DC Comics in April: What are you buying?

[Brian Cruz]

Here they are:

Click here for DC's April solicitations (http://comics.toonzone.net/solicitations/2005-04/)

What are you planning to buy in April?

[rggkjg1]

BATMAN #639
ROBIN #137
ACTION COMICS #826
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #639
SUPERMAN #216
SUPERMAN/BATMAN #20
SUPERMAN VS. THE FLASH TP
GREEN LANTERN SECRET FILES 2005
JLA #113
JLA CLASSIFIED #6
THE QUESTION #6 (of 6)
SPACE GHOST #6 (of 6)
TEEN TITANS #23
WONDER WOMAN #215 -hmm. i hope winick's name on the solicitation is a misprint.
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #8 - YES! I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR MORE OF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE QUESTION FOR SOME TIME NOW!
TEEN TITANS GO! #18

the solicitation for DAY OF VENGEANCE hasnt really told me much. but i'll be checking that out.

[kid_flash]

BATMAN: JEKYLL & HYDE - Diggin' the idea, and I'm a big fan of Paul Jenkins, so I guess this is another $2.99 a month.

THE OMAC PROJECT - Greg's stuff spinning out of COUNTDOWN? Looks like I have no choice.

SOLO #4 - Howard Chaykin's the man.

KLARION THE WITCH BOY - Morrison is a genius beyond all bounds.

ZATANNA - Getting Ryan Sook on this project is a damn good call.

And holy crap, Ed McGuiness action figures?! Sweet! Not nuts about his Batman (which basically means I don't have millions for action figures and there are better Batman figures), but I love MC2's Superman. Love it to pieces. It's really...shiny though. And man, that is a SWEET Metallo figure. Of course, this is Superman/Batman Series 1, so one could expect a Series 2 featuring the ugliest Superman ever drawn, and a silver Batman. Can't wait.

[Mad Monkey 7]

BATMAN: JEKYLL & HYDE - Diggin' the idea, and I'm a big fan of Paul Jenkins, so I guess this is another $2.99 a month.

THE OMAC PROJECT - Greg's stuff spinning out of COUNTDOWN? Looks like I have no choice.

SOLO #4 - Howard Chaykin's the man.

KLARION THE WITCH BOY - Morrison is a genius beyond all bounds.

ZATANNA - Getting Ryan Sook on this project is a damn good call.

And holy crap, Ed McGuiness action figures?! Sweet! Not nuts about his Batman (which basically means I don't have millions for action figures and there are better Batman figures), but I love MC2's Superman. Love it to pieces. It's really...shiny though. And man, that is a SWEET Metallo figure. Of course, this is Superman/Batman Series 1, so one could expect a Series 2 featuring the ugliest Superman ever drawn, and a silver Batman. Can't wait.

According to Toyfare, Series 2 is supposely Powergirl, Silver Banshee, Hawkman, and Solomon Grundy.

[Jean_Grey]

BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #64
NIGHTWING #107
SUPERMAN/BATMAN
IDENTITY CRISIS #1-7 Final printings
TEEN TITANS #23
WONDER WOMAN #215

[Nick K.]

APRIL 13
JSA #72

APRIL 20
SUPERMAN/ BATMAN #20
GREEN LANTERN SECRET FILES 2005
JLA: CLASSIFIED #6
TEEN TITANS #23

APRIL 27
THE OMAC PRJOECT #1

Should I pick up that Spectre mini too since it relates to COuntdown? Is it imperative we get everything spinning out of it?

[sdp]

APRIL 13
JSA #72

APRIL 20
SUPERMAN/ BATMAN #20
GREEN LANTERN SECRET FILES 2005
JLA: CLASSIFIED #6
TEEN TITANS #23

APRIL 27
THE OMAC PRJOECT #1

Should I pick up that Spectre mini too since it relates to COuntdown? Is it imperative we get everything spinning out of it?
ha, that is the whole point of countdown.

[Condiment King]

Geoff Johns and Darwyn Cooke on Green Lantern Secret Files 2005? Highlight of the month. I'll also be seeing more of Geoff's Rogues War in The Flash 221 and JSA/JSA in JSA 72. Nightwing 107 introducing new artist Phil Hester, coming off the Year One storyline is hard to pass up too.

Vertigo brings the best deal of 2005, not DC Countdown, but Vertigo First Taste TPB which I'll probably check out. Vaughn's Y - The Last Man 32 features a provocative Girl on Girl storyarc. loo

[PaQ]

April 6:
[$2.50] Action Comics #826 (maybe)
[$2.99] Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #1
[$2.99] Intimates #6
[$2.99] Y: The Last Man #32

April 13:
[$2.25] Nightwing #107
[$2.50] JSA #72

April 20:
[$2.50] Batman: Gotham Knights #64
[$2.25] Robin #137
[$2.99] Superman/Batman #20
[$2.50] Adventures of Superman #639 (maybe)
[$2.50] Birds of Prey #81
[$2.50] Day of Vengeance #1 (maybe)
[$4.99] Green Lantern: Secret Files 2005
[$2.50] Teen Titans #23

April 27:
[$2.25] Batman #639
[$2.50] Superman #216 (maybe)
[$2.25] Flash #221

TOTAL: $48.45 (without maybe titles: $38.45)

The maybe titles sure make it an expensive month. I'm unsure about Day of Vengeance and whether it's an intrical part/result of DC Countdown. HOpefully more info will come out about it before then. The Superman titles, I may get only 1 of this special arc, only because of Shazam, too bad it's Winick writing. So my DC total will probably be closer to the lower one.

[kid_flash]

According to Toyfare, Series 2 is supposely Powergirl, Silver Banshee, Hawkman, and Solomon Grundy.
Oh, wow, they're continuing the MC2 stuff. Mui sweet.

[wolverine0815]

BATMAN #639
NIGHTWING #107
ACTION COMICS #826
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #639
SUPERMAN #216
SUPERMAN/BATMAN #20
GREEN LANTERN SECRET FILES 2005
JSA #72
TEEN TITANS #23

It's a shame there's no Fallen Angel. Hopefully PAD can take it somewhere else in the future.

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

Quick breeze through:

- Day of Vengeance #1: On the plus side, it's weird magic stuff, it's got Ragman, and it's written by Bill Willingham. On the minus side, it's a tie in to DC Countdown. Color me maybe.

- OMAC Project #1: See above, but replace "weird magic stuff" with "broody paramilitary thriller" and "Bill Willingham" with "Greg Rucka."

- Solo #4: I think I'll finally pre-order one of these. While I run hot and cold with Howard Chaykin, there's enough interesting sounding stuff in here that it'll be worth a look.

- Wonder Woman #215: I liked the Rucka WW's, even if I thought they were glacially paced (I remember by issue 3 or 4 of the last story arc, asking, "What, Medousa isn't resurrected YET??!?"). This is a 3-issue arc and has Wonder Woman teaming up with my favorite new cast member, Ferdinand the Minotaur. Yet another maybe.

- Justice League Unlimited #8: Even if the Question is almost completely divorced these days from his Ditko objectivist roots, he's still pretty cool and that's one heck of a cover.

- League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Absolute Edition HCs: If there are an inordinate number of "maybe"s above, it's because I'm trying real hard to save up for one of these, if not both. Come on DCBS...gimme that 50% off discount, so I can be ripped off for these instead of totally ripped off for them.

- Vertigo: First Taste TPB: I already own all the issues or reprints of the stuff I care about in here, but I think it's an interesting marketing thing, especially at $5 for a holy ton of comics that are all pretty cool. I'm wondering why no Hellblazer or Preacher in there, though.

Actually, considering there's no Fallen Angel this month (leaving Trigger, Human Target, Ex Machina, and Sleeper as my regular subs), I may well be able to do that LoEG hardcover.

-- Ed/Ace

[kid_flash]

Howdy,
- League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Absolute Edition HCs: If there are an inordinate number of "maybe"s above, it's because I'm trying real hard to save up for one of these, if not both. Come on DCBS...gimme that 50% off discount, so I can be ripped off for these instead of totally ripped off for them.

-- Ed/Ace
I picked up the first volume when it came out, and I will say with no hesitiation it's one of the best buys I've ever made. The comic itself is, of course, amazing (yeah...I spent $75 before ever having read an issue), and those Absolute Editions...I own the two AUTHORITY volumes, too, and they're probably one of the coolest things ever made. Really freaking nice. And the Alan Moore scripts...not a bad touch, either.

Anyway, I highly recommend it...if I had the cash, I would definitely buy Volume 2.

[randomguy]

I picked up the first volume when it came out, and I will say with no hesitiation it's one of the best buys I've ever made. The comic itself is, of course, amazing (yeah...I spent $75 before ever having read an issue), and those Absolute Editions...I own the two AUTHORITY volumes, too, and they're probably one of the coolest things ever made. Really freaking nice. And the Alan Moore scripts...not a bad touch, either.

Anyway, I highly recommend it...if I had the cash, I would definitely buy Volume 2.
I don't own any of the The Authority volumes, mainly because I'm not too big on the Authority, but I've got the Absolute Planetary collection, and it's insanely gorgeous. I can't afford the LOTG collections, and it really tears me up inside, but that's just the way things are. When summer comes around and I have the time to work again, I will most certainly look into getting them. There's no way I won't pick them up eventually. Alan Moore's work is just too good, and the format just too awesome, to not buy them sooner or later.

Anyhow, comments on this month's haul...

I've heard good things about "City of Crime", currently running in Detective Comics, but have decided to wait for trade on it. It looks neat, but the trade will probably be cheaper and Batman isn't a high priority for me right now. On that note, Batman: Jekyll and Hyde interests me because it's written by Paul Jenkins. I respect him and don't believe he's worked on Batman before, but that's not quite enough to justify the purchase (see also: Peter Milligan on X-Men). I might pick it up if the reviews are good, though.

Plenty of Scarecrow material this month, kicking off DC's buildup to Batman Begins. The Scarecrow Tales book might be fun, but again, hard to justify that purchase when there's so much other stuff demanding attention. Also, neat Batgirl cover. More comics should have guitars in them. I'm only kinda-sorta joking when I say that.

Gotham Central should be serving up the usual goodness. I'm going to miss Michael Lark, but as long as the writing stays strong, I'm onboard for the long haul.

Color me modestly intrigued in regards to the Superman/Captain Marvel crossover. It kinda sucks that Greg Rucka's Adventures of Superman gets hijacked for a month, but I've always had a soft spot for Captain Marvel, and Ian Churchill's art looks great. On the downside, though, Judd Winnick...

The Superman/Batman solicitation is wonderfully vague. I was sour on the title's first two arcs, but I'm enjoying the third one (with its super-obscure cameos) well enough, so maybe I'll stick around for the entirety of Loeb's run after all.

Superman Vs. The Flash. Nothing revolutionary here, but it's about time somebody crafted a TPB around this theme. Could be fun.

Adam Strange, regretfully, concludes. I've loved Andy Diggle and Pascal Ferry's take on the character. It's been an absolute blast, great to look at, and a real pleasure overall. I'll miss this series (which could have easily carried an ongoing), but I look forward to picking up the TPB or (hopefully) hardcover.

Everybody buy Birds of Prey. It's fun, there are lots of fights and explosions, the characterization is great, and it's full of cute women. What more could you ask for? Pick it up. Thank me in the morning.

It really, really, really, really sucks that The New Frontier isn't getting a hardcover. Especially in a world where the Superman storyline "Godfall" got one. I've got the original issues, so I see no reason to buy the TPB, but I'll sure as heck spring for a hardcover if DC ever gets around to printing one.


- Day of Vengeance #1: On the plus side, it's weird magic stuff, it's got Ragman, and it's written by Bill Willingham. On the minus side, it's a tie in to DC Countdown. Color me maybe.
Bill Willingham is awesome on Fables, but his work on Robin is subpar at best. Considering that, and also how I've pretty much sworn off of big events after 2004's twin Marvel/DC disasters, I believe I'll be avoiding Day of Vengeance.

Green Lantern Secret Files 2005 is a must-buy if only for the Darwyn Cooke art. That guy is a genius, and reason enough to pick up this one-shot.

JLA Classified has been fun and innovative under Grant Morrison, but I'm really looking forward to "I Can't Believe It's Not The Justice League", which is going to feature Sue Dibny whether you like it or not. I expect both laughs and thrills, and I look forward to the rumored "Ultimate DC Universe as imagined by Mark Millar" that's supposedly appearing in this story.

Hey, OMAC, one of DC's goofier characters, is back. Might be worth a look.

Solo and Seven Soldiers are both looking mighty fine. The former features Howard Chaykin, who I like well enough, and the latter is so audacious and ambitious I just have to try it.

City of Tomorrow has an interesting premise, and I tend to reward those with purchases. So... yeah. I'll have my eye on that one. Same goes for Mnemovore, which has an appropriately creepy cover.

Ex Machina ships this month, and if you're not reading it yet, you really should because it's very cool, easily the best new book of 2004. Yes, better than Astonishing X-Men. I know, I'm throwing down the gauntlet, but seriously, give it a try. You won't regret it. There's an Ex Machina TPB coming out this week that collects the first five issues for a measly $10. Buy buy buy.

Sleeper is winding down. Parting is such sweet sorrow. I'm hoping for a third season, but I think we all know that by now that's probably not happening.

The Fountain sounds very cool, totally unique and totally unexpected. Darren Aronofsky, you say? I'm sold already.

This month's solicitation for The Losers sounds awesome. As usual, the series refuses to do things half-assed: when it says "high stakes", it means high stakes, as in 300 pounds of plutonium. Rock on. I'll be there.

Y: The Last Man apparently features girl-on-girl action. Admit it, that's what you've been waiting for since the first issue. Don't deny it.

Finally, I won't be buying Vertigo: First Taste for the same reason as Ace, but I do think it's a very cool idea and I applaud Vertigo for trying it. It's a really great way to snag new readers, so plenty of props on that front.

I'm not sure if my shifting tastes away from DC's superhero stuff and towards Vertigo and Wildstorm is a sign of growing up, market trends, respective quality of the books, or something else entirely, but it's definitely the way my buying habits are going.

[hobbyfan]

April 6:
[$2.50] Action Comics #826
[$2.99] Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #1

April 20:
[$2.50] Adventures of Superman #639
[$2.50] Day of Vengeance #1
[$4.99] Green Lantern: Secret Files 2005
[$2.50] Teen Titans #23

April 27:
[$2.25] Batman #639
[$2.50] Superman #216
[$2.25] Flash #221


I'm committed to the 7 Soldiers and Countdown, so I'm getting OMAC Project and Klarion, too. The problem I have is that the 7 Soldiers books are overpriced. Sook looks like he's following the lead of last year's Zatanna 1-shot, having her wear knee boots, which majorly clash with her fishnet stockings.

I'm also getting Blood of the Demon, Outsiders, Green Arrow, and Space Ghost.