Upcoming Comics February 13, 2024

Welcome back to Upcoming Comics! Valentine's Day is here and that means love is in the air. DC may not be celebrating with any sort of specials or collections, but they've given us an even more wonderful gift: weekly releases of this new Joker story. Just the other day my wife asked me if we're doing anything special this year, and I told her my love has already been all but consumed by the Clown Prince of Crime. There's no need for romance when you have the best story ever written to read again and again. She seemed upset but I'm sure she'll come around when she realizes how good and necessary this arc is.

Upcoming Comics

Batman #143

The terrifying tale of “The Joker Year One” continues as a mysterious figure from Batman’s past has come into Joker's orbit, changing the Clown Prince of Crime forever! And what secrets does the re-formed Red Hood Gang have for Batman’s future?

Written By: Chip Zdarsky
Penciled By: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Andrea Sorrentino
Inks By: Stefano Nesi, Andrea Sorrentino
Colors By: Dave Stewart, Alejandro Sanchez
Cover By: Jorge Jiménez, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Nesi, Tomeu Morey

Thoughts: The first issue of this story ranged from unnecessary to redundant, and I almost fear to see where it goes next.

Batman News Critic: Jackson

Red Hood: The Hill #1

Welcome to the Hill-formerly one of Gotham’s most dangerous suburbs-a place that required its residents to band together to keep themselves safe when the police, and sometimes even Batman, wouldn’t. Now, as the Hill finds itself gentrifying, old habits die hard as the vigilante known only as Strike works with her team to keep the town safe-but she’s not alone. Jason Todd, one of the Hill’s newest residents, is more than happy to don the visage of Red Hood to help Strike keep his new home safe. But a new villain is emerging from the shadows. Will Red Hood, Strike and the Hill’s small militia of vigilantes be able to keep their home safe? Check out Red Hood’s return to find out!

Written By: Shawn Martinbrough
Penciled By: Sanford Greene
Inks By: Sanford Greene
Colors By: Matt Herms
Cover By: Sanford Greene

Thoughts: Giving bat kids their own neighborhood (or sometimes even city) seems to be the go-to move when they need to leave the nest, so we'll see if The Hill can be Jason's.

Batman News Critic: Jackson

Batman and Robin #6

The dynamic duo has proven they can work as Batman and Robin countless times, but now they must work together as Bruce and Damian to stop a deadly killer…on a soccer field?! The mystery of who is Shush and what they are doing in Gotham continues to grow, but Damian is confronted with a blast from his past that wants him to leave his father and Gotham!

Written By: Joshua Williamson
Penciled By: Nikola Cizmesija
Inks By: Nikola Cizmesija
Colors By: Rex Lokus
Cover By: Simone Di Meo

Thoughts: If this ends up just being an extended anime sports battle, then it will probably be my favorite issue so far

Batman News Critic: William

Batman: City of Madness #3

The terrible origin of the Gotham Below-and of those responsible for protecting its maddening secrets-is revealed! Batman and Talon have fought their way through the underground city’s nightmarish villains to rescue Jevony, but has the Batman Below already twisted his mind past the point of saving?

Written By: Christian Ward
Penciled By: Christian Ward
Inks By: Christian Ward
Colors By: Christian Ward
Cover By: Christian Ward, Patric Reynolds

Thoughts: City of Madness has ended up being a hidden gem of a story that's suspenseful and beautifully drawn. Canon Bat books might be a bit of mess right now, but there have been quite a number of great Black Label series.

Batman News Critic: Aaron

Outsiders #4

“[TITLE REDACTED]” Luke Fox assembled the Outsiders to brave the unknown. To discover the forgotten, to bring the hidden to light, and to use the truth underneath them all to find a better way forward. Little does he know the Drummer has a plan of her own-and she’s one step closer to bringing it to fruition! Something happened at the turn of the millennium that shook the universe, and in this pivotal chapter, the Outsiders head into the strange shadows of London's underground to discover just what-or who-is at the center of this new crisis!

Written By: Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly
Penciled By: Robert Carey
Inks By: Robert Carey
Colors By: Valentina Taddeo
Cover By: Adriano Lucas, Roger Cruz

Thoughts: This title seems to constantly be in the midst of an identity crisis. It never quite seems to know how much of a bat book it wants to be. This is probably in large part due to just being Ellis' Planetary with Batman character shoved in.

Batman News Critic: Aaron

Beyond the Bat

Welcome to Beyond the Bat, where we take a quick look at the rest of DC’s comics coming out this week.

Gallery

Graphic Novel Watch

Sometimes you need more than floppies. Sometimes you want something that can sit nicely on your shelf that proudly displays your favorite stories. That’s when you turn to graphic novels. Let’s see what bat collections are coming out this week:

Gallery

Ratings

Most Excited: Batman: City of Madness #3- Christian Ward has consistently put out a series that is haunting and a joy to read.

Least Excited: Batman #143- The only reason I'm not more eager for this arc to end is that I have no confidence things will get better.

Wild Card: Red Hood: The Hill #1- Jason doesn't have the best track record, but every new series is the chance to turn a page

Well that’s it for this week! Let us know in the comments what comics you’re looking forward to.

7 comments

Sara

February 10, 2024

"Jason doesn’t have the best track record"

As opposed to the spotless track record of the rest of the Bat-Family since 2011?

Which Batman characters aren't worse than they were five years ago, when Abernathy took over? The whole line's track record has been miserable except for a few runs and limited series. The villains have it better than the heroes. Not complaining. Villains and anti-heroes are more interesting. Red Hood and Two-Face co-running a zombie horde is practically my ideal superhero comic book set-up.

I finished reading Nathalie Sarraute's Enface (Childhood) last night. I'm an unsentimental person, generally, but I have a weakness for the elegiac, poetic, or reflective literatures of childhood. Sarraute was born into an affluent Russo-French milieu in 1900. Lovely book. (I cannot believe Beckett preferred Duras...) Enfance made me want more stories set in Bruce's childhood. NOT a young adult book or middle grade book, or a Robin-esque adventure book. Just a book about Bruce. Better if they can produce a book about Harvey Dent to contrast his sordid life with Bruce's, but *WITHOUT* casting blame on Bruce for his advantages.

I don't give a damn about the plots anymore. I'm still here because I see all this beauty and potential in the characters.

Sara
February 10, 2024
*Enfance.
I can spell, I swear.
Professor Pyg's Trotters
February 11, 2024
You've hit the nail on the head right there. It's the characters that keep us coming back, as we remember them as they used to be and know what potential there is for both their story lines and interactions.
Regardless of what words/actions the current crop of writers and editors are determined to put them through, we readers know the truth. We remember these characters as they TRULY ARE.
That said, all the goodwill in the world couldn't stop me dropping the Batman title after 'Gotham War'. I'm waiting out Zdarsky's time on the book now. Still enjoying Detective Comics though.
Hopefully, with the end of Abernathy's era (about ****ing time!) there might be better things on the horizon.
I don't say this with any great enthusiasm, but as a Superman fan (incidentally, a character whose had a much better time of it than the Dark Knight of late) as well as a Batman fan, have to have hope...
1. Sara
  February 11, 2024
  A few months ago someone said the characters were getting "unrecognizably bad," and that spoke to me.
  Almost all the comics I read now are manga, and when I read them I am stung with envy, as a Batman fan, for these comics that put characters and stories before continuity. But they also take continuity (in the sense of overall narrative cohesion) more seriously than DC.
  If I've been drifting into wanting comics that look nothing like normal Batman comics, it's because manga revived my dying interest in comics. These manga bear a resemblance to Batman *characters*, not so much to Batman *comics*. When I'm reading Homunculus or Blood on the Tracks, I'm thinking of all the Two-Face stories we aren't getting while we're getting this monster turd of a Joker arc from Zdarsky.
  At least there's City of Madness.
  I really want to believe that DC will get smart, but they just keep getting stupider.

Robin MB

February 10, 2024

Batman & Robin #6
Green Lantern #8
Transformers #5
Vengeance of the Moon Knight #2

All mostly sold books this week

Professor Pyg's Trotters

February 11, 2024

Seeing where they've gone with the story makes me glad I dropped the Batman title after 'Gotham War'. It genuinely is an actual obsession with Joker isn't it? It's like they feel he's what sustains the comic, rather than the title character.

I'm well out of it. For anyone who's still hanging on in there, hope they at least do something meaningful or original with the story. Doesn't sound like they will, but got my fingers crossed for you.

As for the rest...

Agree with Jackson in that City of Madness will most likely be the highlight of the week. A genuinely interesting story with some lovely artwork. That rarest of things these days: one I'm actually looking forward to reading!

Still not sure what to make of Williamson's Batman & Robin yet. It's kept me interested enough for now, so I'm continuing to give it a chance. I do like Bruce and Damian working together, so am hoping the story really goes into overdrive in the next couple of issues.

Took a chance on the Outsiders title a while back. Thought No. 1 was pretty decent, but not caught up on the rest yet. Guess I'll include the latest for now while I'm still playing catch up.

Not sure whether to take a chance on the latest RH title 'The Hill'. Don't know much about the writer and I didn't pick up the #0 last week, so would be an impulse buy at this point. Would be great to see Jason back to his best, but I have a horrible feeling this might be laced with the same sort of propaganda DC were serving up during 'Gotham War' - a storyline I absolutely despised.

Beyond the Bat: Action Comics and Green Lantern for me this week.

Sara

February 12, 2024

Not that I care about Amalgam or other DC/Marvel crossovers (I own a copy of one Batman/Daredevil crossover, but I hate the art too much to want to read it), but it's sad that this site no longer posts news about things like those being reprinted. There was half-joking, all-desperate talk about new DC/Marvel crossovers during Covid, when writers and artists were trying hard to keep up theirs and fans' spirits after the Pencils Down order. If they did create new crossovers, DC would benefit since Marvel has more cultural capital than they do now.

Sara
February 10, 2024
"Jason doesn’t have the best track record"
As opposed to the spotless track record of the rest of the Bat-Family since 2011?
Which Batman characters aren't worse than they were five years ago, when Abernathy took over? The whole line's track record has been miserable except for a few runs and limited series. The villains have it better than the heroes. Not complaining. Villains and anti-heroes are more interesting. Red Hood and Two-Face co-running a zombie horde is practically my ideal superhero comic book set-up.
I finished reading Nathalie Sarraute's Enface (Childhood) last night. I'm an unsentimental person, generally, but I have a weakness for the elegiac, poetic, or reflective literatures of childhood. Sarraute was born into an affluent Russo-French milieu in 1900. Lovely book. (I cannot believe Beckett preferred Duras...) Enfance made me want more stories set in Bruce's childhood. NOT a young adult book or middle grade book, or a Robin-esque adventure book. Just a book about Bruce. Better if they can produce a book about Harvey Dent to contrast his sordid life with Bruce's, but *WITHOUT* casting blame on Bruce for his advantages.
I don't give a damn about the plots anymore. I'm still here because I see all this beauty and potential in the characters.
1. Sara
  February 10, 2024
  *Enfance.
  I can spell, I swear.
2. Professor Pyg's Trotters
  February 11, 2024
  You've hit the nail on the head right there. It's the characters that keep us coming back, as we remember them as they used to be and know what potential there is for both their story lines and interactions.
  Regardless of what words/actions the current crop of writers and editors are determined to put them through, we readers know the truth. We remember these characters as they TRULY ARE.
  That said, all the goodwill in the world couldn't stop me dropping the Batman title after 'Gotham War'. I'm waiting out Zdarsky's time on the book now. Still enjoying Detective Comics though.
  Hopefully, with the end of Abernathy's era (about ****ing time!) there might be better things on the horizon.
  I don't say this with any great enthusiasm, but as a Superman fan (incidentally, a character whose had a much better time of it than the Dark Knight of late) as well as a Batman fan, have to have hope...
  1. Sara
    February 11, 2024
    A few months ago someone said the characters were getting "unrecognizably bad," and that spoke to me.
    Almost all the comics I read now are manga, and when I read them I am stung with envy, as a Batman fan, for these comics that put characters and stories before continuity. But they also take continuity (in the sense of overall narrative cohesion) more seriously than DC.
    If I've been drifting into wanting comics that look nothing like normal Batman comics, it's because manga revived my dying interest in comics. These manga bear a resemblance to Batman *characters*, not so much to Batman *comics*. When I'm reading Homunculus or Blood on the Tracks, I'm thinking of all the Two-Face stories we aren't getting while we're getting this monster turd of a Joker arc from Zdarsky.
    At least there's City of Madness.
    I really want to believe that DC will get smart, but they just keep getting stupider.
Robin MB
February 10, 2024
Batman & Robin #6
Green Lantern #8
Transformers #5
Vengeance of the Moon Knight #2
All mostly sold books this week
Professor Pyg's Trotters
February 11, 2024
Seeing where they've gone with the story makes me glad I dropped the Batman title after 'Gotham War'. It genuinely is an actual obsession with Joker isn't it? It's like they feel he's what sustains the comic, rather than the title character.
I'm well out of it. For anyone who's still hanging on in there, hope they at least do something meaningful or original with the story. Doesn't sound like they will, but got my fingers crossed for you.
As for the rest...
Agree with Jackson in that City of Madness will most likely be the highlight of the week. A genuinely interesting story with some lovely artwork. That rarest of things these days: one I'm actually looking forward to reading!
Still not sure what to make of Williamson's Batman & Robin yet. It's kept me interested enough for now, so I'm continuing to give it a chance. I do like Bruce and Damian working together, so am hoping the story really goes into overdrive in the next couple of issues.
Took a chance on the Outsiders title a while back. Thought No. 1 was pretty decent, but not caught up on the rest yet. Guess I'll include the latest for now while I'm still playing catch up.
Not sure whether to take a chance on the latest RH title 'The Hill'. Don't know much about the writer and I didn't pick up the #0 last week, so would be an impulse buy at this point. Would be great to see Jason back to his best, but I have a horrible feeling this might be laced with the same sort of propaganda DC were serving up during 'Gotham War' - a storyline I absolutely despised.
Beyond the Bat: Action Comics and Green Lantern for me this week.
Sara
February 12, 2024
Not that I care about Amalgam or other DC/Marvel crossovers (I own a copy of one Batman/Daredevil crossover, but I hate the art too much to want to read it), but it's sad that this site no longer posts news about things like those being reprinted. There was half-joking, all-desperate talk about new DC/Marvel crossovers during Covid, when writers and artists were trying hard to keep up theirs and fans' spirits after the Pencils Down order. If they did create new crossovers, DC would benefit since Marvel has more cultural capital than they do now.

Batman News Archive

Upcoming Comics February 13, 2024

Upcoming Comics

Beyond the Bat

Graphic Novel Watch

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7 comments

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