Welcome back to Upcoming Comics!
I trust every one of you has gone to see Morbius – known to many as the greatest film of all time. The #MorbiusSweep has been taking the world by storm, and I hear that it will soon be the first film to ever sell one trillion tickets. Amazing stuff! I don’t know about you guys, but I’m excited to see the next entry in the MCU (Morbius Cinematic Universe). Thoughts on the movie, everyone?
Not much else to report (other than whatever the hell has been happening with Ezra Miller), so let’s jump into it! Here’s what we’ve got for this week:
Upcoming Comics
Batman/Catwoman #11
After barely escaping with one of her nine lives, Selina arrives at a crossroads. She can either continue on the path of a criminal or take a chance at being a hero like Batman. There’s just one thing she has to do: make a vow to never kill The Joker. But what could lead her to break that sacred promise years later? Find out in the penultimate issue of this critically acclaimed maxiseries!
Written by Tom King
Pencils and Inks by Clay Mann
Colours by Tomeu Morey
Cover Art by Clay Man and Tomeu Morey
Thoughts: I’m not sure why Tom King loves the “time jump” so much. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good mechanic – showing an event after the setup often makes for great dramatic irony – but this is The Prestige levels of time jumping, stretched across 12 long issues. I’m surprised he’s able to get away with it – you think it’s not a sustainable formula with such a lengthy book and such a long wait between issues.
Batman News Critic: Michael
Batman: Urban Legends #14
Batman and Zatanna are at the mercy of the DCU’s newest magic! Ace the Bat-Hound and the Super-Pets versus Gotham’s worst villains! A new Birds of Prey led by Lady Shiva and Katana? And a team-up between Batman and the Question!
Written by Mark Russell, Vita Ayala, Ryan Cady and Che Grayson
Pencils by Karl Mostert, Nikola Cizmesija, Giuseppe Camuncoli and Serg Acuña
Colours by Trish Mulvihill, Nick Filardi, Sebastian Cheng and Ivan Plascencia
Cover Art by Karl Mostert and Trish Mulvihill
Thoughts: I think I need to write an article on how much I hate Urban Legends. Why in god’s name are you putting a price barrier THIS high on a monthly comic?! It’s not even a special event! Just make the stories accessible individually, somehow! The stories could all be fantastic and I’d still hate this!
Batman News Critic: Cam
Batman ’89 #5
Harvey Dent enacts his plans for Gotham! He’ll overthrow the Batman and assume his rightful place as its guardian. As Batman works to stop his friend Harvey, he finds himself vastly outnumbered by the forces at Harvey’s disposal. He’ll need to turn to some unlikely allies if he’s going to turn the tide in his favor to protect his city and save his friend!
Written by Sam Hamm
Art by Joe Quinones
Colours by Leonardo Ito
Thoughts: I actually have been rewatching the 90’s Batman films, and what shocked me was that the jump between Batman Returns and Batman Forever was nowhere near as dramatic as I thought it was. I wonder if that’s somthing worth acknowledging, or if this and The Flash will continue to ignore them. Then again, Batman Forever was happy to ignore Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face, so.
Batman News Critic: Jay
I Am Batman #8
The campaign of terror continues as a mysterious serial killer brutally murders New York City Police Commissioner Becket, in the process exposing ugly truths about how Becket ran his department. Batman finds himself caught between a police department “hit squad” that wants to execute the killer, and a populace that’s beginning to see them as more of a folk hero than Batman himself.
Written by John Ridley
Pencils and Inks by Christian Duce
Colours by Rex Lokus
Cover Art by Stephen Segovia and Rex Lokus
Batman News Critic: Myself
Batgirls #5
The Batgirls and Tutor face off again, but this time at the creepy, abandoned Arkham Asylum! Can the Batgirls stop Tutor from using his art to put all of Gotham in a mind-controlled trance? Let’s hope the Batgirls found a way to avoid being put under his control…again! Meanwhile, Babs’s hands are tied-literally-when she comes face to face with Spellbinder.
Written by Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad
Pencils and Inks by Jorge Corona
Colours by Sarah Stern
Cover Art by Jorge Corona and Sarah Stern
Batman News Critic: Matina
Future State: Gotham #12
FINAL SHOWDOWN WITH THE NEXT JOKER! Peacekeeper Red, a.k.a. Jason Todd, and the Next Batman take on the Next Joker, but will their combined abilities be enough? Meanwhile, Hunter Panic and Harley Quinn try to keep Tobias Whale alive against a whole army of Jokerized robots! Plus, Nightwing becomes something…new?
Written by Dennis Culver
Pencils and Inks by Giannis Milonogiannis
Cover Art by Simone Di Meo
Thoughts: On the one hand, it’s nice to see a story collected in one comic, instead of over fifty other comics and tie-ins. On the other, doesn’t it feel so odd that Future State was pushed so hard, then forgotten about so fast? I don’t think it was that bad, even! I wish they at least committed to some of their ideas, god damn.
Review will be covered in a trade release.
Flashpoint Beyond #0
The world of Flashpoint returns! After sacrificing everything to help the Flash put the universe back together and save Bruce Wayne’s life, Thomas Wayne wakes up in a world he thought was no more. Forced to don the cowl once again, Batman prowls the streets of Gotham searching for answers to how this world still exists, but what he starts to uncover will send him hurtling around the globe. The hunt for the Clockwork Killer starts here! Legendary writer Geoff Johns comes back to the alternate world he created, partnering with prolific artist Eduardo Risso as he returns to the Flashpoint Batman!
Written by Geoff Johns
Pencils and Inks by Eduardo Risso
Colours by Trish Mulvihill
Cover Art by Dexter Soy and Alex Sinclair
Thoughts: Oh… where to even start with this?
Batman News Critic: It might end up being me. Hoh boy.
Beyond the Bat
Welcome to Beyond the Bat! Here you can see everything else that DC is releasing this week, beyond the scope of the books we cover on the website.
Today, I’d suggest checking out Nightmare Country. If there’s one thing that Tynion is good at, it’s horror – and the fact that he hasn’t worked in the Sandman Universe before now is crazy! A very inspired idea, and a VERY horrifying cover.
Ratings
Most Excited: I Am Batman #8. Weirdly, this book has taken a very positive turn for me, and I’m excited to see what else it has in store!
Least Excited: Flashpoint Beyond #0. I thought we were done with Doomsday Clock, I hoped we were done with Flashpoint Batman, and I really figured we were done with Geoff Johns. Let’s, uh, check this out.
Wild Card: Batman/Catwoman #11. Tom King’s endings aren’t always my favourite, so I hope he sticks the landing here.
Best wishes, and see you in the reviews!
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Author’s Twitter: @ObnoxiousFinch
