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.
FILL-IN AND HELPER ARTISTS
Animal Man #6; Batwoman #6; O.M.A.C. #6; Superman #6; Swamp Thing #6; Wonder Woman #6
One of the things we are learning in the New 52 is that DC Comics is putting a high priority on getting their books out in a timely manner. Or timely-ish manner. It is still comics, after all. What’s the solution when you’ve got high profile artists with a history of not being able to churn out monthly work? Scheduled fill-ins, that’s how!
ANIMAL MAN #6
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art by JOHN PAUL LEON, TRAVEL FOREMAN and JEFF HUET
Cover by TRAVEL FOREMAN
On sale FEBRUARY 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+Before he and his family became hunted by The Rot, Buddy Baker starred in a low budget indie Super Hero film. Now we get to “watch” the movie, courtesy of director Jeff Lemire and guest cinematographer John Paul Leon!
BATWOMAN #6
Written by J.H. WILLIAMS III and W. HADEN BLACKMAN
Art by AMY REEDER and RICHARD FRIEND
Cover by AMY REEDER
Variant cover by AMY REEDER
On sale FEBRUARY 8 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED TArtist Amy Reeder and inker Richard Friend join the Batwoman team with this new arc, as the epic “To Drown the World” begins!
Six lives, inextricably linked in the past and present, each on a collision course with the others: Batwoman, fighting for duty and vengeance against a threat of arcane power. Detective Maggie Sawyer, investigating a case that could end her career. DEO Agent Cameron Chase, commanding a vigilante she despises. Colonel Jacob Kane, clutching at a life that’s slipping away. Maro, a new villain corrupting Gotham City. And Kate Kane, wrestling with decisions that will test her loyalties.
O.M.A.C. #6
Written by DAN DIDIO and KEITH GIFFEN
Art by SCOTT KOLINS and SCOTT KOBLISH
Cover by KEITH GIFFEN and SCOTT KOBLISH
On sale FEBRUARY 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED TA quiet double date for Kevin Kho turns into a battle for O.M.A.C.’s life as he faces the seductive menace of the ever so deadly Sweet Leilani! Meanwhile, Max Lord reluctantly joins Brother Eye in his search for answers about the creature known as Zero Patient!
Featuring the work of guest artist Scott Kolins!
SUPERMAN #6
Written by GEORGE PEREZ
Art by NICOLA SCOTT and TREVOR SCOTT
Cover by GEORGE PEREZ
Variant cover by GEORGE PEREZ
On sale FEBRUARY 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED TRecently, an onslaught of creatures has targeted Superman, nearly destroying Metropolis in the process. And now…Superman is helping them finish the job?!
Guest-starring Supergirl!
SWAMP THING #6
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art by MARCO RUDY
Cover by YANICK PAQUETTE
Variant cover by YANICK PAQUETTE
On sale FEBRUARY 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+The Rot is winning, and its necropolis in the American desert is nearly complete. With Abigail Arcane all but lost to its power and the herald of Sethe risen, Alec Holland will bitterly regret trying to flee his destiny as Swamp Thing…but even if he wanted to do the right thing, it’s too late now!
WONDER WOMAN #6
Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO
Art by TONY AKINS
Cover by CLIFF CHIANG
Variant cover by CLIFF CHIANG
On sale FEBRUARY 15 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED THades and Poseidon both have designs on the kingdom their brother Zeus left behind, but Wonder Woman doesn’t intend to let their turf war decimate the realm of man! It’ll take a big lie and some help from the mystery man known as Lennox to stop a holy war from breaking out – but what does Lennox know that Wonder Woman doesn’t?
CROSSOVER (OR NOT REALLY)
Stormwatch #6; Grifter #6; Suicide Squad #6
It was only a matter of time until these books started crossing over, to various degrees. It’s comics. It’s superhero comics. Crossovers are part of the game. These particular books appear to be crossing over in a very casual way.
STORMWATCH #6
Written by PAUL CORNELL
Art and cover by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA
Variant cover by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA
On sale FEBRUARY 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US RATED T+What lurks within the Stormwatch space station? As the origin of their alien HQ is revealed, what’s left of the decimated Stormwatch roster regroups and a new team is formed! Apollo, Midnighter, Martian Manhunter…who’s in, who’s out and who’s the new team leader?
Note: The catastrophic events of this issue – especially the secret of Stormwatch HQ – will be felt in upcoming issues of GRIFTER and VOODOO!
GRIFTER #6
Written by NATHAN EDMONDSON
Art and cover by SCOTT CLARK and DAVE BEATY
On sale FEBRUARY 8 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US RATED TGrifter is way out of his element when The Daemonites hold him on a hovering spaceship where no man can get to him. Fortunately, Sofia is no man – but will she arrive before a horrific alien ceremony centering on the super-powerful Black Curate has gone too far? Cole Cash will find someone he never expected to see again, he will discover how integral he is to the Daemonite’s master plan, and uncover clues that will bring him face to face with Stormwatch and Voodoo.
SUICIDE SQUAD #6
Written by ADAM GLASS
Art by TOM RANEY
Cover by PAUL RENAULD
On sale FEBRUARY 8 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US RATED T+“The Hunt for Harley Quinn” starts here!
After causing a prison riot and escaping an “escape-proof” supervillain penitentiary, the maniacal Harley Quinn is on the loose! The race is on as Deadshot – leading an all-new Suicide Squad – tracks his former teammate as Harley hunts the love of her life: the Joker!
Plus: Don’t miss the unofficial crossover with STORMWATCH #6, tying into the explosive events of that issue!
BIRTH OF THE DAMIAN
Enjoy Damian Wayne now? Want to see him get conceived? Check out this new collection that gathers the “Of The Demon” trilogy. Also of note is that this book is in the February solicits but doesn’t hit stores until March.
BATMAN: BIRTH OF THE DEMON TP
Written by MIKE W. BARR and DENNIS O’NEIL
Art by JERRY BINGHAM, TOM GRINDBERG and NORM BREYFOGLE
Cover by ANDY KUBERT
On sale MARCH 7 • 296 pg, FC, $29.99 USSON OF THE DEMON, BRIDE OF THE DEMON and BIRTH OF THE DEMON are collected in a single volume of stories that focus on The Dark Knight and Talia al Ghul, Ra’s al Ghul’s desire to have an heir, and the real story of the immortal villain and his drive for world domination.
TEAM-UPS, BOTH BRAVE AND BOLD
At first I was like, “Why is this collection called Legends of the Dark Knight when it’s a The Brave and the Bold?” Then I realized the legend in question is Jim Aparo. I was a little slow. I hadn’t had dinner. Anyway, these comics are fantastic and were always one of my targets when I went back issue bin diving as a kid. This one doesn’t hit stores until April.
LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT: JIM APARO HC
Written by BOB HANEY
Art and cover by JIM APARO
On sale APRIL 4 • 512 pg, FC, $49.99 USDC collects Aparo’s classic run on THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD in hardcover for the first time!
These stories feature Batman’s team-ups with Robin, Green Arrow, Black Canary, The Teen Titans, Deadman, Wonder Woman, The Demon, The Joker, Aquaman, The Atom and many others, from THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #98, 100-102 and 104-122.
3-D GLASSES ARE INCLUDED
They snuck this one past us! I love the Absolute format and always try to keep up on what’s coming, but I somehow missed this one. I was probably busy on Alpha Centuri at the time. This one doesn’t come out until July, so… yeah. I guess pre-order it in February if you are so inclined.
ABSOLUTE FINAL CRISIS HC
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Art by J.G. JONES, CARLOS PACHECO, DOUG MAHNKE, MATTHEW CLARK, JESUS MERINO, CHRISTIAN ALAMY, MARCO RUDY, TOM NGUYEN and others
Cover by J.G. JONES
On sale JULY 18 • 400 pg, FC, 8.25” x 12.5”, $99.99 USThe mind-blowing event from 2008 is collected in this spectacular new hardcover collecting FINAL CRISIS #1-7, FINAL CRISIS: SUBMIT #1, FINAL CRISIS: SUPERMAN BEYOND #1-2 and the FINAL CRISIS SKETCHBOOK, all written by Grant Morrison!
What happens when evil wins? That’s the devastating question Superman, Batman, the Justice League and every other super being in the DC Universe must face when Darkseid and his otherworldly legion of followers actually win the war between light and dark.
This oversized, slipcased hardcover comes with its own pair of 3-D glasses!
BETRAYAL, WITH JUST A HINT OF PEDOPHILIA
The second volume of one of the best and most important modern day comic book runs features one of the best, if not the best, Teen Titans stories of all time–The Judas Contract. (That’s also one of the best story titles of all-time.) April! Not February! April!
THE NEW TEEN TITANS OMNIBUS, VOL. 2 HC
Written by MARV WOLFMAN, GEORGE PEREZ, MIKE W. BARR
Art by GEORGE PEREZ, ROMEO TANGHAL, KEITH POLLARD, JIM APARO, MIKE DECARLO and DICK GIORDANO
Cover by GEORGE PEREZ
On sale APRIL 18 • 736 pg, FC, $75.00 USThe New Teen Titans battle threats large and small in this massive hardcover collecting NEW TEEN TITANS #21-40, TALES OF THE NEW TEEN TITANS #41-44, NEW TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #1- 2, TALES OF THE NEW TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #3 and BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #5.
Betrayal comes from one of their own when it’s revealed that their teammate Terra is secretly working for the Titans’ deadly enemy, Deathstroke the Terminator.
NEIL GAIMAN
Neil Gaiman. Whenever Gaiman pops up we are almost contractually obligated to mention him. So here it is. Also, I saw the man speak and it would be hard to find a more charming man. Seriously.
BLACK ORCHID – DELUXE EDITION HC
Written by NEIL GAIMAN
Art and cover by DAVE MCKEAN
On sale APRIL 4 • 168 pg, FC, 7.0625” x 10.875”, $24.99 US • MATURE READERSBefore introducing the modern version of The Sandman, Neil Gaiman wrote this dark tale that reinvented a strange DC Comics Super Hero in the Vertigo mold. Featuring spectacular painted art by Dave McKean, the 4-issue BLACK ORCHID miniseries is now collected in hardcover for the first time.
After being viciously murdered, Susan Linden is reborn as the Black Orchid, a hybrid of plant and human, destined to avenge her own death. Now, as this demigoddess attempts to reconcile human memory and botanical origins, she must untangle the webs of deception and secrets that led to her death. Beginning in the cold streets of a heartless metropolis and ending in the Amazon rainforest, this book takes the reader on a journey through secrets, suffering and self-rediscovery.
For a full list of DC Comics in February 2012, click here.
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I hope (and would love if) they keep that amazing vintage cover to the Jim Aparo HC listed.
I didn’t know there were avid comic book readers who are begging DC Comics to release Final Crisis in Absolute Format. I would like to meet these people.
I wasn’t begging but I am excited. So, hi!
At least they had the decency to include the Superman Beyond issues.
Are you going to buy it, Conor?
I’ll be getting it. I’ve only read that in serial format and not as a collective whole. And I really need to read Morrison’s stuff as a whole to truly understand everything that’s going on. And this will be a great way to do that.
I’ve been gagging for Absolute Final Crisis, love it to death.
I still think it’s amazing that we haven’t seen an Absolute Batman: Year One yet though.
@jackietam: Yes. Hence the “excited” part.
@Cormac: YEAR ONE is too thin, I think.
For things like YEAR ONE–that I agree is too thin for an Absolute–I think it’d be cool if they did like a portfolio edition with over-sized prints of the major pages. I’d be thrilled to frame even facsimile pages from Year One over my work area.
Yeah, it’s thin…but the meat of Absolute Death was only 3 issues, padded with extras. Mazuchelli did a ton of awesome extras for the HC of Year One that would bump up the page count, and god knows i’d take more.
Wow I feel special I got the original Son of the Demon when it first came out .I highly recommend it.
Definitely grabbing the Birth of the Demon collection and the second Teen Titans omnibus. The Jim Aparo collection looks pretty appealing too…
Those old BRAVE AND THE BOLD comics are FANTASTIC. If you’re into that kind of old school storytelling.
Amazon had that Aparo collection mismarked for only $19 the other day and I snatched it up. Here’s hoping they honor that price when it actually ships.
And I’m totally getting that Birth of the Demon trade. I don’t think I’ve ever read those stories and I really need to.
Birth of the Demon is pretty awesome. Jerry Bingham should be better-known these days.
I want that birth of the demon and that brave and the bold hardcover. Still need to grab that first teen titans omnibus.
I wonder if Final Crisis is less awful if you read it in one chunk.
Someone else tell me. I’m not going to be the guinea pig for this.
You have to listen to the audio book version first then re-read it twice, but it’s pretty good after that.
I never finished reading it. Maybe this will inspire to do so. I don’t remember what was happening, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t know what was happening when I read it in the first place, so I’m not that worried.
It’s a shame to me that DC is so crazed about books being on-time that it’s bringing fill-in artists to books like Batwoman and Wonder Woman, which have such distinct artistic visions and tones. As a reader/fan, I MUCH rather have to wait a month or so here and there in exchange for being able to have one artist on the run. I look at it all from a much more longer term view than the monthly comics grind. I want whole trades of JH Williams or Cliff Chiang art. Those will last a lot longer in terms of relevancy and lasting legacy in comparison to rather trivial monthly timeliness.
I spoke with Jim Cheung at NYCC about the delays with Young Avengers: The Children’s Crusade. He straight up asked me as a reader, what’s more important to me. On-timeliness or having one consistent artistic vision and narrative. I gave him my answer, and he smiled. But was then quick to point out that is not how most think in the industry. Then right after that I went over and told Cliff Chiang how much I was enjoying his work on Wonder Woman. I asked him how long he was going to be on the book, and he said the foreseeable future, and that they had some fill-in artists planned. It was very interesting to speak with two guys back to back drawing books with two different approaches. I know the publishers, especially DC, want their books every month, slam bang. Obviously there has to be some level of timeliness. But as a reader with a bigger picture view in mind, and possibly more appreciative artistic view regarding comics than a lot of the monthly readership, I’d like to see a little more understanding from the publishers when it comes to books with special art.
same for me…i’d rather have a late book, or take a month off than have a fill in artist change all the momentum. I had a hard time sticking with Uncanny X Force once the original team broke up for a little while and it was a host of different artists for a while. I just couldn’t stay with it.
Some of my most favorite series have come from long creative collaborations.
If the writer is crafty they can Starman it where you have on purpose fill in issues that don’t breakup the artistic flow of the original story.
To be fair, when Batwoman was first announced long before we knew about the New 52 the plan was to have J.H. Williams and Amy Reeder rotate arcs. So it’s not quite a fill in. I’m actually really looking forward to seeing Amy Reeder’s art again. It’s been a long time since I got to see her interiors regularly on Madame Xanadu. She was already good then even though she was a relative beginner and got better and better as the series went on. J.H. Williams is a tough act to follow but I don’t think Batwoman fans will be disappointed.
More to the general point, I agree it is nice to have a consistent look, especially when the art is of such a high quality. But if you’re reading single issues a month is a while to wait for 20 or so pages of story and when delays start to stack up some momentum is lost. As ResurrectionFlan said, if they plan around different artist it can work out just fine. Looking at the list (aside from Superman which I don’t read) I don’t mind any of those guest artists.
Weird that u guys are saying this since marvel is double shipping alomost all their titles everyone is getting a fill in artist how abt that
I agree with MrSethypants. With Marvel double shipping books with rotating artists all over the place, how can anybody be angry at DC for wanting monthly books?
Besides, how else could Scott Kolins achieve his goal of filling in on every title DC has ever published?
The Suicide Squad cover is Ah-Mazing!
Ohh, The Jim Aparo collection and Birth of the Demon are calling out to be purchased. I think I will.
They could have just called Birth of the Demon “Damian Wayne: Secret Origin”.
I really want that Birth of the Demon collection!
The trend of solid colour backgrounds isn’t going away then, this time on Wonder Woman. I’m not complaining.
Dear Vertigo,
Thanks for all the lovely Deluxe editions.
However, i can’t help but notice that your longest running title, the title that has been around LONGER than Vertigo itself, STILL HASN’T BEEN GIVEN A HARDCOVER TREATMENT!!!
Please, please, please can we get a Hellblazer Deluxe Edition series?!?!!?
Thank you,
Lots of love,
Tim
I wish we would have got an Absolute Infinite Crisis before Absolute Final Crisis since I have Absolute editions of Crisis on Infinite Earths & Identity Crisis. I thought Infinite Crisis was the best out of all of them since it had the greatest effect of being emotionally resonant to me. However, having the Final Crisis HC which has all these issues & setting the $99 price tag aside…seeing Superman Beyond in “Absolute 3D” has me sold!
…also I still have to keep my fingers crossed for an Absolute 52! I don’t want to give DC any ideas on how much I’d pay for that. 🙂