Well I'd like to make a formal apology to the listeners of the comic podcast for my mistake, not that I was in the wrong but DC once again has its solicitations mixed up. You may remember that I told everyone 'Batman' #708 would be written by Tony Daniel and not David Hine like it said would happen at the end of 'Azrael' #18, this is because according to DC's solicitations, Tony Daniel did write the issue but as every one knows who went out on Wednesday to get a decent comic, they were confronted by the dragged out tale of a dying title written by Hine. You can see the solicitation for the issue below, it's probably still up on the website if you want to check it.
The solicitations did say that #709 would be the three part cross-over with 'Red Robin' #22 and 'Gotham City Sirens #22, this would have made sense, having all three issues out in the same month and apparently it's still the case but it's frustrating that we were promised an issue that will now be delayed. When I say "it's still the case" I'm talking about what I read in the letter columns of 'Batman' #708- one of the answers to a question included this statement, "Speaking of next, follow this issue's story into the pages of RED ROBIN #22 and then GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #22 before the conclusion right back here in BATMAN #709!". I don't understand why DC hasn't clarified this, unless it was a VERY last minute change, but then again, it was printed in 'Azrael' so everyone must have known about it for at least a month in advance. Once more we are shown the ineptitude of DC's editors.
On a side note, it appears that Tony Daniel will be sharing art duties on 'Batman' from (what we thought was) #708 which Andy Clarke was doing the art for in what's now solicited as #710, Tony Daniel and Ryan Winn will both be working on the art and for what's solicited as #711 will be shared art between Ryan Winn and Steve Scott. It seems that pulling double duties has finally caught up with Daniel, you would have thought that a two month break would give him some time but I believe it's better that he's focusing on making sure one element is good, rather than letting both suffer. It is unclear what will happen beyond these issues but I wouldn't be surprised if Daniel sticks to writing for some time and leaves the art for others.
In a similar vain, at C2E2 earlier this week, Cbat88 from The Batman Universe Forums spoke to Dan Didio and found out that DC is looking to hire a second artist for David Finch's 'Batman: The Dark Knight' to reduce delays… I think I speak for all of us here when I say I'd much rather see Finch penciling than writing so it's a shame that they aren't looking for a writer instead!
Another C2E2 bonus, Dustin managed to find out some minor clarification on the 'Batwoman' delay, whilst we still don't know when the series will begin, Didio blamed the delay on himself claiming that he was holding back the series until a more appropriate release date. It was also announced by Brian Azzarello that we can expect 'Batman: Europa' out "sometime in the next ten years".
In terms of new delays, there is a small one for 'Batman Incorporated'. Issue 5 is being held back a week from the 13th April to the 20th April. However, issue 4 is still solicited as being illustrated by Yanick Paquette but as we know from the preview art and Dustin's interviews at C2E2, Chris Burnham is taking over the art for issue 4, 6 and 7. On the subject of issue 4, I have no idea how it will fit into continuity… issue 3 ended with Batman and Gaucho being told they need to fight to the death to save some children, issue 4 is being solicited as this: "Superstar writer Grant Morrison and artist Yanick Paquette have sent The Dark Knight on a trip to Japan and Argentina, but now Batman's taking a brief breather back in his home base of Gotham City for a team-up with Batwoman! And don't miss the first issue of BATWOMAN's new monthly series, on sale this month!". Obviously we ignore the last line which is wrong but from what we can gather from his we can assume that Batman and Gaucho must deal with their problem very quickly before Batman returns to Gotham to meet up with Batwoman. That's fine until we see the solicitation for issue 5: "Batman's Argentinean adventure concludes as The Dark Knight and Gaucho fight to the death to save the lives of countless innocents. Meanwhile, England's other Batman, The Hood, stumbles across a monstrous conspiracy – can Batman and his international allies stop a plot that threatens to transform the whole world?" HOW DO THESE ISSUES FIT TOGETHER!?
If these solicitations are correct, and note that I say "if", issue 4 must be some kind of alternate reality, either that or Batman will turn to Gaucho and say "Ok, let's have this fight but can we make it next month?" and the tank of sewage which the children are drowning in from issue 3 will take just as long to fill up. I'm pretty sure that mistakes have been made on behalf of DC but I am very interested to see what happens in 'Batman Incorporated', not because of the stories but because I want to see how these issues relate to each other.
Anyway, 'Batman Incorporated' #4 is due out tomorrow so we'll see soon enough what reality Grant Morrison is currently working in, also due out is 'Batman: The Dark Knight' #2 (I can't see that being worth the wait), we have 'Superman/Batman' #82 but perhaps the highlight of the month is the series finale of 'Batman: Streets of Gotham' and the end of Hush for hopefully some time!
If you have any thoughts or comments on these announcements or even anything you'd like to see changed or included in the blog posts you can always become a member on the forums and comment on the "Delays, Delays, Delays" thread.
Posted by Joe
