Following last week’s first 10 Convergence tie-ins as part of DC Comic’s Week 1 of 4 Convergence announcements, Newsarama has posted the Week 2 titles for DC’s 2015 Convergence event.
That brings us to 20 of 40 titles announced so far. Just a reminder, each of these books will be a two-issue mini-series:
BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT
Writer: Larry Hama
Artist: Philip Tan and Jason Paz, with color by Elmer Santos
A year ago, Batman got trapped in Metropolis when hunting down Azrael. Now he must team with the man that replaced him, and see how differently they operate as Batmans
Skitch Commentary: Azbats was pretty much my top choice for characters I wanted to see show up during Convergence. BUT, the real unexpected surprise here is to see Larry Hama writing this book. I wasn’t reading comics at the time, so I didn’t even know he did work on Batman after No Man’s Land. I’ve been a fan of Larry Hama since he was writing Wolverine when I started reading comics. Years later, I became a huge fan of his work on GI Joe, so I am definitely curious what he can do with Batman, especially when you throw Azbats into the mix.
SUICIDE SQUAD
Writer: Frank Tieri
Artist: Tom Mandrake, with color by Sian Mandrake
When Kingdom Come’s floating fortress of New Oa threatens Metropolis, it’s up to Amanda Waller to put together a team of the city’s deadliest villains to stop it
Skitch Commentary: Please don’t have Harley in this one…that is all I am asking.
I was surprised to see that Week 2 has a huge influx of Kingdom Come characters and plot in them. Would have been nice to see Mark Waid or Alex Ross involved, because I have thought DC’s attempts to tap into Kingdom Come without them have been flat for the most part.
If this is like classic Ostrander Suicide Squad, I would definitely be interested.
GREEN ARROW
Writer: Christy Marx
Artist: Rags Morales and Claude St-Aubin, with color by Nei Ruffino
Oliver Queen meets Connor Hawke for the first time, but is he ready to hand over the Green Arrow mantle to his son?
Skitch Commentary: As much as I love Ollie, Connor Hawke will always be “my” Green Arrow. He was definitely a character I was hoping to see show up in Convergence, and this should be a fun story.
CATWOMAN
Writer: Justin Gray
Artist: Ron Randall, with color by Gabe Eltaeb
A year under the dome can change anyone, even Catwoman. She’s set aside her life of crime to become the protector of Suicide Slum, but when the dome falls she will face her greatest challenge—Kingdom Come Batman.
Skitch Commentary: Catwoman becomes a hero in Metropolis and has to deal with Kingdom Come Batman. And she’s wearing her 90’s costume! Probably the oddest titles they announced in week 2, but I really enjoyed this run of Catwoman, so I will check it out.
SUPERBOY
Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Artist: Karl Moline and Jose Marzan Jr, with color by Hi-Fi
Has Kon-El earned the right to be the man of steel? Kon will have to prove his mettle in battle against the Superman of Kingdom Come! But what if the only way to save Metropolis is to lose the fight?
Skitch Commentary: Superboy vs Kingdom Come Superman? Damn, that is a bit of a one-sided fight there. I’m sort of reminded when Superboy fought Pre-crisis Superboy during Zero Hour. That didn’t go well for him either.
SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: June Brigman and Roy Richardson, with color by John Rauch
Metropolis was taken when Superman was missing, so it’s up to Steel to guard the city from the heroes of GEN13 in his absence.
Skitch Commentary: Steel is another character DC has really used poorly in the last few years. I am glad to see him back in his original look and with Louise Simsonson doing the writing again. As I said last week, huge fan of this era of Superman.
JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL
Writer: Ron Marz
Artist: Mike Manley, with color by Sotocolor
The levity of the JLI team collides with the severity of the world of Kingdom Come.
Skitch Commentary: The goofy JL deals with the dark Kingdom Come. That is going to be one hell of a culture clash. Can’t wait for this one!
SUPERGIRL: MATRIX
Writer: Keith Giffen
Artist: Ramon Bachs, with color by Hi-Fi
What do Supergirl, Lady Quark, and Ambush Bug have in common? Well… nothing really. But that didn’t stop us from sticking them in a story together. You are SO welcome.
Skitch Commentary: MAE!! I always liked that the Post-Crisis Supergirl had such a unique set of powers and personality. One of the biggest mistakes DC made has gone back to the whole “she’s a Kryptonian too” thing. It took away a lot of Superman’s uniqueness. Giffen should be a great fit for this one, and I love that he brought Ambush Bug along!
AQUAMAN
Writer: Tony Bedard
Artist: Cliff Richards, with color by John Rauch
Trapped in the domed city, Aquaman struggles with the loss of his hand as he confronts a deadly adversary—Deathblow.
Skitch Commentary: My wife is a huge fan of “hook hand” Aquaman, I even got an artist to do a picture of him for her birthday this year.
What really caught my eye on this one was the fact that Aquaman was facing off against Deathblow. What’s with the Wildstorm characters being the bad guys here? It’s an intriguing twist.
GREEN LANTERN/PARALLAX
Writer: Tony Bedard
Artist: Ron Wagner and Bill Reinhold, with color by Paul Mounts
Rookie Green Lantern Kyle Rayner gears up to battle invaders, but is he ready to fight Hal Jordan, also known as Parallax?
Skitch Commentary: I’ve always been a Kyle Rayner fan, so this one is highly anticipated. I’ve thought that New 52 Kyle has been a little dull in terms of personality, so I hope they go more towards how Marz and Winick wrote him when he first debuted.
Overall thoughts: One thing that kind of bugs me about Convergence is that I would have liked to see the characters done more by creators of the time. Seems so odd to me to have Giffen do Supergirl instead of JLI. Same with Ron Marz doing JLI instead of Kyle Rayner. That is a huge missed opportunity to me.
That said, I am glad to see Louise Simonson on Steel again!
Week 2 is definitely more Superman heavy, but I like that there is a nice influx of Wildstorm characters and Kingdom Come characters too. It looks like this batch is way more 90’s focused. I was saying last time that I wanted more Silver and Golden Age stuff, so hopefully that will come in Weeks 3 and 4.
