Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on DC’s September titles. Hit the links for more info.
DC’s September line-up starts strong with the introduction of three new team titles, as they bring Legion of Super Heroes, New Teen Titans and the Doom Patrol back to their line-up. But wait — there’s more! The first month of fall also brings crossovers, Absolute developments and a new Halloween special.
Let’s start first with Batman: Bad Seeds, which gets its start in August but really goes into overdrive in September, as it runs through all the Batman titles and gets a couple of spinoff miniseries.
Batman: Bad Seeds: Gotham General #1, the first of two issues, comes from Greg Rucka and Rosa Ekedal, and it goes on sale Sept. 9. The series follows Dr. Ava Dastur and the staff of Gotham General, the city’s tier-one trauma center, as they deal with the human cost of the crossover’s chaos without capes or costumes of their own. Variant covers are by Javi Fernández and Mitch Gerads, with a Bad Seeds spot foil variant by Dustin Nguyen.
Batman: Bad Seeds: Gotham Central #1, also the first of two issues, comes from writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Jacob Phillips. Much like the Gotham Central series from the early 2000s, this miniseries follows GCPD officers as they try to do actual police work amid the lunacy that comes from working in Gotham. This first issue has a stalker targeting Arkham Towers’ Dr. Zeller, Anarky pulling off a major heist and Vandal Savage diverting department resources toward his war against the Bat-Family. Bureacracy! (Shakes an angry fist).
Variant covers are by Mike Perkins and Martin Simmonds, with a Bad Seeds spot foil variant by Nguyen.
Jumping now to the core Batman titles … Batman #13, by Matt Fraction and Matteo Scalera, finds Batman attempting to reach a chemical weapon Vandal Savage has hidden inside GCPD headquarters. It’s designed to kill Poison Ivy, whose death would end any chance of stopping the Bad Seeds crisis.
The 40-page issue arrives Sept. 2, with numerous variants including a Dark Knight Returns homage and an Hispanic Heritage Month cover by José Ladrönn featuring bane.
Detective Comics #1113, by Tom Taylor with art by Jeff Spokes and a back-up story by Dan Watters, continues directly from Batman #13 as floronic monsters overrun Gotham and Batman faces off against Vandal Savage’s TUCO squads. It arrives Sept. 16 with variants by Dan Mora and Dan Panosian.
Elsewhere in the Bat-Family line: Batwoman #7 (Sept. 16) by Greg Rucka and DaNi finds Kate Kane caught in Gotham during the crisis while trying to restore communications between heroes; Batgirl #23 (Sept. 2) by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa has Cassandra Cain protecting a noodle shop full of civilians from prehistoric plant monsters; Catwoman #91 (Sept. 16) by Torunn Grønbekk and Danilo Beyruth sends Selina Kyle to break into Vandal Savage’s home; Nightwing #142 (Sept. 16) by Dan Watters and David Lapham follows Dick Grayson racing to stop a truck of stolen TNT headed for Gotham as Blüdhaven’s revenge; Harley Quinn #66 (Sept. 23) by Elliott Kalan and Carlos Olivares finds Harley investigating whether Poison Ivy is behind the citywide chaos; and Poison Ivy #48 (Sept. 30) by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara closes out the month with Ivy’s power at its peak and seemingly nothing left to stop her.
Kingdom of Zod
DC’s Kingdom of Zod crossover concludes in September after running through four ongoing titles and a standalone special. The event began in August with Supergirl discovering a Kryptonian-led military coup and Superman returning from his extended absence to confront the escalating crisis.
Supergirl #17, by Sophie Campbell and Joe Quinones, opens the month on Sept. 9 with Ursa and Supergirl locked in a time-traveling battle, while the rest of the Super-Force deals with the spreading K-Zone.
Action Comics #1102, by Mark Waid and Montos, also arrives Sept. 9, with young Clark Kent trapped in Krypton’s past trying to break Supergirl free from Zod’s prison while Steel races to find a cure for the K-Zone in the present.
Superman Unlimited #17, by Dan Slott and Rachael Stott, arrives Sept. 16, revealing that Superman has developed a new power to absorb Kryptonite radiation since saving Earth from the Kryptonite asteroid. Meanwhile Superboy-Prime, Conner Kent and Tomorrow Man hold off Zod’s army.
Superman #42, by Joshua Williamson and Eddy Barrows, follows on Sept. 23, with Superman, Supergirl and Lois Lane assembling the Super-Force for a final push to restore order to the Kryptonite Kingdom … although the Zod who stands in their way may not be the one we expect.
The event concludes Sept. 16 with the Superman: Kingdom of Zod Special #1, by all four crossover writers — Williamson, Waid, Slott and Campbell — with art by Paolo Villanelli, Bruno Frenda, David Messina and Campbell.
The main cover is by Dan Mora, with variants by Kyuyong Eom, Karen S. Darboe and Nathan Szerdy.
Absolute Batgirls
September brings two significant Absolute Universe developments. The first is the arrival of the Absolute Cassandra Cain one-shot, spinning out of Absolute Catwoman. Then in Absolute Batman #24, by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta, arrives Sept. 9, introducing Barbara Gordon as a new costumed hero called The Bat following the death of her father, Jim Gordon. While Bruce Wayne spirals under the influence of Scarecrow, Barbara takes the mission into her own hands, armed with different weapons and fighting differently than Bruce. The issue features variant covers by Clay Mann, Kaare Andrews and Filipe Andrade.
DC’s Quoth the Raven … Whatever
DC will release their annual Halloween anthology, DC’s Quoth the Raven … Whatever #1, on Sept. 30.
The anthology features horror and occult stories spotlighting DC’s darker characters, including Raven, Swamp Thing, John Constantine, Zatanna, and Deadman, from writers Tini Howard, Patrick R. Young, Dominike “Domo” Stanton, Nina Vakueva, and Rebecca Mock, with art by Isaac Goodhart, Stanton, Vakueva, Mock, Francesco Tomaselli, and others. The main cover is by Sweeney Boo, with variant covers by Don Aguillo and Jessica Fong.
Joe Kubert: 100 Years — A Life in Covers
Rounding out September, DC will release Joe Kubert: 100 Years — A Life in Covers #1. This 40-page tribute collecting some of the most iconic cover art from Kubert’s career across The Brave and the Bold, House of Mystery, Sgt. Rock, Ragman and more, in honor of what would have been the artist’s 100th birthday. It arrives Sept. 16.