Welcome back to Upcoming Comics.
I’m not sure what to say here, to be honest. I grew up with Batman: The Animated Series. The Arkham games defined my love for the character, and are most likely my favourite video games of all time. Kevin Conroy has been a constant voice of inspiration and comfort – there’s no one who defines Batman better than this man.
But he was more than Batman, too. He was a person of joy, a gay man who had to work through adversity to create the voice of a generation-defining character. I never knew him, but I knew his work – both his abilities as a voice actor, and his soulful writing from his DC Pride short.
I’m not the person to write a eulogy for him, but as one of the many people he’s touched and inspired through his words, his loss hits home all the same. 66 is too young – but any age would have been too young for this legend.
He will be sorely, dearly missed, by both his loved ones and the fans who loved him. Rest in peace.
Upcoming Comics
Batman: One Bad Day – Mr. Freeze
Going back to the Dark Knight’s early days in Gotham City: Batman and Robin, Dick Grayson, face down the coldest winter Gotham City has ever seen. A winter so cold that Mr. Freeze, Victor Fries, no longer needs his containment suit to survive; he is in an element where he can thrive. Robin empathizes with Mr. Freeze, all Freeze wants to do is save his wife, Nora-but Batman warns Robin not to give his empathy to Victor Fries. He’s a man who decided his own fate a long time ago and he deserves none of our warmth. And this winter… he will show his true wickedness and power. The powerhouse creative team of bestselling writer GERRY DUGGAN (X-Men, Deadpool, Arkham Manor) and MATTEO SCALERA (WHITE KNIGHT PRESENTS: HARLEY QUINN, Black Science) brings you Mr. Freeze’s most frigid story yet.
Written by Gerry Duggan
Pencils and Inks by Matteo Scalera
Colours by Dave Stewart
Thoughts: The difficulty with Mr Freeze is that it’s hard to do the same story over and over. He’s a character that can’t really work effectively within the status quo, but status quo is king in comics. It’ll be interesting to see what this comic does with it.
Batman News Critic: Cam
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #9
Batman and Superman are on a quest to train the mysterious new hero Boy Thunder… but what’s that in the dark? A faint noise…sounds like a laugh? Uh-oh. The Joker is here and he’s got his own plans for a super-powered sidekick! Someone hide all the crowbars, quick!
Written by Mark Waid
Pencils and Inks by Dan Mora
Colours by Tamra Bonvillain
Thoughts: Superman should just dropkick the Joker to Mars, let’s be real.
Batman News Critic: Casper
Nightwing #98
Nightwing meets Nite-Mite! (And Bitewing and Oracle and Daniele Di Nicuolo!) That’s right, that meddling Nite-Mite booped himself from the fifth dimension, and after reading Seven Secrets, he hitchhiked his way over with Di Nicuolo into our Nightwing series! Trust us, you’re not going to want to miss this one.
Written by Tom Taylor
Pencils and Inks by Bruno Redondo and Daniele Di Nicuolo
Colours by Adriano Lucas
Cover Art by Bruno Redondo
Thoughts: I like this cute re-do of Nightwing’s first cover under Taylor and Redondo!
Batman News Critic: Michael
GCPD: The Blue Wall #2
GCPD Commissioner Renee Montoya makes an unpleasant discovery about one of her newest recruits that spirals out further and further, making upholding the law in a city like Gotham even harder than it usually is. Meanwhile Officer Wells tries to give stability and security to his parolees…but things seem destined not to work out for the heavily burdened parole officer.
Written by John Ridley
Pencils and Inks by Stefano Raffaele
Colours by Brad Anderson
Cover Art by Reiko Murakami
Thoughts: Ehh…
Batman News Critic: Casper
Catwoman #49
You can take Gotham out of the cat, but you can’t take the cat out of Gotham. With some of Catwoman’s power structures collapsed again, a clan of clowns has invaded Alleytown and Selina must use her power to handle things safely…without bringing more violence and crime into the area she loves and swears to protect. But when that fails, Selina realizes she’s going to have to fight fire with fire once and for all.
Written by Tini Howard
Pencils and Inks by Nico Leon
Colours by Veronica Gandini
Cover Art by Jeff Dekal
Thoughts: It’s a bummer that Punchline, Ghostmaker and Clownhunter are the creations of Tynion getting all the attention – Miracle Molly is, in my opinion, the best of them, and she’s been neglected by comparison.
Batman News Critic: Michael
Dark Crisis: Young Justice #6
Superboy, Robin, Impulse, Wonder Girl, Arrowette and Red Tornado are all reunited, but is it too late for them to face down the unmitigated and unhinged power of Mickey Mxyzptlk? Young Justice will have to let their old wounds heal quickly if they’re going to escape from Mickey’s fake universe and rejoin the real DCU to help join the final battle of Dark Crisis!
Written by Meghan Fitzmartin
Pencils and Inks by Laura Braga
Colours by Luis Guerrero
Cover Art by Max Dunbar and Luis Guerrero
Thoughts: The Mxyzptlks would be great Crisis main villains, to be honest.
Batman News Critic: William
Harley Quinn: The Animated Series – Legion of Bats! #2
While out shopping for new outfits at the New Gotham Mall, Harley and Ivy stumble across a possible recruit…but are they recruiting for good or for bad? And what loser(s) would dare to show up and ruin their shopping extravaganza? A very pissed-off Clock King and a butthurt Riddler. Meanwhile, Nightwing and Batgirl follow up on a lead that sends Harley reeling…as many villains’ plans come to light. Everyone is out to tear our girls apart!
Written by Tee Franklin
Pencils by Shae Beagle and Jon Mikel
Inks by Shae Beagle, Jon Mikel, Roberto Poggi and Scot Eaton
Colours by Lee Loughridge
Cover Art by Yoshi Yoshitani
Batman News Critic: Jackson
DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #4
Nothing is what the heroes of Earth thought it was. The shocking truth is finally revealed and the fate of all of existence hangs in the balance. Lobo joins the fight, but will the main man help or hinder the greatest heroes in the universe as they gather to fight the galactic armada of the undead?
Written by Tom Taylor
Pencils by Trevor Hairsine and Neil Edwards
Inks by Andy Lanning
Colours by Rain Beredo
Cover Art by Howard Porter and Rain Beredo
Thoughts: Speaking of Lobo, anyone hear the hints about the Jason Momoa Lobo project?
Batman News Critic: Aaron
DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War #5
Betrayed and out of options, the pitiful remnants of the team head to a bleak and desolate Central City for one last Hail Mary as Baron Cinder’s terrifying lieutenants close in. Will a Marvel Family showdown at the end of the world snuff out humanity’s last hope, or will the team’s final desperate gamble pay off?
Written by Matthew Rosenberg and Alex Paknadel
Pencils and Inks by Pasquale Qualano, Francesco Mortarino and Haining
Colours by Nicola Righi
Cover Art by Alan Quah
Thoughts: DCeased and DC vs. Vampires being on at the same time is getting really frustrating. These covers look the same.
Batman News Critic: Aaron
Titans United: Bloodpact #3
Titans no more. As the Church of the Raven closes in on a strangely altered world, Batman and Robin face their deadliest foe yet-Starfire!
Written by Cavan Scott
Pencils and Inks by Lucas Meyer
Colours by Tony Avina
Cover Art by Eddy Barrows and Marcelo Maiolo
Thoughts: You ever wonder how Batman has so much time in the day to do all this stuff? I send one email and I get sleepy.
Batman News Critic: Jeremy
Dark Crisis: Worlds Without A Justice League – Batman #1
When Pariah and his forces of the Great Darkness laid waste to the most powerful superheroes of all time, all hope was lost… until now. To power his weapons of war, Pariah has captured each member of the Justice League and trapped them on worlds suited to their every dream and desire…while the planets themselves slowly eat away at their respective inhabitants. Batman is stuck in a loop wherein the greatest detective must solve the mystery of his own existence! Plus, unravel the secrets of Zatanna’s world in this final epic chapter of the WORLDS WITHOUT A JUSTICE LEAGUE saga!
Written by Simon Spurrier and Meghan Fitzmartin
Pencils by Ryan Sook and Dan Jurgens
Inks by Ryan Sook and Norm Rapmund
Colours by Ryan Sook and Federico Blee
Cover Art by Ryan Sook
Batman News Critic: None, as of right now. We’re not covering Worlds Without a Justice League, but I thought this was important to put on the Upcoming Comics list.
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
Nothing I’m super excited about right now – I’d probably encourage you to read the Black Adam miniseries, if anything. Priest has a fascinating contempt for the character, which I actually think can really work in a book sometimes – so long as it’s built on understanding.
Hope everyone is doing okay. Best wishes, and see you in the reviews.
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Author’s Twitter: @ObnoxiousFinch
