DC's August previews reviewed

Say what you will about Army @ Love, its covers are always homeruns.



THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #16
Written by Mark Waid
Art and cover by Scott Kolins
Superman and Catwoman – together at last?! This team clearly won’t be held together with super-glue!

Cool; have these two characters ever teamed-up before?

The only time they shared a story sans Batman I can think of was back when Catwoman was a villain, and Superman was a cat:



DC COMICS GOES APE TP
Written by Otto Binder, John Broome, Gardner Fox and others
Art by Carmine Infantino, Wayne Boring, George Papp, Ross Andru, C.C. Beck, Jim Starlin and others
Cover by Arthur Adams
You’ll go bananas for this new title collecting simian stories from SUPERBOY #76, SUPERMAN #138, THE FLASH (VOL. 1) #127, DETECTIVE COMICS #339 and 482, HAWKMAN #16, WONDER WOMAN #170, STRANGE ADVENTURES #201, SHAZAM #9, SUPER FRIENDS #30 and THE FLASH (VOL. 2) #151!
Advance-solicited; on sale October 1 • 168 pg, FC, $19.99 US

Man, I am going to buy the fuck out of this. I woulda preferred a Showcase Presents treatment (Don’t act like you don’t have enough gorilla stories laying around your vaults, DC!).



DC UNIVERSE ILLUSTRATED BY NEAL ADAMS VOL. 1 HC
Written by Robert Kanigher, Bob Haney, Gardner Fox, Neal Adams, Cary Bates, Len Wein and Howard Liss
Art by Neal Adams, Joe Kubert, Nick Cardy, Dick Dillin, Steve Harper and Vince Colletta
Cover by Neal Adams
At last, it’s here – the first of three hardcover volumes collecting nearly every DC Comics story and cover by Neal Adams not already collected in GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW, BATMAN or DEADMAN titles! Featuring rarely seen stories from OUR ARMY AT WAR #182, 183 and 186, STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES #134 and 144, DETECTIVE COMICS #369, TEEN TITANS #20-22, ACTION COMICS #425, SUPERMAN #254, WEIRD WAR TALES #12 and 13 and more!
Advance-solicited; on sale October 22 • 192 pg, FC, $39.99 US

If I were rich, I would buy this, and the next two $40 volumes, too.



FAMILY DYNAMIC #1
Written by J. Torres
Art by Tim Levins & Dan Davis
Cover by Sean Galloway
Pyralis! Sirocco! Troylus! Terran! This is The Family Dynamic, defenders of Storm City who use their mystical Elemental Rings to battle the forces of evil. But what happens when members of their extended family want in on the superhero action? They say the family that plays together stays together – but does that count when they’re playing the good guys? Find out in this exciting new 6-issue miniseries by writer J. Torres (WONDER GIRL) and artist Tim Levins (BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES).

I like both Torres and Levins, and their preivous collaboration The Copybook Tales, so I’ll give this a shot, but it doesn’t sound like my cup of tea. I’m getting a Captain Planet vibe, and man, I wouldn’t wish a Captain Planet vibe on anyone.

Also, DC just created a new superhero character named Sirocco, like, last year.



FINAL CRISIS #1: DIRECTOR'S CUT SPECIAL
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and cover by J.G. Jones
Come on a guided tour of DC's FINAL CRISIS #1 and become further enveloped in the event of the century. Delve deep into the mind-blowing first issue as we explore what every page and panel represents, and the process behind the story as Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones reveal secrets hidden in the script and art.
On sale August 6 • 64 pg, FC, $4.99 US

For shame DC; for shame.

I can understand wanting to imitate Marvel's success, but you're going about it the wrong way. They haven't been selling more comics than you by offering $3 sketchbooks and over-priced "director's cut" specials of their big event books. They've been doing it by not sucking quite as hard as you have been.

Also, comic books don't have directors.

Also, if this isn't edited differently, than it's not really a "cut." From the solicit, it sounds more like a book of annotations than a "director's cut."



FINAL CRISIS: REVELATIONS #1
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Philip Tan, Jeff De Los Santos & Jonathan Glapion
Covers by Philip Tan
Greg Rucka (52, Whiteout, THE QUESTION: THE FIVE BOOKS OF BLOOD) and rising superstar Philip Tan unleash the wrath of God in this FINAL CRISIS tie-in!
With the end of creation nigh, Crispus Allen must embrace his role as The Spectre by exacting God's vengeance on some of the DC Universe's most vile sinners. But even as Allen struggles with his duty, a new threat is arising – one that only his former partner, Renee Montoya, a.k.a. The Question, can help him fight!
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers by Philip Tan that will ship in approximately 50/50 ratio. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.

DC really needs to lay The Spectre concept to bed once and for all; they haven't come up with a way to make him a workable "legacy" character, and John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake have told the original's story as well as it's going to be told. That said, I may pick this one up simply because Rucka's writing it. I don't like the fact that Montoya is The Question II or that Crispus Allen is The Spectre III, but considering how much time Ruckas spent developing the two characters back when they weren't superhuman legacy characters, I'm interested in how he'll handle them together now. Maybe like Law and Order: SCU if Benson and Stabler were superheroes?



FINAL CRISIS: SUPERMAN BEYOND #1
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Doug Mahnke & Christian Alamy
Covers by Doug Mahnke and J.H. Williams III
To save the woman he loves, the greatest hero of all time becomes the pawn of ultra-dimensional forces when a wounded emissary from a world of doomed super gods comes to Earth on the eve of the Final Crisis. His mission: To recruit Superman's help against an epic, reality-spanning menace that originated in the Crisis on Infinite Earths!
Join the Man of Steel and his alternate-earth counterparts for a mind-blowing voyage to the edge of the DC Universe — and beyond! Can these super champions overcome their differences to beat the clock, find the ultimate treasure and save all existence from extinction? Writer Grant Morrison and artist Doug Mahnke take you on an unforgettable, hyperdelic journey from the streets of Metropolis, through the 52 worlds of the multiverse, to the haunted court of the King of Limbo, in part one of this 2-issue Superman adventure! With a unique 3-D section, eye-popping visuals and mind-boggling glimpses into the mysteries behind FINAL CRISIS, SUPERMAN BEYOND takes the Man of Tomorrow to new dimensions of action and excitement! This issue comes with a pair of 3-D glasses! Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers (one by Doug Mahnke and one by J.H. Williams III) that will ship in a ratio of approximately 50/50.

Awesome; I've never been on a hyperdelic journey.
Hell, I can't even find the word in my dictionary!

This solicit has got a lot of All-Star Superman sounding flavor to it, and after Morrison's work on those out-of-continuity stories, I'm really looking forward to him getting his hands on the DCU's version of the character again.

Also, Doug Mahnke is a great penciller and should totally be drawing JLoA instead of Ed Benes.



INFINITY INC. #12
Written by Peter Milligan
Art by Javier Aranda & David Enebral
Cover by Pete Woods
A Dark Side Club tie-in! The mystery of Professor Fogel and his allegiance to the Dark Side Club are laid bare in this harrowing final issue, in which the Infinity Kids find themselves outmatched in every way! A dream comes to an end, but for Infinity Inc., the nightmare is just beginning.
On sale August 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • FINAL ISSUE

I thought it would only last eight issues, so it exceeded my expectations.



JLA: SALVATION RUN TP
Written by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges
Art by Sean Chen & Walden Wong
Cover by Joe Corroney
The hit 7-issue miniseries spinning out of COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS is collected in this new trade paperback. Exiled to a distant hell planet, the villains of the DCU split into two warring factions led by Lex Luthor and The Joker!

Um, I’m not so sure disingenuously branding Salvation Run as JLA: Salvation Run is going to help all that much.

Does the JLA even appear in this stupid thing? I know JLoA devoted, like, eight issues to setting up and tying into this book, which is itself a tie-in to Countdown, but so what? None of those issues are even included in this trade collection



RANN/THANAGAR: HOLY WAR #4
Written by Jim Starlin
Art by Ron Lim & Rob Hunter
Cover by Starlin & Hunter
Adam Strange finds himself cornered on Hardcore Station by agents of the Church of Eternal Light. Meanwhile, the people of Rann have been whipped up into a Lady Styx-inspired religious furor and their next target is: Hawkman!

Two words I never thought I’d see used together in a DC comic again: Hardcore Station.



SHOWCASE PRESENTS: BLACKHAWK VOL. 1 TP
Written by Various
Art by Dick Dillin, Charles Cuidera and Sheldon Moldoff
Cover by Dillin
The 1950s adventures of The Blackhawks are collected for the first time in this new volume featuring stories from BLACKHAWK #108-127!

If I was only allowed to buy a single DC Comics publication this month, it would be this: A 500-page, $16.99 comic in which the Blackhawks are depicted being attacked by Killer Shark’s whale sub on the cover.



SUPERMAN/BATMAN #51
Written by Michael Green & Mike Johnson
Art by Rafael Albuequerque
Cover by Ryan Sook
The Man of Steel and the Dark Knight are shocked to discover little versions of themselves fighting a threat in Metropolis. But where did these tiny heroes come from? As Superman and Batman search for answers, things get worse with the arrival of the Li’l League.

Does little Batman’s Bat-symbol have googly eyes on it? Oh man, I may have to actually buy an issue of Superman/Batman again.



TEEN TITANS #62
Written by Sean McKeever
Art and cover by Eddy Barrows & Ruy José
Guest-starring Cyborg! When villains attack, it's up to two remarkable teens to pick up the pieces so the Teen Titans don't have to. This issue: a heartwarming look at Titans Tower through the eyes of its least-known inhabitants: Wendy, Marvin ... and Wonderdog?!

Not to be confused with Rex, The Wonderdog.

Man, Wendy, Marvin and Wonderdog look fucking horrible drawn all quasi-realist like that. I don’t understand why Teen Titans doesn’t have art that might conceivably be found appealing by actual teenagers…



TITANS #5
Written by Judd Winick
Art by Rodney Buchemi
Cover by Ian Churchill
In the stand-alone story “Date Night,” four Titans face the fact that love is a battlefield. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure is making his way to Titans Tower. Who is this ominous stranger – and how does he or she know the Titans?

Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Has Ian Churchill never seen two people kissing before? Not even in a movie, or in another comic book? Who kisses like that, with all tongue and no lips? Besides porn stars, I mean. God; I still can’t believe DC is even publishing this title in its current state.



THE UN-MEN #13
Written by John Whalen
Art by Mike Hawthorne
Cover by Tomer Hanuka
The curtain falls on the freak show. Vertigo’s strange band of mutants and misfits save the best for last in this powerfully perverse conclusion to THE UN-MEN. Cranius “The Living Brain” perpetrates his sickest crime yet, Kilcrop discovers the tragic secret of Niko’s past, and Aberrance erupts in a bloodbath that puts the carnage back in “carny.”
On sale August 27 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • MATURE READERS • FINAL ISSUE

Ha ha! In your face, Infinity Inc.!

Wait, how did a book starring old Swamp Thing guest-stars, a book seemingly created just for Progressive Ruin’s Mike Sterling, out-last a book spinning out of 52, even if it was only by one issue?



Cretaceous era cock block!



WATCHMEN MOVIE: DR. MANHATTAN
1:6 Scale Deluxe
Collector Figure

This 1:6 scale deluxe collector figure measures approximately 13” tall and comes with a removable black suit.

Packaged in a deluxe 4-color window box with a fifth panel, it also includes a 4-color Certificate of Authenticity.

Advance-solicited; On Sale January 14, 2009
$99.99

This things’s existence makes me sad. The only thing that makes me sadder is the thought that someone may actually pay $100 for one of these things.