NYCC was this past weekend, and while we got a few announcements from the convention, we didn’t get as many as I thought we would. There was an announcement that the Dark Matter line has been renamed to the New Age of DC Heroes. With the announcement of the name change, DC also announced two titles that fall under its umbrella: The Curse of the Brimstone and The Unexpected. Neither of the titles contain Batman related characters, but considering this all stems from Metal – which revolves around Batman – it’s safe to assume we’ll see these characters show up sooner rather than later.
Alright, on to business! For a collection of our opinions pertaining to last week’s releases, make sure you check out This Week in Comics: Batman Tries to Kill Someone! This week’s releases are listed according to our anticipation scale, with titles listed in alphabetical order within each sub-header. For each title, I’ll include the official solicitation, the talent credits, a random comment (or rant), and the Batman News team member that will be reviewing each book. Following that, you’ll find notes pertaining to other DC Comics titles, as well as our Graphic Novel Watch. And finally, we want to hear from you! What titles are you picking up? Why are you excited? What do you hope will happen in the book? Etc. So, without further ado, review our Anticipation Scale, and comment away!
The Anticipation Scale
NO! – A comic I downright dread reading and if I wasn’t a reviewer, I would never buy it.
“You Don’t Have to Thank Us” – The idea of reviewing it doesn’t make me ill or angry, but it definitely sounds like it’s going to be a chore. Still, I’m reading it for you. I’m putting it at the bottom of the pile, but I’m reading it for you.
Mixed – A middle of the pile comic. It’s probably got the same chance of being dreadful as it does of being stupendous. I’m neither looking forward to it or avoiding it, whatever happens… happens.
Intrigued – I think this comic has potential to be a fantastic read. There’s some slight hesitation there, but it’s definitely going to be at the top of the pile.
TAKE MY MONEY – Everything about this issue has me excited. If I don’t get to read this book on Wednesday, I will be furious. I would pay extra just to have it in my hands right now! That’s how much I’m looking forward to it!
And as a reminder, our review scale is based on a 10-point system. A rating of “5” means the book is mediocre/average, and the more toward “10″ we go, the more awesome/worth buying it is. The more toward “1″ we go the more awful/not worth buying it is. That’s how we rate things. It’s not like most video game review scores where everything under 8 is crap, and it’s not like a school report card where everything under a 7 is failing or close-to-failing. Please keep this in mind when reading our reviews.
October 11th
TAKE MY MONEY
Dark Nights: Metal #3
Superman is pulled into the mystery of the Dark Multiverse while the Justice league follows the trail to a weapon that could keep the forces of the Dark Multiverse at bay!
Written by Scott Snyder
Pencils by Greg Capullo
Inks by Jonathan Glapion
Colored by FCO Plascencia
Cover by Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, and FCO Plascencia
Josh’s Stance: Metal has been a fun, crazy ride, and I don’t expect it to ease up anytime soon! I love the range of characters we’re getting to see, and I’m excited to see what other twists and turns Snyder and Capullo have in store for us!
Batman-News Critic: Brandon
Detective Comics #966
“A LONELY PLACE OF LIVING” part two! Tim Drake has been locked in Mr. Oz’s fortress-but now he’s free and roaming the prison while his captor faces off against the Man of Steel. But is he the only prisoner who’s been freed?!
Written by James Tynion IV
Pencils by Eddy Barrows
Inks by Eber Ferreira
Colored by Adriano Lucas
Cover by Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, and Adriano Lucas
Josh’s Stance: Part one of “A Lonely Place of Living” delivered the goods! In many ways, Tim Drake was “my” Robin, because he was Robin in comics while I was growing up. If you’re a fan of Tim Drake, then this issue is for you. Plus, we now have Doomsday to deal with…
Batman-News Critic: Brandon
INTRIGUED
Red Hood & the Outlaws #15
“BIZARRO REBORN” part two! As Batwoman and her team close in on the infamous Outlaws, Red Hood and Artemis must figure out what to do about Bizarro, whose new war on crime has taken a dark turn-is this the end of the Outlaws as we know them?
Written by Scott Lobdell
Pencils and Inks by Dexter Soy
Colored by Veronica Gandini
Cover by Romulo Fajardo, Jr. and Mike McKone
Josh’s Stance: Going into “Bizarro Reborn,” I was uncertain about Bizarro’s recently enhanced mind, but now that I’ve read the first chapter, I’m fully onboard! I do have questions as to why the Detective team doesn’t know Red Hood is a good guy, but perhaps this will be explained in a believable way. Regardless, this should be a fun entertaining issue because Lobdell hasn’t delivered a bad issue yet since Rebirth.
Batman-News Critic: Brian
MIXED
Justice League of America #16
“PANIC IN THE MICROVERSE” part five! Ray Palmer, the original Atom, has crossed galaxies in search of the Ignition Point, the source of the microverse’s pain. But can Ray Palmer trust his team with the Ignition Point’s true nature while he’s so far from everything he knows and smaller than any human has ever been? Palmer’s only hope is a message in an atomic bottle first glimpsed in DC UNIVERSE: REBIRTH #1!
Written by Steve Orlando
Pencils by Felipe Watanabe
Inks by Ruy Jose
Colored by Marcelo Maiolo
Cover by Brad Anderson, Andy Kubert, Marcelo Maiolo, Joe Prado, and Ivan Reis
Josh’s Stance: Is “Panic in the Microverse” the best arc of JLA to date? Yes. Am I concerned we might get another issue that ultimately doesn’t serve much purpose? Yes. I want to hope for the best, but I just don’t know what to expect.
Batman-News Critic: Josh
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO THANK US”
Suicide Squad #27
“THE SECRET HISTORY OF TASK FORCE X” part one! The next major storyline of SUICIDE SQUAD begins when Amanda Waller receives a mysterious communique confirming her worst fears: someone knows all her secrets. Task Force X. Maxwell Lord. General Zod. Everything. And the message came from…outer space?! Determined to identify and neutralize this unprecedented threat, Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad boldly go where no sociopath has gone before!
Written by Rob Williams
Pencils by Barnaby Bagenda and Wilfredo Torres
Inks by Jay Leisten and Wilfredo Torres
Colored by Adriano Lucas
Cover by Stjepan Sejic
Josh’s Stance: I… Just don’t know. The last arc wasn’t great, and as much as I like Rob Williams, nothing about “Suicide Squad in space” excites me… Nothing. At all. And don’t let Sejic’s art fool you, he doesn’t cover art for this issue. I hope Williams proves me wrong though. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s done this.
Batman-News Critic: Josh
NO!
Batgirl & the Birds of Prey #15
“MANSLAUGHTER” part one! It’s flu season in Gotham City, but something odd is happening…only the men are getting sick, including those closest to the Birds of Prey! With Commissioner Gordon on his deathbed and Batman fighting a foe even he can’t beat, only the Birds of Prey have the strength to stand up to what’s happening and keep the city from spiraling into chaos!
Written by Julie Benson and Shawna Benson
Pencils and Inks by Roge Antonio
Colored by Marcelo Maiolo
Cover by Nathan Fairbairn and Yanick Paquette
Josh’s Stance: I can’t think of anything more cringe-worthy than this creative team writing Barbara Gordon trying to deal with the threat of her dad dying from illness… And to be clear, I just find the idea of this especially cringe-worthy. The book is already cringe-worthy enough as it is, this happens to make it worse.
Batman-News Critic: Josh
Notes:
- Additional DC Releases slated for this week: Action Comics #989, Bug!: The Adventures of Forager #1, Gotham City Garage #1, Hal Jordan & the Green Lantern Corps #30, Mister Miracle #3, New Superman #16, Ragman #1, Supergirl #14, Superwoman #15, The Flash #32, Wildstorm: Michael Cray #1, and Wonder Woman #32.
- Titans #16 has been pushed back to October 18th.
Graphic Novel Watch:
Batman/ The Flash: The Button Deluxe Edition – The road to DOOMSDAY CLOCK begins here, with the invasion of the Watchmen into the DC Universe! BATMAN/THE FLASH: THE BUTTON DELUXE EDITION is the prelude to this epic story, complete with a lenticular motion cover!
During the unforgettable events of DC UNIVERSE: REBIRTH, Batman found a mystery he can’t even begin to solve—a strange bloodstained smiley-face button embedded in the Batcave wall. All analysis suggests the button is not of this universe…so where did it come from? And who left it here? These are questions only the Flash can help answer.
When the button is stolen by Reverse-Flash, Batman and Flash follow his trail to a parallel world, a twisted alternate timeline that shouldn’t exist. Someone is sending the heroes on a bizarre trip through reality, showing them glimpses of fallen loved ones and forgotten friends—but who? Wally West warned the Flash of an unseen force influencing our world—distorting histories, pulling the strings, watching all—and the strange yellow button could be the key to finding it.
Featuring the all-star creative team of writers Joshua Williamson and Tom King alongside top-tier artists Jason Fabok and Howard Porter, BATMAN/THE FLASH: THE BUTTON collects BATMAN #21-22 and THE FLASH #21-22. The road to DOOMSDAY CLOCK begins here!
Justice League: Darkseid War Omnibus – The Justice League originally united to stop the forces of Darkseid from destroying Earth! Now the ruler of Apokolips is back, but this time he’s set his sights on the world-shattering Anti-Monitor. Will the combined might of the Justice League be enough to protect Earth from becoming collateral damage as gods fight?
This new title collects JUSTICE LEAGUE #40-50, a story from DC COMICS DIVERGENCE #1 and the DARKSEID WAR specials starring Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Superman, Lex Luthor and Shazam!
Super Sons Vol. 1: When I Grow Up – Superboy and Robin, the sons of Superman and Batman, take center stage as a reluctant super-team in an all-new series bursting out of the DC Universe Rebirth event!
When Robin (Damian Wayne) discovers a connection between a series of mysterious crimes and the aftermath of the bizarre and deadly Amazo Virus, he needs Superboy (Jonathan Kent) to aid in the investigation. But when the duo learn that the teenage Kid Amazo has plans that put the entire Justice League in danger, they need help from an unlikely source: Lex Luthor!
Even if the odd couple of young heroes survive Luthor’s assistance, they’ll have to face a possibly greater threat: the combined forces of Robin’s tutor, Alfred Pennyworth, and Superboy’s mother, Lois Lane!
Acclaimed writer Peter J. Tomasi (SUPERMAN) and superstar artist Jorge Jimenez (EARTH 2: SOCIETY) launch an explosive new generation of adventure in SUPER SONS VOL. 1, collecting issues #1-5 of the popular series.
