Hello and welcome to Upcoming Comics! This week DC has quite a few titles coming out that are Batman related, with some real gems in the line up. I’m particularly interested in the Bloom anthology. With Spring making everything around me grow and bloom, it’ll be nice to read some stories about the season, instead of complaining about what it’s doing to my allergies.
I also finally got a chance to sit down and catch up on Batman/Superman: World’s Finest and wow! Everyone should be reading that book, seriously. Art, humor, story, honestly there’s a ton there to delight just about anyone! Plus, I love anything that looks at the time when Dick was still wearing the pixy boots and flying around as Robin.
Now that I’ve talked a bit about some of the comics coming up this week, let’s actually see the full roster!
Upcoming Comics
Nightwing #102
Nightwing is a great leader, not just because Batman trained him, or because of how Alfred raised him, or even because he has a heart of gold-it’s because of his friends, and now that the Titans are in Blüdhaven with him, they can leap into the light together…which is perfect timing for the demon of darkness Neron to do something about it.
- Written By: Tom Taylor, C.S. Pacat
- Penciled By: Travis Moore, Eduardo Pansica
- Inks By: Travis Moore, Julio Ferreira
- Colors By: Adriano Lucas
- Cover By: Bruno Redondo
Thoughts: I like seeing Dick interact with his Titans friends, so I’m interested to see how this Titans back door story turns out.
Batman News Critic: Michael
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #13
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS METAMORPHO? In the pages of World’s Finest, Batman, Robin, and Superman have traversed some of the DCU’s most iconic locations and teamed up with the likes of the Teen Titans, Doom Patrol, and Supergirl, but none of that will prepare them as they must go across the globe in search of Rex Mason, a.k.a. Metamorpho, the Element Man! The World’s Finest Strangest Adventure begins here!
- Written By: Mark Waid
- Pencils, Inks, & Cover By: Dan Mora
- Colors By: Tamra Bonvillain
Thoughts: After catching myself up on this series this last week, I can honestly say it’s one of my favorites out right now, and I am excited for more. Whatever they want to do, I feel like it’ll be a fun ride.
Batman News Critic: Casper
DC’s Legion of Bloom #1
How do you announce winter is coming to an end? You spring it on them! Welcome the springtime with a celebration of DC’s greenest and greatest. As the flowers bloom, breathe in that Swamp Thing smell. Watch the Blue Beetles fly out from Titans West. Pick a Captain Carrot or two from Floronic Man’s garden, but make sure to avoid the Poison Ivy. The season may go by in a Flash, but don’t worry-stories like these last forever. Oh, and Wonder Woman will be there, too!
- Written By: Calvin Kasulke, Julio Anta, Travis Moore, Ashley Allen
- Penciled By: Travis Moore, Vitor Cafaggi, Jacoby Salcedo, Riley Rossmo
- Inks By: Travis Moore, Vitor Cafaggi, Jacoby Salcedo, Riley Rossmo, Hayden Sherman, Isaac Goodhart, Jay Leisten, Mark Morales
- Colors By: Vitor Cafaggi, Jordan Boyd, Patricio Angel, Cris Peter, Allen Passalaqua, Enrica Eren Angiolini, Ivan Plascencia
- Cover By: Juan Gedeon
Thoughts: A Spring anthology sounds like a lot of fun! The characters associated with it, and the cover are enough to pique my interest as well.
Batman News Critic: Jeremy
Catwoman #53
The Gotham mob bosses suspect that their very own leader, Eiko of the Hasigawa Clan, is betraying their code by putting on a Catwoman suit. Is Gotham big enough for two Catwomen? Catwoman doesn’t play well with others, but this cat is gonna need the help of Tomcat to stay out of the mob’s crosshairs. Meanwhile, Selina makes a few enemies of her own in jail, especially the inmates her ex Batman put there.
- Written By: Tini Howard
- Pencils & Inks By: Nico Leon
- Colors By: Veronica Gandini
- Cover By: David Nakayama
Batman News Critic: Michael
Batman: One Bad Day – Ra’s al Ghul #1
WHY WON’T BATMAN SAVE THE WORLD?! For centuries Ra’s al Ghul has wanted to save the Earth from the worst of humankind, and for centuries he has failed. Recently his greatest obstacle has been the Dark Knight Detective, Batman. Ra’s offered Batman a chance to be a part of his new world order, but Batman refused. For years their cold war has raged, but Ra’s will have no more. Ra’s will remove Batman from the equation and save the world, re-creating it in his image and bringing the peace and prosperity all the good-hearted souls of this Earth deserve. Don’t miss this epic tragedy from the all-star creative team of Tom Taylor (Nightwing, Superman: Son of Kal-El, DCeased) and Ivan Reis (Detective Comics, Blackest Night): the last of the One Bad Day specials, and one of the most epic to date.
- Written By: Tom Taylor
- Penciled By: Ivan Reis
- Inks By: Danny Miki
- Colors By: Brad Anderson
- Cover By: Ivan Reis, Danny Miki, Brad Anderson
Thoughts: I don’t like the idea of this being an “epic tragedy”, I don’t like those words in comics in general, and for a villain’s story they don’t really sell me on the tale.
Batman News Critic: Jackson
Harley Quinn The Animated Series #6
Harley and Ivy’s relationship has been stress-tested in nearly every way over the course of this series, and now, as their adventure comes to a close, we are left with one question: Is their love strong enough to withstand these trials and tribulations? Check out this fanshmabulous finale to find out!
- Written By: Tee Franklin
- Penciled By: Shae Beagle, Jon Mikel
- Inks By: Shae Beagle, Jon Mikel, Roberto Poggi
- Colors By: Lee Loughridge, Andrew Dalhouse
- Cover By: Yoshi Yoshitani
Batman News Critic: Jackson
GCPD: The Blue Wall #6
With Gotham City in a state of panic over the recent murders and the GCPD buckling under the weight of the department’s connection to the crimes, can Police Commissioner Renee Montoya restore peace without crossing the line herself? What price is she willing to pay in order to do what is right?
- Written By: John Ridley
- Pencils & Inks By: Stefano Raffaele
- Colors By: Brad Anderson
- Cover By: Reiko Murakami
Batman News Critic: Casper
DCeased: War of Undead Gods #7
Some of the most powerful entities in existence are now slaves to the Anti-Life. Undead Darkseid’s forces have spread the virus across whole galaxies. Even Kryptonians and the Flashes may be too slow in the race to cure worlds before everything is overwhelmed. The final stand for the universe begins.
- Written By: Tom Taylor
- Penciled By: Trevor Hairsine,Lucas Meyer
- Inks By: Lucas Meyer, Andy Lanning
- Colors By: Rain Beredo
- Cover By: Howard Porter, Rain Beredo
Thoughts: I’d almost forgotten that any DCeased books were still going on. I’ve enjoyed DCeased for the most part, but it feels like it’s gone on a little long now.
Batman News Critic: Aaron
Beyond the Bat
And now for Beyond the Bat where we look at titles being published this week that aren’t Batman related! There are some fun ones in this listing too like Swamp Thing and Wonder Woman. Be sure to let us know if you’re pulling any of these alongside the Bat titles!
Ratings
Most Excited: Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #13- After catching up on this series I’m all the more excited to read the newest issue coming up. Genuinely this is one of my favorites this year.
Least Excited: Batman: One Bad Day – Ra’s al Ghul #1- Normally, I’d be interested in a Ra’s story, but this series hasn’t really wowed me, and I don’t see this issue changing that.
Wild Card: DC’s Legion of Bloom #1- Anthologies are often a bit of a wild card since the possibilities for them can be so varied. I’m hopeful this one will be lots of fun though, I do genuinely like the idea of something Spring related.
That’s all for this week’s Upcoming Comics! I hope you all have an excellent week and enjoy the variety of titles lined up for this week!
