Presented by the Atomic Sleepwalker

Well, this is a feature I’ve been looking forward to reviving. The big news this month, is, of course, the line-wide “zerofication,” which is setting every issue back to Issue #0 to explore something that happened before the title was published. The second biggest news this month is the creation and cancellation of four titles. We’ll talk about those, as well as answering a number of other questions. Who’s getting moved around? What’s the best cover of the month? What character is now the baddest mother#$%^*r in the DCnU? All those questions, and more, below!

In

Brand-new in September will be four ongoing titles: Talon, which follows one of the owly assassins from Scott Snyder’s Batman run; Team 7, which seeks to revamp a Wildstorm title of the same name; Phantom Stranger, which is about the eponymous Stranger; and, most intriguingly, Sword of Sorcery.

SoS is looking to be an anthology title (in the vein of GI: Combat and DC Universe Presents), but dealing with “sword and sorcery” (…wait a minute…) stories instead of “weird war” or “superhero” tales. I’m a little excited about this–the writer, as I’m sure you’ve heard, is Christy Marx, a veteran of the 80s cartoon circuit (and creator of Jem and the Holograms). Not only is it great for DC to be able to say they have another woman writer, but getting such an experienced one has to be a bit of a coup. Plus, I like the idea of anthology comics–it’s a great opportunity for DC to publish things (magical gem princesses! Post-apocalyptic vikings!) they wouldn’t normally touch. Scott Snyder’s Talon will also almost certainly be awesome, so check that out as well.

Out

Of course, getting four new titles means four have to go away so DC can maintain their nice, round 52-centric publishing schedule. Joining the previously-announced-as-cancelled Justice League International are Resurrection Man, Voodoo, and Captain Atom. That’s three of DC’s six lowest-selling titles right there, with I, Vampire, Blue Beetle, and DC Universe Presents as some stellar titles that aren’t pulling in the numbers. I’d shed a tear for I, Vampire and DCUP for sure, but I can’t for the life of me figure out how Liefeld’s little corner of the DC Universe (Hawkman, Deathstroke, and Grifter) have managed to dodge the axe for so long (in fairness, Liefeld’s previous title, Hawk and Dove, was cancelled–but he got another three to make up for it).

Creative Changes

The biggest team changes this month can be found over in the “Batman” family of solicits, where you’ll see that Chris Burnham has now become important enough to Grant Morrison’s sprawling epic to earn a co-writing credit. And DC now apparently has a way to fix poorly-reviewed Batman titles: throw Greg Hurwitz at it. Hurwitz, who was brought on to repair all the damage to goodwill David Finch caused over on Batman: The Dark Knight, is now on Tony Daniels’ Detective Comics as well.

This month is a little troublesome for women over at DC: Voodoo is gone (but it’s a net-zero loss, as Sword of Sorcery brings in a female protagonist), and two of DC’s most high-profile creators are nowhere to be seen. Nicola Scott, artist on James Robinson’s Earth 2, has been replaced by Tomas Giorello, and Ann Nocenti of Green Arrow fame is being replaced by Judd Winick (the ladies’ loss is Winick’s gain–this puts him at three ongoing titles, in addition to Catwoman and Batwing). Of course, all of these could be temporary changes; at least, I kind of hope they are. I’m a big fan of Scott’s work.

Best Cover?

Tony Harris receives a starling upset, as his phenomenal cover for The Shade #12 can’t compete with Ben Oliver’s dynamic Man of Steel.

Most Anticipated Titles?

This month is kind of weird, since it’s hard to get excited about these stories, being that they’re divorced of any ongoing events and for the most part deal with things we don’t care about. I mean, I don’t lie awake at night wondering who used the Hero Dial before Nelson, and I don’t really need to know when Jor-El discovered Krypton was unstable. But there are a couple that stand out. I’ve already mentioned Sword of Sorcery and it’s entrancing tale of post-apocalyptica, and Talon can’t be anything but great. Phantom Lady still excites me, and James Robinson will almost certainly finish Shade with a bang. Finally, DC Universe Presents is going to be a treat–a true anthology comic, a “Cancelled Comics Cavalcade,” if you will, for the characters that died too young, including Mr. Terrific and OMAC.

Baddest Mother#$%^*r in the DCnU?

That’s all the time we have for today, Sleepwalkers. Take care, and join me later in the week–I’ll have more goodies for you!