DC Solicitations for January 2004

DC has released its first month's worth of solicitations for next year, and there's plenty of good stuff therein. Some of my personal highlights:

Nightwing: Big Guns tpb - I've collected all of the Nightwing trades up 'til now, but I happened to pick up a few of these issues cheap a while back, so I doubt I'll invest in a shelf copy. I like the series, but not that much.

Superman: Red Son tpb - This, on the other hand, I'll probably get eventually. I heard nothing but rave reviews about it, and it's a nice rebuke of Millar's conspiracy theory when DC rushes this trade out so soon.

Superman: Secret Identity - There was a preview copy of this at San Diego, but when I finally made the time to read it, it had disappeared. With both Busiek and Immonen, I'm sure this'll be good, but at $6 an issue, it's a bit pricey. I bit the bullet on paying that price for JLA/Avengers, but I think I'll wait for the trade on this.

DC: The New Frontier- Speaking of expensive, this is 6 issues at $7 apiece. I'm so confident that this will be excellent that I'm tempted to give in, but $42 really ain't cheap, and I just know this'll be beautiful in a single volume. And bonus features aren't unlikely, either, I imagine.

Plastic Man #2 - I have such high hopes for this series. I hope it doesn't disappoint. Definitely a series that deserves mainstream release (e.g. supermarkets, B&N).

The Flash #206 - I really like "Ignition" so far, but I'm glad Johns isn't dragging the storyline out too far. And like #200, we get a preview of the new artist. I rather liked Howard Porter's take on Wally in JLA, so I imagine I'll like his work here too.

Green Arrow: The Sounds of Violence tpb - I'll buy this off eBay eventually.

JLA #92 - I've bought JLA since issue #1, but this storyline really doesn't interest me. I sense a buying hiatus coming on.

JSA/Hawkman - Oh yay, a crossover between a title I buy and a title I don't. But I trust Johns, and Rags' art doesn't disappoint, so I'll give it a shot.

H-E-R-O #12 - DC made this issue a featured article, which is good for promotion, but I fear is bad for the series' continued existence. This series sort of made it on my pull list on impulse, but I've been happy with it so far, and although I'll be sad if it gets canned, it'll get 14 issues at the least, and that's better than many series I've bought and enjoyed.