The way the comics industry works is that solicitations for new comics come out about 2 or 3 months in advance, so that shopkeepers can order them. And with the Internet being the way it is, these solicitations are posted online for everybody to read and comment upon. This usually involves the cover and a brief blurb about the story. I enjoy read these every month to look forward to upcoming comics.

Well with this new DC Comics reboot/rejiggering coming up, all their new monthly solicitations are a bit more exciting. What’s the new DC Universe going to be like? Who’s going to be in it? What sorts of adventures are the heroes going to face? Can DC sustain the excitement once we’re past the initial honeymoon phase?

At any rate, the covers for the November Batman books were released today and there were two that drew my attention.

The first is Red Hood and the Outlaws #3.

Specifically the Robin costume in the upper right corner

There’s no blurb to go along with this, only that it looks like the three heroes are trapped in some place that’s making them confront younger versions of themselves from their past. I don’t know if that’s really the case, but I hope it is, because the past Jason Todd/Robin costume looks bleepin’ awesome! It’s a beautiful combination of the original Tim Drake and Jason Todd costumes, updated with modern accessories and style. And the red mask is particularly awesome.

So I don’t know if that’s a realistic look into Jason Todd’s past, or if it’s some fever dream, but it is one awesome Robin costume.

Also interesting Robin news, according to Newsamara, DC has updated their Retailer FAQ to give a little explanation about Robin’s status in the new DCU. Basically, the idea behind the new DCU is that superheroes have only been around for about five years. So how has Batman gone through (at least) four Robins: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake and now Damian Wayne?

Q: If super-heroes have only existed for five years, how has Batman gone through so many Robins?

A: Robin is an intern program -and a very intensive one at that.

That…kind of puts a bad taste in my mouth. It essentially shortens each Robin’s run down to about a year or so apiece. It also ruins the importance of the role of Robin, saying that Batman strips them off so quickly and moves on to the next one. It takes away from the majesty of Dick Grayson’s tenure as the Dark Knight’s first squire, and weakens the reason why Tim Drake became Robin.

I suppose, like everything else, I’ll have to wait and see how this actually plays out in the real comics. But I don’t like the idea on principle. There were always very specific reasons in the old continuity why Batman moved on to a new Robin. Hopefully those sort of remain, and it’s not just a thing Batman does every year.

The second cover of note is Batman: The Dark Knight #3.

Sultry and silly

We’re introduced to the new Batman villain: The White Rabbit. She’s clearly going for that sultry, sexy vibe, because geek fanboys apparently love buying comics with half-naked chicks in them. That’s probably not debatable (though it’s not one of my reasons for buying), so kudos to DC for grasping the basic concept that ‘sex sells’. The reason it’s drawn my attention is because Marvel Comics has an exact same super-villain named The White Rabbit. She dresses in almost the exact same way, with a sexy outfit, her hair flowing freely and big floppy bunny ears. I realize the concept of the ‘white rabbit’ is probably up for grabs, but somebody at some point just said they didn’t care about the similarities and went for it.

One has to wonder if she’ll be teamed up with The Mad Hatter, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, the Walrus, the Carpenter or any other of the Wonderland-themed villains that Batman faces.

Or maybe she’s just going to be all sexy and solo.

I’d also like to point out that Batman: The Dark Knight is basically the third solo Batman title that DC is producing this fall. All three have Bruce Wayne under the mask, as opposed to the past year, which has seen Dick Grayson. If we also add in Batman and Robin, that will be four general Batman comics coming out of DC. Isn’t that a little much!?