Still Time For One More Variant in 2016!

Stumbled into this Shane Davis (as usual) variant cover for the just-released ninth issue of the current Deathstroke volume.

Slade looks like he's packing a few extra pounds in the middle there! Maybe he overdid it a bit at the Wilson Christmas dinner. Can you imagine such a thing? That would be one well-carved turkey!

Happy new year, everyone.

Shane Davis' January Offerings

The cover to the 10th issue of Deathstroke's was only recently revealed and in no time, the variant is made public as well, courtesy of Newsarama.

Anything that features Ravager pretty much gets instant love from me. Newsarama also included the variant for #11 in its list, so both January issues.

As usual, these are the quality work of Shane Davis. May he be given that gig on a permanent basis.

While I'm following up on yesterday's post, I mentioned that book four of volume three was not particularly to my liking but that was prior to reading the annual (#2) it includes. Phil Hester put together a prototypical Deathstroke story in which our "hero" gets involved (through employment, of course) in the politics of a war-ravaged country.

You don't need to have read the rest of the recent material to enjoy this one, so if you've avoided the annual because you thought recent Deathstroke offerings were on the weak side, you might want to give that one a look. And speaking of looks, here's some sample art in case you avoided it when it was solicited and released.

Deathstroke 10 Cover Reveal

I'm more or less enjoying the conclusion of the third volume of Deathstroke's adventures. The trade paperback version collects issues 17 to 20 of the series as well as the second annual.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Rebirth issue is included as well. I suppose it's thrown in as incentive to continue to read Deathstroke beyond then end of the third series.

While there were a lot of cool elements to that book (Ra's Al Ghul and Red Hood, for example) too much of it seemed thrown together. I didn't care for most Rose's portrayal either, even understanding that she was being mentally manipulated. There was one good moment of Rose rising to her dad's defense, mind you. But aside fro that she come off as quite weak.

I've never been a fan of Joey and am still unsure as to when that name began to apply to him full-time as opposed to serving as his superhero identity. In any event, in this book, he seemed to develop new abilities whenever it suited the story (such as a force field at one point). He still had some ability to control mind, and even prevent mind control, but no body-merging as such. It was very inconsistent with past material (nothing new to the New 52) and not an improvement, in my opinion.

The current series has been phenomenal, however, and we now get to see what the cover to #10 looks like.

Number 9 comes out tomorrow, and 10 in two weeks (January 11th).

Mezco Toys Reveals Deathstroke Action Figure for mid-2017

Available for pre-order (for a cool $75) and expected to ship between June and August of next year, Mezco has revealed a 1:12 scale Deathstroke action figure. And it's rather awesome.

I can appreciate the logic behind the sleeker current version of Deathstroke, but I'm a sucker for armoured-up, weaponed up 'stroke. And this figure fits that bill.

Get a lot images and all the specs here.

Early look at Deathstroke March 2017 solicitations

As DC Comics teases its teases, Deathstroke seems to find himself included frequently. That is the case again for March 2017 material as we're given a peek at one of the Deathstroke books that month. And it will feature an unexpected guest-star.

DEATHSTROKE #15 

Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
Art by CARLO PAGULAYAN and JASON PAZ
Cover by BILL SIENKIEWICZ
Variant cover by SHANE DAVIS 

“TWILIGHT” part four! 

Faced with a career-ending diagnosis, Deathstroke is coached by Power Girl to reinvent himself—and comes face to face with a rival assassin known as Deadline!

It occurs to me that the last time I posted a solicitation preview offered exclusively to a comics news website, it also only included one of the issues to be released that month. I posted the solicitations for #12 and while it's been out available for a few weeks now, here's #13's sales pitch, for the sake of being thorough.

“Twilight” part two!  

In order to obtain criminal evidence against his ex-wife, Adeline, Deathstroke helps Raptor and the Red Lion steal an aircraft carrier! But, will Slade use the evidence to convict Adeline or to save her?  

Meanwhile, haunted by a terrible decision, Deathstroke’s son Jericho is losing his grip on his own sanity. 

And while we're filling gaps, the cover to #9 was recently revealed. Feast your peepers on this.

So we're still missing the solicitation text for #14, the third part of four. It should be available early next week, along with the rest of DC's books to come in March.

DC Drops a Bombshell!

When DC Comics ran its Bombshells (World War 2 versions of their female characters) variant cover theme a couple of years ago, the lovely Rose Wilson was featured on issue 9 of dear ol' dad's ongoing series issue that month (volume 3).

I believed, at the time, that this was just a pin-up and nothing more. But that's not the case! The 73rd chapter of the Bombshells title came out earlier today and our favourite Ravager is a participant. There she is at bottom left.

Follow the Suicide Squad on their first mission—directly after the events of the Bombshells Annual—as Vampire Batgirl, Enchantress, Ravager, Killer Croc and Frankie go to rescue Vampire Batgirl’s long-lost lover, Luc!

She may have appeared previously, but if so it wasn't immediately obvious from the covers, and I've found no evidence to confirm it. If someone is indeed aware of Ravager awesomeness in these books, feel free to share the knowledge.

And while we're tacking on to previous posts, the one last from just last night displayed what is believed to be a variant cover for issue #8 of the current book.

Well, for those who might have missed it, comicbookdb.com has an entry for issue 7 which includes that variant. That's it below.

Nice touch of paying tribute to the Death Of Superman story from the early 90s.

Volume 2 of Volume 4 Scheduled for July.

This popped up on Amazon recently.

After the events of "THE PROFESSIONAL," Deathstroke's family has been shattered. One of the most lethal and hardened antiheroes in the DC Universe is now a man without a mission and without something propelling him forward. He must look to his past for meaning. In an attempt to understand how he's gotten to the turning point he now faces, Slade recalls the first time he and Wintergreen worked together--on a mission that changed both of their lives forever. 

Written by Christopher Priest (Black Panther) and featuring stunning illustrations by special guest artist Cary Nord, this game-changing volume collects DEATHSTROKE #9-14.

But...Something ain't quite right. Volume one is said to collect the Rebirth special and issues 1-6 of volume four. This one apparently collects issues 9-14, yet uses the cover to #7.

Now at this point, several covers have yet to be revealed anyway. Several months ahead of time like this, probably the final cover has yet to be decided on and the book collects 7-14. Or volume one actually collects regular issues 1-8, since that would cover the entire "The Professional" story line. I guess it'll all get sorted out closer to the release date(s).

As to the current issues, DenOfGeek.com posted a few pages from issue eight, due next Wednesday. You can view all of them here, but here are a couple to tease the teaser.

Early look at Deathstroke February 2017 solicitations

The full DC Comics solicitations for February 2017 are expected to be released on Monday afternoon but some of the details have already been released, including a look at Deathstroke #12.

DEATHSTROKE #12
Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
At by JOE BENNETT and MARK MORALES
Cover by BILL SIENKIEWICZ
Variant cover by SHANE DAVIS 

“Twilight” part one!

What happens when the World’s Deadliest Assassin begins to go blind? 

A bold new tale begins here! After the Red Lion breaks Deathstroke out of prison, he maneuvers Slade into a deadly encounter with the enigmatic thief known as the Raptor, last seen in the pages of NIGHTWING. 

On sale FEBRUARY 8 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US 

RATED T+

Blow up that cover, man. It's quite something.

This reminded me that some of the covers from past solicitations had yet to be revealed.  Being that issue #7 is coming out this coming Wednesday, it was about time for it to show up, and sure enough, here it is:

Artist Aco Aco actually posted this one on his Facebook page some time ago, but I believed that he was saying that it was a rejected cover for #8, which also includes Superman.

We'll get a hint of things to come in #13 early next week!

Somebody's Been Doing His Research!

Ah, Christopher Priest, you are the man.

I love a writer who makes use of everything, and everyone, at his disposal. Using an example close to home, Rose Wilson did not make a whole lot of appearances for many years until Geoff Johns decided to use her in a Titans book as the new Ravager.

Priest did something similar in issue 6 of the current series. It was such an obscure reference that I think that even some of people who have been reading Deathstroke since the first volume might have needed a refresher. I admit that I launched a loud profanity out of sheer surprise.

**Spoilers Below**

Deathstroke has determined that Rose's current boyfriend, going by the name Richard, is involved in an attempt on her life. He's captured him and while Richard is being interrogated by an...associate...of Deathstroke, we are shown the following flashback sequence.

Luis. Holy shit.

This kid first showed up during the City of Assassins arc that ran between issues 6 through 9 of volume one in  1992. In the story, Gotham police officer Pat Trayce was becoming increasingly frustrated and disillusioned with "the system". A hired gun was going to be getting away with his criminal activity because he was willing to provide information about certain organized crime figures and it was driving her nuts.

It was fairly evident at the time that then-writer Marv Wolfman had a plan for Trayce. For a random Gotham cop, she was given quite a bit of face time and dialogue.

Wolfman, of course, co-created the Adrian Chase Vigilante character that first appeared in the Titans comics and wrote much of that character's 50-issue series. It comes as no surprise that he still had an interest in the concept.

In the final issue of City of Assassins, Trayce took on the Vigilante identity and teamed up with Deathstroke and Batman to deliver a major blow to organized crime in Gotham (for what that's worth). And in the following issue, the spotlight basically shifted to her.

I remember not giving a rat's ass about this. I'd been a fan of Deathstroke since his initial appearances in the Teen Titans book. The last thing I wanted was for him to step aside for a new character, in his own book, within its first year.

But at least that issue featured Deathstroke co-creator George Perez on inks (over Art Nichols pencils), so it looked damn nice.

In one page, we find out that Trayce was a widow and that she also lost her (police) partner not long before this story takes place. And there's little Luis Jr. bawling at bottom right. He does a lot of that.

Trayce later explains that Luis Jr's mother passed away as well shortly after Luis Sr. did.  Junior was being raised by his aunt with Trayce's assistance. Furthermore...

So of course he had it rough growing up. This issue and the next revolve around Trayce's training by Slade but also Luis running around with a bad crowd because they make him feel accepted.

Awww....

Anyway, this Vigilante stuck around for a few more issues but when she did leave the book, it was never for very long (unfortunately, in my opinion).

Research reveals that she appeared in a Hawk and Dove limited series in the mid 90s. She was also included in a few issues of the first volume of Resurrection Man that I owned in which she as a member of the Forgotten Heroes. As much as Marv Wolfman seemed to love her, she never seemed to get any traction with readers, however.

And that I know of, little Luis was basically forgotten after that one story. Until Christopher Priest chose to work him into the current volume 24 years later.

Now we know that Priest is not going to shackle himself to past continuity. He may just keep the broad strokes of that story intact and add his own details. But apparently Deathstroke's fling with Pat Trayce has remained in continuity and Luis has a hate-on for him over it. Neat.

Deathstroke #5 Variant Cover by Shane Davis

The fifth issue of the current Deathstroke book came out last week.

As Deathstroke's books have been solicited, we've seen a pattern emerge. Two books are advertised every month, but the cover to only one of them is revealed. And most (all?) books have had a variant cover by Shane Davis.

Well, it's that time of the month! I didn't get to see Davis' variant for #5 until stumbling upon it just now. But once again, it's pretty killer. It's copied from comicbookdb.com. Feast your eyes.

Deathstroke January 2017 Solicitations

Let's see how everyone's favourite merc rings in the new year! In keeping with tradition, only one of the two books' covers is revealed. I admit that unless there is some danger of spoiling anything, I find this approach a little irritating.

DEATHSTROKE #10
Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
Art and cover by CARY NORD
Variant cover by SHANE DAVIS 

“FOUR DAYS” part two!

Slade and Wintergreen’s covert mission takes a stunning turn when they’re asked to protect the life of a man who has murdered thousands.

Meanwhile, Dr. Villain reveals the truth about Deathstroke’s powers! 

On sale JANUARY 11 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+ 

DEATHSTROKE #11
Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
Art and cover by DENYS COWAN and BILL SIENKIEWICZ
Variant cover by SHANE DAVIS 

“CHICAGO”! Jack Ryder, a.k.a. the Creeper, investigates a series of murders in Chicago…and comes face to face with Deathstroke, the World’s Deadliest Assassin. Christopher Priest is joined by guest artists Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz for an unflinching look at gun violence in America. 

On sale JANUARY 25 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+

But of course! After guest-appearances by Batman, Robin and Superman, The Creeper was the next obvious choice! ;-)

I admit that "an unflinching look at gun violence in America" does not immediately set the heart to racing. I read comics as an escape, not as a documentary. However, I trust Priest to deliver an entertaining story.

I didn't spot Slade in any of the other books solicited, however Newsarama displayed some variant covers earlier today as well. The selection included the one for #6 below by, as usual, Shave Davis.

Stephen Amell "hints" at Deathstroke's Return to Arrow

The image below appeared on Stephen Amell's Twitter account earlier today (and perhaps elsewhere but that's where I happened to first see it).

The Arrow television show is nearing its 100th episode and it is believed that Deathstroke, previously played by Manu Bennett, will appear in that and perhaps in the crossover episodes of Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow.

I never got into Arrow all that much but I'll bite and check that out. For those who might be interested in that Deathstroke's background, issue 19 of the digital-first series provides some detail.

You can buy it from Comixology for a buck or seek out a print version which collects issues 19, 20 and 21 of the digital-first series.

Deathstroke December 2016 Solicitations

Once again, only one cover is revealed and it is for #8, as the solicitation text will make obvious. 

DEATHSTROKE #8
Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
Art by CARLO PAGULAYAN and JASON PAZ
Cover by ACO
Variant cover by SHANE DAVIS 

“THE PROFESSIONAL” part eight! It’s the Man of Steel vs. the world’s deadliest assassin in the no-holds-barred finale to the “The Professional”! 

On sale DECEMBER 14 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+ 

DEATHSTROKE #9
Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
Art and cover by CARY NORD
Variant cover by SHANE DAVIS 

“FOUR DAYS” part one! After Deathstroke’s family is shattered, Slade recalls the first time he and Wintergreen worked together—on a mission that changed both of their lives forever. Special guest artist Cary Nord illustrates this game-changing two-part adventure. 

On sale DECEMBER 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+

No guest appearances that I could see.

I did notice, however, that the third reprinting of the first series now displays a release date of April 2017 on Amazon, and a different cover.  It was originally said to be available this past June.

In these stories, hunted by the CIA and the Teen Titans, Deathstroke is in trouble--he may be dying. But his chances for survival lie with a figure from his past, half a world away in Cambodia. 

While his pursuers believe him to be dead, Deathstroke takes refuge on Titans island--and when he regains his strength, he's shocked to learn that the island has been taken over by the forces of the evil Lord Chaos. How will he escape with his life?  

Collects Deathstroke, The Terminator #14-20.

Deathstroke #4 Cover Reveals

As the solicitations for the various issues of volume four were released, several cover images were not made immediately available.

Newsarama today shared two for issue #4. The first is the standard cover for the book, done by Aco...

...and a variant, again by Shane Davis.

Loving this book so far, having read only the Rebirth issue and #1. Writer Christopher Priest has packed a lot of double-crossing and surprises in relatively few pages. Solicitations for issues 8 and 9 should be revealed early next week.

Deathstroke #3 Variant Cover by Shane Davis

Combined with the variant cover Davis did for issues #1 and #2 (see posts from August 1st and August 17th), I hope he's tapped to continue creating these for this series for a while. They are outstanding.

The image below was copied from Newsarama. Not sure if they had it first, but that's where I saw it first.

Let the speculation begin!

Ben Affleck. You may have heard of him. Was Batman in the Batman vs Superman flick earlier this year.

He posted the video below on Instagram earlier today but apparently without explanation.

So what does it mean? The assumption seems to be that Deathstroke will be in Justice League movie but since it appears as though the villains in that will be part of Darkseid's entourage (or Darkseid himself, as yet unrevealed) then that may not be the case. Yes, Deathstroke worked for Darkseid in the Teen Titans/X-Men book I wrote about recently but I doubt that's any sort of solid evidence.

I think it's more likely that Slade Wilson is being introduced in Affleck's stand-alone Batman film. Pretty exciting stuff regardless.

Deathstroke November 2016 Solicitations

At first glance, it doesn't appear as though 'stroke guest-stars in any other books again this month, and once again, only one of the two books to be released sees its cover revealed.

DEATHSTROKE #6
Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
Art by CARLO PAGULAYAN and JASON PAZ
Cover by ACO

“The Professional” part six! Deathstroke’s honor is put to the test when he must help a tyrannical despot—Ja Zaki, a.k.a. The Red Lion—stop a civil war that he inadvertently caused. Plus: Enter Jericho! 

On sale NOVEMBER 9 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+ 

DEATHSTROKE #7
Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
Art by CARLO PAGULAYAN and JASON PAZ
Cover by ACO 

“The Professional” part seven! After Deathstroke confronts the enemy behind Wintergreen’s abduction and the attempted murder of his daughter, he soon finds himself abandoned on a suicide mission where he confronts an unbeatable foe—the Man of Steel! 

On sale NOVEMBER 23 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+

We also get confirmation of the release date for the fourth trade paperback compilation of volume three (it's in December, mind you. Merry Christmas to me).

DEATHSTROKE VOL. 4: FAMILY BUSINESS

Written by JAMES BONNY and PHIL HESTER
Art by TYLER KIRKHAM, PAOLO PANTALENA, MIRKO KOLAK and ROBERTO VIACLAVA
Cover by TYLER KIRKHAM 

After a bitter betrayal by a trusted comrade, Slade Wilson finds reluctant allies in his estranged children, Rose and Jericho. But as an all-out battle looms, he must also join forces with the one and only Ra’s al Ghul...who may have his own hidden agenda. Could this uneasy family reunion spell doom for Deathstroke?

Collects DEATHSTROKE #17-20 and DEATHSTROKE ANNUAL #2. 

On sale DECEMBER 14 • 136 pg, FC, $16.99 US

So by the end of the year, Deathstroke's book will have hosted Batman, Robin and Superman. Not too shabby.

Deathstroke Breaks Into The Injustice: Gods Among Us Comic

Happened to see the beauty below while looking at yesterday's new releases.

I'm not much of a video game guy, but I don't live in a cave either.  I'd heard of the Injustice game, knew Deathstroke was among the characters included and that there was a comic book adaptation (as there is for the Arkham series of Batman video games). I didn't think Deathstroke was involved much though, so I passed on it until seeing the cover above.

If you're not so much into digital comics, the video game spin-offs tend to be short books, released weekly, for $0.99. I believe compilations are sold in print format at a later date, typically.

Even though this is chapter 36 of year 5, it's easy to catch up. Bottom line, Superman and Batman are feuding (again??).  Deathstroke, apparently in forced retirement, is recruited by Batman to recover a Mother Box from S.T.A.R. Labs. Not normally his standard fare but we'll take it.

The story is by Brian Buccellato and the art is by Mike S. Miller.  And speaking of the latter, is it just me, or...

Nah, must just be a coincidence....

Deathstroke is involved in the next chapter as well but doesn't seem to be around beyond that. So while this stuff is not in continuity, until recently his continuity was such a mess that I was becoming less and less concerned about that anyway. The first chapter ends with a surprise opponent making himself known, and it isn't one that Deathstroke has much history with, so I'll kick back and enjoy it for what it is.

In the meantime, if you're not the gaming type either, you might still want to see this little promo video. Some pretty crazy action there.

Deathstroke #2 Variant Cover by Shane Davis

As seen on Newsarama, but with a "CBR Exclusive" stamp on the image (in reference to Comic Book Resources).

The slightly odd thing about this is that the regular cover has yet to be displayed. I suspect that it might reveal a little too much of the book's content but we're only one issue away.

Ah well.  Something to look forward to.

Christopher Priest Interview For Capeless Crusader

Deathstroke writer Christopher Priest spoke with Jeremy Radick at the Kansas City ComicCon this past weekend. The full chat can be read here but I've copied some highlights below. I added a couple of paragraph breaks to make it a little easier to read.

JR: Would you say that writing an ongoing, you’re back on one for the first time in a while, is it like a riding a bike or are there muscles that you have to train again? 

It’s been a little easy so far because the editor, Alex Antone, and I had developed a storyline that lasted about eight or nine issues. And then we presented it to the higher-ups and they said, “Oh, no, no, no! We like the storyline, it’s a good storyline, but we don’t want to lead with that storyline. We need to lead with who Deathstroke is and re-establishing his character, and all that stuff.” So we went back, and we worked with Geoff Johns, and developed storyline number two, which is seeing print now.

So, because we had already had these other eight issues, we’re adapting that stuff into the new storyline, but as a result we ended up having ten or twelve stories that are in various stages of development. So it’s been pretty easy, me knowing what’s going on for the first dozen issues or so. And they’ve been coming out pretty regularly, in terms of my end. The art is a different story, because artists, they always use every possible day in the calendar. We have two separate art teams, and they alternate with each other. 

JR: Because the book will be a twice-monthly, right? 

CP: It’s twice-monthly, which is a real challenge to put out. But so far it’s been really easy.

Now once we move past issue 12 or so, then we’re doing a big crossover with the Titans book. And we’re doing a JJ Abrams-ing of “The Judas Contract”, the original storyline that launched Deathstroke and is like the definitive Teen Titans storyline from Marv (Wolfman) and George Perez. So, we’re kind of building a firewall around that story to say, “Yes, this absolutely happened.” We are not dismissing that or ret-conning that, but as JJ Abrams did with “Star Trek,” we are now telling our own alternate version of it because of the speed force, and was Wally there or was Wally not there, and where was Starfire, and was Terra really underage when Deathstroke slept with her? And all that other stuff.

So Alex and Dan Abnett, the writer of “Titans,” they are working out all those details. In order for the Deathstroke book to function, I need to tell the definitive, at least post-Rebirth, version of Deathstroke’s origin. Which involves the at-the-time Teen Titans, so I need to know who was in, who was out, and all that other stuff.

So that’ll be the first half of the year, we’re just rebuilding Deathstroke’s cast and establishing Deathstroke, so that’s 1-11. Issue 12 will begin the second arc where it’s retelling that classic story and basically retelling the Titans origin over in “Titans,” and retelling the Deathstroke origin over in Deathstroke. Dan and I are kind of collaborating on it. 

JR: Sounds great. Deathstroke’s family is central to his character and his origin. But that’s become pretty convoluted in terms of continuity. How do you untangle the family, but keep the power of those relationships, while introducing it all to a new reader? 

CP: We cheat. I’m a guy, you know, who knows how painful it is to have the next writer come along and say what you did never happened. I hate to do that. Luckily, because of how Geoff Johns set up the whole Rebirth thing, I don’t want to give any secrets away, but Doctor Manhattan, it’s all his fault! (laughs) We have this plot device that enables the reader to decide, maybe for the first time in history, the reader gets to decide what’s in and what’s out.

But, for our purposes, we are telling our own sort of composite history. A lot of Deathstoke’s family history was thought up over a lot of years. Like the stuff with Grant, the older son. And then they thought we’ll do this business with Jericho, then they came up with Rose and then Rose had a bunch of history on her own, and so forth and so on. 

So we are saying all that stuff exists, but what I’ve done is just compressed the timeline so some of that is happening at the same time. At the time that Joseph’s throat gets slashed, Deathstroke is out of the country rescuing Rose and her mother from Cambodia.... 

Basically we’re trying to keep all of the major highlights of the history. Some of it we’re kind of ignoring, but most of it, the key parts, not only are we saying they’re existing but we’re re-telling the story. For the first six months or a year or so, Deathstroke has a current day story and you will see these flashbacks to roughly ten years ago where we’re retelling the story with his boys and then in issue 2 he meets Rose in Cambodia and in issue 3 Rose makes her debut as a grown up in this series and so on.

...I’m trying to write Deathstroke as if there had never been a Deathstroke comic before. So if you’ve never read Deathstroke, you know nothing about Deathstroke, you don’t even like Deathstroke, sample the Rebirth, sample the #1. Because Geoff and I kind of talked about it, and we wanted to set this series up as if it were a motion picot or a television series. Rather than have Geoff and the TV people come in and adapt it to that, why don’t we just set it up as if it was a TV show in the first place and make it as translatable to the screen as possible.

Priest is a talker! But he certainly isn't shy about sharing info. We pretty much know what to expect for the first 18 issues or so of this book and that we have a Titans tie-in to look forward to. Bring it.

Deathstroke: The Professional

Are you the type to wait for the trade paperback? If so, according to Amazon.ca, you'll be able to get your hands on the first compilation from volume 4 next March (14th, to be specific). Here is the sales pitch:

Deathstroke may be one of the most hardened anti-heroes in the DC Universe, but there's no cutting corners when it comes to contract killing, especially when your family is on the hit list! 

Confronted by his own troubled past and challenged to reinvent himself before he loses everything and everyone in his life, Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke, finds himself and those he values most in the crosshairs--stalked by an unseen enemy. Collects DEATHSTROKE #1-6 and DEATHSTROKE: REBIRTH #1. 

Rebirth honors the richest history in comics, while continuing to look towards the future. These are the most innovative and modern stories featuring the world's greatest superheroes, told by some of the finest storytellers in the business.  

Honoring the past, protecting our present and looking towards the future. This is the next chapter in the ongoing saga of the DC Universe.  The legacy continues.

So I guess we now know how long the first story arc runs for...

Deathstroke #1 Variant Cover

Just a quick one today, as I'm on vacation and will be away from the computer for a while: As revealed by bleedingcool.com last week, Shave Davis' awesome variant cover for Deathstroke #1.

Deathstroke Would Kill Chickens

That is one of many things I learned from the interview below. Russ Burlingame chatted with Deathstroke writer (as of Rebirth) Christopher Priest for comicbook.com and the enlightening results are below.

I didn't copy the whole interview, so click the link above to get the rest of the details and to solve the mystery of the chicken-based post title.

The image below was included in a Newsarama gallery about preview art revealed during San Diego Comic Con but unfortunately, I was unable to locate any details about it.  Still, it continues to suggest, as do Mr. Priest's comments, that Deathstroke's fans are in for the best material to be made available about this character in quite some time. Read on.

What drew you to Deathstroke?

Nothing. I was minding my business, and Marie Javin from DC e-mailed me about Deathstroke. I went "Deathstroke?" It took me a minute but I had to go, "Isn't he that guy who fights the Teen Titans?" She goes, "Yeah." And I go, "He has his own book?" "For a long time now." I knew nothing. So I said, "Send me some of that and I'll look at it." I looked at The New 52 stuff and I looked at some stuff prior to and I got in contact with her and said, "I appreciate you thinking of me, but I can't write this."

And she said, "We're doing this 'Rebirth' thing, so if you were writing Deathstroke what would you do?" And I said that it would be interesting to me if I could do something introspective. Kind of "behind the mask," you know? Get inside his head a little and kind of treat him the way we treated Black Panther in a lot of ways, where people are speculating about his motives and what he's going to do, and he's always one step ahead of everybody.

...

You've done some work with antiheroes in the past; do you ever worry about retreading old ground?

Coming back into the business is a little scary because I haven't written an ongoing series in a long time. So there's some nervousness about failure; there's some flopsweat going on.

As far as retreading things, the Deathstroke series is unlike anything I've done before. The only similarities between Deathstroke and anything I've done before is Black Panther, where we're kind of using the same sort of structure. With Black Panther we were using these title cards to break up the scenes and I did that deliberately to evoke that sort of Black Panther sort of storytelling. And the fact that he's really smart.

But unlike Black Panther, he is a bad guy and an unapologetically bad guy who runs around and kills people. So it really doesn't mirror anything that I've done before.

Part of my goal though was to reclaim ground -- and I mean this with all due respect to writers who have come before me, but to reclaim some ground for Deathstroke that Deadpool had taken from him. Because Deadpool is the echo of Deathstorke, not the other way around. And we don't want Deathstroke to look like he's some kind of ripoff of Deadpool but Deadpool is huge now. He's huger than huge. I don't even work for Marvel and let's just say Deadpool's been very nice to me lately.

So I definitely had a conscious goal to reassert Deathstroke as his own man, as his own character in a unique way. He's not at all funny. There's humor in the book but Deathstroke himself is not. He has no sense of humor, and it is nothing at all like Deadpool.

Hopefully, we'll kind of reset him back to being a top tier character in his own right.

I always feel like he became the anti-Batman for a while; "He can do anything." "Why?" "He's Deathstroke!" Is it difficult as a writer to fully realize somebody like that?

That's very ironic because that's what I'm running around enforcing everywhere I can at DC, that Deathstroke is the anti-Batman.

We've slimmed him down, we've taken away most of the hardware. He will still wear the bandolier and all the guns and stuff when he needs to. I thought it was dumb for him to be wearing this big, clanking bandolier when he's not even carrying a machine gun. So you will see that, but only when it actually makes sense for him to dress like that.

He's an assassin, so I wanted him to look like an assassin. Assassins are quiet, dude! They sneak up on you. They step out of the shadows, slit your throat and then vanish. That's what an assassin does. And over the years, he'd become so broad, where he's fighting whole armies and Darkseid and he's got a flaming sword fighting demons, and I just went, "Guys, with all due respect, I don't want to write that." I want to write something that's a more human character that's closer to something that Denny O'Neil would write.

Denny O'Neil is one of my mentors; he taught me how to write. I was a fan of his for 20 years before I met him. I bow to the Denny O'Neil school of writing. What he did with Green Lantern/Green Arrow was a character study over the conceits of those characters being superheroes. So we're doing a very character-driven, very strong, character-driven series and we're kind of scaling him back down, containing him more, into something that I think works better and is more faithful to what Marv had in mind in the first place.

Is he going to be a big part of the DC Universe, or is it mostly a Punisher-style thing where he's not necessarily dealing directly with them?

Well, he clashes with Batman in issue 5 and he has a knock-down, drag-out with Superman in issue 8. How much other people will use him is obviously up to DC and other people.

I think the main concern I have is that I don't want Deathstroke to be the go-to guy when you need a villain, so it becomes Deathstroke versus Mighty Mouse and Mighty Mouse kicks his ass. No, he's Deathstroke!

So I told my editors about it and I said, "Look, you've got to be careful and you've got to tell your editor pals that you've got to be careful who you put up against Deathstroke because Deathstroke is a killer. He doesn't just knock you out and go, "I won that fight." You have to be careful who you put in front of him because if Deathstroke doesn't kill them, we're violating the character. If Deathstroke is always getting his butt kicked, then we're violating the character. So you've got to stop that. If he's going to fight Robin, that means you're tired of Robin and you want Robin to go away because he's Deathstroke!

He obviously has a relationship with the whole DC community. Does his reputation play into the book in a big way? Does everyone know who he is and what his deal is?

I think it's characters who are in the business know who he is, but Joe Lunchbox in Mom and Pop America, they have no idea who he is. And part of our storyline for he first year or so of the series is explaining why the superheroes allow Deathstroke to walk around.

I had to get that done because otherwise this series has no credibility. Why is this guy still around? Why aren't you spending every waking moment tracking down Deathstroke? So we answer that question. And part of it is that he's very good at what he does in terms of not getting caught. Part of it is that first you have to prove in court that Deathstroke and Slade Wilson are one in the same, and that's really hard to do. Third, he has a cadre of lawyers that can get him out of anything.

...

With Vigilante and some other characters being re-established who were introduced around the same time as Deathstroke, are there any other DC characters you really hope to use?

I think I'd have to say we'll see. Right now my main focus for the first year is re-establish his community. Over the years, they've whacked out every member of his family, sometimes twice, three times. Really establish his core, his status quo, and then stand him up to Batman, stand him up to Superman, help define who Deathstroke is between those two extremes. By standing him up next to Batman we define him this way, by standing him up next to Superman, we define him that way. We're really not that focused on guest star of the week or whatever, we're just trying to get his world together.

Revisiting Spring Solicitations

I've been spending the evening filling some gaps in the various appearances pages and I noticed something that I thought was worth displaying.

When the March 2016 solicitations were revealed, Deathstroke's appearance in Green Arrow #50 was rather obvious, based on the cover (seen at right). He was scheduled to appear in the following issue as well.

The solicitation text mentions that two covers would be available for that book, however, and I failed to follow up for the other one.  I came across it while preparing to add Deathstroke's Green Arrow guest appearances to the "Vol. 3 ('14-'16)" page and now I regret not looking for it at the time because it's rather cool. It is displayed below.

And that something? Credit to Patrick Zircher.

Edit: I now believe the original cover was never used. The second cover should have been a Batman V Superman variant. Not sure why the change was deemed necessary.

It turns out that Deathstroke appeared in the last three issues (50-52) of Green Arrow prior to that title coming to an end due to Rebirth. The solicitation for 52 had not been included here so here it is below, even though the book came out in May.

Green Arrow is dead. Deathstroke has won, and now he's returning to the states to deliver Dr. Miracle to the man known as Blood Bag.

And in Seattle, the war between the Berserkers and the Patriots has led to the Wargs being rounded up and sent to internment camps—which sparks an uprising among the Wargs!

Green Arrow has become quite the rival for Slade so I look forward to getting my hands on those books.

On the flip side, the Sinestro series was deliberately ignored.

Deathstroke is said to appear in issues 17 through 21 and even shows up in the background on the cover to #19.

But a look at the preview material gives the impression that the appearance is limited to an occasional single panel or group shot and that Slade is not involved in the main story to any significant degree. He seems randomly thrown in.

Too bad. I had visions of a temporary "Sinestro Corp Deathstroke" causing misery (and fear, naturally) throughout that storyline but evidently that's not the case.

Rebirth Preview Art

Deathstroke's turn at Rebirth, before his twice-a-month book begins, does not hit shelves until August 10th but Comic Book Resources treats us to a couple of preview images, one of which is copied below.

Damn, that is sharp.  Jason Paz and Carlo Pagulayan did the honours.

I wasn't sure whether I liked the character's redesign upon first laying eyes on it, but seeing it "in action" like this, I am much more optimistic. I don't have the Rob Liefeld obsession with pouches but Deathstroke should be a walking arsenal, in my opinion. Pouches, holsters, scabards, etc, belong on his suit.

This book can't come out fast enough.

That Time Deathstroke Slapped Some X-Men Around

The recent post featuring a mock cover for a Deathstroke/Spider-Man book reminded me of one of his earlier appearances and how stoked I was to see him appear in the book. 35 years ago.

Looking back, it's impressive that Deathstroke's would be included in a book which teamed The Teen Titans and The X-Men. From now-faded memory, I thought he'd already begun building his name by that point, but looking into it further in "real time" it was actually only his fourth appearance. He wasn't featured prominently, mind you, but he was rubbing elbows with Darkseid and Dark Pheonix. Rather good villainous company.

He was not shown on the cover...

...but he wasted little time in delivering some badassery within.

Nice. We don't really see Deathstroke's fondness for the finer things anymore. Hope Christopher Priest brings back that little character tag in Rebirth.

Now it's one thing for Slade to run up against other DC heroes and basically embarrass them.

But there was no way he'd be "allowed" to do that to Marvel characters.

Gad, I hate Wolverine so much...But at least writer Chris Claremont tried to be fair. He had Deathstroke return the favour a few pages later.

On the one hand, Deathstroke made Colossus look stupid...

...But later gets caught off guard by Cyclops.

Deathstroke did not play a huge role in his book, but his every appearance is cool. With perhaps the Cyclops blast as an exception, even when he "loses", he gets built up. He underestimates Wolverine when they first meet and misses his swing but Claremont writes it in such a way that to Deathstroke, not landing a blow is inconceivable. He takes Robin out with one kick.

It was only his fourth appearance, but he was portrayed as a credible threat among some major heavy hitters, good and bad. Yet he would not appear again for about 18 months, in New Teen Titans #34, as the Judas Contract storyline was beginning to be built up.

Uncanny X-Men/New Teen Titans was reprinted in 1995 and included in a "Crossover Classics" book in 1991.