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.