August solicitations, since the advent of the New 52, have been unusual. For many of the books, this is the final stand, either for a long-simmering story, or for the book in general. For others, it is a place for an unnatural pause, as September’s event month comes crashing in, placing a pin in everything building up to this month. So, this month’s list isn’t so much a top ten books I’m looking forward to, but more of a top ten news stories/books I’m looking forward to. Let’s get to it.
10. Hey Now, You Were An All-Star
If you had told me in September 2011 that this book would go on for 34 issues, I would never have believed you. It is a bit of a miracle that “All-Star Western” lasted as long as it did – and that Moritat was able to drawn 25+ issues of it without a fill-in. He’s not on the finale, but Darwyn Cooke is, and due to his history with the character of Jonah Hex, should be a fitting send off to the book.
ALL-STAR WESTERN #34
Written by JUSTIN GRAY and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art and cover by DARWYN COOKE
On sale AUGUST 27 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T+ • FINAL ISSUE
Time has finally caught up with Hex as he battles to the death against his worst enemy: Jonah Hex!
9. Superboy to Relaunch in October, right?
DC recently cancelled both “Teen Titans” and “Suicide Squad,” only to have the book relaunch just a few months later, re-tooled and ready for a fresh start. That must be the plan with “Superboy” as well. The character has the fan base, the history, and the connection to a major franchise, all of which means a “Superboy” book is an almost certainty to be relaunched sooner rather than later.
The solicit of “Superboys from across the Multiverse,” along with the solicitation for September’s “Superboy,” written by Frank Barbiere, and referring to him as “Kon” means that this might be the perfect opportunity to bring in a more traditional interpretation of the character back when the book relaunches.
SUPERBOY #34
Written by AARON KUDER
Art and cover by JORGE JIMENEZ
On sale AUGUST 13 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE
Superboy battles an army of Superboys from across the Multiverse!
8. Dead Weight Dropped
Two more “original” New 52 titles, “Batwing” and “Birds of Prey” are getting the axe, along with the two “Trinity of Sin” books. I can’t say any of these are really a surprise, but “Batwing” stings the most. The original creative team of Judd Winick and Ben Oliver produced something really special, and the concept of bringing Luke Fox into a more important role in the Bat-family is an inspired one as well. This is a book that should have worked, but for whatever reason didn’t.
“Birds of Prey” is a concept that depends entirely on the writer to get the tone of the book, and this entire run has been plagued by less than cohesive writing. “Pandora” was supposed to be one of the books that brought the entire line together, but never really did that. “Phantom Stranger” was another muddled mess from jump street. I still maintain that those two books may be relaunched as “Trinity of Sin,” and feature those two characters, as well as the Question, the third member, and the only one without a book in the New 52. I could see a “Black Canary” ongoing, or her get folded into “Green Arrow,” to better match the cast of Arrow.
Continued belowBIRDS OF PREY #34
Written by CHRISTY MARX
Art by ROBSON ROCHA and OCLAIR ALBERT
Cover by JORGE MOLINA
On sale AUGUST 13 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE
By Batgirl betrayed! But why is she siding with the Suicide Squad? Find out in this tale from the Birds’ past!
BATWING #34
Written by JUSTIN GRAY and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art by EDUARDO PANSICA
Cover by DAN PANOSIAN
On sale AUGUST 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE
It’s the final issue of BATWING – but what is the final fate of Luke Fox?
TRINITY OF SIN: THE PHANTOM STRANGER #22
Written by J.M. DeMATTEIS
Art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by GUILLEM MARCH
On sale AUGUST 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE
To atone for his greatest sin, the Stranger must first battle his inner demons – all of them!
TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA #14
Written by RAY FAWKES
Art and cover by FRANCIS PORTELA
On sale AUGUST 20 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE
Pandora already has a target on her back from S.H.A.D.E. – the last thing she needs is a nest of savage vampires at her throat! And the last thing Andrew Bennett, vampire killer, needs is Pandora getting in the way of his mission. Unfortunately for Pandora, killing immortals is Bennett’s specialty!
7. Scooby Doo Teams Up with the Grim Reaper
One of DC’s few all-ages books is “Scooby Doo Team Up,” which sees the classic cartoon characters of the Scooby Doo-verse (Scoobyverse? Dooverse?) pairing up with classic DC characters like Batman and Wonder Woman. It is missing from August’s solicitations, and DC has not yet replied to an email inquiring about the future of the series.
I will admit, I’m a bit of a hypocrite here, as I have never picked the book up, but I do think DC (and comics in general) needs to focus more on its young audience, and cancelling this book not even six months into its run screams of impatience and poor decision making.
6. Bodies
Last month, I somehow missed the start of “Bodies,” a new miniseries from Si Spencer that tells four stories, all set in London, over the course of 4 time periods with different artists covering each time period. I am not hugely familiar with Spencer’s work, but this is the sort of book I always like to give a shot to, because its concept seems fun, its talent interesting, and its execution intriguing.
BODIES #2
Written by SI SPENCER
Art by DEAN ORMSTON, MEGHAN HETRICK, PHIL WINSLADE and TULA LOTAY
Cover by FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA
On sale AUGUST 27 • 32 pg, FC, 2 of 8, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS
With four bodies lying on mortuary slabs, speculation mounts from a century ago to the present day as to the identity of the victim. In wartime Britain and a forgetful future, however, living strangers are causing confusion. A hooker’s kiss, a fine young cannibal, a fascist mob and a suspect who literally falls from the heavens will send muddy ripples through history. The time-travelling serial-killer story heats up!
5. Harley Quinn, Harley Quinn
I don’t know if this is a test on DC’s part, to see if their audience can or will support double shipping books like “Harley Quinn” on a more regular basis. It could also just be a one time situation – I’m hoping it is the latter, because double shipping is rarely a good idea, and “Harley Quinn” hardly seems like the title to initiate it with. Say what you will about DC’s product, you can at least be sure that you are only buying one issue of each book a month.
Continued belowHARLEY QUINN #9
Written by AMANDA CONNER and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art by CHAD HARDIN
Cover by AMANDA CONNER
DC UNIVERSE SELFIE variant cover
On sale AUGUST 13 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.
Shipping twice in August! When Harley fills in as a burlesque dancer, she kills it on the main stage – literally! But what happens when she gets caught by the cops and finds herself face to face with her most devoted stalker?!
HARLEY QUINN #10
Written by AMANDA CONNER and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art by JOHN TIMMS
Cover by AMANDA CONNER
1:25 Variant cover by AMANDA CONNER
On sale AUGUST 27 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.
The first rule of Skate Club is…you do not mess with the Mistress of Mayhem! Harley stumbles across an underground fight club where big money winds with a body count. She’s in…and she’s making Sy Borgman her agent for the fights. But what happens when love gets in the way?
4. Longbow Hunters!
I don’t really need to sell this too much, do I? Lemire and Sorrentino are an excellent pair, and “Longbow Hunters” is one of, if not the, defining Green Arrow stories of all time. Seeing that classic story getting referenced (although I’m sure not straight-up re-done) should hopefully mean good things for the book.
GREEN ARROW #34
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art and cover by ANDREA SORRENTINO
On sale AUGUST 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
If Oliver Queen is to survive, he must face not only his past sins but also his current ones, symbolized by Richard Dragon and his Longbow Hunters!
3. Gordon of Gotham
Chuck Dixon has been outspoken lately in his desire to have his work with the Gotham City Police Department recognized, alongside “Gotham Central,” as inspiration for Gotham, the new Fox show based around the GCPD. While these books are no “Gotham Central,” they are still really fine works, and this fairly priced collection could be a great thing to dive into to give you Gotham fever. Also, read “Gotham Central,” you fools.
BATMAN: GORDON OF GOTHAM TP
Written by DENNIS O’NEIL, CHUCK DIXON
Art by DICK GIORDANO, KLAUS JANSON, JIM APARO and BILL SIENKIEWICZ
Cover by KLAUS JANSON
On sale SEPTEMBER 3 • 288 pg, FC, $19.99 US
Jim Gordon, Gotham City’s top cop, stars in this new collection of crime stories from the 1990s that stars the colorful, determined cops of Batman’s home town. Collects BATMAN: GORDON OF GOTHAM #1-4, BATMAN: GCPD #1-4 and BATMAN: GORDON’S LAW #1-4.
2. Sensation Comics!
We reported on this Monday, but it bears repeating – DC has needed a second “Wonder Woman” book for a long time, and while this isn’t quite the same as a second monthly in-continuity book, it is certainly a nice step in the direction of building up the third member of DC’s Trinity to something closer resembling her two male counterparts.
I am truly excited to see what sort of stories come out of the anthology, and hope it runs for a few hundred issues.
SENSATION COMICS FEATURING WONDER WOMAN #1
Written by GAIL SIMONE and AMANDA DEIBERT
Art by ETHAN VAN SCIVER and CAT STAGGS
Cover by ETHAN VAN SCIVER
1:25 Variant cover by PHIL JIMENEZ
On sale AUGUST 20 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
DIGITAL FIRST
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.
Diana Prince: Amazon warrior, ambassador to Man’s world, or champion of women in need? All of the above! This digital-first anthology series will bring some of comics’ greatest talents to Themyscira, and give them leave to explore Diana, her world – and ours!
Gail Simone and Ethan Van Sciver kick things off when Oracle calls for help after the entire Bat-Family gets sidelined. But when Wonder Woman steps into the breach, Gotham City’s criminals get the surprise of their lives! Then, Amanda Deibert and Cat Staggs take Diana to school, where she meets her biggest fan!
1. The Multiversity Is Here – Finally
It should come as no surprise that this is the best announcement of the month – hell, our site is named after this book! There is nothing about this book that doesn’t sound like the best of comics – ambitious, funny, self-deprecating, exciting, and new.
Continued belowMatt covered a lot of the big points Monday, but let me add one thing: DC has a potential goldmine on its hands here. Allowing Morrison to do a huge scale project like this is an advertisement to other great creators that DC is willing to support your “out there” project if it is good enough. It isn’t hard to imagine DC doing something along these lines every 5-10 years – instead of a “Crisis,” give us a “Multiversity.”
I could dig it.
THE MULTIVERSITY #1
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Art and cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:10 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS
1:25 Variant cover by CHRIS BURNHAM
1:50 Variant cover by BRYAN HITCH
1:100 Variant cover by GRANT MORRISON
Blank variant cover available
On sale AUGUST 20 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with six covers. Please see the order form for more information.The biggest adventure in DC’s history is here!
Join visionary writer Grant Morrison, today’s most talented artists, and a cast of unforgettable characters from 52 alternative Earths of the known DC Multiverse! Prepare to meet the Vampire League of Earth-43, the Justice Riders of Earth-18, Superdemon, Doc Fate, the super-sons of Superman and Batman, the rampaging Retaliators of Earth-8, the Atomic Knights of Justice, Dino-Cop, Sister Miracle, Lady Quark, the legion of Sivanas, the Nazi New Reichsmen of Earth-10 and the latest, greatest Super Hero of Earth-Prime: YOU!
Comprising six complete adventures – each set in a different parallel universe – plus a two-part framing story and a comprehensive guidebook to the many worlds of the Multiverse, THE MULTIVERSITY is more than just a multipart comic-book series. It’s a cosmos spanning, soul-shaking experience that puts YOU on the frontline in the Battle for All Creation against the demonic destroyers known as the Gentry!
In issue #1, pencilled by superstar artist Ivan Reis (AQUAMAN, JUSTICE LEAGUE), President Superman of Earth-23 uncovers a threat to all Reality so apocalyptic it will take a team of incredible heroes from across the Multiverse to face it – including Captain Carrot, like you’ve never seen him before!
But even with a multitude of alternate worlds to choose from, where every variation is possible, can anyone hope to prevail against the onslaught of ultimate evil and undying hatred – in the unstoppable form of a one-time cosmic defender with unimaginable powers?! Join us, if you dare, for the beginning of THE MULTIVERSITY!
Check out the full solicitations from our friends at Comic Book Resources.
