Looking Forward to November: DC Comics
For the DC Comics Looking Forward column this month, we wanted to highlight the big events that DC is gonna have going in October. We counted FOUR major storylines and wanted to make sure you know all about ‘em! We’ve included checklists for all of them so you won’t miss a single issue!
The biggest one, we think, has to be "Death of the Family," which is gonna be running through the Batman books and will mark the return of the one and only Joker!
DEATH OF THE FAMILY
This October, one of the most notorious villains in comic book history is making his return to The New 52. In the new storyline, “Death of the Family,” The Joker will come out of the dark in a horrifying, unnerving, and huge way. And the grave consequences of his reemergence will be felt by not only the Bat-family, but by all of Gotham City.
He crippled Batgirl. He killed Robin. What will The Joker do next? And what must Batman do to protect his secret identity and that of those who fight alongside him? The adventure begins in BATMAN #13 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion.
“Joker is my favorite villain of all time,” Snyder said. “Not just in comics. In everything – film, books, TV. He’s the greatest, hands down. So this story is something extremely important and personal to me – something I’ve been building in my head ever since I started working in Gotham. Basically, this is my big exploration of the Joker, my Arkham Asylum or The Killing Joke, only bigger in scope. Bottom line: it’s the biggest, baddest, most shocking Joker story I could tell. This is Joker completely unleashed. He has been away for a full year planning this revenge, watching, plotting, setting things up. And now he’s back. He has his traps set, his knives sharpened… And wait ’til you see him. Greg’s sketches literally gave me chills. Point blank: This is Joker like you’ve never seen him before. He has a mission. He has a secret. And he has a serious axe to grind with Batman. It isn’t going to be pretty, but it’s going to be a wild ride. Thanks for taking it with us.”
“When Scott told me that he’d written a Joker story for our next arc, I couldn’t contain my excitement,” added Capullo. “Talk about a dream come true! For me, the Joker is the ultimate rogue and the villain I most wanted to draw. I gotta tell you, after hearing what the story is about, this isn’t a dream come true. It’s a nightmare! A macabre and bloody, flesh crawling nightmare. We hope you’ll have the nerve to face what’s coming. Warning: It ain’t for the faint of heart!”
RISE OF THE THIRD ARMY
This October, the “Rise of the Third Army” will spawn across GREEN LANTERN, GREEN LANTERN CORPS, GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS and RED LANTERNS.
So how will Rise of Third Army play out in all of these books?
GREEN LANTERN writer Geoff Johns:
“Absolute power corrupts absolutely–and the Guardians time is finally here. The Lantern titles spent the first year of The New 52 re-establishing themselves, but it all comes back together with year 2 starting with Green Lantern #0 and leading into October’s #13′s – which share an amazing cover by Ivan Reis. In October, the Guardians’ Third Army rises to replace the Green Lantern Corps – but how is horrifying and why will change the Guardians and their ancient mission forever. As we discover what the Third Army actually means, our strongest Lanterns are targeted for absolute destruction. From Atrocitus to Guy Gardner to our newest Green Lantern from Earth – who may have been wrongly chosen – all their darkest secrets and failures will come to light. What is Sinestro’s ultimate fate? Who is this new Green Lantern and why was he chosen? What is the Third Army? What with Atrocitus sacrifice to take on the Guardians? What will Larfleeze give up to find the one thing he wants? What happens to Guy Gardner when he’s targeted after Hal Jordan? And, most importantly, who is the First Lantern?”
GREEN LANTERN CORPS writer Peter J. Tomasi:
“The Guardians and the Third Army want to break the Green Lantern Corps — and they’ve now got their sights on Guy Gardner and John Stewart! The question is not IF the Guardians can accomplish their mission, but how horribly will they shatter our ringslingers’ lives!”
GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS writer Tony Bedard:
“In Green Lantern: New Guardians, Kyle Rayner has gathered a team of Lanterns from all seven colors of the spectrum. As the Third Army strikes, Kyle must combine all seven shades of power within himself. A bigger and badder lineup of New Guardians will push Kyle to become our secret weapon against the onslaught of the Third Army.”
And last but certainly not least, RED LANTERNS writer Peter Milligan:
“The Red Lanterns are continuing their mission to bring bloody vengeance to an unjust world when they run into (or are run into) a mysterious enemy with no mouth and a curious resistance to death. One Red Lantern succumbs to this new adversary, while Atrocitus finds a way to fight back – which entails returning to a place of great pain and associating with an ancient nemesis.”
ROTWORLD
Curious about the upcoming crossover event between ANIMAL MAN and SWAMP THING, “Rotworld”? The seeds have long been planted in both series and are beginning to really blossom. Here’s what Swamp Thing writer Scott Snyder had to say:
“So we’re finally here – the moment Jeff Lemire and I have been building towards since day one on these two crazy books we’re writing, Animal Man and Swamp Thing.
"To say this is the culmination of our year long stories on these books would be an understatement. This moment is the culmination – the Rot, Arcane, The Hunters Three all have led us here – but it’s also the start of something even bigger. Because in Rotworld, you’ll get to see the DCu completely transformed by the Rot. You’ll see which of your favorite heroes and villains survived the Rot’s invasion (not many, we’re afraid). And you’ll get to see which have been overtaken and transformed by the Rot. You’ll get to see Gotham, Metropolis – this is the whole DCU, but rotten.
Swampy and Buddy will face impossible odds, and will have to bring everything they’ve learned over the past year to bear against the figureheads of the Rot in this world. They’ll travel by land, sea and air. They’ll meet friends and enemies transformed. And most importantly, at the end, they’ll come face to face with their own greatest fears about themselves. This story will push them like nothing you’ve seen, and when it’s over, both books will be forever changed.
It’s been a wild year in for these characters, and we can’t thank you all enough for all the support. It means the world to all of us on Animal Man and Swamp Thing. And we promise, the best – and wildest – is coming right now, in Rotworld."
H’EL ON EARTH
This fall, there will be an electrifying crossover occurring in Superman, Superboy and Supergirl. Spanning across all the series’ #14 issues, “H’el on Earth” will put these super-beings into battle with the maniacal alien, H’el.
Written by Tom DeFalco and featuring art by R.B. Silva and Rob Lean, SUPERBOY #14 guest stars Supergirl and the Teen Titans. Fresh from the events of Superman #13, Superman’s deadliest new foe comes after Kon-El!
Picking up right there, Supergirl too meets the villainous H’el. But what happens when Kara finds herself agreeing with his pro-Krypton/anti-Earth plans? SUPERGIRL #14 is written by Mike Johnson and illustrated by Mahmud Asrar.
And in SUPERMAN #14, written by Scott Lobdell and illustrateed by Kenneth Rocafort, the Man of Steel himself will be forced to come face to face with the gang’s worst nightmare: a creature of unknown Kryptonian origin who is not only more powerful than Superman, but is also smarter than Supergirl and more lethal than Superboy. How will Superman combat a threat of this magnitude? We don’t want to spoil anything so all we can say for now is that his actions will change the course of a planet’s fate!
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Looking Forward to August: DC Comics →
Looking Forward to August: Marvel Comics →
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Whole mess o’ crossovers!
Looks like a whole lot of books to keep up with a story arc. I love the Joker but I’m not likely not getting on board with that many issues, I’ll just stick with the one’s I already pick up. However, I’d be interested in a collected edition if one ever popped up.
The Superman/boy/girl story arc looks more manageable and it wouldn’t be an undertaking to follow it all the way through. Since Supergirl is the only Super book I normally read I’d have to go back to Superman 13 to pick it up but that shouldn’t be too difficult.
You’re forgetting “Hawkman:Wanted”