Hey there comic book fans. If you’ve casually perused this list before taking a healthier dive into the actual content of this narrative you don’t need me to tell you that there are a LOT of newly launching titles hitting the stands from the DC Comics side of the fence. Let’s take a look at the brand new series that are starting up along with some of the one-shot special editions. Here we go.
DARK NIGHTS: METAL #1: The superstar BATMAN team of writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo reunite for a massive, universe-spanning event! “I’ve been planning METAL for as long as I’ve been writing Batman, but I want METAL to be built upon the stories happening now in Rebirth. Most of all we want to create new material that feels really modern and different. And above all, it’s going to be fun. Even with terror and nightmares, it won’t be grim. DARK NIGHTS: METAL will be celebratory, huge and crazy.” — SCOTT SNYDER – “I’m looking forward to rock’n and roll’n together again. Fans have been loud and clear; they want more from us. We’re primed and ready to blow it up.” — GREG CAPULLO – DARK NIGHTS: THE FORGE and THE CASTING hinted at dark corners of reality that have never been seen till now! Now, as DARK NIGHTS: METAL begins, the Dark Multiverse is revealed in all its devastating danger—and the threats it contains are coming for the DC Universe!
DARK NIGHTS: METAL is a DC event unlike any other—one that will push Batman, Superman and heroes of the Justice League beyond their limits to take on threats unlike any our world has ever seen! It will take the combined might of the World’s Greatest Heroes as you’ve never seen them before to face what’s coming their way!
Written by SCOTT SNYDER • Art by GREG CAPULLO and DANNY MIKI
GREEN ARROW ANNUAL #1: Christmas is a time for reflection, relatives and…revenge! So says Count Vertigo, who returns to Seattle to send Oliver Queen on a violent, mind-bending journey into his own past and future. The hidden secrets of GREEN ARROW are laid bare in this oversize special that tests the already tenuous bonds between Team Arrow, featuring the long-awaited returns of Shado, Diggle and the dark archer Merlyn!
Written by BENJAMIN PERCY; Art by ELEANORA CARLINI; Cover by JAMAL CAMPBELL
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS ANNUAL #1: “Brothers in Arms”! When Red Hood discovers a new wave of criminal activity in Gotham City with a traveling circus at its epicenter, he recruits Nightwing to help the Outlaws infiltrate the big top! Can the two would-be brothers put their differences aside and crack the case? Or will their division be the harbinger of their demise?
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL; Art and cover by TYLER KIRKHAM
SUPERGIRL ANNUAL #1: “EMERALD ERADICATION” part two! With her powers out of control, Emerald Empress takes the upper hand over Supergirl! These deadly tactical strikes will rattle the Girl of Steel to the core!
Written by STEVE ORLANDO; Art by STEVE PUGH; Cover by ROBSON ROCHA and DANIEL HENRIQUES
DC SUPER HERO GIRLS: PAST TIMES AT SUPER HERO HIGH: The students of Super Hero High go on a one-of-a-kind field trip that will allow them to learn about the past, up close and personal! In fact, they will be in the past! After a time-machine mishap, Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl and company find themselves in the Jurassic period! But more importantly, how will their time in the past affect their future? Find out in the latest title in the hit all-ages graphic novel series!
Written by SHEA FONTANA • Art by AGNES GARBOWSKA, YANCEY LABAT and MARCELO DiCHIARA • Cover by YANCEY LABAT
FUTURE QUEST SHOWCASE #1: After the thrilling events of FUTURE QUEST, a new age of adventure begins! First up, Space Ghost and his young wards Jan and Jace team up with the Herculoids to rebuild the mighty Space Force. Will they rise again to become defenders of the galaxy? Or is there something lurking in the shadows ready to stop them for good?
Written by JEFF PARKER • Art and cover by ARIEL OLIVETTI • Variant cover by STEVE RUDE
MISTER MIRACLE #1: From the team behind THE SHERIFF OF BABYLON and the Hugo Award-nominated writer of Vision comes a unique new take on one of Jack Kirby’s most beloved New Gods. Scott Free is the greatest escape artist that ever lived. So great that he escaped Granny Goodness’ gruesome orphanage and the dangers of Apokolips to travel across galaxies and set up a new life on Earth with his wife, the former female fury known as Big Barda. Using the stage alter ego of Mister Miracle, he has made a career for himself showing off his acrobatic escape techniques. He even caught the attention of the Justice League, which counted him among its ranks. You might say Scott Free has everything…so why isn’t it enough? Mister Miracle has mastered every illusion, achieved every stunt, pulled off every trick—except one. He has never escaped death. Is it even possible? Our hero is going to have to kill himself if he wants to find out.
Written by TOM KING • Art by MITCH GERADS • Cover by NICK DERINGTON • Variant cover by MITCH GERADS
NIGHTWING: THE NEW ORDER #1: NIGHTWING: THE NEW ORDER is the story of a future world without “weapons”—where superpowers have been eliminated and outlawed. The man responsible? None other than Dick Grayson, a.k.a. Nightwing, now leader of a government task force called the Crusaders who are charged with hunting the remaining Supers. But when events transpire which turn the Crusaders’ aim toward Grayson’s own family, the former Boy Wonder must turn against the very system he helped create, with help from the very people he’s been hunting for years—the last metahumans of the DC Universe. Don’t miss this bold new vision from the team behind the New York Times bestseller BATMAN: GATES OF GOTHAM!
Written by KYLE HIGGINS • Art and cover by TREVOR McCARTHY
SUICIDE SQUAD BLACK FILES #1: Two members of Task Force X are back in these all-new adventures! First up: “REVENGE OF KOBRA” by writer Mike W. Barr and artist Philippe Briones. To oppose the terrorist Kobra is to earn his undying hatred, and that’s what the samurai Katana did when she killed his beloved Eve. Now, Kobra stalks Katana beyond the bounds of the Earth itself, to a supernatural world where he will steal from her everything that she has—including her very soul! And in “SUICIDE SQUAD BLACK,” by writer Jai Nitz and artist Scot Eaton, Sebastian Faust, the U.S. government’s top arcane operative, has gone rogue! To track down America’s most dangerous magician, Amanda Waller assembles a special ops team unlike any other: an expendable coven of dark arts experts including El Diablo, Enchantress and Gentleman Ghost. They are Suicide Squad Black, and they will take you to places where even the dead can die!
Written by MIKE W. BARR and JAI NITZ • Art by PHILIPPE BRIONES and SCOT EATON • Cover by FRAZER IRVING
THE NEW GODS SPECIAL #1: In a feature length story, Orion and Lightray must come to the aid of Forager and his people, as Kalibak has established a brutal dictatorship over the Bug colony. In confronting his evil brother, Orion faces the darker side of his own nature. And, in a back-up story, master comics writer/artist Walter Simonson tells a tale of a young Orion and his friend Seagrin. Also includes a reprint of a classic New Gods tale by Jack Kirby! ONE-SHOT.
Written by SHANE DAVIS • Art by SHANE DAVIS and MICHELLE DELECKI • Backup story written by and art by WALTER SIMONSON • Cover by SHANE DAVIS and MICHELLE DELECKI
THE NEWSBOY LEGION AND THE BOY COMMANDOS SPECIAL #1: Jack Kirby’s two wartime kid gangs share their first adventure together in a novel-length tale written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin! When the Boy Commandos arrive in New York on the trail of a secret Axis agent, they’re greeted as turf invaders by the crime-fighting Newsboys! Can these kids put aside their rivalry and join forces to protect the home front? Also features a Kirby reprint! ONE-SHOT.
Written by HOWARD CHAYKIN • Art and cover by HOWARD CHAYKIN
THE SANDMAN SPECIAL #1: Don’t miss two new tales starring Jack Kirby’s costumed Master of Nightmares from the 1970s. Sandman, Brute and Glob battle an onslaught of dreams so powerful that they are invading the dreams of other people! Then, a grown-up Jed Walker returns to his childhood home, only to find himself haunted by dreams from the past. Plus: a seldom-seen Sandman story from the 1970s! ONE-SHOT
Written by DAN JURGENS and STEVE ORLANDO • Art by JON BODGANOVE and RICK LEONARDI. Cover by PAUL POPE
MANHUNTER SPECIAL #1: Big-game hunter and private detective Paul Kirk has marshaled his skills to fight crime as the masked vigilante known as Manhunter. But now crime has reached epidemic proportions that may push him to the limits—and draw the attention of the Golden Age heroes Sandman and Sandy! Plus: a short story featuring Etrigan the Demon by writer Sam Humphries and artist Klaus Janson and a Golden Age reprint.
ONE-SHOT
Written by KEITH GIFFEN and DAN DiDIO • Art by NICK BRADSHAW • Backup story written by SAM HUMPHRIES • Backup story art by KLAUS JANSON • Cover by BRUCE TIMM
DARKSEID SPECIAL #1: Mark Evanier, longtime Kirby associate and biographer (Kirby: King of Comics), tells a tale starring one of Jack’s greatest villains. The latest daring escape from the orphanage of Granny Goodness leaves an infuriated Darkseid determined to capture and punish the escapees. The Lord of Apokolips puts his best hunter on the case, but one of Granny’s students is unlike anyone he’s encountered before. Plus, an untold tale of Omac by Humphries and Rude and a classic Kirby Fourth World tale! ONE-SHOT
Written by MARK EVANIER • Art by SCOTT KOLINS • Backup story written by SAM HUMPHRIES; Backup story art by STEVE RUDE • Cover by CHRIS BURNHAM
THE BLACK RACER AND SHILO NORMAN SPECIAL #1: Shilo Norman has taken up the mantle of Mister Miracle, following the example of Scott Free by cheating death on a daily basis. But when he pushes himself to the limit, the Black Racer comes calling. Now Shilo is literally running from death itself and a cosmic chase leads both target and hunter across the universe. Also featuring a Fourth-World era reprint! ONE-SHOT
Written by REGINALD HUDLIN • Art and cover by DENYS COWAN and BILL SIENKIEWICZ
PiercingMetal Thoughts: It looks like I am going to need to scrimp and save all the coin that I can because between Marvel Comics and DC Comics this month I am going to be spending quite a bit at the local comic book retailer. The one-shot editions aren’t a big deal to spend on since we will likely be seeing some New Gods references in the upcoming “Justice League” film in November and since some of that stuff was awesome you are going to want to be up to speed on who and what they are. The annuals I will likely snag copies of and especially the “Future Quest” issue since I loved that series and was sad to find it cancelled. “Suicide Squad” is generally a good read so that will be on the pile but a few of the remaining ones I need to peruse on the stands first. As a regular at my local shop, I don’t think I will have any “issue” asking them to hold a few items until my next visit. So what about you fans of the illustrated pages? Which of these titles are you excited about and will be adding to your weekly pull list? Let me know down in the comments section below.
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