This week promises a lot of variety, but sadly I won’t be able to review any of these when you need them most. I’ll be in L.A. on Wednesday before making my way down to San Diego for Comic Con.
Here are the review comics coming out this week, July 17th, 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: July 17th
BATMAN AND CATWOMAN #22
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by PATRICK GLEASON, MICK GRAY and J. CALAFIORE
Cover by PATRICK GLEASON and MICK GRAY
On sale JULY 17 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: I’d rather not.
Yeah, that’s right, I said I’d rather not. This whole “5 Stages of Grief” arc had a lot of promise but has shown none of the heart or creativity of the Batman & Robin Annual or issue #18, two of the best comics I’ve read this year. Every stage has felt like anger and I’m finding every character to be dull or annoying. However, Peter J. Tomasi has proven to be pretty erratic with his writing quality so maybe he’s gotten enough weak issues out of his system now that the latest chapter will amaze. This week, Catwoman shows up to guide us through the depression phase. Whoopee.
BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #18
Written by ADAM BEECHEN and SCOTT PETERSON
Art by ADAM ARCHER and ANNIE WU • Cover by ANNIE WU
On sale JULY 17 • 48 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T • DIGITAL FIRST
Anticipation Level: Ambivalent
The finale to the disappointing Undercloud storyline, a short story about a new Batgirl rising up in the Beyond universe. Also worth noting– This is the final issue of Batman Beyond Unlimited! Starting next month the series will get an all new #1, all new creative teams (including Nightwing‘s Kyle Higgins as the new Batman Beyond writer) and an all new name: Batman Beyond Universe.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #6
Written by GEOFF JOHNS and JEFF LEMIRE
Art by DOUG MAHNKE and CHRISTIAN ALAMY
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:25 Variant cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
1:00 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale JULY 17 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Anticipation Level: TAKE MY MONEY
TRINITY WAR CHAPTER 2! I shouldn’t really say more than that. Go read part one! It came out last week as Justice League #22 and it’s definitely worth reading. If you need information on what books make up Trinity War, I made a reading list for you.
BATMAN ’66 #1
Written by JEFF PARKER
Art by JONATHAN CASE
Cover by MICHAEL ALLRED
1:25 Variant cover by JONATHAN CASE
On sale JULY 31 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
DIGITAL FIRST
Anticipation Level: TAKE MY MONEY
These digital books always come out in three parts or so before they head to print as one complete book. I went ahead and read part 1 of Batman ’66 and it was absolutely terrific. Colorful, hilarious, and 100% fun. The pages I saw perfectly recaptured the voice and look of the original Batman TV series starring Adam West. There’s even an old school dot-effect for some of the colors to give it a silver age feel. This is a great way to add some variety to your pull list and still satisfy your Batman fix. There’s really not much else on the market like Batman ’66! However, I think that it might actually be better to read this series digitally. The DC2 layered effects that are being used in this series really enhanced the experience and the digital presentation of 10 pages each week blends with the structure of the old television series beautifully! The final panels of part one, for instance, used washed-out colors for a freeze-frame effect and then the narrator asked the reader what could possibly happen next before imploring them to “Find out next week!”
If the other 2/3 of this book is as good as what I saw in those first ten pages then it’ll be a 10/10 guaranteed.
Graphic Novel Watch!
Batman: The Dark Knight, Vol. 2 and Tales of Batman: Archie Goodwin come out this Wednesday. I have also scheduled a number of graphic novel reviews to go live throughout the week so that there will be plenty of content around here even without any critiques of this week’s titles.
