Welcome back to Upcoming Comics!
Big week for comics, and a not a lot of time for me – I’m getting on an 8-hour bus ride this afternoon. Let’s get into it and see what we have for this week:
Upcoming Comics
Batman – One Bad Day: Penguin #1
EMPIRE’S FALL! The Penguin’s criminal enterprise and the Iceberg Lounge have been stolen from underneath him by his former associate the Umbrella Man. The Umbrella Man has removed all of the rules for crime in Gotham City that the Penguin put in place, and the city in chaos. The Penguin is a broken man, and he’ll have to travel through the burning streets of Gotham with a gun and a single bullet putting together a new crew to take back what he’s built. Will Batman help the devil he knows or face the devil he doesn’t in the form of the Umbrella Man? A crime epic from the team behind the critically acclaimed Other History of the DC Universe, John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli-don’t miss it!
Written by John Ridley
Pencils by Giuseppe Camuncoli
Inks by Cam Smith
Colours by Arif Prianto
Thoughts: I’m not huge on Ridley’s writing, but I love Penguin and I enjoyed what I read of Other History of the DC Universe, so let’s give this a shot.
Batman News Critic: Myself
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #8
RECKLESS YOUTH continues as Superman and Batman struggle to mentor the new Boy Thunder! The Key has drawn the World’s Finest team into an impossible dilemma unlike any they’ve ever faced when the entire city of Metropolis goes into a deadly lockdown!
Written by Mark Waid
Pencils and Inks by Dan Mora
Colours by Tamra Bonvillain
Batman News Critic: Casper
Batman: The Knight #10
Bruce Wayne’s worldwide journey has reached its conclusion-is he ready for the brutal final exam? The acclaimed series comes to a shocking, climactic end as this young Dark Knight will face the ultimate test!
Written by Chip Zdarsky
Pencils and Inks by Carmine Di Giandomenico
Colours by Ivan Plascencia
Thoughts: And now we’re at the conclusion of The Knight! I feel you could have made a series like this a little longer. How do we all feel – did it end too soon, or was it the perfect length?
Batman News Critic: Jackson
Nightwing #97
…Batgirl gives Nightwing her answer. And they have a long talk with each other about what that means.
Written by Tom Taylor
Pencils by Bruno Redondo and Geraldo Borges
Inks by Bruno Redondo, Geraldo Borges and Caio Filip
Colours by Adriano Lucas
Thoughts: I used to be a huge shipper between Babs and Dick… but I don’t know, I’m a little tired of it now.
Batman News Critic: Michael
Catwoman #48
Don’t you just hate it when your current and former lovers meet accidentally? That’s definitely the case here for Catwoman, as Valmont and Batman cross paths! Is Batman jealous or just concerned that Selina is dating an international criminal who is also a murderer? There are some lines you just don’t cross, Cat, and not all attention is good attention.
Written by Tini Howard
Pencils and Inks by Nico Leon
Colours by Veronica Gandini
Cover Art by Jeff Dekal
Thoughts: The way DC broke Batman and Catwoman up is so entirely baffling that I still don’t understand it – and I was there when it happened!
Batman News Critic: Michael
Flashpoint Beyond #6
The fate of the Flashpoint Earth hangs in the balance as Thomas must make the ultimate choice! What will happen to this fractured reality and what does it mean for the DC Universe at large?
Written by Geoff Johns, Tim Sheridan and Jeremy Adams
Pencils and Inks by Xermanico and Mikel Janin
Colours by Romulo Fajardo
Cover Art by Mitch Gerads
Thoughts: I feel like this comic went downhill very fast.
Batman News Critic: Myself
GCPD: The Blue Wall #1
Still relatively early in her tenure as GCPD commissioner, Renee Montoya sets out to rebuild her department and restore public faith in the historically troubled PD during some of the worst conditions it’s ever seen. But Renee can’t do it alone-in order for her plan to work, everyone from the topmost officials all the way down to the most fresh-faced new officers must contend with the harsh realities of being a symbol of law and order in a city of super-powered saviors and superhuman lawlessness. DC is proud to present GCPD: The Blue Wall by the stellar team of Academy Award-winning writer John Ridley and artist Stefano Raffaele. This six-part miniseries is a thought-provoking and riveting story of everyday people trying to do good in the midst of a flawed system. No one said protecting a city like Gotham would be easy.
Written by John Ridley
Pencils and Inks by Stefano Raffaele
Colours by Brad Anderson
Cover Art by Reiko Murakami
Thoughts: Oh… oh, no, I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all.
Batman News Critic: Casper
Titans United: Bloodpact #2
Tim Drake is having the worst day. First he got brainwashed by the Fearsome Five, then he woke up in a world turned upside down. A world ruled by the fanatical Church of the Raven. Now enemies have become allies, and the Titans are nowhere to be seen. Guest-starring the Dark Knight!
Written by Cavan Scott
Pencils and Inks by Lucas Meyer
Colours by Tony Avina
Cover Art by Eddy Barrows and Marcelo Maiolo
Dark Crisis: Young Justice #5
HERE’S MICKEY! Mickey Mxyzptlk, son of Mr. Mxyzptlk, built the “perfect world” where he and the boys of Young Justice could rule without being criticized, without having to change, without ever having to grow up. Mickey has an ugly soul and too much power. The boys of Young Justice will have to overcome their shortcomings and defeat him to get back to the DCU they know and need!
Written by Meghan Fitzmartin
Pencils and Inks by Laura Braga
Colours by Luis Guerrero
Cover Art by Max Dunbar and Luis Guerrero
Batman News Critic: William
Harley Quinn The Animated Series: Legion of Bats! #1
When last we checked in with Harley Quinn, she ate, she banged, and she killed—but now it’stime for something a little different. Fresh out of the events of Harley Quinn: The Animated Seriesseason 3, Harley has found herself a part of a highly unlikely team—the Bat-Family! Meanwhile, Poison Ivy has found herself prepping for her new job—leader of the Legion of Doom! But while Harley and Ivy adjust to their respective new roles, a ghost from Ivy’s past enters the fray and threatens the relationship between everyone’s favorite clown/plant couple!
Written by Tee Franklin
Pencils by Shae Beagle
Inks by Shae Beagle and Roberto Poggi
Colours by Lee Loughridge
DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #3
The blockbuster final arc in the series continues! As a warrior princess is mourned on Themyscira, an old god comes to warn of the threat of the New Gods. Meanwhile across the stars, Adam Strange fights the unthinkable and the Main Man himself, Lobo, tears his way into DCeased. New battle lines are drawn as the anti-living spread across the universe!
Written by Tom Taylor
Pencils by Trevor Hairsine
Inks by Andy Lanning
Colours by Rain Beredo
Cover Art by Trevor Hairsine, Rain Beredo and Howard Porter
Batman News Critic: Aaron
DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War #4
With Baron Cinder and his lieutenants kept occupied by the mother of all diversions, the team attempts a daring raid on the Blood Farm to retrieve the one person who can bring sunlight back to the world. However, they have not reckoned on the terrifying presence of the Baron’s vampire knights-familiar faces whose blades are every bit as bloodthirsty as they are. And in the backup, we learn the sad fate of the King of Cities, Jack Hawksmoor!
Written by Alex Paknadel, Matthew Rosenberg and Matthew Manning
Pencils and Inks by Pasquale Qualano and Acky Bright
Colours by Nicola Righi
Cover Art by Alan Quah
Batman News Critic: Aaron
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.
Ratings
Most Excited: Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #8. Now that we know about Lazarus Planet, I’m actually really keen to figure out all the little pieces that feed into it!
Least Excited: GCPD: The Blue Wall #1. Look, you can make a cop comic in Gotham. It’s been done! It was good! But Ridley has been one of the leading voices on how Gotham represents its cops since 2020, and I have not enjoyed how he’s handled them – and I hate how Renee Montoya has compromised herself and her way of doing things so thoroughly in becoming the new commissioner. Not excited.
Wild Card: Flashpoint Beyond #6. Maybe they’ll bounce back…?
Best wishes, and see you in the reviews!
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Author’s Twitter: @ObnoxiousFinch
