DCU Dark

[Mystirious]

Oh you two

I love any title that can feature one of its protagonists enthusiastically eating a dinosaur.

That is the only proper way to eat a dinosaur

 

[CConn]

Why isn't Mister Terrific a Dark title?

 

[Mystirious]

 

[bored]

Why isn't Mister Terrific a Dark title?

....
Dude.

 

[Cain]

 

[Spade]

Animal Man remains golden. Swamp Thing's still building up; I might drop it after this arc. :/

 

[Scourge2099]

Why isn't Mister Terrific a Dark title?

That was actually pretty funny.

 

[redhawk23]

Animal Man remains golden. Swamp Thing's still building up; I might drop it after this arc. :/

Actually I think they're stories very much mirror eachother. Swamp thing just seems to be behind story wise because Alec is still a human where as animal man is animal man. The thing is Alec's true parallel is Animal Man's daughter Maxine. When you look at her story and how things have been revealed Swamp Thing and Animal Man have been neck and neck in telling a stories that will converge.

You can argue that Animal Man does better job as a title of telling its story, but I'd argue both are very much still building.

One title that just needs to get on with it however is Justice League Dark, yeesh.

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

One title that just needs to get on with it however is Justice League Dark, yeesh.

You're right there redhawk, they really need to just get on with it, it would be great if they posted some pics over the next few months, i'd really enjoy that. haha

 

[trustyside-kick]

I was pleased with issue 4 of Justice League Dark. This was a title I was wanting to enjoy more and was somewhat disappointed with the previous issues. Now I have some hope it will be what I expected it to be.

 

[redhawk23]

Justice League Dark 4 was pretty decent, but I still expect more out of it.

Animal Man and Swamp thing however are tops. I've enjoyed how the two series have built towards and reflected each other quite nicely. ***** is definitely hitting the fan in both however. As the end of Animal Man says, the hunt is over, the rot is found.

The end of Swamp thing states that the rot has won.
This is yet to be seen. All I know is, Alec needs to get his mossy ass in gear.

 

[redhawk23]

First of all I think its awesome that Yanick Paquette has a deviantart.

Whats even more awesome is that this is the cover to issue 7 of Swamp thing. lol.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Swampie must've eaten one of his own tubers.

 

[Mystirious]

He is high as a kite right now

 

[Pyro Man]

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/dc-comics-april-2012-solicitations-120117.html

Behold! DCU Dark Solicits for April!

SWAMP THING #8
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art and cover by YANICK PAQUETTE
1:25 B&W Variant cover by YANICK PAQUETTE
On sale APRIL 4 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. The variant cover will feature the standard edition cover in a wraparound format.
Behold the terrifying true potential of the Swamp Thing – a form so fearsome we couldn’t put it on the cover! The Green sought a warrior king, and now they have one...but will they regret unleashing a being this powerful? And can all that strength save Abigail Arcane from her destiny in the Rot’s clutches?

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #8
Written by PETER MILLIGAN
Art and cover by MIKEL JANIN
On sale APRIL 25 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
The crossover with I, VAMPIRE heats up as Zatanna and Shade stand alone against an army of single-minded vampires, with their most powerful teammates out of the action! Plus: Constantine and Deadman have gone to the ends of the earth and beyond in search of the only two powers who can put a stop to the bloody rise of Cain – but what they bring back will change the face of sorcery forever! To be concluded in this month’s I, VAMPIRE #8!

I, VAMPIRE #8
Written by JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV
Art and cover by ANDREA SORRENTINO
On sale APRIL 25 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
As the Justice League Dark team faces the end of all magic – and perhaps life itself – only one man can challenge the dark force known as Cain: Andrew Bennett. He’s back from the dead, but whose side is he on? Regardless of the answer, nothing will be the same for either series when “Rise of the Vampires” is over!

FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. #8
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art and cover by ALBERTO PONTICELLI and WALDEN WONG
On sale APRIL 11 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Enter: The Spawn of Frankenstein! As Frankenstein and his estranged wife hunt their demonic offspring across Europe, the secrets that tore them apart are revealed. But when Frank finally comes face to face with his long lost son, the fallout may mean the end of S.H.A.D.E.!

ANIMAL MAN #8
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art by TRAVEL FOREMAN, STEVE PUGH and JEFF HUET
Cover by TRAVEL FOREMAN
On sale APRIL 4 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
“Animal vs. Man” Part 2! Buddy takes a stand as the horde of Rot-infested animals continues to grow and close in on the Baker family. But the results are disastrous, setting up a chain of events that may lead Maxine right to the Hunters.

RESURRECTION MAN #8
Written by DAN ABNETT and ANDY LANNING
Art by FERNANDO DAGNINO
Cover by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE
On sale APRIL 11 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Someone has been following Mitch Shelley, the Resurrection Man, everywhere he goes. Someone has been keeping tabs on where he’s been and what he’s doing. But who? This story serves as a lead-in to next month’s crossover with SUICIDE SQUAD – and you don’t want to miss that!

Written by PAUL CORNELL
Art by BERNARD CHANG, DIOGENES NEVES and OCLAIR ALBERT
Cover by MIKE CHOI
On sale APRIL 11 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Just how exactly did Madame Xanadu become the paramour of both Jason Blood and Etrigan, the foul demon trapped inside him? On the road to Alba Sarum, there’s nothing but time for tall tales...and this one’s as unbelievable as they come! Featuring guest art by Bernard Chang (DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS)!

And last but not least we also get a bonus issue of Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. disguised as the final issue of Men of War for whatever reason:

Written by JEFF LEMIRE and MATT KINDT
Art by TOM DERENICK
Cover by VIKTOR KALVACHEV
On sale APRIL 4 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T+ • FINAL ISSUE
Frankenstein guest-stars! Frank walks through a rain of bombs over 1941 London before being dragged to the depths of the Pacific Ocean and onto the shores of Japan! Will he make it there in one piece so he can team up with G.I. Robot to defeat an Axis weapon that threatens to turn the tide of the war? Frankenstein’s success will hinge on the help of a four-armed super-spy assassin working in the shadows. It’s espionage and monster mayhem straight out of the pages of FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. in this weird tale of World War II!

My thoughts:

- Pretty excited for Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Demon Knights and Frankenstein, as per usual. These are four of the best titles the new 52 has to offer and I'm so glad that these survived the first purge.

- The prospect of Resurrection Man crossing over with Suicide Squadgets a big "meh" from me. Suicide Squad was one of my least favorite #1s of the relaunch and one of the titles I was least interested in picking up. I'm digging Resurrection Man] and I know it needs a sales boost but I don't think Suicide Squad really has much higher sales for it to feed off of so from that standpoint it fails. I don't understand why this needs to be a cross between the two books, just have the squad show up in Resurrection Man for a done in one, or for two issues if this story absolutely must be a two parter, that way none of Resurrection Man's readers have to pick up a crappy comic to get the other side of the story and vice versa for fans of Suicide Squad (minus the crappy comic remark).

- I haven't caught up on I, Vampire or Justice League Dark yet but the crossover between the two sounds intriguing.

- Wow, what an unceremonious send off for Men of War, I'm pretty stoked about getting an extra Frankenstein story in April but I feel bad for anybody who really enjoyed Men of War, though I never picked it up myself. Getting your title hijacked by a completely different character and it turning out to be the last issue would be a bum deal for any reader. Its like how Laverne and Shirley's final episode was basically just a backdoor pilot for one of their supporting characters with none of the main cast appearing. What a raw deal.

Though to be fair, none of the cancelled titles, save OMAC seem to be getting anything remotely resembling a conclusion, and some even sound like they got shot down mid storyline. Glad none of the titles I read got the axe but that's a *****ty deal for anybody.

 

[Mystirious]

Yep I feel bad for fans of Men of War that they don't get a proper finale. I wasn't following the book not really my cup of tea was it any good

OMAC being cancelled makes me a Mystirious that book was lots and lots of fun. Glad its getting a proper finale to the storyline though

I may check out the Suicide Squad crossover with Ressurection Man if its a two part story told across both series but if its the same story told from two points of view like the OMAC/Frankenstein crossover I'll probably just buy the Resurrection Man issues

Animal Man, Frankenstein and Swamp Thing all look fab and I'm excited to learn more about Xanadu and Etrigan in Demon Knights too

And the JL Dark crossover with I, Vampire is looking near I think I'll definitely be checking that out

 

[Pyro Man]

Yep I feel bad for fans of Men of War that they don't get a proper finale. I wasn't following the book not really my cup of tea was it any good

Didn't read it, I thought trying to do, basically, a modern Sgt. Rock was a hard idea pull off and the creative team didn't inspire enough confidence to get me in the front door. DC's treatment of their war comic properties in the relaunch has confused me greatly. They don't really put strong creative teams on either of them (though thats probably due to 52 books stretching the talent pool a bit then) and drop them like a bad a habit after 8 issues. Yet then they decide to try another one, GI Combat using more obscure DC war properties, albeit ones I'd be more likely to actually pick up (soldiers fighting dinosaur? I'm there!). It's like they literally said "Yeah these war comics totally bombed so we're cancelling them." and then said "Hey kids try out this war comic! Its gonna be really swell!" in the same announcement as though people just not liking war comics had nothing to do with those getting cancelled. Furthermore, do they really think anybody is going to pick up a book with a title like GI Combat? It just sounds so anachronistic and 1950sish. At least Men of War and Blackhawks both had cool and modern sounding names. GI Combat just makes me imagine black and white news reels and old timey WWII movies, which appeals to me a tiny bit but might not do much for others.

OMAC being cancelled makes me a Mystirious that book was lots and lots of fun. Glad its getting a proper finale to the storyline though

Please don't be sad Anyway, I'm sure we'll see OMAC again, Didio is a copublisher after all and they've said that the characters from cancelled books won't be disappearing. I also think one of the columns at the back of the books (I can't remember what title they're going with now, they used to be called DC nation) seemed to imply that OMAC will be running into the JLI in some way or another so maybe he'll eventually become a member?

I may check out the Suicide Squad crossover with Ressurection Man if its a two part story told across both series but if its the same story told from two points of view like the OMAC/Frankenstein crossover I'll probably just buy the Resurrection Man issues

It'd be terrific if it was just a POV situation like OMAC/Frankenstein because the big two have been trying to bleed my wallet dry with these crossovers and making me have to pick up books I don't read. This month I had to pick up both OMAC (if I'd know ahead of time that it would be the same basic story in Frankenstein I wouldn't have gotten it) and Amazing Spider-Man (for the Daredevil crossover) and next month has a whopping 5 issues of Venom coming out to facilitate a story featuring Ghost Rider, X-23 and Red Hulk. On top of all that in a few months there's apparently supposed to be a three part crossover between Daredevil, Avenging Spider-Man and Punisher, one that sounds pretty essential to the ongoing plot of DD and thusly one I can't skip. Then god knows what all Marvel books I read will end up getting ruined by the Avengers and X-Men Have A Silly Misunderstanding, Fight for a Bit and Then Unite Against Their Real Common Enemy event. (mini-rant on crossovers over)

Animal Man, Frankenstein and Swamp Thing all look fab and I'm excited to learn more about Xanadu and Etrigan in Demon Knights too

Agreed. These are 4 of the books I look forward to most each month (Batman, Daredevil and Batwoman are the others). My wife also loves Animal Man and Swamp Thing which is cool because right now, outside of Bat titles, reading lists don't overlap too much so its rare we get to discuss a story we're both reading, something I miss from the days that she was just a casual comic fan and read everything I did lol.

I'm glad we're getting backstory on that relationship in Demon Knights. I've really been enjoying Cornell's writing on that title and I'm glad he's sticking around longer than he did on Stormwatch and I hope he stays on for a while and has a really great run on the book.

And the JL Dark crossover with I, Vampire is looking near I think I'll definitely be checking that out

I'm way behind on both of these (issue 2 for both), I may just pick up these two issues to jump back in provided I have enough to spare on them that week.

 

[Mystirious]

Didn't read it, I thought trying to do, basically, a modern Sgt. Rock was a hard idea pull off and the creative team didn't inspire enough confidence to get me in the front door. DC's treatment of their war comic properties in the relaunch has confused me greatly. They don't really put strong creative teams on either of them (though thats probably due to 52 books stretching the talent pool a bit then) and drop them like a bad a habit after 8 issues. Yet then they decide to try another one, GI Combat using more obscure DC war properties, albeit ones I'd be more likely to actually pick up (soldiers fighting dinosaur? I'm there!). It's like they literally said "Yeah these war comics totally bombed so we're cancelling them." and then said "Hey kids try out this war comic! Its gonna be really swell!" in the same announcement as though people just not liking war comics had nothing to do with those getting cancelled. Furthermore, do they really think anybody is going to pick up a book with a title like GI Combat? It just sounds so anachronistic and 1950sish. At least Men of War and Blackhawks both had cool and modern sounding names. GI Combat just makes me imagine black and white news reels and old timey WWII movies, which appeals to me a tiny bit but might not do much for others.

Soldiers fighting dinosaurs?

That actually sounds like it could be fun. Very possibly on a bun

Please don't be sad

That was a very nice thing to say

Anyway, I'm sure we'll see OMAC again, Didio is a copublisher after all and they've said that the characters from cancelled books won't be disappearing. I also think one of the columns at the back of the books (I can't remember what title they're going with now, they used to be called DC nation) seemed to imply that OMAC will be running into the JLI in some way or another so maybe he'll eventually become a member?

I hope so! OMAC has been lots of wacky fun so far and I want to see more of these characters and find out more about what the New Gods are up to at Cadmus

This book has been surprisingly neat and enjoyable

It'd be terrific if it was just a POV situation like OMAC/Frankenstein because the big two have been trying to bleed my wallet dry with these crossovers and making me have to pick up books I don't read. This month I had to pick up both OMAC (if I'd know ahead of time that it would be the same basic story in Frankenstein I wouldn't have gotten it) and Amazing Spider-Man (for the Daredevil crossover) and next month has a whopping 5 issues of Venom coming out to facilitate a story featuring Ghost Rider, X-23 and Red Hulk. On top of all that in a few months there's apparently supposed to be a three part crossover between Daredevil, Avenging Spider-Man and Punisher, one that sounds pretty essential to the ongoing plot of DD and thusly one I can't skip. Then god knows what all Marvel books I read will end up getting ruined by the Avengers and X-Men Have A Silly Misunderstanding, Fight for a Bit and Then Unite Against Their Real Common Enemy event. (mini-rant on crossovers over)

Yep I be dreading that crossover right now. Why are they even fighting? And who thought it would be a good idea to have Iron Man fight Magneto

The crossover I am looking forward to is Night of the Owls though that's looking pretty amazing right now

Agreed. These are 4 of the books I look forward to most each month (Batman, Daredevil and Batwoman are the others). My wife also loves Animal Man and Swamp Thing which is cool because right now, outside of Bat titles, reading lists don't overlap too much so its rare we get to discuss a story we're both reading, something I miss from the days that she was just a casual comic fan and read everything I did lol.

Awwwww that's really lovely that the two of you can chat about the comic your both reading

I love chatting about Batwoman and Legion of Superheroes with my girlfriend. She calls me her Shrinking Violet like the LOSH character because I'm pretty tiny

I'm glad we're getting backstory on that relationship in Demon Knights. I've really been enjoying Cornell's writing on that title and I'm glad he's sticking around longer than he did on Stormwatch and I hope he stays on for a while and has a really great run on the book.

Yep I hope Demon Knights is going to last for a long while yet its been a great series and I really love how Cornell writes everyone

Vandal Savage is terrific fun

I'm way behind on both of these (issue 2 for both), I may just pick up these two issues to jump back in provided I have enough to spare on them that week.

I hope that you dig them if you do check them out

 

[Pyro Man]

Soldiers fighting dinosaurs?

That actually sounds like it could be fun. Very possibly on a bun

Yeah, thats pretty much the synopsis of the old feature "The War That Time Forgot" that they're resurrecting in that book along with "Unknown Soldier" (which I know nothing about but I know they made a Vertigo series a while back that had a cult following) and "The Haunted Tank", the original version of which dealt with a tank driver in WWII that was guided by the ghost of a Civil War general or some such shtick. I'm assuming the reboot will be updated to Iraq but they damn well better keep the ghost general cause it's wacky war comic gold damnit!

I hope so! OMAC has been lots of wacky fun so far and I want to see more of these characters and find out more about what the New Gods are up to at Cadmus

This book has been surprisingly neat and enjoyable

God, I keep hearing its good, I really wish I hadn't ignored it when it dropped but I hadn't really been a fan of Didio's writing but then I read the crossover issue and it was actually pretty good, I'm starting to regret not following it from day one.

Yep I be dreading that crossover right now. Why are they even fighting? And who thought it would be a good idea to have Iron Man fight Magneto

I don't know. It all seems so stupid to me and I just know Secret Avengers, Uncanny X-Force and Wolverine and the X-Men are all gonna get roped into doing bad tie in stories. I'm so sick of events and their damn tie ins. My first ever crossover I read was Identity Crisis, which goes to show how young I am, I know its a divisive story but it had only like two or three tie in issues that were completely optional, you could follow the story and it had all the depth and character development it needed right in the main book. Every comic event has just gotten worse about tie ins ever since then with the main book ending up just being a highlights version of the story and forcing the reader to buy a dozen tie ins to feel the scope and depth of the story. Its a cheap marketing tactic and just bad storytelling.

The crossover I am looking forward to is Night of the Owls though that's looking pretty amazing right now

Agreed, that looks pretty exciting, my only gripe is that apparently Tim's part of the story is being lumped in as part of Red Hood which I refuse to buy. I miss Tim having a solo title, it just feels wrong for him to be in the crappy new Teen Titans and nothing else.

Awwwww that's really lovely that the two of you can chat about the comic your both reading

Yeah its nice, I'm trying to get her to read Demon Knights cause I think she'd like it but she hasn't gotten around to it yet, or so she says lol

I love chatting about Batwoman and Legion of Superheroes with my girlfriend. She calls me her Shrinking Violet like the LOSH character because I'm pretty tiny

I've never been able to get into LOSH, it seems like one big damn mess, its been rebooted what? Three times now? I've tried to read up on them on wikipedia but it just gives me a big headache.

 

[Cosmic]

Unknown Soldier was a masterpiece. I bought every issue, except for the last two, which came out after I left.

I remember reading Haunted Tank along with Sgt. Rock and Jonah Hex in a stack of comics an older kid handed to me when I was a young lad. The reboot from a couple of years ago was really bad. The new Sgt. Rock stuff has been great, though.

Demon Knights didn't catch on for me. I bought every issue of Byrne's Demon run...I really miss those comics, now.

Right now, I'm really enjoying Justice League Dark. It's not your average, by-the-numbers superhero team book. The crossover with I, Vampire sounds pretty interesting. I've been looking to add a few titles, so I'm going to give this one a look.

 

[Mystirious]

I be enjoying it right now

Though Deadman is a colossal dbag and Dove needs to show him the back of her pimp hand

 

[Pyro Man]

Yesterday DC announced the shuffling of some writers that will effect the Dark books:

http://comics.ign.com/articles/121/1217598p1.html

DC Comics announced a bit of a talent shuffle today on The Source for their "Dark" line of books. After I, Vampire and Justice League Dark have their crossover in issues #7 and 8, Animal Man writer Jeff Lemire will be taking over scripting duties of Justice League Dark.

"This is my dream gig at DC Comics, no doubt about it," Lemire told The Source. "The characters in Justice League Dark are my absolute favorite in the DC Comics stable, and I can't believe I'm actually getting a chance to write John Constantine, Zatanna and Deadman (as well as a few new team members!)."

"I have a huge amount of respect for Peter Milligan. I've loved everything he's done since his original Shade run in the pre-Vertigo days of DC to his current run on Hellblazer and JL Dark," he continued. "It's a bit daunting to take over this title from someone who I revere as much as Peter, but at the same time I can't help but be inspired by the work he's already done with this book."

Milligan will be moving from JL Dark to Stormwatch with issue #9, as well as continuing his work on Red Lanterns and Hellblazer.

"Stormwatch has the craziness, the paranoia and the occasional bursts of odd humor that really grab me. This is my kind of book," said Milligan. "In other words, when I re-read Paul Cornell's excellent first series with a view to taking over the writing duties I was really excited. And I'm excited too by what I have planned, from Stormwatch facing a ferocious character from the Red Lantern Corps, to hidden secrets being revealed about the origin of Stormwatch, and some shocking revelations about the mysterious Shadow Lords. It's going to be a very intense ride."

"It's a bit of a wrench leaving JL Dark, of course, and not working with the increasingly outstanding Mikel Janin. But the fact that Jeff Lemire is taking over makes me very sanguine," complimented Milligan. "I think Jeff is great. And I think he'll be great for this book. It'll be intriguing to see how he handles the great conman mage, John Constantine, whose twisted life I'm continuing to chronicle over in Vertigo's Hellblazer."

In light of Lemire taking on another ongoing series at DC -- in addition to continuing artist and scripting duties on Sweet Tooth -- he'll be leaving Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. behind. Taking his place is his Sweet Tooth and Men of War collaborator and fellow indie comics maven Matt Kindt, who most recently scripted a story for DC in the pages of My Greatest Adventure.

"I've had a pretty fortunate career to date by breaking into comics with my own original graphic novels. All I've known is creator-owned stuff. I've been spoiled – writing and drawing my own books," said Kindt. "So in a lot of ways I feel like I'm the mirror image of a lot of writers that get the work-for-hire stuff straight away and then work to make the leap to creator-owned work. So for me, this is just a great big treat. Getting to work on characters that have been around forever and have a kind of cultural history already. It's just plain fun. I feel like I'm collaborating with everyone that's ever touched these characters before, from Grant Morrison to Bob Haney and Arnold Drake."

Hope that this is the last creator change for Stormwatch for a while. If that book doesn't find a consistent team its probably toast, not that the sales are that hot as it is.

I'm excited about Lemire on JL Dark but I'm disappointed that he's leaving Frankenstein (on the bright side though, at least its not Animal Man), I'm not sure how I feel about the new writer, I've never read anything by him, I guess we'll have to wait and see if his run is any good.

 

[flash13]

Jeff Lemire writing Zatanna and Deadman? All is right in the world!

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Goddamnit, I thought that cover meant that Rafael Albuquerque was taking over as the regular artist for Resurrection Man and got really excited. Then I read the actual solicitation and saw that he's just doing covers.

 

[Mystirious]

The current artist for the book is pretty neat too Corp

Can't wait to see their take on the Arkham villains next week