Welcome back to Upcoming Comics! April’s gonna be a big month for me here at Batman News because, in addition to my normal reviews, I’ll be putting a series of retrospective editorials. It’s something I’ve had cooking in the background for a while now and will hopefully lead to more like it in the future.
Why am I telling you this here? Well, for one, why not abuse my position as the person who writes these to plug my work? There’s no point in having power if you don’t go a bit mad with it from time to time. Secondly, by announcing it here for everyone to see I’m locking myself in. No more delays or procrastination. Every Monday this April will be another entry, and that’s a promise.
Upcoming Comics
Batman #146
The explosive “Dark Prisons” continues as Batman learns from an old mentor what Zur’s plans are for Gotham City…and the world! Can the Dark Knight escape from a prison designed by the ultimate version of himself? And what nefarious role does The Joker play in all of this?
- Written By: Chip Zdarsky
- Penciled By: Jorge Jiménez, Michele Bandini
- Inks By: Jorge Jiménez, Michele Bandini
- Colors By: Tomeu Morey, Alex Sinclair
- Cover By: Jorge Jiménez, Tomeu Morey
Thoughts: What nefarious role does Joker play? Well based on the run so far, I’m going to say everything. All of them. Nothing isn’t Joker.
Batman News Critic: Jackson
Birds of Prey #8
Mari McCabe aka Vixen has joined the Birds of Prey to help them get to the bottom of the mysterious villain hunting them through time. But first Mari has a fashionably dangerous problem of her own that needs solving. “You scratch my back, I scratch yours,” never looked so good.
- Written By: Kelly Thompson
- Penciled By: David Lopez, Javier Pina
- Inks By: David Lopez, Javier Pina
- Colors By: Jordie Bellaire
- Cover By: Leonardo Bastos Romero, Jordie Bellaire
Thoughts: It’s a testament to the amount of tact this title has that a story about them doing a lingerie fashion show still manages to be used for comedy and empowerment, rather than sleazy leering. Maybe it’s more of a condemnation of the rest of comics that that seems like such a high bar.
Batman News Critic: Jeremy
Poison Ivy #21
Who’s black, grey, and green all over? Batman. Uncover how Poison Ivy and the Dark Knight Detective himself first came to blows in the final chapter of G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara’s unforgettable Origin of Species storyline.
- Written By: G. Willow Wilson
- Penciled By: Marcio Takara
- Inks By: Marcio Takara
- Colors By: Arif Prianto
- Cover By: Jessica Fong
Thoughts: Wilson’s Poison Ivy seems so different than her traditional portrayals, so it will be interesting to see her take on the classic first encounter with Batman.
Batman News Critic: Andru
The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #4
Every Gotham City citizen knows its buildings are adorned with more gargoyles than anywhere else. But they never expected the human inhabitants of those buildings to start morphing into gargoyles! It’s up to Batman, Scooby, and the gang to solve the mystery—which leads them straight to one of Batman’s most unexpected villains!
- Written By: Sholly Fisch
- Penciled By: Megan Huang, Dario Brizuela
- Inks By: Megan Huang, Dario Brizuela
- Colors By: Megan Huang
- Cover By: Megan Huang
Thoughts: Gargoyles and Batman go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Batman News Critic: Chip
Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum #3
Wake up, brush teeth, get tortured by guards, get loose and get revenge. It’s just another day at Arkham Asylum for Harley Quinn, except all the cell doors just inexplicably unlocked and now everybody’s going nuts and killing each other. The lunatics are running the asylum today—which is just how Harley likes it! The bloody good time continues in this prequel to Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League!
- Written By: John Layman
- Penciled By: Jesús Hervás
- Inks By: Jesús Hervás
- Colors By: David Baron
- Cover By: Dan Panosian
Thoughts: Something I delete from the solicits I use here is the big **NO DLC CODE INCLUDED** all over the title and description of digital copies. Something tells me that might be a big part of the physical sales.
Batman News Critic: Aaron
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:
Ratings
Most Excited: Birds of Prey #8– The new team so far is a lot of fun and their dynamics are a joy to read
Least Excited: Batman #146– It’s been almost two years of Joker, Failsafe, and Zur and having them all at the same time is even more tiring.
Wild Card: Poison Ivy #21– I’m curious to see how Wilson will put her spin on Ivy’s origin.
Well that’s it for this week! Let us know in the comments what comics you’re looking forward to.
