Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on the new titles debuting in DC’s February solicitations, which you can find here. Hit the links for more information.
The Green Lantern Corps will soar into a new series in February as a part of DC’s All In initiative.
The series will be written by Jeremy Adams, writer of the ongoing Green Lantern series, along with co-writer Morgan Hampton. They’ll work with artists Fernando Pasarín and Oclair Albert on the adventures of John Stewart, Jessica Cruz, Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, Jo Mullein and more.
The series will spin out of January’s Green Lantern: Fractured Spectrum one-shot, which was announced at the New York Comic Con last month. And if you’re guessing the Corps. will be called in to help Hal Jordan with the new threat known as the Fractal Lanterns, you get a gold … er, green star.
The first issue features a main cover by Pasarín and Albert, with variant covers by Dave Wilkins, Ariel Olivetti, Nathan Szerdy, Gavin Guidry and Keron Grant.
The first issue will arrive in stores on Feb. 12.
Batman #157 was originally supposed to arrive in December, but it has now been delayed until February — and it also marks the end of Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jiménez’s run on the title.
“I love Batman. It’s been a true joy working on the title. But some time in the spring I got the itch in the back of my brain to wrap things up,” Zdarsky said in his newsletter. “Partly because Jorge and I were finishing up the giant Failsafe/Zur story, but also because my amazing Bat-editor Ben Abernathy had left for Transforming G.I. Joes at Skybound. I also had a terrifying workload in front of me and had to make some hard decisions about what needed to be prioritized.”
Zdarsky and Jiménez will be followed by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee on the title, as they present a sequel to their Hush storyline.
As I mentioned earlier this month, Zatanna is getting in on the All In action in February in a new series by Jamal Campbell. Unlike the recent Black Label series, Zatanna: Bring Down the House, the new series is set in DC continuity and will feature Blue Devil, Madame Xanadu and a new villain called The Lady White.
Shazam #20 will feature a guest creative team and a guest star, as Sina Grace and Dan McDaid tell a “done in one” story featuring Shazam and Superman:
A special guest writer stops in to tell a very special one-off story! Jonathan Kent, son of Superman, is in Philly when something funny happens in the Rock of Eternity. Jon is caught in the lightning and transforms…back into a little boy?! While Jon gets a second chance at childhood, Billy better figure out how to get the grown super son back before the world misses him!
In the Elseworlds title World War V, Wonder Woman is a vampire and Alfred Pennyworth is a Green Lantern — and in February, their two paths will cross in DC vs Vampires: World War V – Darkness and Light #1. Matthew Rosenberg, Nikola Čižmešija and Daniel Bayliss will show “two sides of the same story” in this one-shot.
If you were wondering what happened to Superman: the Last Days of Lex Luthor, the Black Label title by Mark Waid and Bryan Hitch, never fear — DC will release a new printing of the first issue in February, with the second and third issues planned for release in March and April.
Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor features the Man of Steel searching for a cure for a dying Lex Luthor, extending the story Waid told in Superman: Birthright. Waid and Hitch are joined by inker Kevin Nowlan and colorist David Baron on the project.
OK, now this looks like a lot of fun. Matthew Dow Smith writes and draws this new graphic novel, DC’s Misfits of Magic, featuring young versions of DC’s mystical heroes meeting up at a local library’s summer camp (led by Zatanna).
Here’s the full description:
Ricki Jones is your average middle-grader. Her fellow-orphan-turned-adopted-brother Ross is, too. The seven mystical monks training them to protect the Earth from dark supernatural forces are pretty standard adults—they want nothing more than a little peace over summer vacation and all their prior attempts to get the kids out of town led to the camps going out of business. So this year? Rikki and Ross are heading to the town library, where Zatanna Zatara took a camp counselor job she expects to regret.
And Rikki’s very normal. Everyone wants to investigate mysterious and strange events that could also mean the end of the world. Right? Everyone gathers a band of rogues and weirdoes to help. That’s just how friendship works!
It’s fate (not like, Dr. Fate, just regular fate) that brings her together with Danny Cassidy, the Blue Devil. He’s got ADHD and kinda fused with his Halloween costume, giving him demon powers. And Boston Brand, who died in a horrifying microfiche accident and roams the halls as Deadkid. And don’t forget June Moon, who changes into an incredibly powerful sorceress named The Enchantress. But don’t hold that against her, she’s really very sweet when she’s not causing trouble.
Again, this sounds really fun, and Smith shares all sorts of great “teen DC heroes” art on his BlueSky account, so I’d suggest following him there. (You can follow us while you are there as well).