I don’t know about you, but I’m still on a high from last week’s releases! Detective Comics was EPIC! I think we all knew it would be – despite our trepidations concerning Tim – but it still managed to blow me away! Speaking of Detective Comics, this past Saturday was Batman Day, and I got to see James Tynion at a local comic shop. He’s going to stick with Detective through issue #1,000, and has plans laid out from now until then! Needless to say, if he can continue to deliver stories at this quality for the next few years, then we’re in for an amazing run!
I also stopped by a separate shop earlier in the day to meet Julie & Shawna Benson. I got to spend a little more time with them than James – mainly because I jumped on the opportunity to meet with them before they technically were supposed to start signing. If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that they shared that a new character would join the Birds of Prey for the second arc! It’ll be a character that has never been with the Birds of Prey before, so speculate away in the comments! Also, be sure to share how you spent you Batman Day as well!
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 reviewing 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. We also have an August Variant Cover Poll, as well as the results for the All Star Batman #1 Variant Cover Poll and the Suicide Squad #1 Variant Cover Poll at the bottom of the page. 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…
September 21st
Trinity #1
“BETTER TOGETHER” part 1! Together again for the first time! Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. The core of the World’s Greatest Heroes…but with a new Man of Steel, the bonds these three share will be tested and redefined by super-star writer/artist Francis Manapul. In this premiere issue, see the trio travel from Metropolis to Gotham City and beyond to learn what forces launched their heroic careers. But how will this journey of discovery lead them to a new threat?
Written by Francis Manapul
Pencils and Inks by Francis Manapul
Colored by Francis Manapul
Cover by Francis Manapul
Random Blurb of Excitement: Trinity has the potential to be really good. Manapul’s art is always great, and he’s proven he’s a solid writer as well! If he can set-up a quality story, then we’re all in for a great treat! This is also the perfect opportunity to showcase the relationship between these three, as well as why they work so well together.
Batman News Critic: Brian
Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Five #18
Enter: Deathstroke! Batman and Luthor are close to finishing a device that will open a door to another reality and bring them some much-needed assistance that could finally end this war. But they need a component that only Slade Wilson can retrieve. Can he be trusted? Meanwhile, Raven re-enters the fray, and a couple of dark gods conspire to cause trouble on Earth.
Art by Mike S. Miller
Cover by David Yardin
Written by Brian Buccellato
Random Blurb of Excitement: Buccellato is killing it! If you’re not reading Injustice, then I’m going to judge you. Just call me Judgie Mc Judgerson.
Batman News Critic: Elena
Batman #7
“NIGHT OF THE MONSTER MEN” part 1! The first crossover of the “Rebirth” era is here! As a huge storm approaches, Batman, Batwoman, and Nightwing try and prepare Gotham City for the worst, but nothing can prepare them for enormous tall monsters rampaging through the streets! Batman will need all of his allies to unite in order to stop these mad science monsters from tearing their city apart!
Written by Tom King and Steve Orlando
Pencils and Inks by Riley Rossmo
Colored by Ivan Plascencia
Cover by Nathan Fairbairn, Yanick Paquette, and Riley Rossmo
Random Blurb of Excitement: This is the start of the “Night of the Monster Men” crossover. I’ve steered clear of a lot of details for this, so I’m not too certain as to what we should expect. I know Hugo Strange plays a part in the story, and we’ve already seen teases of the “Monster Men” throughout King’s first arc. At the very least, this should be a fun, quick story!
Batman News Critic: Brandon
Nightwing #5
“Night of the Monster Men” part 2! The Monster Men are stomping their way through Gotham City. How can the Bat-team face the monsters and the storm of the century? And when Nightwing goes behind the scenes to discover where the monsters came from, what lurks in the shadows may be worse than the monsters themselves!
Written by Steve Orlando and Tim Seeley
Pencils and Inks by Roge Antonio
Colored by Chris Sotomayor
Cover by Nathan Fairbairn and Yanick Paquette
Random Blurb of Excitement: I’m curious to see how well this transitions from the current story running in Nightwing into this story. Batman should feel seamless because it’s been foreshadowing the story, but Nightwing hasn’t. Regardless, I still think the overall story should be pretty fun.
Batman News Critic: Jay
Harley Quinn #4
“108 MILLION WAYS TO DIE!” Even though she hates to leave Coney Island as it rebuilds after the zombie apocalypse, Harley must set out on a journey that will take her around the world—and into the clutches of a bizarre robotic enemy! Too bad her Mecha-Harley suit didn’t fit in the overhead bin…
Written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti
Pencils and Inks by Joseph Michael Linsner
Colored by Alex Sinclair
Cover by Amanda Conner and Alex Sinclair
Random Blurb of Excitement: I’m slowly coming out of my Harley fatigue, and considering two of the fringe Harley titles are coming to a close soon, I’m a little more excited about the things to come… Which we know is nothing but gratuitous humor and mayhem!
Batman News Critic: Elena
Justice League #5
“THE EXTINCTION MACHINE” part 5! In this concluding chapter, the race to the corners of the Earth is on for Aquaman as he holds the key to saving our planet from destruction—if he can make it in time before the last doomsday machine powers up! Can Superman survive his trip to the Earth¹s core? Is this the final battle between the Justice League and The Kindred—or just the start of something far worse?
Written by Bryan Hitch
Pencils by Tony Salvador Daniel
Inks by Sandu Florea
Colored by Tomeu Morey
Cover by Tony Salvador Daniel, Sandu Florea, and Tomeu Morey
Random Blurb of Excitement: Look, Justice League isn’t bad, but it isn’t really good either. My biggest issue with “The Extinction Machine” is that it feels generic. At this point, you could essentially take the scripts from the previous issues, and replace the Justice League members with various other heroes, and it wouldn’t really change anything… Hitch is better than this. He’s better than “generically good.”
Batman News Critic: Brian
Notes:
Additional Rebirth releases this week: Aquaman #7, Cyborg #1, Green Arrow #7, Green Lanterns #7, Raven #1, and Suicide Squad Most Wanted: El Diablo & Boomerang #2,
- Harley Quinn & Her Gang of Harleys #6 has been pushed back to September 28th
- Harley’s Little Black Book #5 has been pushed back to
September 14thOctober 5th. - The Dark Knight III: The Master Race #6 has been pushed back to
August 24thOctober 19th.
Justice League of America Release Dates (per Hitch on Twitter):
- Justice League of America #10 has been scheduled for
August 31stSeptember 14thTBD - Justice League of America #11 has been scheduled for
September 14thCANCELED - Justice League of America #12 has been scheduled for
September 28thCANCELED - Justice League of America Annual #1 has been scheduled for
November 30thCANCELED
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 can be found in the spoiler tag.
Best cover of September 14, 2016 is Detective Comics #940 by Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, and Adriano Lucas with 46% of the votes.
- All Star Batman #2 by Danny Miki, John Romita Jr., and Dean White (17%)
- Suicide Squad #2 by Jim Lee, Alex Sinclair, and Scott Williams (10%)
- Batgirl & the Birds of Prey #2 by Nathan Fairbairn and Yanick Paquette (7%)
- Gotham Academy: Second Semester #1 by Karl Kerschl (7%)
- Red Hood & the Outlaws #2 by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, and Dean White (5%)
- Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Five #17 by David Yardin (5%)
- Detective Comics #940 by Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, and Adriano Lucas (4%)
- Teen Titans #24 by Mike McKone and Rod Reis (2%)
- Batman ’66 Meets Steed & Mrs. Peel #3 by Mike Allred (2%)
Graphic Novel Watch:
Batman/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – THE DARK KNIGHT AND THE HEROES IN A HALF SHELL COLLIDE IN THE COMICS CROSSOVER EVENT OF THE YEAR!
NEW YORK CITY. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles face the battle of a lifetime, fighting both the fearsome Foot Clan and their leader the Shredder and the alien forces of General Krang…which is exactly Krang’s plan. Now a single dimensional warp can rid him of both of his greatest rivals at once.
GOTHAM CITY. From the Penguin to Killer Croc to Ra’s al Ghul and beyond, the caped crime-fighter called Batman already has his hands full protecting his city. Suddenly, a new enemy emerges—the Shredder and his ninja followers, transported to Gotham and unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. Now they’re on the hunt for the technology that will help them return home…and conquer Gotham City in the process with the help of Batman’s deadliest rogues.
But heroes come in all shapes, and the Dark Knight does not fight alone. As the Caped Crusader joins forces with Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Master Splinter, can the Bat, the Rat, and the Turtles take down the most vicious villains from two dimensions?
DC Comics and IDW Publishing proudly present BATMAN/TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES written by James Tynion IV (DETECTIVE COMICS) and illustrated by Freddie Williams II (ROBIN) collecting BATMAN/TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #1-6!
Justice League Vol. 8: Darkseid War Part 2 – Comics superstar Geoff Johns pens the stunning finale to his monumental four-year run on the World’s Greatest Heroes, aided by acclaimed illustrators Jason Fabok and Francis Manapul.
THE FINAL BATTLE
In the aftermath of Darkseid’s death, the members of the Justice League have received immense power-the power of the Gods! Superman, Batman, Flash, Shazam, Green Lantern and Lex Luthor have been transformed, gifted the abilities of the New Gods. Even for superheroes, this near omnipotence is an unfathomable amount of power.
With her teammates’ humanity slipping away in the face of their newfound abilities, Wonder Woman must fight to save them all from destruction at the hands of the Anti-Monitor. To defend her world, she’ll have to seek help from the Justice League’s greatest enemies…the Crime Syndicate!
The conclusion to the DC event of the year, JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 8: DARKSEID WAR PART 2, collects JUSTICE LEAGUE #45-50 and JUSTICE LEAGUE: DARKSEID WAR SPECIAL #1.
