We’ve reached one of the illustrious 5th Wednesdays! You know what that means… Annuals, Black Label, and the conclusion of mini/ maxi-series. There are some great releases slated for this week, so if you usually take 5th Wednesdays as an opportunity to save money, you might want to rethink that!
Also, in case you didn’t check out This Week in Comics (why wouldn’t you?), we are in the final stages of picking the new members for the Batman News Comic Review team! We should be landing on our decision either this week or next week, and will follow shortly after that with an announcement. Stay tuned!
Alright, on to business. 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.
JULY 31st
TAKE MY MONEY
Batman: Last Knight on Earth #2
The world has been destroyed, and Batman is on a quest to find out who’s responsible. But when villains from his past begin to complicate things for the Dark Knight, he finds an unlikely ally in a place known as “the Plains of Solitude.”
Written by Scott Snyder
Pencils by Greg Capullo
Inks by Jonathan Glapion
Colors by FCO Plascencia
Cover by Greg Capullo and FCO Plascenia
Josh’s Stance: After the wild and crazy debut of Batman: Last Knight on Earth #1, you better believe I’m excited to get my hands on this! I know it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m enjoying it for what it is!
Batman-News Critic: Casper
INTRIGUED
Batman Secret Files #2
“City of Bane” is upon us! Bane’s conquering Gotham City, but he’s not doing it alone. In this Secret Files issue, read about Bane and his cabal: The Joker, the Riddler, Hugo Strange and the Psycho-Pirate. Brutal stories of madness, murder and hatred done by some of comics’ greatest talents!
Written by Collin Kelly, Andy Kubert, Jackson Lanzing, Steve Orlando, Mairghread Scott, and More…
Pencils and Inks by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Carlos D’Anda, Patrick Gleason, Amancay Nahuelpan, and Eduardo Risso
Colored by Luis Guerrero, John Kalisz, Tomeu Morey, Trish Mulvihill, and Dave Stewart
Cover by Brad Anderson and Andy Kubert
Josh’s Stance: Mmmm… We’ll see. “City of Bane” and “tie-in” makes me a little hesitant, but it looks like the focus will be on villains, and I like a number of the talent that will be working on this book! I’m hoping for some good stuff and maybe a few answers!
Batman-News Critic: Jay
Red Hood & the Outlaws Annual #3
Missing since the fateful events of issue #25, the story of what happened to Bizarro and Artemis after they were sucked through the quantum doorway can finally be told! Trapped in a strange reality where everyone with metahuman abilities has become normal and ordinary humans now possess powers, up is down, left is right and only a pair of Outlaws can save the day in a world gone mad. Meet strange new foes, and even stranger new allies. Can the Outlaws fix this broken world and still make it back to our world and their mission alongside the Red Hood?
Written by Scott Lobdell
Pencils and Inks by Adam Pollina and Pete Woods
Colored by Steve Firchow and Pete Woods
Cover by Veronica Gandini and Dexter Soy
Josh’s Stance: Yay! Lobdell is bringing back the good stuff!
Batman-News Critic: Josh
MIXED
The Batman Who Laughs #7
It’s the final showdown between Batman and the Batman Who Laughs…but how do you defeat a foe who knows your every instinct and every move? Bruce Wayne will have to outsmart Bruce Wayne in this ultimate test of good versus evil. You can’t miss this finale to the epic miniseries that will tear up the very foundations of Gotham City!
Written by Scott Snyder
Pencils and Inks by Jock
Colored by David Baron
Cover by Jock
Josh’s Stance: I’ll just say I’m more curious than excited. There have been elements of this book that I’ve loved, and others that I have not. I’m assuming this issue will mainly just set-up the upcoming Batman/ Superman book.
Batman-News Critic: Casper
NOTES:
- Titles we’ll cover in This Week in Comics: Justice League Dark Annual #1, as well as the titles listed above.
- Additional releases from DC Comics: American Carnage #9 and The Green Lantern Annual #1.
GRAPHIC NOVEL WATCH:
Injustice 2 Vol. 6 is listed to be released per DC’s website. There is no solicitation listed for it on their site though, and it isn’t on Comixology.com for pre-order either.
