With March not far away, and the February solicits scoured over already, it’s about that time we take a look over our most anticipated superhero comics in the March 2024 solicitations.
10. Titans #9
After the incredibly strong finish that Titans: Beast World just pulled off, it’d be near impossible for me not to include the mainline Titans books somewhere on this list.
However, while Taylor has excelled throughout his time with the team at crafting character-centric plotlines, brimming with intrigue and emotion, it’s new series artist Lucas Meyer’s remarkable artwork on Beast World that has me hotly anticipating this new arc.
It’s no small feat to jump in to support an industry legend like Ivan Reis, especially on DC’s end-of-year blockbuster event, but Meyer took to the challenge with flying colours. His vision for the characters and his ability to balance both action and emotion is wonderful, and perfectly suited to a book like this. Taylor and Meyer really are a creative match made in heaven.
9. Doctor Strange #13
Over the years, Jed Mackay has done a fantastic job breathing new life into a growing cadre of characters. Way back, he took over the reins of Black Cat, and quietly put out one of the most fun adventure comics on the stands. Since then, he’s wowed with Moon Knight, Doctor Strange and now Avengers.
During his campaign, he’s also managed to establish a level of authorship over certain characters – Felicia Hardy, Clea Strange, Taskmaster – and introduced new characters, like Hunters Moon, that have genuinely stuck. So, what better thing to do than to take all the growing pieces of the Mackay-verse and see what happens when they all come into contact with one another?
Doctor Strange #13 immediately caught my attention when it mentioned the good Doctor assembling a team of “Secret Defenders”, staffed by those very characters that he’s proven so talented at writing. With the combined, and genuinely mystical, artist powers of Pasqual Ferry, Stephen Strange’s next DnD-inspired adventure is something everyone needs to be checking out – if, of course, you like to read great comics.
8. Action Comics #1063
Let me be the first to admit, I was cautious about this new run of Action Comics. It was less a comment on Jason Aaron, and more a testament to the power that Philip Kennedy Johnson’s run had on me. That was a run, for my money, that’ll go down in the history books as an all-time Superman run.
So, needless to say, I was sceptical of a relaunch.
What I’m incredibly happy to report, however, is how impressed I was with Aaron and artist John Timms’ opening issue. An oversized, action-packed issue that for all the bombast and spectacle also seemed to really understand the core of who Clark Kent is. On top of that, Aaron and Timms did more in one issue than I think any other team has to really make me care about Bizarro – a character that has, historically, been something of a hard sell for me.
Action Comics #1063 represents the closing issue to their 3-part arc, and I’m highlighting it here because I want people to read it. Between this and Batman: Off-World, Aaron really is settling in at DC Comics, and if this arc is anything to go by then I can’t wait to see what else he has in store.
7. Black Widow & Hawkeye #1 (of 4)
A real pleasant surprise in the March 2024 solicitations, and something I’ve covered previously on the site, is the announcement of Stephanie Phillips and Paolo Villanelli tackling Black Widow & Hawkeye for their 60th anniversary.
Two creators that know how to bring vivid characters and kinetic action, teaming up for a book that requires just that. The premise of clearing Clint Barton’s name from a frame-job assassination is intriguing, and rolling with the current continuity of a symbiote-laden Natasha only adds to the fun.
6. Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #6
Tim Sheridan and Cian Tormey’s Alan Scott: The Green Lantern is a special comic. I haven’t spoken about it much on here so far, as I’ve been waiting to write something more fully formed, but as the series comes to a close it feels like as good a time as any to sing its praises.
Very few books manage to touch on topics as sensitive and important as the ones in this book and handle them with the grace required, but Alan Scott: The Green Lantern is that such book.
While all the New Golden Age titles have bowled me over for very different reasons, this is one of those books that I think sits as comfortably on the shelf with great capes-and-tights adventure literature as it does with the kind of comics that should be studied in academic contexts. As a window into LGBT history, as a thrilling addition to the Green Lantern canon and as a testament to the strength of Alan Scott as a character, this series is just phenomenal. Pre-order the trade if you haven’t already, you won’t regret it.
5. X-Men: Forever #1 (of 4)
We’re really approaching the Krakoan endgame now, as Dominions await, suspended beyond time, and the mutants fight for one last crack at self-determination.
Kieron Gillen took on the Herculean task of following up Jonathan Hickman’s tenure as a key architect in the world of X a couple years ago, and I must say he’s done a remarkable job. Immortal X-Men will go down as an all-time X-Men series, and X-Men Forever follows that up as a Pheonix-shaped coda.
While Fall of the House of X deals with the present day Armageddon, and Rise of the Powers of X lets Gillen work his literary alchemy in the far future, X-Men: Forever promises very directly to answer some long standing questions that we’ve all had. And I, for one, am seated.
4. Wonder Woman #7
King and Sampere’s Wonder Woman has been nothing short of spectacular. It’s delivered issue after issue of intelligent, exceptionally crafted story that is cutting to the core what makes Diana so special, even amongst the rest of the world’s greatest superheroes.
Of course, one way to demonstrate what makes her unique is to compare and contrast, and that’s exactly what Wonder Woman #7 sets out to do in the March 2024 solicitations. In a brief interlude, drawn by the stunningly talent Guillem March (an artist that I wish had permanent credits on multiple series), we’ll see Wonder Woman and Superman team up to… get a birthday gift for Batman?
The official synopsis reads like a riff on the classic tale “For The Man Who Has Everything”, and if that’s where the team is heading I’m even more excited.
Also, what a great jumping on point for anyone that’s missed out on the start of the run!
3. Midlife (Or How To Hero At Fifty) #6
I was lucky enough to read the first issue of Midlife (Or How To Hero At Fifty) early, thanks to writer Brian Buccellato. If you follow us on Twitter, then you’ll know I was singing the praises of #1 in the lead up to its release.
Well, let me reaffirm the sentiments I had at the time. Midlife (Or How To Hero At Fifty) is a book that works on so many levels it’s almost unbelievable. It’s genuine, and heartbreaking; it’s funny, and grounded. It’s the kind of indie book that isn’t getting nearly as much conversation as it should, and as such is quietly delivering one of the strongest stories on the shelves every month.
It’s somehow both sobering and inspiring, as it captures so succinctly the feeling of time having passed you by, and the weight your past has on your future. The trade is out in June 2024 – make sure you grab it!
2. Ultimate X-Men #1
Was there any doubt this would be on the list?
Peach Momoko is one of the most exciting new talents to emerge in comics over the last few years, and her Demon Days series have been absolutely stunning from cover to cover. So, with the announcement that she’d be helming her own Ultimate X-Men book as part of the relaunch of the Ultimate line, I couldn’t have been more excited.
Add onto that the fact that this take on the X-Men will focus on a series of young teen characters, and the life-changing effects that their emerging powers have on them through the lens, at least in part, of body horror and you have something genuinely new and exciting. A true gem in the March 2024 solicitations.
1. Napalm Lullaby #1
If you could’ve heard the noise I made when this was announced at NYCC 2023…
Rick Remender is one of my favourite comics writers of all time, so any new series of his is instantly going on my pull list. However, his collaborations with French artist Bengal? Truly things of beauty (don’t believe me? Go read Death or Glory and get back to me about how foolish you were to have any doubts).
Their new comic, Napalm Lullaby, comes in at double the page count of a regular comic for only $4.99, and is adorned with the following synopsis:
‘A child with unimaginable power is raised to believe he is God by a cult of zealots utterly confident in the moral authority of their religion. The Magnificent Leader has imposed his will on humanity and created the ultimate theocracy. Join them, or be cast out to suffer with the masses.’
Napalm Lullaby #1 | Image Comics
Dystopian superhero fiction in style. It’s loud, it’s beautiful and it’s overflowing with the passion of two creators who are on the top of their game. I don’t think I’ve been this excited for a new comic in a very long time…
