Jackson Luken

So far in this arc a lot of our time has been spent seeing all the different Bizarro versions of various DC characters on Bizarro World. I’ve generally praised this aspect, as it’s a lot of goofy fun that I believe works for the type of concept Bizarro is. Now that we’re in the home stretch, the plot needs to take center focus as the story arc wraps up. It does still manage to fit in one last Bizarro character gag in Bibbo the genius chemist, but aside from that it’s a race to the finish to save Bizarro World.

Welcome back to Upcoming Comics! DC just released the solicitations for December, and part of that means necessarily revealing a lot of who will be fighting in those rounds of DC K.O. None of them are too surprising, but I think it’s funny how they want to keep things close to the chest to generate “who will win” speculation when that can’t work if you’re announcing who will be left three months out. Oh well, I’m sure there will still be plenty of fan arguments and discourse about who wins what.

Welcome back to Upcoming Comics! Weeks like this really highlight when DC launches a bunch of new titles at once. Five of the titles coming out are on their third issue or less. I suppose it makes sense given that they tend to launch in waves (often lined up with a SDCC or NYCC announcement). It certainly can make for an interesting time to be a fan, and if you’re lucky, could include some soon to be favorites.

Gotham Academy was a surprise highlight of the New 52 era back in 2014. On the surface it seemed like just another high school book aimed at younger readers, and in some ways it was that, but it had so much heart with a compelling story and characters that it quickly gained a cult following (especially the breakout supporting character of Maps Mizoguchi). That series began with Olive Silverlock returning from an extended leave from the Academy where we slowly learned more about her past over time. Now with

Do you remember Tim Drake? It’s understandable if you don’t; sometimes it feels like neither do the people making comics. Believe it or not, he used to feature pretty heavily in a lot of Batman stories. That is, until around 2011 where he’s sort of been without a home for the most part. Different writers have tried different approaches, but nothing quite seems to stick.

Welcome back to Upcoming Comics! There have been a lot of big announcements and new/ending titles in recent months (plus whatever’s coming next week at NYCC), and sometimes I think how crazy it is to be able to cover all of it. It’s a hobby where we’ve been able to come together and share our love for comics with each other and readers. Don’t get me wrong, anyone on the team can tell you that there have been some real stinkers we’ve covered, but even those can sometimes be the most fun to talk about. In some ways, it feels like being part of the cultural bat fandom tapestry that at this point has outlasted nations. It’s like Morrison wrote all those years ago: Batman and Robin will never die.

Batman comics have been running for almost a century now, with decades upon decades of new villains, new Robins, and an ever evolving sense of who the Caped Crusader is. Despite all this, there’s often a desire to go back to the stories set during his earliest years when things were simpler. They offer a chance to retell classic origins and expand upon older comics written before most people even had a TV set. Sometimes these revitalizations even become classics in their own right. Let’s talk about some of the best that Batman’s early years have to offer.

Lasting from around 1970 until DC’s reset of their universe with Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985, the Bronze Age of comics was when comics began to shed the childishly simple storytelling of the Silver Age in favor of darker and more complex narratives. In few places could this be seen more clearly than with Batman. In many ways it was both a return to his roots and when his comics as we know them came into being. Once again Batman could embrace the noirish crime and gothic horror that often defined his earliest stories, now with a modernized style.

Last we left off, Batman was in a very bad way. He only just barely escaped Ark M’s tortuous prison with plenty of scars to prove it, his friends have all been mutilated into cruel mockeries of their former selves, and Bane is preparing to finally break his body and spirit. If there were ever a time to throw in the towel, now would seemingly be it. However, the previous issue offered one unexpected glimmer of hope in its cliffhanger: Selina Kyle.

Welcome back to Upcoming Comics! New York Comic Con is kicking off, and we’ve got Batman News reporters Chip and Chris on-site ready to break any news that might be coming out of it. Just yesterday it was announced that Absolute Catwoman is getting her own miniseries, and the convention is just getting started. Getting to cover NYCC last year was definitely one of my favorite memories at Batman News, so good luck to Chip and Chris!