Jim Lee + Jeph Loeb will return to ‘Batman’ for ‘Hush 2’

Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez will wrap up their run on ‘Batman’ in February.

A classic Batman tale will get a sequel next year as Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee reunite for Hush 2, a sequel to their 2002-2203 story arc that introduced us to the villain Hush.

They’ll be joined on the six-issue storyline by their collaborators Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair and Richard Starkings, who return as inker, colorist and letterer, respectively.

Hush 2 will run in the regular Batman title beginning in March, and will last for six issues, Lee revealed during his Jim Lee & Friends panel at the New York Comic Con. A prelude to the story will appear in Justice League Unlimited #1, which comes out Nov. 27. Lee shared some preliminary artwork on his Instagram.

This also means that Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez’s run on the title will end in February, which Zdarsky said was his choice in his latest newsletter.

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | As ‘Absolute Power’ ends, DC’s ‘All In’ era begins

Check out comics and graphic novels arriving this week by Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Wes Craig, Daniel Sampere, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Brian Azzarello, Vanesa Del Rey and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital.

This week is a big one for DC, as Absolute Power signals the end of one era and the All In special begins a new one. But that’s not all — there’s also a new Storm series, the debut of Hyde Street from Geoff Johns’ Ghost Machine, the return of Shadowman and much more.

I’ve pulled out some of the other highlights for this week below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

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Dan Watters + Hayden Sherman team for ‘Batman: Dark Patterns’ in December

The 12-issue maxi-series will feature four different cases from the early days of Batman’s career.

Home Sick Pilots writer Dan Watters and Absolute Wonder Woman artist Hayden Sherman will revisit the early days of Batman’s career in Batman: Dark Patterns, which will delve into “four mysterious cases as he attempts to cement his place as Gotham City’s protector while the city itself fights back against him.”

Watters and Sherman are joined by colorist Tríona Farrell and letterer Frank Cvetkovic for the 12-issue series, which will be broken into three-issue story arcs that focus on a specific case. The first one, “We Are Wounded,” involves a series of “sickeningly gruesome murders sending shock waves through Gotham City.”

“I love the strangeness of Batman. A man dressed as a huge, gothic bat, solving crimes in a hostile city of black magicians, mad scientists, and superstitious, cowardly criminals. I’ve always wanted to write a series of mystery stories that would home in on that aspect of the character- a dweller in the shadows of Gotham’s towering, dilapidated spires,” said Watters. “After watching The Batman, this desire was reaffirmed. Batman: Dark Patterns explores the pulpiest part of the Dark Knight’s rich history and gives readers an entirely new perspective on the early years of DC’s Dark Detective.”

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Jeff Lemire’s ‘Minor Arcana’ materializes in comic shops this week

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by Cullen Bunn, Christopher Mitten, Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, Jim Zub, Jonas Scharf, Eve L. Ewing, Carmen Carnero, Mark Waid, Dan Mora and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital.

Labor Day has always marked the end of summer for me, as we shift from August to September and from hot sun to cooler weather (well, in theory, anyway). This week the harvest is bountiful, as it includes Minor Arcana, Jeff Lemire’s new title about the daughter of a fake psychic who may be a real psychic; the appropriately titled The Autumn Kingdom by Cullen Bunn and Christopher Mitten; a milestone Poison Ivy issue; and a new series spotlighting Groot.

I’ve pulled out some of the other highlights for this week below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Jeff Lemire’s ‘Minor Arcana’ materializes in comic shops this week”

Santa’s coming back to the DCU this December

Jeff Parker, Lukas Ketner, Marcelo Maiolo, Pat Brosseau and Michele Bandini make the nice list for bringing us a sequel to ‘Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight.’

This holiday season is shaping up to be the most wonderful time of the year, not just because of the gifts and eggnog and merriment, but because DC is publishing a sequel to last year’s wonderful Silent Knight miniseries that featured Santa Claus teaming up with various DC characters.

Santa’s back to save Christmas and the Justice League in Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns by writer Jeff Parker, who wrote last year’s miniseries, along with artist Lukas Ketner, colorist Marcelo Maiolo and letterer Pat Brosseau. Michele Bandini, who drew the original miniseries, will be back to draw some of the scenes in this one as well, as a trapped Justice League must rely on Robin, Zatanna and Santa Claus to save them.

“I was blown away at how well last year’s Silent Knight series was received, readers really responded to us going full tilt with Norse-mythos Santa in the DCU,Parker said. “We followed the old tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas (remember the line from ‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year’?). Then to be asked if I wanted to do another one AND have an extra issue? That was the Happy New Year.”

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Nominees announced for the 2024 Dragon Awards

The awards, which include a comics category, have been presented annually during DragonCon since 2016.

The nominees have been announced for the 2024 Dragon Awards, which have been presented annually during DragonCon since 2016.

The awards include multiple categories for books, media tie-ins like movies and video games, and comics. Last year the “Best Comic Book” and “Best Graphic Novel” categories were combined into a single category — “Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel.” The comic book adaptation of Dune: House Harkonnen by Brian Herbert, Kevin J Anderson and Michael Shelfer won the award last year.

The nominees in the comics and graphic novel category — which are all single-issue comic series — are:

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DC reveals more details on their ‘All In’ line-ups

The publisher has shared creative teams and cover art for three Absolute Universe titles, along with plans for several DCU series in the post-‘Absolute Power’ era.

If you missed the YouTube video yesterday, DC has revealed their next publishing initiative, All In, which will see several creative team changes and the birth of a whole new universe. Headed up by Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson, the Absolute Universe will come into being thanks to Darkseid in October’s All In one-shot.

And today DC revealed some of the creative teams you can expect to see on some of the Absolute titles and the regular DC titles.

Starting first with the DC Absolute Universe — which is what they’re calling it in the press release, so we can assume that’s the official name — the line will launch with Absolute Batman by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta, as revealed yesterday. The first issue will come out Oct. 9. It’ll be followed by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman’s reinvention of Wonder Woman “from the ground up” in Absolute Wonder Woman #1, due out Oct. 23. Then you have Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval launching Absolute Superman #1 on Nov. 6.

“The creation of the AbsoluteUniverse is how I always imagined coming back to DC, and DC All In will be a great jumping-on point for new readers as well as lapsed fans to discover new stories to love and the chance to explore the new directions in store for DC’s core series lineup,” Snyder said in the press release.

Here’s more details and cover art for those titles, along with several DCU titles (which they refer to as the “Core Line” in the press release):

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Mark Waid + Chris Samnee show us the early days of Dick + Bruce in ‘Batman and Robin: Year One’

The 12-issue series begins in October.

The creative team behind beloved runs of Daredevil, Captain America and Black Widow will bring their magic to DC this fall, as Mark Waid and Chris Samnee present Batman and Robin: Year One.

The series will focus on the early days of the relationship between Bruce Wayne and his new ward, Dick Grayson, as they navigate their new roles both as superheroes and father/son. It’ll also introduce a new mob boss, The General, and feature Two-Face.

“While Batman and Robin are the stars of this tale and get most of the panel time, at its heart, this isn’t a Batman/Robin story, it’s a Bruce/Dick story,” Waid said. “It takes place only a month or two after Bruce adopted Dick, and it’s sinking in for Bruce that he has no idea how to be a father to a kid that age. He has no role model—his own father was long dead by the time he was Dick’s age. Nothing he’s ever done has prepared him for this, and Alfred—wise as he is—doesn’t have much experience here either.”

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Batman battles werewolves in ‘Batman: Full Moon’ this October

Rodney Barnes and Stevan Subic put Batman to the test in a new Black Label miniseries.

Killadelphia writer Rodney Barnes will make his DC debut on a Black Label miniseries featuring Batman and werewolves.

Batman: Full Moon will feature artwork by Stevan Subic, who turned a lot of heads with his work on The Riddler: Year One. The four-issue miniseries will feature “an ancient and supernatural force” that “stalks the streets of Gotham City—a werewolf so powerful it’ll defy Batman’s most trusted resources: his brilliant mind and extensive gadgetry.”

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | DC returns to Wednesdays with ‘Absolute Power’

Check out new comics arriving this week by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Chip Zdarsky, Kaare Andrews, Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza, Stephen Mooney, Soo Lee, Matt Wagner, Mara Llovet, Steve Foxe, Lynne Yoshii, Jeffrey Brown, Steve Orlando and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital.

The stars move back into alignment this week as DC returns to Wednesdays for single-issue new releases, after shifting to Tuesday releases at the beginning of the pandemic. This brings them back in sync with the rest of the industry, making things easier and less confusing for fans and retailers. Trades and graphic novels will continue to be released on Tuesdays, to keep them in line with bookstore schedules (and is fairly common practice for some other publishers as well). And the timing is perfect, since this week brings both the first issue of Absolute Power, their big summer crossover, and Batman #150.

(Update for Tuesday: if you buy your comics digitally, DC’s are available on Amazon today.)

This week also brings Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #0, which was only announced last week in a surprise that spun out of Blood Hunt #4. Hopefully your retailer had a chance to order it, so you might want to ask about it if you don’t see it on shelves.

I’ve pulled out some of the other highlights for this week below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Wednesday | DC returns to Wednesdays with ‘Absolute Power’”

Jeph Loeb + Tim Sale’s most beloved Batman story gets a sequel in September

Loeb will team with Eduardo Risso, Klaus Janson and more for ‘The Last Halloween.’

Prior to his death, Tim Sale was working with his frequent collaborator Jeph Loeb on a sequel to their career-defining Batman maxi-series, The Long Halloween. That sequel will continue on, according to DC, who officially announced The Last Halloween at MCM London last month.

Loeb will write the 10-issue series and will be joined by a different artist on each issue, starting with 100 Bullets artist Eduardo Risso. Klaus Janson, known for his work on books like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Daredevil, will draw the second issue, while Mark Chiarello, the former art director for DC, will draw the third issue. They’ll be joined by letterer Richard Starkings, who worked on the original series, and colorist Dave Stewart.

“Batman The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween is Tim Sale’s parting gift to me,” Loeb said. “Tim and I had already decided to tell this last chapter following Batman: The Long Halloween Special, which will serve as the prologue to this 10-part action-packed mystery.”

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Jenny Sparks will return in a DC Black Label miniseries by Tom King + Jeff Spokes

The six-issue miniseries, which also features Batman and Captain Atom, begins in August.

The leader of The Authority will return in a new miniseries by Tom King and Jeff Spokes this summer. Jenny Sparks will be published by DC’s Black Label imprint and will feature Batman and Captain Atom as well.

Jenny Sparks is an epic, thrilling, mind-blowing series in the tradition of Strange AdventuresMister Miracle and The Human Target,” King said. “The Spirit of the 20th Century comes to the 21st to try to save five men and women taken hostage by an out-of-control and infinitely powered Captain Atom. Through this lens, we’ll explore the grip of Jenny’s time on our own; how, despite all our desperate prayers, the sins of our past refuse to die away. Featuring astonishing art by Jeff Spokes (seriously, it’s so damn good), Jenny Sparks seeks to set the bar in superhero comics, to show how our heroes can illuminate and define our moment.”

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