It’s a new week! We’ve got new books! And… I think we all just really want to get to January. Right? I can’t be the only one, right? Right?!?
Also… Congratulations to Watchmen and for killing it at the Emmy Awards last night!
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.
SEPTEMBER 22nd
INTRIGUED
Suicide Squad #9
This issue, it’s the shocking death of Deadshot! The man who never misses has been on the front lines of Task Force X since its inception-bomb in his neck, gun in his hand. He’s seen teammates blow up and countries fall. He’s faced down heroes and villains alike. Now the Suicide Squad has one final mission: bring down the man who enslaved them, then put a bounty on their heads when they escaped: Ted Kord. But to finish the job, the world’s deadliest assassin will have to do the one thing he’s never done for the cause: die!
Written by Tom Taylor
Pencils and Inks by Bruno Redondo
Colored by Adriano Lucas
Cover by Bruno Redondo
Josh’s Stance: My excitement for Suicide Squad has decreased since it was announced that the book would be canceled, but I don’t want to take away from Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo, because it’s still a great read. As for this issue… I still think it a load of crap when DC spoils their stories in advance of it’s release. It’s disrespectful to readers. Period. Nothing says, “I don’t care” more than this.
Batman News Critic: Josh
Batman Beyond #47
Mr. Zero’s plan is a success-and now the League of Assassins will finally achieve their goal of taking over the world. Will Batman and his allies be enough to reverse Earth’s new ice age? Or will they be left in space to die?
Written by Dan Jurgens
Pencils by Sean Chen
Inks by Sean Parsons
Colored by Chris Sotomayor
Cover by Dan Mora
Josh’s Stance: Dan Jurgens has been knocking it out of the park with Batman Beyond. This book has honestly been solid from the start, then had that unfortunate amnesia story arc, and I suspect that drove some readers away. If you’re one of those people, you definitely need to circle back and check out this arc because it’s delivering some high stakes while also delving deeper into the core characters. I feel pretty confident in saying this Batman Beyond is one of the better books in DC slate at the moment.
Batman News Critic: Michael
MIXED
Dark Knights: Death Metal Speed Metal #1
It’s the drag race from hell in this one-shot tie-in to Dark Nights: Death Metal! Taking place after the events of Dark Nights: Death Metal #3, the Darkest Knight is after Wally West and his Dr. Manhattan powers. Thankfully, Wally has backup in the form of Barry Allen, Jay Garrick, and Wallace West! It’s a knockdown, drag-out race through the Wastelands as the Flash Family tries to stay steps ahead of the Darkest Knight and his Lightning Knights!
Written by Joshua Williamson
Pencils by Eddy Barrows
Inks by Eber Ferreira
Colored by Adriano Lucas
Cover by Hi-Fi and Howard Porter
Josh’s Stance: I mean… Death Metal. Speed Force Metal. Joshua Williamson. I think you can decide whether this will be your cup of tea or not based on those three attributes. Personally, I’m just “meh,” with everything that’s Death Metal related at this point. I don’t hate it, but I really just want to get to January so we can “start fresh.”
Batman News Critic:
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO THANK US”
Batman/ Superman #12
Batman and Superman are missing! Is there more to their disappearance than meets the eye? As the heroes of Gotham City and Metropolis try to put the pieces together, they uncover a weirdly chaotic plot devised by Brainiac! What deranged mind could have corrupted the most dangerous computer in the known galaxy? We sure hope it wasn’t The Joker…
Written by Joshua Williamson
Pencils and Inks by Max Raynor
Colored by Alejandro Sanchez
Cover by David Marquez
Josh’s Stance: I haven’t enjoyed this book for some time now… I’ll just leave it at that.
Actually, I won’t. “We sure hope it wasn’t The Joker…” Y’all hope it wasn’t the Joker? We hope it isn’t the Joker. We’re getting our fill of him now, and all of them are bad except for one… Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok’s Three Jokers.
Now I’ll leave. Byyyyeeeeee.
Batman News Critic: Casper
NO!
Batgirl #49
“The Last Joke” part two: in the finale of this killer two-part tale, Babs traces the Batgirl-obsessed redhead murders back to their source and realizes the real culprit is…closer than she expected! Will James Gordon Jr. step up to the plate and prove his new loyalty to his sister by taking out the killer?
Written by Cecil Castellucci
Pencils and Inks by Robbi Rodriguez
Colored by Jordie Bellaire
Cover by Jean-Francois Beaulieu, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Cam Smith
Josh’s Stance: No. Just… No. I’ve basically been pretending that this book doesn’t exist since Scott left. Sorry, not sorry. DC screwed up when they let Scott go, and Batgirl has been a dumpster fire ever sense.
Batman News Critic: Matina
GRAPHIC NOVEL WATCH:
Batman: The Demon Trilogy – What connects Batman and the villainous Ra’s al Ghul? Find out in this collection of three 1980s graphic novels! How did Ra’s al Ghul become the villain that he is? How would a union between his daughter Talia and the Dark Knight benefit him? Why would he want to father an heir? Follow along as Batman lives through and tries to unravel the mystery behind the mind of Ra’s al Ghul!
Collects Batman: Birth of the Demon #1, Batman: Bride of the Demon #1, and Batman: Son of the Demon #1.
