World’s Finest #3 is still great, but as she tends to do, Catwoman #43 snuck in and stole the best book crown this month.
The News
Two art legends that made DC’s universe better with their contributions passed away this past month. Neal Adams who helped Dennis O’Neil bring Batman back to prominence and worked hard to bring social issues to light in the pages of Green Lantern/Green Arrow passed away at 80 on April 29. Just a little over a week later, we lost George Pérez to his battle with pancreatic cancer. Pérez had long runs on both the New Teen Titans and Wonder Woman along with illustrating the universe defining epic Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Highlights
Catwoman #43
Jordie Bellaire (colors), Bengal (art), Jeff Dékal (cover), Tini Howard (writer), Tom Napolitano (letters)
I wrote a lot about what I loved about this issue, and about Tini Howard’s run on the book so far over at ComicsBeat. The TLDR of what I love about it though is that Howard is being as unabashedly queer with the book as possible, and it’s refreshing to see that freedom with such a major character. Catwoman is arguably DC’s third most well-known female character behind Wonder Woman and Supergirl, and to see her being written as openly bisexual is refreshing in a way that I didn’t know I needed until it happened.
Grade: A+
Batman Fortress #1
Simon Bowland (letters), Darick Robertson (art and cover), Diego Rodriguez (color and cover), Gary Whitta (writer)
Darick Robertson is an immensely underrated superhero artist, and I’m glad he’s getting a shot at a Batman mini-series. His run with Greg Rucka on Wolverine cemented him as my favorite artist for Logan, and he’s already making a good case for being a top-tier Batman artist too. I’m also very interested to see where the premise of this story goes, especially with the scale being established as a global event while the book is primarily focused on Gotham City.
Grade: A
Action Comics Annual 2022 #1
Ian Churchill (art), Dale Eaglesham (art), Francesco Fancavilla (cover), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (writer), Lee. Loughridge (colorist),Dave Sharpe (letters), Si Spurrier (writer)
This annual takes a look at the early lives of both main players of Action Comics’ ongoing “Warworld Saga” in Clark Kent and Mongul. While Mongul was raised in a wartorn hell where only the strongest survived and only by stepping over the corpses of friends and family, it’s the Clark Kent story that really had the heart of this issue. It was one of those all too common “Kents teach Clark not to use his powers for selfish reasons, but to use his heart instead” stories, but it was one that felt fresh and unique. In this issue, Clark gets to see what the power of being kind can be, while also struggling against a force in which he’s powerless. Adding an early life cancer scare to Ma Kent’s story isn’t something I expected, but it does help Clark learn how to be better. While given a little levity, the scene of young Clark trying and failing to cut his hair (he tried to use a chainsaw!) in solidarity was heartbreaking. It’s another example that Johnson really gets what makes the character great.
Grade: A
Fables #151
Mark Buckingham (pencils), Qistina Khalidah (cover), Todd Klein (letters), Steve Leialoha (inks), Lee Loughridge (colors), Bill Willingham (writer)
In the series return that nobody asked for, Bill Willingham and editor Mark Doyle completely drop the ball for readers. Fables ended in July 2015 with a trade paperback size finale issue, which promised to be the end of the long-running series. Now seven years later and the series picks up right where it left off, and I mean that literally. This issue is presented as just another monthly issue of a long-running comic, down to the issue number, with nary an editorial caption to catch the reader up on what happened the last time we saw the characters. Fables was the only comic series I’ve ever gotten a home subscription for, and I read every issue as it came out, and I was still a bit lost at what was going on because it’s been seven years since I read that last issue. Expecting readers to remember plot beats from that long ago without help is frustrating and could have been easily fixed with a “Previously in Fables” page. Shelly Bond, you were sorely missed. It is nice to see Mark Buckingham’s pencils again though, his art was always a highlight of the series.
Grade: F
Grades
A+
Catwoman #43
A
Action Comics #1043
Action Comics 2022 Annual #1
Batgirls #6
Batman Beyond: Neo-Year #2
Batman: Fortress #1
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #3
Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis #1
Nubia Coronation Special #1
The Flash #782
The Jurassic League #1
The Nice House on the Lake #9
The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country #2
World of Krypton #8
B
Aquamen #4
Batman #123
Batman 2022 Annual #1
Batman: The Knight #5
Batman: Urban Legends #15
DC vs. Vampires – Hunters #1
Detective Comics #1060
Earth Prime Legends of Tomorrow #3
Hardware Season One #6
Hardware: Season One #5
Harley Quinn #15
I Am Batman #9
Monkey Prince #4
Nightwing #92
Shadow War Zone #1
Suicide Squad #15
Superman: Son of Kal-El #11
Task Force Z #7
Task Force Z #8
The Swamp Thing #13
Wonder Woman #787
Wonder Woman: Evolution #7
C
Batman: Killing Time #3
Blood Syndicate: Season One #1
Deathstroke Inc. #9
DUO #1
Earth-Prime: Stargirl #4
Future State: Gotham #13
Justice League vs. the Legion of Super-Heroes #3
Naomi: Season Two #3
One-Star Squadron #6
Robin #14
Shadow War: Omega #1
Teen Titans Academy #15
D
Batman: Beyond the White Knight #3
Flashpoint Beyond #1
Suicide Squad: Get Joker #3
F
Fables #151
Solicitation Situation
New Champion of Shazam #1
- Written by JOSIE CAMPBELL
- Art and cover by EVAN “DOC” SHANER
- Variant cover by JOSHUA MIDDLETON
- 1:25 variant cover by GARY FRANK
- $3.99 US | 32 pages | 1 of 4 | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)
- ON SALE 8/2/22
Mary Bromfield has always struggled to determine who she is outside her family…kinda hard to do when you’re all superheroes! Now, after Billy Batson’s heroic sacrifice, the power of Shazam has vanished, and she’s been left powerless. Most heroes would be distraught, but not Mary. It’s finally time for a voyage of self-discovery as she prepares for her freshman year of college and a civilian life. But nothing is ever truly normal for this young hero, because she’s just been chosen as the new champion of Shazam! (At least according to a talking rabbit sent by her estranged brother Billy.) Will she embrace the power? Or will it die along with this world’s hope of survival against the mysterious magical forces waiting to take control? Find out in Mary’s first solo miniseries, brought to you by up-and-coming comics writer Josie Campbell (Future State: Green Lantern) and fan-favorite Shazam artist Evan “Doc” Shaner (Strange Adventures, Convergence: Shazam!)!
I feel like I probably had this in my Solicitation Situation the first time it was solicited, but then it dropped off the radar for months (likely due to the delays that hit Teen Titans Academy) and now it’s getting resolicited and I’m still excited for it. And also this Joshua Middleton variant cover is just absolutely gorgeous.
Batman: The Silver Age Omnibus Volume 1
- Written by BILL FINGER, EDMOND HAMILTON, and others
- Art by SHELDON MOLDOFF, DICK SPRANG, and others
- Cover by SHELDON MOLDOFF
- $99.99 US | 728 pages | 7 1/16″ x 10 7/8″ | Hardcover
- ISBN: 978-1-77951-542-1
- ON SALE 10/4/22
Join the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder as they enter an exciting new era of fun and adventure in the Silver Age. Featuring restored versions of iconic tales such as “The Batwoman,” “The Bat-Ape,” and “The Rainbow Batman,” this omnibus is sure to delight fans of Batman both young and old! Collects stories from Batman #101-116 and Detective Comics #233-257.
I actually get my news about upcoming collected editions by browsing future listings on Amazon periodically, so I’ve known this book was coming for some time. While I’m not super likely to pick up the Batman: Silver Age Omnibus collections, the fact that they have gotten to them for Batman makes me hope that Superman ones are going to be on their way sooner rather than later.
DC Pride 2022 got delayed a week, so it will be waiting for next month’s pubwatch!
