With only 50 titles being published in July (WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITHOUT 52 MONTHLY BOOKS?!?!?!), DC is doing some consolidating of its talent, expanding Vertigo into new places, and publishing some odd and exciting books. BUT WHERE ARE THE LAST TWO?
Trinity War, a long-discussed event, is revealed to be a 6-issue crossover between the “Justice League” books, with the usual creative teams in tact (except David Finch being replaced by Doug Mahnke on “Justice League of America,” and Jeff Lemire co-writing that issue as well), and a giant cover by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado. It is good to see a commitment to an event not growing out of control, and one that seems to only have limited ties to other books, namely the “Trinity of Sin” books, which make sense. Let’s hope that the event lives up to the solid thinking behind it.
It has been absolutely perplexing to see people refer to this book as being “cancelled.” Grant Morrison has always said that he was going to finish his Batman story in this book and put the book to bed. Good for DC for agreeing that no one could follow up Morrison’s story.
Annuals from “The Flash,” “Superman,” “Batman,” “Detective Comics,” and “Animal Man” all hit this month, and all feature some pretty sweet covers. DC’s annuals have truly been annual, with one a year coming out for their boks, and while not all have been winners, they usually carry over at least part of a book’s creative team, and do their best to highlight a stand-alone story. If nothing else, it gest Travel Foreman drawing Buddy Baker again.
Constantine #5
Written by RAY FAWKES
Art and cover by RENATO GUEDES
As the TRINITY WAR rages around him, John Constantine takes a keen interest in Billy Batson’s power of Shazam! But does he want to mentor Billy or destroy him?
Geoff Johns is listed as the writer or co-writer on 3 issues; Jeff Lemire is listed as the writer or co-writer on 5 issues; Ray Fawkes is listed as the writer or co-writer on 3 issues; Scott Snyder is listed as the writer or co-writer on 3 issues (5 if you count the two “Director’s Cuts” issues). Part of this is due to annuals, and part of this is due to Trinity War, but 1/5 of all DC New 52 books being released in a month are written by some combination of the same 4 writers, does that mean a unified line? Or does it mean a creative lull?
Batman: The Dark Knight #22
Written by GREGG HURWITZ
Art and cover by ALEX MALEEV
Picking up from recent issues of BATMAN, the origin of Clayface is revealed—and a new mystery is introduced!
Ethan Van Sciver has been the artist on “The Dark Knight” since issue #16, and here the solicit mentions the great Alex Maleev. Since an arc just ended, perhaps Maleev is just filling in for Van Scive, or maybe this is DC’s way of announcing that Van Sciver is off the book. Either way, a Maleev issue is never something to complain about.
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by PAUL PELLETIER and SEAN PARSONS
Is this story too mysterious to reveal? Or too boring to describe?
For both of Snyder’s big books, “Superman Unchained” and “Batman,” DC is releasing “Director’s Cut” editions of their current arc’s first issue. Here is the “Batman” solicit:
Continued belowBATMAN YEAR ZERO: THE DIRECTOR’S CUT #1
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Backup story written by SCOTT SNYDER and JAMES TYNION IV
Art by GREG CAPULLO
Backup story art by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE
Cover by GREG CAPULLO
Reprinting the first chapter of this new story arc that begins in BATMAN #21 from the stunning pencil art of Greg Capullo and Rafael Albuquerque, with the full, action-packed scripts by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV!
So, basically, DC is publishing back-matter typically reserved for collections, on a monthly basis. Or is this just a one shot deal? Either way, this seems like a pretty clear cash grab, but one that will probably be successful.
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art and cover by TYLER KIRKHAM and BATT
Backup story art by PHILIP TAN
A group of warriors from space come to Earth in search of their new king—and they’ve set their sites on Superman to lead them!
Well, that was a short-lived period to be excited about “Action Comics.”
COLLIDER #1
Written by SIMON OLIVER
Art by ROBBI RODRIGUEZ
Cover by NATHAN FOX
It started small: temporary gravity failures, time reversal loops, entropy reversals. With much fanfare a new government agency was formed with a mandate “to prevent and protect.” Its official title: The Federal Bureau of Physics. Humans, if nothing else, adapt to the changing parameters of their existence. What was extraordinary soon became ordinary, a part of people’s daily lives. They move on and do what people have always done: survive. But even that new status quo is now under threat. Things are getting worse, and it falls to Special Agent Adam Hardy and his FBP team to figure out what’s going on, before it’s too late…
“Collider” was announced at C2E2 in 2012, and after almost a year of delays, July is when we will get issue #1. Vertigo, this month, is publishing this, a new “Tom Strong” miniseries, “Astro City” #2, Snyder’s “The Wake,” the two “Fables” books, “The Unwritten,” the end of “Django Unchained” and “100 Bullets: Brother Lono” #2. Slowly but surely, Vertigo has been pulling away from the supernatural-tinged books that were their bread and butter and, instead, have become their answer to Marvel’s ICON line (which was a response to Vertigo). What that means is that it is now simply the creator-owned corner of DC’s publishing, sans theme. Books like “Insurgent” tried to be creator-owned within DC, and that fell flat on its face, in part due to the absolute lack of a desire to market any non-New 52 books.
So, instead, Vertigo is where DC can publish creator-owned books by creators they want to work with/legacy projects like “Tom Strong” or “Astro City” without confusing the masses that only want New 52 work. While this is a good idea in theory, it will probably continue to dilute the feel that Vertigo has spent years cultivating.
(NOTE: Probably not the final cover)
Written by JEFF PARKER
Art by JONATHAN CASE
Cover by MICHAEL ALLRED
Put on your go-go boots and get ready to “Batusi” back to the Swingin’ 60s as DC Comics reimagines the classic Batman TV series in comics form for the first time! These all-new stories portray The Caped Crusader, The Boy Wonder and their fiendish rogues gallery just the way viewers remember them. In this first adventure, The Riddler’s out to steal some valuable artwork from under the noses of Gotham’s police. But Batman gets help from an unlikely source: a certain femme fatale dressed in feline finery!
Few people I know aren’t at least a little excited about “Batman ’66,” especially with the creative team that DC has rolled out for it. In fact, DC’s Digital-First line has had a major injection of talent lately, leading the line some real credibility: monthly, Jeff Parker, Bryan Q. Miller, Dustin Nguyen, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, Mike Grell, and Mike Allred are contributing to the books, and the two new-ish anthologies, “Legends of the Dark Knight” and “The Adventures of Superman” have rotating casts of great artists and writers coming on board.
Of course, they also publish books based on the Arkham games, which don’t have a reputation for greatness, but this is certainly a great step forward in the building up and strengthening of DC’s Digital-First offerings.
Continued belowGREEN LANTERN: THE ANIMATED SERIES #14
Written by IVAN COHEN • Art and cover by DARIO BRIZUELA
FINAL ISSUE
While battling a rogue Manhunter, Aya is infected by a virus, and Hal and Razer shrink themselves to microscopic size to see if they can fix her…and find Kilg%re! Can they win such a small battle against such large odds?
While DC is building up their digital line, they are completely gutting their All-Ages comics, as now only “Scooby Doo: Where Are You?” is left as a monthly kids book. This is a huge missed opportunity for both Big Two publishers. Dollar all-ages books, targeted at supermarkets and drug stores, seem to be an untapped resource that would help to get young kids into comics.
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
History is made when The Flash comes face to face with Reverse Flash for the first time!
This is your monthly Wally West speculation – odds are pretty good he’s the Reverse Flash, but I’ve been wrong before. What do you think?
Batgirl #22
Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art by FERNANDO PASARIN and JONATHAN GLAPION
Cover by ALEX GARNER
Following the recent massive trauma she’s suffered, Barbara Gordon tries to move on with her life—without Batgirl!
Trinity of Sin: Pandora #2
Written by RAY FAWKES
Art by DANIEL SAMPERE and VICENTE CIFUENTES
Cover by RYAN SOOK
As “TRINITY WAR” erupts and battle lines are drawn, Pandora finds herself standing alone against The Secret Society of Super-Villains!
Ryan Sook did a few covers this month, and any of them could have been featured. Sook does some of the best covers in the business.
Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger #10
Written by J.M. DeMATTEIS
Art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by JAE LEE
On the eve of “TRINITY WAR,” the Stranger is forced to make the most difficult choice he’s faced in thousands of years walking in the wilderness. What or who could pose such a challenge?
But Sook’s excellence is diminished by the continued presence of Jae Lee on three covers a month. Lee’s covers always give off a sense of mystery, of dread, of intrigue. Now that he’s two months into doing interiors for “Batman/Superman,” let’s hope he still can find the time to do covers.
Supergirl #22
Written by MICHAEL ALAN NELSON
Art and cover by MAHMUD ASRAR
Careful what you wish for! Kara may have found a home away from Earth, but it’s at a price that Superboy will have to pay to a major Superman foe!
