Here at TBU, we have neglected the solicitations for awhile due to a number of unforeseen issues with covering the news. Sure, we briefly talk about the on the Comic Cast, but to really understand how the market is effected by our choices to buy certain comics, you really need to better understand how the comics that are coming out in three months are changing. Sometimes the changes are minor with a character appearing somewhere they normally don’t appear and sometimes it is a full on regime change with new creators and new directions. So we are going to break down the solicitations rather than listing all of the solicitations for you to sift through and not really understand where the changes are happening. You can also check out some of the covers for the month above in the gallery. So here is what you can expect as a Bat-Fan in May 2017 from DC Comics.
Story Points: While we won’t cover everything that is coming out, new characters, returning characters, new story arcs will all be mentioned from what we are given from the solicitations. Over in All-Star Batman a new story arc kicks off featuring a character referred to as the First Ally. The Button story arc that is taking place in Batman and Flash will wrap during the beginning of the month with #22, while #23 will deal with the aftermath of the I am Bane story arc. Over in Detective Comics, the League of Shadows story arc wraps in #956. Issue #957 will feature what appears to be a one off story focusing on Spoiler.
Moving on to the allies of the Bat, Nightwing #20 will see the end of the Nightwing Must Die arc, with #21 bringing the return of Blockbuster to continuity. In Birds of Prey, Batgirl, and Harley Quinn the current story arcs will wrap, with Harley Quinn #20 starting a new arc. In Batman Beyond, Terry heads to Tibet to rescue Bruce from the League of Assassins and must meet with Ra’s al Ghul. The Batman annual that released at the end of last November hinted at a character called the Stag, which seems to be showing up in the Batman/Shadow mini-series.
In the greater DC Universe, a two issue story arc will take place in Justice League, while Justice League of America will see the end of a story arc and a one off story. Trinity begins a new story arc and also has a standalone story appearing in an annual by a different creative team. Finally, there is a four-part crossover between Deathstroke, Titans and Teen Titans called The Lazarus Contract. The story will also include a Teen Titans annual as the conclusion to the arc.
Guest Appearances: We all know that The Batman Universe has a great group of characters. And we also know that DC sometimes uses those characters to help bolster the sales of other comics. Outside the Titans crossover with Deathstroke, Suicide Squad will be appearing in Action Comics. Over in Supergirl, Batgirl assists in taking down the Phantom King.
Comics of Note: As far as series coming to an end, there is only one at this point. Dark Knight III’s final issue is solicited for May, but we will have to wait and see if it ends up releasing that month. There is one new series for the month as well. We already brought news of the Bane: Conquest series from Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan. That series will be twelve issues long and may or may not fall into normal continuity. Scott Snyder’s Court of Owls story returns, this time in the form of an Adult Coloring Book, priced at $15.99 and available in September. The next volume of DC Super Hero Girls will be available which focuses on summer vacation. That will be available in June for $9.99.
Creator Changes: There are not a whole lot of changes happening on the creator side of things. But some of the notable ones include, Rafael Albuquerque coming on to All-Star Batman for a new story arc, Jon Lam being added to Batgirl alongside regular Chris Wildgoose, Marcus To returning to Nightwing on issue #21, Jon Paul Leon coming on to Mother Panic and Carmen Carnero managing art on what appears to be a one off issue of Detective Comics focusing on Spoiler. On the main DC Universe titles, Bryan Hitch is listed to on art for both issues for the month and Felipe Watanabe and Scott Hanna are on Justice League of America #6 for what also appears to be a single issue story.
Special Pricing: While no price changes are occurring this month, there are a few things of note. Teen Titans has an annual this month which will feature the conclusion of the Deathstroke, Titans, and Teen Titans crossover. The annual is priced at $4.99 but will include a page count of 48 compared to the typical 32 along with the free digital code. Trinity will also get an annual priced at the $4.99 price point with the same page count and digital code as Teen Titans.
Collected Editions Worth Noting: There are always a ton of collected editions announced every month, but these are the ones that are outside just a current monthly being published in trade form. Greg Rucka and JH William III’s Batwoman run from Detective Comics 854-863 is being collected in TPB form and will be available this June. Batman vs Predator is being collected in TPB form and will be available in June as well. A new hardcover collection featuring Batman stories by Gerry Conway will be available in July, while Sam Keith gets a gallery edition of Batman: Secrets this August. Finally, Paul Dini’s Dark Knight: A True Batman Story will be released in TPB form this June.
That is the highlights of what you can expect this May. If you want to check out the full solicitations. you can read the DC Previews catalog online now by heading over here. Looking forward to anything specific for May? Sound off below.
