ship with two covers that may be ordered separately. For every 10 copies of the Standard Edition (featuring a cover by Jim Starlin & Matt Banning) ordered, retailers may order 1 Variant Edition (featuring a cover by Ryan Sook). Please see the Order Form for more details.
Issue #1 on sale October 17; issue #2 on sale October 31 o 1 and 2 of 8 o 40 pg,
FC, $3.50 US 

• A) Not that I was a big fan of them, but do the New Gods really have to die? B) I don't think I am a fan of these "two issue a month" miniseries that DC has been doing. Do you know what that means? Less DC miniseries bought by Bill. C) There is no letter C, D) Love that Starlin, who has killed off the Jason Todd Robin and Marvel's Captain Marvel, is killing off the New Gods. Does this mean that they will eventually return in 20 years as part of a company wide crossover?

BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #10
Written by Michael Green
Art and cover by Denys Cowan & John Floyd

This is where it happens: the birth of the Joker! Discover exactly what Batman's involvement was in the creation of unfettered evil!
On sale October 10 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

• Quietly, while we were all asleep, DC has gone in and revamped the Joker's origin. Because the work Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson and Alan Moore did on it apparently just wasn't good enough. Obviously, a man who wrote two episodes of Heroes and a handful of Smallvilles is a much better choice.

ROBIN #167
Written by Brandon Thomas
Art by Freddie E. Williams II
Cover by Patrick Gleason & Wayne Faucher

Find out why they call Robin the "Boy Wonder" in this story guest-written by Brandon Thomas (Spider-Man Unlimited)! Something is very wrong with Tim Drake. What has pushed him dangerously close to the edge, and more important, will Batman ever be able to bring him back?
On sale October 24 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

• Is "Spider-Man Unlimited" really all that good a resume item that you have to list it in the solicitations? It was a book that Marvel cancelled and people didn't even realize it until months later. I loved the book and the idea behind it, but even I don't remember what Brandon Thomas did on it.

ACTION COMICS #858
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Gary Frank & Jonathan Sibal
Cover by Frank

Welcome superstar Gary Frank as he kicks off his run as the new monthly artist on ACTION COMICS with the extra-length first chapter of "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes"! Spinning from "The Lightning Saga," the original Legion of Super-Heroes returns! When he was a boy, Clark Kent was isolated and alone until he met this teen team from the 31st Century. Today, it's been years since Superman saw his childhood friends. Why haven't they returned to visit him? What's become of the symbol of Superman in the future? And just why is the future so dangerous for Superman? They warned him away, but now he's determined to help his friends - even if it means his life!
On sale October 31 o 40 pg, FC, $3.50 US

• Place your bets! Place your bets! Gary Frank on Action! The over/under is 8 issues! 8! Place your bets!

AQUAMAN: SWORD OF ATLANTIS #57
Written by Tad Williams
Art by Shawn McManus
Cover by Kevin Maguire

Young Arthur must accept the role that destiny has cast him in?and accept his place as the new Aquaman!
On sale October 17 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US o FINAL ISSUE

• Another book is lost from Bill's pull list. Another book where the OYL revamp wasn't a success. I mean, I liked it, but it was hard to get into.

THE ALL-NEW ATOM #16
Written by Roger Stern
Art by Mike Norton & Trevor Scott
Cover by Ladrönn

The mysteries of Ivy Town deepen as it appears Ray Palmer may have been more responsible for the bad than the good?and the new Atom is further disillusioned by his former mentor. Featuring guest writer Roger Stern (THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN)!
On sale October 3 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

• Hey, DC? Can we stop it with the character assassination with your heroes? Okay? (But Roger Stern on a Atom comic book is a very, very good thing!)

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #10
Written by Geoff Johns & Alex Ross
Art by Dale Eaglesham & Ruy Jose
Cover by Alex Ross
Variant cover by Eaglesham & Jose

Alex Ross joins Geoff Johns as co-writer for Part 1 of "Thy Kingdom Come," the epic story years in the making, springing from KINGDOM COME! Not a hoax! Not a dream! Not an imaginary story! Welcome the newest member to the Justice Society of America: the Kingdom Come Superman!
Coming from an Earth plagued by heroes-gone-extreme, how will this Superman react to an incarnation of the Justice Society he never knew? This Superman's world needed better heroes.
So does ours.
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers that may be ordered sparately. For every 10 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Alex Ross), retailers may order 1 copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Dale Eaglesham & Ruy Jose). For more information, please see the Previews Order Form.
On sale October 3 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

• Mark Waid had his sequel to Kingdom Come with the Kingdom. So, I guess this is Alex Ross'. Too bad they couldn't get together and make an offical one.

WONDER WOMAN #13
Written by Gail Simone
Art and cover by Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson

An electrifying new era begins for the world's greatest superheroine! Gail Simone (BIRDS OF PREY, SECRET SIX) joins the phenomenal art team of Terry and Rachel Dodson for what promises to be one of the most exciting Wonder Woman stories ever!
What exactly is the Circle, and what deadly secret do they hold about Diana's birth? What familiar face from Wonder Woman's past returns with a mission to spy on Special Agent Diana Prince? Why is the Department of Metahuman Affairs on a collision course with the wounded remnants of the Society of Super-Villains? All this plus monkey assassins in a story that spans the globe and shakes Diana to her core!
On sale October 10 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

• This is good.

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SUICIDE SQUAD VOL. 1 TP
Written by John Ostrander, Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and others
Art by Howard Chaykin, Karl Kesel, Luke McDonnell and others
From the 1980s comes this hard-hitting volume collecting the popular series in which captured super-villains got the chance to leave prison behind?for a price. Included are storied from Suicide Squad #1-18, Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad Special #1, SECRET ORIGINS #14 and Justice League International #13.
Advance-solicited; on sale November 14 o 528 pg, B&W, $16.99 US

• This, quite possibly, is even better.

EX MACHINA #31
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Tony Harris & Jim Clark
Cover by Harris
"Ex Cathedra," Part 2 of 4. Summoned to Vatican City by the Pope himself, superhero-turned-mayor Mitchell Hundred must cross the line between church and state in a thriller that will pit him against a terrifying new group of villains.
On sale October 17 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US o MATURE READERS

• The Pope? In a Wildstorm book? Does this make it an intercompany crossover?

THE VINYL UNDERGROUND #1
Written by Si Spencer
Art by Simon Gane & Cameron Stewart
Cover by Sean Phillips

Noted British television writer Si Spencer (Eastenders, Torchwood, Bad Girls) presents a sharp, unforgettable cadence in THE VINYL UNDERGROUND, a 21st century cross between THE INVISIBLES and CSI that brings rich social and political context to the dark, glittering cesspool that is London. Spencer is joined by indie creator/penciller Simon Gane (Paris, Punk Strips) and Eisner-nominated artist Cameron Stewart (the Other Side, SeaGuy) with bold, captivating covers by by Sean Phillips (The Invisibles, Criminal).
In this fast-paced, ultra-cool ongoing crime-noir series, an unlikely quartet of occult detectives secretly solve crimes - from DJ crack bars in Camden to the elegant, high-society ballrooms that make up modern London. The Vinyl Underground is led by Morrison Shepherd, a D-list celebrity darling, soul DJ, and son of an ex-footballer. Fresh out of prison and off a nasty coke habit, Morrison is joined by a fellow ex-con named Perv, whose seizures give him clues to crimes long before the cops, and Leah, a gorgeous morgue assistant who leads a double life online and represents the brawn of the team.
Morrison's ex-flame Abi is reluctantly forced to join the team when her father is implicated for murder. A young boy's head (with diamonds in the eye sockets) washes up on the edge of the Thames and seems to be connected to a series of ritual killings, a drug called Khat, and Muti magic. Can they get to the bottom of it?
On sale October 3 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US o MATURE READERS

• For a second there, I was going to bring up Phonogram comparisons. But they are more different than similar. I hope.

DC MINIMATES
The DC Universe just got smaller - and more collectible! DC Direct and Art Asylum team up and give your favorite superheroes the MiniMates makeover! These figures range in size from 2 1/8" to 2 1/2" tall. Each 2-pack is blister-carded on a 4-color card.
Collect them all!

WAVE 7
IN STORES MARCH 2008 o PI

GORILLA GRODD
THE FLASH
AMBUSH BUG
LOBO
AMBUSH BUG
LOBO
CLAYFACE
BATMAN (CLASSIC)

• Ambush Bug? As a minimate? I smell Keith Giffen payoff! "Yeah, if you do the layouts for Countdown, we'll make toy out of Ambush Bug!" "Ooh! A 13-inch collectible doll?" "Uh, no" "A DC Direct figure?" "Uh, no, we were thinking a minimate." (Pause) "Oh. Do I still get royalties on that?" "Sure do." "Okay, I'll take it." (Oh, and the above is a typo. The figure isn't that nice that it made it twice. The other two figures are Nightwing and Starfire.)