With Marvel moving all of their movies into 2021, one has to wonder… Will Wonder Woman 1984 receive the same fate? Only time will tell. With a lack of movies hitting, I hope you’ve taken advantage of this time to read some new comics. I’ve personally been rereading old favorites of mine, and have been dipping my toes into characters and runs that are new to me. Now I just need to take a deep dive into some indie books. But what are your thoughts? Do you think Wonder Woman 1984 will move to 2021? Have you discovered any new books or runs during this crazy, chaotic year? Let me know in the comments!
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 29th
TAKE MY MONEY
Batman: Three Jokers #2
As Batman and Batgirl follow an unexpected thread linking the three Jokers with someone from the Dark Knight’s past, Red Hood dives headfirst into trouble and finds himself struggling to stay afloat without the aid of his allies.
Batman: Three Jokers continues its trajectory as the ultimate examination of The Joker and his never-ending conflict with Batman. Prepare yourselves for the second chapter of one of the most terrifying and personal mysteries Batman has ever faced!
Written by Geoff Johns
Pencils and inks by Jason Fabok
Colored by Brad Anderson
Cover by Brad Anderson and Jason Fabok
Josh’s Stance: Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok’s debut issue of Three Jokers was excellent! If you didn’t pick it up, I highly recommend you catch up. Now, I know a spoilery panel from this issue hit the internet recently, but before you start yelling at the mountain tops, maybe just read the issue to figure out the context. Anyway, I strongly feel like this is a must-buy, so I’m just putting that out there.
Batman News Critic: Nick
INTRIGUED
Justice League Annual #2
It’s a locked-room murder mystery in the Hall of Justice! Superman, an investigative journalist; Batman, the World’s Greatest Detective; the Flash; a CSI technician; Wonder Woman; a mystical detective for the Justice League Dark; and Green Lantern, an intergalactic police officer, must put their heroic minds together to solve the case. The Hall houses some of the greatest artifacts in the DC Universe-but also its deadliest. Who is the victim? Who is the culprit? And what is the motive? Can the Justice League put together the clues to solve the mystery before the murderer strikes again-and at them? Their lives depend on it!
Written by Robert Venditti
Pencils Aaron Lopresti
Inks by Matt Ryan
Colored by David Baron
Cover by Romulo Fajardo, Jr. and Mike Perkins
Josh’s Stance: I wasn’t crazy about Venditti’s previous issues of Justice League, but I also don’t think it was terrible. I do think Venditti is a strong writer and that this issue has the potential to be really strong.
Batman News Critic: Nick
Harley Quinn & the Birds of Prey #3
The price on Harley’s head is getting higher and higher, and more and more of Gotham City’s most dangerous villains are crawling out of the woodwork to claim it. So where the hell is Batman? And after what she’s put the Birds of Prey through in just a few hours, is Harley going to have any allies left to protect her?
Written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti
Pencils and Inks by Amanda Conner
Colored by Alex Sinclair
Cover by Amanda Conner and Alex Sinclair
Josh’s Stance: HQ&tBoP has had a very staggered release schedule, and if I’m being completely honest… I don’t remember all of the details. Regardless, this book is written and executed in the same way that Conner an Palmiotti approached their Harley run, so if you like that, you’ll be in for a fun ride. At the end of the day, I find this book highly entertaining, and I can’t necessarily say that about other titles.
Batman News Critic: Josh
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO THANK US”
Batman: The Joker War Zone #1
Gotham City is a battleground as The Joker takes over the Wayne fortune and wages a street war against the Dark Knight and his allies! Enter the “war zone” with short stories featuring characters like Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, and Luke Fox and see how they’re fighting back in a city under siege! Also, the brutal full debut of the mysterious new anti-hero known as Clownhunter!
Written by Sam Johns, John Ridley, James Tynion IV, and Joshua Williamson
Pencils and Inks by Laura Braga, Olivier Coipel, Darko Lafuente, Guillem March, James Stokoe, and More…
Colored by Hi-Fi, Antonio Fabela, Matt Hollingsworth, Tomeu Morey, and James Stokoe
Cover by Ben Oliver
Josh’s Stance: Ugh… I’m hoping for the best, but expecting the worst… That’s the nicest thing I can say. Also, if things actually happen in this book, then I’m going to start yelling about how they should’ve just included these plots into the main story.
Batman News Critic: Matina
Dark Nights: Death Metal: Multiverses End #1
Perpetua, mother of all existence, has culled all life and creation in the Multiverse, condensing all beings to one planet: Earth-Prime. In her quest for power and dominance, she rules absolutely and in totality, using her children-the Monitors and Anti-Monitors-as her heralds and destructors. But a group of heroes has banded together across multiple worlds in a last-ditch effort to stop her from destroying all of existence: Owlman, President Superman, Iris West, Captain Carrot, Guy Gardner, and others have chosen to make their final stand in a battle they’re destined to lose!
Written by James Tynion IV
Pencils and Inks by Juan Gedeon
Colored by Mike Spicer
Cover by Mike Golden
Josh’s Stance: James Tynion… writing an event story… where Multiverses end. Hhhhhheeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllll no! I can see all of the walls of exposition now. The only reason this isn’t a “no” is because I’m kind of curious/excited to see which characters pop up.
Batman News Critic: Josh
Batman/ Superman Annual #1
On a dark and stormy night in the fifth dimension, two mortal foes meet to settle an age-old question once and for all: In a fight between Batman and Superman, who would win? The combatants? Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite. And in this battle for the ages, you will find out if a fifth-dimensional imp can bleed. It’s all in this, the ultimate slugfest between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel-plus a whole lot of magic!
Written by Joshua Williamson
Pencils and Inks by Dale Eaglesham, Clayton Henry, and Gleb Melnikov
Colored by Alejandro Sanchez
Cover by Gabriel Rodriguez and Alejandro Sanchez
Josh’s Stance: Meh. Meh, meh. There’s a chance this could be fine, or even a lot of fun, but this title’s trend in quality doesn’t really signal that it will be very good… Just saying.
Batman News Critic: Casper
Red Hood & the Outlaws #49
Jason’s ongoing war against the Untitled comes to a sudden, startling and tragic end with the help of…Red Hood and the Outlaws?! But to protect the world, one of his teammates must make the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good!
Written by Scott Lobdell
Pencils and Inks by Paolo Pantalena
Colored by Arif Prianto
Cover by Dan Mora
Josh’s Stance: I really want Lobdell to stick this landing, but I also don’t really care too much. Had the wheels of this run not completely fallen off forever ok, I’d probably be more invested. For right now, I really just want to get to the new creative team and direction.
Batman News Critic: Matina
GRAPHIC NOVEL WATCH
Batman: Knight Out – After a tumultuous period-including being replaced by Azrael and a deadly contagion hitting Gotham City-Batman’s back to business in this collection of stories by the fan-favorite creative team of Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan, the creators of Bane! As Batman reels from the aftermath of the Final Night, the Riddler and Cluemaster unite for a uniquely vexing attack-and then Gunhawk and Deathstroke come to town! After all of that, if anything’s left of Gotham, Firefly might just burn it to the ground. Collects Detective Comics #703-718.
