DC Comics October 2024 solicitations for October 2024 show that they will be All In on creating a new era for themselves. In the fallout from Absolute Power we will see the DC Universe head into a new direction that will see two universes developing at the same time. The impact of this decision is seen all over DC Comics October solicitations for as the month will be lighter in terms of depth. The narrower focus for the latest DC Comics solicitations show that we will see a new wave of relaunches starting in October and beyond. Let’s take a look at the biggest takeaways from DC Comics October 2024 solicitations.
DC COMICS IS ABSOLUTELY ALL IN
In the fallout of Absolute Power the DC Universe will be begin their new era dubbed “All In.” This new era won’t see The Elite or Will Ospreay make their DCU debut. Instead, “All In” will see DC Comics split their publishing plan between two coexisting universe, along with all their Elseworld projects.
As Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson, the architects of this new era, were clear in the YouTube announcement video this will not be a reboot New 52. They’ve been involved in some level of planning for the All In direction for several years now. Which does make sense given how important Snyder’s Dark Nights: Death Metal and Williamson’s Dark Crisis On Infinite Earths are to the modern DCU. It’s clear from this announcement they have used both those events to plant foundational seeds for All In.
The idea of two coexisting universe, one classic and another one being new, is very much Marvel’s strategy for Earth-616 and the Ultimate Universe. As we’ve seen with the success of the new Ultimate Universe this year that is a much better plan than a full reboot. Having both the DCU and Absolute Universe existing at the same time gives the opportunity to provide offerings for all types of readers.
Through this All In direction DC Comics can also create some friendly internal competition to see who can create the best universe reading experience. Having Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta for Absolute Batman, Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval for Absolute Superman, and Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman for Absolute Wonder Woman makes this Trinity of titles heavy hitters right out of the gate. This especially puts the pressure on the main DCU Superman and Wonder Woman titles to step up their game as the Absolute Universe will assurably begin with a lot of momentum. While it is to be expected that the Batman titles will sell as well as always, keeping an eye on Superman and Wonder Woman’s titles is the something to watch.
TOM TAYLOR & MIKEL JANIN TAKEOVER DETECTIVE COMICS
Showing that they won’t let the Absolute Universe take all the shine away from the classic DCU Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin have been announced as the new Detective Comics team. When looking for a counter punch to Absolute Batman’s creative team of Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta this is a strong one to make.
Along with Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez on Batman, a Taylor and Janin-led Detective Comics ensures the main DCU Batman titles are kept strong. Which in turn creates the strongest 1-2-3 punch in Absolute Batman, Detective Comics, and Batman that you’ll find for any franchise.
On the Detective Comics front, having Taylor and Janin on the series does show that DC still wans to make the DCU titles big deals. Doing so with one of your classic and longest running comics sends that message clearly. Taylor and Janin have shown they can deliver incredible stories in Batman’s universe. It will be exciting to see what magic Taylor and Janin now create together on Detective Comics.
LOIS LANE BECOMES SUPERWOMAN
While he has left both Batman & Robin and Green Arrow titles, Joshua Williamson is sticking around to continue his Superman run. That is a big deal as Superman should still have a major creator on it. Having Williamson stay on Superman rather than immediately going shifting to an Absolute Universe ongoing title is a great call. This does send the message that DC views the standalone Superman title as a big deal. One big enough that one of the two All In architects is going to still be writing the Superman series.
And it looks like Williamson will be shacking things up by making Superman a Dynamic Duo-esque series starting in October. That comes thanks to the solicitation for Superman #19 mentioning that Lois Lane will be getting powers and transforming herself into the new Superwoman. Though Lois being Superwoman is teased to be temporary. Whether it is a temporary or permanent status quo change will be something we will find out.
Adding to the intrigue around Superman #19 is what Williamson will do to have it shape the future of the franchise. The solicitation makes it clear this issue will begin an arc that’ll shape the future of the Superman franchise. We are just coming off redefining the Superman Family post-Dark Crisis a little over a year ago. That happening again isn’t a positive sign. Though Williamson has earned enough trust to see what those plans are.
SOVEREIGN CONTINUES TO HAUNT WONDER WOMAN
DAMN! Just as Absolute Power seemed to have helped Wonder Woman get far away from the Sovereign garbage we will get right back to it in October. That is confirmed in the solicitation for Wonder Woman #14 as Diana and Steve Trevor will be dealing with Sovereign once again. The Absolute Power tie-in was just to good to be true that we would be done with Sovereign.
Though this is not all that surprising. Tom King has shown that whether fans like it or not he is dedicated to putting over the villain he chooses to center his creative run around. Which in this case is not a good sign as even after ten issues Sovereign has been an absolute failure of a villain to develop. It is certainly a shame given that Wonder Woman has an entire rogues gallery waiting to be elevated that King is refusing to have awareness of that potential.
That said, Wonder Woman #14 will finally see us get to the whole Diana Prince becoming a mother angle that King has been teasing for a while now. We already know that Trinity is not Diana’s blood-related daughter, rather she was adopted by Diana. This means we will finally see the rogue Amazon, Emelie, who caused this entire story to return. We only saw Emelie in two appearances, one in the present to kickoff the story in the first issue and another in a flashback featured in the second issue. So we will see to see if Emelie will be confirmed as Trinity’s daughter that Diana adopts.
DAN WATTERS & DEXTER SOY ARE NIGHTWING’S NEW CREATIVE TEAM
It is always tough to follow a defining creative run on any comic book series. Thankfully DC Comics has lined up a strong creative team to takeover Nightwing after Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo ended their run. The new creative team comes in the form of Dan Watters and Dexter Soy.
Dan Watters may not be a name DC Comics fans will be completely familiar with. Watters has worked on several DC one-shots and mini-series. But what Watters has been known for his indie work that include The Six Fingers with Images Comics and The Seasons Have Teeth with BOOM! Studios. Most recently Watters has also had high profile work writing the Energon Universe’s Destro mini-series and Universal Monsters: Creature From The Black Lagoon Lives titles for Image Comics and Skybound. The latter licensed titles have shown that Watters is able to tell excellent stories within a pre-established universe with a ton of history.
What’ll be interesting for Watters and Soy will be where exactly they’ll be starting their run on Nightwing. The solicitation for Nightwing #119 mentions Dick Grayson will be busy with the chaotic aftermath of the Heartless story. A big possible spoiler is that Bludhaven will have yet another power vacuum as the previous city officials are out. That may mean that Melinda Grayson-Lin, Dick’s half-sister, previous connections to Blockbuster will become public leading her to no longer be Mayor of Bludhaven by Nightwing #119. That is certainly something to keep an eye on during the current “Fallen Grayson” storyline.
TORUNN GRØNBEKK & FABIANA MASCOLO JOIN CATWOMAN
Catwoman hasn’t had the breakout success even with her ongoing now hitting over 50 issues. Luckily Catwoman will be getting new energy as Torunn Grønbekk and Fabiana Mascolo are taking over as the new creative team. It was about time as the creative direction Catwoman was taking, especially after Gotham War, was just not working.
Grønbekk is a creator that is also on the edge of breaking through. She has delivered consistently with her Marvel Comics work. She’s even had some high profile work with Thor, though nothing on an ongoing basis. Still nothing has made her a household name just yet.
That could very much change with Catwoman. Selina Kyle is a high profile character that DC Comics consistently pushes. So if Grønbekk can create magic with Mascolo then Catwoman can quickly become a title the DC backs similar to Harley Quinn. Hopefully that happens as Catwoman deserves her title to be regarded much higher than it has in recent years.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR GREEN LANTERN?
Absolute Power is going to set the stage for the future of the DC Universe. One of the characters that will likely be dealing with the direct aftermath of that event will be Green Lantern. Afterall, Lord Premier Thaaros is using Absolute Power to distract Hal Jordan and others while he continues his takeover of the universe. We’ve already seen how much Thaaros can accomplish when no one is paying attention to him. The heroes being distracted by Absolute Power will only help Thaaros.
Though he bigger question is what is the future for the Green Lantern franchise itself? Coming out of Absolute Power we are back to one Green Lantern ongoing, that is the main one by Jeremy Adams and Xermanico. John Stewarts ongoing looks to be done as he will be joining Hal along with Guy Gardner in the main Green Lantern series.
That makes the Green Lantern Civil Corps Special one-shot even more important. This one-shot will likely define what will happen with the Green Lantern franchise moving forward. Most importantly, it will likely set the stage for what will be the second ongoing or mini-series paired with the main Green Lantern title. Given how Sinestro has been featured over the last year it wouldn’t be surprising if he is leading the second title for the franchise.
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