Being a comic fan can be tough. With so many publishers printing more and more books, canceling titles and starting new ones, it can be daunting when you head to the comic book shop on a Wednesday to know exactly what’s coming out.
The current system of presenting and ordering comics three months ahead of their release as set forth by the sole comics distributor, Diamond Comics, doesn’t make it any easier either. We’re not a fan of that system, we think it’s slowly strangling comics to death, but we realize it’s a harsh reality of how the industry works and we definitely don’t want you to miss out on any of the cool comics being published.
And so, as opposed to regurgitating the list of comics solicited in Previews each month, we present to you some of the highlights of things you probably won’t want to miss out on.
SPOILER WARNING – in order to get people to order comics, the publishers have a funny habit of revealing what’s happening in the books. If you don’t want anything at all to be spoiled, then you’ll probably want to skip this post and take your chances with your pre-orders and/or your shopping.
BEFORE WATCHMEN
I don’t now if you know about this because DC Comics has done a really poor job of promoting it and I haven’t seen any talk about it on the internet, but in August Before Watchmen will be in full swing.
BEFORE WATCHMEN: NITE OWL #2
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Backup story written by LEN WEIN
Art and cover by ANDY KUBERT and JOE KUBERT
Backup story art by JOHN HIGGINS
Variant cover by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIENDOn sale AUGUST 1 • 32 pg, 2 of 4, FC, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US• “They run…I like it when they run.”
• And don’t miss the latest chapter of the CRIMSON CORSAIR backup epic from writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!
• This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.
BEFORE WATCHMEN: OZYMANDIAS #2
Written by LEN WEIN
Art and cover by JAE LEE
Backup story art by JOHN HIGGINS
Variant cover by PHIL NOTOOn sale AUGUST 8 • 32 pg, FC, 2 of 6, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US• “Why not just kill me now and be done with it?”
• And don’t miss the latest chapter of the CRIMSON CORSAIR backup epic from writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!
• This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.
BEFORE WATCHMEN: RORSCHACH #1
Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO
Backup story written by LEN WEIN
Art and cover by LEE BERMEJO
Backup story art by JOHN HIGGINS
Variant cover by JIM STERANKO
Variant cover by JIM LEEOn sale AUGUST 15 • 32 pg, FC, 1 of 4, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US• “What made you this way?”
• And don’t miss the latest chapter of the CRIMSON CORSAIR backup epic from writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!
• This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.
BEFORE WATCHMEN: DR. MANHATTAN #1
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Backup story written by LEN WEIN
Art and cover by ADAM HUGHES
Backup story art by JOHN HIGGINS
Variant cover by PAUL POPE
Variant cover by JIM LEEOn sale AUGUST 22 • 32 pg, FC, 1 of 4, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US• “I watch as a box containing a mystery is lowered into the soil.”
• And don’t miss the latest chapter of the CRIMSON CORSAIR backup epic from writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!
• This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.
BEFORE WATCHMEN: MINUTEMEN #3
Written by DARWYN COOKE
Backup story written by LEN WEIN
Art and cover by DARWYN COOKE
Backup story art by JOHN HIGGINS
Variant cover by CLIFF CHIANGOn sale AUGUST 29 • 32 pg, FC, 3 of 6, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US• “I’m not here to bust you, I’m here to recruit you. How’d you like to work for your Uncle Sam, Eddie?”
• And don’t miss the latest chapter of the CRIMSON CORSAIR backup epic from writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!
• This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.
90s SWITCHEROO
One of the biggest complaints about DC Comics in the era of The New 52 is that Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras has brought in too many creators from the bad old days of the 90s. Original Superboy writer Scott Lobdell was one of those writers but now he’s done on the book, replaced by a hot new upstart writer named… Tom DeFalco.
SUPERBOY #12
Written by TOM DeFALCO
Art by R.B. SILVA and ROB LEAN
Cover by STEVE LIGHTLEOn sale AUGUST 8 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• There’s a monster hiding in the shadows of New York after dark, and she’s set her sights on Superboy. But her interest in him is more complicated than it seems!
• Superboy’s just starting to figure out what it means to have friends – does he have the good judgment to pick the right ones? Or is he destined to run with the wrong crowd?
ENDINGS
All things must pass. This month sees the end of three books, two from the Vertigo imprint, one of which is a favorite around here. (Although rumors persist that Justice League International will be restarted with a new direction, which it kind of sorely needs, and not just because this one has been canceled.)
JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #12
Written by DAN JURGENS
Art by AARON LOPRESTI and MATT RYAN
Cover by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIENDOn sale AUGUST 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE
• It’s the funeral for ROCKET RED.
• Several members resign from the team – who will be left?JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL #1
Written by GEOFF JOHNS and DAN DIDIO
Art and cover by JASON FABOKOn sale AUGUST 29 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
• Will this issue be the final adventure ever for JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL?
• The true nature of O.M.A.C. revealed!
• Ties in to the shocking events of JUSTICE LEAGUE #12!
• Guest-starring BLUE BEETLE!
iZOMBIE #28
Written by CHRIS ROBERSON
Art and cover by MICHAEL ALLREDOn sale AUGUST 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • MATURE READERS • FINAL ISSUE
All questions are answered in this final issue! Will Gwen make the ultimate sacrifice before Xitalu consumes every soul on Earth? Will Gavin and Spot make up before it’s too late? Will Ellie and Frankenteen find true love? Will Horatio get his original hair color back? With art and colors by Eisner Award nominees Michael and Laura Allred!
SCALPED #60
Written by JASON AARON
Art by R.M. GUERA
Cover by JOCKOn sale AUGUST 15 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • MATURE READERS • FINAL ISSUE
IT ALL ENDS HERE.
BEGINNINGS
But it’s not all doom and gloom at DC Comics. August sees the debut of a new series from one of our favorite writer teams: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti. With covers by Amanda Conner! And although DC Universe Presents hasn’t been lighting up any sales charts or critics’ lists, a new anthology series, National Comics, is upon us.
PHANTOM LADY #1
Written by JUSTIN GRAY and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art by CAT STAGGS and RICH PERROTTA
Cover by AMANDA CONNEROn sale AUGUST 29 • 32 pg, FC, 1 of 4, $2.99 US • RATED T
• The female FREEDOM FIGHTER debuts in her own miniseries!
• Featuring her partner-in-crimefighting, the diminutive dynamo known as DOLL MAN!
NATIONAL COMICS: LOOKER #1
Written by IAN EDGINTON
Art by MIKE S. MILLER
Cover by GUILLEM MARCHOn sale AUGUST 29 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
• New digital-first adventures!
• Emily Briggs was a top supermodel until she was turned into a vampire!
• Briggs uses her supernatural powers to protect the innocent as they navigate the corrupt world of high fashion and modeling!
• A fresh, sexy take on a classic DC character!
ANNUALS
When I was a kid, just about every series had an annual issue that came out in the summer and that’s where the big corssover events usually lived. That’s all gone now, as are most annuals. But DC is bringing them back in force! Or at least, bringing them back for their top tier titles.
THE FLASH ANNUAL #1
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art by FRANCIS MANAPUL, MARCUS TO and others
Cover by FRANCIS MANAPULOn sale AUGUST 29 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
• The Rogues – victorious? If THE FLASH had trouble with them individually, together they’ll kill him!
• Something worse than The Rogues is just waiting for the right moment to attack….
SUPERMAN ANNUAL #1
Written by KEITH GIFFEN
Art by CAFU and others
Cover by TYLER KIRKHAM and BATTOn sale AUGUST 29 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
• Abducted by a group of mysterious aliens, Superman is dragged to a remote alien galaxy to take part in THE GAMES, a world hopping game of cat-and-mouse where players are hunted for sport.
• Can even the help of a mysterious new GREEN LANTERN overcome the might of an alien empire?
DETECTIVE COMICS ANNUAL #1
Written by TONY S. DANIEL
Art by ROMANO MOLENAAR and SANDU FLOREA
Cover by TONY S. DANIEL and SANDU FLOREAOn sale AUGUST 29 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
• The grudge match you’ve been waiting for: BATMAN vs. THE BLACK MASK!
GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #1
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by ETHAN VAN SCIVEROn sale AUGUST 29 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
• The conclusion of “THE REVENGE OF BLACK HAND”!
• Everything changes here! EVERYTHING!
MORRISON
How the heck does Grant Morrison’s Batman, Incorporated story fit into The New 52? Who cares!
BATMAN, INCORPORATED #4
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Art and cover by CHRIS BURNHAM
Variant cover by ANDY CLARKE
Variant cover by CHRIS BURNHAMOn sale AUGUST 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $3.99 US• BATMAN and TALIA AL GHUL continue their fight for control of their son DAMIAN – better known as ROBIN!
• WINGMAN and REDBIRD descent upon GOTHAM CITY! Who are these heroes, and what is their relationship to THE DARK KNIGHT?
• This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.
TRADES
Mike W. Barr and Alan Davis–one of the best creative teams to ever work on a Batman book. I wish there was a more comprehensive collection but this will have to do.
LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT: ALAN DAVIS HC
Written by MIKE W. BARR and others
Art by ALAN DAVIS, PAUL NEARY and MARK FARMER
Cover by ALAN DAVISOn sale OCTOBER 10 • 272 pg, FC, $39.99 US
• Batman stories from legendary artist ALAN DAVIS collected at last!
• Collects DETECTIVE COMICS #569-575, BATMAN: FULL CIRCLE #1 and a story from BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #25.
Got the Green Arrow blues? I know I do. Well, if the current book doesn’t ring your bell, try some a sampling from the two Green Arrow golden eras.
GREEN ARROW: THE LONGBOW HUNTERS TP – NEW EDITION
Written by MIKE GRELL
Art and cover by MIKE GRELLOn sale SEPTEMBER 12 • 160 pg, FC, $14.99 US
• A new edition of the title collecting the 3-issue 1987 miniseries!
• Oliver Queen gives up his trick arrows and settles down in Seattle with Dinah Lance. But Ollie’s world collides with one of unspeakable violence involving the beautiful and mysterious archer known as Shado.
GREEN ARROW: THE ARCHER’S QUEST TP – NEW EDITION
Written by BRAD MELTZER
Art and cover by PHIL HESTER and ANDE PARKSOn sale SEPTEMBER 12 • 176 pg, FC, $14.99 US
• The Emerald Archer returns from the dead and sets off on an adventure that tests his courage and brings formerly hidden facets of the Green Arrow legend to light.
• New edition of the classic title collecting GREEN ARROW #16-21.
For a full list of DC Comics in August click here!
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IT BEGINS
The nerd-ragepocalypse is coming in August
lol just realised BWatchmen comes out before then
*facepalm*
Two things:
1) I did not know JLI was cancelled. Kind of disappointing but looking forward to the new direction. Hopefully with Judd Winick
2) Reprinting Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters. YES! GOOD JOB DC!*
*still waiting for you guys to reprint the entire run of Chuck Dixon’s Nightwing, BOP, Robin and Batman.
To be fair,
1) THE LONGBOW HUNTERS is one of the most acclaimed DC stories of all time.
2) Green Arrow’s got a TV show coming out in a few months.
Good point.
I’m glad they’re finally reprinting the Longbow Hunters TP, I’ve wanted to check it out for a while but haven’t been able to find it.
I nabbed the original 3 prestige’s off of http://www.fearlessreaders.com
I’ve yet to read them though.
The Longbow Hunters started me back into comics after 15 years off. Too bad the new GA is trash!
Kind of bummed about JLI, as I actually enjoy that one more than regular Justice League 🙁
Here’s hoping that they collection the back half of their upcoming canceled series(es?) in trade form. I just bought the first Justice League International trade and would like to finish off the story in that same format.
Green Lantern Annual gonna be good!
Batman Inc. #4, I can’t wait for the first issue next week the first series was super-great.
That Scalped cover is GORGEOUS. Why must it end?! WHY!?!?!?!
All good things must…
Great Rorschach cover!
Yeah, it is fantastic. I had it as my background for a while.
But now I am in love with that Ozymandias cover!
I’m pretty excited for the Green Lantern Annual. I know I’m a sucker for the universe but the combination of a double sized conclusion to a Geoff Johns GL story has me psyched.
I was going to pass on this but man DCBS had such a discount on this. So I gave in I hope its good. Going in with a open mind.
The before watchmen books im talking
More DeFalco!!!!! Yay!
Alan Davis’ Batman run!?! Those were my first DC comics!
I was disappointed that DC decided to follow Marvel with the bullet point descriptions for their books, but some of these are just horrible. The Before Watchmen books have 3 points, one dedicated to promoting the digital version, one to the back-up, and one that is a random quote from God only knows who, but I would assume to be the title character. How is that supposed to get me interested in the book? And Phantom Lady? There’s nothing in there to tell you what the book is about, especially if you don’t know the characters. That’s just poor marketing, in my opinion. To be fair to DC, however, their bullet point sentences are almost twice as long as Marvel’s, so that counts for something, I guess, but I’m not sure what.
Also sad to see JLI go. I really like a lot of the characters in that one and the team seemed to have a fairly good dynamic. Not the best series, perhaps, but I had fun reading it.
that ozymandias cover is gorgeous.
I was gonna say how could anyone be disapproving of Before Watchmen after seeing that bad ass cover? It’s wonderful.
I never pictured Ozymandias as a sub, but you never know…
Why do I have the feeling that Grant Morrison is going to make fun of Robert Liefeld in Batman Incorporated #4?
I mean the characters on the cover look remarkably like Liefeld designs…
I’ll be picking up those annuals for sure and also Legends of the Dark Knight HC with The Longbow Hunters, thank you DC!!
Stunning Darwyn cover.
I for one am geeked about Before Watchmen and gotta see some of these variant covers: Paul Pope, Phil Noto and David Finch, love it! The creative teams on these minis are great and show big respect for the legacy this single story left us with. On the other side of the fence, it sucks to see Chris Roberson and iZombie going, Mike and Laura Allred as well, but am sure they’ll all move onto other good projects. Thats a series I’ve only read a cpl issues of but liked em a lot and will get the omnibus for sure. I’m another who didn’t know JLI was being cancelled but maybe getting a reboot so soon will be good for this book with big potential and the perfect spot for 2nd tier JL characters not used enough elsewhere, like Generation Lost, this book can showcase host to a wide group of great characters. Batman Inc has me interested on a few levels, love Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham together, its pre Flashpoint and where will it go? I’m in. Art on Looker looks stunning, Phantom Lady and Doll Man sound fun. Annuals are fun sometimes and that Green Lantern annual being a conclusion to the Revenge of The Black Hand should be good and complete a nice Hardcover coming to select comic shops near you!
All of these entries have amazing covers. Good job DC! Yay for Amanda Conner!!!
Scalped is ending? Anyone have any idea when we can expect a deluxe hardcover/omnibus of that series? I’ve been wanting to read it but refuse to get the trades since I know a nicer hardcover will come out sooner or later…
You’ll be waiting for a very long time.
I have a question about these annuals. Do you have to pre-order them separetly from the main series? My shop knows I read GL and flash for example, but they don’t order many copies, trades sell better.
The next time you’re in the store, TELL THEM you want the annuals. If they’re not aware of what you read already, let them know. Don’t leave it to chance.
If your store uses Previews, you can even pre-order them, ensuring that you don’t miss them. If they do pull lists/subs, that could work too. Most stores are HAPPY to order something for you because they make money off it.
So it begins – the great Shitstorm of our time.
But what a ride it will be!