What You Might Have Missed In DC’s January 2017 Solicitations

2017 would have been the year of Jack "The King" Kirby's 100th birthday, and each of his former publishers is celebrating in their own way, with DC reviving the round robin storytelling concept DC Challenge with a focus on Kirby's classic post-apocalyptic character Kamandi.

Over the course of the series, each creative team with tell a story with Kamandi and end on a cliffhanger that the next team must solve before continuing the tale. There's nothing quite like this in comics, and The Kamandi Challenge has assembled an impressive roster of talents.

So far into DC Rebirth, Tom King's Batman has been one of the most unpredictable superhero titles of the year, and next year it looks set to introduce two new top-tier artists to the DC Universe in special one-off issues.

In Batman #14, Stephanie Hans of Journey Into Mystery steps in to tell a story featuring Batman and Catwoman, while Batman #15 features King's Sheriff of Babylon collaborator Mitch Gerards, as Swamp Thing comes to Gotham seeking Batman's help.

One of the biggest mysteries coming of DC Rebirth is the discovery of three separate Jokers, but the Clown Prince of Crime hasn't surfaced in the new landscape, until now.

January's Harley Quinn issues promise a kinder, gentler Joker showing up in Harley's life. Is there a chance this is one of the three Jokers that Batman discovered? It's possible, as Rebirth heads into its second phase in January.

Outside of some stories with Mister Terrific and Power Girl, there hasn't been much crossing over between universes since the dawn of The New 52, but January's Superman looks set to break down those walls in a big way as it brings back President Calvin Ellis' team of multiversal defenders, Justice Incarnate.

I'm not sure I can think of a better story hook than, "Someone's stealing Supermen" and a successor to Grant Morrison's The Multiversity is a perfect place for that to play out.

I've had a lot of questions about where the Young Animal titles sit in relation to the rest of the DC Multiverse, and if it is in fact a weird corner of the Prime Earth where everything else happens. It seems that may be the case, as January's Mother Panic sees none other than Kate Kane crashing the debut of Gotham's newest vigilante to find out what her deal is, and possibly address the similarities between the two heroes.