DC Solicits for October (following Zero Month) {SPOILERS}

JUSTICE LEAGUE #13
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by TONY S. DANIEL and RICHARD FRIEND
Backup story art by GARY FRANK
Variant cover by CAMERON STEWART
1:100 B&W Variant cover by TONY S. DANIEL
On sale OCTOBER 17 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.
• GEOFF JOHNS is joined by TONY DANIEL for a two-part chapter in the Justice League saga marching toward TRINITY WAR.
• JUSTICE LEAGUE #12 will have the world debating its shocking conclusion – and where it will lead from here!
• The League takes on a villain destined to be one of the greatest threats to the DC Universe in the year ahead – the mysterious Cheetah! But who is she? What is her connection to Wonder Woman? And how will this fundamentally change the relationships within the team?
• Plus: The next chapter of the SHAZAM! backup epic by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank!
his issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.



EARTH 2 #5
Written by JAMES ROBINSON
Art by NICOLA SCOTT and TREVOR SCOTT
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:25 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS
On sale OCTOBER 3 • 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.
• It’s the final showdown with GRUNDY!
• The Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and The Flash take on Grundy and the military’s hero, The Atom!
• The Green Lantern makes a choice that will change the course of Earth 2 forever!



GREEN LANTERN CORPS #13
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by CAFU
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:25 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS
On sale OCTOBER 10 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the Order Form for details.
• “Rise of the Third Army”!
• As John Stewart discovers there’s a new GL on Earth, the Third Army Strikes!
• Also in this issue: EVERYTHING changes for Guy Gardner!



GREEN LANTERN #13
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by DOUG MAHNKE and CHRISTIAN ALAMY
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:25 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS
“We Can Be Heroes” Blank variant cover available
On sale OCTOBER 3 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $3.99 US
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the Order Form for details.
• “Rise of the Third Army”!
• Earth’s new Green Lantern battles The Justice League!
• Meanwhile, The Guardians begin their final step in the destruction of the Lanterns by releasing the first of the Third Army soldiers!



RED LANTERNS #13
Written by PETER MILLIGAN
Art by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:25 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS
On sale OCTOBER 24 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the Order Form for details.
• “Rise of the Third Army”!
• As the Third Army attacks, a Red Lantern will die!
• What dark choice will Atrocitus be forced to make to insure the survival of the Red Lantern Corps?



GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #13
Written by TONY BEDARD
Art by AARON KUDER
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:25 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS
On sale OCTOBER 17 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the Order Form for details.
• “Rise of the Third Army”!
• Kyle Rayner arrives on Earth to heartbreaking news!
• The debut of the all-new Carol Ferris Star Sapphire!



THE PHANTOM STRANGER #1
Written by DAN DIDIO
Art by BRENT ANDERSON and SCOTT HANNA
Cover by BRENT ANDERSON
1:25 Variant cover by SHANE DAVIS
On sale OCTOBER 3 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.
• An all-new series focusing on secrets of The New 52 you never imagined!
• The Phantom Stranger strikes a bargain with Lord Trigon that will have serious repercussions in the DC Universe!
• From afar, Pandora watches!

Here's my thoughts.

JLA: Tony Daniel's Superman looks like he has a swollen jaw. It looks horrible. The rest of the page looks fine, but that one part is awful.

The third army is reconditioned Green Lantern members, ala OMAC. The key aspects to notice? Their brains are visible to imply the Guardians can adjust them anytime they need...and they don't have mouths so they can never talk back.

Obviously they are saying now that Phantom Stranger is somehow responsible for Raven getting her powers?Note that Raven shadow in the corner. Intriguing.

My thoughts...

JUSTICE LEAGUE: Really? The Cheetah is "one of the greatest threats to the DC Universe in the year ahead"? REALLY? Also setup stuff for Trinity War is pretty cool.

EARTH 2: "Green Lantern makes a choice that will change the course of Earth 2 forever."? Awesome, can't wait. And the Atom is the MILITARY'S hero and he's going AGAINST the "JSA"? Does that mean he's going ALONGSIDE Grundy or?....

NEW GUARDIANS: "Kyle Arrives on earth to heartbreaking news"? What kind? Also a dynamic I didn't think of before now (oddly) I wonder how they'll play the relationship between Kyle and Carol. I don't mean an actual romantic relationship between them (it's possible but unlikely) but how do they interact? Will he become her confidant for all the issues she has with Hal? I mean, there's alot left open there for them to explore. Happy to see the new dynamic.

PHANTOM STRANGER: I love everything about this solicit. I LOVE how this book is going to become the lynchpin for all things leading up to the Trinity War and the history involved in this new DCU. It makes me SUPER happy so many eyes will want to be on one of my favorite characters because they want to know about about Trinity War. It will probably be the most popular the character has ever been...and I love it.

cage_narleigh wrote:My thoughts...

JUSTICE LEAGUE: Really? The Cheetah is "one of the greatest threats to the DC Universe in the year ahead"? REALLY? Also setup stuff for Trinity War is pretty cool.

EARTH 2: "Green Lantern makes a choice that will change the course of Earth 2 forever."? Awesome, can't wait. And the Atom is the MILITARY'S hero and he's going AGAINST the "JSA"? Does that mean he's going ALONGSIDE Grundy or?....

NEW GUARDIANS: "Kyle Arrives on earth to heartbreaking news"? What kind? Also a dynamic I didn't think of before now (oddly) I wonder how they'll play the relationship between Kyle and Carol. I don't mean an actual romantic relationship between them (it's possible but unlikely) but how do they interact? Will he become her confidant for all the issues she has with Hal? I mean, there's alot left open there for them to explore. Happy to see the new dynamic.

PHANTOM STRANGER: I love everything about this solicit. I LOVE how this book is going to become the lynchpin for all things leading up to the Trinity War and the history involved in this new DCU. It makes me SUPER happy so many eyes will want to be on one of my favorite characters because they want to know about about Trinity War. It will probably be the most popular the character has ever been...and I love it.

Ah yes. Cheetah will probably get her powers from the same place as Animal Man now, which may put her in some unique position.

Good point about Kyle and Carol dynamic. Heartbreaking news maybe about Munk or Fatality?

choanata wrote:
NEW GUARDIANS: "Kyle Arrives on earth to heartbreaking news"? What kind? Also a dynamic I didn't think of before now (oddly) I wonder how they'll play the relationship between Kyle and Carol. I don't mean an actual romantic relationship between them (it's possible but unlikely) but how do they interact? Will he become her confidant for all the issues she has with Hal? I mean, there's alot left open there for them to explore. Happy to see the new dynamic.

Good point about Kyle and Carol dynamic. Heartbreaking news maybe about Munk or Fatality?

Hal being "dead". (Probably pulled to Qward...remember his "unzipping" after entering the Central Yellow Power Battery?

cage_narleigh wrote:My thoughts...

JUSTICE LEAGUE: Really? The Cheetah is "one of the greatest threats to the DC Universe in the year ahead"? REALLY? Also setup stuff for Trinity War is pretty cool.

Cheetah is one of WW's biggest enemies, and since she's one of the biggest parts of the DCU, it makes some sense that she SHOULD be one of the greatest threats. Even if you don't agree, it sounds like Johns is going to play with and retool the character to make her a villain to be reckoned with--there was a time where Sinestro was just a purple dude with a big head and a porn 'stache, after all...

cage_narleigh wrote:PHANTOM STRANGER: I love everything about this solicit. I LOVE how this book is going to become the lynchpin for all things leading up to the Trinity War and the history involved in this new DCU. It makes me SUPER happy so many eyes will want to be on one of my favorite characters because they want to know about about Trinity War. It will probably be the most popular the character has ever been...and I love it.

You might also be happy to know that he'll be in Action Comics #13 as well:



ACTION COMICS #13
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Backup story written by SHOLLY FISCH
Art by TRAVEL FOREMAN
Backup story art by BRAD WALKER
Cover by BRYAN HITCH
Variant cover by RAGS MORALES
1:100 B&W cover by BRYAN HITCH
On sale OCTOBER 3 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.
• You won’t want to miss the return of Krypto!
• Superman must face down a threat from the Phantom Zone – with the help of The Phantom Stranger!
• Grant Morrison makes a major change in ACTION COMICS in this special issue featuring art by Travel Foreman!
This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.

choanata wrote:The third army is reconditioned Green Lantern members, ala OMAC. The key aspects to notice? Their brains are visible to imply the Guardians can adjust them anytime they need...and they don't have mouths so they can never talk back.

I don't know about the "reconditioned Green Lantern members" part, but the brains and lack of mouths part is EXACTLY the first thing I thought as well.

Other thoughts:

*sigh* I've tried. I really have, but I'm firmly convinced that at this point in my life, I will never, ever care about the Phantom Stranger. I don't say that to irritate anyone, it is just... how I feel. If it makes anyone feel better, there are many, many other characters that people love that I just can't find the appeal for - characters like Boba Fett, or the Silver Surfer (I know, sacrilege!).

From the Red Lanterns solicit:
"As the Third Army attacks, a Red Lantern will die!" Will it be Razer? It better not be Razer. Is Razer even in comic book continuity? Is it obvious that my only real enjoyment of the Red Lanterns is from the cartoon?

Finally, changing the course off Earth 2 forever? Really? Five issues in? Isn't pretty much EVERY action at this point changing the course of Earth 2? Too new for me to be shocked into getting back into that book.

That is all.

I really do love that New Guardians cover. I kinda hope Carol rises to the top as the leader of that group. Yeah, I know, Kyle and whatnot, but it makes more sense for it to be Carol.

gland wrote:I really do love that New Guardians cover. I kinda hope Carol rises to the top as the leader of that group. Yeah, I know, Kyle and whatnot, but it makes more sense for it to be Carol.

They could be co-leaders, ala Dick and Donna back in NTT.

To add to Billy's point about changing the universe by some momentous decision, a bunch of the solicits involve a WHOLE NEW DIRECTION! And I look at Firestorm who is now getting Dan Jurgens, and a whole new direction, and part of me would love to try it again, but what they've done to that character already had pretty much poisoned the well for me. At this point I have to wonder how many people will even check it out again.

choanata wrote:To add to Billy's point about changing the universe by some momentous decision, a bunch of the solicits involve a WHOLE NEW DIRECTION! And I look at Firestorm who is now getting Dan Jurgens, and a whole new direction, and part of me would love to try it again, but what they've done to that character already had pretty much poisoned the well for me. At this point I have to wonder how many people will even check it out again.

Not too terribly interested in this new run on Firestorm either--not because of how they changed it, I think that does have potential to be interesting, it's just that Jurgens is one of the most bland and boring comic book writers I've ever read.

Fun Fact #4736 -

Did you know that one out of every 6.38 people in the New 52 DCU is a Firestorm?

It is true. Fake scientists in the New 52 state that if you were to stack everyone that contains the "Firestorm protocol" in the world, the stack would be one and a half times the height of the Empire State Building, and would cause a thermonuclear meltdown that would render the Earth uninhabitable for 3.6 million years.

Now you know.

EarthGBilly wrote:Fun Fact #4736 -

Did you know that one out of every 6.38 people in the New 52 DCU is a Firestorm?

It is true. Fake scientists in the New 52 state that if you were to stack everyone that contains the "Firestorm protocol" in the world, the stack would be one and a half times the height of the Empire State Building, and would cause a thermonuclear meltdown that would render the Earth uninhabitable for 3.6 million years.

Now you know.

...Well shit, I don't know how to top that.

There's nothing wrong with Firestorm, they just tried something with the character that didn't work out. Now they're clearly changing tactics to try and get better results. What's wrong with that?

Here is my issue with how they handled Firestorm in the New 52 DCU -

The New 52, as best as I can surmise, was initiated to take less successful properties and re-imagine them for a new generation, while leaving some successful properties (namely, Batman and GL) relatively unchanged.

That is a rather simplistic stating of the idea, and it doesn't factor in changes to characters to better secure rights, lure creators, etc., etc., etc.

Personally, I never found the concept of Firestorm fundamentally flawed, but I'll concede that, since his original series ended, the character hasn't found firm footing.

A few years ago, they gave Firestorm an overhaul, to make the character appeal to a new generation, and it was actually a solid, well thought-out change that improved the mythos of the character. Admittedly, that new series started off shaky, trying to completely distance itself from the original, but then it caught a great stride and I was sorry to see it go.

I was excited about the new Firestorm in the New 52...



... and then I read it.

It did not come across as a solid, well thought-out change that improved the character. It came across as making a bunch of changes for change sake that they then just threw a bunch of ideas at it and hoped something would stick.

"We are going to completely gut the concept of the character, the idea of the two characters becoming one hero, by having them be able to form their own version of Firestorm separately." (Don't bother citing the previous time when Ronnie Raymond was able to do this, because I'll point out that happened in a book not title "Firestorm," and that book also gave us battle armor Booster Gold, Captain Atom with a mullet, was so 90's it made my head hurt.)

"We are really keen on the visual of this Firestorm/Anti-Monitor mash-up, so we're gonna shove that in there. And give him terrible, terrible dialogue."

"And you know how Iron Man has to battle versions of his armor from other governments? We're gonna have that too."

So-called "cool ideas" that are not fleshed out are what killed this book for me. This version of Firestorm I actually do find fundamentally flawed, and I would have a hard time going back to it short of a complete reboot.

EarthGBilly wrote:Here is my issue with how they handled Firestorm in the New 52 DCU -

The New 52, as best as I can surmise, was initiated to take less successful properties and re-imagine them for a new generation, while leaving some successful properties (namely, Batman and GL) relatively unchanged.

That is a rather simplistic stating of the idea, and it doesn't factor in changes to characters to better secure rights, lure creators, etc., etc., etc.

Personally, I never found the concept of Firestorm fundamentally flawed, but I'll concede that, since his original series ended, the character hasn't found firm footing.

A few years ago, they gave Firestorm an overhaul, to make the character appeal to a new generation, and it was actually a solid, well thought-out change that improved the mythos of the character. Admittedly, that new series started off shaky, trying to completely distance itself from the original, but then it caught a great stride and I was sorry to see it go.

I was excited about the new Firestorm in the New 52...



... and then I read it.

It did not come across as a solid, well thought-out change that improved the character. It came across as making a bunch of changes for change sake that they then just threw a bunch of ideas at it and hoped something would stick.

"We are going to completely gut the concept of the character, the idea of the two characters becoming one hero, by having them be able to form their own version of Firestorm separately." (Don't bother citing the previous time when Ronnie Raymond was able to do this, because I'll point out that happened in a book not title "Firestorm," and that book also gave us battle armor Booster Gold, Captain Atom with a mullet, was so 90's it made my head hurt.)

"We are really keen on the visual of this Firestorm/Anti-Monitor mash-up, so we're gonna shove that in there. And give him terrible, terrible dialogue."

"And you know how Iron Man has to battle versions of his armor from other governments? We're gonna have that too."

So-called "cool ideas" that are not fleshed out are what killed this book for me. This version of Firestorm I actually do find fundamentally flawed, and I would have a hard time going back to it short of a complete reboot.

I'm not as big of a fan of Firestorm as Billy is, that being said he IS one of my favorite characters in the DC Universe. I agree with everything said above. Maybe they had a fantastic idea, in fact I'm quite sure that, done right, the concept of a "Firestorm Protocol" and multiple Firestorms, etc. could be a fantastic new development and storyline for the character. The problem rests in the execution of that storyline and that's where Billy's complaints come into play on my end.

I liked the original Firestorm series (Ronnie Raymond). Ronnie, Professor Stein, Cliff, etc. that whole dynamic worked. I didn't read the Jason era of Firestorm so I won't comment on what I don't have experience with. I really enjoyed the storyline we got for Firestorm in Brightest Day. This character now made up of Jason AND Ronnie, especially after the events of Blackest Night, made for an interesting dynamic with the character. Not to mention I loved the art. In fact, I'm going to go re-read that now...

I didn't have a problem with the idea of the new Firestorm--I just thought the writing of it was bland as shit and felt like a goofy-ass superhero version of Red Dawn (to my mind, one of the shittiest movies I've ever seen).

There are certain stories that are not great, but get even worse when you place it next to something vastly better. The new reboot comes hot on the heels of another reset of the character as planned by Geoff Johns. A story that actually seemed fairly compelling. And they traded THAT for the hot mess we got now. Compounded by bland writing, it's a dog of a series for anyone to have to try and fix.

choanata wrote:There are certain stories that are not great, but get even worse when you place it next to something vastly better. The new reboot comes hot on the heels of another reset of the character as planned by Geoff Johns. A story that actually seemed fairly compelling. And they traded THAT for the hot mess we got now. Compounded by bland writing, it's a dog of a series for anyone to have to try and fix.

I didn't think the Firestorm story in Brightest Day was all that good either. I mean, it had some interesting ideas (Deathstorm was hilariously inspired), and Ronnie and Jason's conflict had a little more meat to it, but both stories are similar in just...kinda being there.