DC Comics May 2019 Solicitations Analysis

DC Comics looks to heat things up as we head into the summer months. On top of Heroes In Crisis and Doomsday Clock, May will see a new post-apocalyptic event in the form of DCEased kicking off. Along with that event May will see the Year of Villains gaining a big spotlight with their own one-shot. That is all on top of other major storylines that will be going on for Batman, Superman, Flash, Green Lantern and more. Let’s take a look at all of DC Comics big plans after they released their May 2019 solicitations.

DC COMICS BEGINS YEAR OF VILLAINS

The momentum around the big name villains in the DC Universe has been building for several years now. It all goes back to the Forever Evil event. While that event was not well received it did accomplish its job to elevate villains like Lex Luthor to be more than just villains for one hero. That evolution continued throughout the comics DC Comics has been publishing, both in ongoing and mini-series form.

Now with DC’s Year Of The Villains one-shot we are going to get an even better idea of what big plans these characters have going for the rest of the year. With Brian Bendis, Scott Snyder and James Tynion working on this one-shot this is sure to be a very important comic book for those reading all the major titles. What tone the DC’s Year Of The Villains sets for the rest of 2019 will be very interesting to see.

BATMAN & TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES CONCLUDE TRILOGY CROSSOVER

Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover is something I never thought we would get. But then we did. Not only did we get that crossover but we got a sequel to that story and a crossover between the 90s animated version of Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now DC and IDW are completing the trilogy of Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Both James Tynion and Freddie Williams are returning for to complete the story.

Making this comic even more special is the fact that Tynion and Williams are going to have one of the original TMNT creators, Kevin Eastman, join them. Though the solicitation indicates that Eastman is only working on the variant covers I would not be surprised if he is also helping with the story. Tynion and Williams seem to indicate on Twitter that to be the case, which is great if true.

SCOTT SNYDER & GREG CAPULLO TEAM-UP FOR BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo ended their original run on the Batman ongoing series on a high note. Since the end of that run both Snyder and Capullo have teased one more Batman story for them to tell as a creative team. Now we are finally getting that story with Batman: Last Knight On Earth. The cover alone shows us the tone having a sense that Snyder and Capullo are treating this as “the final” Batman story.

Having Batman: Last Knight On Earth be part of the DC Black Label should also give more freedom for Snyder and Capullo not to hold back. That is not something they have ever done, since their original Batman run was epic. But with the DC Black Label they will be able to not have the barriers of Batman as a mainstream series and go all out to make this a big ending for their work on the character.

DCEASED PANDEMIC SPREADS ACROSS THE DC UNIVERSE

When you talk about an unexpected comic book series DCeased is right up there. The zombie craze is something that has long been over. Seeing DC Comics just now go down the route of The Walking Dead and Marvel Zombies does feel a bit too late.

That said, the fact that DCeased is written by Tom Taylor is more than enough to create interest around this series. Taylor has done fantastic work for DC Comics in the past. His work on the Injustice comics has shown that he knows how to write a great story around the entire DCU. What he does with a zombie-like story within the DC Universe will be very interesting to see.

HEROES IN CRISIS CONCLUDES

To say Heroes In Crisis has been divisive amongst the DC Comics fanbase would be an understatement. We hear at the Revolution have not been big fans of how Heroes In Crisis has been handled thus far. There are some interesting elements in the story. Unfortunately the best aspects of Heroes In Crisis has been brought down by several negative factors. But now we are finally going to reach the ending for Heroes In Crisis in May. Given how far we’ve come with this series hopefully the “stunning finale” will be a satisfying payoff rather than a demoralizing ending.

RORSCHACH BRINGS HOPE IN DOOMSDAY CLOCK

I haven’t been reading Doomsday Clock as I’m waiting for the trade paperback due to its publishing schedule. That said, I always anticipate what will be teased in each solicitation for Doomsday Clock. The latest solicitation is the most interesting one thus far as Rorschach looks to be positioned to be the big hero of the story. With how much Doomsday Clock has been pushed as a Superman vs Dr. Manhattan story having Rorschach act as the final wild card for the story would be fitting given what happened in the Watchmen comic.

MATT FRACTION & GREG RUCKA JOIN BRIAN BENDIS’ SUPERMAN FAMILY

When Brian Michael Bendis joined DC Comics one of the more interesting sub-plots of this was which one of his friends would eventually join him. Afterall, Bendis has built a strong circle of friends around the comic book industry during his time at Marvel and the indies. One of those friends joining Bendis, as we learned from the May 2019 solicitations, is Matt Fraction. That is a big get for DC as Fraction’s name has only gotten bigger since working on his own comics since leaving Marvel.

Along with Fraction, we are going to see Greg Rucka joining the Superman Family comics. The first project Bendis, Fraction and Rucka will work on together is Superman: Leviathan Rising Special #1. From here Fraction and Rucka will break away for their own comics starring Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen in June. This is a strong trio for DC to have working on the Superman comics. Now the question is who else will join Bendis in the future at DC?

THOMAS WAYNE VS. BRUCE WAYNE CAUSES BATMAN TO FALL

Since showing up at the end of Batman #50 one of the biggest questions around Tom King’s run is how Flashpoint Batman survived the events of “The Button” crossover? Along with that there was the question of why Flashpoint Batman appeared to be working with Bane? That is a major shift for the Flashpoint version of Thomas Wayne, who had a strong father-son interaction with Bruce Wayne during “The Button” story.

Now it looks like we will be getting the answers to our questions around Flashpoint Thomas Wayne’s appearance starting with Batman #70 in story called “The Fall and the Fallen.” This story already seems to be a big story. But given the working of the solicitation for Batman #70 this story will be continuing the build for a big Batman event that King is crafting.

THE FLASH: YEAR ONE BEGINS

The Flash: Year One is one of those stories that has felt like a long-time coming. Ever since returning DC has done a lot to reestablish Barry Allen as The Flash again. Going back to tell his origin story now feels right given all that has happened to Barry and his family. It could serve as a nice break from everything that has happened around Barry, Wally and other Flash Family members. At the same time “The Flash: Year One” can help streamline the continuity for the franchise that has become a bit of a mess with how we have two Wally Wests, among other things.

GREEN LANTERN RING BECOMES THE DCU’S SOUL STONE

Grant Morrison never lets us down when it comes to shaking things up for the comics he is working on. That includes his current run on Green Lantern. Now he is going to be introducing a new element to the franchise as Hal Jordan enters a previously unknown universe within his Green Lantern ring. This is very reminiscent to how their is an entire world that exist within the Soul Stone over at Marvel. I have no doubt that Morrison will use his creativity to make this universe within the Green Lantern ring an intriguing new development with a ton of possibilities.

BILLY BATSON’S FATHER BREAKS THE SHAZAM FAMILY

The new Shazam comic book has been fun getting into as someone who has not previously read any comics around DC’s Captain Marvel outside his appearances in the JSA. Geoff Johns looks to be continuing to build the series star up as he brings back Billy Batson’s father. Even though I’m not familiar with this character this feels like it will be a big moment for both Billy and the Shazam series in general. How this all ends up playing with the family dynamic Billy has developed with his adopted brothers and sisters has plenty of potential to create even more stories for this series.