So… Christmas is roughly ten days away. I should probably wrap up my Christmas shopping today or Thursday considering it will be my last chance. And of course, the people that I still need to shop for are the ones that I have no idea what to get them… So I’ll probably end up procrastinating and rush to get something random at the last minute. Maybe I’ll just get them something Batman-themed. Everybody likes Batman. Everybody.
On a separate note, recently our friends at Holy BatCast discussed the thirtieth anniversary of The Dark Knight Returns, and our very own Jay Yaws was invited to join the conversation! If you haven’t checked out the podcast, I recommend that you take some time to listen to it while driving, cleaning house, etc. You can find the podcast here, along with many other episodes – all focusing on the Batman/DC Universe. And if you discover that you’re addicted to podcasts, then make sure you check out our podcasts here at Batman-News.com 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. 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…
December 14th
Detective Comics #946
“THE VICTIM SYNDICATE” part four! The Victim Syndicate is taking their message to the streets in an attempt to turn the citizens of Gotham City against Batman and his allies! They can fight villains, but what happens when the whole city turns against them?
Written by James Tynion IV
Pencils by Eddy Barrows
Inks by Eber Ferreira
Colored by Adriano Lucas
Cover by Jason Fabok
Random Blurb of Excitement: Let me put it this way, Detective Comics is the best book featuring Batman that’s hitting shelves at the moment! Tynion should be very proud of his work, and I’m very eager to read it.
Batman News Critic: Brian
Suicide Squad #8
“THE BLACK VAULT” part eight! Harley Quinn goes sane! The prisoners and staff of Belle Reve Penitentiary have succumbed to the devastating effects of General Zod’s Black Vault, rendering them all insane. But it has the opposite effect on Harley, who must fight her way through a crazed Suicide Squad—with the help of the Enchantress—to stop Zod from waking and conquering the world. No pressure, right? And in a bonus backup story, learn how super-villains are conscripted into the Suicide Squad! The unlucky Killer Frost is about to find out when she arrives for her first day at Belle Reve. Her story continues from this month’s single issue of SUICIDE SQUAD directly into JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. SUICIDE SQUAD #1!
Written by Rob Williams
Pencils by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Jim Lee
Inks by Sandra Hope, Francesco Mattina, and Scott Williams
Colored by Alex Sinclair
Cover by Alex Sinclair
Random Blurb of Excitement: And so it begins! Suicide Squad has been highly entertaining from the word “go,” and this issue will start setting up Justice League vs Suicide Squad! I’m kind of excited!
Batman News Critic: Josh
Red Hood & the Outlaws #5
“DARK TRINITY” part five! Red Hood and Artemis team up against a rampaging Bizarro—and it’s a race against the clock to save him—and the city—from Black Mask’s mind-controlling techno-organic virus!
Written by Scott Lobdell
Pencils and Inks by Dexter Soy
Colored by Veronica Gandini
Cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, and Dean White
Random Blurb of Excitement: Red Hood is one of the books that I wish were on a bi-weekly release just so I could read issues more frequently. Yes, it’s that good! But alas, it’s only released once a month, so I have to wait. I guess what they say is true, “good things are worth waiting for.”
Batman News Critic: Brian
DC Rebirth Holiday Special #1
DC’s biggest and brightest heroes celebrate the holidays in this new special! Don’t miss a Chanukah crisis for Huntress, a Flash family Christmas, Wonder Woman interrupting John Constantine’s hellblazing pagan party and more—including the return of Detective Chimp! Today’s top talents bring you a very special holiday gift that’ll keep on giving through the New Year! And writer Paul Dini crafts a Harley holiday tale featuring DCU guests that bridges all the stories in the weirdest, wildest way.
Written by James Asmus, Vita Ayala, Heath Corson, Paul Dini, Gustavo Duarte, and more…
Pencils by Matias Bergara, Reilly Brown, Elsa Charretier, Ian Churchill, Gustavo Duarte, and More…
Colored by Hi-Fi, Ben Hunzeker, Marcelo Maiolo, Arif Prianto, Alejandro Sanchez, and More…
Cover by Dustin Nguyen
Random Blurb of Excitement: I’m a sucker for the holidays! You have no idea. It starts with Halloween, then runs all the way through New Years! I decorate my house for each holiday, and host family gatherings or dinner parties… Yep, I’m one of those annoying people, so it should come as no surprise that I become giddy at the thought of reading this special!
Batman News Critic: Elena
Batman/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #2
The Joker and Harley Quinn escape Arkham Asylum and make their way to the TMNT’s NYC where they meet none other than the Shredder! Meanwhile, will Batman, Robin, and Batgirl be able to form a truce with the Turtles?
Written by Matthew Manning
Art by Jon Sommariva
Random Blurb of Excitement: If you’re looking to add something to your pull-list that’s fun, you should definitely check out Batman/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures! Last month’s debut delivered a solid – though not perfect – start that is great for all ages.
Batman News Critic: Jay
Gotham Academy: Second Semester #4
When a member of Detective Club is forced to stand trial for expulsion, the rest of the gang must rally for a rescue. But clues thrust them on a search for the mysterious Book of Gotham, and the gang learns there are more terrifying things at Gotham Academy than getting kicked out!
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 Blurb of Excitement: It pains me to say this, but Gotham Academy has lost its spark. The book isn’t bad, but it isn’t nearly as special as it was when it first started. Considering sales were so low back when this book was “the shining light of Gotham city,” I can only imagine that with the quality stepping down a notch, it’s a matter of time before school comes to a close.
Batman News Critic: Brandon
Batgirl & the Birds of Prey #5
“WHO IS ORACLE?” part five! The new Oracle has led the Birds of Prey all around Gotham City, forcing them to deal with the worst of what the city has to offer. Now Batgirl, Black Canary and Huntress will learn the reason when this impostor’s secrets are revealed! But Oracle isn’t the only one with a secret past…where did the mysterious Fenice come from, anyway?
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 Blurb of Excitement: There’s this teeny, tiny ounce of hope in me that this book will turn things around… but I know deep down that it won’t. There are just too many problems at this point. But hey, at least we have Passalaqua!
Batman News Critic: Josh
Notes:
- Additional DC releases this week: Action Comics #969, Deathstroke #9, Hal Jordan & the Green Lantern Corps #10, New Superman #6, Supergirl #4, Superwoman #5, The Flash #12, Wonder Woman #12.
- Harley’s Little Black Book #5 has been pushed back to
September 14thOctober 5thOctober 26thNovember 23rdDecember 14thDecember 28th - Dark Knight III: The Master Race #7 has been scheduled for
October 24thDecember 28th - Harley’s Little Black Book #6 has been scheduled for
October 24thNovember 30thDecember 28thJanuary 25th
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.
November 30th’a results can be found in the spoiler tag.
Best cover of November 30, 2016 is Batman Annual #1 by Brad Anderson and David Finch with 87% of the votes.
- Suicide Squad #7 by Alex Sinclair (11%)
- Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Five Annual #1 by David Yardin (2%)
- New Talent Showcase #1 by Klaus Janson and Alex Sinclair (0%)
December 7th’s results can be found in the spoiler tag.
Best cover of December 7, 2016 is Nightwing #10 by Chris Sotomayor and Marcus To with 54% of the votes.
- Batman #12 by Mikel Janin (30%)
- Injustice: Gods Among Us – Ground Zero #1 by Chris Sebela (5%)
- Justice League #10 by Scot Eaton, Wayne Faucher, Bryan Hitch, and Alex Sinclair (5%)
- Harley Quinn #9 by Amanda Conner and Alex Sinclair (5%)
Graphic Novel Watch:
Batman: Vol. 10: Epilogue – NEW YORK TIMES best-selling series!
THE LAST CHAPTERS…
As acclaimed writer Scott Snyder draws the final curtain on his game-changing Batman series, the newly returned Dark Knight battles familiar foes and new enemies. These exquisite stand-alone stories take the Dark Knight into an alternate dystopian future as well as deep into his own past, questioning who he is, how he came to be and what his legacy must be…
Authors Scott Snyder (AMERICAN VAMPIRE) and James Tynion IV (BATMAN ETERNAL) are joined by artists Greg Capullo (Spawn), Roge Antonio (BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL), ACO (MIDNIGHTER) and Riley Rossmo (CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER) in BATMAN VOLUME 10: EPILOGUE. This final volume collects BATMAN #51-52, BATMAN: FUTURES END #1, BATMAN ANNUAL #4 and a special preview of BATMAN: REBIRTH #1.
Batman & Robin Adventures Vol. 1 – The adventure continues in this follow-up to the four-time Emmy Award-winning BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES! Join Batman, Robin and Batgirl as they fight crime against the deadliest, craziest villains Gotham City has to offer. The dynamic duo takes on the likes of Two-Face, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, the Riddler, Penguin, the Joker and more as the streets of Gotham get darker and wilder.
BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES VOL. 1 collects issues #1-10, featuring the animated stories inspired by the television series and written by series creator Paul Dini (BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY, BATMAN ADVENTURES: MAD LOVE) along with the writer/artist team of Ty Templeton (BATMAN ’66 MEETS THE GREEN HORNET) and Rick Burchett (ALL-NEW BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD) and others.
Justice League: The Silver Age Vol. 2 – The 1960s witnessed dramatic changes in American popular culture. The worried, conservative patterns of the 1950s had failed to feed the imagination of the American public, who demanded new ideas about politics, themselves and the world in which they lived. The comic books of the 1960s found new ways to excite the imagination, using superheroes for more than action and adventure. The colorful costumed characters of the DC Universe soon found themselves in the wild world of “speculative fiction.” Enter the Justice League of America.
These mind-altering stories turned the Justice League of America into the legends of the DC Universe that they are today and are gathered for the first time in this expansive collection.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE SILVER AGE VOL. 2 completes the famed super-team’s Silver Age exploits from MYSTERY OF SPACE #75 and JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #31-76, and includes a forward by Dennis O’Neil and an afterward by William Schelly.
