DC Comics' "Justice League" solicits for December 2013

Below you'll find the solicits for DC Comics' "Justice League" series for December, Forever Evil's till going, and the Justice League are still... wherever the Crime Syndicate has left them. Anyway, check out the full solicits below!

FOREVER EVIL #4
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIEND
1:25 Villain A cover by ETHAN VAN SCIVER
1:25 Villain B cover by ETHAN VAN SCIVER
1:25 Villain C cover by ETHAN VAN SCIVER
1:200 B&W Variant cover by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIEND
On sale DECEMBER 24 • 32 pg, FC, 4 of 7, $3.99 US • RATED T
 Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
It’s all-out chaos as the DC Universe continues its march through darkness! War erupts across the Earth between the villains! Allegiances are formed! Rivals are murdered! And at center stage it’s Lex Luthor versus Batman—and their fight couldn’t come at a worse time as Deathstroke’s Hunting Party closes in on the world’s only hope against the Crime Syndicate!
 This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #26
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:25 Variant cover by AARON KUDER
1:100 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale DECEMBER 24 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
A FOREVER EVIL tie-in! Why has the Crime Syndicate really come to our Earth? What are their darkest secrets? And how will their actions fundamentally change the Justice League as we know it? Meanwhile, Grid controls the world’s power and communications, but what does he truly want from the Syndicate? Plus, a member of the League struggling to survive plots a path of return...and revenge.
This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.



JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #10
Written by MATT KINDT
Art and cover by EDDY BARROWS and EBER FERREIR
A1:25 Variant cover by DALE EAGLESHAM
1:100 B&W Variant cover by EDDY BARROWS and EBER FERREIRA
On sale DECEMBER 11 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
 A FOREVER EVIL tie-in! The survivors of the Crime Syndicate’s attack now face a world where Earth’s most dangerous criminals are in charge. Can they bring a new team together in time to combat them? This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.





FOREVER EVIL: A.R.G.U.S. #3
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by PHILIP TAN and JASON PAZ
Cover by MIKEL JANIN
1:25 B&W Variant cover by MIKEL JANIN
On sale DECEMBER 31 • 32 pg, 3 of 6, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Steve Trevor and his small band of surviving A.R.G.U.S. agents track down the deadly Cheetah, who has Wonder Woman’s lasso in her possession. That lasso could be the only hope of freeing the Justice League!







FOREVER EVIL: ROGUES REBELLION #3
Written by BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art by SCOTT HEPBURN
Cover by DECLAN SHALVEY
1:25 B&W Variant cover by DECLAN SHALVEY
On sale DECEMBER 18 • 32 pg, FC, 3 of 6, $2.99 US • RATED T
 The Rogues continue their flight from the ruthless Crime Syndicate, who have put a bounty on their heads. But en route back to Central City, Mirror Master’s powers malfunction, and they land in the middle of the events of ARKHAM WAR with pretty much every Bat-villain around going after the bounty!








JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000 #1
Written by KEITH GIFFEN and J.M. DeMATTEIS
Art and cover by HOWARD PORTER
1:50 B&W Variant cover by HOWARD PORTER
RESOLICIT • On sale DECEMBER 4 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
The new series starring the heroes of today—tomorrow is resolicited, now with legendary artist Howard Porter (JLA) on board! But what are these heroes doing in the year 3000? And who (or what) brought them there? Get ready for a dose of wonder from the writing team of Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis!









JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA’S VIBE #10
Written by STERLING GATES
Art by ANDRES GUINALDO and MARK IRWIN
Cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
On sale DECEMBER 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
 Can Vibe save his brother, stop an alien invasion and stay alive? That last one may be a tall order!












KATANA #10
Written by ANN NOCENTI
Art by ALEX SANCHEZ and WAYNE FAUCHER
Cover by ALEX SANCHEZ
On sale DECEMBER 11 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Katana must choose: Side with her new Sword Clan allies or her old friend Shun as the Mad Samurai plots his revenge!












TEEN TITANS #26
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art by TYLER KIRKHAM and ART THIBERT
Cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
1:25 B&W Variant cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
On sale DECEMBER 31 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Secrets are revealed and trusts tested as the Teen Titans finally begin to understand Kid Flash’s criminal actions before he became a heroic member of the team.








 GREEN ARROW #26
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art and cover by ANDREA SORRENTINO
1:25 B&W Variant cover by ANDREA SORRENTINO
On sale DECEMBER 4 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
 “THE OUTSIDERS WAR” begins here! Oliver Queen finally knows the location of the Outsiders’ base, but first he must return to the place where Green Arrow was born: The Island! Secrets are revealed, new villains introduced, and a mind-blowing final page kicks off this new storyline with a bang!









WONDER WOMAN #26
Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO
Art and GORAN SUDZUKA
Cover by CLIFF CHIANG
1:25 B&W Variant cover by CLIFF CHIANG
On sale DECEMBER 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
 Wonder Woman’s brother and sister are being held hostage by none other than Cassandra, the sadistic sibling she hasn’t even met yet! And speaking of hostages, we’re taking bets on how long chains can hold the First Born!










SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN #3
Written by CHARLES SOULE
Art and cover by TONY S. DANIEL and BATT
1:25 Variant cover by GUILLEM MARCH
1:100 B&W Variant cover by TONY S. DANIEL and BATT
On sale DECEMBER 11 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
 Zod unleashed! Can Superman and Wonder Woman stop this madman before he gains full power under the Earth’s yellow sun? Guest-starring the JLA, and featuring a shocking conclusion that could mean the end of Superman and Wonder Woman together!
This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.






WORLDS’ FINEST #18
Written by PAUL LEVITZ
Art by R.B. SILVA and JOE WEEMS
Cover by EMANUELA LUPACCINO
On sale DECEMBER 11 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
 As Power Girl’s abilities grow increasingly uncontrollable and unpredictable, Huntress finds herself without backup as she stalks a new villain preying on the upper crust of New York City glamour.

EARTH 2 #18
Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art by NICOLA SCOTT and TREVOR SCOTT
Cover by ETHAN VAN SCIVER
1:25 B&W Variant cover by ETHAN VAN SCIVER
On sale DECEMBER 4 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
The new Batman of Earth 2 tries to turn the tide in the war against the forces of Darkseid and Apokolips, but even as new allies reveal themselves the planet trembles before its new rulers.

AQUAMAN #26
Written by JEFF PARKER
Art and cover by PAUL PELLETIER and SEAN PARSONS
1:25 Variant cover by PAUL PELLETIER and SEAN PARSONS
On sale DECEMBER 31 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
“Sea of Storms” begins with the debut of new AQUAMAN writer Jeff Parker! The Earth’s crust is grinding to life, releasing deadly volcanoes and bizarre creatures…so humanity’s first instinct is to blame Atlantis! And as the plates pull apart, the pressures of ruling a kingdom under siege are weighing on Aquaman and Mera as well!







THE FLASH #26
Written by CHRISTOS N. GAGE
Art by NEIL GOOGE
Cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
1:25 B&W Variant cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
On sale DECEMBER 31 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
In this special standalone story, The Flash loses someone important to him. To catch the villain responsible, The Flash must figure out how to use his powers in the one place where they do him little good: the sky!








I've decided on a theory for the Forever Evil Batman, actually, but be warned it will contain a few spoilers for the first issue, so if you haven't read it yet, stop reading this post now... gone yet? good. Anyway, as we all read, Nightwing had his identity revealed to the entire world in the first issue of Forever Evil, and my theory is that the person under Batman's cowl in the Forever Evil covers ( who we can assume is not Bruce Wayne ) is Dick himself, after all, he probably wouldn't want to be running around as Nightwing after the events of the first issue ( Needs a bit of work, I know ), we'll have to wait and see I guess.

I have to say, though, the whole scale is of Forever Evil is starting to look pretty epic, I can't wait to see what happens when the Rogues wind up in the middle of the mass prison breakout in Gotham City...

Also, I've given in and decided to place Teen Titans in the Justice League group, considering the Young Justice group I used to have it in has been pretty much wiped out, I won't bother going into another rant, I said all I wanted to say on that matter last month.

And finally, some Creative changes, as you can probably see two major runs have already come to a close by the time we get to December, with Geoff Johns leaving Aquaman and Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul departing from Flash, both of the runs end at issue 25. Aquaman will be taken over by Jeff Parker, who's name you'll probably know from one of his current series, "BATMAN '66", then onto the Flash; no permanent creative team has been set for after Buccellato and Manapul but we do know that the issue after they've left will be written by Christos Gage ( With art from Neil Googe), who you'll probably know from his co-writing credits on Amazing Spider-Man and Superior Spider-Man, and the solicit for his one-shot story sounds pretty interesting.

(Source: DC Comics)

Kevin Maguire takes on Guardians of the Galaxy

There's been a lot of talk in recent days over Kevin Maguire's firing from his ( previously ) upcoming Justice League 3000, but that doesn't need explaining now, if you check the previous pages in my blog, you'll find information. What needs discussing now is Kevin Maguire now drawing Brian Michael Bendis' Guardians of the Galaxy #10, and presumably more after that.

In a quote, Bendis said:

As I have made it very clear on this tumbler I think artists like Kevin are a national treasure and should be treated as such by publishers and readers alike. as Matt fraction said at dinner last night he is probably one of the most influential comic artists of this generation but doesn’t get enough credit for it. you can see his influence in a lot of places.
we have been talking about working together on an off for a while but the stars never aligned. I am not exactly sure what happened to him this week but I would like to thank whoever it was that made it possible for  Kevin to join me on guardians of the galaxy number 10. which I hope will be the first of many projects together.
I may have just announced something I wasn’t supposed to :-)

This is pretty good news, considering a lot of people's upset of Maguire leaving DC, glad to see him on a big book so soon!

J.M. DeMatteis takes over Justice League Dark in November

Current writer of Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger, and Co-writer of Larfleeze and the upcoming Justice League 3000 will soon be able to add another series to that list, Justice League Dark, as he takes the reigns of the book from Jeff Lemire with November's issue 25, a Forever Evil tie-in

Check out the solicit and cover for DeMatteis' first issue below:

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #25
WRITTEN BY J.M. DEMATIES
ART AND COVER BY MIKEL JANIN
1:25 B&W VARIANT BY MIKEL JANIN
On sale NOVEMBER 27 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
A FOREVER EVIL tie-in, in a world where Super-Villains reign, John Constantine must enlist the aid of Swamp Thing in order to turn the tide.






( Source: Comic Book Resources)

Howard Porter replaces Kevin Maguire on Justice League 3000, Maguire speaks about the change

Yesterday, Kevin Maguire sent out a tweet announcing that he'd been fired, and taken off of the Justice League 3000 series he was doing with Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, which was due for release in October. In the following hours, discussions took place over twitter about possible new offers for Maguire, before he later spoke out on his facebook page.

Today, it's been announced that DC have already found a replacement artist for Maguire, Howard Porter.

Porter's Superman design for
Justice League 3000

You'll probably know his work from the character designs that he did for the series a few months ago, featuring future counterparts of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Green Lantern.

This also comes with the news that Justice League 3000's release date has been pushed back from October to December, to accommodate for the big changes on the art side of the series.

Also, today, Maguire took to the Bleeding Cool forums to speak a bit more about his current situation:

Well, I don’t want to make any big deal about it but I suppose I should say something. This is, as I tweeted, very humiliating. Obviously, I was looking forward to working on a fairly high profile book. I haven’t had a top ten book since the 80s and I thought this would finally be my shot at doing one. But it’s DC‘s book, it’s their property, they can do whatever they want with it. They don’t owe me anything. I’ve been told they wanted a book that was “dark and gritty”, so I’m perplexed as to why they chose us for that. We did exactly the kind of book you would expect from us. Lots of action and humor. AND I turned down a Bendis X-Men project to do JL3K.


As for my doing other projects with DC, they offered me a four page story and a 10 page digital first story. They’re paychecks, so I’m grateful for that, but they’re no Justice League #1. I really don’t want to do back ups and fill-ins for my career. So, right now, I’ll do the four pager and then I think that’ll be it for me and DC for a while. I’ve received some interesting offers from other companies. Marvel generously offered me an issue of a cool book, so I’m going to do that for now, then see what happens.


I was supposed to do Baltimore Comic Con next month with Giffen and DeMatteis, but I’ll be canceling that for obvious reason. Apart from the fact that I no longer have a project to promote with them, Giffen’s Newsarama quote, which I’m certain had no intended malice, still kinda stung.


That’s it. That covers all I have to say about this. It’ll be forgotten news by next week and we all move on with our lives.

I have to say, I was looking forward to seeing Maguire's art on this series and the original idea of what it would've been like seems to have changed since I interviewed writer, Keith Giffen a few months ago. It's a bit of  a shame, really...

(Sources: Bleeding Cool and Newsarama)

Fired? DC Artist, Kevin Maguire sends out extremely suggestive tweets... (THIRD UPDATE)

There's been a lot of talk over recent months over the firings and resignations of DC Comics creators. Specifically, ones whose runs on series hadn't even begun yet ( e.g. Joshua Hale Fialov on Green Lantern Corps and Red Lanterns, Andy Diggle on Action Comics etc.) and it looks like another creator may have just been fired. Kevin Maguire, artist for the upcoming Justice League 3000 series from DC.

Earlier today, Maguire tweeted this:

Since those comments, Maguire hasn't made any more comments on twitter, of course, this could be some sort of joke ( who remembers the James Robinson Namor business? ), but if this topic is brought up again, I'll try to update this.

I'm not extremely familiar with Maguire's work, but I was looking forward to seeing what he'd do on the Justice League 3000 series, and it'd be a shame if he has been fired...

Update:

Just a few minutes ago, Marvel editor-in-chief, Axel Alonso tweeted this:

“@PEDROANGOSTO1: @axelalonsomarv #KevinMaguire needs work!” Not any more!
— axel alonso (@axelalonsomarv) August 8, 2013

Could Maguire have found new work already over at Marvel?

SECOND UPDATE:

It seems he almost definitely has...

@maguirekevin someone you like is calling you very soon.
— BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (@BRIANMBENDIS) August 8, 2013

I love the fact that today I've managed to sit through the firing and hiring of Kevin Maguire... and it's pretty much all been seen on Twitter.

Third update:

Later, Maguire posted this on his facebook page:

Well, first off, thanks everyone for your warm regards. After a few confusing hours, I kind of know where things stand and why. Though I’m still a bit perplexed as to how it got to this point. As for work, I’ve been offered some fun interesting stuff, many of which came from DC,who were very eager to keep me working there, so I’ll be fine on that score, but it would have been great to do another Justice League with Giffen and DeMatteis. Oh,well…onward and upward…

Interview: Keith Giffen talks Larfleeze and Justice League 3000

I recently caught up with DC Comics writer, Keith Giffen, to talk about his new projects Larfleeze and Justice League 3000. Below is the interview, enjoy! Please note, this interview was conducted before "Larfleeze" #1 was released.

Harry: Hi, Keith, thanks for taking time out for this interview!

I'm going to jump straight in and ask some questions about one of your new projects: Larfleeze. What do you think you're doing that's different with this character?

Keith Giffen: Telling stories that will actually end, trawling the DC encyclopaedia. Having fun ( this one's been missing for WAY too long ). You know... just playing the radical again.

Harry: Now, most main characters have to be likeable or at least somebody you can sympathise with or relate to. Larfleeze isn't exactly the most likeable character, will you be doing anything to change this?

Keith: Why? It worked for Lobo.

Harry: What problems will Larfleeze be challenging in this series?



Larfleeze #1

Keith: Other-dimensional gods, an unwanted love interest, an unwarranted reputation, a cosmic posse and a whole bunch of new characters, concepts and situations.

Harry: How does it feel to be handed a solo series for one of the stand-out characters of Geoff Johns' legendary Green Lantern run?

Keith: Pretty damn good. Considering the orange clown is Geoff's creation, I'm surprised he trusts me to do right by the mangy cur. It's misplaced trust, sure, but it's the thought that counts.

Harry: What new characters will we be seeing?

Keith: Laord of the hunt, The Wanderer, Dyrge of all sorrows, Waddles the Wonder Goose. That last one was just a little something to rev up the internuts. Gentlemen, start your engines.

Harry: With every Green Lantern title getting a new creative team around the same time, what are you doing to stand out from all the others?

Keith: Again, having fun.


Larfleeze #2

Harry: What can you tell us about the first big villain of the series?

Keith: He's Larfleeze's butler. Ha! Didn't see that coming, did you? Just because you don't act like a villain, doesn't mean you're not.

Harry: What have you found to be the most enjoyable part of writing this series so far?

Keith: Working with Marc again. That and world building. I'm a huge fan of world building.

Harry: What can you tease about the future of Larfleeze?

Keith: Well... We're close to four issues in the can so I think it's safe to say the future will be there on time.



Justice League 3000 Superman
design by Howard Porter.

Harry: Now onto one of your recently announced projects, Justice League 3000. What can you tell us about this series?

Keith: Absolutely nothing except that it's the Justice League. And that we plan on spending the first four issues lying to you through our teeth.

Harry: There's been some talk about the relation between the 31st century Justice League team and the one in the current time. What's the relation between the two? Can we expect this to be a major aspect of the series?

Keith: That's be giving the farm away. Sorry.

Harry: We've already seen designs for Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the Flash. Is this the roster for the book or can we expect future counterparts for other heroes ( or villains ) as well as these?

Keith: That's the roster for the foreseeable future.



Justice League 3000 Batman design
by Howard Porter

Harry: Can we expect any completely original members of the team in addition to these counterparts?

Keith: Never say never...

Harry: Can we expect ties to the current Justice League's stories in this series?

Keith: I'm going to say... no. The book's got to stand on it's own as a self contained entity. If you're reading JL3000, that's the only book you'll have to read to understand and ( hopefully ) enjoy JL3000.

Harry: With this set around the same time as the recently cancelled "Legion of Super-Heroes" series, can we expect any ties to that? What's different from it?



Justice League 3000 Wonder Woman
 design by Howard Porter

Keith: Aside from the name Fatal Five and one or two other names that are too good to let go of... not at all. There are no Legionnaires in JL3000, no LSH supporting cast members, no references to LSH at all. Not because I'm looking to erase the LSH, but because JL3000 has to be the only book you have to read to get the story or understand the concept of JL3000.

Harry: What can you say about who the first big villain of the series is?

Keith: The Fatal Five are not who you think they are.

Harry: With this series taking place mostly separate from all the other DC Comics titles, do you feel more of a sense of freedom when writing this book?

Keith: Absolutely!


Justice League 3000 the Flash
design by Howard Porter

Harry: What sort of tone can we expect this series to have?

Keith: Giffen, DeMatteis, Maguire. Yeah, it's exactly what you think it is.

Harry: Can we expect to see any other recognisable aspects of the DC Universe and what they're like in the 31st century?

Keith: I think that will have to happen sooner or later. As long as the aspects can be introduced as new there should be no problem.

Harry: What are you doing that will really make this book stand out from all of the other new books coming to the shelves?

Keith: Trying to point out that life doesn't end at grim and gritty. A little fun never hurt anyone.



Justice League 3000 Green Lantern
design by Howard Porter

Harry: What big changes will there be between the original Justice League and the incarnation in this series?

Keith: um... they're two completely different things? We're not an appendix to the JL, we're our own... um... well whatever we are, we're ours and ours alone. And DC's.

Harry: Thanks, Keith! Good luck with all of your new projects!

Larfleeze #1 is out now and Justice League 3000 #1 hits shelves in October!

(Images of Justice League 3000 designs courtesy of Comic Book Resources)