Villains Month is finally here and that means all the traditional titles have been wiped out and replaced with one-shot villain stories. So here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to give you a list of all the Villains month comics coming out this week and then I’ll show you which ones I’m going to sit down and review. Cool? In addition to Villains month, we Bat-fans will also get to enjoy another installment of the out-of-continuity Legends of the Dark Knight, the all-new Batman Black & White series, and then He-Man and crew are coming into the DC Universe to start some trouble (seriously). The most important thing to keep in mind about this month’s books is that ALL OF THESE COMICS ARE NEW READER FRIENDLY!
Here are the review comics coming out this week, September 4th, 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: September 4th
Villains Month: Week One
- Forever Evil #1
- Darkseid
- Deadshot
- The Creeper
- Desaad (Earth 2)
- Grodd
- Count Vertigo
- Cyborg Superman
- Bizzaro
- The Joker
- Two-Face
- The Ventriloquist
- Poison Ivy
- Relic
DC UNIVERSE VS. THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #1
Written by KEITH GIFFEN
Art by DEXTER SOY
Covers by ED BENES
On sale SEPTEMBER 4th • 32 pg, FC, 1 of 6, $2.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: Interested
This story got pushed back a month and I think it would’ve got a lot more attention then even though it would’ve been competing against Trinity War (and looked kind of similar to it) but man, it’s really flying under the radar this week so for that reason alone I think it deserves a look. “After narrowly escaping his last battle with He-Man, Skeletor has fled to the most unexpected realm to recover: EARTH! Once there, he sets a plan in motion to siphon off Earth’s core magic. Forging an unlikely hunting party, He-Man and company go in search of Skeletor. Finding themselves at odds with the heroes of the DC Universe, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe must find a way to stop Skeletor and his mysterious new master!” It’s a DC/Masters of the Universe crossover and nobody is talking about it? I predict that this is going to be either awesome or laughably bad. I don’t see how you could find a middle ground with a premise as outlandish as this.
FOREVER EVIL #1
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIEND
1:25 Villain A cover by TBD
1:25 Villain B cover by TBD
1:25 Villain C cover by TBD
3-D motion variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:200 B&W variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale SEPTEMBER 4 • 48 pg, 1 of 7, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Anticipation Level: TAKE MY MONEY
I suppose we should all read this one before any of the other comics, right? I’m kind of surprised this didn’t come out a week before Villains Month began so this whole event could be properly set up, but oh well! The comic we’ve all been waiting for is here. The Crime Syndicate of Earth 3 has burst forth from Pandora’s Box (actually an Earth 3 Motherbox that created a boom tube between dimensions) and whatever it is that they do in THIS issue is what causes all the heroes to vanish and trigger Villains Month so… let’s do this!
BATMAN #23.1: THE JOKER
Written by ANDY KUBERT
Art by ANDY CLARKE
3-D motion cover by JASON FABOK
On sale SEPTEMBER 4 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: Interested
No this is not the return of the faceless Joker, it’s a flashback and it involves the Clown Prince of Crime and a baby gorilla according to the preview images I’ve seen and I’m going to guess that maybe that little critter grows up to be the Jackanapes villain from Batman 666 (the possible future that would have happened if Damian made the deal with the devil). This is artist Andy Kubert’s first time writing a story but he’ll be doing a Damian Wayne mini-series soon so here’s hoping this issue is a home run. The artwork by Andy Clarke is definitely impressive from what I’ve seen so far so all signs point to this being an interesting one to pick up, although with it being a flashback I don’t see it playing very well into the larger Forever Evil story. We’ll just have to wait and see!
BATMAN AND ROBIN #23.1: TWO-FACE
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by GUILLEM MARCH
3-D motion cover by CHRIS BURNHAM
On sale SEPTEMBER 4 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: Interested
Two-Face has been teased for a few months now (maybe 3 months?) in the ongoing Batman and Robin comic so I’m anxious to see how well writer Peter J. Tomasi handles the character as Two-Face is approached to join the Secret Society of Super Villains.
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #23.1: THE VENTRILOQUIST
Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art by DERLIS SANTACRUZ
3-D motion cover by PATRICK GLEASON and MICK GRAY
On sale SEPTEMBER 4 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: I’d rather not.
I hate the New 52 Ventriloquist. I’ve said time and time again how I much prefer a kindly, innocent looking old man who turns into a psychotic gangster the second he puts a puppet on his hand. That, to me, is scarier than an obviously evil ,witch-looking woman who uses telekinetic powers to control a Jigsaw-like doll (fun fact: the name of the puppet from the SAW movies is actually “Billy” or “Billy the Puppet”) with drills in its hands. So no, my expectations are not high for this one.
DETECTIVE COMICS #23.1: POISON IVY
Written by DEREK FRIDOLFS
Art by JAVIER PINA
3-D motion cover by JASON FABOK
On sale SEPTEMBER 4 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: Interested
Former Arkham Unhinged and current Li’l Gotham writer Derek Fridolfs delivers a story that actually shows Poison Ivy being a villain more than an anti-hero (or at least I hope). The solicits say that she will “grow into a force of nature unlike anything Gotham City has seen before!” so if that’s true then I’m looking forward to that.
BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE #1
Written by CHIP KIDD, NEAL ADAMS, JOE QUINONES, MARIS WICKS, JOHN ARCUDI and HOWARD MACKIE
Art by MICHAEL CHO, NEAL ADAMS, JOE QUINONES, SEAN MURPHY and CHRIS SAMNEE
Cover by MARC SILVESTRI
1:25 Variant cover by TBD
1:200 B&W Variant cover by MARC SILVESTRI
“We Can Be Heroes” Blank variant cover also available.
On sale SEPTEMBER 4 • 48 pg, 1 of 6, B&W, $4.99 US • RATED T
Anticipation Level: TAKE MY MONEY
DC is bringin back the Eisner Award-winning series BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE, which is an out-of-New-52-continuity anthology series much like Legends of the Dark Knight but with bigger name writers and artists and no color. This brand-new six-issue miniseries features stories by Chip Kidd and Michael Cho, Neal Adams, Joe Quinones and Maris Wicks, John Arcudi and Sean Murphy, and Howard Mackie and Chris Samnee! With that much talent AND the Batman Black and White series’ tradition of excellence, I mean… how in the hell does any Batman fan not pick this one up?
LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #12
Written by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE and PETER MILLIGAN
Art by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE and RICCARDO BURCHIELLI
Cover by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE
On sale SEPTEMBER 4 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T • DIGITAL FIRST
Anticipation Level: Interested
There are quite a few artists taking a shot at being writers this month and American Vampire’s Rafael Albuquerque is one of them! As always I’m eager to read an issue of Legends of the Dark Knight and sample the work of different creators and as a fan of Albuquerque’s art I’m doubly interested to see if he can write. This book promises two stories outside of New 52 continuity. One of these is about Bruce Wayne struggling to adapt to living life after he’s won the war on crime (an intriguing premise) and another in which Bruce loses almost all of his money and must combat Ra’s al Ghul on a budget (another interesting premise). These two stories definitely sound ambitious and I’m eager to see if Albuquerque and Milligan can pull it off.
