Welcome back to Upcoming Comics! It's yet another week where the bat books dwarf anything else DC is putting out. I guess I shouldn't complain about job security, plus who could deny the people such demanded comics like... the tie-in to a failed video game? Uh, sure, let's go with that. Wait, don't go! I promise there are good comics coming out as well. Let's see what's all coming out:
Upcoming Comics
The Boy Wonder #1
The young prince Damian Wayne was raised to be the heir to the fearsome League of Assassins—to follow in the footsteps of his deadly mother, Talia, and the Demon’s Head himself, his grandfather Ra’s al Ghul. But everything changed when his father, the Batman, reclaimed him and brought him back to Gotham City. As Robin, young Damian suddenly discovered he was merely one of a number of princes, preceded in the role by his “brothers” Nightwing, Red Hood, and Red Robin…and Damian doesn’t care to be merely anything. But when his father is forced to leave the city on urgent business, and a rash of abductions is accompanied by whispers of a demon stalking Gotham’s dark alleys, Damian will find himself battling alongside his adoptive brothers—and in the process, learning what the mantle of Robin really means!Visionary writer/artist Juni Ba makes his mark on the timeless story of Batman and Robin, synthesizing the characters’ complex history into an accessible and heartrending fairy tale!
- Written By: Juni Ba
- Penciled By: Juni Ba
- Inks By: Juni Ba
- Colors By: Chris O'Halloran
- Cover By: Juni Ba
Thoughts: No offense to the other Robins, but I think Damian probably has the most interesting origin to tell out of the lot, so I'm very excited to see this new take on it.
Batman News Critic: Andru
Batman #147
With no allies, no weapons, and almost no hope…can Batman fight back before Zur makes a true devil’s bargain? The world is about to know Zur’s true power! Him and…his new sidekick? “Dark Prisons” continues!
- Written By: Chip Zdarsky
- Penciled By: Jorge Jiménez, Miguel Mendonca
- Inks By: Jorge Jiménez, Miguel Mendonca
- Colors By: Tomeu Morey, Eren Angiolini
- Cover By: Jorge Jiménez, Tomeu Morey
Thoughts: You know what this story needed? Amanda Waller. If there's one character that we haven't had enough of recently, it's her.
Batman News Critic: Jackson
Poison Ivy #22
PART 1 of 3 of THE EXPLOSIVE CLIMAX OF YEAR TWO OF POISON IVY! The end times are upon Pamela Isley. The rotten seeds she has sown across America have come home to roost, and her greatest enemy has torn himself from her flesh. With the verdant villainess on death’s door, is there any hope…for the rest of the world, or has the reign of Dr. Jason Woodrue, the Floronic Man, begun?
- Written By: G. Willow Wilson
- Penciled By: Haining
- Inks By: Haining
- Colors By: Arif Prianto
- Cover By: Jessica Fong
Thoughts: This "year two" of the series has kept the Floronic Man as its ongoing antagonist, so it will be interesting to see how that all concludes.
Batman News Critic: Andru
Birds of Prey #9
If the Birds of Prey have one mission, it’s “protect Barbara Gordon at all costs,” and that mission is…not going great. Dinah and her team search for Barbara in this strange new world that seems specifically designed to trip them up. Many mysteries lurk in the dark of this world, and some of them don't even want to kill you…probably.
- Written By: Kelly Thompson
- Penciled By: Jonathan Case, Gavin Guidry
- Inks By: Jonathan Case, Gavin Guidry
- Colors By: Jordie Bellaire
- Cover By: Leonardo Bastos Romero, Jordie Bellaire
Thoughts: We're less than a year in and the team keeps getting bigger. The only one who seems to be out for good is Harley.
Batman News Critic: Jeremy
Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum #4
It takes more than a boomerang to survive a riot at Arkham Asylum, and all its super-powered rioters. This in particular sucks if a boomerang is your weapon of choice, and your name is Captain Boomerang. So, to survive you join up with some allies. But be careful who you join with, because nobody is to be trusted, and your allies just might be worse than your enemies. Presenting the most brain-bending, backstabbing, boomeranging-est episode yet of Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League!
- Written By: John Layman
- Penciled By: Jesús Hervás
- Inks By: Jesús Hervás
- Colors By: David Baron
- Cover By: Dan Panosian
Thoughts: Is anyone even talking about the game this is a tie-in to anymore?
Batman News Critic: Aaron
The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #5
Dr. Kirk Langstrom believes the cure for his monstrous alter ego lies in studying the infamous Dr. Jekyll. When Batman accompanies him to Jekyll’s abandoned lab, they’re attacked by the ghost of Mr. Hyde himself! The Mystery Inc. gang has a history with this so-called spook, so Batman calls for their help. But, like, no one told them they might be facing Man-Bat, too!
- Written By: Matthew Cody
- Penciled By: Puste
- Inks By: Puste
- Colors By: Carrie Strachan
- Cover By: Puste, Carrie Strachan
Thoughts: So Man-Bat is going to meet the character that inspired his creation? I'd say that's like Batman meeting the Shadow, but I guess that's already happened too.
Batman News Critic: Chip
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.
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:
Ratings
Most Excited: The Boy Wonder #1- Juni Ba's art looks gorgeous and I want to see what her version of Damian will be like
Least Excited: Batman #147- This is taking an already exhausting storyline and turning it into a tie-in to an event
Wild Card: Poison Ivy #22- This title can often go one way or the other for me, and a lot has been building to this big climax
Well that’s it for this week! Let us know in the comments what comics you’re looking forward to.
