Now, onto the DC side…
BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #214
Written by Christos N. Gage
Art and cover by Phil Winslade
A crooked financier is supposed to testify against his equally crooked boss — but he’s been intimidated out of making it to court by the one man he fears more than Batman…Deadshot!
On sale January 31 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • FINAL ISSUE
Lets see…We have two regular Batman books, Batman Confidential which tells early stories of Batman’s career featuring today’s hottest creators, All Star Batman which tells early stories of Batman’s career featuring today’s hottest creators, mini-series galore which tell early stories of Batman’s career featuring today’s hottest creators, and of course, this book, which was originally started to tell early stories of Batman’s career featuring today’s hottest creators. According to DC’s in-house dictionary, if you look up the word redundant, it says “See redundant.” Oh, wait, this series is finally being put out of it’s misery…Never mind, it’s all cool now…
52: WEEKS 35-39
Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid
Breakdowns by Keith Giffen
Art by various
Backup features by Waid and various
Covers by J.G. Jones
Variant cover on WEEK 35 by J.G. Jones
The New Year begins with the deadliest day Metropolis has ever seen — and by the end of the month a villain will stand revealed, a hero will fall in the outer reaches of the galaxy…and the reveal of Supernova will deepen his mysteries even further.
WEEK 35: Art by Phil Jimenez & Andy Lanning, plus The Origin of Black Canary by Waid and Howard Chaykin.
WEEK 36: Art by Chris Batista & Jack Jadson, plus The Origin of Green Arrow by Waid and Tim Sale.
WEEK 37: Art by Patrick Olliffe & Drew Geraci; plus The Origin of Firestorm by Waid and Jamal Igle.
WEEK 38: Art by Shawn Moll & Jadson; plus The Origin of Red Tornado by Waid and Phil Jimenez.
WEEK 39: Art by Joe Bennett & Ruy Jose; plus, The Origin of Mr. Terrific by Waid and Dave Johnson.
Retailers: 52 WEEK 35 will feature two covers that may be ordered separately. Both covers are by J.G. Jones. Please see the Previews Order Form for further details.
52: A year without Superman; a year without Batman; a year without Wonder Woman…but not a year without heroes.
I dunno, I guess this book is getting better, but it still hasn’t totally hooked me like it has most other people. I think it’s the whole day-by-day thing that’s been turning me off. It seems unnatural and forced. Things that would naturally take only a day or so, seem to be stretched out over a week just to fit into the storyline. Getting’ better though…
JSA CLASSIFIED #21 & 22
Written by Walter Simonson
Art and cover by Simonson
Continuing the 4-part story by Walter Simonson that started in December’s HAWKGIRL #59! In JSA CLASSIFIED #21, find out where Hawkman's been since Hawkgirl returned to Earth, while the breakout of several high-powered prisoners of the Rann-Thanagar War brings Hawkman’s involvement in the war to its premature conclusion.
Part 3 of this epic tale ships two weeks later in issue #22! Struggling to defeat the powerful person behind the Rann-Thanagar prison break brings Hawkman and Hawkgirl back together after more than a year apart…and forces them into a situation that could turn the tide in the epic war!
I saw this, and I got all excited! Drawn by Walt Simonson! Then I realized that it was only two parts of a cross-over with Hawkgirl, which isn’t being drawn by Walt Simonson and I didn’t care anymore…*sigh*
TRIALS OF SHAZAM #5
Written by Judd Winick
Art and cover by Howard Porter
The red-hot maxiseries by Judd Winick and Howard Porter continues! Sabina, the Council of Merlin’s representative in the Middle East steps in and sabotages Freddy’s latest trial — succeeding in taking some power for the evil members who sponsor her!
Damn Judd Winick…
SCALPED #1
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by R.M. Guéra
Cover by Jock
Introducing SCALPED, an all-new monthly series by up-and-coming writer Jason Aaron (THE OTHER SIDE) featuring the gritty art of R.M. Guéra (Heavy Metal).
Fifteen years ago, Dashiell “Dash” Bad Horse ran away from a life of abject poverty and utter hopelessness on the Prairie Rose Indian Reservation in hopes of finding something better. Now, he's come back home to find nothing much has changed on “The Rez” — short of a glimmering new casino, and a once-proud people overcome by drugs and organized crime. So is he back to set things right or just get a piece of the action?
Also at the center of the storm is Tribal Leader Lincoln Red Crow, a former “Red Power” activist turned burgeoning crime boss who figures that after 100 years of the Lakota being robbed and murdered by the white man, it’s now time to return the favor.
Now Dash — armed with nothing but a set of nunchucks, a hellbent-for-leather attitude and (at least) one dark secret — must survive a world of gambling, gunfights, G-men, Dawg Soldierz, massacres, meth labs, trashy sex, fry bread, Indian pride, Thunder Beings, the rugged beauty of the Badlands…and even a brutal scalping or two.
For a dose of Sopranos-style organized crime drama mixed with current Native American culture, look no further than SCALPED!
This book actually sounds kinda cool. I haven’t decided if I want to try it out or not…hmmmmm…
Well, that about wraps it up for this issue of Previews. Much shorter than usual, but I had a revelation the other day while filling out my monthly order from Westfield. I just don’t really give a shit anymore. Yeah, there’s a couple of DC books that I’m interested in (Green Arrow, Teen Titans, Jonah Hex), but that’s about it. Plus, on the Marvel side, I’m getting really burnt out on Civil War and everything else. Instead of buying every Ultimate book, I’m gonna stick with what I really enjoy (bye-bye Ultimate FF, you better get your shit together Ultimate X-Men!) Other books that I’m planning on dropping out of boredom include: Avengers Next, Ms. Marvel, Hulk, Iron Man, Moon Knight (damn blatant Batman rip-off! Ask ROY, Franta or LLance!), Punisher, Squadron Supreme and Fantastic Four. I just don’t give a shit about these anymore, plus I gave up slavishly following Civil War. Most of the tie-ins have been crap anyways. Marvel’s side is pretty light this month, owing to all the Civil War crap being late. No Amazing Spider-man, Iron Man, Captain America, Avengers or Fantastic Four. Has that, in the history of Marvel comics, ever happened before? Anyways, going back to my epiphany, I never seem to have much energy to read my monthly stack ‘o shit these days. Sometimes I ask “Why bother?” And you know what? All the books I’ve dropped lately, I don’t even miss ‘em…
