The contents sound like another round of Tom King doing a "greatest hits" story with Bat-villains, and the interior art is by neither Golden nor Finch, so maybe the cover isn't the best for the issue, but it's still a great-looking standalone image.
written by JAMES TYNION IV
art by FREDDIE E. WILLIAMS II and KEVIN EASTMAN
cover by FREDDIE E. WILLIAMS II
variant cover by KEVIN EASTMAN
Kevin Eastman, co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, joins series artist Freddie E. Williams II as guest artist for the second issue of BATMAN/TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES III! Krang’s true power has been revealed, and now it’s up to Batman and the Turtles to stop him, but their only hope may lie with the strange, yet familiar, visitor from another world.
ON SALE 06.05.19
$3.99 US | 2 of 6 | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T
This issue will ship with two covers.
I'm obviously pretty excited to hear that TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman is finally contributing more to the Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossovers--of which this is the fourth one, counting IDW's roman numeral-free one--than just variant covers. By the time this issue ships, DC and IDW will have published something in the neighborhood of 400 pages of Batman/TMNT crossover comics, with zero interior contributions from artists primarily associated with the Turtles...or Batman, for that matter.
Now, I think Freddie Williams is a perfect choice for these, as he draws both sets of characters really well, and his style belongs in the DC Universe without seemingly belonging to it, but, for me at least, the primary pleasure of crossovers like this is seeing the artists primarily associated with one set of characters drawing the other set. Which is why I want to see Kevin Eastman Jim Lawson, and Eric Talbot contributing art to a Batman/TMNT crossover, as well as Kelley Jones and Tim Sale. Maybe Simon Bisley, Michael Zulli, or Dario Brizuela, who are among the few artists to have drawn stories featuring both the TMNT and the Batman at various points in the past.
This is a good start. I sincerely hope the next Batman/TMNT crossover series isn't so interested in the continuity of either franchise--to these crossovers detriment, I think, they have been saddled with linking the current, "Volume 5" version of the TMNT to the current, post-Flashpoint/New 52 Batman in their stories--but some sort of anthology, being more of a crossover between Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (or the 1988-1992 period of the main TMNT title, where it was basically an anthology of guest creators with only the occasional contribution from the original creators) and Legends of the Dark Knight (or, better yet, Batman Black and White) than of TMNT and Batman.
written by PETER J. TOMASI
art and cover by KYLE HOTZ
...
Detective Jim Corrigan has been shot on the streets of Gotham City—and the Spectre must reach out to Batman to help him find the secret assassin!
ON SALE 06.26.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T
I'm really glad to see Kyle Hotz's name there. He is a really great artist, and a very good fit for these particular characters. I'm looking forward to this one...although, seeing Hotz's name there makes me sort of regret that I didn't start reading this run on Detective serially, rather than waiting for the trade.
It will also be interesting to see how Batman and The Spectre interact in this story. I wasn't terribly fond of the New 52 Spectre's portrayal in Batman Eternal--where it seemed like Jim Corrigan was being written as Jason Blood, only to be switched out for Corrigan/The Spectre too late in the process to re-plot and rewrite the whole story--but DC's continuity has been getting increasingly...mushy since at least DC Comics: Rebirth, and I suspect the Golden Age is coming back as soon as Gary Frank gets done drawing Watchmen II, so, maybe this will be a more traditional version of The Spectre.
He looks a bit more like his old self on Hotz's cover, anyway!
If it's as good as these Batman/Spectre crossovers though, I'll be pleased:
DIAL H FOR HERO #4
written by SAM HUMPHRIES
art and cover by JOE QUINONES
With the Dial finally secured, and on the run from those who want to control the powerful device that can give anyone the powers of a random superhero, Miguel and Summer head to the old Justice League Detroit headquarters with the hope of finding some help in contacting Superman.
ON SALE 06.26.19
$3.99 US | 4 of 6 | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T
Justice League...Detroit...? So, there was a Justice League Detroit in current DCU continuity? But... but... they just introduced a new, New 52 Vibe a few years ago. And Elongated Man is... and Steel...bu--
GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Could someone just, like, let us know what continuity is supposed to be these days? Because that would be great. You don't have to do another crisis or anything, DC; just a memo saying, like, "Flashpoint/The New 52 was a mistake; we're just pretending that most of it never really happened." Cool?
THE FLASH #72
written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
art and cover by HOWARD PORTER
...
“The Flash Year One” continues! Things are not looking pretty for the Flash, who just got his scarlet butt handed to him by the Turtle. If Barry Allen thought being a hero was going to be easy, he’d better think again after this beating-—but will it be enough to detour his destiny?
ON SALE 06.12.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T
I've always been attracted to the character The Turtle, mostly because I found the concept of "slow" powers confounding The Flash pretty fascinating, even if I've never quite puzzled out how they worked...or read a really good Turtle story (I hope DC does a Rogues anthology featuring stories of him at some point soon though, as I'd be pretty interested in reading that).
written by GRANT MORRISON
art and cover by LIAM SHARP
...
Green Lantern teams up with Green Arrow to stop a cosmic drug cartel that’s using Earth as its main distribution base! It’s a brilliant homage to the team-ups of old, as Morrison and Sharp do the 2019 version in a story we can only call “Space Junkies!”
ON SALE 06.05.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T+
"You always have all the answers, Green Arrow! Well, what's your answer to THAT--?"
"That alien is a JUNKIE!"
Huh.
Green Lantern and Green Arrow are getting...space relevant...? Is there a scene where an elderly, blue-skinned humanoid is going to tell Hal Jordan off, "You done considerable for the black skins! Only there's skins you never bothered with...! The blue skins! The orange skins! The purple skins! I want to know... how come?! Answer me that, Mr. Green Lantern! Oh, I'm sorry, it's Mr. The Green Lantern now, is it?"
written by MARIKO TAMAKI
art and cover by STEVE PUGH
With just five dollars and a knapsack to her name, 15-year-old Harleen Quinzel is sent to live in Gotham City. She’s not worried, though—she’s battled a lot of hard situations as a kid, and knows her determination and outspokenness will carry her through life in the most dangerous city in the world. And when Gotham’s finest drag queen, Mama, takes her in, it seems like Harley has finally found a place to grow into her most “true true” with new best friend Ivy at Gotham High. But when Mama’s drag cabaret becomes the next victim in the wave of gentrification that’s taking over the neighborhood, Harley’s fortune takes another turn.
Now Harleen is mad. In turning her anger into action, she is faced with two choices: join activist Ivy, who’s campaigning to make the neighborhood a better place to live, or team up with her anarchist friend Joker, who plans to take down Gotham one corporation at a time.
From Eisner Award and Caldecott Honor-winning author Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer) and Eisner Award-nominated artist Steve Pugh comes a coming-of-age story about choices, consequences, and how a weird kid from Gotham goes about defining her world for herself.
ON SALE 08.28.19
$16.99 US | 6” x 9” | 208 PAGES
FC | ISBN: 978-1-4012-8329-2
I haven't seen a big chunk of artist Steve Pugh's work in a while, so I'm looking forward to this for that reason alone, but I'd like to take this opportunity to say once again that I hate hate hate when comic book artists get an "illustrated by" credit like Pugh does there, while writer Mariko Tamaki's credit isn't similarly qualified. "Illustrated by" suggests this is an illustrated prose novel, not an original graphic novel--it's comics, not illustrated prose, I've since learned--and there's a hell of a lot more to the art half of the comics equation than simply providing illustrations, as all of you know. I see credits like this fairly often, but it seems particularly egregious coming from a long-time comics publisher like DC Comics instead of, say, a new graphic novel imprint of a traditional book publisher, because DC should know better than anyone how much more Pugh is doing here than just illustrating Tamaki's script.
At least their names are similar in size though. Sometimes the writer gets a titanic cover credit, and the artist is all teensy tiny at the bottom, suggesting at first glance that Neil Gaiman or Brad Meltzer or whoever wrote and drew the comics all by themselves.
written by SCOTT SNYDER and JORGE JIMENEZ
art by JORGE JIMENEZ
backup story written by SCOTT SNYDER and JAMES TYNION IV
backup story art by JAVIER FERNANDEZ
cover by JORGE JIMENEZ
variant cover byJIM CHEUNG
The “Sixth Dimension” storyline wraps up in this oversize issue as Superman faces down the World Forger to save the Justice League! Can Superman withstand the might of a being that can create worlds from nothing?! Plus, with the Justice League away, Mr. Mxyzptlk’s been wreaking havoc! Can anyone on Earth stand up to the fifth-dimensional menace?
ON SALE 06.05.19
$4.99 US | 40 PAGES
FC | RATED T+
Have I mentioned before how much I dislike when Green Lanterns--usually Hal Jordan or John Stewart--use their all-powerful magic rings to create guns for themselves? Oh, I have? Like, three dozen times? Well, allow me to do so again.
I don't know if you pay attention to the news or not, but we have something of a gun problem in the United States of America and, it seems to me, maybe regularly featuring one of the "World's Greatest Heroes" running around with one isn't the best way to help that (Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's rated "T+", whatever. These are kids' characters in a kids comic for kids, however you want to parse that). Beyond that, it just demonstrates a lack of imagination on the part of the character...and or the writer and/or the artist.
With the greatest weapon in the universe on his finger, the ability to more or less just wish anything made of matter or energy into existence, his power limited only by his own mind, Green Lantern...makes a gun? The Oan super-weapon is used by John Stewart to conjure up a modified version of 18th century Earth projectile-firing technology...? Man, fuck that.
If that is how Snyder, Cheung and company define John Stewart as a character, the League really oughta consider booting him off the team and recruiting Kyle Rayner in his place. At least that guy's imagination runs beyond guns.
written by ART BALTAZAR and FRANCO
art and cover by ART BALTAZAR
Can Superman keep Smallville from going to the dogs?
Acts of awesomeness are happening around town. People are being rescued, runaway tractors stopped, and fires extinguished. This is all in a day’s work for the hero known only as “Superman.” But who is he, really?
Thirteen-year-old Clark Kent knows. He has a super secret—one his parents are constantly worried will get out. Clark promises to be extra careful, but when random objects begin to take flight and disappear, his parents threaten to ground him. Except he’s innocent! If Superman isn’t responsible…who is? Join Clark in this hilarious adventure as he sniffs out the real culprit.
From New York Times bestselling and Eisner Award-winning creators Art Baltazar and Franco comes a fun, whimsical story featuring young Lana Lang, Lex Luthor, and of course, Clark Kent.
ON SALE 08.28.19
$9.99 US | 5.5” x 8” | 144 PAGES
FC | ISBN: 978-1-4012-8392-6
Yes, please.
written by FRANK MILLER
art by JOHN ROMITA JR. and DANNY MIKI
cover by JOHN ROMITA JR. and DANNY MIKI
cover by FRANK MILLER
From the burning world of Krypton to the bucolic fields of Kansas, the first chapter of SUPERMAN YEAR ONE tracks Clark Kent’s youth in Kansas, as he comes to terms with his strange powers and struggles to find his place in our world. DC BLACK LABEL is proud to present the definitive origin of Superman as rendered by the legendary comics creators Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.!
PRESTIGE FORMAT
ON SALE 06.19.19
$7.99 US | 1 of 3 | 64 PAGES
FC | APPROX. 8.5“ x 10.875” MATURE READERS
Oh God, is it really time for another new origin story for Superman...? Didn't we just do that, like, last year? This one is a "Black Label" comic, though, so I'm not entirely sure what that means, in terms of whether or not it's meant to be read as canon or not. So far, the only original "Black Label" comic I've read has only differed from other DCU comics in that the hero got his cock out in a couple of panels. Other, older comics have been retroactively labeled with the black "Black Label" label, and they all seem to be out-of-continuity stories. On the other hand, this solicitation does say "the definitive origin," so maybe it is the official definitive origin of Superman...at least for a year or two, when DC does their next Superman origin story.
I think John Romita Jr's art is a pretty good match for Frank Miller's style, so, in addition to seeing how canonical this ends up being--that is, will it immediately go the way of All-Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder?--I'm quite curious to see how the Miller/JRJR collaboration turns out (By the way, Miller and JRJR...? Two more DC creators who I would really like to see draw the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, even if only for a cover or pin-up...although given Miller's influence on Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's original comic, I think a Miller/Eastman collaboration could be something pretty special).
THE TRIALS OF SHAZAM!: THE COMPLETE SERIES TP
written by JUDD WINICK
art by HOWARD PORTER and MAURO CASCIOLI
cover by HOWARD PORTER
After the events of INFINITE CRISIS, the world is in magical turmoil! Billy Batson now sits in the Wizard’s chair at the Rock of Eternity—and with the rest of his magical family powerless, a new champion must emerge to claim the mantle of Shazam! Collects the entire 12-issue TRIALS OF SHAZAM! series in one volume for the first time.
ON SALE 07.10.19
$24.99 US | 312 PAGES
FC | ISBN: 978-1-4012-9229-4
If I am remembering correctly--and I may not be!--this was DC's attempt to rejigger their Captain Marvel/Shazam concept following Infinite Crisis. With the Wizard Shazam re-killed and the Rock of Eternity destroyed in the lead-up to Geoff Johns' Infinite Crisis story, Billy Batson stopped calling himself "Captain Marvel," grew his hair out and started wearing white so he could take the Wizard's place as...Marvel. Not Shazam, but Marvel. The name Shazam, then, was to go the new Champion, Freddie Freeman, the former Captain Marvel Jr, who had to through some trials or whatever to earn his powers, a quest he was racing against a would-be usurper. I read the first issue, and my brain more or less just short-circuited with the inanity of it all. This was one of several attempts to fix what was never, ever broken--which DC Comics is continuing to do with the current Shazam series (although the first issue of that series was better than the first issue of this series).
If you have to read a no-long releveant or canonical Captain Marvel comic, you might as well do Jeff Smith's Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil. That's got some pretty swell artwork in it. (Not that I don't like Porter's work, it's just that Porter is no Jeff Smith.)
These are the two covers for June's issue of Young Justice. I just wanted to note the first because, for a few seconds there I thought Wonder Girl was Supergirl, and then realized perhaps why Cassandra Sandsmark usually wears a red top instead of a blue top. DC just has so dang many blonde teenage superheroines! The other one I wanted to note just in that it is awesome. That one is by Ramon Villalobos, and it is fantastic. DC should put that guy on interiors for a high-profile super-book--hell, maybe this one!--ASAP.
1 comment:
The Miller / Romita Jr new Superman series certainly looks interesting. Although Miller has let me down quite a lot in the past few yew years so I'm still on the fence about this. Anyway, I just wanted to say great post!
Cheers!
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