DC Solicits of Interest - July 2013

[espanolbot]

BATMAN ‘66 #1


Written by JEFF PARKER
Art by JONATHAN CASE
Cover by MICHAEL ALLRED
1:25 Variant cover by JONATHAN CASE
On sale JULY 31 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
DIGITAL FIRST
Put on your go-go boots and get ready to “Batusi” back to the Swingin’ 60s as DC Comics reimagines the classic Batman TV series in comics form for the first time! These all-new stories portray The Caped Crusader, The Boy Wonder and their fiendish rogues gallery just the way viewers remember them. In this first adventure, The Riddler’s out to steal some valuable artwork from under the noses of Gotham’s police. But Batman gets help from an unlikely source: a certain femme fatale dressed in feline finery!

Interesting. Heh, they kept the Joker's painted over moustache I see.

BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #18


Written by ADAM BEECHEN and SCOTT PETERSON
Art by ADAM ARCHER and ANNIE WU • Cover by ANNIE WU
On sale JULY 17 • 48 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T • DIGITAL FIRST
The shocking finale of the “Undercloud” storyline is here! Plus, when an all-new Batgirl pops up in Neo-Gotham, it’s up to former Commissioner Barbara Gordon to decide if she’s friend or foe!

Wait, I thought that they said she was getting her own series, boo! And, yeah, if Beechen's still involved, it'll be Babs. Grr.

SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 SPECIAL #2


Written by BRYAN Q. MILLER
Art and cover by CAT STAGGS
On sale JULY 31 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T • DIGITAL FIRST
When Lois Lane accepts an assignment outside of Metropolis, she gets more than she bargained for. Follow the Daily Planet’s star reporter to the Congo as she investigates the Angel of the Plateau! “Valkyrie” reintroduces Lana Lang to the series!

Wait, Smallville!Lana?! Noooooooooooooo! Also if they're in the Congo, why are some of those people clearly wearing clothes more suited for deserts?

BATMAN: LI’L GOTHAM #4


Written by DEREK FRIDOLFS and DUSTIN NGUYEN
Art and cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN
“We Can Be Heroes” Blank variant cover available
On sale JULY 10 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E • DIGITAL FIRST
As Gotham City celebrates St. Patrick’s Day, all its banks are left with no gold under the rainbow. Provided with help, Batman and his crew round up the usual green goons…but no good deed goes unpunished. And in the second story, Batman and Robin can’t be late for this very important Easter date, as Mad Hatter terrorizes Gotham with egg-splosive fury.

Valentine's Day? Delayed a touch, I see.

BATMAN #22


Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art by GREG CAPULLO and DANNY MIKI
Backup story art by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE
Cover by GREG CAPULLO
1:25 Variant cover by MIKEL JANIN
1:100 B&W cover by GREG CAPULLO
On sale JULY 10 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US
RATED T • Combo pack edition: $4.99 US

The second chapter of “Zero Year” delves into Bruce Wayne’s past with the Red Hood Gang and his run-ins with aspiring District Attorney Harvey Dent! And in the backup story, a secret moment from Bruce’s training abroad is revealed for the first time!
This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.


Red Hood Gang? Hmm, I know that they're changing the origin slightly as the old one doesn't fit with the DCnU, but him possibly being connected to the Joker a bit more directly... is an interesting choice.

DETECTIVE COMICS #22


Written by JOHN LAYMAN
Art and cover by JASON FABOK
Backup story art by ANDY CLARKE
1:25 B&W Variant cover by JASON FABOK
On sale JULY 3 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Meet The Wrath! In Gotham City, he’s the anti-Batman, and the body count is about to shoot through the roof! And in the backup story, Man-Bat makes a startling discovery!
This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.

Normally I'd complain about the over saturation of characters like this, but the Wrath is actually an established character so I'll let that slide. Also, shockingly, his DCnU redesign is actually BETTER than his original one!

BATGIRL #22


Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art by FERNANDO PASARIN and JONATHAN GLAPION
Cover by ALEX GARNER
On sale JULY 10 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Following the recent massive trauma she’s suffered, Barbara Gordon tries to move on with her life—without Batgirl!

Pretty cover, though maybe Babs could have used something less dangerous to remove her Bat? Maybe a screwdriver?

Comments

[zapbiffpow]

The only exposure to Wrath I've had is from The Batman. Can't wait to see if he's got a personal Robin, too.

On that note, what makes a good Anti-Batman anyway? Hush, Hurt, Joker, Wrath, Owlman, Prometheus, even Killer Moth, I guess - it's like a whole sub-niche of Bat-rogues.

[icon_uk]

In the "Batman: Confidential" arc featuring the "return" of the Wrath, we discover that he not only had a "Robin", but the new Wrath IS his former "Robin", and that the Wrath had actually recruited a half dozen kids in an effort to create his sidekick, only for them all to die in the vicious training process he employed, and the only survivor was, frankly, insane.

[zapbiffpow]

Unstable successor to his mentor, failed to keep a sidekick...whoa, so that version of Wrath's like, Anti-Dick!Bats. I should look that up - was it a well-written arc?

[grazzt]

I'd add Killer Croc and Bane (at least in their initial appearances), maybe Ra's as well. Might as well throw in Athena (from Batman: Family) and the Phantasm (from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm).

[jlbarnett]

In Gotham City he is the Anti-Batman.

What is he outside Gotham City?

[biod]

A damn fine bartender.

[espanolbot]

Some guy who murders policemen for profit.

[cainofdreaming]

Part-time brave sea captain and a part-time gigolo for the stars.

[thanekos]

Guy getting kicked in the face by Black Canary in a heroes vs. villains two-page spread?

[benuben]

Overpowered genre blind moron, that kills a lot o people in overcomplicated plan, that works due to power of plot convenience and utterly destroys character, that had nothing to do with the story.

[superfangirl1]

Lol, I love you guys here. :D

[icon_uk]

The Red Hood Gang has already shown up in the DCnU, with Batman impersonating one of the members. The leader is a psychotic who makes jokes, so you can sort of see THAT one signposted.

Oh, and out of curiosity, why do you mention Valentines Day when the solicit doesn't, it mentions St Patrick's Day and Easter. Wasn't Valentines Day in an earlier issue?

[espanolbot]

Damn, I meant Easter. Still out of date!

[mrstatham]

The print issues are out of date, yes, but only because they collect sets of digital issues. When they're published digitally, they're actually in the months relevant to the holidays that are mentioned.

[mrstatham]

Batgirl's still rocking overly tedious melodrama, I see.

[kurenai_tenka]

Yeah that was my first thought, it's probably just the two but it certainly feels like she's crying on every cover these days.

[mrstatham]

Mmhmm. I mean, I know Steph's book wasn't all sunshine and lollipops, but it certainly had far more upbeat moments than the current book, which - to me, has done nothing but drag Barbara through incessant trauma and melodrama with the completely stupid overuse of her brother and the Killing Joke references, and has really established her as nothing but a failure since she wasn't even capable of stopping her 'arch-nemesis' who promptly released every single villain Barbara had fought up to that point. Where's the sense of accomplishment or any real kind of reason for actually being Batgirl when her existence in the role just seems incredibly miserable?

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

Babs is Batgirl again! How dare you demand more like quality, character accomplishment and logical narrative!

[kurenai_tenka]

Ugh, don't even get me started on the use of her brother. It was such an awful decision, and really cheapened both Snyder's storyline and the character himself. Plus, as you say, the constant failure removes so much of the previous competence she was associated with, so it hardly even feels like the Barbara we've known for so long. We lost Oracle and instead got Barbara constantly losing and being beaten down no matter what progress she makes, blah.

[shadowpsykie]

the thought just occurred to me... considering the new Batgirl's skin tone... she could be Barbara's daughter....

[cyberghostface]

Hmm, just hope they don't make the 60s' comics "self-aware" about how goofy the show was.

[silverhammerman]

Apparently the way they're doing it is that Batman is "in on the joke" whatever that means, but otherwise it'll be played as straight as the show was.

[mrstatham]

But then even the show was self-aware in terms of how goofy it was. That's why you had Batman as the straight man to nearly everyone else in the show, even Alfred and Robin.

[his_spiffynesss]

But will there be regular scenes of bat roping up buildings with celebrities popping out the windows?

[q99]

Ugh, Beechen? That's a big 'to avoid' sign.

[espanolbot]

Yeah the interviews said he was leaving, what gives?

[akodo_rokku]

Maybe whoever was going to replace him pre-jumped ship like everyone at DC seems to be doing these days.

[maxisanacorn]

I think he's taking the helm after?

[jcbaggee]

WAY better design for The Wrath.

For those of you who don't remember