Justice League of America #9
Written by: Bryan Hitch
Art by: Daniel Henriques, Bryan Hitch
Cover by: Bryan Hitch
Variant cover by: Scott Williams, Jim Lee
With Earth as collateral damage, the Kryptonian deity called Rao has the Justice League on the ropes! It would take a miracle to defeat him. Good thing the League makes miracles look easy…
Every year, DC Entertainment invites fans to celebrate the most revered Super Hero of all time on Batman Day. This year on Saturday, September 17th, generations of fans will celebrate the Caped Crusader’s remarkable legacy at festivities held at thousands of comic book retailers, bookstores, schools and libraries around the world, some of which will include free comic book giveaways and signings by some of the biggest names in comics
To commemorate Batman Day this year, fans will receive a copy of Batman #1 from this year’s DC REBIRTH written by Tom King and illustrated by David Finch, Matt Banning and Jordie Bellaire.
Major retailers including Pottery Barn Kids, Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million, as well as hundreds of schools and public libraries will host fan events with fun-filled activities at locations nationwide, and Six Flags parks across the U.S. will distribute free copies of Batman #1. Batman fans will also be able to download for free a family friendly Batman Day activity kit including activity sheets, trivia and games.
Digital readers can get in on the Batman Day fun through two, massive digital comics sales. From Sept. 13-19 the “Road to Batman Day” sale will offer 15 eBooks and 100 digital periodical issues featuring iconic Batman titles like Batman: Hush and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. eBooks will be on sale for $5.99 and periodicals will have a 75 percent discount. Then on Batman Day (9/17), Batman Vol. 7: Endgame and Batman Adventures Vol. 1 will be on sale for $3.99 each.
This year’s Batman Day celebration is hosted by DC Entertainment, along with Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment and Warner Bros. Consumer Products licensees including Capstone Young Readers, Bendon, Penguin Random House, Scholastic, DK Licensing, HarperCollins and Storytoys, all creating unique opportunities for retail and digital promotions across various media to honor the Dark Knight.
Now in its third year, the annual fan-favorite event was first introduced timed to its world-renowned character’s 75th anniversary.
The day will also feature signings and meet-and-greets with top Batman talent include an all-star lineup at Midtown Comics Downtown in New York City with Frank Miller, Tom King, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. Additional signings include Snyder and John Romita, Jr. (Long Island, NY), DCE Publisher Jim Lee (Pasadena, CA), Hope Larson (Pasadena, CA), Paul Dini (Los Angeles), Julie and Shawna Benson (Los Angeles), James Tynion IV (Downtown Los Angeles, Danny Miki (Chino Hills, CA), Tim Seeley (Chicago, IL) and David Finch (Windsor, Ontario), with more to be announced.
Batman Day takes place Saturday, September 17.
Announced today at the Diamond Retailer breakfast and through the Wall Street Journal, DC Comics will be bringing together two of its biggest properties this December with Justice League vs. Suicide Squad. It’s the first of quarterly events planned by the publisher as part of the rumored “two year plan” laid out for DC’s Rebirth.
The event will be written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Jason Fabok and will take place over the course of six issues. There’ll be two issues released in December and four in January and will tie-in with Suicide Squad #9 and 10, and Justice League #12 and #13.
The story centers around the idea of whether Task Force X needs to exist in a world with the Justice League. This is similar to a statement made during the mid-credits scene in Suicide Squad which backs up DC’s statement that their comic universe will now better reflect the live action universe.
The story itself will be seen through the point of view of new Suicide Squad team member Killer Frost. Out of the event it has been reported a new Justice League of America series will be launched.
DC Comics has announced that they’ve shipped nearly 12 million comic books this summer due to the success of their new initiative Rebirth.
There have been a total of 11 issues that have exceeded 200,000 units shipped, an additional 60-plus issues have shipped more than 100,000 copies each, and 21 issues have gone back to print multiple times. The flagship book, Geoff Johns’ DC Universe: Rebirth Special, recently went back to press a fifth time and has sold nearly 350,000 copies.
DC’s Rebirth launched in June with as an ambitious publishing initiative that brings together 80 years of history blending old and new together. That initiative included a relaunch of titles with fresh first issues, double shipping some of their most popular titles, and renumber Detective Comics and Action Comics with their legacy numbers.
The launch focused on themes of hope and optimism and returned the DC Universe to a more closely knit superhero continuity.
Rebirth titles are enjoying a 29 percent higher lift than the company’s previous relaunch in 2011, DC Comics – The New 52, with the top 10 titles being a combination of core classics, new titles and some surprises—including the top-selling book Harley Quinn #1, with more than 400,000 copies shipped.
The collected editions for the launch will begin to come to stores in January.
Future Quest #4
Written by: Jeff Parker
Art by: Aaron Lopresti, Steve Rude
Cover by: Evan “Doc” Shaner
Variant cover by: Paul Renaud
An earth-shattering power has come to life in the jungles of South America, and Team Quest and Birdman race the forces of F.E.A.R. to reach it first! There they find time ripped apart in a lost valley where dinosaurs and cavemen run wild once more as the ancient legend of Mightor is revealed! Only the shipwrecked aliens Jan and Jace hold the secrets of what fate awaits our world, but as a force led by Jezebel Jade attacks, what new hero will rise?
When a retired American politician is taken to Europe and tried for alleged war crimes, the USA must recover him from an allied nation before terrible truths are revealed. Enter the Suicide Squad, who storm the Hague itself to save America from her own dark secrets. The writer who started a revolution, John Ostrander returns to the Suicide Squad for the first time in a decade to tell one of his boldest and bloodiest stories ever.
Writer John Ostrander returns to the Suicide Squad for a one-shot special that has to team breaking international law in a fascinating story for so many reasons. As a political science geek, the idea of kidnapping an American official to stand trial at the Hague has me drooling at the concept. The reasons this is a big deal is laid out well in the comic as Ostrander gives enough detail to show why this matters, but not enough that it qualifies as a Poli-Sci college credit.
Suicide Squad: War Crimes Special #1 takes a real world issue and uses it as the impetus for the story. And, it’s a real-world issue that is constantly fought and rather serious. Ostrander doesn’t make light of it at all, and the end of the comic resolves in a way that is blunt and very “real” in many ways.
The comic is mostly action, which isn’t surprising consider who it involves and the battles are satisfying enough. There’s some twists and turns I didn’t see and Ostrander takes advantage of it being a one-shot. I have no idea if the comic will have an impact on the ongoing series, but there’s a moment or two I can see coming up at various points down the road.
The art by Gus Vazquez is hit and miss for me. Harley Quinn stands out with features more akin to the Joker or Joker’s Daughter. Her contortions at points are really off with strange twists and turns. The other characters generally look good, so not sure why it’s just Harley that has the issues here.
Overall, the comic is entertaining. I tend to find one-shots and annuals lacking, but that’s not the case at all. Ostrander still can masterfully entertain with these characters while weaving in real politics.
Story: John Ostrander Art: Gus Vazquez
Story: 8.15 Art: 6.7 Overall: 7.85 Recommendation: Read
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Hot on the heels of reaching agreements with writers Tim Seeley and Joshua Williamson, DC Entertainment continues to expand its roster of top name talent, announcing today that it has reached agreements with international artists Robson Rocha and Otto Schmidt to create comic book content solely for the publisher’s DC and Vertigo imprints.
A breakout star on a celebrated Rebirth title in June 2016, Brazilian artist Robson Rocha has worked for DC on several fan-favorite, space-themed series before now committing fully to space-cops with Green Lanterns, written by Sam Humphries. As a penciller, inker and cover artist, Rocha has worked on such New 52 titles as Lobo and Sinestro, as well as Birds of Prey, Superboy, and Batman/Superman, among others. Rocha is represented by Chiaroscuro Studios and lives in Sao Paulo.
Recently featured as the artist for DC’s Green Arrow: Rebirth with writer Benjamin Percy, Siberian-born Schmidt now lives on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. An immediate hot seller in June 2016 (resulting in second and third printings), Schmidt handles all aspects of interior and cover art for his issues of Green Arrow, from design to pencils to inks and final color. Lauded by press and fans for the vibrant styling of his handsome Green Arrow and beautiful Black Canary, Schmidt is a name to watch for on future DC projects.
DC has also recently signed artists Liam Sharp, Andy Kubert, writers Dan Abnett, Amanda Conner, and more. Stay tuned for more upcoming announcements as DC continues to expand its talent pool.
Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harleys #5
Written by: Frank Tieri, Jimmy Palmiotti
Art by: Mauricet
Cover by: Amanda Conner
Variant cover by: Amanda Conner
This is it—the story you’ve been waiting for: the secret origin of comic’s newest, deadliest and most insanest villainess, Harley Sinn! Why is she so obsessed with Harley? How did she manage to become a super-villain? And what is her connection to the Gang of Harleys themselves? Find out this issue! Plus…Harley’s still kidnapped! So there’s that.
Gotham Academy Annual #1
Written by: Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan
Art by: Christian Wildgoose, Michael Dialynas, Adam Archer
Cover by: Karl Kerschl
When the Gotham Academy student body comes down with a mysterious disease, Pomeline and Colton disagree on the origin of the threat, causing a fissure in Detective Club! The team fractures to get to the bottom of the case…but who will solve it first? Will Maps be able to reunite her friends? Will they ever eat pizza together again?! Join the search for clues in the first ever Gotham Academy Annual, precursor to Gotham Academy: Second Semester!
Welcome to Graphic Policy’s Rebirth Review where we take a look at the comics released under DC‘s Rebirth banner and try to work out just how accessible they are for new readers, because although Rebirth has been positioned as an apology to long time fans, we were curious to see how accessible the publisher’s comics are to new readers now that we’re seeing a large number of first issues hit the racks. So far, for the most part, the comics have been easy for new readers to pick up – minus one or two here and there that rely heavily on previous events.
Last week we took a look at whether the comics released on 8/17 had been new reader friendly, and proceeded to give each a simple rating of Friendly/Unfriendly based on how easy it was for new readers to pick them up; the ratings are based solely on the issues released in the post-Rebirth ongoing series, with more consideration given for the specific issue being read when it comes to the final rating than the series overall.
Eagle eyed readers may notice that not every comic is covered week to week, and that’s because I have a memory like a sieve and sometimes forget to pick them up, but because we’re focusing on the series’ accessibility I won’t go looking for back issues to fill me in on the stories. When I’ve noticed that I missed an issue I’ll point it out, otherwise I probably won’t mention it.
The comics won’t receive an overall grade out of ten, although some of them may be covered in our weekly Mini Reviews feature (no promises). That said, the quality may be commented on if it directly hampers the ease with which new readers can dive into the story.
Shall we get to this week’s Rebirth comics, then?
Action Comics #962
Frankly, this Unfriendly comic is fantastic – it’s just not quite ideal as a starting point for new readers.
Batgirl #2
I missed the first issue and while I wasn’t quite sure what was happening for a couple pages, I was able to follow along with the story quite easily. Friendly whether you’re new this issue or not.
Blue Beetle Rebirth #1
I was a huge fan of Blue Beetle before the New 52… and then for whatever reason I stopped reading. Picking up this issue, I was nervous about whether I’d be able to easily follow along with the story. I shouldn’t have been. This is a Friendly enough comic that new readers can easily pick up and enjoy.
Deathstroke #1
A direct continuation from the Rebirth special that will be tough to follow unless you read that comic – it’s still possible, but only just. The issue would have been better served being the second, not the first. Friendly, but only just.
Detective Comics #939
There’s some great artistic moments here that are worth seeing, but the story isn’t going to welcome you you with open arms, because unless you’ve been on board for a couple of issues, you’re going to find this issue Unfriendly.
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #3
I completely forgot to pick this one up, so I honestly have no idea whether this is freindly or not.
Sixpack and Dogwelder Hard Travellin’ Heroz #1
Having never heard of these characters before, I was curious about the comic. It’s certainly one of the more unique comics to come from DC now the New 52 is over, and it’s decent enough – and, yes, Friendly enough – to pull me back for another issue.
The Flash #5
By focusing the first few pages on one of the other speedsters who gained their powers from a Speed Force lightning storm a few issues ago, we get a very well scripted recap/story blend that makes the comic very Friendly for new readers right away. There is also the standard comic style reminders in the narration boxes that give you minor bits of relevant information from previous issues as the story progresses
The Hellblazer #1
I’d say that after the Rebirth special I was left with the impression that we were going back to the Constantine we had before the New 52 integrated him into the regular DC Universe, but I honestly wouldn’t know. But if you’re coming to the comic after having watched the short lived television show, you’re going to find this a Friendly place to start out.
Titans #2
Action Comics #962 aside, this was the comic I most looking forward too this week. Much like the previously mentioned comic, it’s very good… it’s just not an ideal starting place for new readers. Friendly, but only if you’ve read at least the first issue.
Wonder Woman #5
The two stories running concurrently in alternating issues lend Wonder Woman more of a monthly release feeling than the bi-weekly schedule we’re actually getting. Both stories have – at least in part – been exploring the relationship between Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor, so despite this being a fairly Friendly starting place, you’d enjoy the series much more if you read some previous issues.
