Welcome back to Upcoming Comics! I'm sure many of you are completely sick of hearing about how hot it is outside recently, well strap in because I'm gonna whine about it too. Pushing up against triple digit temperatures every day for a week is not OK. The other day when I needed to do some digging out in the yard, I came back looking like someone had just pushed me in a pool (I wish). At a certain point our need to stop climate change is going to driven not by the sake of the planet's ecosystem or the millions who will be displaced, but the fact that it's ruining my personal comfort. Luckily we can mostly stay inside and read comics.
Upcoming Comics
Absolute Power: Ground Zero #1
THE DOMINOS FALL! As the DC Universe braces for the “Absolute Power” blitzkrieg, the key to capturing metahuman powers on planet Earth will at last be unlocked! Bridging the events of Batman, Superman: House of Brainiac, and Suicide Squad: Dream Team, this special oversize GROUND ZERO issue brings Waller’s total dominance to the doorsteps of the world’s finest heroes…using the combined might of FAILSAFE, BRAINIAC QUEEN, and the SUICIDE SQUAD to do it! Witness years of storytelling culminate, brought to you by Absolute Power series architect MARK WAID and the masterminds behind the trinity of evil, CHIP ZDARSKY, NICOLE MAINES, and JOSHUA WILLIAMSON!
- Written By: Mark Waid, Joshua Williamson, Nicole Maines
- Penciled By: Gleb Melnikov, Skylar Patridge, V. Kenneth Marion
- Inks By: Gleb Melnikov, Skylar Patridge, V. Kenneth Marion
- Colors By: Gleb Melnikov, Patricio Angel
- Cover By: Dan Mora
Thoughts: Well, it's finally here. Let's see if an entire year of build-up (arguably longer) was worth it.
Batman News Critic: William
Detective Comics #1086
An unexpected villain has made an appearance in Gotham, trailing chaos, destruction, and horror in their wake. Now, as chaos tears a bloody gash through the sinister order of the Orghams’ Gotham, Batman is the city’s only hope for salvation. But is the city too far gone for even the Dark Knight to save it?
- Written By: Ram V, Alex Paknadel
- Penciled By: Javier Fernandez, Stefano Raffaele, Lisandro Estherren
- Inks By: Javier Fernandez, Stefano Raffaele, Lisandro Estherren
- Colors By: Lee Loughridge, Patricio Angel
- Cover By: Evan Cagle
Thoughts: We almost made it to the end, but I guess this series was never going to get away with not including Joker in some way.
Batman News Critic: Jackson
Batman: The Brave and the Bold #14
Nightwing and Deadman continue their rail-ridin’ odyssey and find themselves face-to-face with a terrifying new foe. Booster Gold’s adventures across time and space have delivered him to an alternate future inhabited by dinosaurs—but this alternate reality needs protectors, and it has them in the form of the all new, all-different Jurassic League! In the finale of “The Poison Within,” Artemis’s attempts to return home are blocked by the anti-Amazon agents of AXE! Batman and Guy Gardner delve into a realm of high strangeness that is truly out of this world as they confront the grey alien that has crash-landed in Gotham. And last, but far from least, Hayden Sherman dazzles with a brand-new Batman Black & White story that needs to be seen to be believed.
- Written By: Tim Seeley, Mark Russell, Cavan Scott, Joshua Hale Fialkov
- Penciled By: Kelley Jones, Jon Mikel, Travis Mercer, Lisandro Estherren
- Inks By: Kelley Jones, Jon Mikel, Travis Mercer, Lisandro Estherren, Hayden Sherman
- Colors By: Michelle Madsen, Patricio Angel, Mike Spicer, Andrew Dalhouse
- Cover By: Simone Di Meo
Thoughts: Hey, the Jurassic League is back! Certainly a shift in tone away from the slasher movie Joker that started this series.
Batman News Critic: Akash
The Penguin #11
The Penguin’s malicious plan for Gotham has finally been enacted. There will be blood. There will be terror. There will be a power grab the likes of which the city has never seen. Words simply cannot do justice to what’s to come. You need to read it to believe it.
- Written By: Tom King
- Penciled By: Rafael de Latorre
- Inks By: Rafael de Latorre
- Colors By: Marcelo Maiolo
- Cover By: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Thoughts: Whatever malicious plan Penguin has will probably just get lost in the shuffle between the two totally separate villains that have taken over Gotham at the same time in the pages of Batman and Detective Comics.
Batman News Critic: Jack
Harley Quinn #41
There ain’t nothin’ like villainy! The sweet sound’a bank alarms, the wind blow’n through yer hair in a stolen car, not ta mention the discounts ya get buying “bang” flags in bulk—but every now’n’again, the sweet candy of crime has one heck of a sugar crash! I’ve gone and got myself noticed by some cold-hearted types—here’s ta hopin’ I don’t get ICED! But don’t ya dare think that’s all! We also got a tale of a nightmare that RUINED my sleep the day before I took my driver’s license photo, as told by two real cool folks who did NOT like talkin’ ta me at the DMV—Gretchen Felker-Martin and Dani!
- Written By: Tini Howard, Gretchen Felker-Martin
- Penciled By: Sweeney Boo, Dani
- Inks By: Sweeney Boo, Dani
- Colors By: Sweeney Boo, Trish Mulvihill
- Cover By: Sweeney Boo, George Perez
Thoughts: I have to admit I think the Lonely Place of Dying homage cover is kind of funny.
Batman News Critic: Jack
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: Absolute Power: Ground Zero #1- I may be skeptical, but I can't say I'm not extremely curious to see how this (and its aftermath) turn out.
Least Excited: Harley Quinn #41- We've had it confirmed that Howard will be leaving Catwoman in October, let's see if the same can happen to Harley Quinn.
Wild Card: Batman: The Brave and the Bold #14- Dinosaurs, time travel, and aliens. Need I say more?
Well that’s it for this week! Let us know in the comments what comics you’re looking forward to.
