Well it seems Paul Dini is back to his usual self this week as 'Batman: Arkham City' #2 is delayed from the 25th of May to the 8th of June, but still, at least it's still going to be written by him!
In other news, we do see the return of David Finch's 'Batman: The Dark Knight'! Following yet another week-long delay to issue 3 from the 15th of June to the 22nd, issue 5 will be hitting the stores for the 24th of August. Now there are two things wrong with this, both of them a little odd; first of all, the artist on #5 is going to be Jay Fabok. I agree with Dustin on this (following on from his discussion on the latest comic podcast) if DC has hired an exclusive creator and hired him as an artist- why would they then say it's ok for him to write a story and let someone else take over the art duties? Secondly, and this one is even weirder, there is no issue 4! Go and check the solicitations now if you don't believe me but 'Batman: The Dark Knight' will apparently go #1, #2, #3 then #5. I can't see that actually happening but I'm expecting a lot more delays to this title until the continuity is fixed. Hopefully, with the new artist, we won't have anymore problems with this title but I honestly believe that most people have forgotten about this book by now.
Ok, that's it for delays but there are a few more things I'd like to mention. First of all, 'Batman and Robin' is getting yet another new creative team, from #26, David Hine and Greg Tocchini will be taking over the title for what will no doubt be a three issue arc before we get another creative team. How do I feel about this? Well I'm not the greatest fan of David Hine but the solicits sound interesting; a very surreal story which will feature the return of Nightrunner so I am very much looking forward to seeing the 'Batman Incorporated' storyline actually having an effect on other titles. And in any case, anything that stops Tomassi and Gleason from returning is fine by me!
We also have Fabian Nicieza returning to 'Batman' for issue #713 to tell a story we've heard countless times before and, considering how much time has passed since Bruce's return, seems pretty redundant!
The final thing I'd like to talk about is 'Batman Incorporated' #6. I assume I'm safe in saying that you've all read it but if you haven't, this shouldn't contain spoilers. Now, when reading this issue did it feel at all out of place to you? Did it feel like an opening issue with lots of new ideas, characters and exposition but with an underlying feeling that everything would be explained? Well that's how it felt to me, pretty odd I must say. Are my suspicions justified? Or is it just because I saw the solicitations for the issue before read the comic…
…now is it just me, or does that sound absolutely nothing like what we got in the issue? I no longer have ANY idea what's going on with this book. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the issue and thought it brought up a lot of interesting ideas but now I don't know what to believe! Was this issue always planned or was there demand for it from a DC official? Will Man-of-Bats be in the next issue or will we never see him? Are the issues being released in the correct order? That might explain the erratic artist changes but I don't know what to think. I almost feel I should stop mentioning 'Batman Incorporated' in Bat-book Delays, but I will because at least the issues come out when they are suppose to (after being re-solicited 20 or so times) so I'll continue to let you know what issues come out and when.
So, rant over, let me tell you what books you can expect out tomorrow. The first issue of Tony Daniel's latest arc in 'Batman' #710 with guest artist Ryan Winn, Judd Winick and Guillem March start their run on 'Batman and Robin' in #23 and Scott Snyder, Kyle Higgins and Trevor McCarthy kick off #1 of 'Batman: Gates of Gotham'. As well Cullen Bunn and ChrisCross' 'Sorcerer Kings' arc making it's conclusion in Superman/Batman #84 with guest artist Marc Deering.
Posted by Joe Jinks
