Upcoming Comics December 12, 2023

Welcome back to Upcoming Comics! Buckle up, folks, this week is gonna be a long one. We’ve got ten titles to review, including one giant anthology collection. Christmas specials, the now seemingly bi-monthly events, and a couple black label bat books all aligned together to give us one heck of a busy week here at Batman-News. All of December is actually pretty jam packed for us, but today is the heaviest, so let’s get started:

Upcoming Comics

Batman #428: Robin Lives! #1

What if one of the darkest hours in Batman’s crime-fighting career never happened? Thirty-five years ago, fans voted on Jason Todd’s fate after his brutal encounter with The Joker, which set Jason on the path to becoming the gun-toting vigilante Red Hood. But suppose fans had voted differently… DC Comics transports you back in time with this special “faux-simile” edition of Batman #428 in which Robin lives! Featuring pages reconstructed from artist Jim Aparo’s alternate art boards –which have been plucked from the DC vault and fully restored and remastered –this reedited version of “A Death in the Family, Book Three” turns the Dark Knight’s greatest tragedy into a moment of triumph. Adding to the immersive authenticity of this alternate-history comic book, this version includes all the ads from the original 1988 edition plus a rewritten letters column.

Written By: Jim Starlin
Penciled By: Jim Aparo
Inks By: Mike DeCarlo
Colors By: Adrienne Roy
Cover By: Mike Mignola

Thoughts: The unpublished panels where Jason lives have been floating around the internet for a while now, but it’ll be neat to see the fully completed comic as it could have been.

Batman News Critic: TBD

Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham #2

“A devil cub falls to earth and breaks its wing…” In the unmissable second installment of acclaimed storyteller Rafael Grampá’s masterpiece, the skies over Gotham grow darker still. To decide to kill your past is one thing, but actually doing it proves to be more fraught a road than Batman ever expected…especially when that very same past grows more tightly woven into his current case with every new clue he uncovers. And the closer Batman gets to the truth, the clearer it becomes that his real enemy’s power runs much deeper than just puppeteering a few costumed criminals…to the very heart of Gotham City itself!

Written By: Rafael Grampa
Penciled By: Rafael Grampa
Inks By: Rafael Grampa
Colors By: Mat Lopes
Cover By: Rafael Grampa

Thoughts: The first issue was gorgeous to look at, but maybe leaned a bit too hard into being “gritty” in a way that didn’t land. Hopefully the second issue is able to course correct.

Batman News Critic: Aaron

DC’s ‘Twas the ‘Mite Before Christmas #1

’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a…Bat-Mite?! Join all your DC favorites as they take on eight classic holiday stories! From Constantine and Lex Luthor’s Dickensian tale to Batwoman’s puzzling Hanukkah hijinks to your classic cocoa-swilling Christmas romance switch with Harley and Amethyst, this book is a perfect companion for cookies by the fire and extra sour cream on your latkes. So pull up a sled and get ready for plenty of ho-ho-holiday hope to get you in the spirit of the season!

Written By: Natalie Abrams, Michael Conrad, Ethan Sacks, Josh Trujillo
Penciled By: Marcus ‘MAS’ Smith, Gavin Guidry, Soo Lee, Andrew Drilon
Inks By: Gavin Guidry, Soo Lee, Andrew Drilon, Juan Bobillo, Bob Quinn, Rebekah Isaacs, Norm Rapmund, Logan Faerber
Colors By: Andrew Drilon, Juan Bobillo, Bob Quinn, Logan Faerber, Ryan Cody, John Kalisz, Kurt Michael Russell, Hi-Fi
Cover By: Ben Caldwell

Thoughts: Every holiday month has its obligatory anthology special, and it’s good to see a lot of talent who might be new to DC.

Batman News Critic: Collaboration

Batman: City of Madness #2

The Court of Owls summons Batman, demanding he venture deep beneath the city to fight what has been unleashed from its depths: a wave of madness infecting Gotham’s villains, driven by the monstrous creature they’re calling “the Batman Below.” But the Court has not-entirely-noble reasons for wanting this chaos stopped…Is Batman their weapon, or their bait?

Written By: Christian Ward
Penciled By: Christian Ward
Inks By: Christian Ward
Colors By: Christian Ward
Cover By: Christian Ward

Thoughts: I’m interested to see where this story goes with its Lovecraft/Batman hybrid, even if I don’t love the “Batman fights evil Batman” premise

Batman News Critic: Aaron

World’s Finest: Teen Titans #6

THE SUPER-SHOWDOWN! It’s the Teen Titans versus the Anti-Titans in the melee of the miniseries, with Lilith, Gnarrk, and Mal joining in on the side of our heroes! After the last blow is dealt, the Titans must face something even more uncertain than battle: change. Mal helps Aqualad make sense of his dating dilemma. Bumblebee second-guesses her growing feelings for Mal. Donna must choose between Paradise Island and Man’s World. And Robin and Speedy try to reach a resolution.

Written By: Mark Waid
Penciled By: Emanuela Lupacchino, Mike Norton
Inks By: Emanuela Lupacchino, Mike Norton
Colors By: Jordie Bellaire
Cover By: Chris Samnee, Mat Lopes

Thoughts: This (along with its sister World’s Finest series) has been a real highlight at DC, and I’ll be very sad to see it go

Batman News Critic: Cam

Titans: Beast World Tour: Gotham #1

As the bestial infection spreads all over Earth, the shape-shifting spores finally start to take root in Gotham City! Follow the feral tales of your favorite heroes and villains as they lose themselves to their more beastly nature. With stories by Eisner winners Chip Zdarsky, Grace Ellis, and so many more, it’s sure to leave you hooting and howling in delight!

Written By: Chip Zdarsky, Grace Ellis, Sam Maggs, Gretchen Felker-Martin, Kyle Starks
Penciled By: Miguel Mendonca, Daniel Hillyard, PJ Holden, Ivan Shavrin, Kelley Jones
Inks By: Miguel Mendonca, Daniel Hillyard, PJ Holden, Ivan Shavrin, Kelley Jones
Colors By: PJ Holden, Ivan Shavrin, Rico Renzi, Jose Villarrubia, Mike Spicer
Cover By: Mikel Janin

Thoughts: Well Aaron covered the book with a magic anthropomorphic catboi while I was sick, so I guess it’s only fair that I pick up the book where Harley Quinn is a buff rabbit so he doesn’t have five reviews on the same day

Batman News Critic: Jackson

Titans: Beast World #2

With beasts rampaging through the streets and a world conqueror in the sky, the Titans must do all they can to save humanity. But as heroes and villains alike are infected, will the team stay clear of the spores or become part of the threat? And as the world rages, can Raven discover a way to save Beast Boy?

Written By: Tom Taylor
Penciled By: Ivan Reis
Inks By: Danny Miki
Colors By: Brad Anderson
Cover By: Ivan Reis, Brad Anderson, Danny Miki

Thoughts: The first issue of this event was surprisingly decent, so let’s hope they can keep it up.

Batman News Critic: Aaron

Outsiders #2

“Monsters of the Unknown.” What hidden tragedies lie inside the Forever Storm of the Enlil Triangle? On January 1, 2000, a storm kicked up near the Enlil island chain in the mid-Atlantic. And it never stopped. As a West Point cadet, Kate Kane encountered something monstrous in those turbulent waves…and now, she is returning to face it alongside the Outsiders! But can she control her desire for revenge in the service of Luke Fox’s mission of understanding? What secrets will they discover deep beneath the monster-filled waves of the Enlil Triangle? And how will the Outsiders survive their encounter with the monster-hunting specialists of the DC Universe: the New Challengers of the Unknown? This new, boundary-breaking dive into the secret history of the DC Universe is just beginning!

Written By: Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly
Penciled By: Robert Carey
Inks By: Robert Carey
Colors By: Valentina Taddeo
Cover By: Adriano Lucas, Roger Cruz

Thoughts: This still feels like a very strange use of Kate and Luke, but I guess DC can’t find anywhere else to put them

Batman News Critic: Aaron

Detective Comics #1079

“Batman: Outlaw” continues in part four of five in the biweekly Detective Comics event! The Dark Knight has been executed and the Orghams’ plan to take control of Gotham has been enacted! But with Catwoman arranging Batman’s rescue mission from the shadows, not all is as it seems! Has Gotham’s Feline Fatale figured out a way to cheat death or has Gotham City truly lost its caped crusader?

Written By: Ram V, Dan Watters
Penciled By: Jason Shawn Alexander, Liam Sharp, Juan E. Ferreyra
Inks By: Jason Shawn Alexander, Liam Sharp, Juan E. Ferreyra
Colors By: Juan E. Ferreyra, Dave Stewart
Cover By: Evan Cagle

Thoughts: Detective Comics #1078 was possibly my favorite issue of the entire run, so I’m very excited to see if that level of quality can keep up moving forward

Batman News Critic: Jackson

Batman and Robin #4

Batman and Robin have been separated! Batman works with White Rabbit to track down the new femme fatale Shush while his son, Damian, hunts down the criminal mastermind who is targeting his father! But Damian won’t like who he finds! Don’t miss out on the shocking ending!

Written By: Joshua Williamson
Penciled By: Simone Di Meo, Mikel Janin
Inks By: Simone Di Meo, Mikel Janin
Colors By: Simone Di Meo, Jeromy Cox, Romulo Fajardo
Cover By: Simone Di Meo

Thoughts: I really need this storyline to come up with some sort of hook, because the art and narrative both feel very scattershot so far.

Batman News Critic: William

Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight #2

SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN! The ancient and wild Krampus is loose on Earth and releasing monsters to destroy Christmas! Santa Claus, with the help of the Justice League, is all that stands in the way of this impending darkness. The team’s first challenge? A plague of vampires attacking Blüdhaven!

Written By: Jeff Parker
Penciled By: Michele Bandini, Trevor Hairsine
Inks By: Michele Bandini, Trevor Hairsine
Colors By: Alex Sinclair
Cover By: Dan Mora

Thoughts: They’re really going all in on “badass Santa”, huh? Let’s go.

Batman News Critic: Cam (Full series review 12/26)

Beyond the Bat

Welcome to Beyond the Bat, where we take a quick look at the rest of DC’s comics coming out this week.

Graphic Novel Watch

Sometimes you need more than floppies. Sometimes you want something that can sit nicely on your shelf that proudly displays your favorite stories. That’s when you turn to graphic novels. Let’s see what bat collections are coming out this week: