Their Impulse looks a bit off too, though. He looks bigger, older and manlier than he did in the first half-dozen issues of Young Justice, which are the only ones I've read so far.
Let's take a break and look at Norm Breyfogle drawing Tim Drake in his first and best costume, from one of the character's most badass sequences, which Alex Segura recently shared on Twitter:
written by JAMES TYNION IV
art and cover by JORGE JIMENEZ
card stock variant cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA
The mysterious master criminal known only as the Designer once brought together Gotham City’s greatest criminals to plot the perfect crime, and now his plan has been unleashed upon the city in all its might. Batman will go to any length to uncover the grand design, but Catwoman is the one who holds the greatest secret. If Batman wins against the Designer, he will lose everything.
ON SALE 03.04.20
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $4.99 US
FC | DC
BATMAN #91
written by JAMES TYNION IV
art and cover by JORGE JIMENEZ
card stock variant cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA
To save Gotham City, Catwoman will have to commit the greatest heist in the city’s history! But hot on her trail are the Penguin, the Riddler, a horde of assassins, and the master criminal called the Designer! And the most dangerous person standing in her way is the man she’s trying to save: Batman. And what complications will his arise from his new sidekick, Harley Quinn?
ON SALE 03.18.20
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
Hm. Tynion's Batman run adds another artist. While Jorge Jimenez isn't an artist that would be on my radar as a potential one for a regular run on Batman—as opposed to this curious run on the title by by Tynion and artists who change every 20-40 pages or so that I am convinced is a placeholder team until the real new team is announced—he would certainly make sense as a choice. Coming off of a successful stint on Scott Snyder and Tyinon's Justice League, including the entirety of the "Sixth Dimension" arc, it's easy to imagine DC asking Jimenez what he wants to do next, Jimenez saying "Batman" and DC saying "sure."
written by BRYAN HILL
art by DEXTER SOY
cover by TYLER KIRKHAM
...
Black Lightning is an Outsider no more! It’s up to Katana to take up the reigns of leader-ship as things look their darkest for the team—and the new addition of Babylon has thrown the team into flux. Plus, Batman is far from thrilled with the secrets that the Signal and Orphan are keeping from him. And this is exactly what Ra’s al Ghul wants: a broken team that doesn’t stand a chance against his new League and their deadliest assassin yet.
ON SALE 03.11.20
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
It's not just me, is it? Cover artist Tyler Kirkham's Duke "The Signal" Thomas looks awfully big and adult on that cover, right?
Maybe he's been working out with Impulse...
written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
art and cover by NICK DERINGTON
...
General Zod is on a mission to resurrect the Bottle City of Kandor, and he’s ready to obliterate anyone in his path! Deep within the ruins of an ancient temple, Ra’s al Ghul’s bid to save his Lazarus Pits from Kryptonian chaos has brought the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel into a brawl neither expected—or was prepared for! What can Batman and Superman possibly do to stop an army of Kandorian zombies? Find out in the conclusion of the epic “Kandor Compromise”!
ON SALE 03.25.20
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
Here's our monthly reminder that Nick Derington is just the absolute best, I guess.
So, if I'm interpreting the images and solicitation copy for this issue and the previous issue of the series correctly, I'm guessing Zod is going to attempt to bring everyone in Kandor back to life by dipping the bottle in a Lazarus Pit or something...? That's...weird, although I simultaneously think the idea of DC writers repurposing The Lazarus Pits as magical come-back-to-life workaround as kind of lame and kind of hilariously awesome.
written by JACK KIRBY, JOE SIMON, MIKE GRELL, GERRY CONWAY, and others
art by JACK KIRBY, STEVE DITKO, RAMONA FRADON, MIKE GRELL, WALTER SIMONSON, and others
montage cover by JACK KIRBY and others
DC collects the 1970s series that introduced one new concept after another—as well as reintroducing several DC favorites! Over the course of 13 issues, 1st Issue Special shined a spotlight on Atlas, Manhunter, Warlord, Lady Cop, and even the Dingbats of Danger Street—as well as giving the Creeper, Doctor Fate, and the New Gods their shots at comebacks! Collects 1st Issue Special #1-13.
ON SALE 04.15.20
$39.99 US | 272 PAGES
FC | ISBN: 978-1-77950-177-6
Guys, I'm not going to lie. I reeeeeeaaallllly want this. If you've never spent any time on comics.org gazing longingly at the cover gallery for DC 1st Issue Special, please allow me to redirect your attention there now.
In addition to the characters listed above, these 13 issues also include a weird, maybe one-off version of "The Outsiders" which predate the "Batman and" version, the Codename: Assassin character who showed up around the same time as Atlas during a James Robinson stint on the Super-books, the Mikaal version of Starman that played a big role in Robinson Starman series and later his troubled Justice League of America run, and these guys—
And sheesh, look at that line-up of creators!
At $40, that seems like a pretty steep price for a curiosity buy, and I'm fairly certain one could probably put together a run of that series for less than $40 if one had the patience for it, but I don't think I'm going to be able to resist this one. It doesn't look like the sort of book that will be available at too many public libraries, either.
written by JIM STARLIN
art by JIM APARO and MIKE DeCARLO
cover by MIKE MIGNOLA
The death of Robin!
ON SALE 03.11.20
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | FC | DC
Offered to coincide with ROBIN 80TH ANNIVERSARY 100-PAGE SUPER SPECTACULAR #1
Pretty interesting batch of offerings in this month's round of Dollar Comics. In addition to the above issue, the penultimate one of Starlin, Aparo and DeCarlo's "A Death In The Family" (featuring covers by Mike Mignola), there's also 1991's Robin #1, the first issue of the first Robin miniseries by Chuck Dixon, the great (and unfortunately late) Tom Lyle and Bob Smith (featuring a cover by Brian Bolland which is maybe the single most badass image of a Robin ever committed to paper at that time), Swamp Thing #57 by Alan Moore, Rick Veitch and Alfredo Alcala (the solicitation for this one says its offered to coincide with the release of Strange Adventures, below, so I guess that comic "in the tradition of Watchmen will also be using some moore Alan Moore material in its foundation) and then a mess of first issues of various Justice League comics, all of which are also collected in that Justice League of America: A Celebration of 60 Years collection from last month's solicitations.
 |
| Look, this wasn't supposed to be a "Hey, remember when Tim Drake was cool?" post, but it seems to be becoming one anyway. |
Those are each great comics, and well worth $1. If you haven't read any of them, I'd highly recommend you avail yourself of these...and then go on to read the collections of each.
The bad ones? Well, there's Brad Meltzer, Ed Benes and Sandra Hope's 2006 Justice League of America, the first chapter of the prose writer-turned-comics dabbler's truncated "run" on the title that basically entailed a single gathering-of-the-team story arc...that was almost immediately undone. Bizarrely inappropriately cheesecake-y artwork by Benes and a bunch of fill-in artists didn't help of course. I would say my favorite part of this series was that it finally made Black Lightning an official member of the Justice League, but he left the team, like, immediately, so...
And then there's 2011's Justice League #1, by Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, and Scott Williams. Relatively little happens in that first issue, which is only one-sixth of a gathering-the-team story, and the entire team doesn't even show up in it. This is, of course, the start of the New 52 League with their new, dumb post-Flashpoint, five-year timeline...Scott Snyder and company's current Justice League seems to have, if not overwritten this era entirely, then at least to have remixed it, as Snyder (like most of DC's current writers) are basically ignoring the Flashpoint New 52boot and just writing as if continuity was never rebooted at all.
FROM BEYOND THE UNKNOWN GIANT #1
Includes new stories plus classic reprints!
ON SALE 03.25.20 | $4.99 US | FC | 96 PAGES | DC
So, um, what the heck do you think this will entail...?
written by GRANT MORRISON
art and cover by LIAM SHARP
...
Hal Jordan is stuck on the worst possible planet he can imagine: Earth! Reassigned by the bold new Guardians to patrol his home planet, Hal finds himself a bit bored with his familiar haunts versus the infinite expanse and adventure of outer space. But when an invasion from the dawn of time strikes the planet, can Hal stop…the Ornitho-Men?!
ON SALE 03.11.20
$3.99 US | 2 OF 12 | 32 PAGES
FC | DC
Holy smokes, look at those guys! Are those the Ornitho-Men? They really are creepy-looking...somewhat suggestive of the Man-Hawks, but, like, dialed up to eleven...ty-seven.
written by GERRY CONWAY, DENNIS O’NEIL, and others
art by DON NEWTON, MIKE VOSBURG, ARVELL JONES, GEORGE PÉREZ,DICK DILLIN, and others
cover by AL MILGROM
In 1977 the New Gods renewed their battle against Darkseid and the forces of Apokolips. But as Darkseid invades Earth to unlock the secrets of the Anti-Life Equation, Orion, Lightray, and the rest of the New Gods enlist the help of the Justice League of America to stop him! Collects 1st Issue Special #13, The New Gods #12-19, Adventure Comics #459-460, DC Special Series #10, Super-Team Family #15, and Justice League of America #183-185.
ON SALE 04.01.20
$49.99 US | 336 PAGES
FC | ISBN: 978-1-77950-080-9
Or That Relatively Short Period Where Orion Didn't Look Right, as I like to think of it.
written by MARV WOLFMAN, CHUCK DIXON, DEVIN GRAYSON, TIM SEELEY, TOM KING, JUDD WINICK, JAMES TYNION IV, AMY WOLFRAM, ROBBIE THOMPSON, ADAM GLASS, PETER J. TOMASI, and more!
art by TOM GRUMMETT, SCOTT McDANIEL, MIKEL JANÍN, KENNETH ROCAFORT, FREDDIE E. WILLIAMS II, JAVI FERNANDEZ, NICOLA SCOTT, DUSTIN NGUYEN, ANDY KUBERT, FRANK MILLER, and others
cover by LEE WEEKS
1940s variant cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
1950s variant cover by JULIAN TOTINO TEDESCO
1960s variant cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN
1970s variant cover by KAARE ANDREWS
1980s variant cover by FRANK MILLER
1990s variant cover by JIM CHEUNG
2000s variant cover by DERRICK CHEW
2010s variant cover by YASMINE PUTRI
blank variant cover
DC Comics celebrates Robin the Boy Wonder’s 80th anniversary in style with an all-star creative team representing each iteration of the iconic character across eight decades of history! From the high-flying adventures of Dick Grayson to the tragedy of Jason Todd, the enthusiasm of Tim Drake and the arrogance of Damian Wayne, the persistence of Stephanie Brown and the rebelliousness of Carrie Kelley—the mantle of Robin has been worn by many, but always represents one thing: a hero.
ONE-SHOT
PRESTIGE FORMAT
ON SALE 03.11.20
$9.99 US | 96 PAGES
FC | DC
This issue will ship with 11 covers.
I'm pretty excited about this one. It doesn't say either way, but I assume these are all-new stories. I question that, though, because there are so many writers listed whose names we see either infrequently or, like, never these days: Chuck Dixon, Marv Wolfman, Devin Grayson, Judd Winick. The artist line-up makes me think this must be all-new material, though.
The most exciting thing is that there are 11 writers listed ("and more!"), which means there's going to be more than one story apiece featuring each Robin, as there are four currently canonical ones, plus Stephanie Brown (who I am glad is listed above) and Carrie Kelley (ditto). I'm curious then if we'll get, like, two stories a piece, or team-ups of different Robins, or maybe a story featuring Duke Thomas and the We Are Robin Robins or some alternate universe Robins or...what.
At any rate, I'm excited to see new stories of old Robins...especially one by Devin Grayson, who is one of my favorite Batman writers.
Also, I would like to note the image on the cover: The classic Robin costume, not the retconned one based on Tim Drake's costume that DC had put in Dick Grayson in post-Flashpoint/New 52.
Oh, and not that anyone at DC cares what I think, but I prefer them title the books Anniversary Super-Spectaculars than just using murky Marvel math to find the nearest issue they can randomly revert to some abandoned numbering to give them a #750 or whatever, like they did with Wonder Woman and The Flash.
STRANGE ADVENTURES #1
written by TOM KING
art by MITCH GERADS and EVAN “DOC” SHANER
cover by MITCH GERADS
variant cover by EVAN “DOC” SHANER
blank variant cover
After winning five Eisner Awards and topping year-end “best of lists,” the comic book of 2019 was Mister Miracle. The comic book of 2020 will be Strange Adventures.
The Mister Miracle team of writer Tom King and artist Mitch Gerads are joined by fan-favorite artist Evan “Doc” Shaner to bring you an epic tale in the tradition of Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, and DC: The New Frontier—a story of blood, war, and love that readers will be talking about for years to come.
Adam Strange is the hero of Rann, a man famous throughout the galaxy for his bravery and honor. After leading his adopted home to victory in a great planetary war, Adam and his wife Alanna retire to Earth, where they are greeted by cheers, awards, and parades. But not all is as happy and nice as it seems, as the decisions Adam made during battles on Rann come back to haunt his family and threaten the entire DC Universe. And now a surprise DC hero will have to choose between saving Adam Strange and saving the world.
A story like no other, Strange Adventures is an ambitious, thrilling, shocking, and beautiful 12-issue saga that will push Adam Strange to the breaking point—and beyond!
ON SALE 03.04.20
$4.99 US | 1 OF 12 | 40 PAGES
Ha ha ha! "In the tradition of Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, and DC: The New Frontier"...! I love how that implies some sort of choice; as if DC Comics and the creators that work with/form them could be creating seminal, perennial, beloved, successful comics like those three on the regular if they wanted to, but, for the most part, Tom King and Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV and their other most prolific writers--not to mention, like, mostly everyone outside of Darwyn Cooke--has just spent the last 30 years or so deciding to work outside the tradition of Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. "Hey, Geoff Johns, do you want to make something in the tradition of Watchmen?" "Nah, that's alright; I thought I'd do this multi-year saga about Green Lanterns with differently-colored rings. But maybe I'll do a Superman/Watchmen crossover in another decade or so..."
With that bit of solicitation copy-dragging out of the way, I would like to here note that Evan "Doc" Shaner is a great artist, and one of the best working with DC Comics in any capacity these days, so, whatever else might happen here, there will definitely be gorgeous sequences of art in the book.
written by GENE LUEN YANG
art and cover by GURIHIRU
The year is 1946, and the Lee family has moved from Chinatown to Downtown Metropolis. While Dr. Lee is eager to begin his new position at the Metropolis Health Department, his two kids, Roberta and Tommy, are more excited about being closer to the famous superhero Superman!
Tommy adjusts quickly to the fast pace of their new neighborhood, befriending Jimmy Olsen and joining the baseball team, while his younger sister Roberta feels out of place when she fails to fit in with the neighborhood kids. She’s awkward, quiet, and self-conscious of how she looks different from the kids around her, so she sticks to watching people instead of talking to them. While the Lees try to adjust to their new lives, an evil is stirring in Metropolis: the Ku Klux Klan.
The Klan targets the Lee family, beginning a string of terrorist attacks. They kidnap Tommy, attack the Daily Planet, and even threaten the local YMCA. But with the help of Roberta’s keen skills of observation, Superman is able to fight the Klan’s terror, while exposing those in power who support them—and Roberta and Superman learn to embrace their own unique features that set them apart.
Multi-award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Gene Luen Yang and artist Gurihiru tell a bold new story based on a classic Superman radio serial! Collects Superman Smashes the Klan #1-3.
ON SALE 05.06.20
$16.99 US | 6” x 9” | 240 PAGES
FC | ISBN: 978-1-77950-421-0
If you were able to resist the single issues and wait to order this, then you are a far, far more patient reader than I. I've only read the first issue so far, but I loved it, and I hope this isn't the last we've seen of the Yang/Gurihiru team on Golden Age Superman. I kinda wish this book would lead to an ongoing...maybe even a Superman and The All-Star Squadron book...
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