Written by HOPE LARSON
Art and cover by CHRIS WILDGOOSE
...
“Son of Penguin” part two! It’s hard enough to juggle a new boyfriend when you’re not secretly investigating him for super-villainy! But is Batgirl dating Ethan Cobblepot to get to bottom of his new tech business…or could she actually like him? Plus, Magpie strikes!
On sale FEBRUARY 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
So I have a confession to make: I did not like the first story arc of the Hope Larson-written Batgirl comics, like, at all. The artwork, provided by Rafael Albuquerque, was pretty solid, but as Barbara was outside of Gotham and removed from her supporting cast, it was difficult to get a sense of what he might bring to the book, long-term.
Now, that said, it's quite possible that some of dislike of that arc was me, not them–the previous Batgirl by the previous creative team was one of my favorite DC Comics, and this was a huge departure. I understood the wisdom of the departure to a degree–by temporarily relocating Barbara with a tour of Asia, it gave the Larson/Albuqureque team some space to avoid any kind of direct comparison to the preceding team, but it just wasn't very engaging.
This actually sounds a lot more interesting, although it looks like Albuquerque is taking a few issues off.
The main thing I wanted to point out here though? It's the return of Magpie! And it looks like they are using the redesign that (extremely) minor Bat-villain had in the short-lived Beware The Batman animated series. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed that series, a large part of which, I think, was due to the fact that the producers purposely tried to restrict themselves to only using Batman villains that never (or just barely) appeared in previous Batman cartoons.
They used Magpie as essentially a Catwoman-like foil to Batman, and she had a pretty great re-design, I thought. That said, i think I've only seen three Magpie designs ever (that from her original comics appearance, the one in Beware and the one in the recent DC Super Hero Girls: Hits and Myths graphic novel).
Anyway: Hooray for Magpie!
DETECTIVE COMICS #950
Written by JAMES TYNION IV
Art by MARCIO TAKARA and others
Cover by EDDY BARROWS and EBER FERREIRA •
...
“League of Shadows” prologue! Celebrate 950 issues of the original Batman series with this extra-sized extravaganza! Cassandra Cain has stayed out of the spotlight on Batman’s team as she slowly comes to terms with the civilized world she was kept away from all her life…but the time for her to step up is fast approaching! Will she ever learn how to fit in among the masses, or will she always be more weapon than woman? Plus: a primer on the history of the League of Assassins, and an adventure with the team’s newest recruit: Azrael, the Avenging Angel!
On sale FEBRUARY 8 • 48 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Hmm, you know what help Cassandra become more woman than weapon, and fit in better? If she stopped calling herself "Orphan" and took the name "The Black Bat," and also traded in her current, dumb-ass costume for either her old Batgirl costume or her old Black Bat costume, or something in-between (I bet the Black Bat costume sans cape would look pretty cool, too, for example).
I've been mostly digging Tynion's 'TEC, which features some of my favorite characters, even though they've all been mangled by their New 52 reboots. My main issue with the series–other than Tim and Cassandra's terrible costumes and the latter's terrible codename–is that the art, event at its best, hasn't been very good.
There are so many good comic books vying for ones dollars these days, it's really hard to commit to reading an ongoing just for the writing or characters.
EARTH 2: SOCIETY #21
Written by DAN ABNETT
Art by VICENTE CIFUENTES • Cover by BRUNO REDONDO
The Wonders battle the Sandmen army to free the new Earth 2 from a dystopian fate, but the new world Director has unleashed his terrifying secret weapon. Can Batman, Huntress and John, the weakest of the wonders, shut down the Director’s stronghold? It’s a dangerous, last-minute gamble…and the price may be too great to bear.
On sale FEBRUARY 8 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US RATED T • FINAL ISSUE
I honestly can't believe this book has lasted this long. I've been assuming it was a few issues away from cancellation ever since the original creative team left, and that was like two Batman, a different planet and a relaunch ago.
Written by STEVE ORLANDO
Art and cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
...
Batman, Black Canary, Killer Frost, the Ray, Vixen, the Atom, and…Lobo?! Spinning directly out of the events of JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. SUICIDE SQUAD, join the sensational team of writer Steve Orlando and artists Ivan Reis and Joe Prado and discover how Batman assembled the roughest, toughest Justice League of all time!
One-shot • On sale FEBRUARY 8 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Good creative team, interesting superhero team. Looking at the former, JLoA now seems to be the A book in the Justice League family of books, but looking at the latter, Bryan Hitch and company's Justice League seems to remain the A book.
The "roughest, toughest Justice League of all time" is a pretty bold claim. Lobo and Killer Frost? Sure. And Batman and Black Canary are certainly rough and tough in their weight class, but not ranked against Justice Leaguers.
Anyway, I'm curious about this new book, and wish DC would figure out a plan for the Justice League and stick with it, because the franchise has felt pretty confused and in flux since...I can't remember when. Infinite Crisis, maybe...?
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1
Written by STEVE ORLANDO
Art and cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
...
Meet the Extremists—self-proclaimed saviors from another Earth, they thirst for peace, prosperity and total submission to the will of their leader, Lord Havok! How can the newly assembled JLA stop this group of misguided maniacs before the Extremists unleash their own unique—not to mention dangerous!—brand of law and order on our chaotic world?
On sale FEBRUARY 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
The Extremists? Okay, in that case you can downgrade me from "curious" to "kinda curious."
Written by SHOLLY FISCH
Art and cover by SCOTT JERALDS
Quick Draw McGraw may be the high-falutin’est, fastest-shootin’est lawman on the lone prairie, but he needs help from Scooby and the gang when faced with that rustlin’ wraith, the Fastest Ghost in the West! Of course, if the ghost is too much for even this team-up to handle, they can ask for help from El Kabong.
On sale FEBRUARY 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E
I am totally going to read this, but this particular pairing doesn't quite work for me. Scooby and maybe even Shaggy can interact with anthropomorphic animals without it blowing my mind (see Laff-A-Lympics), but when Fred, Velma and Daphne get involved, it just feels...wrong (see Scooby-Doo Team-Up #11, the one with Secret Squirrel).
Also, man, look at that cover. It's got Shaggy and Scooby riding on horses...while hanging out with another horse, who can walk and talk, leading to that whole Pluto/Goofy sort of uncomfortableness.
SUICIDE SQUAD #11
Written by ROB WILLIAMS
Art by RILEY ROSSMO
Cover by PHILIP TAN
...
“BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE” part one! Spinning directly out of the events of JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. SUICIDE SQUAD! Hidden somewhere deep within, the world is a burning flame. Its light is blinding. Its heat is deadly. It’s a fire fueled by hatred, by rage and by vengeance. Used, abused and left for dead, the greatest foe the Suicide Squad has ever faced returns, more powerful than ever, to burn down the world Amanda Waller has given everything to protect.
On sale FEBRUARY 8 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
SUICIDE SQUAD #12
Written by ROB WILLIAMS
Art by RILEY ROSSMO
Cover by PHILIP TAN
...
“BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE” part two! Determined to unmake all the world’s institutions of governance and control, [REDACTED] orchestrates a series of prison breakouts across the DC Universe, forcing Harley Quinn, Deadshot and the rest of the Suicide Squad into their most dangerous mission yet: keeping their former super-villain comrades in jail.
On sale FEBRUARY 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Hey, Riley Rossmo! That guy's great! I think I like his art much more than I do previous Suicide Squad artist Jim Lee's art and, unlike Lee, I'm assuming he'll be drawing 20-pages of story per issue? At least, there's no mention of any other artists involved in these issues, so maybe their done doing what they've been doing in the weirdly-formatted early issues, in which a little more than half of each one told a chapter in a serial narrative, and the back half of the book was devoted to an origin story by a different artist.
SUPER SONS #1
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art and cover by JORGE JIMENEZ
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“When I grow up” part one! The sons of Batman and Superman have graduated to their own monthly comic—but if they want to survive, they’re going to have to share it! Writer Peter J. Tomasi (BATMAN & ROBIN, SUPERMAN) teams with rising-star artist Jorge Jimenez (EARTH 2) to bring you the adventures of the World’s Smallest. This debut issue looks at the lives of Robin and Superboy and their destiny to follow in their fathers’ footsteps, while we meet a new villain whose ascension parallels the boys’ own understanding of their powers—except that he believes it’s his right to rule over every being on the planet!
On sale FEBRUARY 15 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
I really enjoyed the introduction of the Super Sons to one another in the pages of Tomasi, Patrick Gelason, Doug Mahnke and company's Superman, which may be the all-around best of the Rebirth titles so far (despite a rocky first arc), so I'm really looking forward to this book.
Damian works best with another character to play off, and Jon was a pretty perfect foil in their first pairing. I'm glad Tomasi is writing too, as he's written Damian longer than just about anyone else at this point, and has probably written Jon as much or more than anyone else too (Jurgens uses Jon in Action Comics, but he gets much less panel-time there).
TEEN TITANS BY GEOFF JOHNS BOOK ONE TP
Written by GEOFF JOHNS • Art by MIKE McKONE, MARLO ALQUIZA, TOM GRUMMETT, NORM RAPMUND and KEVIN CONRAD Cover by MIKE McKONE and MARLO ALQUIZA
Superboy, Kid Flash, Robin, Wonder Girl, Cyborg and many more join together to fight iconic super-villains like Deathstroke and Ravager! With inner demons rising, can the team save one of their own—or will they succumb to darkness? This new title collects TEEN TITANS #1/2 and #1-12 plus TEEN TITANS/OUTSIDERS SECRET FILES 2003 #1.
On sale MARCH 8 • 368 pg, FC, $29.99 US
Don't read this; it will just make you depressed about the state of the Teen Titans franchise at DC (although the first few issues of the post-"Rebirth" book have been pretty A-OK), and wonder again about the wisdom of sacrificing all these characters and their continuity in the Flashpoint/New 52 reboot.
THE WILD STORM #1
Written by WARREN ELLIS
Art and cover by JON DAVIS-HUNT
...
A troubled woman, barred by her employer from continuing her research, walks miserably through New York City. It takes her a moment to notice that everybody else is looking up. A man has been thrown from the upper floor of the Halo skyscraper.
And that woman—Angela Spica, sick from the transhuman implants she’s buried in her own body—is the only person who can save him.
What she doesn’t know is that the act of saving that one man will tip over a vast and secret house of cards that encloses the entire world, if not the inner solar system. This is how the Wild Storm begins, and it may destroy covert power structures, secret space programs and even all of human history.
New York Times best-selling writer Warren Ellis (TRANSMETROPOLITAN, RED, THE AUTHORITY) returns to DC to curate Jim Lee’s WildStorm world, with this debut issue resetting the WildStorm universe with new iterations of Grifter, Voodoo, the Engineer, Jenny Sparks and others.
“I couldn’t be more excited to see these characters that are so near and dear to me reintroduced under the guiding hand of Warren Ellis. WildStorm represents an incredibly fun and exciting period in my career, and I can’t wait to see what Warren and Jon have in store for fans in February.”—Jim Lee, DC Comics Co-Publisher
On sale FEBRUARY 15 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T+
Huh. You know when might have been a good time to reboot the WildStorm Universe? Oh, somewhere around fall of 2011, when DC just kind of haphazardly fused a rebooted version of various WildStorm characters into their rebooted DCU, and then watched as the clumsy additions were slowly bled out of The New 52-iverse, to the point where miniseries Midnighter and Apollo is the last vestiges of the WildStorm Universe left in the current DCU.
Sounds like this is another reboot, but just of the WildStorm Universe as its own entity, an entity which, despite its much younger age, I'm pretty sure has had even more reboots than the DC Universe at this point.
Written by DAN VADO and CHUCK DIXON
Art by MIKE COLLINS, KEVIN WEST, RICK BURCHETT, MARC CAMPOS and others
Cover by MIKE COLLINS and JOSE MARZAN JR.
In these never-before-collected stories from the 1990s, Wonder Woman takes over as leader of the Justice League of America, whether Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Booster Gold and Blue Beetle like it or not. Acting at the behest of the United Nations, the team must respond to a human rights crisis in a remote African nation, only to find the populace under the thumbs of the super-powered Extremists. The team then must jet to Norway, where the young superhero called Ice struggles to keep the nation out of the hands of her older brother. Collects JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #78-85, JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA ANNUAL #7 and GUY GARDNER #15.
On sale MARCH 15 • 264 pg, FC, $24.99 US
Ha, I was just wondering about this era of the Justice League after finishing Superman and The Justice League of America Vol. 2 (which contained very little Superman in it).
I'm all for DC collecting any and all pre-Morrison Justice League comics into trade that haven't yet been collected. My preferred format for these books would be Showcase Presents, but the publisher seems to have quite making those...which breaks my heart, given that they started but didn't finish collecting some series in that format (All-Star Squadron/Young All-Stars).
Finally, February will bring another crop of "Rebirth" collections.
Looking at what will be coming out, I would recommend Deathstroke Vol. 1: The Professional and Suicide Squad Vol. 1: The Black Vault Part One.
I would not recommend Batgirl Vol. 1: Beyond Burnside, Cyborg Vol. 1: The Imitation of Life, Harley Quinn Vol. 1: Die Laughing (Um, maybe they shoulda kept the old numbering for the Harley trades, given that nothing, not even the creative team, changed during the "Rebirth" re-branding?), The Hellblazer Vol. 1: The Poison Truth (great art, though!) or Titans Vol. 1: The Return of Wally West.
But hey, that's just me.
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