DCU Dark

[Keyser Soze]

I thought it might be a good idea to create a new thread for the "Dark" line of titles that will be launching as part of DC's upcoming September relaunch. This little corner of the DCU is the aspect of the relaunch I'm arguably most excited about, but is not going to be as popular a talking point in a more generalised DC Relaunch conversation setting. Hence me thinking it merits it's own thread, one that could potentially last beyond these titles being launched in September.

I'll start things off by posting up the solicits for the various DCU Dark titles launching in September:

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #1
Written by PETER MILLIGAN
Art by MIKEL JANIN
Cover by RYAN SOOK
On sale SEPTEMBER 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
The witch known as The Enchantress has gone mad, unleashing forces that not even the combined powers of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg can stop. And if those heroes can’t handle the job, who will stand against this mystical madness?
Shade the Changing Man, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Zatanna and John Constantine may be our only hope – but how can we put our trust in beings whose very presence makes ordinary people break out in a cold sweat?

SWAMP THING #1
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art and cover by YANICK PAQUETTE
On sale SEPTEMBER 7 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
One of the world’s most iconic characters has returned to the heart of the DC Universe, and every step he takes will shake the foundations of the Earth!
Alec Holland has his life back…but the Green has plans for it. A monstrous evil is rising in the desert, and it’ll take a monster of another kind to defend life as we know it!

ANIMAL MAN #1
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art by TRAVEL FOREMAN and DAN GREEN
Cover by TRAVEL FOREMAN
On sale SEPTEMBER 7 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Buddy Baker has gone from “super” man to family man – but is he strong enough to hold his family together when Maxine, his young daughter, starts to manifest her own dangerous powers? Find out in this dramatic new series from writer Jeff Lemire (SWEET TOOTH) and artist Travel Foreman (The Immortal Iron Fist).

FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. #1
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art by ALBERTO PONTICELLI
Cover by J.G. JONES
On sale SEPTEMBER 14 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
It’s Frankenstein as you’ve never seen him before, in a dark new series from acclaimed writer Jeff Lemire (SWEET TOOTH) and artist Alberto Ponticelli (UNKNOWN SOLDIER)!
Frankenstein is part of a network of strange beings who work for an even stranger government organization: The Super Human Advanced Defense Executive! But can he protect the world from threats even more horrifying than himself? And since he’s vilified for who and what he is, will he even want to take on this mission?

I, VAMPIRE #1
Written by JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV
Art by ANDREA SORRENTINO
Cover by JENNY FRISON
On sale SEPTEMBER 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
For hundreds of years, vampire Andrew Stanton kept mankind safe from the horrors of the supernatural world, thanks to a truce he made with his ex-lover Mary, the Queen of the Damned. But now that truce has reached a bloody end and Andrew must do everything in his power to stop Mary and her dark forces from going on a killing spree – and she plans to start with the heroes of the DCU!

RESURRECTION MAN #1
Written by DAN ABNETT and ANDY LANNING
Art by FERNANDO DAGNINO
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale SEPTEMBER 14 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
It’s the return of Mitch Shelly – and he’s still dead.
Resurrection Man can’t stay dead for long, though – and with each rebirth comes new and unexpected powers. But his many returns have not gone unnoticed, and forces are gathering to learn what’s so special about him – and to see which of them will finally stop Resurrection Man dead.

DEMON KNIGHTS #1
Written by PAUL CORNELL
Art by DIOGENES NEVES and OCLAIR ALBERT
Cover by TONY S. DANIEL
On sale SEPTEMBER 14 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Set in the Dark Ages of the DC Universe, a barbarian horde is massing to crush civilization. It’s fallen to Madame Xanadu and Jason Blood, the man with a monster inside him, to stand in their way – though the demon Etrigan has no interest in protecting anyone or anything other than himself! It’ll take more than their own power to stop an army fueled by bloodlust and dark sorcery, and some very surprising heroes – and villains – will have no choice but to join the fray!

VOODOO #1
Written by RON MARZ
Art and cover by SAMI BASRI
On sale SEPTEMBER 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Who is Voodoo? Is she hero, villain – or both? Learn the truth about Priscilla Kitaen as she leaves a trail of violence across America. Discover the new DCU through her eyes, because the things she sees are not always what they seem…


Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE and Demon Knights are all definite buys for me. Scott Snyder, Jeff Lemire and Paul Cornell are three of my favorite writers going right now. And given how much I love Alan Moore's Swamp Thing and Grant Morrison's Animal Man, I'm all the more excited to see those characters get a revival under the pen of such talented creators. I'm on the fence about Justice League Dark. I like the team lineup, and am especially intrigued by John Constantine, but I'm not overly familiar with Milligan, and I don't know if it's one book too many in a crowded list of #1s I'm trying out. What about you guys?

 

[Watchman]

We already have a thread.

Aside from Action the Dark titles are the ones I'm looking forward to the most. I'm pretty much picking up the same titles as you except JLD is a definite must buy. Milligan on his game is Morrison, Gaiman, Moore good.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Yeah, these are the titles that most excited me when they were announced. JLD, Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Frankenstein, and Demon Knights I all plan to pick up. I'm less drooly over Voodoo, Resurrection Man and I, Vampire, but this still have some degree of interest to me. I'll probably wait and see for those, maybe grab the trades if I hear good things.

The thing that disappoints me about it, though. No Xombi relaunch

 

[Watchman]

Was there even an official cancellation?

The book didn't have a chance.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Well, I don't think there's been anything said specifically, but it's not there amongst the relaunched titles or anything, and you would think that it'd be among these titles if it were continuing. Though, I don't know, they are planning to launch more stuff later on (like the Beyond titles), but I won't hold my breath or anything.

 

[bored]

*sigh* Still no Shadowpact...

Yes, you can say "JLD" fills the same function, and the fact is I am going to read it and probably enjoy it, but there's no Detective Chimp. No Detective Chimp, I tell you!

 

[Watchman]

The world does need more Detective Chimp. Also, from a sales perspective what is going to sell more: Shadow Pact or JUSTICE LEAGUE Dark. Just the name is probably going to give the book a slight boost.

 

[Pyro Man]

These are the ones I'm most excited about aside from Action Comics and Batwoman.

Honestly, I'm pretty interested in all of these titles with the exception of I, Vampire. I'm particularly excited about Animal Man, Demon Knights (Cornell and Medieval heroes? Yes please!) and Frankenstein. But Justice League Dark, Ressurection Man, Swamp Thing and Voodoo all sound pretty interesting even though I don't know much about some of the characters.

 

[Keyser Soze]

We already have a thread.

Aside from Action the Dark titles are the ones I'm looking forward to the most. I'm pretty much picking up the same titles as you except JLD is a definite must buy. Milligan on his game is Morrison, Gaiman, Moore good.

Wow, that's quite a lofty claim. I did read Sub-Mariner: The Depths, which was fantastic, but aside from that I think I've only really read his recent Thor specials, which were quite good but nothing great. He's the current Hellblazer writer, isn't he? Is that any good?

 

[Keyser Soze]

Yeah, these are the titles that most excited me when they were announced. JLD, Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Frankenstein, and Demon Knights I all plan to pick up. I'm less drooly over Voodoo, Resurrection Man and I, Vampire, but this still have some degree of interest to me. I'll probably wait and see for those, maybe grab the trades if I hear good things.

The thing that disappoints me about it, though. No Xombi relaunch

Was there even an official cancellation?

The book didn't have a chance.

Yeah, that's a real bummer. I've really enjoyed the first few issues of Xombi, and I think it would fit perfectly with both this DCU Dark line, and with DC's stated goal towards having a more racially diverse stable of heroes. Maybe they should have held off for a few months and debuted the series in September?

 

[The Morningstar]

Yea, definitely digging these supernatural/magic books.

Loved Shadowpact and Days of Vengeance. So hopefully these will be right up my alley.

Only problem is, i don't see them surviving long in the main DCU. Just like Xombi, some of these should be Vertigo books so they actually get a chance.

 

[Keyser Soze]

The world does need more Detective Chimp. Also, from a sales perspective what is going to sell more: Shadow Pact or JUSTICE LEAGUE Dark. Just the name is probably going to give the book a slight boost.

I bet DC couldn't resist the surreal appeal of having John Constantine in a Justice League book.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Most of Milligan's best work is his Vertigo work, and I would probably agree with Watchman that when he's on his best, he's really at the top of the chain. Unfortunately, a lot of it is either uncollected or out of print. You should check out Shade, The Changing Man and Engima if you get the chance (I think there's three trades of the former and the latter has been out of print for awhile). He did some Batman work, too, that's pretty highly regarded. A few issues of it was collected in DC Presents Batman: Dark Knight, Dark City.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Hmmmm.... maybe Red Lanterns is worth a watching as well after all, then...

And I've heard of Shade the Changing Man. With the hero regenerating into new forms and everything, it actually reminded me a bit of Doctor Who.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Oh, and X-Force/X-Statix. I haven't read the latter, but the former is great. It's the usual X-Force, but it's pretty much the first series that really looked at the celebrity of being a superhero (at least the first that I know of that went really in depth about it). It's out of print, too, but it's all getting collected in an Omnibus that's big enough to kill you if it falls on you. Not really joking about that, either:

http://www.amazon.com/X-Statix-Omni...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1308349824&sr=8-1

Yeah, the big problem is that, for whatever reason, he just didn't catch on like Moore and Morrison did. I'm not sure why, really.

 

[Watchman]

Marvel: Our books can kill you. If I hear any burglars during the night I'll chase them out with my Thor Omnibus.

Also, I recommend Skreemer, Rogan Gosh, Human Target, Enigma.

 

[El Bastardo]

I've never read any of Milligan's Vertigo work, but he did such a terrible job on his X-Men run that I won't spend money on his work unless I know it's worth it.

I'm definitely in for Swamp Thing (that creative team makes for an automatic first issue purchase), and I'll give Demon Knights a try. If Cornell stinks it up as much as he did on Dark X-Men and Soldier Zero, then I'll be done. But I'm hoping he hits another home run with it. I'll give Resurrection Man a try, too. I like Abnett and Lanning, don't know the artist, and the premise sounds rad.

I'm considering Frankenstein and Voodoo. For Franky, I loved him in Seven Soldiers, but I'm not familiar with Jeff Lemire aside from his claim to fame being not-superhero. I like how they seem to be relaunching WildC.A.T.S., and I'm definitely onboard for Grifter (though he's not DCU Dark, I guess?), and while Marz piques my interest for Voodoo, I'm undecided.

I like Fialkov, but I have zero interest in a vampire comic. And if I did have interest, I'd already be reading Snyder's American Vampire. So that's out. And I don't like Animal Man enough to want to read a comic about him not written by Morrison.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Today's outing to Glasgow Comic Con kinda became an unofficial DCU Dark primer. I picked up the Saga of the Swamp Thing Volume 2 hardcover, as well as the first and last issues of the most recent Swamp Thing Vertigo volume. Got Volumes 2 and 3 of Grant Morrison's Animal Man to add to the Volume 1 I already own. Grabbed Seven Soldiers of Victory: Volume 4 to get a feel for Frankenstein. And I bought a random Hellblazer issue by Jason Aaron and Sean Murphy (in addition to a friend lending me Hellblazer: All His Engines) to reacquant myself with John Constantine.

 

[The Squirrel]

Animal Man looks cool. I don't know much about these characters or titles though.

 

[Mystirious]

Yeah, these are the titles that most excited me when they were announced. JLD, Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Frankenstein, and Demon Knights I all plan to pick up. I'm less drooly over Voodoo, Resurrection Man and I, Vampire, but this still have some degree of interest to me. I'll probably wait and see for those, maybe grab the trades if I hear good things.

Yep all of these new supernatural series sound pretty fab to me I'm really excited about Justice League Dark most of all. A series written by Milligan and starring John Constantine and Shade the Changing Man sounds like its going to be an epic of magical epicness

And Demon Knights looks like its going to be really excellent. Cornell writing a sword and sorcery comic book will most definitely be great

The thing that disappoints me about it, though. No Xombi relaunch

Nooooo

Maybe it will get a relaunch later in the year

 

[The Squirrel]

So are these called "dark" titles because they deal with supernatural elements?

 

[Tron Bonne]

Yeah, I think so. And it sounds all edgy and such, ya know.

 

[Mystirious]

[/QUOTE]

What is he doing with his hand on this cover

Judging by Mary's expression he is not doing it very well

These are the ones I'm most excited about aside from Action Comics and Batwoman.

Honestly, I'm pretty interested in all of these titles with the exception of I, Vampire. I'm particularly excited about Animal Man, Demon Knights (Cornell and Medieval heroes? Yes please!) and Frankenstein. But Justice League Dark, Ressurection Man, Swamp Thing and Voodoo all sound pretty interesting even though I don't know much about some of the characters.

Agreed Batwoman and these supernatural comics are the new series from dc that I think i will definitely be buying

 

[Mystirious]

Marvel: Our books can kill you. If I hear any burglars during the night I'll chase them out with my Thor Omnibus.

Also, I recommend Skreemer, Rogan Gosh, Human Target, Enigma.

Really all of Milligan's vertigo work is well worth reading

Seriously fab comic books

Yeah, I think so. And it sounds all edgy and such, ya know.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Only ones I'm interested in are Demon Knights and Resurrection Man.