Welcome back to Upcoming Comics!
[EDIT: I’ve been recieving some feedback about the direction of the column, and I’m going to try changing some things back to Josh’s style! I’d appreciate hearing about specific elements you liked from Josh, as well as if you have anything in particular from this version you’d like to stay.]
Before we get into Batman talk, I wanna discuss Resident Evil: Village, which I just finished playing a couple of days ago. I can’t stop thinking about it! It’s a little short, and each section could have been a little longer and more developed… but at the same time it was so good, leaving me wanting more at almost every turn. I won’t spoil anything here, but feel free to discuss it with me on Twitter! I’ll say this, though: House Beneviento can go to hell, oh my god. Do you guys have a favorite horror comic?
Meanwhile, I’m trying to work on making Upcoming Comics more popular and attention-grabbing – and that might involve cutting out the consistent cover photo that I was really keen on when I started this column. Instead, it might be more attention-grabbing to have more meat to the title, and to have “Upcoming Comics” under a banner next to a new photo every week. This way, the images will be more stimulating, and new readers will have more incentive to click. Here’s a rough template, with a banner harkening back to some classic comic book titles. Let me know what you think!
Anyway, here’s our gallery for the week:
Gallery
Discussion
Legends of the Dark Knight makes its return after a long leave of absence, arriving as a digital-first series! I understand the importance of digital-first comics (especially nowadays), but something about them puts me off. I’m not sure what it is, but I always have a hesitance towards a series when it’s digital first, as if that makes them any less important. Maybe it’s just me being used to the old ways of how comics are released, because Injustice was a digital-first comic, and that was an incredibly special run. Do you guys think this run of Legends might turn out classics like the old days?
Also, and I know this is petty, but I wanted to whine about the cover to Catwoman #31 for a moment. With very few exceptions (the cover to an upcoming Nightwing issue, for example), I find text on a comic book’s cover to be very offputting. I understand the history of it: especially in earlier, campier times, corny text would be a fun way to grab an audience’s attention, encouraging them to see what happens on the book inside.
(Incidentally, this is part of a series of covers called “Superman is a Super Dick”, which got a lot of horrible search results when I tried to look it up from memory.)
Now, compare that to Catwoman’s latest cover, and ask yourself what the text adds – aside from blocking the impressive art on display? I’ve been seeing this more and more from DC lately, and I’m really not feeling it. For example:
Like, what do you mean “miss me?” You just got here! This was only a few months after we last saw you! Why do we all collectively pretend this kind of text is a good idea?
Okay, okay, I’m done. I’m not even that mad, but this is a pretty solid week for Batman comics and I’m trying to fill the space.
Ratings
Most Excited: Nightwing #80. This looks so good – Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo are KILLING it lately, so I hope they get to stay on this book for a long while. Bring on the era of the sidekick again!
Least Excited: Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point #3. I think my curiosity for this book has waned, sadly. I mean, it’s just a non-canon Fortnite tie-in! How could they possibly get my interest in– wait, is that Snake Eyes?
Wild Card: Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point #3. HOLY CRAP, IT’S SNAKE EYES.
Actual Wild Card: Justice League #61. Brian Michael Bendis is pulling a slow burn on this book, which I actually think worked very well on Action Comics for a time. It’ll be cool to see if he can keep this going, or if it’ll eventually go off the rails.
Poll
This one had to be asked sooner or later, so I figured I’d get it out of the way. Discuss!
Upcoming Comics 5/18 Poll: Batman, Trunks or No Trunks?
You get more points the more fights you start in the comments 👀— Nicholas Finch (@ObnoxiousFinch) May 16, 2021
Make sure to comment with any other suggestions you might have for polls.
See you in the reviews!
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Author’s Twitter: @ObnoxiousFinch
