DOOMed February 2018 Solicits!

Solicitations for DC's February 2018 releases were shared yesterday. Among the biggest of the announcements - and right at the top of the list just under Metal - is Milk Wars! Broken into five parts, starting January 31, here's how it all is scheduled to go down: 

Cover by Frank Quitely

JLA/DOOM PATROL SPECIAL #1
Written by STEVE ORLANDO and GERARD WAY
Art by ACO
Backup story written by MAGDALENE VISAGGIO
Backup story art by SONNY LIEW
Cover by FRANK QUITELY 
“MILK WARS” part one! Welcome to the un-event of the year! Kicking off a line-wide adventure, DC’s Young Animal collides with the DC Universe to bring you a different kind of crossover. 
The Doom Patrol has discovered that an interdimensional corporation called RetCo has been stealing stories, reconfiguring them and repackaging them for new markets. Our gang of misfit heroes have felt the touch of this nefarious company, and it has already started to change them. Even scarier, though, is how deeply RetCo has embedded itself into current continuity, using the radioactive milk of psychic cows to quell the more dangerous impulses of the Justice League and turn them into heroes safe for the masses. And to kick this off, RetCo has gone all the way to the top.
Meet Milkman Man, heretofore unknown final son of Krypton, who was sent to our planet to save him from the destruction of his homeworld, only to be adopted by an evil dairy farmer and raised to love all things dairy!
Co-plotted by Steve Orlando and Gerard Way, with art by ACO (MIDNIGHTER), this extra-sized special starts “Milk Wars” with a splash!
Plus, who is Eternity Girl, and how does she connect to this whole scheme? A special four-part back-up feature by Magdalene Visaggio (Kim and Kim) and Sonny Liew (The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye) begins here. 
RETRO-SOLICITED • ONE-SHOT • On sale JANUARY 31 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T+

A dark and Quitely Knight. 

MOTHER PANIC/BATMAN SPECIAL #1
Written by JODY HOUSER
Art by TY TEMPLETON
Backup story written by MAGDALENE VISAGGIO
Backup story art by SONNY LIEW
Cover by FRANK QUITELY 
“MILK WARS” part two! Mother Panic has discovered a Gotham City transformed. What happened to her family and friends? And who moved into Gather House, the religious school that scarred Mother Panic as a young girl? It’s Father Bruce, the orphan millionaire who decided to give back to society by filling the deep demand for sidekicks. So many Robins in need of a nest! Plus, part two of the Eternity Girl backup story!  
ONE-SHOT • On sale FEBRUARY 7 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T+

Quite Quitely. 

SHADE, THE CHANGING GIRL/WONDER WOMAN SPECIAL #1
Written by CECIL CASTELLUCCI
Art by MIRKA ANDOLFO
Backup story written by MAGDALENE VISAGGIO
Backup story art by SONNY LIEW
Cover by FRANK QUITELY 
“MILK WARS” part three! Shade has been split into multiple parts, each representing a different mood, all in service to the perfect and beautiful Wonder Wife. But Happy Shade is starting to sense that not all is right in Wonderland, and she finds something strange staring back at her on the other side of the looking glass! Plus, part three of the Eternity Girl backup story! 
ONE-SHOT • On sale FEBRUARY 14 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T+

CAVE CARSON HAS A CYBERNETIC EYE/SWAMP THING SPECIAL #1
Written by JON RIVERA
Art by LANGDON FOSS
Backup story written by MAGDALENE VISAGGIO
Backup story art by SONNY LIEW
Cover by FRANK QUITELY 
“MILK WARS” part four! Swamp Thing has detected a disturbance in the Green, and his hunt for it has led him to RetCo headquarters. There he finds Cave Carson and his crew struggling against being assimilated into RetCo’s diabolical narrative. Is it possible for Swampy and Cave to destroy the organization from the inside? Plus, find out how their efforts help Eternity Girl in the final installment of her backup story!
ONE-SHOT • On sale FEBRUARY 21 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T+

DOOM PATROL/JLA SPECIAL #1
Written by STEVE ORLANDO and GERARD WAY
Art by DALE EAGLESHAM and others
Cover by FRANK QUITELY 
“MILK WARS” finale! As RetCo’s foundation shatters, the Young Animal teams come together with the Justice League and even more DC Universe heroes to finish the job. The only problem is, Milkman Man and RetCo still stand in their way. To right reality, the heroes of Young Animal and the DC Universe will have to unlock an outrageous power never before seen on any world!
This mind-blowing conclusion will establish new realities for all of the DC’s Young Animal titles. Look for the return of Cave Carson, Shade and Mother Panic next month! 
ONE-SHOT • On sale FEBRUARY 28 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T+

Scheduled is the key word there. Hopefully everything stays according to plan and we wind up with a February full of Young Animal mischief! I don't know about the rest of you, but having a weekly Young Animal read every week during the crappiest month of the year sounds like a winner to me! 
What say you?

Also, here's a Nick Derington Twitter-shared sketch from yesterday. 

Tomorrow (or tonight, if your comic shop is playing along with the Doomsday Clock release party adventure) brings us Doom Patrol (V6) #9. Look for a post to match Waiting for Doom later this week. 

DOOMcember 2017

From today's DC Comics' solicitations for December 2017 shipping comics from Newsarama, here's Doom Patrol #12.
 

DOOM PATROL #12Written by GERARD WAYArt and cover by NICK DERINGTONVariant cover by BEEPLERetailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.Something normal is happening to the Doom Patrol. Which means not weird, since their own normal is very weird. There are mysterious forces at work, unseen hands rewriting history, and the change is so gradual, the team doesn’t even necessarily see how much they are changing. The end of our second big DOOM PATROL arc leads into big things to come next month!On sale DECEMBER 27 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS

also. . .

DOOM PATROL BOOK FOUR TPWritten by RACHEL POLLACKArt by RICHARD CASE, STAN WOCH, LINDA MEDLEY, SCOT EATON, TOM SUTTON and othersCover by BRIAN BOLLANDWriter Rachel Pollack continues Grant Morrison’s legendary run on the DOOM PATROL with stories from issues #64-74 plus DOOM PATROL ANNUAL #2 and a tale from VERTIGO JAM #2. In these stories, the Doom Patrol must pull themselves together yet again as they move into a bizarre new headquarters, gain two new members and try to cope with the preteen menace known as the Wild Girls!On sale JANUARY 31 • 352 pg, FC, $34.99 USISBN: 978-1-4012-7451-1 • MATURE READERS

I'm not sure why the image for the TPB is #64, aside from it being the first issue of the collection, but there it is. 

JULY 2017 YOUNG ANIMAL

The folks over at Multiversity Comics have the first peek at the July offerings from the Young Animal imprint, including the return of the Whole Patrol!

Episode 86: I Wonder if Things Will Get Better OR Niles, What Have You Done?

Don't y'all just love those weeks when I get caught up and you get TWO Doom Patrol posts in the same week?

Me too!

Anyway, Mike and Paul have given us another lovely Waiting for Doom episode, and as shared on the Podbean, this one is all about:

This is a lovely episode about a lovely group of people collectively known as the Doom Patrol and how they met a misunderstood creature and had a very civil discussion over afternoon tea. And nothing terrible, violent, ghastly or shocking happened to anyone at all nope no sir everything was fine.

Down on Derington Way - 7:27
Doom Clock - 13:53
Doomsplaining - 17:13 - This week we cover issues 60 and 61 of Doom Patrol volume 2, by Grant Morrison and Richard Case!
Mailbag O Doom - 47:53 - We read your responses to the question, "What is the most unusual thing on your bucket list?"

The guys mentioned the solicits, so here's the cover Paul and Mike mentioned:

DOOM PATROL #8 Written by GERARD WAY • Art by NICK DERINGTON • Backup story art by BRANDON BIRD • Cover by NICK DERINGTON • Variant cover by JAMES O’BARR Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details. What is S**t, and why is everyone eating it? Cliff doesn’t like it, but Casey can’t get enough. Sure, Cliff doesn’t like a lot of stuff, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong to be suspicious this time around. Meanwhile, we find out where Lotion the cat got off to, and how his journey has changed him. Life on the streets has made him an entirely different animal! On sale MAY 31 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS

I'll have all the Young Animal solicits up soon. 

So. How about some images?
#60

Jamie Hewlett's cover for DPv2 #60 is a whole lot more lively than the interiors. 

Dorothy had had enough. 

Hard core. 

Not-so-Crazy-Jane is no match for the Candlemaker. 

Soliciting help from Danny. 

Cliff gets back behind the wheel in his attempt to stop the Candlemaker. 

Reunited with Will Magnus. 

Take a drink and prep yourself for a story that can only be called "..."

And howabout some stuff from #61?
Let's start with the cover.

Tom Taggart is back on the case with this Dave McKean-esque cover. 

And the credits (I really have to get better and remembering those!)

And some of the interiors as the Doom Patrol (such as it is) takes on the Candlemaker.

Tungsten attacks! 

Cliff isn't going to stay down. 

Candlemaker has other thoughts in that direction. 

Kristallnacht on Danny the Street. 

CandleSTICK maker, Dorothy! You fool! 

Time for a showdown. 

It all comes back to Niles Caulder. Again. 

STOP KILLING PEOPLE! Or I'll shoot you again! 

ACTION CHAIR!!!

DRINK.

Dorothy confronts her fears. 

Green egg and ham. Well played, Richard Case. Well played. 

Like I said, it all comes back to Niles Caulder. 

Phew. That Candlemaker saga is something else. The Candlemaker voice added quite a bit to the story, and now it will NEVER read the same way for me. Thank you, Mike and Paul. Sincerely. You guys have changed it for the better. 

Derington Way
Yes, I do still owe you a Derington by Way of Bonvillain post. For now, however, here's some tweets from Nick Derington:

It's not Derington, but it is connected to Way, here's a peek at an upcoming Allred cover. 

Question of the Week
What piece of Doom Patrol merchandise would you like to see existing/available? 
Plush Fugg is the obvious (and perhaps only) answer. 

Thinking a bit deeper on this one, I'm going to go with Mento bike helmet. If we're already wearing a helmet, why not go completely over the top? 

Although I certainly would buy the living hell out of any and all action figures. 

How about y'all? What Doom Patrol gear are you wanting to see? 

YOUNG ANIMAL GROWS! OR A Very Sneaky Negative Monday

The October (really?! October?!) solicits for DC Comics hit the internets today. Well, technically, they hit sometime last week in some leak or some other thing, but, really, officially, they hit today. 

Gerard Way's Young Animal imprint triples in size, with Cave Carson and Shade, the Changing Girl joining the pull lists of many a comic book reader. 

The one we all REALLY care about, though, is 
DOOM PATROL #2
Written by GERARD WAY
Art and cover by NICK DERINGTON
Variant cover by MICHAEL ALLRED
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details. 
What happened to Larry Trainor? The hero known as Negative Man is still out there, but he’s not exactly the same guy he was back when Doom Patrol was still together. Like a Russian doll, there is man inside the man, and who knows how many other men inside of them, with the guy on top possessing a mind for mischief that incites violence.
Meanwhile, Casey has started rebuilding Robotman, even though she still doesn’t know exactly how Cliff Steele ended up crossing her path in the first place.
On sale OCTOBER 12 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS

You can catch the full solicits for DC Comics in October 2016 right here. 


This month I'm going to try something new. Every solicit going forward, starting right here, I'm going to take a spin through the DC titles and match the number of Young Animal titles with titles I'm going to take a look at and read. I'll do something quick about them once I've read them either in the form of a review over on Comicosity or on my other comic book catch-all blog: Tales of My Greatest Strange Adventures. 

Here we go:
Superman #8. I'm a big fan of Tomasi and Gleason working together. Add in a cover (and more?) by Doug Mahnke and dinosaurs, and I cannot even begin to present an argument against this book. 

The Prestige Format returns for Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #1, written by Sarah Vaughn and drawn by Lan Medina. Boston Brand is one of my absolute favorite characters and just the thought of having two of Arnold Drake's creations available in their own titles in the same month is fantastic.

Hawkman is another character near to my heart, no matter how crappy the previous incarnation may or may not have been handled. All that matters now is that Hawkman and Adam Strange team up as once more Rann and Thanagar just can't seem to get along in Hawkman and Adam Strange: Out of Time #1. Marc Andreyko writes this one and Aaron Lopresti draws it, and I can't wait, even if it will be October. 

There ya go. Some Young Animal solicits and some books to keep an eye for as well.

How about you, gentle readers? Will you be buying all of the Young Animal stuff? What about the other three recommendations? Better yet, any books YOU are looking forward to the most?