Sweet, fancy Moses! Seven? We have seven Batman related comic books coming out this week, folks. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get them all reviewed in one day, heck I don’t even know if I’ll have time to read them all in one day! We’ve got Batman #14 (which everybody is going to buy so I don’t even know why I’m reviewing it) a few other Death of the Family tie-ins including Suicide Squad. Two Arkham City comic books, and a unique digital first anime-style Batgirl comic also come out this week– that’s two Batgirl comics coming out this Wednesday, by the way. So yeah, I hope you saved some money because your trip to the comic shop is going to set you back a few bucks!
Here’s a list of all the Batman comics coming out this week, November 14th, graded on a scale of my own anticipation.
None. – I’ll get to it…eventually – Eh…meh. – Bring it. – TAKE MY MONEY
Scroll to the bottom of the page and post in the comments section what books you’re most looking forward to this week!
November 14th
BATMAN #14
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Backup story written by SCOTT SNYDER and JAMES TYNION IV
Art by GREG CAPULLO and JONATHAN GLAPION
Backup story art by JOCK
Cover by GREG CAPULLO
Variant cover by TREVOR McCARTHY
1:100 B&W Variant cover by GREG CAPULLO
40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Anticipation Level: TAKE MY MONEY
Don’t read this little blurb if you haven’t read issue #13. In fact, if you are waiting for the TPB to come out for any series, reading an Upcoming Comics article probably isn’t a very good idea. For everyone else, let’s have a show of hands here: who is scared s***less that Alfred might die? Yeah, me too. Issue #13 had quite the cliffhanger and if Alfred dies I know I’ll be very upset not just because I love the character but because I don’t want to read an awful “Return of Alfred” story 3 years from now featuring a trip to yet another Lazarus pit. But back to the comic at hand: I don’t know how anyone could not be excited about this. I want answers. I want to know what Joker’s plan is, why he cut off his face, what he’s been up to for the past few months, etc. etc. and I want to see more of that great Capullo art. This is going to be a must-buy.
BATMAN AND ROBIN #14
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art and cover by PATRICK GLEASON and MICK GRAY
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: I’ll get to it…eventually
Sigh. This time last year, Batman & Robin was my 2nd favorite Batman title. Sadly, it’s fallen pretty far from grace. The book is going through a bit of an identity crisis at the moment. At first it seemed like this series would go deep into Bruce and Damian’s father/son relationship and deliver some meaningful stories but the past few months have shown us giant radioactive worms, rocket ships, and now…zombies. The worst part is that it’s all considered to be part of the same timeline as Death of the Family somehow. If it wants to be the zany, fun, kid-friendly Batman title that’s perfectly fine, but it needs to get off the fence and commit to a tone. I hate to say it but this issue sounds like it can be skipped.
BATGIRL #14
Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art and cover by ED BENES
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: Bring it.
The Killing Joke has been referenced quite a few times already in Gail Simone’s run, but this time history is actually going to repeat itself as the Joker sends his men to attack Barbara’s mother (who has the same name “Barbara” and is often drawn exactly the same way as Barbara Jr. which can get pretty confusing). It’s going to be a race against the clock to save Momma Gordon in this Death of the Family tie-in and I’m interested to see how it plays out.
AME-COMI GIRLS: FEATURING BATGIRL #2
Written by JUSTIN GRAY and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art and cover by SANFORD GREEN
40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: Bring it.
I don’t really know anything about this. Apparently there was a popular toy line that depicted anime-version interpretations of DC’s female characters, DC decided to make a Digital-First comic series to see if the fans of the toys would come back for more, and now that digital series is coming to print. I know that there’s a Batgirl and a female Robin (Carrie Kelly, I believe) in this issue and they fight Poison Ivy and Duela Dent, who is portrayed as a female Joker…I guess. I don’t know! It all sounds kind of goofy to me, but it’s written by the same guys behind All-Star Western so I’ll give it a shot! (and don’t worry, you didn’t need to buy issue #1 to enjoy this) Hopefully it will serve as a pretty fun comic and a nice escape from the doom of gloom in all of the Death of the Family tie-ins.
BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY — END GAME #1
Written by DEREK FRIDOLFS
Art and cover by JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER
1:25 Variant cover by PATRICK GLEASON and DEREK FRIDOLFS
One-shot • 64 pg, FC, $6.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: Eh…meh.
I’m all for a new Arkham City book that actually takes us beyond the climax of the video game, but seven bucks is kinda steep, don’t you think? Especially when the Arkham Unhinged series honestly hasn’t been that great. I want to be excited about this, but the price tag makes me pretty apprehensive about it all.
BATMAN: ARKHAM UNHINGED #8
Written by DEREK FRIDOLFS
Art by DARICK ROBERTSON and RICHARD CLARK
Cover by DAVE WILKINS
40 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: Eh…meh.
I’m bored with this series. The video game came out over a year ago and these prequel stories haven’t been particularly good. I believe issues #2 and #3 were alright, but everything else? Not so much. However, this issue promises the Arkham City universe’s origin of Killer Croc and that has peaked my curiosity a tad and as always you get a bit more bang for your buck with this comic since it’s 40 pages for $2.99.
SUICIDE SQUAD #14
Written by ADAM GLASS
Art by FERNANDO DAGNINO
Cover by KEN LASHLEY
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Anticipation Level: Bring it.
I told you I would review all of the Death of the Family tie-in comics! Now, I have no idea what’s going on in this series other than this particular issue is a Death of the Family tie-in. Nothing. I read the first TPB of this series and that’s it. So hopefully I won’t be too lost and it’ll focus more on the Death of the Family stuff. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Graphic Novel Watch!
The only Batman-related graphic novel coming out this week is for Young Justice. I haven’t read the Young Justice comics, but the TV series is fantastic and now that I’m a fan of the show, I think I’ll give the comics a gander. Volume 2: Training Day collects issues #7-13 of this all-ages series and costs only $12.99.
I’ll definitely be reviewing a few graphic novels from previous weeks so be on the lookout for articles on All-Star Western Vol. 1, Batman: Eye of the Beholder, Red Hood & the Outlaws Vol. 1, and more.
