This week sees the launch of DC Entertainment‘s mature line, DC Black Label with Batman: Damned by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo.
It’s not the fantastic story and amazing art that has everyone talking, no, it’s the fact Batman lets it all hang out.
We discuss this hot topic and why it’s a brilliant move by DC.
It’s Wednesday which means it’s new comic book day with new releases hitting shelves, both physical and digital, all across the world. This week we’ve got the launch of DC Black Label with Batman Damned #1!
Batman Damned #1 is by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo, Jared K. Fletcher, Steve Cook, Will Dennis, Maggie Howell, and Mark Doyle.
Get your copy in comic shops today. To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
Amazon/Kindle/comiXology or TFAW
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for review
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Batman Damned #1
(W) Brian Azzarello (A/CA) Lee Bermejo
In Shops: Sep 19, 2018
SRP: $6.99
DC BLACK LABEL, the highly anticipated new imprint from DC Comics, starts here!
The Joker is dead.
There is no doubt about that. But whether Batman finally snapped his scrawny neck or some other sinister force in Gotham City did the deed is still a mystery.
Problem is, Batman can’t remember… and the more he digs into this labyrinthine case, the more his mind starts to doubt everything he’s uncovering.
So who better to set him straight than… John Constantine? Problem with that is as much as John loves a good mystery, he loves messing with people’s heads even more. So with John’s “help,” the pair will delve into the sordid underbelly of Gotham as they race toward the mind-blowing truth of who murdered The Joker.
BATMAN: DAMNED is a bimonthly super-natural horror story told by two of comics’ greatest modern creators-a visceral thrill-ride that proudly puts the “black” in BLACK LABEL.
It was new comic day yesterday. What’d everyone get? What’d you enjoy? What’d you dislike? Sound off in the comments below! While you think about that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.
Washington Post – A Ferrari test drive. Hate groups’ message boards. Bryan Edward Hill goes to extremes to find his comic characters. – You’re going to hear this creator’s name a lot over the next year.
CBR – Death Note Sequel Reportedly in Development By Netflix – The first is so bad.
ICv2 – Wizard World Lost $505K in Q2 – How much longer can they keep going?
Newsarama – The End of the F***ing World Renewed for Second Season on Netflix & Channel Four – Awesome to see a second season.
The Comichron – Black Label Batman Damned #1 leads advance reorders; Fantastic Four #1 tops reorders – This isn’t too surprising.
Reviews
Newsarama – Action Comics #1002
Talking Comics – Mr. and Mrs. X #2
DC Black Label is a brand-new publishing imprint dedicated to giving premier writers and artists the chance to expand on DC’s unrivaled characters with unique, standalone stories set outside DC continuity. We’ve gotten an announcement as to some of what is coming and now we have a better idea as to when things are coming.
Batman: Damned #1 – September 19, 2018 (bimonthly, three issues) – Written by Brian Azzarello with art by Lee Bermejo
Superman: Year One #1 – November, 2018 (bimonthly, three issues) – Written by Frank Miller with art by John Romita Jr.
The Other History of the DC Universe #1 – December, 2018 (seven issues) – Written by John Ridley
In addition, Batman: White Knight by Sean Gordon Murphy will have the label for its collected edition which will be released October 9th.
DC Entertainment isn’t done announcing new comic imprints. The company has already announced two lines aimed at younger readers, DC Ink and DC Zoom, but there’s also a line curated by Brian Michael Bendis in the works. Now, the comic publisher has announced their latest, “DC Black Label,” which will pair some of the best creators with the best characters.
In the announcement, DC Entertainment co-publisher Jim Lee explained:
Many of our perennially best-selling, critically acclaimed books were produced when we unleashed our top talent on standalone, often out-of-continuity projects featuring our most iconic characters, a prime example being Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. Creating DC Black Label doubles down on our commitment to working with all-star talent and trusting them to tell epic, moving stories that only they can tell with the highest levels of creative freedom.
There’s already numerous projects announced:
Each story will be released in a format dictated by creators and take place outside of DC Universe canon. It allows the creators to explore the characters and take full advantage. Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons tells the story of Wonder Woman’s people from their creation until the arrival of Steve Trevor on Paradise Island. Wonder Woman: Diana’s Daughter is a story set 20 years in the future.
The line will have Mark Doyle as executive editor and they’re expected to launch in August with Superman: Year One. Check out all of the synopses and art below:
SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE from Frank Miller (THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT: MASTER RACE) and John Romita Jr. (ALL-STAR BATMAN, SUPERMAN)
A groundbreaking, definitive treatment of Superman’s classic origin story in honor of his 80th anniversary. This story details new revelations that reframe the Man of Steel’s most famous milestones—from Kal-El’s frantic exile from Krypton, to Clark Kent’s childhood in Kansas, to his inevitable rise to become the most powerful and inspiring superhero of all time.
BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, the creative team behind DARK KNIGHTS: METAL
Batman wakes up in a desert. He doesn’t know what year it is or how The Joker’s head is alive in a jar beside him, but it’s the beginning of a quest unlike anything the Dark Knight has undertaken before. In this strange future, villains are triumphant and society has liberated itself from the burden of ethical codes. Fighting to survive while in search of answers, Bruce Wayne uncovers the truth about his role in this new world—and begins the last Batman story ever told.
BATMAN: DAMNED from Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo, the creative team behind JOKER
On a deserted Gotham City bridge, a body is found. Whispers spread the news: Joker is dead. But is this a dream come true or a nightmare being born? Now Batman and DC’s outlaw magician John Constantine must hunt the truth through a Gotham City hellscape. The city’s supernatural recesses are laced with hints about a killer’s identity, but the Dark Knight’s descent into horror will test his sanity and the limits of rationality, as he must face a horror that doesn’t wear a mask.
WONDER WOMAN HISTORIA: THE AMAZONS from Kelly Sue DeConnick (Bitch Planet) and Phil Jimenez (INFINITE CRISIS)
A Homeric epic of the lost history of the Amazons and Queen Hippolyta’s rise to power. Featuring monsters and myths, this three-book saga spans history from the creation of the Amazons to the moment Steve Trevor washes up on the shores of Paradise Island, changing our world forever.
WONDER WOMAN: DIANA’S DAUGHTER (working title) from Greg Rucka (WONDER WOMAN, BATWOMAN)
It’s been 20 years since the world stopped looking to the skies for hope, help, and inspiration. Now the world keeps its eyes down, and the powers that have risen have every intention of keeping things that way. Amongst a scattered, broken resistance, a young woman seeks to reclaim what has been forgotten, and on the way will learn the truth about herself, her heritage, and her destiny.
THE OTHER HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE from John Ridley (12 Years a Slave, THE AMERICAN WAY)
A compelling literary series analyzing iconic DC moments and charting sociopolitical gains through the perspectives of DC Super Heroes who come from traditionally disenfranchised groups, including John Stewart, Extraño, Vixen, Supergirl, Katana and Rene Montoya, among others. At its core, the story focuses on the lives of those behind the costumes, and their endeavors to overcome real-world issues. It isn’t about saving the world, it’s about having the strength to simply be who you are.
