DC's Dark Side

Just read about the new supernatural titles that DC has coming out and, for me at least, there's good news and bad:

DC Comics embraces its dark side. On the 40th anniversary of the character’s creation, the New York Times bestselling writer of AMERICAN VAMPIRE, Scott Snyder, teams up with Yannick Paquette (BATMAN, INCORPORATED) to bring horror back to the DC Universe in SWAMP THING #1. For years, one man served against his will as the avatar of nature. And while he may have been freed of the monster, he’s about to learn the monster will never truly let go of him.

I've not read any of Snyder's work but it's Swamp Thing, so I'll give it a go.

What else have they got?

John Constantine, Deadman, Shade the Changing Man and Madame Xanadu are Justice League Dark, a band of supernatural heroes united to stop the dark things the rest of the DCU does not see in JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #1, by Peter Milligan and artist Mikel Janin.

I'll be passing on this - not a fan of Milligan's writing.

Buddy Baker has gone from “super” man to family man – but is he strong enough to hold his family together when Maxine, his young daughter, starts to manifest her own dangerous powers? Find out in ANIMAL MAN #1, the start of a dramatic new series by acclaimed writer Jeff Lemire and artists Travel Foreman and Dan Green.

Tempting but not quite tempting enough, I'm afraid.

Set in the Middle Ages, the Demon leads an unlikely team to defend civilization and preserve the last vestiges of Camelot against the tide of history. Critically-acclaimed writer Paul Cornell and artists Diogenes Neves and Oclair Albert combine sorcery, swords and superheroes in DEMON KNIGHTS #1.

After enjoying the huge bucket of fun that was Knight And Squire by Cornell, I will definitely be picking this up.

Frankenstein and his network of strange beings work for an even stranger government organization: The Super Human Advanced Defense Executive. It’s the breakout hero of Seven Soldiers as you’ve never seen him before in FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF SHADE #1, the first issue of a dark new series from acclaimed writer Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, The Nobody) and artist Alberto Ponticelli.

Another possible but probably not. I kinda like the Frankenstein character but not sure I'll bother with this.

A cult favorite character returns in a new series written by his classic creative team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. Joining them is JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST artist Fernando Dagnino. RESURRECTION MAN #1 is the story of a hero who wakes up with new powers each time he’s killed.

Here's another definite - thoroughly enjoyed the original series of Resurrection Man and will certainly pick this up.

Vampires threaten to bring ruin to the DC Universe in I, VAMPIRE #1 by rising star Josh Fialkov and artist Andrea Sorrentino. Tortured by his centuries-old love for the Queen of the Damnned, Andrew Bennett must save humanity from the violent uprising of his fellow vampires, even if it means exterminating his own kind.

Vampires . . . ugh.

Priscilla Kitaen has just found out she’s a monster. A half-alien hybrid, the woman known as Voodoo must confront the secrets of her past to make sense of the nightmare her life has suddenly become. VOODOO #1 will be written by Ron Marz with art by Sami Basri.

And here's the good news and the bad news all rolled in together. I like Ron Marz's writing and I like Sami Basri's art so will probably pick this up. However, if Basri's doing this then he's off Power Girl which makes it all the more likely that PG's title is going to get cancelled.

Thanks to this handy list there's eighteen titles left to announce and still no word on Power Girl, Secret Six or Zatanna - three of my favourite titles.

* * Edit * * According to Bleeding Cool, that's Zatanna to the right of Deadman on the cover of Justice League Dark so it's looking like no Zatanna or Power Girl at the moment.