August is a bit of a transitional month for DC, with a few series wrapping up, a couple of big debuts, and some weird miscellany. Let’s dig in!
10. Those ears
There are few artists whose interpretation of Batman is more easily identifiable at quick glance than Kelley Jones. His Batman has some of the longest ears you’ll ever see outside of the Silver Age, and clearly brings you back to his early 90s tenure on the Bat-titles. Even if its not your favorite bat-look (and it’s not necessarily mine), I applaud any artist who can make such an indelible mark on a character. Plus, you’ve got former Bat-editor Scott Peterson writing the book, so this is sure to be a retro romp through Gotham.
BATMAN: KINGS OF FEAR #1
written by SCOTT PETERSON
art and cover by KELLEY JONES
variant cover by BILL SIENKIEWICZ
Legendary artist Kelley Jones makes his triumphant return to the Dark Knight in this explosive miniseries written by former BATMAN editor Scott Peterson! Batman’s been overseeing Gotham City for years now and isn’t sure how much of a difference he’s making. Doubt, fear and insecurity are starting to take over. And as all of those negative feelings set in the Scarecrow orchestrates a riot at Arkham Asylum to give the Dark Knight one of his greatest challenges yet! This six-issue miniseries will see the Scarecrow in a horrifying new way that you’ll have to read to believe.
ON SALE 08.22.18
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | 1 of 6
RATED T+
This issue will ship with two covers.
Please see the order form for details.
9. Th-th-th-they’re back!
For the second year in a row, DC is bringing the Looney Tunes into the DCU with a series of crossovers. This year’s pairings are, perhaps even more inspired this year: Lex Luthor/Porky Pig, Catwoman/Sylvester and Tweety, Harley Quinn/Gossamer, and The Joker/Daffy Duck. While last year’s crossover produced an issue that we (somehow) proclaimed the best of 2017, these aren’t meant to be Eisner-bait. They’re fun and goofy, and hopefully, this year’s crop will be both of those things.
LEX LUTHOR/ PORKY PIG SPECIAL #1
written by MARK RUSSELL
art by BRAD WALKER and ANDREW HENNESSY
backup story written by JIM FANNING
backup story art by JOHN LOTER
cover by BEN OLIVER
variant cover by MAC REY
Facing financial and personal ruin, a desperate Porky Pig applies for and gets and entry-level position with LexCorp. Grateful to his new benefactor, Porky becomes Luthor’s most loyal employee and defender. But when a major scandal breaks in the news and Lex is called before a Congressional Committee, guess who is about to be offered up as the sacrificial pig?
ONE-SHOT
ON SALE 08.29.18
$4.99 US | 48 PAGES
FC | RATED T
This issue will ship with two covers.
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8. Welcome to Jinxworld
Full disclosure: I’ve never read a Jinxworld title. My Bendis experience is limited to mainstream Marvel stuff, and I’ve never even been tempted to pick up one of his creator-owned books. That said…lots of people have! Some people who I trust implicitly swear by some of this stuff, specifically “Scarlet,” which Multiversity editor in exile Walter Richardson loves enough to have a full back tattoo of the first issue’s cover. True story.
Plus, DC has been promoting the hell out of the line, offering free samplers, and now producing new jumping on points. Bendis seemed to jump to DC, in part, because of how they would handle his creator-owned work. So, give it a try!
Continued belowSCARLET #1
written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
art and cover by ALEX MALEEV
variant cover by MICHAEL GAYDOS
blank variant cover available
From the creative team that brought you Daredevil and Infamous Iron Man comes the latest explosive chapter in their creator-owned epic, which IGN called one of the best comics on the stands. SCARLET tells the story of a woman whose life has been ripped apart by police corruption. When she pushes back, she starts a chain reaction of events that will bring about the next American Revolution.
In this brand-new, new reader-friendly chapter, fully painted by Eisner Award-winning artist Alex Maleev, SCARLET tells the story of what happens when one young woman is pushed too far—and what one country will do to stop her.
ON SALE 08.29.18
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | 1 of 5
MATURE READERS
This issue will ship with three covers.
Please see the order form for details.
Includes a code for a free digital download of this issue.
7. More manga is a smart decision
DC and Marvel each have been very gingerly dipping their toes into the manga game, but this seems like the first real move by DC to make an inroad into the (gigantic) manga market. Currently appearing in Japanese anthology “Red,” DC is collecting ‘Batman and the Justice League’ for the first time later this year. DC is doing it properly too, with the right to left alignment. Now I’ve not read any of these stories, but I hope that the solicit accurately reflects the tone of the book, which seems to split the difference between a superhero story and a manga book nicely.
BATMAN AND THE JUSTICE LEAGUE MANGA VOL. 1 TP
written by SHIORI TESHIROGI
art and cover by SHIORI TESHIROGI
From mangaka Shiori Teshirogi (Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas) comes a new series starring Batman and the Justice League. Currently being serialized in the monthly Japanese anthology Red, the story focuses on a young boy who comes to Gotham City from Japan. He’s trying to solve the mystery of what happened to his scientist parents after their disappearance following a factory explosion a year earlier. As it turns out, the factory was owned by Lex Luthor, who has now teamed with The Joker. Together, they plan on using the research of the boy’s parents to tap into a mystical, all-powerful, worldwide energy source. But for what purpose? It’s a bigger challenge than Batman can handle on his own, so he’s going to need some help from the League.
This series will be published in the original manga right-to-left format.
ON SALE 10.17.18
$12.99 US | 208 PAGES
5.75” x 8.1875”
B&W | RATED T+
6. The End? For Now?
We’ve covered this already, but it’s a big deal. For whatever reason, Gerard Way is shutting down all the non-“Doom Patrol” ‘Young Animal’ titles in August. The implication is that ‘Young Animal’ will return, but not for a little while. This, we’ve been assured, was the plan all along, but it feels a little sudden, and is a bit of a bummer.
CAVE CARSON HAS AN INTERSTELLAR EYE #6
written by JON RIVERA
art and cover by MICHAEL AVON OEMING
At last, Cave has figured out the reason behind this crazy cosmic adventure, but what’s his podcast have to do with it? And will he and his team ever find their way home?
ON SALE 08.15.18
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | MATURE READERS
FINAL ISSUE
5. Universal!
Again, this has been covered before, and we all acknowledge that this is a big deal. Yet, doesn’t it sort of feel like its gone under the radar? Don’t get me wrong, everyone I know who likes these sort of things is excited for it, but it hasn’t ripped through the industry like I thought it would. Perhaps the (relatively) hands off approach by Gaiman is the reason? Or maybe the fact that 8-8-18 is supposed to be a huge day for Vertigo, and yet all we have is this one book’s announcement? I don’t know, but
Continued belowTHE SANDMAN UNIVERSE #1
story by NEIL GAIMAN
written by SI SPURRIER, NALO HOPKINSON, KAT HOWARD and DAN WATTERS
art by BILQUIS EVELY, DOMINIKE “DOMO” STANTON, TOM FOWLER, MAX FIUMARA and SEBASTIAN FIUMARA
cover by JAE LEE
variant covers by
JIM LEE
DAVID MACK
DAVE McKEAN
P. CRAIG RUSSELL
JILL THOMPSON
blank variant cover available
From the mind of New York Times #1 bestselling author Neil Gaiman comes a new world filled with dreams, nightmares and wonderful characters living together in a shared universe for a new story unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.
A rift between worlds has opened, revealing a space beyond the Dreaming. Meanwhile, a book from Lucien’s library is discovered by a group of children in the waking world where it should not exist. Lucien calls for Matthew the Raven to seek out their master, Daniel, Lord of Dreams.
As Matthew flies across the Waking World and others, he finds a young boy named Timothy Hunter who, in his dreams, has become the world’s most powerful magician—but in his nightmares he is the world’s greatest villain. A new House has appeared in the realm of the Dreaming: the House of Whispers, with its proprietor, a fortune-teller called Erzulie. And elsewhere, Lucifer has fallen again, only this time he might be trapped in a Hell of his own design.
Spiraling out of this special issue will be four all-new series set in the Sandman Universe. It all starts here!
ON SALE 8.08.18
$4.99 US | 48 PAGES
FC | MATURE READERS
This issue will ship with eight covers.
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4. See ya, Hal
With the rumors of a Grant Morrison-penned “Green Lantern” title launching this fall, it seemed like only a matter of time before Robert Venditti’s “Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps” title came to an end. While I’ve been very critical of Venditti’s run, it’s sort of incredible how long he’s been writing Hal. This brings his tally to something like 85 issues, counting annuals, which puts him in the Geoff Johns/Ron Marz category for time on the title, which seems absolutely insane to me.
While the run never quite lived up to the hype, Venditti kept the Corps in the spotlight, and for that we applaud him.
HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #50
written by ROBERT VENDITTI
art and cover by RAFA SANDOVAL and JORDI TARRAGONA
variant cover by TYLER KIRKHAM
This. Is. It! It’s an extra-sized anniversary celebration, and one of the biggest battles the Green Lantern Corps has ever fought to mark the occasion. John Stewart issues a dramatic order: no lethal force! The Green Lanterns need to prove they can keep law and order in the universe without killing. Elsewhere, Hal Jordan faces down Tomar-Tu, and looks to use the Darkstars’ armor as a weapon against them—with some psychic help from Hector Hammond (who probably shouldn’t be trusted).
ON SALE 08.08.18
$3.99 US | 40 PAGES
FC | RATED T
FINAL ISSUE
This issue will ship with two covers.
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3. Peace out, Kate
This one stings a little more than the “Hal Jordan” news. “Batwoman” was announced to much fanfare at New York Comic Con 2016, and the book never seemed to really find its footing. Aside from a few really stellar issues, the series seemed to be content playing around in Kate’s past, instead of telling definitive stories about her present. It felt a bit like a companion piece to “Detective Comics,” and was maybe a bit hampered in by what was happening over in ‘Tec.
Regardless, we hope that Kate isn’t on the sidelines for long, and that Marguerite Bennett gets some more DC work ASAP.
BATWOMAN #18
written by MARGUERITE BENNETT
art by FERNANDO BLANCO
cover by DAN PANOSIAN
variant cover by MICHAEL CHO
It’s the series finale, and there’s a lot of drama to resolve for Kate Kane, both in and out of costume. As Batwoman, she teams with Renee Montoya to thwart Clock King’s latest time-bending enterprise: selling a drug that allows criminals to know if their crime will be successful—before it’s committed. But Batwoman’s facing a quandary to boot: Take this drug off the street, or use it herself to stop crime? The only fight tougher is the personal one: Should Kate and Renee give their relationship another chance?
ON SALE 08.15.18
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T+
FINAL ISSUE
This issue will ship with two covers.
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2. A return to the past
There have been rumors, both in and out of story, that Brian Michael Bendis wasn’t going to be featuring Lois Lane or Jon Kent, at least initially, in his Superman run. A “Super Sons” cancellation seemed to add fuel to the ‘Jon may be gone’ fire, but then, alas! DC announces “Adventures of the Super Sons,” a new 12-issue maxi-series. But the rub: this is a flashback story.
Now, I don’t actually think Jon is gone forever, or even for a long time, but I think he will be on the shelf for a bit. Hey, at least we get more Jon and Damian stories, right?
Continued belowADVENTURES OF THE SUPER SONS #1
written by PETER J. TOMASI
art by CARLO BARBERI and ART THIBERT
cover by DAN MORA
variant cover by JORGE JIMENEZ
The Super Sons are back in an all-new 12-issue miniseries written by Peter J. Tomasi! Check out the lost and secret adventures of Damian Wayne (Robin) and Jon Kent (Superboy) in this flashback miniseries that takes a deep dive into the bombastic bromance between the sons of the DC Universe’s greatest heroes. It’s an epic dual storyline that transcends current events, as Superboy and Robin find themselves targets of an interstellar team of young badasses called the Gang.
ON SALE 08.01.18
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | 1 of 12 | RATED T
This issue will ship with two covers.
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Includes a code for a free digital download of this issue.
1. Kara’s back, and she’s good again!
When “Supergirl” stopped appearing in the solicits a few months ago, I lamented the fact that, yet again, there would be a Supergirl television show, but no Supergirl comic. Well, my fears were for naught; after a break, “Supergirl” returns from Marc Andreyko and Kevin Maguire. This is great news, and is exciting because it is very clearly tying into what Bendis is doing on the Superman titles.
While I have no real reason to be optimistic about the Bendis books, I like when the lines feel more connected, and this is a nice step in that direction. Here me out: a “Superboy” book will launch this time next year, connecting in even further.
Also, isn’t that new Supergirl costume dope? It is part New Krypton, part early-90s space suit with bubbles on the shoulders Superman. I dig.
SUPERGIRL #21
written by MARC ANDREYKO
art by KEVIN MAGUIRE
cover by TERRY DODSON and RACHEL DODSON
variant cover by AMANDA CONNER
blank variant cover available
Mourning the loss of the Kryptonians wiped out by Rogol Zaar, Supergirl decides to play detective and sets off into deep space to learn more about the would-be usurper. Using whatever tech she can scrounge, Supergirl builds a star cruiser, and after intel from Green Lantern, she blasts off into the cosmos with Rogol Zaar’s deadly axe to solve the mystery—along with a traveling companion you won’t believe!
ON SALE 08.08.18
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T
This issue will ship with three covers.
Please see the order form for details.
For the full solicits, check out Newsarama.
