DC June previews reviewed

BATMAN #700
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Art by TONY DANIEL, ANDY KUBERT & FRANK QUITELY
Grant Morrison returns to BATMAN with this oversized special! And he’s brought an all-star roster of artists along with him including Andy Kubert, Tony Daniel and Frank Quitely to celebrate this milestone 700th issue featuring stories spotlighting each of the Batmen from different eras – Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne. You won’t want to miss this blockbuster story that paves the way for the return of Bruce Wayne and sports mind-boggling covers by superstars David Finch (BRIGHTEST DAY) and Mike Mignola!

“Mind-boggling?” Well, I guess I’d have to see that Mignola cover before I could weigh in on it, but “mind-boggling” certainly isn’t a word that comes to mind when I look at the Finch cover.

The buildings in the background are nice, though.


BIRDS OF PREY #2
Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art by ED BENES, ADRIAN MELO & MARIAH BENES
Cover by ED BENES
Flying out of BRIGHTEST DAY, the Birds of Prey are forced to ally themselves with the worst of Gotham City’s mega-criminals while they struggle to save his life from the unspeakable horror that hunts them all! Fan-favorite writer Gail Simone (WONDER WOMAN, SECRET SIX) and superstar artist Ed Benes (JUSTICE LEAGUE, GREEN LANTERN) continue their return to the title that first brought them together!

Oh hey yeah, Penguins are birds! Why hasn’t anyone used the Penguin prominently in this title before…?


THE BRAVE AND BOLD #35
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Art and cover by JESUS SAIZ
Inspired as always by their idols in the Legion of Super-Heroes last issue, the Legion of Substitute Heroes has also traveled back in time to recruit new members. But where their counterparts reached out to the Doom Patrol, the Subs have managed to enlist The Inferior Five! It ain't a stretch to suggest this won't end well.

Genius. This one can’t possibly be dour and serious like the other issues of the JMS/Saiz run have been so far, can it? (If so, maybe JMS could just be in charge of thinking up the team-ups and having other writers actually write them? Because he’s come up with some pretty great combinations so far).


BRIGHTEST DAY #3-4
Written by GEOFF JOHNS & PETER J. TOMASI
Art by IVAN REIS, PAT GLEASON, ARDIAN SYAF, SCOTT CLARK & JOE PRADO
Covers by DAVID FINCH
If this is the BRIGHTEST DAY then what is Black Lantern Firestorm doing on our cover?!

I’m not madly in love with each of those artists, but there are certainly some strong ones among them, and they’re all of the sort that DC usually gives big books, rather than the “Who’s fast? Who’s available?” way they’ve gone about filling up the pages of their weeklies in the past. That’s cool.

What’s Black Lantern Firestorm doing on the cover? Um, I don’t know. I was assuming that when the dead Justice Leaguers come back to life, the new Firestorm would be a composite made up of Jason, the current Firestorm, and Ronnie Raymond, the original Firestorm. (Actually, I thought they would have done that a long, long time ago, before the last volume of Firestorm was canceled.)


Fuck yeah, Joe Kubert! I see they’re offering a “1-in-25” variant cover for this second issue of DC Universe Legacies (that’s the title? Seriously?), but I can’t imagine anyone preferring J.H. Williams’ cover, however great it might end up to be, to this Kubert-on-Kubert action. Wow.


GREEN LANTERN #55
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by DOUG MAHNKE & CHRISTIAN ALAMY
BRIGHTEST DAY marches on as the Main Man, Lobo, goes head-to-head with Red Lantern Atrocitus – with Hal Jordan caught in the middle! It doesn’t get more brutal than this! Plus, Hector Hammond returns . . . to join the new Guardians?

Doug Mahnke has always drawn a damn fine Lobo.



THE JOKER’S ASYLUM: THE RIDDLER #1
Written by PETER CALLOWAY
Art by CLAYTON HENRY
Cover by ETHAN VAN SCIVER

THE JOKER’S ASYLUM: HARLEY QUINN #1
Written by JAMES PATRICK
Art by JOE QUINONES
Cover by CLAUDIO CASTELLINI

THE JOKER’S ASYLUM: MAD HATTER #1
Written by LANDRY WALKER
Art and cover by BILL SIENKIEWICZ

THE JOKER’S ASYLUM: KILLER CROC #1
Written by MIKE RAICHT
Art by DAVID YARDIN
Cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA

THE JOKER’S ASYLUM: CLAYFACE #1
Written by KEVIN SHINICK
Art and cover by KELLEY JONES

Top creators lend their talents to a new installment of THE JOKER’S ASYLUM – a special month-long, weekly series of one-shots starring the greatest villains in Batman’s rogues gallery.
Each issue is narrated by The Joker and tells a special stand-alone story that gives readers an inside look into the insane lives of The Dark Knight’s greatest adversaries! This batch of tense tales spotlights The Riddler, Harley Quinn, Mad Hatter, Clayface and Killer Croc! Can you stand the madness?!

I was sort of skeptical of the first round of these Joker’s Asylum one-shots,but ended up rather enjoying the trade collecting them. I think I’ll trade-wait this round too, as that worked out pretty well.

It's still a shame they're giving them all #1s instead of just numbering the series though...


JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST #3-4 Written by KEITH GIFFEN & JUDD WINICK. Issue #3 art by FERNANDO DAGNINO. Issue #4 art by AARON LOPRESTI. Covers by TONY HARRIS & J.D. METTLER. DC’s biweekly JUSTICE LEAGUE event continues here! The heroes of the once-great Justice League International – Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Fire and Ice – have reteamed in order to stop a threat to all mankind. But will the heroes of the DCU take this group of misfits seriously? And what happens when Blue Beetle – a new hero with an old legacy – joins the team? And whose side is he really on? Be here to find out!

Despite my antipathy for Winick, I have to admit the more I hear about this book, the more excited I get. I wish I lived around a comic shop so I could give it a thorough flip-through before deciding whether I want to try it out or not. I guess I can always try to catch up later if it’s good.

It’s a shame that instead of contributing regular covers, Kevin Maguire’s only going to be contributing “1 in 25” variants. I don’t understand the way the Big Two comics publishers spend and make money, but it’s always struck me as super-weird that it makes financial sense to pay more than one artist to draw covers for a single book. I suppose I just underestimate the continued strength of the variant cover scheme.


JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #46
Written by JAMES ROBINSON
Art by MARK BAGLEY & ROB HUNTER
Cover by MARK BAGLEY & JESUS MERINO
BRIGHTEST DAY continues with the start of an all-new, 5-part JLA/JSA crossover! The return of one hero heralds the release of the powerful Starheart that empowers Green Lantern Alan Scott. Now this chaotic force is unleashed on Earth, causing magic to go wild – and new metahumans to emerge! It’s more than one super-team can handle, but can even the combined efforts of the Justice League and the Justice Society contain the light and dark power wielded by one of their own? Witness the transformation of the moon and a journey into the Shadow Lands that will corrupt a hero! Continued in next month’s JSA #41, this epic event features a 5-part connected cover spotlighting both teams in glorious action illustrated by Mark Bagley with inks by Jesus Merino!

But…but I don’t wanna read JSoA! Why are you trying to make me?


POWER GIRL #13
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art and cover by SAMI BASRI
Power Girl dives headfirst into the next chapter of her life on Earth with new series writer Judd Winick (JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST) and artist Sami Basri (THE SHIELD)! And what events will draw her to her former JLI teammates from JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST?

Oh. Well, that answers that question.


RED HOOD: LOST DAYS #1
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art by PABLO RAIMONDI
Cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA
Judd Winick (BATMAN: UNDER THE HOOD) returns to write the adventures of Jason Todd in this special 6-part epic exploring the lost days of this misunderstood character. Learn what secret events led Jason on his eventual path of death and destruction. Guest-starring Ra’s al Ghul and Talia with amazing artwork by Pablo Raimondi (BATTLE FOR THE COWL: THE UNDERGROUND, X-Factor).

Let’s see, Judd Winick wrote his dumb “Holy Shit, Jason Todd is still alive!” story back in…2005. So obviously the best time to launch a six-part storyline explaining the lost days of the character between the time be was beaten to near-death and blown-up and the point at which he returned to Gotham as a villain is five years later.
After using him as a Punisher-like vigilante-cum-villain for a story arc or two. And then using him as a killer version of Nightwing who was also maybe sort of a blob of some kind. And then having him as the bad boy anti-hero member of an interdimensional super-team. And then having him as a killer version of Batman. And then having him as a Punisher-like vigilanted-cum-villain for another story arc again.


TEAM-UPS OF THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Art and cover by JESUS SAIZ
The first seven issues of J. Michael Straczynski’s acclaimed run on THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD are collected from issues #27-33, featuring The Flash, The Blackhawks, Batman, Brother Power – The Geek, Green Lantern, Dr. Fate and more!

Wow, that is one boring-ass cover. They’ve titled this collection of The Brave and the Bold quite curiously too, giving it one that makes it seem like that of a completely different series weird.


Yes.



DC's full solicitations for June are available here.