It’s a really exciting week. Really exciting. The origin of Shazam completes, a new series teaming up the Dark Knight with Man of Steel begins, Bane builds an army, the Mad Hatter gets his long-overdue just desserts, and then Catwoman is causing all kinds of drama both alive and dead. Batman Inc. may have been pushed back a week (it’ll conclude with 2 issues in July and then a special in August) but there are more than enough titles coming at you this Wednesday.
Here are the review comics coming out this week, June 26th, 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!
Upcoming Comics: June 26th
BATMAN/SUPERMAN #1
Written by GREG PAK
Art and cover by JAE LEE
1:100 B&W variant cover by JAE LEE
1:25 BATMAN variant cover by KENNETH ROCAFORT
1:25 SUPERMAN variant cover by GUILLEM MARCH
“We Can Be Heroes” blank variant cover available
On sale JUNE 26 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Anticipation Level: TAKE MY MONEY
Batman Inc. hasn’t ended yet but we’re already getting another Bat-title, this time in the form of a reboot of the 2003-2011 series Superman/Batman (though I like the title of the New 52 version better). This issue will showcase the first meeting of Batman and Superman in this New 52 universe (I thought they met for the first time in Justice League #1?) complete with the blue jeans wearing Superman (Oddly enough, it seems like Batman has never changed his costume in his entire career in this new universe). So not only are we getting Batman’s early years in the current Batman series by Snyder and Capullo, but we’re getting a younger Batman over here as well. The inaugural issue of Batman/Superman will hit stores this Wednesday with a wide variety of variant covers, which means that if you’re a completionist your wallet is going to get hit. Hard. I’ll likely have an early review for this one up Tuesday night.
TALON #9
Written by JAMES TYNION IV
Art and cover by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA
1:25 B&W Variant cover by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA
On sale JUNE 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: Interested
The crossover issue last week with Birds of Prey #21 was passable, but 100% predictable. What happens next in this issue might be better because Talon is a far more fun series to read but I really don’t want to get my hopes up too high. Lofty expectations are a dangerous thing to have come crossover time and let’s be honest, I think we all would rather see more from Bane, who is currently building an army to sack Gotham, and less from Strix and the other Birds of Prey. Here’s hoping this issue spends most of its time at Santa Prisca.
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #21
Written by GREGG HURWITZ
Art and cover by ETHAN VAN SCIVER
1:25 B&W Variant cover by ETHAN VAN SCIVER
On sale JUNE 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: Ambivalent
It’s finally here! The grand finale of the Mad Hatter arc has finally arrived and that’s not the only good news, Ethan Van Sciver is back on art duties again! Author Gregg Hurwitz, however, really needs to pace future stories better. We started this origin tale back in January! It would be great to have a Batman book that cranks out 2-3 issue arcs.
CATWOMAN #21
Written by ANN NOCENTI
Art by RAFA SANDOVAL and JORDI TARRAGONA
Cover by TERRY DODSON and RACHEL DODSON
On sale JUNE 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Anticipation Level: I’d rather not
The idea of Catwoman and Penguin declaring war on each other has legs so I’m going to try and be optimistic about this one. The recent Catwoman Annual was bad, like pretty much every issue of this series since Nocenti took over, but it wasn’t so bad that I felt ill at the end of it. Call me a dreamer but I think there might be a 10-20% chance that this issue will be enjoyable.
INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US #6
Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art by JHEREMY RAAPACK and MIKE S. MILLER
Cover by MICO SUAYAN
On sale JUNE 26 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T • DIGITAL FIRST
Anticipation Level: Interested
At the end of every month, ever since the video game came out, I’ve looked at the upcoming Injustice comic and shrugged it off. But every time I pick it up and read it I am highly entertained! The comic is a different animal than the game. In it we follow the alternate timeline only and witness what happened to the bat-family and how Superman rose to power. Yes, the characterization of most of the DC characters ranges from questionable to terrible, but Batman and crew are great and so is Green Arrow so it’s easier for us Batman fans to enjoy. I can totally see why Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Superman fans would loathe this series, however. But it’s best to just view it as an Elseworlds and imagine that there are far more differences to these uncharacteristic heroes than we’ve seen so far. Oh, and you definitely want to buy this in print rather than digital. The artwork is consistently the series’ weakest quality but the most recent digital-first installments have been getting a lot of flak. It’s bad enough that DC has been giving the panels a heavy polish before daring print them to paper and the changes made make a world of difference.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #5
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Backup story written by MATT KINDT
Art and cover by BRETT BOOTH
Backup story art by MANUEL GARCIA and DAVE BEATY
1:25 Variant cover by JASON FABOK
1:100 B&W Variant cover by DAVID FINCH
On sale JUNE 26 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Anticipation Level: Interested
If you don’t like spoilers of what happened the month before then you shouldn’t read Upcoming articles. That said, let me talk about what happened at the end of issue #4: Catwoman died. There wasn’t an awful lot of buzz around this death though, was there? That’s because it’s kind of hard to take a death like that seriously when she still has her own ongoing book in which she’s very much alive…and she’s showing up in Batman & ___ next month, and, let’s face it, if Catwoman really was dead– DC would’ve ran to the mainstream media to spoil the ending of issue #4 several days before the comic ever hit the stands. That’s just how these things go. So, no, I don’t believe Catwoman is really dead but I am very interested to see what Geoff Johns has planned for the next chapter in this series anyway. I’ve found JLA to be a lot of fun and the Secret Society to be one of the most interesting and mysterious enemies in any DC book. Plus those back-up stories by Matt Kindt have been stellar! I am curious about how this issue will lead things into next month’s Trinity War and if it will recognize recent events in Vibe #5 as well (Vibe has rebelled against ARGUS and is now locked up in their underground prison).
JUSTICE LEAGUE #21
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by GARY FRANK
1:25 Variant cover by DOUG MAHNKE
1:100 B&W Variant cover by GARY FRANK
On sale JUNE 26 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Anticipation Level: TAKE MY MONEY
The conclusion to the Shazam origin story will take up this entire issue and it will also introduce Billy to the Justice League and the rest of the DC Universe AND lead us into the much anticipated Trinity War, which begins in July. So yes, I’m very excited for this one.
GRAPHIC NOVEL WATCH!
Red Hood and the Outlaws, Vol. 2: The Starfire collecting issues #8-14 featuring the Night of the Owls tie-in and the team’s first outer space adventure. This is the last of Kenneth Rocafort’s phenomenal artwork on the series.
