DC's August previews reviewed

DC's full solicits for books shipping in August can be found here. A transcription of me talking to myself about them can be found here:


AZRAEL #11
Written by DAVID HINE
Art and cover by GUILLEM MARCH
“The Killer of Saints” part 2 of 4! Is the Turin Shroud genuine or a hoax? Azrael learns the shocking truth behind the rumors and lies. Meanwhile, the mysterious killer continues to perform his deadly miracles, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.

You know, the fact that the Shroud of Turin is a plot point actually makes me mildly interested in checking out the new volume of Azrael for the first time. Well, that and March doing art. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this 25 times before or not, but I really like this Guillem March character’s work.


I’ll be curious to see if this cover actually makes it on the comics rack as is, or if someone somewhere decides they’d rather not have an upside down cross on the cover of a Batman comic. After all, they altered that one Superman/Batman cover where Batman’s hand was within an inch of a woman’s breast, or that Superman comic where Clark was drinking a beer.


I really loved the before-the-credits team-up between Batman and Mister Miracle on Batman: The Brave and the Bold. I know, I know…I love most things about Batman: The Brave and the Bold…


BIRDS OF PREY #4
Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art by ED BENES, ADRIANA MELO and MARIA BENES
Cover by ALINA URUSOV
The explosive first arc of BIRDS OF PREY concludes here! The Birds race against the clock to protect the Super Hero community, but can they make it in time and find their blackmailer? And the final showdown between Black Canary and White Canary is a can’t-miss fight between two martial arts masters!

Should I recognize this White Canary person? Black Canary didn’t recognize her at the end of the first issue of BOP, only suggesting Lady Shiva and Cassandra Cain, but in a dismissive way that made me think it wasn’t actually Shiva, who would be the main suspect otherwise (having once gone by “Jade Canary” in a BOP story by writer Gail Simone).


BOOSTER GOLD #35
Written by KEITH GIFFEN & J.M. DEMATTEIS
Art by CHRIS BATISTA & RICH PEROTTA
Cover by KEVIN MAGUIRE
Back in the past, Booster Gold is mistaken for himself and embarks on an untold journey in space with Blue Beetle to obtain a rare and secret artifact. Needless to say, their mission goes horribly, horribly wrong...

I decided to trade wait the new Giffen and DeMatteis Booster Gold run, since it was being sold as a Generation Lost tie-in and I was (and still am) pretty iffy on that, but now I think I’m going to regret waiting, based on the three characters sharing Booster’s cover this week.

I’m afraid I have no idea what the status of the various New Gods characters are in the DC Universe anymore. I got the impression from Final Crisis that they were erased from the fabric of the universe, past present and future. Apparently not the past…? But then, where are Mister Miracle and Barda at right now?


DETECTIVE COMICS #868
Written by DAVID HINE
Art by SCOTT MCDANIEL & ANDY OWENS Cover by PETER NGUYEN
A warped variation of the Joker drug has caused those who use it to suffer mental breakdowns and embrace anarchy and chaos. With riots cropping up throughout Gotham City, the citizens find themselves divided into two gangs: one led by a Batman impostor whose mission is to bring law and order back to the streets, and the other led by a Joker impostor whose purpose is to punish the innocent and set Gotham ablaze. And in the middle of it all is The Dark Knight – but can Batman stop an entire city?

Oh man, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read the Variation of a Batman Villain’s Chemical Weapon Has Become A Street Drug story in Batman comics. I do remember thinking it seemed like something I’d seen a few dozen times before when I encountered it in Kevin Smith and Walt Flanagan’s Batman: Cacophony, which was released in early 2009.
I love the top half of Nguyen’s cover though. Nothing wrong with the bottom half either; I just really love the top half.



I know we’re not supposed to judge books by their covers so, um, I guess I won’t say anything at all about this then.


GREEN ARROW #3
Written by J.T. KRUL
Art by DIOGENES NEVES & VICENTE CIFUENTES
Cover by MAURO CASCIOLI
Witness the power of the BRIGHTEST DAY as death comes to Green Arrow’s forest. Is the Emerald Archer worthy of living in the sacred grove? Who else is in there? Will he be Green Arrow’s assassin or savior? The mysteries continue!

Is it Bigfoot? Or Swamp Thing? Are one of those guys in “the sacred grove” with GA? Because that would be cool.
Or wait, maybe it’s Doc Savage? And that explains why GA is sporting a ripped-up shirt look on this cover? Because his new neighbor convinced him that it was the style nowadays?


GREEN LANTERN #57
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by DOUG MAHNKE & CHRISTIAN ALAMY
BRIGHTEST DAY continues as what readers have been asking for finally arrives: a male Star Sapphire in the form of the Predator. But how is this entity unlike the others? And what does it want with Carol Ferris? Meanwhile, the White Lantern is defended by an unlikely hero…

Well, Lisa “Ragnell” Forturner already said pretty much anything I could say, only with greater detail and GL nerd-knowledge than I could possibly muster (I never heard of this Predator thing until it was appearing in Geoff Johns comics, for example).
It does seem like DC is just fucking with fans like Ragnell alone with this book though. Like someone saw a post about how silly it is that the Star Sapphires are all ladies and wear costumes consisting mostly of paint and accessories, and then decided to give such fans a male Star Sapphire (it says as much in the solicit), but they covered up his body out of spite. And threw Carol Ferris on her knees and put her in chains just to tease Ragnell.


GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD WARRIORS #1
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by FERNANDO PASARIN
Cover by RODOLFO MIGLIARI
BRIGHTEST DAY! A whole new chapter in the epic GREEN LANTERN saga gets under way as Guy Gardner begins his secret mission for Atrocitus, bringing him into conflict with Hal Jordan with massive repercussions for the Green Lantern Corps!
Guy takes fellow Emerald Warriors Kilowog and Arisia along as he explores the Unknown Sectors — but what happens when they discover his mission and what’s waiting for them in the unpatrolled darkness?
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale AUGUST 11 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US

The first time I read through the solicits this month, I just sort of scanned this, thinking I’d just check it out in trade some day. But then I noticed something disturbing: It’s 32 pages, and it’s $3.99. That’s the way Marvel (and IDW and Dynamite and Boom and some others) price their 22-page books. DC counts the ten pages of ads as pages for the purposes of these solicits, so this is likely a 22-page comic book. With a 33% increase.

Marvel’s been doing this for a while now, of course, but DC has avoided it for the most part (I think a JSA tie-in of 23-pages sold at $3.99, Cry For Jutice tried to justify the extra dollar with prose back-matter, and the page counts on the $4-an-issue Blackest Night fluctuated). They have been selling $4 comics, but they contained back-ups, giving customers added value for added price.

This appears to simply be a Marvel-style 33% price increase.

That is really shitty.

Well, at least it’s just the one comic and not the start of a trend or any-


TIME MASTERS: VANISHING POINT #2
Written by DAN JURGENS
Art and cover by DAN JURGENS & NORM RAPMUND
“The Search for The Batman!” part 2 of 6! Already lost in the time stream while searching for the missing Caped Crusader, Rip Hunter and his ad hoc Time Masters (Booster Gold, Superman and Green Lantern) may not live long enough to make it out of the barbaric age they find themselves sidelined into. Will Claw the Conqueror be able to help them or will he be their doom?
You won’t want to miss this companion series to the highly anticipated BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE!
On sale AUGUST 25 • 2 of 6 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US

Oh, now come on!


IDES OF BLOOD #1
Written by STUART C. PAUL
Art by CHRISTIAN DUCE
Cover by MICHAEL GEIGER
The year is 44 B.C. Julius Caesar has conquered Transylvania, and vampyres are Rome’s new slave class. But when rich mortals start turning up dead with fang marks on their necks, Valens, a vampyre slave-turned-Roman soldier, plunges into the blood-soaked underworld of Rome to capture the Pluto’s Kiss Killer. If he can prove himself, he’ll earn rank and riches beyond what anyone this side of the Tiber has ever seen! But if he fails, he just might find himself on top of the pile of bodies!
Don’t miss this crimson-red, 6-issue thriller that mixes the undead intrigue of True Blood with the brutal Roman action and political drama of Spartacus from newcomers Stuart C. Paul and Christian Duce!
On sale AUGUST 18 • 1 of 6 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US

Okay, just one more round of complaining against the ridiculous price increase of certain comics, and then I’ll move on.

I liked the first half of the first sentence of this solicit, and read all the way through to make sure it wasn’t just based on a video game or a TV show I’ve never heard of, like most WildStorm books. Then I saw the price tag on the bottom. Several Wildstorm series are apparently also going to be $4 for 22 story pages.
Come on DC, hold the line!


MAGOG #12
Written by SCOTT KOLINS
Art and cover by SCOTT KOLINS
The nightmare visions are coming true as Magog’s fate becomes more and more entwined with the Psy-Cho Twins. It’s all coming to a head, too, as their hand is forced to ensure that “Kingdom Come” doesn’t become a reality!
FINAL ISSUE • On sale AUGUST 4 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Ah, there’s the “FINAL ISSUE” I’ve been expecting to see every month since this title was first solicited. I’m honestly shocked they wrung 12 issues out of the character.


OUTSIDERS #32
Written by DAN DIDIO
Art by PHILIP TAN & JONATHAN GLAPION
Cover by PHILIP TAN
With the team split in two and wanted for acts of war, The Outsiders find themselves fighting with one another in order to survive. While Geo-Force, Katana and the Eradicator build a new team in Markovia, Black Lightning, Owlman and Metamorpho find themselves at the home of an old friend who just happens to want Metamorpho dead! Plus, The Creeper faces off against a creature of the night!

So in this issue of The Outsiders, they fight a Tyrannosaurus Rex that has been cursed be a werewolf? And then it gets set on fire? That sounds sorta cool. That is what this issue is about, right? No? Oh. Well never mind then.


SUPERMAN #702
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Art by EDDY BARROWS & J.P. MAYER
Cover by JOHN CASSADAY
"Grounded" continues as Superman enters a small town in Ohio where, like many towns, a number of its residents are from other places. But when The Man of Steel discovers that there are also a number of residents secretly from other worlds, he unravels a mystery that may have grave consequences for Earth.

Hey, I’m in a small town in Ohio right this very moment! Will Superman visit me? Will I be in the comics? Are my neighbors secretly from other worlds?!.

I wasn’t planning on reading JMS’ Superman run on account of not liking Barrows’ art at all really, but I guess I should check out this issue, just so I can stay on top of the superhero-comics-set in-Ohio scene.


SUPERMAN/BATMAN #75
Written by PAUL LEVITZ, JOE KELLY, DAVID FINCH, J.T. KRUL, STEVEN T. SEAGLE and others
Art by JERRY ORDWAY, DAVID FINCH, ADAM HUGHES, FRANCIS MANAPUL, DUNCAN ROULLEAU and others
Cover by FRANK QUITELY
You're invited to a spectacular anniversary celebration as Paul Levitz unites the World's Finest with the super-team he's best known for - the Legion of Super-Heroes! Lex Luthor has finally unleashed a threat powerful enough to gain the Legion's attention in the far future, but to take Luthor down, they'll have to journey into the past and ask for help from both Batman and Superboy!
Plus, Joe Kelly and various writers and artists chronicle the history of The Man of Steel and The Dark Knight in adventures that span from yesterday into the far beyond! Adam Hughes writes and draws a tale starring Supergirl and Batgirl, J.T. Krul and Francis Manipul deliver a tale of Superboy and Red Robin seeking advice from their mentors, Ace and Krypto get leashed by Duncan Rouleau, David Finch writes and illustrates a story for the first time, and Joe Kelly, Steven T. Seagle, Billy Tucci and many more surprises help commemorate this anniversary extravaganza!

Is it weird that the Ace and Krypto story is the one that sounds the most exciting to me…?


SUPERMAN: THE LAST FAMILY OF KRYPTON #1
Written by CARY BATES
Art by RENATO ARLEM
Cover by FELIPE MASSAFERA
Returning to a character he's long been associated with, legendary writer Cary Bates explores a different side to Superman's legend in an Elseworlds tale that hinges on the fact that while baby Kal-el has rocketed to the distant planet Earth from his doomed homeworld of Krypton, he was not alone. How does a world handle the emergence of the Last Family of Krypton as Jor-El, Lara and Kal-El make Earth their adopted home?

I just wanted to note the presence of the word “Elseworlds” in the solicit up there. That’s the first time I’ve seen it in a good long while, and I was pretty sure DC abandoned the imprint/branding when Dan DiDio rose to power (I can recall him saying in at least one interview that they would be shying away from such projects in the future in favor of focusing on the DC Universe stuff).


TITANS #26
Written by ERIC WALLACE
Art and cover by FABRIZIO FIORENTINO
Straight out of the JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE RISE OF ARSENAL miniseries, Arsenal signs up with Deathstroke and Cheshire when the Titans target a child slavery ring for takedown. What they unearth will shock you to the core!

All right, child slavery ring! That sounds like a lot of fun! I can’t wait to read this!
Note the gravestone, always a cheery thing to see on the cover of a comic book, specifies Lian Harper’s exact age when she died—five. So DC—or at least cover artist Fabrizo Fiorentino—is being very specific about the precise age of the dead child that they had killed off in one of their dumb stories. I’ve heard people speculating about how old she was at the time of her death, given how weird aging can be in the DC Universe, but it appears she wasn’t much older than she was here:
Delightful.

Also, I didn’t read the latest snuffy DC special, Titans: Villains For Hire #1, but if anyone in the reading audience did, do they explain why Deathstroke’s team is going by the name “Titans” …?