Welcome back to another week of upcoming comics! You know what’s funny? Since taking over this position I’ve realized just how much of DC’s output is Batman related. In any given week at least half of the titles will be ones that we cover here at Batman-News, and almost all (if not every single) graphic novel will be a bat book. I guess it’s good job security for us, but it doesn’t seem healthy from a publishing standpoint. Take a look at monthly sales and while Spider stuff also tends to dominate Marvel’s lineup, they balance it out with tons of other characters. I guess it comes down to a chicken and the egg situation of whether everything’s Batman because that’s just what sells, or if only Batman sells because that’s what DC puts effort into promoting.
Upcoming Comics
Nightwing #106
Sail the high seas with Nightwing and Batgirl as they journey across the ocean in search of the Hold’s secret society that dates back to when Blüdhaven was founded. We saw previously in Nightwing #99 that the Hold’s vault held several safes…and here we’ll find out there has always been one left for Nightwing.
- Written By: Tom Taylor, Michael Conrad
- Penciled By: Stephen Byrne, Serg Acuña
- Inks By: Stephen Byrne, Serg Acuña
- Colors By: Adriano Lucas
- Cover By: Bruno Redondo
Thoughts: You tell me that your comic has seafaring adventures in it, and I’m going to at least be interested.
Batman News Critic: Aaron
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #19
The origin of the World’s Finest Team concludes! What, of all things, could tie the Riddler and the Phantom Zone together-and what secrets will the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel learn about one another that will define their friendship? All this, and a lead-in to an upcoming event set in the present day!
- Written By: Mark Waid
- Penciled By: Travis Moore
- Inks By: Travis Moore
- Colors By: Tamra Bonvillain
- Cover By: Dan Mora
Thoughts: I’m loving the Riddler/Phantom Zone team up as a first adventure for the World’s Finest, but I wish this title didn’t constantly need to tie into current DC events.
Batman News Critic: Casper
Titans #3
All hail the Church of Blood! With their newest leader, Brother Eternity, going public with a former Titan as part of his flock, the church has more followers than ever before. Do the Titans stand a chance at influencing the people of the world to fight brainwashing and prepare for the large intergalactic threat looming on the horizon?
- Written By: Tom Taylor
- Penciled By: Nicola Scott
- Inks By: Nicola Scott
- Colors By: Annette Kwok
- Cover By: Nicola Scott, Annette Kwok
Thoughts: Really reinforcing the idea that the only stories that the Teen Titans can tell since the 90s have been Trigon, Brother Blood, and references to The Judas Contract.
Batman News Critic: Aaron
Catwoman #57
“The Gotham War,” part three. While Batman finds himself more and more isolated, Selina is never alone. With a volunteer army and two powerful generals by her side, the ballet between her and Bruce enters its next act with a shocking twist.
- Written By: Tini Howard
- Penciled By: Nico Leon
- Inks By: Nico Leon
- Colors By: Veronica Gandini
- Cover By: David Nakayama
Thoughts: Is the twist going to be a better plan to solve crime than to take thousands of criminals and turn them all into highly skilled burglars?
Batman News Critic: William
Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker #5
Love never dies! Now captured by the FBI, Harley Quinn has left Bryce and Jackie in the grasp of Joker’s other maniacal ex-girlfriend…Riot. And she’s ready to do whatever it takes to save her one true love, including unearth a deadly secret from Jack Napier’s past. Will Harley break out in time to rescue her kids? Or will a dark knight rise from the shadows to save them all?
- Written By: Katana Collins, Clay McCormack
- Penciled By: Mirka Andolfo
- Inks By: Mirka Andolfo
- Colors By: Alejandro Sanchez
- Cover By: Dave Stewart, Sean Gordon Murphy
Thoughts: Every issue of this extended universe seems to stray further and further from what it was initially supposed to be a commentary on
Batman News Critic: Jeremy
Harley Quinn: Black + White + Redder (2023-) #3
Three all-new short tales of Gotham’s most unpredictable antihero in only black, white, and red ink! In this issue: Superstar writer Gail Simone returns to DC with a hilarious story sending Harley Quinn to Rann, with Domino artist David Baldeon riding along on the zeta-beam! Monkey Meat and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles breakout Juni Ba teams up with writer Aditya Bidikar to give Harley the perfect cure for the breakup blues: a kitten. Plus, That Texas Blood hitmakers Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips tell a tale of twisted fate where Harleen Quinzel never fell for The Joker!
- Written By: Gail Simone, Chris Condon, Aditya Bidikar
- Penciled By: David Baldeon, Jacob Phillips, Juni Ba
- Inks By: David Baldeon, Jacob Phillips, Juni Ba
- Colors By: David Baldeon, Jacob Phillips, Juni Ba
- Cover By: Cliff Chiang
Thoughts: I think these isolated anthology stories are a good space to explore different ways to write Harley Quinn, and we’ve gotten some good results from that approach. Gail Simone’s story especially is one I’m looking forward to reading
Batman News Critic: Theresa
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. I think the big title to keep an eye on this week is Tom King’s new Wonder Woman run; I’m very curious to see how it turns out.
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: Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #19– I think I can say without exaggeration that this is currently the best ongoing being put out by DC right now. My only hesitation is how they’re going to handle the DC event tie-in that is seemingly obligatory for the series
Least Excited: Catwoman #57– Gotham War has been really rough, and it’s not showing any signs of getting better.
Wild Card: Nightwing #106– Normally I would be pretty checked out of Taylor’s Nightwing due to the issues I have with its pacing and plot, but I’m a sucker for a nautical adventure, even if Nightwing seems like an odd choice for that sort of story. Let’s see if this can cash the check that the premise is writing.
Well that’s it for this week! Let us know in the comments what comics you’re looking forward to.