Listen up: the era of Matina is over and now I’m in charge. You’ve all had it too good for too long. Every week you were graced with her thoughtful commentary on whatever was coming out that Tuesday. Well no more. From now on you will get my incoherent ramblings and half-baked opinions, and you’re going to like it. Some of you may have already had the misfortune of reading my reviews. Maybe you thought that by giving up those series you could avoid me. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I’m everywhere and getting worse. to quote the greatest opening line of any comic script:
ALRIGHT. I’M PSYCHED UP, IVE GOT BLOOD UP TO MY ELBOWS, VEINS IN MY TEETH AND MY HELMET AND KNEEPADS SECURELY FASTENED. LET’S GET OUT THERE AND MAKE TROUBLE!
Upcoming Comics
Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #10
What are dark, red, and not safe for anyone? The streets of Gotham as the battle of The Jokers begins. The good news for the people of Gotham is that someone is going to finally put an end to The Joker’s reign of terror. The bad news is that person will also be The Joker!
- Written By: Matthew Rosenberg
- Penciled By: Carmine Di Giandomenico, Francesco Francavilla
- Inks By: Carmine Di Giandomenico, Francesco Francavilla
- Colors By: Romulo Fajardo, Francesco Francavilla
- Cover By: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Thoughts: It’s not exactly a hot take to say DC is oversaturated with Joker and has been for a long time. It seems for the past decade it’s been impossible to not have him show up in one form or another. Making the Joker comic now have two Jokers is maybe the epitome of that.
Batman News Critic: Jeremy
Poison Ivy #14
Back in Gotham City! As Poison Ivy investigates the inner workings of a strange new skyscraper in Gotham, she finds herself up to her neck in a surreal and slimy mystery. And at its center? A brand-new villain in the Poison Ivy pantheon of rogues! Plus…is Janet-from-HR cheating on Ivy?!
- Written By: G. Willow Wilson
- Penciled By: Marcio Takara
- Inks By: Marcio Takara
- Colors By: Arif Prianto
- Cover By: Jessica Fong
Thoughts: I have mixed feelings on this title because it explores Poison Ivy’s psyche in some interesting ways, but at the same time takes some questionable directions for the character. “Janet-from-HR is cheating on Ivy” as a plot point is an example of the latter.
Batman News Critic: Theresa
Batman #137
Batman descends on Gotham City, full of rage and force, more driven than ever to save his home. But the new landscape has turned friends into foes. Can anyone stop his reign of terror? Should they? The Gotham War continues in this second chapter!
- Written By: Chip Zdarsky
- Penciled By: Jorge Jiménez
- Inks By: Jorge Jiménez
- Colors By: Tomeu Morey
- Cover By: Jorge Jiménez, Richard Isanove, Tomeu Morey
Thoughts: More. Wars. In. Gotham. Give me everything you’ve got, DC. We’ve had Joker War, the War of Jokes and Riddles, now there’s Gotham War. There has to be more in the tank. Maybe we could follow this up immediately with Ghost-Maker War. Top it all off with a digestif of Batman Who Laughs War – it’s been too long since he showed up.
Batman News Critic: Casper
Birds of Prey #1
Every mission matters. Every life saved is a miracle. But this time, it’s personal. Dinah Lance is one of the DCU’s most elite fighters, and combined with her sonic scream, she’s a fearsome foe in any scenario…but sometimes even the Black Canary needs help. Faced with a personal mission brought to her by a mysterious new ally, and up against near-impossible odds, she re-forms the Birds of Prey with an unrivaled group of badasses-Cassandra Cain, Big Barda, Zealot, and Harley Quinn-and only one goal: extraction without bloodshed. What could possibly go wrong? Kelly Thompson (Captain Marvel, Black Widow) makes her long-awaited DC Universe writing debut, and is joined by her Hawkeye partners-in-crime Leonardo Romero (Batman) and Jordie Bellaire (Wonder Woman) to debut an all-new, all-deadly Birds of Prey series…still breaking hearts and faces after all these years!
- Written By: Kelly Thompson
- Penciled By: Leonardo Bastos Romero
- Inks By: Leonardo Bastos Romero
- Colors By: Jordie Bellaire
- Cover By: Jordie Bellaire, Leonardo Bastos Romero
Thoughts: While it’s very weird having a Birds of Prey team without Barbara Gordon, the creative team behind this has got me really interested.
Batman News Critic: Jeremy
Justice Society of America #6
The Huntress and the JSA collide with Stargirl and the lost children! As this new team tries to find its footing, how will they handle coming face-to-face with a group of sidekicks they didn’t realize existed?! And what does this mean for Jay Garrick as he meets his daughter Judy for the first time?! Be sure to pick up this tie-in to The Dawn of DC!
- Written By: Geoff Johns
- Penciled By: Mikel Janin, Marco Stantucci
- Inks By: Mikel Janin, Marco Stantucci
- Colors By: Jordie Bellaire, Ivan Plascencia
- Cover By: Mikel Janin
Thoughts: For a title that has taken almost a year to get to six issues, you’d think more would have happened by now.
Batman News Critic: Cam
Graphic Novel Watch
I’ve decided to bring back a classic segment of upcoming comics where we take a quick look at some of the bat-related graphic novels coming out this week. After all, we all need something to put on our shelves, don’t we?
Beyond the Bat
Welcome back to Beyond the Bat! Here we take a look at the rest of the titles DC is publishing this week, not totally Batman related. Birds of Prey isn’t the only new series starting this week; Blue Beetle and Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville are both getting #1s as well.
Ratings
Most Excited: Birds of Prey #1- Every new title offers the potential for something great. Does that usually pan out? No, but Thompson and Romero makes it worth at least checking out.
Least Excited: Batman #137- The opening to this event did not inspire confidence in the story moving forward. Maybe the second chapter will turn things around, but I’m not holding my breath.
Wild Card: Poison Ivy #14- This title can jump around in quality quite often, so I’m never quite sure which side the coin will land on (wait, shoot, that’s the wrong Batman villain isn’t it?)
That wraps up my first Upcoming Comics! There might be some tweaks here and there moving forward as I figure out what exactly this should look like, but you’ll always know where to look for that week’s bat books. Same bat time, same bat channel!