This week we have an all new Justice League series starring Catwoman, the original Catwoman series starring someone that looks like Catwoman but acts like they’ve been huffing fumes, and there’s plenty of “Death of the Family” fallout coming our way as well as some Beyond universe stuff! It’s a week of endings and beginnings. Justice League of America and Catwoman start brand new arcs, Justice League #17, Nightwing, and Red Hood wrap up their stories, and Batman Beyond Unlimited has a little bit of both.
Here’s a list of all the Batman comics coming out this week, February 20th graded on a scale of my own anticipation.
Hell no! – I’d rather not – Ambivalent – Interested – 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!
February 20th
JUSTICE LEAGUE #17
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
Variant cover by STEVE SKROCE
1:100 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale FEBRUARY 20 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Anticipation Level: TAKE MY MONEY
Granted, I still haven’t had time to read last month’s Aquaman…but HOW are we already at the conclusion of Throne of Atlantis? It felt like this thing was just getting started. It strikes me as really odd, but maybe it’ll all make sense once I can read Aquaman #16. Either way, this is gong to be a full length story like Batman #17 was with no backup and I’m really looking forward to it. Every part of the Throne of Atlantis has been a blast so far.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by DAVID FINCH
On sale FEBRUARY 20 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Anticipation Level: Interested
The much hyped Trinity War (seriously, it’s been hinted at for well over a year now) begins with the first issue of this brand spanking new series. From what I gather, the government is tired of the Justice League’s bullshit so they decide to make a Justice League of their own that can be controlled. So…it’s pretty much the premise of Justice League International only with the USA being the only country involved and instead of having D-list heroes plus Batman we’re getting B and C list heroes plus some villains. So it sounds like a step up, really! A few of these JLA members are even getting their own series like Vibe and Katana while poor Cyborg over in Justice League still doesn’t have his own solo book. Shame. So why am I reviewing this comic? Because it has Catwoman in it and I’m sure you’ll all be curious to see how that goes. I doubt that the series will be added to the review rotation (Teen Titans, Batwoman, and others are in the trade-wait pile) but this first issue deserves a gander. It’ll also feature a backup starring Martian Manhunter! OH! And I almost forgot. This comic will have over 50 variants! So if you’re a little OCD about having every issue in your comic collection this is going to be an expensive week for you. You’ll probably spend a lot of time on eBay as well trying to find all the covers which showcase the flag of all 50 states in addition to Puerto Rico. Sorry, Guam.
CATWOMAN #17
Written by ANN NOCENTI
Art and cover by RAFA SANDOVAL and JORDI TARRAGONA
On sale FEBRUARY 20 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Anticipation Level: Hell no!
Catwoman goes on a crime spree after being kidnapped by Joker and posessed by Eclipso. As you can see by the cover she also appears to have a cat-cycle of some kind. The premise sounds like it’s back in more traditional Catwoman territory so hopefully this leads to a better story but I wouldn’t get my hopes up. This series has been really, really, really bad. Terrible. And while I keep reviewing it (I really think I’m one of the only reviewers out there still talking about it) in order to bring attention to how bad it is and hopefully get a new writer on the book I’m afraid that my articles might be causing an opposite effect and readers are going out and buying Catwoman just to see how bad it really is.
NIGHTWING #17
Written by KYLE HIGGINS
Art by JUAN JOSE RYP and VICENTE CIFUENTES
Cover by EDDY BARROWS and EBER FERREIRA
On sale FEBRUARY 20 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: TAKE MY MONEY
Expect to see things slow down in Nightwing this month. After Death of the Family, Dick Grayson doesn’t have much of a life to return to and in this issue we see what exactly he can pull from the ashes. Did all the members of Haley’s Circus die from Joker toxin poisoning? Does Dick have enough funds to rebuild Amusement Mile? Is there any reason for him to remain in Gotham? There will be a lot to meditate on here plus a couple of heart-to-heart moments between Dick and other members of the Bat family.
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #17
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art by TIMOTHY GREEN II
Cover by MICO SUAYAN
On sale FEBRUARY 20 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: Ambivalent
I can’t seem to stop reviewing Red Hood and the Outlaws lately! This series again ties itself into the regular goings-on of Gotham by having Batman confront Jason Todd about what happened in Death of the Family. Hopefully they reference what the Joker talked to the Batfamily about before Batman woke up. Ya know, that pivotal event from the DoTF conclusion that occurred off-panel. And for God’s sake, look at that cover! It’s GORGEOUS. However…even though it all sounds like a “TAKE MY MONEY!” comic I also have to say “Once burned, twice shy.” Those Death of the Family tie-ins sounded awesome too but all we got was a Teen Titans and Arsenal story. I want to get some great character moments between Bruce and Jason here but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if we see Starfire and Arsenal hanging out on the beach again for half the comic.
BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #13
Written by ADAM BEECHEN, J.T. KRUL, DUSTIN NGUYEN and DEREK FRIDOLFS
Art by DUSTIN NGUYEN, HOWARD PORTER, LIVESAY, NORM BREYFOGLE and JORGE CORONA
Cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN
On sale FEBRUARY 20 • 48 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: TAKE MY MONEY
Great jumping on point for Justice League Beyond fans as a brand new arc opens up with the team in Central City. In Superman beyond, we see Supes captured by an alien race that blames him for their downfall, and Batman Beyond concludes the “10,000 Clowns” epic that has easily been the best Batman Beyond story Adam Beechen has ever written. Pretty great stuff all around and I can’t wait to check it out.
GRAPHIC NOVEL WATCH!
Batman/Deathblow Deluxe Edition collects Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo’s Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire #1-3. This story was first published back in 2003, which was when I wasn’t reading comics so I’m looking forward to seeing what this is all about. Deathblow is a character from the Wildstorm universe, but I’ve never heard of him before. Still, I love seeing Azzarello and Bermejo work together so I’m looking forward to this one. It costs $23 bucks and the deluxe format usually looks great.
Teen Titans by Geoff Johns Omnibus is huge. I won’t be reviewing it because the thing is $150 bucks and I’ve never been that interested in Teen Titans to begin with. However, if you love Johns and the Teen Titans enough to drop this much cash on a 1,400 page book then have at it!
I’ve also started writing a few of the graphic novel reviews from recent weeks so that I can release those articles back-to-back. And by putting off the Black Mirror review for so long (eh, not really put-off. I let someone borrow it and it’s taking them a while to give it back) I’ve actually allowed it to come out just in time for the softcover version to hit stores.
What books are you picking up this week?
