September marks the end of Summer and with it comes changes to your favorite Bat-Books. Guest writers are stepping in on several titles, a few titles are going bi-monthly, and one character is being taken in a completely new direction.
First up, the expectation that we would learn the new creative team on Detective Comics was dashed by the lack of any announcement for the series, while James Robinson follows up his guest stint on Wonder Woman and Trinity with a guest stint on Detective. He’ll be paired with artist Stephen Segovia for a story that features Firefly, Tweedle Dee, and Tweedle Dum. No word on how long the guest-arc will last, but hopefully an announcement fro the series comes next month at Comic Con.
In some surprising news, both Nightwing and Titans are going bi-monthly. Nightwing was previously bi-monthly until the release changed in May along with a number of other titles. September will mark the first time since the beginning of Rebirth that Titans will be bi-monthly. It can’t be a coincidence that we’re getting more of Batman’s first sidekick in both of those titles as this month will feature guest artist Matt Wagner on Batman #55, which will feature a flashback to the origin of Dick becoming Robin. Appearing in at least five issues over the month is great for fans of Dick Grayson.
A couple of characters are getting new directions this month. First up, in Red Hood and the Outlaws, the series will lose Bizarro and Artemis and give Red Hood a new costume and mission to punish DC’s most evil villains. Over in Batgirl, Barbara shows off her new costume. Again, a coincidence that members of the Bat-Family are changing at the same time?
New this month is Batman: Damned, the start of the DC Black Label imprint, which will be a three-issue miniseries surrounding the death of the Joker and whether or not Batman was the one who finally snapped and killed his arch-nemesis. Meanwhile, a new cooperative with IDW brings Batman/The Maxx out with Sam Keith returning to The Batman Universe along with his original creation of Maxx for a five-issue miniseries.
On the DC Universe side of things, Justice League will again feature a story by James Tynion as Scott Snyder takes another break after two consecutive issues. The big news, however, is the launch of Tom King’s new series, Heroes in Crisis. This seven issue mini-series will feature Harley Quinn in a prominent role and will be sure to be a critically acclaimed title.
In milestones, Harley Quinn hits issue #50 with a special 48-page book where Harley breaks all of reality and must work to fix the mess she made. The other big milestone is Titans #25 which looks to be an all-out battle between three squads of the Titans against a common threat.
Finally, if you are looking for TBU characters in other titles, here is what you can expect in September. The four-part crossover between Aquaman and the Suicide Squad wraps up. The Batman-centric story in Deathstroke continues. Talia al Ghul continues to be a mainstay in The Silencer. The Unexpected heads to Gotham City and crosses paths with Huntress. And while not mentioned in the solicitation for the book, Action Comics #1003 shows off Batman protecting Superman from kryptonite. We could be seeing Brain Michael Bendis writing Batman sooner than later if that cover is any sort of hint.
Check out the gallery of some of the covers coming in September and the full details on the releases below. Let us know which book you’re most excited to read this month!
BATMAN BOOKS
BATMAN #54-55 [9/5, 9/19] Written by TOM KING, #54 art and cover by MATT WAGNER, #55 art and cover by TONY S. DANIEL; #54: Dick Grayson—the original Robin—gets to spend some quality time fighting crime with his mentor for the first time since Batman popped the question to Catwoman. It’s a walk down memory lane as Bruce Wayne helps Dick get over the loss of his high-flying acrobat parents, which in turn led to his crime-fighting career. Guest artist Matt Wagner (Mage, TRINITY) jumps on board for this special issue! #55:The KGBeast lives! The Russian super-assassin is back—but under whose orders? Does he have a specific mission, or is this simply some leftover Cold War mayhem? Nyet, comrade—it has to do with Bruce Wayne’s recent court case involving Mr. Freeze. Something is rotten in Gotham, and you can still smell it, even if it’s on ice! $3.99, 32 PAGES
DETECTIVE COMICS #988-989 [9/12, 9/26] Written by JAMES ROBINSON, art and cover by STEPHEN SEGOVIA; #988: Kicking off an arc guest-written by James Robinson (writer of the Batman classics “Blades” and “Face the Face”) with art by rising star Stephen Segovia! It looks like the kind of murder case too ordinary to draw the attention of Batman…but once the World’s Greatest Detective gets involved, the identity of the victim completely unravels—and leads to a conspiracy among some of the Dark Knight’s strangest foes! #989: Fighting off Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum and two versions of the pyro-maniac Firefly shouldn’t be too difficult for Batman…but the real threat comes from the fact that they’re pairs! For some reason, Two-Face doesn’t want Batman to discover the truth behind the murder he’s investigating…but what’s his angle? $3.99, 32 PAGES
ARCHIE MEETS BATMAN ‘66 #3 [9/26] Written by JEFF PARKER and MICHAEL MORECI, Art by DAN PARENT, J. BONE, KELLY FITZPATRICK and JACK MORELLI; The historic crossover mini-series rolls on! Gotham’s villains have infiltrated Pop’s Chocklit Shoppe to enact their plans of mind control! But when one of Pop’s best customers sees the action taking place, will he be able to let the others know, or will the joke be on him? $3.99, 32 PAGES, 3 of 6
BATMAN: KINGS OF FEAR #2 [9/26] Written by SCOTT PETERSON, art and cover by KELLEY JONES; Scarecrow is loose in the streets of Gotham City, and Batman must drag him back to Arkham Asylum! To make matters worse, he’s doused Batman with the strongest batch of fear gas in his arsenal, turning the city the Dark Knight Detective protects into his worst nightmare and enemy! $3.99, 32 PAGES, 2 of 6
BATMAN: DAMNED #1 [9/19] Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO, art and cover by LEE BERMEJO; DC BLACK LABEL, the highly anticipated new imprint from DC Comics, starts here! The Joker is dead. There is no doubt about that. But whether Batman finally snapped his scrawny neck or some other sinister force in Gotham City did the deed is still a mystery. Problem is, Batman can’t remember…and the more he digs into this labyrinthian case, the more his mind starts to doubt everything he’s uncovering. So who better to set him straight than…John Constantine? Problem with that is as much as John loves a good mystery, he loves messing with people’s heads even more. So with John’s “help,” the pair will delve into the sordid underbelly of Gotham as they race toward the mind-blowing truth of who murdered The Joker. BATMAN: DAMNED is a bimonthly super-natural horror story told by two of comics’ greatest modern creators—a visceral thrill-ride that proudly puts the “black” in BLACK LABEL. $6.99, 48 PAGES, 1 of 3
BATMAN/THE MAXX #1 [9/19] Written by SAM KEITH and JPHN LAYMAN, art and cover by SAM KEITH; Batman must face the strangest and most bizarre adventure of his career, as he meets comics’ strangest and most bizarre hero… THE MAXX! IDW and DC Comics proudly present the most surreal, quirky, and wonderful crossover of all time! A devious new doctor at Arkham Asylum is conducting unconventional experiments into the human psyche, and he kicks off a chain reaction of disaster when he experiments on Arkham’s newest patient, The Maxx! The city of Gotham is starting to merge with The Maxx’s psychedelic mental landscape, known as the Outback, blurring the line between real and unreal. It’s up to Batman to save not just Gotham, but all of reality, and he and The Maxx are going to have to travel through some of the darkest places imaginable—the twisted minds of Batman’s greatest enemies! $4.99, 32 PAGES, 1 of 5
GREATER GOTHAM
BATGIRL #27 [9/26] Written by MAIRGHREAD SCOTT, art by PAUL PELLETIER and NORM RAPMUND; You can’t go home again. But that’s just where Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl, is forced to go when the chip granting her mobility keeps shorting out in the aftermath of her clash with Grotesque. Will Commissioner Gordon drive Babs totally bonkers with his bedside manner? Or will the malfunctioning tech impact more than just her legs? Plus, what’s the deal with killer art critic Grotesque and his murderous new M.O.? It’s all in part two of “Art of the Crime.” $3.99, 32 PAGES
BATMAN BEYOND #24 [9/26] Written by DAN JURGENS, art by WILL CONRAD; Bruce Wayne gets to creeping around with his old cohort Jack Ryder (a.k.a. the Creeper) to thwart the Scarecrow’s attack on Neo-Gotham. But will they be in time to stop Batman and the new Robin from pummeling each other to death? Out of costume, Terry McGinnis must choose between two women who’ve stolen his heart. Who will win the hand of the Bat-chelor? Find out in the conclusion to “Target: Batman”! $3.99, 32 PAGES
CATWOMAN #3 [9/5] Written by JOELLE JONES, art and cover by JOELLE JONES; The secret shot-caller who’s been borrowing Catwoman’s M.O. for a series of crimes steps out of the shadows in this issue, and her “secret origin” is unlike anything Selina’s run into before! Meanwhile, the police close in on Catwoman as well, as they believe she killed a cop during one of the crimes she’s been framed for. With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, Catwoman’s running out of her nine lives fast! $3.99, 32 PAGES
HARLEY QUINN #49-50 [9/5, 9/19] Written by SAM HUMPHRIES, #49 art by ALISSON BORGES, #50 art by JOHN TIMMS and others; #49: Harley’s straight-up clowning around on her latest mission, and she’s faced with a real laugher of a puzzle: How does she kill and collect the bounty on Lord Death Man, an immortal murder machine who seemingly can’t be killed? Nevertheless, she will persist with a host of attempted assassinations, all doomed to fail. Time is running out, and Harley’s running out of material, too! #50: In a special anniversary story, “Harley Saves the Universe!”—no kidding! While reading a mysterious Harley Quinn comic book, H.Q. accidentally breaks all of reality. And you know the saying: if you break it, you bought it! Now it’s up to Harley to travel through both time and space to fix all the continuity errors she created. Luckily, she’ll have a little help, ’cuz riding shotgun is none other than special guest star Jonni DC, Continuity Cop! Good thing, too, because if Harley fails, it means her own mom will be lost forever. Gulp! That doesn’t sound very funny! #49: $3.99, 32 PAGES #50: $4.99, 48 PAGES
NIGHTWING #48-49 [9/5, 9/19] GUEST STARRING THE SILENCER! NOW SHIPPING TWICE MONTHLY! Written by BENJAMIN PERCY, art by Amancay Nahuelpan; #48: Guest-starring the Silencer! Dick Grayson is forced to participate in the world’s greatest motorcycle race, a three-day affair hosted on a remote island and populated by the greatest riders on the planet. Nightwing reluctantly complies, but only to save the life of an old friend. That brings him into competition with the Silencer, who’s also racing to save a friend. Only one rider can win…so who’s gonna leg this one out? That’s if they survive the onslaught of super-criminals in the race as well. #49: What happens when the race is no longer against each other, but against Leviathan itself? As the head of the snake reappears, and as our heroes are allied against a common enemy, the bike race changes gears and the prize comes into focus—a chance for the winner to sit in the Mobius chair and ask one question.$3.99, 32 PAGES
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #26 [9/12] Written by SCOTT LOBDELL, art and cover by PETE WOODS; Jason Todd’s about to take this vigilante game to a whole new level. His partners, Bizarro and Artemis? Gone! His mentor, Batman? Out! His base of operations, Gotham City? Abandoned. Cast out and alone, Red Hood embarks on a bold, brutal new mission, with a new costume, new weapons and a new plan to punish evildoers across the DCU. Plus, Pete Woods (JUSTICE LEAGUE) joins writer Scott Lobdell as this new era begins! $3.99, 32 PAGES
GREATER DC UNIVERSE
ADVENTURES OF THE SUPER SONS #2 [9/5] Written by PETER J. TOMASI, art by CARLO BARBERI and ART THIBERT; Kids today, amiright? What with their vaping, texting, emoji-ing and whatnot—never mind what happens when teen villains the Gang get their hands on Gold Kryptonite! That’s exactly what the young bad guys plan to do to impress the Earth’s biggest villains! Super Sons Robin and Superboy stand face to face with Rex Luthor, Joker Jr. and other psychos pulled right from your nightmares. The Gang has already robbed Superboy of his powers, and now they’re ready to reveal their grand plan! $3.99, 32 PAGES, 2 of 12
DEATHSTROKE #35 [9/5] GUEST STARRING BATMAN! Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST, art by CARLO PAGULAYAN and JASON PAZ; In this corner: Deathstroke, suffering from a traumatic brain injury at the hands of Batman! In the other corner: Batman, with Deathstroke’s knife in his gut! All of this with the feds invading Wayne Manor—and now they’re in the catacombs under the mansion, which lead to the you-know-what-cave! If they’re going to escape, Batman and Slade are going to have to work together. $3.99, 32 PAGES
DOOMSDAY CLOCK #7 [9/26] Written by GEOFF JOHNS, art and cover by GARY FRANK; The critically acclaimed team of writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank continue the groundbreaking miniseries bringing the world of WATCHMEN to DC. In this chapter, the truth behind Dr. Manhattan’s curiosity with the DC Universe is revealed as the planet teeters on the edge of the Super-War. $4.99, 32 PAGES, 7 of 12
HEROES IN CRISIS #1 [9/26] Written by TOM KING, art and cover by CLAY MANN; There’s a new kind of crisis threatening the heroes of the DC Universe, ripped from real-world headlines by C.I.A.-operative-turned-comics-writer Tom King: How does a superhero handle PTSD? Welcome to Sanctuary, an ultra-secret hospital for superheroes who’ve been traumatized by crime-fighting and cosmic combat. But something goes inexplicably wrong when many patients wind up dead, with two well-known operators as the prime suspects: Harley Quinn and Booster Gold! It’s up to the DC Trinity of Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman to investigate—but can they get the job done in the face of overwhelming opposition? $3.99, 32 PAGES, 1 of 7
JUSTICE LEAGUE #7-8 [9/5, 9/19] #7: Written by SCOTT SNYDER, art and cover by JIM CHEUNG and MARK MORALES #8: written by JAMES TYNION IV, art and cover by MIKEL JANIN; #7: It’s wall-to-Source-Wall Justice League action as artist Jim Cheung rejoins writer Scott Snyder! Hawkgirl takes wing against Legion of Doom leader Lex Luthor; John Stewart faces off with old foe Sinestro; the Flash must run down the Still Force-empowered Gorilla Grodd; and Wonder Woman tackles the tag team of Black Manta and Cheetah—underwater, no less! #8: Part two of the “Legion of Doom” storyline focuses on Lex Luthor’s recruiting efforts—and this time around, he’s targeting both Cheetah and Black Manta for membership! Lex knows just what buttons to push to acquire his super-powered muscle, and this issue it’s all about getting revenge on Wonder Woman and Aquaman, respectively. We bet they sign right up as soon as they find out Lex has METAL’s Batman Who Laughs locked up in Doom HQ! $3.99, 32 PAGES
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #3 [9/26] Written by JAMES TYNION IV, art and cover by ALVARO MARTINEZ and RAUL FERNANDEZ; Wonder Woman! Swamp Thing! Zatanna! Man-Bat! Um…Detective Chimp! The JL Dark team may not be strong or deep enough to stop the omnipotent Upside-Down Man from taking over our entire plane of existence. UDM takes the JLD apart one by one, but Wonder Woman might have enough mojo to keep everyone alive. Turns out Diana had a power not even she knew about that bursts to the surface, but will it be enough to turn the Upside-Down Man on his head, or is it just a lot of mystical mumbo jumbo? $3.99, 32 PAGES
JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #3 [9/12] Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON, art and cover by STJEPAN SEJIC; Space may very well be the final frontier for the Odyssey team! It’s bad enough when the very environment of space wants to kill you, but when Vril Dox shows up and attacks with an army of Brainiac robots, what chance does the Odyssey team have? Of course, Vril’s just doing this to save the Coluan refugees aboard the ship, right? He wouldn’t have some ulterior motive, would he? And can the team really trust that Darkseid—who’s also aboard their ship—won’t try to destroy the universe? Cyborg, Starfire, Green Lantern Jessica Cruz and Azrael are on it! $3.99, 32 PAGES
SUICIDE SQUAD #46 [9/12] “SINK ATLANTIS” PART THREE! GUEST STARRING AQUAMAN! Written by ROB WILLIAMS, art by JOSE LUIS; The Aquaman crossover continues in part three of “Sink Atlantis”! The squad slinks deeper into Atlantis on their mission to sink the risen undersea kingdom. But when Harley reveals that they’ve got a nuclear bomb in tow to get the job done, the team might just tear one another apart before they’re able to complete the task at hand. Aquaman confronts the Squad with a gang of his own just as Mera’s coronation begins, and the moment you’ve all been waiting for arrives: Killer Croc versus King Shark! $3.99, 32 PAGES
TEEN TITANS #22 [9/19] Written by ADAM GLASS, art by BERNARD CHANG; The team’s dealing with an unexpected loss, but there’s little time to grieve. They must travel to Keystone City, where Golden Glider and Swerve plan to pull a heist at a children’s hospital. (That’s a new low, even for some Rogues!) There’s also plenty of drama to go around, as Kid Flash mulls quitting after his clash with Red Arrow, and Damian’s harboring a new, secret mentor, all while his secret prison’s about to blow up in his face. $3.99, 32 PAGES
TITANS #25-26 [9/12, 9/26] NOW SHIPPING TWICE MONTHLY! Written by DAN ABNETT, #25 art by BRANDON PETERSON and others, #26 art by BRENT PEEPLES and MATT SANTORELLI; #25: The Titans split into three separate squads to combat the growing Source Wall Event threat in this anniversary issue! As Raven, Steel and Beast Boy contain an alien-robot outbreak, and Donna Troy tracks down the Blood Cult, who claim to have knowledge of why the Source Wall cracked, Nightwing and Miss Martian are fighting each other while also fighting for survival against a new metahuman threat with a penchant for creating pocket dimensions. Can Dick and M’gann put aside their differences, or will her terrible secret derail the whole thing before they resolve anything?#26: Spinning out of events in issue #25, Donna is on the trail of the newly revitalized Blood Cult, whose evil experiments have transformed an entire town into bloodthirsty zombies! Plus, Miss Martian must wrestle with her own inner demons before she completely loses control! #25: $4.99, 48 PAGES #26: $3.99, 32 PAGES
SECONDARY DC BOOKS
INJUSTICE 2 #33-34 [9/5, 9/19] Written by TOM TAYLOR, #33 art by XERMANICO, #34 art by BRUNO REDONDO and DANIEL SAMPERE; #33: The battle against Starro comes to a tragic conclusion. And while Blue Beetle engages with one intergalactic menace, Superboy and Wonder Girl are taken prisoner by a new one—Brainiac! #34: Batman is convinced by his closest allies to do the unthinkable: meet with Ra’s al Ghul and try to negotiate a settlement through which they can save the world together. Meanwhile, Grodd encounters an alien visitor who may render meaningless any agreement between Batman and Ra’s. $2.99, 32 PAGES, DIGITAL FIRST
INJUSTICE VS. THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #3 [9/19] Written by TIM SEELEY, art and cover by FREDDIE E. WILLIAMS II; Batman recruited He-Man to join the battle against Superman’s dictatorship, so why is Prince Adam battling him in the Oracle’s lair? Has Skeletor’s influence helped Superman breach new territory? Things seem dire on Earth, but Eternia is also facing a major threat—from Darkseid! $3.99, 32 PAGES, 3 of 6
TEEN TITANS GO! #30 [9/19] Written by J. TORRES and AMANDA DEIBERT, art by SANDY JARRELL and ERICH OWEN; The Teen Titans are going on a “Picnic”! Well, everyone but Raven, who doesn’t quite understand the invitation/riddle and is about to explode from frustration. Then, Beast Boy stomps off from Fiesta Friday dinner when he discovers his teammates chowed down on every single vegan burrito. Can he make it on his own? It’s “Food for Thought,” if nothing else! $2.99, 32 PAGES, DIGITAL FIRST
