Hello and welcome back to Upcoming Comics! I hope you all have had a great week! Looking ahead at the titles we’re going to be checking out, it’s interesting that this week we have a couple oversized issues being released with Batman hitting issue #900 and Batman & Joker: The Deadly Duo wrapping up its run. I tend to have a love hate relationship with oversized issues. While I enjoy a comic getting to really have the time it needs to tell its story, if the story within the issue isn’t up to par, it can be frustrating to be expected to pay more for what feels like less. What are your thoughts on longer issues? Would you rather see more of them or less? Let us know down in the comments!
While you’re thinking on that, let’s look at those two issues, and everything else coming out this week!
Upcoming Comics
Batman #135
It’s Batman versus Red Mask in a brutal Gotham that’s never known hope! Can the Dark Knight overcome the terrifying infection that Red Mask has unleashed? Only one thing is certain: he won’t be able to do it alone. The conclusion to the bestselling “The Bat-Man of Gotham” is so big it could only be contained in an oversize #900 anniversary issue featuring the return of fan-favorite artist Jorge Jiménez and a wild collection of guest stars! Full of wild revelations and a new path for Batman, this is one issue you won’t want to miss!
- Written By: Chip Zdarsky
- Penciled By: Jorge Jiménez, Mike Hawthorne, Mikel Janin
- Inks By: Jorge Jiménez, Mikel Janin, Adriano Di Benedetto
- Colors By: Tomeu Morey
- Cover By: Mike Allred, Laura Allred, Jorge Jiménez, Tomeu Morey
Thoughts: Milestone issues like this always seem to have a lot of hype around them, and I’ve already heard some buzz about this book in particular. Though I have to wonder if it’ll live up to the hype.
Batman News Critic: Casper
Batman and Joker: Deadly Duo #7
Batman and the Joker have fought across streets, rooftops, railways and caverns, against horrors beyond of their wildest nightmares. Deep underground, witnesses to an undead wedding from Hell, they finally go up against their bitterest enemies: each other! Can the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Crime save Commissioner Gordon and Harley Quinn, or will the flames of their reignited rivalry consume all? Find out, detail by bloody detail, in the epic conclusion to Marc Silvestri’s dark and brutal Gotham opus. This oversized finale clocks in at 31 beautiful and horrifying story pages.
- Writing and Art By: Marc Silvestri
- Cover By: Marc Silvestri, Arif Prianto
Thoughts: With this series wrapping up, it feels like a good time for readers who’ve been holding off checking it out to take a look at it as a whole and dive in.
Batman News Critic: William
The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #8
After getting hit by a train, the Joker awakens in the Gotham sewers, being cared for by…Solomon Grundy?! While his mind and body are recovering, the Clown Prince of Crime and his new sidekick learn they’re not the only monsters currently calling the sewers home! And the second Joker has set a course to find and destroy his alter ego…
- Written By: Matthew Rosenberg
- Penciled By: Carmine Di Giandomenico, Francesco Francavilla
- Inks By: Carmine Di Giandomenico, Francesco Francavilla
- Colors By: Francesco Francavilla, Romulo Fajardo
- Cover By: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Batman News Critic: Theresa
Poison Ivy #12
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Ivy and Janet’s celebrity wellness excursion comes to a horrifically tantalizing close as Pamela Isley faces the unintended fruits of her murderous road trip. Will she make it back home to Harley in one piece or is Ivy going to be added to Gløp’s body count?
- Written By: . Willow Wilson
- Penciled By: Marcio Takara
- Inks By: Marcio Takara
- Colors By: Arif Prianto
- Cover By: Jessica Fong
Thoughts: Sounds like Ivy is about to face the consequences of her actions in this issue, though I have a feeling things should work out okay for her in the end.
Batman News Critic: Theresa
Batman: The Audio Adventures #6
As Haly’s Circus reopens, Gotham City is in chaos! Batman’s investigations reveal that monster serum has been leaking all throughout the city and the trail leads back to none other than Killer Croc! Meanwhile, Robin finds himself face-to-face with Scarecrow!
- Written By: Dennis McNicholas
- Penciled By: Anthony Marques
- Inks By: J. Bone
- Colors By: Dave Stewart
- Cover By: Dave Johnson
Batman News Critic: Aaron
Beyond the Bat
Welcome back to Beyond the Bat! Here we feature titles that aren’t just focused on Batman, and look at what else DC is publishing this week. We have a few series starting this week with Peacemaker and Shazam having #1s releasing. Dawn of DC: We are Legends also releases, and features some of DC’s new characters tied into the Dawn of DC initiative, some of which we’ve already seen peppered into other comics. I don’t really have a firm opinion on any of them yet, beyond mild curiosity, so I’m hopeful this book does a solid job introducing them in a way that gives readers a better idea of what to expect going forward.
Ratings
Most Excited: Batman and Joker: Deadly Duo #7- This is probably surprising to anyone who knows how little I care about Joker, but I have heard a lot of positive things about this series, and I’m excited to see how it wraps up. I’m hopeful it’ll land the ending!
Least Excited: The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #8– The idea of Joker and Grundy working together sounds interesting, but that’s the only thing I can find to be interested in here.
Wild Card: Batman #135– Like I’ve mentioned, milestone issues can go either way, and with this also being the wrap up of Batman’s current story arc it could be a ton of fun, with some interesting twists waiting for readers.
And that’s all for this week’s Upcoming Comics! Thank you all for reading through and exploring these titles with me. I hope your week and the rest of April is wonderful!
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