The first two days of San Diego Comic-Con has been filled with announcement from DC Comics. Ahead of their October 2022 solicitations DC Comics announced several new comic books coming along with a big change to their Dark Crisis event. Now with the official release of DC Comics October 2022 solicitations we got dates for these SDCC comic book announcements. In addition we got other details for things going on in other ongoing titles. Let’s take a look at what is to come from DC Comics by going through their October 2022 solicitations.
BATMAN FRANCHISE EXPANDS…..AGAIN
Unsurprising, DC Comics SDCC 2022 announcements were filled with comics for the Batman franchise. Over in the main titles, both Batman and Detective Comics we see that Chip Zdarsky and Ram V are continuing their first big story arcs for their respective runs. Continuing what past Batman creative teams have done both Zdarsky and Ram V are working hard to get over new villains that are being added to Batman’s Rogues Gallery. Given both creators history I fully expect their runs will grow stronger the further they develop.
From their we have the Batman franchise continuing to expand with Batman Incorporated, GCPD: The Blue Wall, and Gotham City: Year One. All three of these titles show that DC Comics is delving into the Batman franchise from different angles that don’t necessarily involve Bruce Wayne.
With Batman Incorporated we are going to get to finally see what Ghost-Maker can do as he is now leading Bruce’s creation and mentoring these other Batman inspired heroes.
Then with both GCPD: The Blue Wall and Gotham City: Year One we are getting more of a exploration of the Gotham Police Department. This is honestly not what I would’ve gone with as two titles does seem like overkill as they will cannibalize one another. So I don’t see them gaining the same popularity Gotham Central got since both these new titles are tackling the GCPD at the same time.
BATMAN VILLAINS GET THE SPOTLIGHT
Then from there we also see that Batman’s Rogues Gallery is getting a lot more attention beyond the superhero titles in the Batman franchise. We’ve already been seeing the villains get some of the spotlight through the Batman One Bad Day one-shot series. For October we will see Penguin get the Batman One Bad Day spotlight with John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli as the creative team. The timing is interesting since this will be several months removed from Penguin’s death in the current Batman comics.
Along with Batman One Bad Day we’re also getting a Riddler: Year One mini-series. The big notable thing from this new mini-series is that the writer for Riddler: Year One is that the writer is Paul Dano, who played The Riddler in Matt Reeves “The Batman” movie. Diving into Edward Nashton through the writing of the actor who played the character in the movie should give those looking for more context from the character we saw.
Along with these two titles we got two more Joker related titles in The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing and Punchline: The Gotham Game. As with the previous Joker ongoing there is nothing from what we learned about The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing that makes it a must have title. Punchline: The Gotham Game is a bit more interesting because I have found Punchline to have more layers to her character as she goes into being a villain more with each appearance. Tini Howard has also shown to continue to get more comfortable working in the Batman franchise with her work on Catwoman. Hopefully she and Blake Howard can hit the ground running.
DARK CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS
During San Diego Comic-Con we saw Dark Crisis retitled to be known as Dark Crisis On Infinite Earths. Rokk covered the changes in his spotlight of the Dark Crisis SDCC Panel. I do find it funny that DC Comics is calling this the official sequel to Crisis On Infinite Earths since that is what Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis, and Dark Nights: Death Metal were also known as. This was definitely a promotional tactic to try to grab more new readers who haven’t been reading DC Comics comic books, which I can’t hate on since its an obvious marketing move to take.
Along with the title change we are seeing that Dark Crisis On Infinite Earth has now more than doubled in the originally promised reading checklist. This move is not at all surprising given that when DC Comics released the original Dark Crisis Checklist it did seem small with only two tie-in mini-series. Even The Flash is going to stop being a tie-in to Dark Crisis starting in October, eliminating the one ongoing series that tied into DC Comics big event.
Adding all these titles with Joshua Williamson leading the way does help expand the story dealing with the Multiverse so the event is bigger. Though these titles being announced at this stage does signal that the plans for Dark Crisis weren’t fully ironed out when the event started. The timing does seem like editorial and creative were still figuring out what can come out on time during the event. With that said, I wouldn’t be surprised if I Am Batman isn’t the only ongoing title that ties into Dark Crisis starting in November.
SUPERMAN FAMILY REUNION
When it was announced that Clark Kent’s Superman was returning to Earth with Action Comics #1047 I was hoping that we would see the entire Superman Family be involved in the story. DC Comics has really done a poor job with delving into all the characters in the Superman Family like Supergirl, Steel, Conner Kent, Krypto, and others. It has made the franchise seem small that only Clark and Jon Kent get the attention
Now finally with the crossover between Action Comics and Superman: Son Of Kal-El that is something that is changing. At least mentioning Supergirl and Steel in the Action Comics #1048 solicitation we know that other Superman Family characters are going to get some attention. Especially as both these titles will line-up with Dark Crisis at some point this is a good move by both Tom Taylor and Phillip Kennedy Johnson to do to prepare what is coming for the DC Universe.
STATIC SEASON 2 BEGINS
Static: Season One was a well done modern reboot for the character and the Milestone Universe. The series reintroduced us to Virgil and his cast of characters that felt like all the characters got a fresh start. Having the series release as part of users DC Universe Infinite subscription was a good move that was not promoted enough by DC Comics. I do think if DC Comics would’ve pushed the fact that Static: Season One was free for DC Universe Infinite it would’ve benefited both this comic book and the subscription service at the same time.
That aside, I’m very excited we are getting a second season of the comic book with Static: Shadows Of Dakota beginning in October with Vita Ayala and Nikolas Draper-Ivey returning as the creative team. Working as a mini-series should help further tell one complete story, something Ayala, Draper-Ivey, and Chriscross showed they can do extremely well. Hopefully Static: Shadows Of Dakota also gets day-and-date release on DC Universe Infinite like season one did.
ALFRED PENNYWORTH RETURNS IN BATMAN VS ROBIN
No one stays dead forever in comic books. Looks like that will be the case with Alfred Pennyworth as the character will be returning in Batman vs Robin. Alfred’s return was snuck into the solicitation of Batman vs Robin #2 where it’s said that he and Bruce Wayne will be teaming up to stop Damian Wayne, who has been possessed by the Demon Nezha. Alfred being back does certainly throw a wrench in things with how much his death impacted everyone in the Batman Family. Now if this is a permanent return is left to be seen.
Along with that we now know Batman vs Robin won’t be a confined event to the current Dynamic Duo. With Nezha’s involvement we now know Zatanna will be getting involved. This is a smart move by Batman since we just saw how powerful the demon was in the Batman/Superman: World’s Finest comic book. Hopefully we see more of Batman and Zatanna’s friendship explored in the comic book as well after the events of the recent Batman: Urban Legends storyline
DICK GRAYSON AND BARBARA GORDON FINAL DECISION
We’ve been down this road of teasers before but it finally looks like Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon will decide their the state of their relationship. This has been one of the major long-running stories in Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s creative run. Its been going on so long that we’ve had both Wally West and Tim Drake comment on how Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon are the only ones in the way of making their relationship official. They’ve grown comfortable keeping things casual even though others know its more than that. Now with Nightwing #97 they will either move forward with a true relationship or stay as friends.
While that is the major thing that Nightwing #97 pushes I hope that is not the only thing in the comic book. We are in the middle of a battle for Bludhaven. Getting more into that and the supporting cast of Nightwing would help add to this main story with Dick and Barbara.