DC in April
Thanks to Kevin Melrose, we get to peek at DC's April solicitations a little early.  Some stuff that caught my eye:

• Nice to see that John Byrne's not afraid to use the old "floating head" shot on a cover, even though this is the 21st century:

• DC has collections for JLA, Batgirl, Gotham Central, and...a hardcover for the first six issues of Superman/Batman?  Does Jeph Loeb have hardcover collections guaranteed in his contract with DC?

• Over on the Vertigo end, there are collections for Human Target (5 issues for $10) and Fables (8 issues for $15), a savings of five bucks over the individual issues in each case.  Wait for the trade... wait for the trade...

• And Kevin's right:  Timothy Green's art is very nice.  I didn't care for the sample artwork from Fraction, but the stuff on Green's site is quite good.  It looks like a cross between the styles of Tan Eng Haut and Seth Fisher.  Unfortunately, I see that much of the most interesting-looking work was slated to appear in Prophecy Magazine Anthology, which hasn't updated its site since Sept. 2003.

• Why does Wonder Woman look like a troll suddenly?  Is this a visual representation of new Action Comics writer Chuck Austen's attitude toward women?

• Displaced CrossGen penciller Dale Eaglesham returns to DC as the new series artist on H-E-R-O with issue #15.  (I'm glad to hear this as Dale is an artist whose work I enjoy and H-E-R-O is a comic I look forward to each month.)

• Speaking of CrossGen refugees, Ron Marz, Luke Ross, and Brandon Peterson are all involved in Green Lantern #176.

• Comic legends Alex Toth and Michael Golden together on a stand-alone issue of Birds of Prey?  I may have to get this, even if Toth is only doing the cover and Golden is sharing artistic duties with Mike Manley.

• Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips on an issue of Hawkman?  Man, DC sure knows how to get a jaded fan like me interested in superhero comics.

• Batman guest stars in the latest issue of Wonder Woman.

• Michael Turner's horrendous art continues on Superman/Batman.

• The new story arc in Batman is hyped as being "an unforgettable soon-to-be classic" by "a hot new creative team."  Publishers, please ban these phrases from your solicitation-writing handbooks henceforth.

• Howard Chaykin and David Tischman write a Godfathers meets Dracula tale in the groan-inducingly named Bite Club.

• Tom Strong continues to have fill-ins, but at least they're interesting.  This ish, Mark Schultz and Pascual Ferry assume creative duties.

• Finally, the Arrowsmith/Astro City one-shot is resolicited.

I can't believe that in April I may actually be reading issues of Birds of Prey and Hawkman again.
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