DC's Digital Backlist - Secret Society of Super Villains spotlight!

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

A while back, I logged some week-to-week posts on DC’s digital reprint program through Comixology. It’s been a while, and their digital offerings have matured, so I thought I’d take another look at what they’re adding each week. Currently, they seem to be doing about 30 books a week. I might not list all the issue numbers going forward – if the 90s Superman titles continue moving forward at two of each a week, there’s not much value in listing each issue. But let’s take a look at this week’s, and let’s see where the patterns take us, shall we?

 

90s Superman: DC is following the 90s Superman titles (soon to be the 2000s Superman, as this week’s titles are from December 1999) pretty quickly, giving us 8 issues of the books every week. There’s a lot of material to get through, but that’s still an admirable clip. We may only have a few more weeks of this, judging by Action Comics (the one title of the bunch that doesn’t change its numbering and continues for a long while) – 761 is the most recent issue, and Action already seems to be in the digital library from 769 on. Superman, Adventures of Superman and Superman: Man of Steel have bigger gaps, though. 

Action Comics 760, 761

Adventures of Superman 574, 575

Superman 152, 153

Man of Steel 95, 96

 

Arion: 11, 12

DC has been adding two issues of Arion: Lord of Atlantis a week for the last 6 weeks. There are 35 issues and a special, so there's a way to go before the series is completed.

DC Comics Presents: 75, 76

DCCP started out at a faster pace, but has been going two a week for a little while now. There are about 20 issues to go. Bonus: More Arion this week, in issue 75!

Guy Gardner: Warrior: 33

11 issues to go.

Huntress: 19, 4-issue 1994 series

We wrap up the Cavalieri/Staton ongoing that introduced Helena Bertinelli, and then power through a Chuck Dixon mini from 1994. Will Huntress return next week, or will we move on?

Justice League America (Bwa-ha-ha) 51, 52

This one has a ways to go before having everything available.

Manhunter: 34

Four more issues till it’s all there!

Mister Miracle: 23-25

This wraps up the 70s run – Kirby and then Marshall Rogers, it’s all there! (I think DC also recently wrapped the 70s Return of the New Gods run, too.)

Superman (Bronze Age): 233

This is an interesting one. The Kryptonite Nevermore cover – I’m surprised it wasn’t available before this. Will DC continue from here? Their 70s Superman offerings on Comixology are paltry.

Wanderers: 7, 8

This 80s Legion spinoff ran 13 issues, so we’re almost there.

Wonder Woman (Silver Age): 130, 131

DC has been making silver age Wonder Woman stories available, probably wishing to expand their catalog in anticipation of the movie. At this point the silver age issues go from 112-131, with a couple of gaps.

Swamp Thing (Diggle/Dysart run): 25

4 more issues to go.

Trigger: 5

This Vertigo sci-fi series lasted 8 issues. I don’t remember it at all.

 

That’s a pretty exhaustive look at this week’s offerings. Next week, I’ll probably just note new additions (what will replace Mister Miracle? The '89 and '96 series have already been collected, so we might be in for something new. And there might be more Huntress comics that haven't been reprinted yet, but Comixology has a bunch of them listed already, and the Bat-universe is so sprawling it's tough to search), unexpected omissions, breaks from the patterns, and go forward from there. 

And to make things easy to follow:
Week 2. (April 6, 2017)

Week 3 (April 13, 2017)

Week 4 (April 20, 2017)

Week 5 (April 27, 2017)

Week 6 (May 4, 2017)

Week 7 (May 11, 2017)

Week 8 (May 18, 2017)

Week 9 (May 25, 2017)

Week 10 (June 1, 2017) -- All the golden age Wonder Woman goodness!

Week 11 (June 8, 2017)

Week 12 (June 15, 2017)

Week 13 (June 22, 2017)

Week 14 (June 29, 2017)

Week 15 (July 6, 2017)

Week 16 (July 13, 2017) -- Our Worlds at War! Underworld Unleashed!

Week 17 (July 20, 2017) -- The Great Ten! More Wonder Woman!

Week 18 (July 27, 2017) -- Batman Confidential and Deathblow? Young Heroes in Love?? Doom Patrol!

Week 19 (Aug 3, 2017) -- Some Bronze-age Batman!

Week 20 (Aug 10, 2017) -- Loeb/Sale Challengers begins!

Week 21 (Aug 17, 2017) -- Silver Age Challs!

MIDWEEK SALE BLAST (Aug 22, 2017): Wildstorm!

Week 22 (Aug 24, 2017) -- Holding pattern...

Week 23 (Aug 31, 2017) -- chugging along

Week 24 (Sept 7, 2017) -- Same old, but with newer Challengers

Week 25 (Sept 14, 2017) -- Baron/Jones Deadman debuts

Week 26 (Sept 21, 2017) -- Holding steady, with more Deadman

Week 27 (Sept 28, 2017) -- Deadman in Action Comics Weekly?

Week 28 (Oct 5, 2017) -- A slow swerve into Batman

Week 29 (Oct 5, 2017) -- Doom Patrol finishes in the smallest week ever

The Gap List: a list of unexplained or awkward skips.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

That's great, Lee! I did a search for it too, but wasn't able to find anything. Thanks a lot!

And "'Nuff Said" is PERFECT for Funky! At that point in the 70s, I associated those words with Marvel even more than Excelsior! They were on a school folder with superheroes on it that I had a kid. Doing a search, I've found that there were some folders based on Marvel covers, and one based on Avengers 141. I think this might have been it.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

DCU Infinite's December archive releases have just been announced. The Wildstorm titles will continue weekly throughout the month: Deathblow, Wetworks, Gen 13, and Stormwatch. Secret Society of Super-Villains gets one more issue -- issue 13 -- then pauses for Captain Carrot to conclude; word is Captain Carrot will wrap in January and we'll tie up SSoSV then, too. (No word on whether The Oz-Wonderland War will be included in that Captain Carrot wrapup, but I suspect not.)

December will also mark the end of this volume of Deathblow, which could be succeeded by anything, but if history is any indication, it will be followed by an earlier, longer volume of Deathblow.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

OK, here's what came out last week, and what's coming out tomorrow. Although tomorrow should also see the release of a ton of Vertigo books on Ultra, which I'll address in a separate post once they're revealed.

Stormwatch 29 & 30: By Jeff Mariotte and Barbara Kesel. Stormwatch vs terrorists. (20 issues to go.)

Wetworks 9 & 10: By Whilce Portacio & Francise Takenaga & Tom Harrington. The team tries to stop Drakken from being crowned Blood King. (33 issues to go.)

Gen 13 16 & 17:  By Jim Lee, Brandon Choi,  J. Scott Campbell. Holiday shopping with the girls of Gen 13! (60 issues to go.)

Secret Society of Super-Villains 11 & 12: By Gerry Conway/Bob Rozakis and Mike Vosburg. Funky's control over the SSoSV begins to slip. (3 issues left.)

Deathblow 4 & 5: By Brian Azzarello and Carlos D'Anda. Michael Cray's identity crisis continues  (4 issues to go.)

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

OK, I've seen the list of the collected editions and Vertigo titles DC is making available to Ultra subscribers, and it's overwhelming. Literally overwhelming. I can't begin to grasp the scope of this, and there's no way I can relay it to you. Here's Graeme McMillan's take on it, on Popverse. 

Graeme has the list in alphabetical order, which is really helpful. But DC released it in chronological order, and you really see the breadth of it there -- from early Vertigo titles like Shade the Changing Man, The Books of Magic, and Sandman Mystery Theatre (and more-or-less forgotten stuff like Blood & Shadows and Egypt) through the final days of Vertigo, with books like Clean Room, Unfollowed and Goddess Mode... and then into Black Label stuff like Wonder Woman: Dead Earth and Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity.  It's a lot.

Plus, DC released a ton of trade paperback and hardcover collections to Ultra. A lot of these collect individual books already on the service, but there are plenty, I'm sure, that don't. For instance, I hear most of Mike Grell's Green Arrow run is available now, when I don't think it was before. And just the convenience of collected editions is a big step -- fewer downloads for readers if they're reading offline, and the convenience of following storylines as intended despite crossovers. 

It's a big day for DCUI Ultra! Also, if you're interested, the $99 annual fee has been extended to Dec 4, After that, they haven't said what the service will cost. But when I signed up for it, I was told I'd be locked in at the $99 rate for renewal, too, so this is a real bargain if it's something you're interested in.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

This week's DC Backlist: 

Stormwatch 31: By HK Proger & Renato Arlem. The old guard of Stormwatch comes to save the new. Are they too late? (19 issues to go.)

Wetworks 11: By Whilce Portacio & Dan Panosian, Mike S. Miller, and more. Dozer utilizes his new size while Jester experiments with his symbiote, allowing the Queen to escape. (32 issues to go.)

Gen 13 18:  By Jim Lee, Brandon Choi,  J. Scott Campbell. I.O. has finally tracked down Gen 13! (59 issues to go.)

Secret Society of Super-Villains 13: By Bob Rozakis and Mike Vosburg. Earth-3's Crime Syndicate enters the fray! (2 issues left.)

Deathblow 6: By Brian Azzarello and Carlos D'Anda. Michael Cray now knows he's not paranoid -- but everyone IS against him.  (3 issues to go.)

[Luke Blanchard]

SSoSV #13 is still Conway, I think.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

You're right. The app is crediting Rozakis, and that's what I looked at. But now that I'm the title page, it's Conway and Vosburg. And letters by Adam Kubert!

Luke Blanchard said:

SSoSV #13 is still Conway, I think.

[Lee Houston, Junior]

I have no idea why or how long it will last, but at least as of December 11, 2022 there is a bunch of DC trades on sale.

I got the Kindle version of Superman: Kryptonite Nevermore! for $2.99 and the Archie Goodwin/Walter Simonson Manhunter (including the 1999 Silent Epilogue) for $1.99! Lots of Jack Kirby and other stuff on sale too.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Back to the Secret Society of Super-Villains, with issue 10! Which is awful. The perpetrators are Gerry Conway and guest artists Dick Ayers and Jack Abel. Although special approbation should go to the letterer, who is probably most responsible for making this page the eyesore that it is:

I mean, seriously. Look at all those logos -- ostensibly incorporated into the caption box, in the clumsiest, ugliest way possible. Especially because the people in the panel do not correspond to the logos. So it's ugly AND confusing!

A few other things about this page: 1) The chapter titles of this train wreck are based on the lyrics to the Mickey Mouse Club theme song: "Who's the leader" "Of the Band" "That's Killing" "You and Me?" Seriously? We had to flip pages back and forth to get THAT?

2) There's been some crossover with Super-Team Family. Captain Comet has appeared in it (what can I say? 1977 was his glory year!), and he's teamed up with the Atom and Aquaman to stop the now-insane Jean Loring from using superpowers she can't control to create disasters. So now that nutty side-dish in on the table, as well as the Society's current plans to steal a bunch of magic artifacts. Jean's currently comatose in Lemuria. 

3) The Creeper is still part of the SSoSV, but don't get too used to that -- there's a LOT of churn in this issue.

4) Not seen on this page? Or any pages in this issue? Funky's Secret Code.

So let's skip over to another ugly page layout, also marred by an extra logo and no real direction for the reader's eye.

 Here, as Captain Comet approaches STAR Labs to protect a cloak of invisibility (that gets immediately stolen by the Society), we see more ugly logo use. And also the shunting off of Kid Flash, Cap's costar of the last few issues, in a word balloon. And there's a figure on top of the mountain that you can sill silhouetted in the fourth panel? That's the Trickster, who's also co-starred in the book for a while, a self-interested party with shifting loyalties, but generally on the side of the good guys. He appears on a few pages to watch a fight without taking part in it, and then basically says, "I'm done with all this" and heads offstage, never to be seen in the book again. Kid Flash breaks up with us by text, Trickster over a phone call.

Creeper actually gets to participate in a few scenes before deciding to leave the group (for his own backup series in World's Finest, sez the editorial note), so Creeper at least has enough class to break up with us in person. He and Star Sapphire infiltrate Lemuria and kidnap comatose Jean Loring. Then he and Star Sapphire show up at the unveiling party of all three artifacts, with absolutely no mention of Jean in the remainder of the issue. There's a fight with Captain Comet, Funky pulls a fast one and takes the artifacts (and leaves them in a bus station locker for the Wizard, who gets caught and taken to the cops). Still, Creeper leaves with his mission unaccomplished -- he still doesn't know the mystery man pulling Funky's strings. 

There's also a bit of a mission change for the book -- possibly what's prompting so many departures. Captain Comet has acclimated better to the 70s. He promises in a thought balloon that he won't lean on the JLA as much for help. And he bought a beat-up car to help him with recon. So he's got that going for him, I guess. He also promises to not underestimate Grodd anymore.



And then there's the cliffhanger -- Funky goes back to HQ and finds out that Grodd has taken over, and recruited some new villains for the group -- ones that look like the could actually be effective at something, given half a chance! Star Sapphire, Angle Man, Bizarro, Sinestro, and Poison Ivy! To be continued in the Secret Society of Super-Villains Special, which isn't available in single issues on the DCUIU yet -- but is available in Volume 2 of the SSOSV collections. I've got a fondness for that story (it was my first exposure to the group, and from what I recall, it's a LOT better than this mishmash), so I'll do that next time.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

This week's DC Backlist. Captain Carrot has returned, temporarily displacing Secret Society of Super-Villains.  Despite the schedule, Stormwatch 32 is MIA. 

Stormwatch 32: By HK Proger & Renato Arlem. Not yet available for some reason. (18 issues to go.)

Wetworks 12: By Whilce Portacio, Francis Takenaga, and Tom Raney. The team fights beasts in Minnesota while Claymore's condition becomes critical. (31 issues to go.)

Gen 13 19:  By Brandon Choi,  J. Scott Campbell, Al Rio. On the run from I.O. Gen 13 takes refuge on an island full of gigantic mutations! (59 issues to go.)

Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew 17: By E. Nelson Bridwell, Rick Hoberg, John Costanza, and Stan Goldberg. Three solo stories, starring Pig-Iron, Rubberduck, and Fastback! (3 issues left.)

Deathblow 7: By Brian Azzarello and Carlos D'Anda. Michael Cray versus the half-machine, half-dinosaur Osamasaurus!  (2 issues to go.)

[Lee Houston, Junior]

As of December 15, the DC e-book sale on Amazon is still ongoing but the options have changed, for everything that was on serious discount Sunday has gone back to full price.

That doesn't mean there isn't still some great bargains though. I got the Black Canary Golden/Silver Age collection (her debut in the Jay Garrick Flash title to right before her ongoing team up/relationship with Green Arrow) for $2.99 and the Superman Junior/Batman Junior Saga of the Super Sons from the Pre-Crisis On Infinite Earths World's Finest Comics for $1.99.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Holy cow, I've really dropped the ball on these! The weeks before Christmas were insanely busy, and then the week after Christmas, I just wasn't gonna lift a finger for anything. So here we are, with 3 weeks to recap!

Stormwatch 32, 33: By HK Proger & Renato Arlem. Stormwatch vs the terrorist group Heaven's Fist in Paris! (17 issues to go.)

Wetworks 13, 14: By Jonathan Peterson, Whilce Portacio, and more. They've found a cure for Claymore...but it might be worse than the disease.

Gen 13 20-22:  By Brandon Choi & Al Rio. The team travels through space and back again! 

Secret Society of Super-Villains 13, 14: By Bob Rozakis and Mike Vosburg. More villainous fun with the Crime Syndicate! (1 issue left.)

Deathblow 8, 9: By Brian Azzarello and Carlos D'Anda. Concluding Michael Cray's return!

Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew 18-20: More solo stories, and then the series wraps up with a teamup with Changeling from the Titans! 

Artemis: Requiem 1: By William Messner-Loebs and Ed Benes. Diana's Amazon rival returns from the dead. Also: everyone wears a thong! (5 issues left)

Also, the January releases were just announced, and it looks like DC is easing up on the Wildstorm throttle. In January, there'll be 2 Wildstorm books every week, along with 3 DCU ones  So Stormwatch and Gen 13 will continue, Secret Society of Supervillains will conclude, Artemis: Requiem will continue, and we'll also get Batman: Journey Into Knight from 2005, and at long last, the Justice Society of America series from 1992!