Heads Up: DC Comics Previews – September 2012

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.


 

New Titles

DC Comics’ September is all about taking a look back to the new past in line-wide zero issues, but they’re also taking a step forward and launching some new books!

TALON #0
Written by SCOTT SNYDER and JAMES TYNION IV
Art and cover by GUILLEM MARCH
On sale SEPTEMBER 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

• A new series featuring the Court of Owls’ unstoppable killing machine!
• Meet Calvin Rose, the only Talon ever to escape the grasp of the Court of Owls. This former assassin just wants to live a normal life…but that’s impossible, since he’s being hunted by his former masters!

 

THE PHANTOM STRANGER #0
Written by DAN DIDIO
Art by BRENT ANDERSON and SCOTT HANNA
Cover by BRENT ANDERSON
On sale SEPTEMBER 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

• Learn what happened to The Phantom Stranger after the FREE COMIC BOOK DAY story!
• Who has been sacrificed? Who is guilty? Who can save us? And who…is The Phantom Stranger?
• Major players in The New 52 will be introduced in these pages!

 

SWORD OF SORCERY #0
Written by CHRISTY MARX
Backup story written by TONY BEDARD
Art by AARON LOPRESTI and MATT RYAN
Backup story art by JESUS SAIZ
Cover by JOSHUA MIDDLETON
On sale SEPTEMBER 19 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

• In this new series featuring the long-awaited return of AMETHYST, Amy Winston leads a strange life on the road with her mother. She’s about to learn why it’s all been necessary when she discovers she’s the lost princess of Gemworld — and has powerful enemies hunter her!
AMETHYST is written by Christy Marx, best known for her work on animated TV series including G.I. Joe, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and more, as well as the comics series Sisterhood of Steel.
• And in the backup story set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the monstrous warrior BEOWULF is charged with finding and defeating the evil Grendel.

 

TEAM 7 #0
Written by JUSTIN JORDAN
Art and cover by JESUS MERINO
On sale SEPTEMBER 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

• Threads of the entire DC Universe collide in this new series set in the early days of The New 52 from writer Justin Jordan (The Strange Talents of Luther Strode).
• As Superman emerges, so too does the world’s counter measures against him and his kind!
• Dinah Lance, Amanda Waller, Steve Trevor, John Lynch, Alex Fairchild, Cole Cash, Slade Wilson are Team 7 – and their story will change everything you know about The New 52!

SHAZAM!

The Justice League steps to the side for a month to give Captain Marvel Shazam (along with artist Gary Frank) the spotlight! Say hey to the Big Red Cheese! (Mmm… cheese.)

JUSTICE LEAGUE #0
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by GARY FRANK
Variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:100 B&W Variant cover by GARY FRANK
On sale SEPTEMBER 19 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US

• Billy Batson takes center stage in this issue as he unleashes the awesome power of Shazam in a special origin story!
• Also featuring the not-to-be-missed origin of Pandora and the next seeds of TRINITY WAR!
• This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.

Is Green Arrow Saved?

The last time that Green Arrow’s book was good was when Judd Winick was writing it. And now he’s back for the zero issue (we’ll have to see if it’s more than that), so…

UPDATE! Apparently, this is just a one time gig for Winick on Green Arrow. Sorry, Ollie!

GREEN ARROW #0
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art by FREDDIE E. WILLIAMS II and ROB HUNTER
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale SEPTEMBER 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

• Oliver Queen is young, rich and reckless…what could possibly go wrong?
• Discover the events leading up to the birth of Green Arrow, and Ollie’s history with Roy Harper!

OMACTIVATE!

Canceled heroes unite! I will take any new O.M.A.C. I can get, even if Keith Giffen and Scott Koblish aren’t on art duties.

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #0
Written by TONY BEDARD, JAMES ROBINSON, ROB LIEFELD and DAN DIDIO
Art by CAFU, MARAT MYCHAELS, TOM DERENICK, ERIC BATTLE and others
Cover by RYAN SOOK
On sale SEPTEMBER 19 • 64 pg, FC, $5.99 US • RATED T

• Five all-new adventures featuring the Blackhawks’ Mother Machine, Hawk and Dove, Mister Terrific and O.M.A.C. in this super-sized issue!
• Featuring the beginning of storylines that will play out across the entire New 52!

More Year One?

Most of these zero issues are exploring the New 52 origins of DC’s characters, but everyone knows Batman’s origin so Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo brings us back to the Batman: Year One/Batman Begins time when Bruce rises from crazy obsessive young man to The Dark Knight.

BATMAN #0
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Backup story written by SCOTT SNYDER and JAMES TYNION IV
Art by GREG CAPULLO and JONATHAN GLAPION
Backup story art by ANDY CLARKE
Cover by GREG CAPULLO
Variant cover by ANDY CLARKE
1:100 B&W Variant cover by GREG CAPULLO
“We Can Be Heroes” Blank variant cover available
On sale SEPTEMBER 12 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US

• Bruce Wayne has returned from his worldwide quest to take the law into his own hands!
• This issue reveals the early steps of building everything that surrounds Batman – the costume, the cave, the car, the gadgets!
• This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.

Batman Finally Comes To Smallville

Back during the heyday of Smallville, we got appearances by Green Arrow, Supergirl, Aquaman, Impulse, J’onn J’onzz, Black Canary, Cyborg, Zatanna, the Justice Society, and the Legion of Super-Heroes. But who fans really clamored for were Wonder Woman, Green Lantern… and Batman. Warner Bros. wouldn’t allow them on the TV show, but now that the story has continued in comic book form, all bets are off. Batman and Robin are making their way to Metropolis! (Not in those outfits, honey.)

SMALLVILLE: SEASON 11 #5
Written by BRYAN Q. MILLER
Art and cover by CHRISCROSS and MARC DEERING
On sale SEPTEMBER 5 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

• These stories are in print for the first time after appearing online.
• SUPERMAN comes face-to-face with high-tech weapons on the streets of Metropolis.
• The hunt for his parents’ killer puts a vigilante known only as “the BATMAN” on a collision course with The Man of Steel…

Five Years Later…

The comic book catches up to the cartoon series with the five year jump that finds our heroes a bit older, a bit wiser, and the team a bit larger. (Seriously, if you’re watching the show WHY aren’t you reading this book?)

YOUNG JUSTICE #20
Written by GREG WEISMAN
Art and cover by CHRISTOPHER JONES
On sale SEPTEMBER 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E

• Following the animated series, it’s now five years later!
• ALIENS have infiltrated the Earth!
• NIGHTWING’s new team includes BATGIRL, BLUE BEETLE, WONDER GIRL and BEAST BOY!

Awesome Trades (That May or May Not Be Coming Out in September)

DC likes to solicit trades that aren’t actually coming out in the month that they are soliciting. With that in mind, these are coming out after September but they’re worth keeping an eye out.

Amanda Conner is awesome and one of the best artists working in comics today. DC is bringing together some of her non-Power Girl work from the last few years in one meaty volume that all right thinking people consider a must-have.

DC COMICS: THE SEQUENTIAL ART OF AMANDA CONNER HC
Written by AMANDA CONNER, GEOFF JOHNS, JUSTIN GRAY, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, JUDD WINICK, BARBARA KESEL, CHUCK DIXON, JAI NITZ and TERRY MOORE
Art by AMANDA CONNER and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Cover by AMANDA CONNER
On sale NOVEMBER 7 • 304 pg, FC, $29.99 US

• Acclaimed artist Amanda Conner, currently illustrating and co-writing BEFORE WATCHMEN: SILK SPECTRE, is the focus of this new hardcover collecting some of her greatest work for DC Comics!
• This spectacular new hardcover features SUPERMAN: LOIS LANE #1, BIRDS OF PREY #47-49, JSA CLASSIFIED #1-4, SUPERGIRL #12, the GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY WEDDING SPECIAL, plus stories from SECRET ORIGINS 80-PAGE GIANT #1, THE JOKER: LAST LAUGH SECRET FILES #1, WONDER WOMAN #600, numerous covers and more!

Oh mama. 52 was an audacious experiment that DC knocked out of the park and turned into one of the best series of the last ten years. Here it is all right here. And by “it” I mean all of it; all 52 issues in one collection.

52 OMNIBUS HC
Written by GEOFF JOHNS, GRANT MORRISON, GREG RUCKA and MARK WAID
Art by KEITH GIFFEN, JOE BENNETT, CHRIS BATISTA, KEN LASHLEY, SHAWN MOLL, TODD NAUCK, EDDY BARROWS, DALE EAGLESHAM, PATRICK OLLIFFE, DREW JOHNSON, GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI, PHIL JIMENEZ, TOM DERENICK, JOE PRADO, DAN JURGENS, JAMAL IGLE, ANDY SMITH, DARICK ROBERTSON and JUSTINIANO
Cover by J.G. JONES
On sale NOVEMBER 14 • 1,216 pg, FC, $150 US

”As addictive as any good TV series, any good mystery-novel series, any good comic book series.” — ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
”Gripping.” — THE WASHINGTON POST
”A compelling, epic story that wound up saving the world five times over.” — NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

• After INFINITE CRISIS, the DC Universe had its most eventful year ever. It was a year without Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman…but not a year without heroes!
• This massive hardcover collects the entire year-long run of the weekly series 52!

One of, if not the best series in comics comes to an end for all you trade waiters.

SCALPED, VOL. 10: TRAIL’S END TP
Written by JASON AARON
Art by R.M. GUERA
Cover by JOCK
On sale OCTOBER 31 • 128 pg, FC, $14.99 US • MATURE READERS

• The final volume of the acclaimed crime series brings together all the threads laid out from the very beginning for a dramatic conclusion years in the making!
• Collecting SCALPED #56-60.

To see the full list of DC Comics in September click here.

Comments

  1. Always exciting to see new Scott Snyder work; it will be interesting to see how Talon holds up as a series. The other new titles look interesting too. And here’s hoping Green Arrow is saved!

    • Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

      Just as a note, TALON is actually written by James Tynion IV, with guidance from Snyder. Snyder tried to clear this up on Twitter last week, adamant that Tynion get the credit he’s due.

    • Willing to give the man a chance. A different batman related book can’t be wrong (unless it’s The Dark Knight by Finch or Detective Comics by Tony Daniel…)

  2. WOW. That Amanda Conner book is a must for me, as it has all the one shot stories that she did that I really didn’t want to try and track down.

  3. That Amanda Conner book will look great next to my ‘The Art of Amanda Conner’, that I got just a few days ago.

  4. I’m REEEEALLLY tempted on that 52 hardcover. Unquestionably the best of the weekly books and the series is what got me interested in the DCU.

  5. We need a DC Histories on all the the new #0 title characters!

  6. The covers on the zero issues are just not working for me on any level.

    Also, the fact that DC is soliciting trades and HC’s for the first arcs this far out is just awful. I know it’s been discussed before, but why is the trades department at DC so far behind?

    • While their old trade practices were horrible this one I understand. They really are screwed either way on this one. DC can either spread out all of the trades (like they are doing) or they could just release trades for everything every 6 months and flood the market. If they did this trade sales would surely take a hit.

      It stinks either way but I think they went with the best possible option.

    • I’m pretty sure i read that all of #0 ‘covers’ are actually promotional art that won’t be the final cover.

      Also i’m probably gonna end up buying the 52 hardcover (only so i can read it again).

  7. Noticing more 40pg $3.99 coming from DC . . . which is good, because I feel the current $2.99 books tend to read too short and it seems to take 6 months to wrap up a story. (Hmm, 6 months — wonder why . . . )

    That 52 Omnibus is very tempting, don’t think I have anything with 1216 pages. Wonder how many they will print — guessing it’s going to be a smaller than usual limited run.

  8. Nice to see DC trying something genuinely new with the Talon comic. Even if it does end up stinking they are at least trying to introduce new characters.

  9. That 52 omnibus will surely be heavy enough to warp space.

  10. I’m actually digging the issue #0 idea. Looking forward to some neat new origins.

  11. The Amanda Conner collection sounds very very tempting. The big decider for me is on the production value and print and binding of the book. If its treated like their licensed books and printed and bound like a proper coffee table art book, i’m all in…if they go cheapskates and use the same style they use for HC trades, then i just can’t add that to my shelf.

    Some of these 0 issues sound cool…Phantom Stranger!

  12. I watch the Young justice cartoon. Is the comic really good?

  13. Judd Winick! PLEASE come back to Green Arrow! The emerald archer needs your help!

    Seriously though, I really hope Winick comes back to Green Arrow. His run is one of my favorite runs I own. And Green Arrow is probably my favorite character, so I really want to like this book again. I for the most part really like the DCNU, but I do miss old universe Ollie.

    I do want to pick up Phantom Stranger, Talon, and Team 7. I loved 52, but I already own all 4 trades. Maybe I’ll upgrade when I hear what kind of binding the book is like.

    And those Batman and Robin Smallville outfits… What am I looking at here?

    • Welp, Newsarama has a DC source saying that Judd Winick writing the #0 issue is a “one-time deal.”

      Defenite bummer. It seems like the younger Ollie might even be interesting with someone who wrote the older version for so long and so well.

    • While I thought Winick did a decent job in the beginning his last twenty issues were not really good. At the time I longed for a change. But what came after him was so abysmal that he probably would be a great improvement. But the fact remains that he would probably not revert GA beack to his true goatie-self.

      Why don’t they ever put a real talent on this title …

  14. Did anyone else scroll down and see the Young Justice cover and have their heart skip thinking it was Teen Titans #0.? That’s the only cover that interests me in this whole bunch

  15. I call shenanigans that Giffen is not doing the art for the DCU Presents #0 for the OMAC story. Didio writing it is a good sign but why not have the full team working on it?

    I’m depressed now…

  16. I thought the last issue of Nocenti’s Green Arrow was pretty good, personally…another creative team change is the last thing it needs.

  17. Absolutely loving SMALLVILLE Season 11.. They’re doing alot with it! Its the small things i like about it. For example, Hank Henshaw looks like Matthew Fox… so as to make it seem like its still a tv show being made by actors in your head if you know what i mean… Seeing Batman finally come to the SMALLVILLE universe should be something to rememeber. Can’t wait to see what Miller does with it.

  18. 52 makes for a great omnibus but am a little tired of $150 price tags on these books, they’re nice and deserve to be treated with quality standards but $150 is a lot for a big comic book. Also totally disagree on Winick being the last good writer on Green Arrow, I really liked J.T. Kruhl’s with Diogen Neves run from Rise and Fall into the stuff before and into Brightest Day just before the new 52 on Green Arrow’s side, and he definitely looked better, the new look is plain and is lame how him and Hawkeye both look virtually the same with just glasses on and different colored outfits, although I think Hawkeyes solo series will be a better than most expect book. Scalped is definitely one i’ve been interested in for a while now but ten volumes is a lot so might wait for a cpl expensive omnibus’s or absolute edition. I think all the #0 issues look interesting and am especially into throwback characters like The Phantom Stranger and “major players in The New 52 will be introduced in these pages” is intriguing. Team 7 has a good concept and sure Talon will sell as well.

  19. The Phantom Stranger Is BACK!!!!! I can’t wait.

  20. The best Phantom Stranger I ever read was his hilarious cameos in Zatanna. When he “stepped out for a loaf of bread 5 years ago” and then inexplicably returns, loaf of bread in hand.

    Team 7 sounds interesting. I always liked the black-ops side of Wildstorm, hopefully Lynch is a big a bastard as he’s always been. When does T.A.O. show up in the new 52?