Upcoming Comics: August 19, 2015

August 19, 2015

We’ve got a good week of comics ahead of us! I feel like Week 3 should be considered the week of “potential.” So many of the books being released this week are on the fence, with the potential of falling either way. Naturally, I’m hoping for the best. Before you let loose below though, keep an eye on the Comics section of the site this week because we’ve got a lot coming your way! As always, you have this diddy, as well as our reviews, but I’ll also have November Solicitations posted by tomorrow night, and will have a collection of cover polls posted by Friday night!

Alright, on to business! This week’s releases are listed in order of what I’m most excited to read, to what I’m least excited to read. For each title, I’ll include the official solicitation, the talent credits, more of my randomness, and the Batman News team member that will be covering each book. After that, you’ll find a poll for this week’s best cover! Should you have trouble picking one cover, no worries! The poll is open so you can select as many covers as you’d like. Then, as always, you’ll find graphic novels scheduled for release this week, along with their cover as well (note: graphic novel covers will not be included in the poll for best cover). And of course, I (we) want to hear from you in the comments section! What titles are you picking up? What do you hope to see? And what are your thoughts about the order of my list? So, without further ado…

 

 

August 19^th

 

Justice League #43
“The Darkseid War” event rages on as Batman takes a dark journey into the depths of Godhood and unlocks the forbidden knowledge of the DC universe! Meanwhile, arch-enemies Superman and Lex Luthor must stand together in order to survive, and Wonder Woman leads the Justice League in an offensive against the Anti-Monitor and Darkseid! But what is Grail’s true mission during this war-—and what is the secret she holds over Wonder Woman?

Written by Geoff Johns
Pencils and Inks by Jason Fabok
Colored by Brad Anderson
Cover by Brad Anderson and Jason Fabok

Random Blurb of Excitement: This… arc… is… so… good! If you haven’t been reading Justice League, or you jump in and out of arcs, then know that this is an arc worth reading! I fully expect this event to have everyone talking by the time it ends its run!

Batman News Critic: Terry

 

Injustice: Gods Among Us Year 4 #8
The tables have been turned, and now Superman himself has been driven underground…way underground. Ares directs the Man of Steel to Hades, where he assures Superman some assistance will be found. Back on the surface world, Wonder Woman confronts Batman, and up on Olympus, Harley tries bonding with Queen Hippolyta—we’ll see how well that goes.

Art by Mike S. Miller
Cover by Neil Googe
Written by Brian Buccellato

Random Blurb of Excitement: This book has been full of heavy hitters lately, and I’m really interested to see how it all plays out! Granted, we know that some key players won’t get killed off, but for the first time, Superman can’t rely on brute force and strength. He’s being forced to rely on skill, and that’s not his strongest attribute.

Batman News Critic: Elena

 

 

Black Canary #3
Black Canary’s worst nightmare has come true: child prodigy Ditto has been kidnapped! But the perp isn’t your average criminal mastermind…

Written by Brenden Fletcher
Pencils and Inks by Annie Wu
Colored by Lee Loughridge
Cover by Annie Wu

Random Blurb of Excitement: Well, the last issue definitely had some interesting reveals that should play out really well this month! This book has a lot of potential, but I hope that Fletcher starts removing some of the singing/ band elements. Yes, it’s fun and I like these characters, but so far I feel like it’s competing to be the “A” plot rather than just revealing an aspect of Dinah’s life. Fletcher spoke to a year plan during our interview though, and I trust him and the quality of his work enough to support this book during that time.

Batman News Critic: Terry

 

 

Batman Arkham Knight #7
After narrowly escaping death during his battle with Bane, a battered and bloodied Batman crosses paths with a kid from Gotham City, and changes the course of his life forever. Meanwhile, the Scarecrow begins to gather his forces…

Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Pencils Viktor Bogdanovic

Random Blurb of Excitement: Is it just me, or does it seem like it took forever for this print issue to come out? Regardless, this is a solid book, and has been enjoyable so far. We haven’t seen much of the Arkham Knight yet though, and I feel like that’s the most intriguing part of this book. Hopefully he’ll be featured more heavily soon.

Batman News Critic: Jay

 

Robin: Son of Batman #3
Robin and Nobody II team up to take on another mission from the Year of Blood.

Written by Patrick Gleason
Pencils by Patrick Gleason
Inks by Christian Alamy and Mick Gray
Colored by John Kalisz
Cover by Patrick Gleason and John Kalisz

Random Blurb of Excitement: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… this book isn’t bad, but Damian is one of my favorite characters, and I think DC made a mistake by putting a first-time writer at the helm of his first solo series. Gleason definitely gets Damian, but his execution isn’t polished… so maybe the happy medium would be a co-writer?

Batman News Critic: Terry

 

Secret Six #5
After the initial attack on Big Shot’s home (and the shocking revelation of one member’s true identity), the team’s suburban retreat has been exposed. As the team starts to fracture, this highly dysfunctional band of outcasts prepares for the next strike from Mockingbird!

Written by Gail Simone
Pencils by Dale Eaglesham
Inks by Tom Derenick, Dale Eaglesham
Colored by Jason Wright
Cover by Dale Eaglesham and Jason Wright

Random Blurb of Excitement: Let’s hope all of the timing issues are out of the way for this book! This has definitely been one of the roughest launches that I can recall, and I’m honestly a little surprised that this book is still around. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of this title, I just want to make sure readers get the quality they deserve… and hopefully we’ll get to see more of those surprise characters from the previous

Batman News Critic: Josh

 

Harley Quinn & Power Girl #3
Power Girl and Vartox are finally face-to-face…unfortunately, it’s the terrifying Dark Vartox, corrupted by an ancient cosmic evil! And good lord, what has it done to his nipples?!

Art by Stephane Roux
Cover by Amanda Conner
Written by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Amanda Conner

Random Blurb of Excitement: I’m not going to lie, I’m a little Harley’d out… but I still look forward to reading what Conner, Palmiotti (and Gray) have cooked up each month. It’s such a fun, funny, and quotable book that I can’t help but love it… I’m not too sure about these nipple references though…

Batman News Critic: Elena

 

 

 

Justice League: Gods & Monsters #2
Prequel to the DC Universe movie Justice League: Gods & Monsters! The Forever People are at war—with humanity and with each other. The only hope of defeating them lies with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman—and they may be more dangerous than the immortal warriors they’re trying to stop!

Written by J. M. DeMatteis and Bruce Timm
Pencils and Inks by Thony Silas

Random Blurb of Excitement: It looks like the fear I expressed last week was legitimate. I honestly feel like Justice League: Gods & Monsters has endless potential, but I’m concerned that delivering this narrative as a mini-series won’t allow the book the chance to really thrive on an artistic level.

Batman News Critic: Jay

 

 

Teen Titans Go! #11
Cyborg grows his very first mustache! But are the rest of the Titans ready for Cyborg’s newfound manliness?

Art by Dario Brizuela
Cover by Daniel Hipp
Written by Sholly Fisch and Merrill Hagan

Random Blurb of Excitement: So… my roommate is European, and she’s a musician. She competed in a competition called Eurovision while living back in Europe, and talked me into watching it last year. It’s essentially like American Idol meets the Olympics… Anyway, when we watch, the French representatives had a song called Mustache (it’s not great), and that’s all I think of when I see this solicitation.

Batman News Critic: Jay

 

Graphic Novel Watch:

Gotham By Midnight Vol. 1: We Do Not Sleep (Softcover) – Spinning out of BATMAN ETERNAL, these stories from issues #1-5 of the new series star Jim Corrigan as he leads a group of very unlikely detectives against supernatural forces in Gotham City! But when an Internal Affairs officer starts looking into their work, it may take divine intervention to keep him alive! And how long can Corrigan keep the Spectre at bay?

 

 

Cover of the Week:

Now, with all of this week’s releases listed above, it’s time for you to sound off! What’s the best cover that is being released this week? If you’re like me, and can’t decide on just one, then you can select multiple if you would like. Vote using the poll below, and we’ll announce the winner next week. Last week’s results are in the spoiler tag.