Coming from an alien world where it is currently spring and there is no Thanksgiving, this living being here speaking decided to join in some of the American customs of said holiday and declare that she is thankful for Alex Ross and his art, which inspired one of the best posters for a Superhero franchise in recent years.
I’m also thankful for Doomsday Clock not disappointing and even exceeding my expectations, and for the Milk Wars for bringing us Father Bruce and the wholesome Trinity as drawn by FRANK QUITELY. Gerard Way is one of the best with quirky stuff, so you can bet my hopes are soaring high.
BATMAN
Tom King, Mikel Janin, Clay Mann, Joëlle Jones, Lee Weeks, Michael Lark
Batman: Annual #2 will be out this week, but it would seem that it has already gone to second printing even before it hit shelves. We in The Batman Universe got to take an early look at it, and my advice would be not to waste a single second questioning if it is worth it, just go and buy this issue. I went through four readings and it still moves me in a way I rarely am with comic books.
Also, regarding future issues, the solicits for Batman have changed a little bit. Issue #38 will be a one-and-done happening in the middle of the “Superfriends” arc so that Joëlle Jones could draw the Wonder Woman issues. The issue will also introduce King’s first original Bat-villain. He has already introduced a couple of new characters, Gotham and Gotham Girl, siblings who paid to get their powers. The dealer has not yet been revealed, but King says that its identity is “part of the long plan. And it’s crazy.”
BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT
Sean Gordon Murphy, Matt Hollingsworth, Todd Klein
BatCat is not the only power couple running around Gotham these days, as SEAN MURPHY gives us a glimpse of a sweet moment shared by the Clown royalty of Gotham.
BATMAN: THE DARK PRINCE CHARMING
Enrico Marini
Marini’s version of Harley, Joker, and Catwoman will be featured in one of the official posters for Fantasy Basel, as well as the Bat himself. It is, as usual, stunning art.
LAST KNIGHT
Scott Snyder, Sean Murphy
For those unaware, the duo working on this title has already worked on a short Batman story before. New 52 renumbering meant that Detective Comics got an issue #27 for the second time, and DC made it a special with multiple short stories by different creative teams. Snyder and Murphy got together for one of those, and, according to SNYDER, they will be related to some extent.
DARK NIGHTS: METAL
Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Francisco Plascencia
The cover for the last issue of Dark Nights: Metal has been revealed. Reminds me a bit of Capullo’s Batman #40 cover, with Bruce and Joker playing St. George and the Dragon. But in a Metal way.
NIGHTWING
Tim Seeley, Javier Fernandez, Paul Pelletier, Sam Humphries, Bernard Chang, Klaus Janson, Phil Jimenez, Kyle Higgins, Trevor McCarthy
The good spirits of Thanksgiving visited SAM HUMPHRIES this holiday and not only did he share teeny-tiny peaks of BERNARD CHANG’s art for issue #35, but he also went on a Q&A spree.
We now know that Dick will now be an entrepreneur for his day job, owning a small business. Humphries also says that his stories will be “pretty grounded, with some wild elements you won’t see coming.” About Dick’s relationship with Batman, he will be touching on the “most important lesson” learned by Dick, a lesson that “cuts both ways in Dick — it helps and hurts him.” We will also get to see Dick’s Robin suit for Rebirth continuity coming to life at the hands of Klaus Janson. And, if you’re wondering, Humphries favorite Dick Grayson story is “The Boy who Hated Robin”, 1948, because “Dick literally has a nightmare because ONE kid doesn’t like him. I laugh every time I think about it.” From now on I’m splitting the Robins into two categories, those who would have nightmares about people hating them and those who would just give those people a special kind of salute.
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS
Scott Lobdell, Dexter Soy, Marcio Takara
DEXTER SOY sure knows the fanbase of the title he is working on, I’ll tell you that.
SUPER SONS OF TOMORROW
Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, Jorge Jimenez, Francis Manapul
The crossover involving Superman, Super Sons and the Teen Titans is approaching, and two of FRANCIS MANAPUL’s covers came to light. On the first we see Robin and Superboy fighting a gun-wielding Batman, and the second one – and just look at this beauty – has the Tomorrow Titans and the Teen Titans opposing each other. From the members of this group, I’d say that this Batman is the same Tim that appeared in Detective Comics, considering those are very likely Cassie Sandsmark, Conner Kent, and Bart Allen.
GOTHAMITE
After failing miserably in writing this in Rorscharch style, I will just take the easy way and declare this a special Watchmen edition. With the Doomsday Clock coming out last week, I figured why not have KEVIN BOLK, a cartoonist who made the best Watchmen spin-off ever to come to life, The Watchbabies – sorry about that, Garry Frank and Geoff Johns.
The designs alone were enough to get me interested – I mean, will you look at Butterfly Rorsharch? -, but then I went on and it just gets better.
Also, ALIEN INVASION 2.0
Kevin does visit Gotham quite often though. He has an enormous catalog of redesigns of pretty much every single character you can think of. I might be a Nightwing person, but his classic Catwoman is the one I’m dedicating my love to. The complete Watchbabies series can be found in Kevin’s DeviantART, and his work can also be followed on Facebook. He is currently producing weekly comics for Interrobang Studios, where you can also find all of his work, including the Watchbabies.
