DC comics tagged posts

One of the more unusual promotional things that I remember from comics in my youth were these sealed plastic grab-bags of random titles. I was gifted several of these but I remember almost nothing more. Yet somehow I remember The Challengers of the Unknown. I don’t even remember if I read it, and I know I didn’t have any more than the one issue. But I still remember that hourglass.

Now there’s a New Challengers, and despite my overall apathy towards many of DC’s bigger titles I really enjoyed this one. The story begins on a plane, in a storm, somewhere in the Himalayas, “then”. There’s a crazy guy covered in bandages, a glowing something, and the plane gets crashed. That’s all I really got from the prologue.

Then we skip ahead to somewhere in Colorado, “now”...

The Shadow / Batman crossover is a unique beast. I read it, I enjoyed it, but the entire time I was trying to figure out if I missed something. It consistently references a shared backstory between the two heroes. That backstory is amazing, and completely plausible, but it never gets more than referenced. So I went back into these two heroes past. Back. Back. Back to the 1970s, when they first met. Too far. How about six months before this series first went to print, and the Batman / Shadow miniseries I previously reviewed for your reading pleasure. (You should go read it right now.)

The two six-issue series ran back to back with the first six being published by DC, and the second six by Dynamite. (That’s one way to solve the “who gets top billing” discussion)...

So, the collected TPB of The Shadow/Batman, from Dynamite came out recently. As I was reading it (more on that tomorrow) I found I wasn’t sure if some of the references being made had been previously established, and as it turns out the answer is sort of.

Before Dynamite’s The Shadow / Batman miniseries, came DC’s Batman / The Shadow. So to better understand what I was reading I went back to dig out that series as well. Sadly I couldn’t get my hands on the collected TPB (entitled Batman/Shadow: The Murder Geniuses) but I was able to track down the individual issues. Full disclosure, I wasn’t able to get #4. But by most accounts, I didn’t miss much for plot in that issue, just a few great lines and a big battle...

Available for Pre-Order Today at Participating Bookstores and Online Retailers Nationwide

Hitting Comic Book Shops September 26 and all Major Booksellers October 2, This Special Hardcover Features Unreleased Original Scripts, Sketches and More

BURBANK, CA –  On the heels of DC’s landmark release of ACTION COMICS #1000, this milestone issue of the longest-running superhero comic book in history will debut in a deluxe hardcover format. Available in comic book stores on September 26 and book stores on October 2, the ACTION COMICS #1000 DELUXE EDITION hardcover will feature previously unreleased story scripts, sketches and more...

Batman Dredd Digest

$9.99

Writers

Alan Grant & John Wagner

Artists Cam Kennedy & Simon Bisley

Cover Artist Mike Mignola

JUSTICE GOES HEAD-TO-HEAD!

Judge Death has crossed dimensions to Gotham City and Judge Dredd is in pursuit! However, this is the home turf of a certain caped vigilante – the Batman. Two very different brands of uncompromising justice are destined to clash!

Stories include:

• BATMAN/JUDGE DREDD: JUDGEMENT ON GOTHAM
• BATMAN/JUDGE DREDD:VENDETTA IN GOTHAM

Coming into this, don’t expect a clever detective story or a tense drama.  This is a high octane, over the top, crazy action adventure store involving Judge Dread and Batman deal with some evil foes and wild plots.  That’s why the artists, especially Simon Bisley is perfect for this job...