By Staff — The DC Comics April 2022 solicitations have now arrived, and as per tradition (that we started yesterday), we have some picks for what we consider to be the highlights. There are some truly excellent collections on the way, a couple finales for series that we’ve been enjoying, and only one new Batman comic debuting, making it a light month relative to the past year or so. Check it all out below, and feel free to visit our friend’s at The Beat for the DC April 2022 solicitations in full.

Enjoy!

DC Comics April 2022 Solicitations - The Highlights

Aquaman: The Becoming
Written by BRANDON THOMAS
Art by DIEGO OLORTEGUI, SCOTT KOBLISH, DANIEL SAMPERE, and others
Cover by DAVID TALASKI
$19.99 US | 216 pages | 6 5/8″ x 10 3/16″ | Softcover
ISBN: 978-1-77951-645-9
ON SALE 5/24/22
The critically acclaimed miniseries that graduates Jackson Hyde from Aqualad to Aquaman is now available in one volume! Jackson Hyde finally has it all. Mentors who support him, a community that loves him, an honest relationship with his mother, and access to Aquaman’s private training facility in Atlantis. Well, he had it all—until that training facility and half the Atlantean palace got blown to kingdom come with Jackson inside. Now Jackson stands accused of wrecking the life he worked so hard to build as a mysterious new villain stalks him from the shadows. Aqualad’s going to need all his skills, wit, and cunning just to prove his own innocence, let alone inherit the name Aquaman! Plus—revisit Jackson Hyde’s first appearance as Aquaman on an adventure with Arthur Curry’s daughter in DC’s not-so-distant future! Collects Aquaman: The Becoming #1-6 and Future State: Aquaman #1-2.
Why It’s Cool: I’ve been hearing smart readers with (usually) good tastes hype this series plenty since it began, and now that it’s being collected, my time has come to read it for myself. I’m excited for it!!! (Keigen Rea)

Aquaman/Green Arrow: Deep Target #7
Written by BRANDON THOMAS
Art by RONAN CLIQUET
Cover by MARCO SANTUCCI
Variant cover by RAHZZAH
$3.99 US | 32 pages | 7 of 7 | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 4/26/22

This is it! Everything has led our heroes to this moment in time. Aquaman and Green Arrow must beat the clock to take down Scorpio and reset the timeline. If their aim is off by even an inch, all will be lost!
Why It’s Cool: I talk about this a lot, but I’m really enjoying the sort of listing toward the mediums pulp roots that a lot of genre comics are undergoing right now. It’s nothing at all like the hyper real deconstructionist stuff, but it’s also not like the totally irreverent goofy or meta stuff, either. There’s a very sincere movement toward the absurd, and while you can find it in a few DC Comics right now, I’d argue none have done it as well as this one (with all its body swapping, lizards from space, etc.), thereby making this seventh and final chapter a highlight. (Zack Quaintance)

Batgirls #5
Written by BECKY CLOONAN and MICHAEL W. CONRAD
Art and cover by JORGE CORONA
Variant cover by MICHAEL CHO
1:25 variant cover by RIAN GONZALES
$3.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 4/12/22
The Batgirls and Tutor face off again, but this time at the creepy, abandoned Arkham Asylum! Can the Batgirls stop Tutor from using his art to put all of Gotham in a mind-controlled trance? Let’s hope the Batgirls found a way to avoid being put under his control…again! Meanwhile, Babs’s hands are tied—literally—when she comes face to face with Spellbinder.
Why It’s Cool: This series has been a romp and a delight since it began, but that’s actually not why it’s a highlight of this month’s solicits. It’s a highlight because one of the best superhero cover artists in modern comics — Michael Cho — has a variant cover for this issue, which you can see above.

Batman Beyond: Neo-Year #1
Written by COLLIN KELLY and JACKSON LANZING
Art and cover by MAX DUNBAR
Variant cover by CHRISTIAN WARD
1:25 variant cover by SIMONE DI MEO
1:100 variant cover by JIM CHEUNG
$3.99 US | 32 pages | 1 of 6 | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 4/5/22
Neo-Gotham is alive and has killed Bruce Wayne. It’s rejected Terry McGinnis as Batman and offered him the chance to escape. Terry turned it down—he is the city’s protector, and he will uphold the legacy of Batman. Now Neo-Gotham will do everything in its power to destroy Terry, including creating brand-new villains to fight him. Terry’s first year without Bruce Wayne begins…does he have a fighting chance? From the rising-star creative team of Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing (Kang the Conqueror) and Max Dunbar (Batman: Urban Legends, Robin), a new future for Batman Beyond has begun!
Why It’s Cool: The back door pilot for this was in an issue of Batman: Urban Legends, one of my favorite DC books, which did something to sell me on the series, but the real appeal for me is that it seems we’ll be getting something relatively new here with the Batman Beyond concept, or at least something relatively different. (Keigen Rea)

Crush & Lobo
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art and cover by AMANCAY NAHUELPAN
$19.99 US | 208 pages | 6 5/8″ x 10 3/16″ | Softcover
ISBN: 978-1-77951-440-0
ON SALE 5/17/22
The thrilling and chaotic fan-favorite miniseries from Detective Comics dream team Mariko Tamaki and Amancay Nahuelpan collected for the first time! In case anyone was wondering, Crush is doing just fine, actually. Sure, she effectively quit being a Teen Titan. And okay, her relationship with her girlfriend, Katie, is kind of on the rocks, if you want to get all technical about it. Oh, and she recently found out her dad, Lobo, is in space jail. But that’s cool, because he’s the worst. Okay, so maybe Crush has some stuff. But that doesn’t mean she’s gonna do anything about it, like run away from all her problems by going to space to confront her dad…right? Collects Crush & Lobo #1-8.
Why It’s Cool: Put simply, this miniseries was a delight. It’s a coming-age-comic, but no, it’s a father-daughter comic, but wait, it’s also a comic about a young lesbian relationship. Oh, and it’s a romp through space. Most importantly, however, it’s a whole lot of fun. (Zack Quaintance)

Doom Patrol by Rachel Pollack Omnibus|
Written by RACHEL POLLACK
Art by LINDA MEDLEY, TED McKEEVER, and others
Cover by BRIAN BOLLAND
$100.00 US | 760 pages | 7 1/16″ x 10 7/8″ | Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-77951-534-6
ON SALE 6/7/22
17+
In 1993, writer Rachel Pollack took over Doom Patrol from Grant Morrison and quickly made the title her own—retaining its offbeat spirit while pushing its characters in new directions and tackling important social issues in the Doom Patrol’s thoroughly unconventional way. This first-ever collection of Pollack’s run collects Doom Patrol #64-87, Doom Patrol Annual #2, and a story from Vertigo Jam #1.
Why It’s Cool: People always talk about the Grant Morrison and Richard Case Doom Patrol (because it rules), but the run that came after it is also absolutely excellent. And I’m so glad it’s getting a big beautiful omnibus to go on the shelf. (Zack Quaintance)

The Joker #14
FINAL ISSUE
Written by JAMES TYNION IV
Art by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI and CAM SMITH
Cover by GUILLEM MARCH
Punchline backup written by JAMES TYNION IV and SAM JOHNS
Punchline backup art by BELÉN ORTEGA
Variant cover by ALAN QUAH and BELÉN ORTEGA
1:25 variant cover by JAMES STOKOE
$5.99 US | 40 pages | (All covers card stock)
ON SALE 4/12/22
All the hunters converge on the Sampson estate as the brutal conclusion to the first “season” of The Joker is here! Bullets will fly, blood will be shed, and will James Gordon be forced to make the choice he’s been dreading since issue #1?
Punchline Backup: Punchline walks free, and the Royal Flush Gang is desperate for a new queen. The underworld of Gotham City is going to change forever, and this last chapter of “Punchline” is only the beginning.
Why It’s Cool: Look, there are a lot of Batman comics right now, but most of them are real good. My absolute favorite has been The Joker, which is actually a Jim Gordon comic where he’s kind of on an international murder case, chasing The Joker…and things aren’t as they seem. There’s a lot happening, and it’s been a run ride. Now, it’s coming to an end. (Zack Quaintance)

Justice League #75
|Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
Art by RAFA SANDOVAL
Cover by DANIEL SAMPERE and ALEJANDRO SÁNCHEZ
Variant covers by ALEX MALEEV, DAN JURGENS and NORM RAPMUND, and MIKEL JANÍN
1:25 variant cover by SIMONE DI MEO
1:50 variant cover by TONY HARRIS
Team variant cover by TODD NAUCK
$6.99 US | 48 pages | (All on card stock)
ON SALE 4/19/22
Oversize special issue! Superstar writer Joshua Williamson pens the beginning of the next big DCU event! It all starts here!
A new Dark Army made up of the DCU’s greatest villains has formed on the edges of the Multiverse! The DCU’s best and most powerful heroes are pulled together in an epic war to push the darkness back! But in the end, they are no match for it! That’s right, you heard it here first: the Justice League are killed by the Dark Army, with only one survivor to warn the remaining heroes of Earth about what is coming for them!
FINAL ISSUE!
Why It’s Cool: Another final issue! This one is a little bit different, not so much concluding an ongoing arc but commemorating the 30th anniversary of Death of Superman, spinning out of what writer Josh WIlliamson and co. have been doing with the multiverse in Justice League Incarnate. I don’t really know what to expect with this one, but I think it’s going to be very surprising in ways other than omg heroes will die! (Zack Quaintance)

Midnighter: The Complete Collection
Written by STEVE ORLANDO
Art by ACO, FERNANDO BLANCO, and others
Cover by ACO
$39.99 US | 440 pages | 6 5/8″ x 10 3/16″ | Softcover
ISBN: 978-1-77951-539-1
ON SALE 5/24/22
From GLAAD-nominated writer Steve Orlando come the action-packed adventures of Midnighter, the hero who can predict your every move. This volume collects all 12 issues of the vigilante’s 2015 series, as well as his reunion with his ex, Apollo, in the Midnighter and Apollo miniseries, where Midnighter goes to Hell to rescue his partner—plus stories from DC Cybernetic Summer and DC Pride 2021!
Why It’s Cool: I remember buying these comics as they were coming out and absolutely loving them. This is a 12-issue miniseries with no fat on it, just all action and great character beats, super well done. (Zack Quaintance)

The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country #1
Written by JAMES TYNION IV
Art by LISANDRO ESTHERREN and YANICK PAQUETTE
Cover by REIKO MURAKAMI
Variant by YANICK PAQUETTE
1:25 variant by KELLEY JONES
1:50 variant by ÁLVARO MARTÍNEZ BUENO
1:100 variant by JENNY FRISON
$3.99 US | 32 pages
Variants $4.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 4/12/22
17+
Sometimes, nightmares walk the Earth. Every night when you sleep, the Lord of Dreams chooses the path you’ll follow…into a sylvan Elysium, or down the hallways of your darkest fears. And sometimes, if it is Dream’s will, those nightmares escape those halls, and go out into the world. But it is not a choice he makes lightly.
Today the Corinthian walks the Earth again. The most feared of all Dream’s nightmares, his ravenous mouths have made him a legend among serial killers. Letting the Corinthian out among mortals is the most dangerous thing Dream could possibly do. But he has no choice—because there is another nightmare walking the Earth, one that must be hunted…and this monster is one that Dream, lord of all nightmares, did not make.
Horror-comics superstar James Tynion IV has waited his whole career to pay tribute to the mythos of The Sandman, the work that made him the writer he is today—and that time has come! Designed to welcome new readers into one of the greatest worlds in DC’s library, The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country is a terrifying travelogue through a nation recognizable and obscene, which will show you things seen in no Sandman series ever before—with spectacular art by Lisandro Estherren (Redneck, Strange Skies Over East Berlin) and “nightmare” sequences by comics art all-stars, starting with the incredible Yanick Paquette!
Why It’s Cool: I already wrote about Nightmare Country this week, but in short, Tynion doing a Corinthian story where he wanders through the dark corners of America? Sign me up. (Zack Quaintance)