It’s spooky season! While there are some fun stories in the annual Halloween collection (this year’s is DC’s Terrors Through Time), the real treat of the month was John Ridley and Stefano Raffaele’s GCPD: The Blue Wall #1 while the worst trick was Flashpoint Beyond #6.
The News
More news that isn’t directly related to DC Comics, but is close. This month DC Films executive Walter Hamada left Warner Discovery, seemingly closing a very fraught era for the company’s adaptations.
Highlights
GCPD: The Blue Wall #1
Brad Anderson (colors), Ariana Maher (letters), Reiko Murakami (cover), Stefano Raffaele (art), John Ridley (writer)
October 18, 2022
I was a little leary of this comic when it was announced. I have so far loved Ridley’s DC work (especially The Other History of the DC Universe) and was a huge fan of Gotham Central, but a series like this could easily veer into being copaganda. Ridley has already assuaged those fears, as this first issue took time and care to tackle some very controversial topics and look at them with a light that exposes some of the dirt. It’s also worth noting that DC did throw a content warning right at the front of the book to alert readers of some language and themes within the book. This was the highlight of the month for me with Ridley’s strong storytelling driving the way and Raffaele’s noir-inspired art setting the tone.
Grade: A+
Batman: One Bad Day: The Penguin #1
Giuseppe Camuncoli (layouts and cover), Rob Leigh (letters), John Ridley (writer), Cam Smith (finishes)
October 18, 2022
The One Bad Day series continues to rebound from a disappointing first issue with another incredible one-shot for a Batman villain, this time the Penguin. Picking up the pen for this issue was the previously discussed John Ridley, who just had a great month of output overall with my two top choices. This is a story about what happens after the One Bad Day rather than what happened during it, it’s a story about a Penguin who has hit rock bottom and lost everything, and how he works to claw it all back. It’s a story of anger and perseverance, and while the Penguin isn’t a hero, it’s tough not to admire his rise back to power in this comic.
Grade: A
Flashpoint Beyond #6
Jeremy Adams (writer),Brad Anderson (colors), Jordie Bellaire (colors), Romulo Fajardo Jr (colors), Gary Frank (art), Mitch Gerads (cover), Mikel Janín (art), Geoff Johns (writer), Rob Leigh (letters), Tim Sheridan (writer), Xermanico (art)
October 18, 2022
Yay it’s over! Kind of. Not really. Sigh. This is the worst thing about modern DC, that nothing ever actually ends. Metal begat Justice League begat Death Metal begat Future State begat Death of the Justice League begat Dark Crisis. Every event is just a prelude to another event, and sadly Flashpoint Beyond is no exception. Flashpoint begat the New 52 begat Rebirth begat Doomsday Clock begat Flashpoint Beyond begat the new Justice Society books that are coming. Nothing ever ends, and it’s hinted that there will be more Doomsday Clock in the future too. Let some things end. Please.
Grade: F
Grades
A+
GCPD: The Blue Wall #1
A
Action Comics #1048
Batman – One Bad Day: Penguin #1
Batman #128
Batman: The Knight #10
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #8
Catwoman: Lonely City #4
Rogues #4
B
Aquaman: Andromeda #3
Batgirls #11
Batman Incorporated #1
Batman vs. Robin #2
Batman: Fortress #6
Black Adam #5
Catwoman #48
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #5
Dark Crisis: The Deadly Green #1
Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League – Green Arrow #1
Dark Crisis: Young Justice #5
DC Horror Presents: Sgt. Rock vs. the Army of the Dead #2
DC’s Terrors Through Time #1
Detective Comics #1065
Gotham City: Year One #1
Harley Quinn #23
Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: Legion of Bats! #1
I Am Batman #14
Monkey Prince #7
Multiversity: Teen Justice #5
Nightwing #97
Poison Ivy #5
Punchline: The Gotham Game #1
Superman: Son of Kal-El #16
Sword of Azrael #3
The Flash #787
The Riddler: Year One #1
Tim Drake: Robin #2
Wonder Woman #792
C
Batman: Urban Legends #20
Black Adam – The Justice Society Files: Doctor Fate #1
DC vs. Vampires #10
DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War #4
DC: Mech #4
DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #3
Deathstroke Inc. #14
DUO #6
Fables #156
Future State: Gotham #18
The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #1
The Jurassic League #6
Titans United: Bloodpact #2
D
Batman: Beyond the White Knight #6
The Human Target #8
F
Flashpoint Beyond #6
Solicitation Situation
LAZARUS PLANET: ALPHA #1
- Written by MARK WAID and GENE LUEN YANG
- Art by RICCARDO FEDERICI, BILLY TAN, and more
- Cover by DAVID MARQUEZ and ALEJANDRO SÁNCHEZ
- Variant covers by RICCARDO FEDERICI, FRANCESCO MATTINA, MATEUS MANHANINI, NATHAN SZERDY, and JORGE CORONA
- Trading Card Variant
- 1:25 variant cover by JOHN GIANG
- 1:50 foil variant cover by A.L. KAPLAN
- 1:100 foil variant cover by DAVID MARQUEZ
and ALEJANDRO SÁNCHEZ- Team variant cover by SCOTT GODLEWSKI
- $5.99 US | 48 pages | Variant $6.99 US (card stock)
- ON SALE 1/10/23
CHANGE THE WORLD.
Following the explosive (literally) events of Batman vs. Robin #4, the Lazarus Volcano has erupted, spewing dangerous and transformative chemicals into Earth’s atmosphere! As these Lazarus clouds rain down upon the planet, people across the globe begin to develop strange new abilities, watch their already-extraordinary abilities change, and witness a whole host of chaos unlike anything the DCU has experienced before! It’s up to Damian Wayne to put out the distress call for whoever can still hear it: come to the ruins of the Hall of Justice and help save the world! Poison Ivy, Power Girl, Cyborg, Batman, and more answer the call…but why could the fate of all life as we know it rest in the hands of…Monkey Prince?
Spe3king of the never-ending cycle of events, here’s another chain of events. But hey, this one I’m actually excited about, so it’s fine. But the main (or Maines) reason I’m excited for this event is…
LAZARUS PLANET: ASSAULT ON KRYPTON #1
- Written by NICOLE MAINES, C.S. PACAT, FRANK BARBIERE, and LEAH WILLIAMS
- Art by SKYLAR PATRIDGE, SCOTT GODLEWSKI, SAMI BASRI, and MARGUERITE SAUVAGE
- Cover by DAVID MARQUEZ and ALEJANDRO SÁNCHEZ
- Variant covers by JEN BARTEL, NATHAN SZERDY, MARIO “FOX” FOCCILLO and PRASAD “PRESSY” RAO
- 1:25 variant cover by ARIEL COLON
- 1:50 foil variant cover by DAVID MARQUEZ and ALEJANDRO SÁNCHEZ
- $4.99 US | 48 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
- ON SALE 1/17/23
With the world in chaos and Lazarus raining from the skies, the Earth’s protectors from Krypton are hit hard. In this collection of epic vignettes from in and around Lazarus Planet, we’ll see heroes transformed, secrets revealed, and power unleashed. Can Power Girl free herself from the out-of-control Omen? Will Dreamer’s visions guide our heroes to the path of victory? Can Mercy Graves survive the transformation she’s undergone? And will Jonathan Kent ever be the same again?
More Nicole Maines written Dreamer! Skylar Patridge drawn Dreamer! Jen Bartel Dreamer variant covers! SO MUCH GOOD DREAMER CONTENT, I AM LIVING.
Next month is turkey time and hopefully Wonder Woman: Historia #3.
