Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on DC’s December titles. Ho ho ho.
DC has plenty going on this December, from the long-awaited return of a fan-favorite 1990s creation to a major milestone for Poison Ivy. There’s also a farewell to one of the publisher’s longest-running creative teams, a very Joker-ish take on A Christmas Carol and some significant developments for Batman, Superman and the Absolute Universe.
Before we get into it, I’ve previously covered the return of Hitman in a holiday special by Garth Ennis and John McCrea, along with the big finale of Tom King and Daniel Sampere’s run on Wonder Woman. So get caught up on those, then let’s get to it …
Tales of the Green Lantern Corps: Training Day #1
Jeremy Adams, Noah Sellman, Marc Guggenheim and Joe Corallo team up with artists Matthew Clark, Sedat Oezgen, Butch Mapa and others for a new 48-page one-shot exploring the early days of some of the Green Lantern Corps’ most familiar members.
The stories take readers back to the beginning of their careers on Oa: Hal Jordan attempting to survive a deadly forest without using his powers, Sinestro struggling to find his footing with his new partner and Kilowog’s battle with loneliness putting his home planet in danger, among others.
V. Ken Marion provides the main cover, with variants by Saowee and David Aja. The 48-page Tales of the Green Lantern Corps: Training Day #1 arrives Dec. 16.
The Joker’s Christmas Carol
Paul Dini and Kevin Altieri, who previously worked together on Batman: The Animated Series, team up for a 64-page take on Charles Dickens’ holiday classic featuring the Joker.
On Christmas Eve, the Joker is visited by three spectral figures who would like him to change his ways. Whether the experience actually teaches him anything remains to be seen. The Joker’s Christmas Carol arrives Dec. 2.
Poison Ivy #50
G. Willow Wilson and Pius Bak reach the 50th issue of Poison Ivy, and Pamela Isley isn’t exactly in a celebratory mood after the events of Batman: Bad Seeds.
Her friends and allies are gone, her powers have disappeared, and she’s been trapped inside Arkham Towers in an ordinary mortal body. Batman wants Pamela to seek redemption, but the question at the heart of the issue is a much bigger one: Who is Poison Ivy when you take away everything that made her Poison Ivy?
The 48-page issue features a main cover by Jessica Fong, with variants from Kyuyong Eom, Manny Vincent Carbonilla and a wraparound variant by Noobovich. Poison Ivy #50 arrives Dec. 2.
And a few more things worth noting
DC has plenty of other December highlights, including:
- The “Assassination of Bruce Wayne” storyline continues in the main Batman title, as the Caped Crusader races to solve the assassination of his alter ego while Gotham City threatens to fall apart around him
- Animal Man makes an appearance in Doom Patrol #4, joining his fellow former Vertigo brethren for an adventure on Dinosaur Island.
- After the events of Absolute Superman #25, the Last Son of Krypton has abandoned Earth and heads to space on a new mission.
- The Fury of Firestorm hits issue #9, which was supposed to be the final issue of the excellent horror-meets-superheroes story by Jeff Lemire and Rafael de Latorre, but as we recently learned, it’ll go for an additional six issues after that.
- Superman #45 sends the Man of Steel into a previously unseen part of Metropolis overtaken by Nekron’s Deadlands.
- The “Last Death of Lobo” storyline by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona takes a break, as in Lobo #10 Young teams with guest artist Jim Mahfood for a Christmas tale.