Upcoming Comics: November 9, 2016

My fellow Americans, today is the day that you make a choice. It is election day… but the choice I’m referring to is not your vote. The choice I’m referring to, is the choice(s) you make no matter who wins this election. You have the ability to make positive choices in your life to help create a better life for yourself, for others, and those who have yet to come. If your candidate loses, don’t act bitter. If your candidate wins, don’t act boastful. Instead, find out how you can better this world, and set a goal to do that. Change starts with you.

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. 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…

November 9^th

 

Detective Comics #944
“The Victim Syndicate” part two! The mysterious First Victim has launched an assault on Batman and his team, forcing them to fight an enemy they know nothing about, who seems to have the support of an entire network of strange new foes!

Written by James Tynion IV
Pencils by Eddy Barrows
Inks by Eber Ferreira
Colored by Adriano Lucas
Cover by Jason Fabok

Random Blurbs of Excitement: Yeah… So I want to go back to LA just so I can bump into James and give him an awkward “I love you so much for writing this book” hug. I’m talking total creeper status because this book is easily my favorite Bat title at the moment! Actually, I’d go as far to say that this is my favorite title from DC at the moment! It’s that good!

Batman News Critic: Brandon

 

 

Red Hood & the Outlaws #4
“DARK TRINITY” part four! The unimaginable has happened—Black Mask has gained control of one of the most powerful beings in the world: Bizarro! Can the Red Hood stop him before Black Mask’s reign of terror begins?

Written by Scott Lobdell
Pencils and Inks by Dexter Soy
Colored by Veronica Gandini
Cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, and Dean White

Random Blurbs of Excitement: This book continues to surprise me. I was certain that the downfall of this title would be the introduction of Bizarro, but I was wrong. I worried the creative team would scrap what Johns did with Bizarro in Forever Evil, but instead, they picked it up and ran with it… and I love Lobdell for doing that! There’s a lot of good to be found here, so please give this book a chance!

Batman News Critic: Brian

 

 

Mother Panic #1
Meet Violet Paige, a celebutante with a bad attitude and a temper to match, who no one suspects of having anything lying beneath the surface of her outrageous exploits. But Violet isn’t just another bored heiress in the upper echelons of Gotham City’s elite. Motivated by her traumatic youth, Violet seeks to exact vengeance on her privileged peers as the terrifying new vigilante known only as Mother Panic.

Written by Jody Houser and Jim Krueger
Pencils by Tommy Lee Edwards and Phil Hester
Inks by Tommy Lee Edwards and Ande Parks
Colored by Tommy Lee Edwards
Cover by Tommy Lee Edwards

Random Blurbs of Excitement: Well, this is it… We’ll finally get to see what Mother Panic is all about! I’m feeling a combination of excitement and nerves, but I’m hoping for the best!

Batman News Critic: Josh

 

 

All Star Batman #4
“My Own Worst Enemy” part four! So close and yet so far from his goal, Batman must now wrangle Two-Face out of his own assassin-filled riverboat casino before it plunges over Niagara Falls to their deaths! The Dark Knight will have to go all-in on the most deadly gamble of his life if he intends to make it out alive.

Written by Scott Snyder
Pencils by John Romita Jr. and Declan Shalvey
Inks by Danny Miki and Declan Shalvey
Colored by Jordie Bellaire and Dean White
Cover by Danny Miki, John Romita Jr., and Dean White

Random Blurbs of Excitement: When it comes down to it, I enjoy All Star Batman, but only if I pretend that it isn’t part of continuity. The narrative is highly entertaining, but the believability is a bit much at times. I mean, Batman should be dead by now, but he’s still kicking and moving. It takes away the human factor for me, and one of the reasons I love Batman is because of his mortality. He’s not Superman. I don’t want him to be Superman… but he’s taking a beating and getting up as if he were Superman. Other than that, my verdict is still out on the interesting twists he’s giving characters. Bruce’s whole asylum bit with Harvey during their youth… I’ll need to sit on that one for a while before I can decide if I actually like it or not. So for now, I’m treating this like a fun, wild, out of continuity elseworld story.

Batman News Critic: Jay

 

 

Gotham Academy: Second Semester #3
Could it be? Maps Mizoguchi has abandoned Detective Club for…Witch Club?! The gang refuses to believe that their fearless cartographer would ever betray them. A mystery must be afoot! But who is behind it and what sinister plans do they have for the Academy?

Written by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, and Karl Kerschl
Pencils by MSASSYK and Adam Archer
Inks by MSASSYK and Sandra Hope
Colored by MSASSYK and Serge Lapointe
Cover by Karl Kerschl

Random Blurbs of Excitement: Harry Potter joins Gotham Academy! I’m kidding… I’m a fan of Gotham Academy, but somewhere along the way, it lost is pizazz. I can’t quite place my finger on it, but I desperately want Gotham Academy to rediscover itself.

Batman News Critic: Brandon

 

 

Batgirl & the Birds of Prey #5
“Who Is Oracle” part five! Batgirl, Black Canary, and Huntress come face-to-face at last with the new Oracle…and unlock a mystery they never saw coming!

Written by Julie Benson and Shawna Benson
Pencils and Inks by Roge Antonio
Colored by Allen Passalaqua
Cover by Nathan Fairbairn and Yanick Paquette

Random Blurbs of Excitement: Batgirl & the Birds of Prey is reaching that point for me where I dread writing about it. A really good book is easy to write a bout. A really bad book is also really easy to write about. A mediocre book  is really hard to write about because there are only so many ways you can say, “Yeah… It’s ok, I guess…” There’s a lot of potential for this title, but the execution isn’t even close to meeting that potential. On a positive note, Roe isn’t covering art duties for this issue! Also, I wonder if this will be the issue where they announce Helena and Fenice are related? Because I feel like that will be the “big twist.”

Batman News Critic: Josh

 

 

 

Notes:

• Additional DC releases this week: Action Comics #967, Deathstroke #6, Doom Patrol #3, Hal Jorden & the Green Lantern Corps #8, New Superman #5, Sugar & Spike: Metahuman Investigations, Supergirl #3, Superwoman #4, The Flash #10, and Wonder Woman #10.
• Suicide Squad #6 has been pushed back to November 16^th.
• Harley’s Little Black Book #5 has been pushed back to September 14^th October 5^th October 26^th November 23^rd
• Harley’s Little Black Book #6 has been scheduled for October 24^th November 30^th
• Dark Knight III: The Master Race #7 has been scheduled for October 24^th December 28^th
• Justice League of America #10 has been pushed back to TBD.

 

 

 

 

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.

 

Graphic Novel Watch:

DC Comics/ Darkhorse Comics: Justice League – Worlds collide in DC Comics and Dark Horse’s greatest crossover events featuring the Justice League!

In the dense forests of Central America, Superman makes an incredible discovery: a spacecraft of unknown origin, which could point humanity toward new technological advances—or spell its doom. As the Man of Steel realizes the ship is somehow draining his powers, a terrorist organization arrives to use the ship for their own nefarious plans. As Superman struggles to focus his waning power, the ship’s predatory owner returns…

When the insane sentient computer, Skynet, sends Terminators to present-day Metropolis to hunt John Connor, it didn’t plan on the Man of Steel coming to the rescue…or did it? As the battle to save mankind rages in the Metropolis of the present and the future, will the combined might of Superman, Supergirl, Superboy and Steel be enough to stop the deadly killing machines—and their new ally, the Cyborg Superman—from terminating John Connor?

When magic-wielding Nazis known as the Knights of October kidnap the original Starman, Ted Knight and Batman must begrudgingly accept the help of Hellboy to track down the kidnappers. The mysterious plot thickens and leads to the jungles of South America, where Jack Knight, the current Starman, joins the investigation to rescue his father. Can these three heroes stop the metaphysical scheme the Knights of October are concocting?

The daughter of a prominent Gotham politician is missing after a mysterious explosion, and her friend Barbara Gordon and Batgirl follow a lead to Arcadia to find out what’s really going on. Meanwhile, the psychotic Two-Face discovers that some of his dead Gotham City henchmen have been reanimated and recruited into the service of Arcadia’s crime lord, Malcolm Greymater. Arcadia’s vigilante heroine, Ghost, soon finds her sordid little city in the center of an all-out gang war between Two-Face and Greymater—and if she wants this war to stop, she’ll need the help of Oracle and Batgirl to get the job done!

DC COMICS/DARK HORSE COMICS: JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 1 contains some of the most exciting crossovers between Dark Horse and DC’s greatest juggernauts! Collects SUPERMAN VS. PREDATOR #1-3, SUPERMAN VS. THE TERMINATOR: FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE #1-4, BATMAN/HELLBOY/STARMAN #1-2 and GHOST/BATGIRL #1-4.

 

 

September Variant Covers

In the spoiler tag below, you will find variant covers from the month of September. The top cover will be included in next week’s Best Cover of Q-3 cover poll. Please note that Suicide Squad #2 will not be featured since it was previously included in the Suicide Squad #1 Variant Cover Poll and advanced.