#dc give tim his own mantle challenge

[thevindicativevordan]

What are your thoughts on the recent developments with Tim Drake?

Didn't expect to have the next member of the Batfamily I get an ask for be him, but let's talk about Tim.

Fair warning, I was never a big Tim fan. My first Batman comics either took place after Damian had supplanted him already, or put him in a minor role - as was the case with Hush. To me he was just the "old" Robin, the boring Robin, the one millennials wouldn't shut up about how he was totally the coolest Robin EVER man, and it was a sin against the Source that DC had put Damian in his place. Tim came across as a massive Mary Sue with how he was described, he was so smart that he figured out Batman's secret identity on his own, and he was the real Heir to the Cowl, the rightful successor to Bruce as Batman. Milquetoast is how he came across to me, and since his fans started foaming at the mouth whenever Damian came up - Damian who was my Robin since he was the first Robin I knew - I decided that he was not a character I was going to spend time reading about. For years I cheerfully ignored his existence, which wasn't hard to do as Tim was mainly contained to the godawful Teen Titans book during the New 52, but then Rebirth launched.

Finding myself greatly enjoying James Tynion's Detective Comics Rebirth run, which thrust Tim back into the center of the Batfamily, I decided that maybe I had been too harsh towards him. He seemed enjoyable enough, if lacking the flair of the other Batfamily members, perhaps there was something to him after all. Reading some of his old stories, as well as some articles that talked about the impact Tim had on the Robin legacy and the Bat books, didn't convert me into a fan. I've never connected with him the way others have, likely because I don't love Batman as strongly as others do, but it did make me see the value of the character.

Dick may have been the one who created Robin, but it's Tim who realized the true purpose of Robin: to keep Batman from succumbing to his darkest impulses.

Tim is the Robin for a Gotham that doesn't want him, but does need him. There has to be someone who can challenge Batman, force Bruce to reign himself in when he's at risk of going to far, and to act as a brighter counterbalance to the Dark Knight. Tim fulfilled this role not just because of his personality, but because of his reason for wanting the mantle. Unlike Dick for whom Robin was a release that let him heal after his parents deaths, or Jason for whom Robin was a benchmark that he could never measure up to in the way Bruce wanted, to Tim Robin was a symbol just as important as Batman. He wanted to be Robin not because he needed to be Robin as a way to heal, but because Batman needed a new Robin in order to mend after Jason died. And unlike his predecessors, Tim had his family alive still when he became Robin, there was no desire on his part for Bruce to be his father the way that Bruce had failed to be for Jason.

Then in the span of a single decade his father got killed, Conner got killed, Bart got killed, Steph got killed, Bruce "died", and Tim got replaced by Damian because Dick wanted to keep Damian close.

Taking all of that into account, it's not difficult to deduce why Tim has struggled since. Take away his civilian life, make him darker and more brooding, and what exactly lets Tim stand out? Nothing, now he was just another traumatized child looking for Bruce to be his daddy. Being the "smart one who is good with computers" in the Batfamily doesn't mean shit long as Barbara is around. Whether she's Batgirl or Oracle she's always going to be the go-to over him for tech support. Making him "Red Robin", while resulting in the excellent Yost series, was a terrible call because it didn't give him the clean break that Dick and Jason got. Being "Robin but not really" left him floundering for a direction in the long run (and red is Jason's color). Tynion made that exact problem the focus of his Rebirth run, which is what made Tim finally click for me, that Tim is the one who grew up being told how much potential he had, only to find himself fallen far short of everyone's expectations, most of all his own.

Tim couldn't seem to fix the problems in his character, so he settled on building a system that would fix everything for him. That he thought he could reduce people down to numbers to be solved is the start of the road that led to the evil TimBats of the future. Once you've taken the human element out of crimefighting all you're left with is the cold calculus of numbers, which justifies any action in the name of greater efficiency. Tim was more susceptible to that line of thinking because he was both obsessed with the legacy of Batman, but also because unlike Dick, Jason, or Damian, being Robin was the cause not the relief of his suffering. Robin cost him everyone and everything, but it was also the only part of him that offered an identity and a sense of self-worth. TimBats had to make all the pain and sacrifice mean something, and was willing to cross the lines Bruce had set because he had seen how Bruce's methods hadn't resulted in a better life for either Gotham or himself. In the end present day Tim learned finally to let the legacy of Batman's hold on him go, and decided to take a break from crime fighting and enroll in college with Steph.

Unfortunately despite Tynion leaving him in the best possible state since the New 52, nobody bothered to follow up on that in a meaningful way. Bendis did an irrelevant Young Justice run where Tim got another terrible name, and then the run wrapped up and Tim was left adrift once more. DC must have finally taken notice that for all the queer women in the Bat-Mythos, they lacked a queer male counterpart, and there was a character who was popular but lacking in reason for being. Not to mention of course the copious amount of fanon that had him as queer already.

Which led us to where we are now. Being the bisexual Robin has given Tim an identifying feature that differentiates him from the others. Now there's zero chance of him being permanently erased in the future and he has a niche he can fill that no one else can. Unfortunate that it didn't come with a proper new identity to go along with Tim accepting his sexual identity, but perhaps that is still in the cards at some point. Cool that gay/bi Batman fans finally have their rep, nevertheless Tim remains my least favorite Robin and nothing about the recent writing starring him has changed that. But he has a new fanbase and a direction at least.

[greycappedjester]

Hi! Just wanted to say I absolutely adore your writing for both hq and atfo, especially the characterisations and the way the plot threads intertwine with the different overall emotional arcs and lessons each story has! Oikawa and Dick are both my favourite characters from their respective fandoms too, so when I found your work it made my week! I also just wanted to ask if you had any headcanons or ideas on what would happen if the atfo l versions of the DC characters met the Canon versions? Because they’ve grown up so much and are so different yet the same - especially since Batfam is so much healthier in your fic (sorry Bruce) I imagine there’d be some very complicated emotions. If you don’t have any headcanons no pressure I was just curious! Stay safe and thank you for your work! :)

Thank you so much! Sorry I'm a bit behind about answering this @slybookwyrm

Also....yep, I think about it A LOT what would happen if the ATFO batfam met the comic canon (or any canon tbh) batfam.

It's kinda funny since Dick is truly the only one who knew Bruce but because Bruce died when he was so young (when they truly were the Dynamic Duo), Dick never got what was some of the most important part of his character development as a teenager of seeing Bruce's flaws and rebelling against them to be his own person. Ironically, Bruce has become his untouchable golden image where the idea of "the Golden Boy" Dick Grayson has a completely different meaning for the rest of the batfam.

For Jason and Tim (and later Damian and even a bit Barbara), unlike their canon counterparts, they were trained specifically by Dick and (for the Robins) were largely raised by them. He's not some untouchable standard just their older brother who they love but are aware in many ways that he has flaws....I still think they probably think of him as a bit invincible just because, well, he's their older brother who's really, really bad at letting anyone see when he's hurting. Also having Dick raise them instead of Bruce gives them a very different image of what Robin should be. Dick is always super encouraging that they should be their own version of Robin, not copy him. He views "Robin" as more of a broad term meaning family rather than a mantle to be emulated.

Also, since it's Dick who is very much also about cultivating friendships (and less about keeping identity away from friends), Jason and Tim have cultivated a lot closer relationships with the Titans. That's helped them a lot with emotional growth.

If canon batfam met this family...wow...

1.) ATFO!Jason and Canon!Jason would could along the least and would be most honestly disturbed by each other's POV. Canon!Jay calls Dick "Golden Boy" or implies it even worse, ATFO!Jay "Ugh, groan, can you never do that again! He'll get a big head. He's a complete human disaster, have you met him? He can't even cook?!". Meanwhile, ATFO!Jason who has been much more trained on publicity leadership tactics since...well, Dick's had to handle that a lot more with the JLA....sees Canon!Jason being a rebel badass and first thinks his counterpart is just ridiculously shortsighted and then when he figures out he's for real. "...why? What do you mean you actually shot Tim in the leg? Like you legit tried to kill them?!" At this point, ATFO!Jason has labeled his counterpart as psychotic because wtf, Tim might be an annoying nerd but that's his little brother, thank you!

2.)ATFO!Tim and Canon!Tim get along the best. Canon!Tim is sad his counterpart missed out on Kon. ATFO!Tim is more than sightly freaked out "....I'm sorry, how many people died in your life? What happened to your spleen?!?!"

CanonTim: So, Jason seems less murdery here what's up with that

ATFOTim, w/ actual healthy Sibling Rivalry (TM):.....listen, I'm trying real hard not to take that as a challenge...

3.) Canon!Dick probably has the most understanding of his ATFO counterpart and would mostly feel just deeply sympathetic towards him along with a bittersweet kind of wistuflness that ATFO!Dick seems to have gotten a much better relationship with his younger brothers even though the cost was so steep. He definitely recognizes ATFO!Dick's more idealized version of Bruce but also recognizes he can't fix that.

4.) Then, it gets out that the Joker's legit dead in ATFO world and Canon!Jason freaks out. Meanwhile, gets mentioned Jason legit died in Canon world and ATFO!everyone freaks out.

....Canon!Babs is wondering where the rest of her batgirl crew is at.

(They're coming)

[rchardgrayson]

Hi would you mind posting some of the other Nightwing snippets from the DC Eaglemoss collection please? The one with Donna you posted was so wonderful T__T

Here is the one from Dick's magazine about Donna and Vic

Here is the one from Donna's magazine about Dick

Okay so the ones I already posted (especially the dick & donna ones) are the best - the rest are kind of lacking in any feeling and read like someone was only half paying attention to dick's wikipedia page but here they are!☺️:

Babs:

[id: "She began her career as Batgirl, and then net Dick Grayson for the first time. Though Batman's two sidekicks were initially rivals for his attention, Barbara Gordon (the daughter of police commissioner Jim Gordon) and Dick became lifelong friends. When the Joker shot and paralyzed Barbara, she became the wheelchair-bound Oracle. From her perch in the Gotham Clock Tower, Oracle guides Batman, Nightwing, and many other heroes with the aid of her advanced technology. She can help them find the bad guys, or eavesdrop on almost any conversation in Gotham City. She and Dick once fell in love and were even engaged to be married, though Oracle broke it off because she was unsure of their readiness. Dick and Barbara have remained good friends, though. They continue to work together and support each other through it all." End id]

Tim:

[id: Dick Grayson set the standard for all sidekicks. His time as Robin was the model for all other teenaged superheroes to follow and was an intimidating precedent. Fortunately the current Robin, Tim Drake, was up to the challenge. As Dick's current successor in the red vest, Tim looks up to Nightwing. Although Tim has been Robin for a long time, it wasn't until Batman's back was broken at the hands of Bane that Dick and Tim became friends. Since then, Dick has been a mentor to the heir of his heroic mantle. Dick and Tim have worked together on numerous cases. They often team up to help Batman, but even more they have grown close through their work as leaders of super hero teams like the Outsiders and Teen Titans." End id]

Bruce:

[id: "Ever since Bruce Wayne learned that young circus acrobat Dick Grayson's parents were murdered, the two have been close. Their relationship began as Bruce took Dick in as his ward. Dick doubled as sidekick to Bruce's alter-ego, Batman. As the Dynamic Duo, the two fought crime and were inseparable as well as world famous. Batman taught his young friend everything he knew, hoping that Dick would grow up to be a strong hero and defender of justice himself. As Dick grew and became Nightwing, Batman recognised his young partner was his own man, and let him go his own way. The two still care deeply for each other like a father and son. They will still occasionally partner up to tackle tough challenges - they even give each other relationship advice at times. Bruce once wanted Dick to take over for him as Batman but has come to realise that Dick's role as Nightwing is more important." End id]

Wally:

[id: "Wally West and Dick Grayson have a lot in common. Both grew up being sidekicks to iconic super heroes. Both became powerful defenders of justice as independent adults and both have trained their successors in their sidekick roles. Robin and Kid Flash were both original Teen Titans, giving Dick and Wally a chance to grow close as friends. As Dick became Nightwing and Wally took on the mantle of the Flash, they stayed in contact with each other, remembering with great fondness their time as Titans. Both Wally and Dick looked like proud parents as their successors under the Robin and Kid Flash masks, Tim Drake and Bart Allen respectively, joined forces to create a new team of Teen Titans. Dick and Wally remember their time as Titans together with great affection and still enjoy a close friendship." End id]

Kory:

[id: "The fiery alien princess Starfire has long been a friend's and lover to Dick Grayson. The couple first met when Dick was still Robin and acting as leader of the first band of Teen Titans. The Titans helped Starfire acclimatise to Earth and its culture, eventually inviting her to join them. Over the years, as they worked side by side as Titans, Dick and Starfire fell in love and were engaged to be married. Shortly before they planned to wed, an evil version of their fellow Titan, Raven, interfered and broke up the couple. Dick and Starfire were able to heal their relationship, and remain very close friends and confidantes to this day. When Titans from an apparent future visited the present, they told Dick and Starfire that the two would have a wonderful relationship in the years ahead. Whether or not that will happen remains unclear but it is plausible given how close they still are." End id]

Like I said, the rest don't feel as like deep or heartfelt as the Dick&Donna ones but🤷

[jostenneil]

How would you write Dick and Jason's relationship, if different from canon and fanon?

Personally, I really like the potential Dick being absent for most of (re-established) Jason's Robin run sets up, especially since he is upset when he finds out about Jason's death. He had a slew of responsibilities to tend to as an adult leading his own team, and that's understandable, but also, here's a kid he reached out to and told could rely on him if needed, and he obviously wasn't really there to do so. That's a fault that falls upon comic writers forgetting to do anything with the relationship between them beyond their initial meeting, but it's nonetheless fun to work with, and I like the conversation he has with Kory about it in The New Titans #55; it's also why I ignore the tidbits about Dick and Jason's pre-existing relationship established in The Joker's Last Laugh, because to me it makes things. . . too easy? I want a little tension and regret to fester from that absence of connection. It's more interesting to explore.

That being said, to me the primary issue with the way Dick and Jason's relationship thereafter is developed has to do with DC writers' overwhelming problem of blaming Jason's death on his own "recklessness". It's interesting that Dick is someone who has basically. . . never seen what Jason was actually like as a Robin beyond one shared mission between them, and yet we have him so easily ascribe to Bruce's interpretation of the events. This, after Dick had to do so much wheedling to get the truth out of Bruce about why he took upon Jason as a Robin to begin with. I like that Dick is someone who sees Bruce for who he really is, the isolation, the fears, etc., and that he challenges Bruce and his way of thinking often by way of that. Jason, to me, presented a perfect opportunity for Dick to once again ask more questions and get down to the actual root of one of Bruce's obscured half-truths. Maybe not when Jason initially died and Tim reached out to him, because he still had a lot on his plate at the time, but when he split from the Titans for a while and took upon the Batman mantle, it would have been interesting to see Dick dig deeper because he was back in that house and with those memories of Jason that he never got to share in. It could have added another dimension to him handing the mantle back to Bruce again, because we might have seen Dick challenge Bruce's complexes about Jason's death and how he was projecting onto Jason faults that weren't fair of him to project. As someone who literally created a name for himself within the Titans because he was tired of Bruce projecting his own (somewhat irrational) fears onto him, I feel like Dick would be more defensive of Robin era Jason if he knew all the facts about the way he died or why he died. (And I mean, come on, would it have been that hard for someone to do the detective work and find out the truth behind Sheila's drug dealings or her being blackmailed by the Joker? Probably not.) The fact that Jason was consistently framed as a failure within the Batman mythos for years, even after his resurrection, to me set up nearly all of his relationships to be doomed in terms of closure, especially since writers additionally committed to the idea by turning him into a homicidal maniac. And I'm not really looking for a fanon version of Dick where he coddles Jason as recompense; that's boring and it completely obliterates what makes Dick an interesting character, but I would have at least liked to see Dick contend with Jason's character outside of the homicidal maniac or "Bruce's failure" framework. I like that Dick is a well-meaning hard-ass who's upfront with people because he cares about them and he expects better of them; it's why the contrast between him and Bruce is so good, because where Bruce dismisses people out of fear, Dick refuses to give up on them (at least as far as I've seen in my reading so far; the Titans runs are long and I'm working my way through them slowly, lol) and holds them accountable to a standard he believes them capable of reaching. It's what makes him such a good leader and people person. And it's why I think that, while I do believe it'd make more sense for him to criticize the way Bruce contends with Jason's death, he'd also be upfront and straight with Jason about him potentially becoming someone he doesn't deserve to become, sort of a la Talia's lecture to Bruce in No Man's Land #0. Like, you’re here now and we lost you and I need you to know that it wasn’t your fault then, so don’t make it your fault now. Don't throw yourself into this near-suicidal harbinger of death agenda. You're not a failure, so quit acting like one.

[morebedsidebooks]

15 Years Later Batman: War Games

I’ve considered myself a comics fan from the time as a little girl I received hand-me-down superhero comics from one of my older brothers. I spent a good deal of my childhood wrapped up in various tales published by DC comics mainly but, also other American creations as well as those from Asia and Europe. Lately I’ve been diving back into some of those DC comics. One character from Batman, Poison Ivy has remained one of my all-time favourites. But I’m not going to be writing about Pam today despite her being a recent topic of conversation. The reason being, during my trip down memory lane I was reminded of another contentious event in DC comics history. The October 2004 issue of Detective Comics #797 included the first part of “Low” a three-part story about Poison Ivy and the Riddler. However, that issue also started the first Act of War Games, an event which with prelude War Drums added in engulfed Batman comics for 10 months beginning earlier in March that year.

War Games, where a hypothetical stratagem Batman devised against Gotham’s underworld is put into action with disastrous consequences, can be memorable for several reasons. I remember it because of another beloved Batman character to me who played a major role Stephanie Brown, aka the Spoiler and for a short time also the fourth Robin among other designations. (She was however not the first young lady Robin if one includes The Dark Knight Returns which is outside main continuity.) The treatment of Stephanie, in War Games is the reason that I took a break from reading DC comics for a long time. 2019 marks 15 years since those events. So, with DC once again facing criticisms about how it wrangles philosophy and portrays violence, trauma and death I think it is time to revisit some of Stephanie’s history too.

Stephanie Brown was created in 1992 by Chuck Dixon and Tom Lyle debuting in Detective Comics #647. A teenager from some difficult circumstances with a criminal dad and mother with a prescription addiction.

She becomes a vigilante named Spoiler to thwart her father, eventually gaining allies and older mentors, also dating Tim Drake the third Robin.

Stephanie like those around her is not a perfect character having her share of mistakes and tribulations but, she also strives to improve and works towards making some difference in the world that isn’t as it should be. The Robin comic was particularly noteworthy for chapters featuring her teen pregnancy by an ex-boyfriend and the decision to put the child up for adoption. (Robin #65, 1999)

As well as in another powerful issue her confiding about an attempted rape at age 11 by her father’s friend who was left to watch her during an effort at rehab for her mother. (Robin #111, 2003)

Through it all she had a perseverance and resilience that became inspiring and her efforts and convictions led to her becoming a part of the Bat-family. So, it was quite a development when unable to stop the sudden murder of a key ally Orpheus (whose bloody body would be featured across pages to come as well) she was extensively tortured by the villain Black Mask, leading to a likewise incredibly difficult death scene with Batman by her bedside at the end of the third act of War Games in December 2004. Orpheus became a martyr figure (currently his last appearance which feels like a waste, along with the causticity  of killing off a character that talked about representation) and characters mourned Stephanie too, with a whole host of emotions as fans tried to come to terms also.

Not to be outdone though some months later when questions arose in War Crimes, the situation around Stephanie’s fate would get even worse with another principal character Dr. Leslie Thompkins given some of the worst (and out of character) motivations for not properly treating Stephanie, betraying her profession and the people close to her.

After Thompkins’ clinic becomes ground zero for the casualties in the massive gang war it’s an absurd decision to send a message to Bruce and young protégés about their actions. Not the first time the heartbreak would be used in such a manner either. It’s not all happy endings. It would be almost four years before DC returned to Stephanie’s fate retconning, revealing the truth of her death as a deliberate falsehood. (Robin #174, July 2008)

However, pouring more salt on the wound those years were a period during which she was also disrespected in death, an executive editor saying Stephanie was never a true Robin despite that going against Batman’s own words written in the comic on more than one occasion. Unsurprisingly behind the scenes editorial decisions about torturing and killing a 16-year-old teenage character apparently did not sit well with all the writers either. Stephanie taking on the Robin role was some small bright point of achievement to be wrestled before the horrible events to come, but also working as a ploy readers would fall into. When Tim’s father has it out with Bruce to put it mildly after discovering their vigilante personas, the developments of a new Robin (a position Stephanie held story-wise only 71 days before Batman fired her) did reportedly boost sales.

But she further had to die as Spoiler because another dead Robin is too much, for Batman. Young as I was in 1988, I too remember the spectacle death of Jason Todd the second Robin whose memory looms from the start in the prologue War Drums.

DC wasn’t done with him either. Reading stories of Jason, some that felt like the material I’d been craving for a long time, nevertheless always make me wonder where we’d be if the vote on his survival all those years ago had been different. A Death in the Family would seem to be a culmination after other titles usually on one’s lips around the experimentation of the late 80s less of interrogation and maturity perceiving a world growing darker inside and out but, the one question of what is too far to come back from.

And 16 years after it, well a dead Spoiler tortured and gone was too much for me. After nearly just as much time again today in 2019 marking the 15th anniversary of War Games I’m surprised in fact at how much the story even now hits me right in the chest. It’s been a long time with many, many people creating countless more titles at DC Comics. Including stories featuring Stephanie Brown who has gone on to take the mantle of Batgirl at one point (that same executive editor finally acknowledging how she connected to a portion of the fanbase and Bat-family in 2009) and likewise been reimagined through the reboots of the comics. (Stephanie in Rebirth’s Victim Syndicate in 2016 was particularly striking to me.)

Yet, I remember most clearly the earlier Stephanie perhaps by virtue being a teenager back then too. Or maybe in a similar fashion as impressionable of a moment as the comics I first received from one of my older brothers, as a young adult War Games seared into me a visual of a brand which gives its characters direction from bad places, hope, lets them rise and then to paraphrase it as a writer once did crush them like a bug. As a young child I could say wow Robins can die. Older, I could ask so what does it mean.

There are all kinds of stories, and what they offer to people as diverse as humanity itself. The ugly, tragedies and heartbreaks are important too for many reasons. I could write instead about such examples I’m fond of or, respect. Pieces of fiction that dance that line of examining and representing truth, little windows maybe the glass becoming a mirror that’s more painful because it is so familiar or, cuts when it breaks. Superheroes don’t live in the real world. But there is a very real world we live in where there are people that have and are growing up with no trust in authorities, screwed up parents, losing parents, becoming parents, facing sexual assault, abuse, gang violence and schools becoming yet another killing ground among other challenges. These sort of wars that are fought can leave a host of scars and casualties. Whether those 18 years or so are good or bad we’re lucky if they are only a small part of a larger life. Too often that’s not the case. But still, I have to ask when I pick up a comic and seem to find the same over and over, as time marches on what about this common story of harm and death has changed and what is its legacy?

[thecomicsnexus]

City of Bane, part 10

BATMAN #84 FEBRUARY 2020 BY TOM KING, JORGE FORNÉS, JORDIE BELLAIRE AND MIKEL JANÍN

Synopsis: Bruce gets punched by his dad.

SCORE: 4

It is hard to discuss this issue without going into “speculative” spoilers that fill in the gaps to what we have. It also makes it harder to justify the score. So read the issue (or not) and see the spoiler section. Suffice to say that I feel like King doesn’t care about continuity and his ambiguous style ends up being a justification to any possible plot hole in this story. There is some heart to it, but again, spoilers.

Jorge Fornés does a great job here, although there is nothing “extra” that I can think of to make at least the art elevate the story a little bit (or complement it). To make things even more confusing, there is a color mistake that will most likely confuse you as Flash is colored as Reverse-Flash.

Spoilers after the break...

This was a very confusing issue to read, as we are supposed to see things in reverse chronology, but some things do not seem in the right order. It also kind of relies on you reading Flashpoint and not remembering very well, as some characters die in these flashbacks that end up alive in Flashpoint. So it doesn’t really fit into the alternate timeline.

The issue adds the character of Flashpoint Selina Kyle, who Thomas adopts as his crime-fighting partner, and because of her, he stops killing (until she is killed by the Joker). Was this part of Flashpoint (off-panel) or are we seeing a Thomas Wayne from a different Flashpoint timeline?.

Or the other option that I am starting to believe is... that King just doesn’t care about continuity.

So what did we learn with this anti-climatic flashback? Well, the death of Selina, a woman that would have the same age as Bruce, made Thomas realize that Bruce shouldn’t be Batman (even though, at the time, he didn’t know about the other timeline). And he did all this with Bane to convince him to give up the mantle and marry Selina. You know, the marriage he and Bane conspired to prevent.

Now, my takeaway of this issue is that you can remove it from the run, and nothing changes. There is nothing in this Flashback that we couldn’t have figured out on our own, or justified with other possibilities that would end up giving the same results. Thomas doesn’t need the death of Selina to do any of this. He understand the trauma, and he already has a trauma of seeing his kid die and his wife go insane and kill herself. Why add Selina in the mix now? Because he thought they could have been a couple in his timeline?

Perhaps the one thing the Flashback adds, is the explanation of how Thomas ends up in this timeline. Reverse-Flash brought him here, in the laziest explanation ever (I may be exaggerating here but it wasn’t good).

This feels like DC Challenge or Kamandi Challenge. Where writers would do very complicated stories for one issue to see how the next team would handle it. But in this case, it’s 100 issues of Tom King, just trying to keep his 6 issues long story going as long as possible.

I am sure that Tom King is a good writer. But this run is not coming together. So now he has only one issue to prove all of us wrong. And based on past experiences, it will (most likely) have a what if ending where we will most likely never know what happens.

I also have the theory that DC Editors do not exist anymore.

But I have been wrong before.

PS: When Bruce punched Tim in the face, it was a secret code. Maybe Bruce and Thomas have a secret code of two gunshots, killing butler and a punch in the face?

[violetsmoak]

No Safety or Surprise [Part I - Excerpt]

Summary: A haunting broadcast reveals the Joker’s final act and sets off a chain of events that will destroy the world. Terry finds himself collaborating once more with the estranged members of Bruce’s former team. As the end nears, however, he and the other Bats are faced with hard choices about survival—and forgiveness.

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything to do with Batman. I don’t make any money off this. It’s just me playing in a sandbox. (And I’ll put a better disclaimer on this at some other point.)

Author’s Note: First fic in the Batman universe, yay! (Well, second, but the first one was high school ago and was a blatant self-insert lol). I’ve been toying with this idea for a while now. It’s taken some in-depth planning, but I finally have something to show for it. This is only one part of a very large first chapter, but I thought I’d throw it out there into cyberspace and see what people think. I’ll post it here in mini excerpts, but eventually I’ll put it on FF.Net and Ao3, once it’s all shiny and edited.

Spoilers: Everything in Batman Beyond until but not including the “Rewired” storyline or anything afterward. Also, references to events and characters present in the DC ‘verse up to the New 52 (after the “Robin Rises” story arc) but before Rebirth. (And JFC do I hate keeping all these timelines straight!)

Warnings: Leading up to canon-divergence; eventual main character deaths (except not really, because timey wimey stuff); a few minor original characters; multiple POVs

Timeline: Takes place after the events of 10 000 Clowns but before Terry McGinnis graduates high school.

Bruce is beginning to wonder if a Lazarus Pit might not have been a better idea than the liver transplant. Of the methods for artificially prolonging life, at least with the Pit, he would eventually start to feel like he was recovering.

After the madness subsided, at least.

On days like today—when it’s damp and chilly, and there’s nothing going on in Gotham to keep him glued to the computer screen in the Cave—it’s hard to remember the arguments he’s always made against using the restorative powers of a Lazarus Pit. He body protests with every movement as he eases it through several slowed kata variations. Part of his physical therapy, as suggested (ordered) by his doctors.

Since his procedure, he feels the exhaustion much more keenly. It’s a bone-deep fatigue that seeps into every muscle, emphasizing the way his bones creak and grind against each other, cartilage worn away from age and decades of abuse. It’s the way his energy levels drain so much faster no, to the extent that even his usual ability to will himself into action seems to wane every day.

Not that he really had a choice in the matter. He was in end stage liver failure, and the nearest Pit is in New Cuba. He’d just been lucky that there was a suitable donor in the hospital at the right time.

‘Luck’ is one word for it. ‘Cruel irony’ might be a better phrase.

Douglas Tan is one of the names he’s going to carry on his conscience for the rest of his life; or, at least on his liver.

Terry still makes jokes about Batman having a piece of a Joker inside him, but then Terry tends to use humor to cover up when he’s worried. Dick always did that, too; and Jason.

Bruce scowls, bothered by the direction of his thoughts, as well as the raggedness to his breath. He isn’t even moving very fast, but it’s taking him every bit of strength to keep at it.

Ace is curled up in his usual spot in the cave, watching Bruce with what seems to be narrowed eyes. As if to say, don’t overdo it or I will knock you over.

He knows the dog is smarter than most people.

Ace is one of the reasons the doctors were willing to leave him to pursue recovery on his own and not under some beady-eyed nurse in hospital. Money isn’t as much an incentive as it once was, with so many legal and health standards in the way; the older he gets, the less likely people are to trust his ability to make decisions, lawyers or not.

He tolerated a private nurse for about a day while having Terry make other arrangements and manufacturing a piece of paper saying Ace was a certified service dog. He’s not, but Bruce has no doubt the dog would activate the medical alert button at the computer if something were to happen. And Terry has an alarm set up, keyed into the surveillance and motion sensors in the Cave. If anything were to happen, he can be here faster than any ambulance.

Old age has fed into long-buried fears, and it gives him an embarrassing sense of relief knowing there’s someone to look in on him. It has always bothered him, being dependent—being weak.

Some days he’s more accepting of it; some days he wishes he had Kryptonian DNA.

Which is usually the point at which he forces himself to occupy his mind with other things, because envying Clark Kent can only lead down a dark, frustrating path of self-pity. One he’s determinedly avoided ever since meeting the other man.

After another fifteen minutes of forcing himself to think about nothing but the movement of his limbs, Bruce finally finishes his exercises. Sweat coats his back and his limbs ache with the same burn as if he just spent several hours grappling through the Gotham skyline. Even if it took less challenging movements to reach this point, that burn is comforting.

Familiar.

And that’s a word that’s been cropping up more in his thoughts lately. History tends to repeat, after all, but it’s still strange to experience. Terry’s been an excellent example of that.

Like Bruce, the McGinnis boy started out with nothing but a suit and an old man’s voice in his ear. Now, he’s got a network. Friends who he trusts and who will keep his secret. A steadily growing list of allies in the field.

The Police Commissioner. The Justice League.

And a Catwoman too, for Christ sakes.

He wonders what Selina would think about that.

Bruce just hopes the kid won’t make his mistakes. Forty years is a long time to rack up regrets.

At least Dick’s back in contact now.

Sort of.

He showed up the second night that Bruce was recovering from his procedure at the hospital; he’d managed to convince Terry to go out on patrol instead of wasting his time watching an old man sleep.

“Batman doesn’t get a day off.”

Bruce had dosed for a bit, but not deeply; it wasn’t difficult to discern that he wasn’t alone.  

One minute the room was empty and in the next, Bruce could feel that familiar presence—the one of a man who had carried the mantles of Robin, Nightwing and Batman—and somehow lived to tell the tale. Then his estranged son was stepping out of the shadows, glaring down at him, muscles in his jaw working and fists clenching and unclenching.

“I know what you’re going to say,” Bruce had croaked, wishing he had thought to ask for ice chips before the nurse left. “I’m too stubborn to die.”

The silence hanging afterward was filled with everything he couldn’t say yet. For once, Dick didn’t call him on it.

“You’re more stubborn than God,” his boy countered.

(He’ll always be a boy to Bruce, grey hair and eye-patch be damned.)

And yet, he sat, arms crossed and spine stiff for the rest of the night. Still angry, but there nonetheless. He stayed until morning rounds without saying anything, and then left.

They haven’t seen each other since, but sometimes Bruce can hear feedback on the comms when he’s directing Terry’s patrols. The tinny whisper of signals crossing from the bug he pretends he doesn’t know Dick planted on the underside of his medical ID tag.

It’s not much, but it’s something. The opening of the possibility that at some point, he’ll come around.

Barbara did, after all.

Mostly because of Terry, but afterward Bruce started making the effort. They can have conversations alone now that don’t end with her yelling at him (or punching him, on one or two memorable occasions). Bruce forgot how much he enjoyed her sense of humor and intelligence—how much he enjoyed their friendship—from before they slept together.

(That might be one of his life’s biggest shames. Oh, he has regrets associated with all of the family for one thing or another, but this is the one that still wakes him up at night feeling dirty.)

In a way, it’s easier with Tim, and that’s a bridge Bruce thought had been obliterated long ago.

Granted, he’s leaving Gotham again—the last incident with the Joker army rattled him enough that he put in for a transfer to the Chinese division of Wayne Enterprises—but he stuck around long enough to collaborate with Bruce on a subdermal antitoxin deployment implant against Joker venom.

(None of them want to be caught unawares again.)

It’s in the prototype phase, with only five of the devices in existence; he, Tim and Terry are testing them personally. It’s not exactly something the FDA is going to approve for human testing anytime soon, not with all the new legislation, but with the state of Gotham, it’s unwise to wait on it.

(He sent one to Barbara and one to Dick but doesn’t know if they’ve bothered to activate them. At least they haven’t sent them back.)

If the implant works, Bruce is seriously considering modifying the tech for the Wayne Enterprises medical division. There are a lot of illnesses and viruses out there which require regular dosages of medicine to keep them under control.

Maybe that’s the next project, after CAIN, he muses, grabbing his towel from where he draped it over one of the computer processors.

His global Clean Air Initiative Network is something he’d been working on before stepping back from the company. It was shelved almost immediately by Derek Powers when he took over, but since Bruce has been back, he’s been revisiting a lot of old projects.

Lucius’ boy did most of the technical work on it, and Foxtecha will have joint ownership of the patent when it’s ready for public consumption. Bruce would have asked Tim, but he knows how determined he is to get out of Gotham. He can read it in the tone of his emails, which have thankfully lost the stilted, formal business tone they’ve had since he returned to the company.

(Bruce mentioned paying a visit in the future, and Tim didn’t say no, so he counts that as a win.)

It’s a little disconcerting how the family is coming together again; disconcerting but welcome.

He’s received a vid call last week from Cassandra expressing concern over his surgery, and then a short, gruff email from Duke all-but ordering him to get better. There’s even a letter from Stephanie—or Eurus, as she goes by these days—smelling of dust and desert sun and incense found only in Nanda Parbat. Her messy, looping scrawl, echoed Dick’s sentiment about Bruce’s stubbornness and alluded to its genetic inheritability.

(That said more than if she had actually mentioned Damian outright.)

Bruce lost track of her not long after his son’s short and brutal stint under the cowl; it had surprised him to find out she ended up in Tibet.

It also relieved him. Because no matter how dark a path his son wandered, there would be someone to challenge him. To not obey without question. To give him a link to the life he once had, to being human and alive.

(Bruce very carefully doesn’t think about Jason—doesn’t wonder if things had been different, if he wouldn’t have reached out as well. Even after so many years, that wound is still raw.)

The whole thing is a stark difference from the last few times he ended up in the hospital, including when he was dosed on Joker venom several months ago. He didn’t hear anything from them at that point, which makes him think someone really thought he was dying this time and reached out.

Barbara, maybe. Or Dick. However much tension there is between himself and Bruce, he does keep in touch with the others.

Hell, it might even have been Terry. The kid doesn’t know the rest of them personally, but he’s gotten adept at navigating the computer in the cave. And he’s always been curious about his predecessors.

Bruce’s first family.

Or maybe just the first phase of the family.

Bruce shies away from that secret bit of knowledge he has about Terry, and his brother Matt. What he discovered the first time the kid returned to the Cave with bloody gashes that needed stitching up. The files and medical information buried beneath every firewall he could fashion, so the boy never stumbles upon it accidentally.

The most he’s allowed himself to acknowledge it is an amendment in his will setting aside trust funds for both boys.

As if triggered by his thoughts, the screen of the Bat-Computer flickers to life. He rolls his shoulders, expecting an alert on some heist or robbery going on in the city; another case to add to the docket for Terry to investigate after school (depending on the severity).

Bruce doesn’t expect the Cave to suddenly fill with a jaunty, haunting carnival tune that makes his entire body seize in recognition. And yet, he already knows what’s coming even before the words HA HA HA coalesce upon the screen.  

TBC

NEXT

[whothefuckiscassandracain]

Post Crisis Cassandra Cain - A Summary

Well, folks, this is it – we have gone through all of Cassandra’s Post Crisis material (at least that of certain chronology)! What a ride! Now it is time to take one more look at the tag counter, before we reset everything for the New 52/Rebirth. Without further ado, here’s the final tally (with changes from the previous counter summary in brackets):

Aphasia: 88 (+16)

Living Emoji: 78 (+2)

Little Lady Of War: 53 (+13)

Batdad: 52 (+6)

Batmom: 50 (+6)

Dubious Characterization: 49 (+33)

Fast As Lightning: 45 (+3)

Fiercely Assertive Protector: 26 (+1)

Ghost Of Failures Past: 25 (+9)

Symbolism!: 24 (+6)

Creepy Bat: 24 (+8)

Cass Sass: 23 (+9)

Plight Of Permanent Perfectionism: 14

Better Off Dead: 13

Unusual mannerisms: 9

Made Of Steel: 9

Retchcon: 9 (+9)

Ballet Battler: 2

Spells ‘Team’ With An ‘I’: 2

First of all, as we can see, there were some traits to Cass’ character that can best be labelled as a case of Early Installment Weirdness and disappeared from her characterization after her defeat of Shiva.

Secondly, damn that Retchcon and Dubious Characterization counter! Late Post Crisis was really not kind to Cass, with Beechen in particular running her into the ground at every opportunity. Even just looking at it now hurts.

Thirdly, ignoring all the crappy Retchcons and Dubious Characterization, we now have a very clear picture of who Cass is. Her most defining traits remain:

Her aphasia, which resulted in her being very expressive with her body language and continued being an issue of varying degrees of severity, even after  she learned to understand spoken language. Cass does not give grand speeches and reading is a very taxing process for her, but she did improve over the course of her Post Crisis history.

Her insane combat skills (Little Lady Of War), which, combined with her very assertive style of handling problems, her insane speed, and her very tacit nature, often caused people to be at least intimidated and sometimes even downright terrified of her.

Her tendency to blame herself for past failures, whether they are people she failed to save or mistakes she made while on the job. This is especially relevant since Cass’ loyalty is not towards any one person, but towards what the bat symbol represents.

Her tendency to sass out her opponents (and sometimes allies) with what little words she uses.

Now, as for her relationship with the Batfam, the following can be said in summary:

Bruce was both a mentor and a father figure to her, from the beginning to the end, with varying degrees of heartwarming/jerkish behavior. The latter was usually a result of post Jason’s death causing Bruce to be an emotional brick and put the mission before everything else. For most of the story… Cass did not mind all too much, at least if you can ignore Beechen’s retcons, although she was still happy about her eventual adoption. That said: if you ever want to trigger the Batdad in Bruce, let someone catcall after Cass and he’ll probably break the guy’s jaw.

Barbara was essentially Cass’s mother figure and trying very hard to nurture Cass’ civilian identity, much in contrast to Bruce’s and Cassandra’s approach. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Cass established a similar, if brief, relationship with Brenda while in Blüdhaven – another redhead with a kind, but firm approach to encouraging Cass to actually live her life for her own sake. It is a crying shame that the Barb and Cass had very few interactions after War Games, but it is hardly surprising, given that DC was in the process of writing almost every single woman/girl in the Batman stories out of these stories. One thing that should be mentioned: barring that single brain fart in Birds of Prey Vol 2, Barbara has always had Cass’ back, even during times when other members of the family did not trust her.

Speaking of which: Dick Grayson. Oh boy. This relationship started relatively neutral, with Dick being very much ok with Cass in their first interaction, despite Cass’ disability and her related quirks. Then it became heartwarming on screen, with Dick quickly coming to Cassandra’s aid and making sure she was okay during the “Soul” drug storyline in Batgirl and being very upset when she let him hit her during the Bruce Wayne: Murderer? storyline, as well as off screen, since he apparently acted out all the parts of Cinderella for her at one point. Then it took a complete nose dive into the opposite direction following Cass’ asinine turn to evil, which led to Dick being openly hostile towards her and not trusting her with… well, pretty much anything. It took Alfred shouting at him to reconcile the two and while their last few interactions were of the reasonably friendly nature again, it was too little too late. What a mess.

As for Tim, he went from not trusting her during their initial interaction to gradually accepting her as a member of the family to being very supportive of her and a very good friend, especially following War Games, when the two of them worked together in Blüdhaven. In contrast to Dick, Tim was much more willing to forgive Cass for her actions during her turn to evil and maintained a good, friendly relationship with her, even after she moved to Hong Kong. He was the one who gave her the Blackbat suit and reminded her that she was family and he was also the one who worked with her the most. Last but not least, he did not put up with Damian’s bullshit about Cass in Gates of Gotham. Good job, Tim! You’ve been a very good brother to Cass.

Speaking of Damian, he had very little interaction with her and went from “she sounds wonderful” before they met to being very abrasive towards her after they met and calling her “spineless, naïve and fragile”. Honestly, it comes across very unconvincingly and much more like Damian’s bruised ego trying to defend himself from someone who does actually live up to her reputation may be legitimately better than him in certain aspects. Either way, there is not much love lost between the two of them.

Next up: Stephanie. During their first meeting, Cass was rather cold towards Stephanie, mostly because of their difference in skill level. Cass’ concern about Stephanie not being strong enough to do the job remained for a long time, but she still grew to like and respect her as a friend and partner eventually, to the point where Stephanie could arguably be called Cass’ best friend. They chatted about boys, they played rooftop tag together, they discussed important changes in their lives, such as Stephanie becoming Robin. During War Games, Cass wanted to go looking for Steph because she was worried about her and only didn’t because Bruce promised he’d do it instead. Steph’s ‘death’ hit Cassandra hard, to the point where she hallucinated Stephanie being the one to greet her and comfort her on the other side of the pearly gates during two (near)death experiences. During Convergence, Stephanie and Cass lived together for a full year, supporting each other both physically and emotionally. Stephanie is, without the doubt, the best friend Cassandra ever had.

Finally, there is Alfred (because DC were cowards and never gave us Cass & Jason). Alfred, as always, was a real treasure. At first, he merely took care of Cass’ own Batcave home and later her apartment near Gotham U as per Bruce’s request. Then he went through the trouble of finding her the perfect apartment/secret cave combination in Blüdhaven. He was shocked to hear of her supposed death and upon her return to the Batfam and her moving into Wayne Manor was quick to point out that Cass felt like she did not belong there and that they should do more to reassure her that this was really her home and her family now, with no strings attached. More than anybody else in the family, Alfred recognized the often self-destructive need Cass felt to redeem herself for past failings and it is only thanks to his intervention that Dick reconciled with Cass. In short, over time, Alfred has come to care deeply about Cass, as he does about all the children that ever fought alongside Bruce/Batman.

Last but not least, a few notable mentions about other relationships Cass had with various people:

Cassandra has a complicated relationship with her father, if you ignore Adam Beechen’s horrible retcons. For eight years, Cain was all she had, and while she recognizes that he is a horrible human being and a lousy father (she beat him into a pulp over this), she also recognizes that he does actually care about her. As a result, Cass is not friendly with him, but she is not cruel towards him either.

Her mother, Lady Shiva, barely had anything to do with her and left her in Cain’s hands an hour after Cass was born. She mainly saw Cass as a tool (someone to finally defeat her in combat and later someone to help Nyssa Raatko lead the League Of Assassins), but showed at least some motherly concern when it was believed that Cassandra had been killed and Shiva helped Tim investigate her murder.

One of the few people she was close to before operating independently as Batgirl was Leslie Thompkins. Cass has insane respect for Leslie, because of her iron pacifist nature and was deeply saddened when Leslie broke ties with her during War Games. We sadly never got to see reunite on page.

Cassandra has had a rocky relationship with Huntress, mostly because Cass is staunchly anti-killing and because Batman took the Batgirl mantle from Huntress and gave it to Cass. Mind you, Barbara never approved of Helena as Batgirl.

She got along very well with Onyx, thanks to Onyx having been with the League Of Assassins before and thus actually being a challenge for Cass, while being a genuinely good person. Sad we didn’t get to see much of these two together.

Azrael (Jean-Paul) had a crush on her, which Cass did not quite reciprocate, but she wasn’t unfriendly to him either.

The first boy she ever kissed was Connor Kent (Superboy), even though she was annoyed with his way-too-carefree nature and his focus on her physical attractiveness. They broke up amicably.

She had three more dates with guys, none of which went anywhere.

And to round off our summary, here are some nice little bits and pieces of Cass

The first words she learned were, in chronological order: (thanks - incomplete), (goodbye - incomplete), stop, no, me, shutup, what, why, stay, instinct

She was 17 years old at the time of her introduction. Her birthday is January 26th.

Her favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate.

Cass is a big and messy eater.

Her home is very untidy and while in the manor she did not customize her room at all (no pictures or other mementos).

She likes horror movies (she really enjoyed Alien).

She is probably the only person in the family who really wants to be the next Batman and actually became Batman in some timelines/alternate universes.

She likes rice krispies, Assam tea, and long showers.

Cass can’t hold her liquor.

[wazafam]

Warning: contains spoilers for Future State: Justice League #1!

As DC Comics’ Future State continues to offer a glimpse into the near future of the DC Universe, it has been revealed that a surprising villain could take down Darkseid and his army of parademons, threatening the very multiverse itself in the process, and creating one of the first threats faced by the next iteration of the Justice League.

Future State: Justice League #1 is written by Joshua Williamson and Ram V. with art by Marcio Takara and Robson Rocha. The future roster includes Jonathan Kent taking on the mantle of Superman, Yara Flor in the role of Wonder Woman, Jo Mullein as Green Lantern, Andy Curry as Aquawoman, a new Flash from the far corners of the multiverse named Jess Chambers, and a brand new Batman in Tim Fox. Though the team only represent one possible future for the DC Universe, their first issue as a team reveals some challenges already faced in their past, making it clear that Darkseid should be a lot more worried about one particular DC villain.

Related: The New Wonder Woman Is Not A Fan Of Future State’s Justice League

In the opening panel, Darkseid and his parademons attack the Justice League of the future, with a surprising twist as Apokolips' ruler and his army have been taken over by Starro, a giant starfish with the power of mind control. Longtime fans will recognize the villain who fittingly made its debut in Justice League of America’s first issue in 1960. While it’s a fun tease, it also implies the ridiculous-looking monster would be able to beat the warlord Darkseid and his army. Although Starro was the first major threat the team ever encountered, the ruler of Apokolips has long been linked to the League as their main arch-nemesis. If Starro could have taken him down all along - and in a way which threatened not just one universe, but many - maybe the League's priorities should always have been focused elsewhere.

Theoretically, this means that Starro could weaponize any DC villain, if someone as powerful as Darkseid is in the realm of possibilities. In the past, the team has nearly been beaten by both Apokolips’ military forces and the alien starfish in many separate incidents. With the might of Darkseid at Starro’s disposal, the super-villain mashup is essentially the Justice League’s worst nightmare. If this new Justice League was able to handle such a major threat, and without having any time to bond or train together beforehand, it gives readers a strong first impression of how favorably they compare to the original League.

Starro’s brief return should remind readers that while its appearance might not spark intimidation, it’s capable of much more than many assume. It might be safe to assume that’s exactly how it got the best of Darkseid, who is unlikely to have been appropriately apprehensive of a starfish, but the fact remains that DC fans now have confirmation Starro is a multiverse-level threat who could successfully unseat the lord of Apokolips.

More: The Justice League Has Its Own B-Team For When They Can't Be Bothered

DC Reveals A Surprising Villain Could Beat Darkseid | Screen Rant from https://ift.tt/3iwpyCF

[aion-rsa]

DC Comics’ Full April 2017 Solicitations

DC Comics has released solicitation information and images for new comics and products shipping in April 2017. When you’re through checking out these solicitations for new releases, be sure to visit CBR’s DC Comics forum to discuss these titles and products with fellow readers and fans.

DC Comics Solicitations – Last Six Months

Product shipping March 2017

Product shipping February 2017

Product shipping January 2017

Product shipping December 2016

Product shipping November 2016

Product shipping October 2016

ACTION COMICS #977

Written by DAN JURGENS • Art by IAN CHURCHILL • Cover by ANDY KUBERT • Variant cover by GARY FRANK

“Superman Reborn Aftermath” part one! Following the epic struggle against [REDACTED], Superman examines his entire history—the birth of Jon, the marriage of Lois and Clark, their lives at the Daily Planet—to discover who tried to destroy his life. Who is waiting in the shadows? Who is Mr. Oz? All questions the Man of Steel cannot answer alone. It is time for him to unite the entire Superman-Family!

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

ACTION COMICS #978

Written by DAN JURGENS • Art by IAN CHURCHILL • Cover by ANDY KUBERT • Variant cover by GARY FRANK

“Superman Reborn Aftermath” part two! Superman’s life has been changed, some good is back, but the bad is back as well—with a vengeance! As Superman’s allies gather to address the looming threat of Mr. Oz, another Squad seeks revenge against the Man of Steel—and you won’t believe who made the team!

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

SUPERMAN #20

Written by PETER J. TOMASI and PATRICK GLEASON • Art by PATRICK GLEASON and MICK GRAY • Cover by PATRICK GLEASON • Variant cover by TONY S. DANIEL

“Superman black” part one! A “Superman Reborn Aftermath” tie-in! As the smoke clears the Kents are faced with leaving Hamilton to go back to Metropolis, but someone or something doesn’t want them to leave! Batman and Robin discover something is mysteriously wrong with the son of Superman—he’s losing his powers!

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

SUPERMAN #21

Written by PETER J. TOMASI and PATRICK GLEASON • Art by DOUG MAHNKE and JAIME MENDOZA • Cover by PATRICK GLEASON • Variant cover by TONY S. DANIEL

“Superman black” part two! A “Superman Reborn Aftermath” tie-in! The Man of Steel is challenged to break his code against killing in front of his son as the mystery surrounding Hamilton deepens.

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

NEW SUPER-MAN #10

Written by GENE LUEN YANG • Art and cover by VIKTOR BOGDANOVIC • Variant cover by BERNARD CHANG

“COMING TO AMERICA” part two! Superman meets Super-Man! As the battle with China White and Lex Luthor intensifies, the Man of Steel steps in to settle things once and for all. Can the combined might of three supermen turn the tide? Don’t miss the fate of Central City’s own Avery Ho, repercussions from the “Superman Reborn Aftermath” story in ACTION COMICS, and a new member of the Justice League of China!

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

SUPERGIRL #8

Written by STEVE ORLANDO • Art by MATIAS BERGARA • Cover by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO and RAY McCARTHY • Variant cover by BENGAL

A “Superman Reborn Aftermath” tie-in! Superman and Supergirl meet again for the first time to face the evil of the Emerald Empress! Plus, what does it mean for the Girl of Tomorrow when tomorrow promises a Dark Knight? Shocking revelations, all-powerful sorceresses from the future, the Batgirl of Burnside and dinner in the Wild West—they’re all here in this amazing issue!

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

SUPERWOMAN #9

Written by K. PERKINS • Art by STEPHEN SEGOVIA and ART THIBERT • Cover by BILLY TAN • Variant cover by RENATO GUEDES

“SUPER WOMEN” part one! In this story tying in to “Superman Reborn Aftermath,” Lois Lane and Lana Lang find themselves reunited at last! Along with the Man of Steel, their reunion is cut short by the return of Cannon and Saber, who arrive to wreak havoc on the newly restored Metropolis. The mantle of Superwoman will be decided in this debut chapter of “Super Women”!

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

TRINITY #8

Written by CULLEN BUNN • Art by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO and RAY McCARTHY • Cover by CLAY MANN • Variant cover by BILL SIENKIEWICZ

A “Superman: Reborn Aftermath” tie-in! In this essential chapter of the “Superman Reborn Aftermath” epic, Kal-El reveals to Batman and Wonder Woman what had happened to him—and how they all may be in danger!

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

ALL STAR BATMAN #9

Written by SCOTT SNYDER • Art and cover by AFUA RICHARDSON • Variant cover by CHRIS BURNHAM • Variant cover by FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA

“Ends of the Earth” finale! It all comes down to this. After months of searching, Batman has found the mastermind behind the blight sweeping the planet, and must face off against one of his most dangerous villains in a battle of wills for the fate of the Earth.

On sale APRIL 12 • 40 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T

AQUAMAN #20

Written by DAN ABNETT • Art by PHILIPPE BRIONES • Cover by BRAD WALKER and ANDREW HENNESSY • Variant cover by JOSHUA MIDDLETON

“H2.0” part two! Now partnered with foes including the Aquamarines and Scavenger, Aquaman and Mera’s mission with the U.S. government is off to a bad start when they discover a bizarre creature that may have killed everyone at a military research lab deep beneath the sea. And it’s still hungry…

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

AQUAMAN #21

Written by DAN ABNETT • Art by PHILIPPE BRIONES • Cover by BRAD WALKER and ANDREW HENNESSY • Variant cover by JOSHUA MIDDLETON

“H2.0” part three! Aquaman and Mera learn that the “strange water” they’ve been sent to investigate is in fact a gateway to an alien world that’s the source of Arthur’s recent troubles! And tensions flare between Aquaman and his less-than-heroic teammates over whether to make contact with this new world or destroy it!

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

BATGIRL #10

Written by HOPE LARSON • Art and cover by CHRIS WILDGOOSE • Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL

“Son of the Penguin” part four! Ethan Cobblepot has shown his true colors: he’s a Penguin, through and through! Or is he? Can Batgirl turn his ambitions into a force for good—before he can turn Burnside against Batgirl?

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #9

Written by JULIE BENSON and SHAWNA BENSON • Art by ROGE ANTONIO • Cover by YANICK PAQUETTE • Variant cover by KAMOME SHIRAHAMA

“Blackbird” part two! The Birds need answers about the mysterious Blackbird, who’s handing out massive increases in power to Gotham City’s most dangerous metahumans…and to get them they’re sending their own dangerous metahuman, Black Canary, undercover into the world of black-market super-powered fights! Roulette rules this world with an iron fist…will she give up the secrets Dinah needs? And at what price?

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

BATMAN BEYOND #7

Written by DAN JURGENS • Art and cover by BERNARD CHANG • Variant cover by MARTIN ANSIN

“RISE OF THE DEMON” part two! As Terry McGinnis considers whether or not to take a break from being Batman, Gotham City Police H.Q. is overrun by a horde of ninjas. The League of Assassins has launched a full-out assault on the city and Curaré, leaving Terry no choice but to jump into the fray. What news does Curaré bring that makes her a target for death?

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

BATWOMAN #2

Written by MARGUERITTE BENNETT and JAMES TYNION IV • Art and cover by STEVE EPTING Variant cover by J.G. JONES

“The Many Arms Of Death” part two! The criminal haven of Coryana has changed completely in the years since Batwoman left! The biggest change of all? Her closest friends are now her enemies — or they’re corpses! It’s time for Kate Kane to cut to the heart of what’s happening here, and find out who brought the deadly bioweapon Monster Venom into Coryana…but she might get her own heart cut out in the process, by the unbeatable assassin known as the Knife!

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T+

BATMAN #20

Written by TOM KING • Art and cover by DAVID FINCH and DANNY MIKI • Variant cover by TIM SALE

“I am Bane” finale! In this epic climax, there is no going back. No more tricks, no more allies. Just Batman. And Bane. When the final blood spills…nothing will ever be the same for the Dark Knight.

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

BATMAN #21

Written by TOM KING • Art and cover by JASON FABOK • Variant cover by TIM SALE • International edition cover by JASON FABOK

“THE BUTTON” part one! The cataclysmic events of DC UNIVERSE: REBIRTH #1 continue here! The Dark Knight and The Fastest Man Alive, the two greatest detectives on any world, unite to explore the mystery behind a certain blood-stained smiley button embedded in the Batcave wall. What starts as a simple investigation turns deadly when the secrets of the button prove irresistible to an unwelcome third party—and it’s not who anyone suspects! It’s a mystery woven through time, and the ticking clock starts here!

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC

Lenticular cover edition $3.99 US

Nonlenticular edition, international edition and variant edition each $2.99 US • RATED T

BATMAN #22

Written by TOM KING • Art and cover by JASON FABOK • Variant cover by TIM SALE

“THE BUTTON” part three! The cataclysmic events of DC UNIVERSE: REBIRTH #1 continue here! The Dark Knight and The Fastest Man Alive, the two greatest detectives on any world, unite to explore the mystery behind a certain blood-stained smiley button embedded in the Batcave wall. What starts as a simple investigation turns deadly when the secrets of the button prove irresistible to an unwelcome third party—and it’s not who anyone suspects! It’s a mystery woven through time, and the ticking clock starts here!

On sale MAY 3 • 32 pg, FC

Lenticular cover edition $3.99 US

Nonlenticular edition and variant edition each $2.99 US • RATED T

THE FLASH #20

Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON • Art by NEIL GOOGE • Cover by CARMINE DI GIANDOMENICO • Variant cover by TBD

The dangerous scientists of Black Hole have been stealing the bodies of dead speedsters, prompting Iris West and The Flash to go deep undercover among them! And in doing so, they discover a shocking secret: a traitor within The Flash’s inner circle!

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

THE FLASH #21

Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON • Art and cover by HOWARD PORTER • Variant cover by TBD

“THE BUTTON” part two! The cataclysmic events of DC UNIVERSE: REBIRTH #1 continue here! The Dark Knight and The Fastest Man Alive, the two greatest detectives on any world, unite to explore the mystery behind a certain blood-stained smiley button embedded in the Batcave wall. What starts as a simple investigation turns deadly when the secrets of the button prove irresistible to an unwelcome third party—and it’s not who anyone suspects! It’s a mystery woven through time, and the ticking clock starts here!

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC

Lenticular cover edition $3.99 US

Nonlenticular edition and variant edition each $2.99 US • RATED T

THE FLASH #22

Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON • Art and cover by HOWARD PORTER • Variant cover by TBD

“THE BUTTON” part four! The cataclysmic events of DC UNIVERSE: REBIRTH #1 continue here! The Dark Knight and The Fastest Man Alive, the two greatest detectives on any world, unite to explore the mystery behind a certain blood-stained smiley button embedded in the Batcave wall. What starts as a simple investigation turns deadly when the secrets of the button prove irresistible to an unwelcome third party—and it’s not who anyone suspects! It’s a mystery woven through time, and the ticking clock starts here!

On sale MAY 10 • 32 pg, FC

Lenticular cover edition $3.99 US

Nonlenticular edition and variant edition each $2.99 US • RATED T

BLUE BEETLE #8

Written by KEITH GIFFEN • Art and cover by SCOTT KOLINS • Variant cover by CULLY HAMNER

After taking on the mystical Mordecai Cull, Blue Beetle is left broken and powerless. With an even more powerful menace about to appear, Jaime Reyes is going to have to defend the people he loves without the powers of the scarab and show what it really means to be a hero!

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

CYBORG #11

Written by JOHN SEMPER JR. • Art and cover by WILL CONRAD • Variant cover by CARLOS D’ANDA

Severely damaged and on the run, Cyborg struggles to find his father as the Rat Lord engulfs Detroit with his army of rodents! But when the Rat Lord oversteps his boundaries, it causes a turf war within the criminal underworld. Introducing 8-BIT, who has the power to delete anything in his path—and he’s looking forward to reuniting with Vic Stone!

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

DEATHSTROKE #16

Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST • Art by CARLO PAGULAYAN and JASON PAZ • Cover by BILL SIENKIEWICZ • Variant cover by SHANE DAVIS

“Twilight” part five! In what could be his final battle, Deathstroke, wounded and blind, confronts Deadline, the Human Weapon, to avenge the murder of someone close to him.

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+

DEATHSTROKE #17

Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST • Art by JOE BENNETT and NORM RAPMUND • Cover by BILL SIENKIEWICZ • Variant cover by SHANE DAVIS

“Twilight” part six! All the chips fall as dark secrets within Deathstroke’s world are revealed, including Power Girl—who learns her houseguest’s true identity. Determined to atone for her mistake, the 16-year-old takes on the World’s Deadliest Assassin on her own. Will she bring Deathstroke to justice…or die trying?

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+

DETECTIVE COMICS #954

Written by JAMES TYNION IV • Art by MARCIO TAKARA • Cover by EDDY BARROWS and EBER FERREIRA • Variant cover by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE

“League Of Shadows” part four! Ra’s al Ghul has the answers Batman needs to take down the League of Shadows…but will he lift a finger to help him? Or would he rather use the League to take care of the Dark Knight Detective once and for all?

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

DETECTIVE COMICS #955

Written by JAMES TYNION IV • Art by MARCIO TAKARA • Cover by EDDY BARROWS and EBER FERREIRA • Variant cover by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE

“League Of Shadows” part five! All of her teammates are broken—or dead. There’s only one fighter left to stand between the League of Shadows and Gotham City’s total destruction. This is Cassandra Cain’s greatest battle—the fight she was born for! Do not miss the most astounding action sequence of the year!

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

GREEN ARROW #20

Written by BENJAMIN PERCY • Art by ELEANORA CARLINI • Cover by W. SCOTT FORBES • Variant cover by MIKE GRELL

“REUNION” finale! Estranged partners Green Arrow and Arsenal find common ground as they reunite to take on the violent right-wing Wild Dog militia that’s been menacing Roy’s childhood home at the behest of Oliver Queen’s stolen corporation, leading to shocking revelations about the heroes’ pasts and huge implications for the future of Green Arrow. In the end only one thing is certain: not even time can heal all wounds.

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+

GREEN ARROW #21

Written by BENJAMIN PERCY • Art and cover by JUAN FERREYRA • Variant cover by MIKE GRELL

“THE RISE OF STAR CITY” part one! They killed Oliver Queen. They made an outlaw of Green Arrow. Now the Ninth Circle will gather its forces to destroy the hero’s very soul. Buildings will topple. Innocents will starve. Disease will spread. And Seattle will die. The biggest Green Arrow story ever begins here!

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+

GREEN LANTERNS #20

Written by SAM HUMPHRIES • Art by RONAN CLIQUET • Cover by ROBSON ROCHA and DANIEL HENRIQUES • Variant cover by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO

“THE GREEN IMPURITY” part two! Following the events of JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. SUICIDE SQUAD, Polaris strikes! The two Earth Green Lanterns are caught between the two warring personalities of the Master of Magnetism.

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

GREEN LANTERNS #21

Written by SAM HUMPHRIES • Art by EDUARDO PANSICA and JAY LEISTEN • Cover by ROBSON ROCHA and DANIEL HENRIQUES • Variant cover by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO

“THE GREEN IMPURITY” finale! Pushed to the brink by Polaris, one of the two Earth Green Lanterns will have no choice but to use lethal force for the first time and take down their enemy…permanently!

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS #18

Written by ROBERT VENDITTI • Art by V KEN MARION and DEXTER VINES • Cover by MIKEL JANIN • Variant cover by KEVIN NOWLAN

“THE PRISM OF TIME” part one! The Green Lantern Corps has united with their once mortal enemies the Sinestro Corps, but there’s a storm brewing on the horizon as an enemy from the future arrives to rip the two apart. There will be no peace in this time.

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERNS #19

Written by ROBERT VENDITTI • Art by V KEN MARION and DEXTER VINES • Cover by MIKEL JANIN • Variant cover by KEVIN NOWLAN

“THE PRISM OF TIME” part two! A mysterious time traveler arrives wearing a Green Lantern ring given to him by one of the Corps in the future? Locked within this ring are secrets that will either save the Green Lanterns or eradicate them.

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

HARLEY QUINN #17

Written by AMANDA CONNER and JIMMY PALMIOTTI • Backup story written by PAUL DINI and JIMMY PALMIOTTI • Art by JOHN TIMMS • Backup story art by BRET BLEVINS • Cover by AMANDA CONNER • Variant cover by FRANK CHO

“Deadly Sin” part one! The twisted Harley Sinn’s been released from prison, and she’s looking to hurt Harley in a whole new way…by going after somebody she loved and lost! And to make this issue extra-unmissable, a brand-new backup story begins, set in Harley’s earliest days with the Joker—and co-written by one of Harley’s original creators, Paul Dini! “Harley Loves Joker” kicks off as Harley makes the biggest mistake of her burgeoning criminal career…accidentally revealing the location of Mistah J’s hideout!

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+

HARLEY QUINN #18

Written by JIMMY PALMIOTTI and AMANDA CONNER • Backup story written by PAUL DINI and JIMMY PALMIOTTI • Art by JOHN TIMMS • Backup story art by BRET BLEVINS • Cover by AMANDA CONNER • Variant cover by FRANK CHO

“Deadly Sin” part two! How can Harley protect somebody who’s vanished into witness protection? Unfortunately, Harley Sinn has a lead that she doesn’t! And in “Harley Loves Joker” part two, Harley tries to make it up to her puddin’ after her colossal blunder—but The Joker’s wrath is not easily soothed!

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+

THE HELLBLAZER #9

Written by SIMON OLIVER • Art by PHILIP TAN • Cover by TBD • Variant cover by YASMINE PUTRI

“The Smokeless Fire” part three! Magic is all very well, but in the City of Light John and Misabel’s hunt for the missing journal has become a battle of wits—and Constantine may finally have met someone more slippery than he is. Meanwhile, Marid’s plan moves into London’s corridors of power…and an Angel loses his wings.

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T+

NIGHTWING #18

Written by TIM SEELEY • Art and cover by JAVIER FERNANDEZ • Variant cover by IVAN REIS and OCLAIR ALBERT

“Nightwing Must Die” part three! Someone Dick loves is being held by one of the deranged foes of his past: Professor Pyg! Nightwing and Robin race to stop Pyg’s attack, but an even darker villain may be waiting for them in the aftermath…

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

NIGHTWING #19

Written by TIM SEELEY • Art and cover by JAVIER FERNANDEZ • Variant cover by IVAN REIS and OCLAIR ALBERT

“Nightwing Must Die” part four! As Dick’s worst nightmares are realized, and the demons of his past come to destroy his loved ones, he must face his own dark reflection. He must face…the Deathwing!

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

JUSTICE LEAGUE #18

Written by BRYAN HITCH • Art and cover by FERNANDO PASARIN and MATT RYAN • Variant cover by YANICK PAQUETTE

“TIMELESS” part four! Separated by centuries, the Justice League fights their way through the Timeless hordes towards the incredible machines that are rewriting history—except Batman, who undertakes a mission to rescue Superman from the clutches of the Timeless Mind!

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

JUSTICE LEAGUE #19

Written by BRYAN HITCH • Art and cover by FERNANDO PASARIN and MATT RYAN • Variant cover by YANICK PAQUETTE

“TIMELESS” finale! In the unbelievable conclusion, the Justice League reunites to discover they’ve been deceived. How can Earth’s greatest heroes save the world when everything they know is wrong?

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4

Written by STEVE ORLANDO • Art by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO • Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO • Variant cover by DOUG MAHNKE

“THE EXTREMIST AGENDA” finale! The new JLA’s first adventure comes to a (multiple-)earth-shattering conclusion as Batman and his team takes the fight directly to Lord Havok.

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #5

Written by STEVE ORLANDO • Art by ANDY MACDONALD • Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO • Variant cover by DOUG MAHNKE

“HEART OF A BASTICH” part one! The JLA discovers a super arms dealer has transformed an entire city into his own massive militia force. And when the team can’t liberate its citizens from the outside, they turn to their own legendary master of mass destruction…Lobo!

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #9

Written by SCOTT LOBDELL • Art by DEXTER SOY • Cover by NICOLA SCOTT • Variant cover by GUILLEM MARCH

“Who is Artemis?” part one! When Artemis discovers that the Bow of Ra has been used to destroy an entire city, Red Hood and the Outlaws race to Qurac to discover the identity of this barbaric bowman—and who they find is too shocking to believe!

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T+

SUICIDE SQUAD #15

Written by ROB WILLIAMS • Art by JOHN ROMITA JR., RICHARD FRIEND, EDDY BARROWS and EBER FERREIRA • Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR. and RICHARD FRIEND • Variant cover by MATTEO SCALERA

“BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE” finale! Fueled by vengeance, Harley Quinn travels to Rustam’s stronghold to take on the traitor Deadshot and his entire team of villains all by her lonesome. But help comes from a most unexpected place in this thrilling conclusion to the most shocking Suicide Squad story of the Rebirth era!

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+

SUICIDE SQUAD #16

Written by ROB WILLIAMS • Art and cover by TONY S. DANIEL and SANDU FLOREA • Variant cover by LEE BERMEJO

“EARTHLINGS ON FIRE” part one! Amanda Waller is used to getting what she wants—but this time, what Waller wants is something only Lex Luthor has. Striking a deal won’t be easy—or cheap! It’s a war on two fronts as Waller leads a smoldering charm offensive in Luthor’s penthouse while her Suicide Squad tries to open the most heavily guarded safe in all of Lexcorp.

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+

SUPER SONS #3

Written by PETER J. TOMASI • Art and cover by JORGE JIMENEZ • Variant cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN

“When I Grow Up” part three! It’s Super-Son vs Bat-Son as the exciting new series continues! Kid Amazo is ready to rip the hearts out of the world’s not-so-finest super duo. Face to face with their newest—and first—villain, Jonathan and Damian strike out the only way they know how…at each other!

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

TEEN TITANS #7

Written by BENJAMIN PERCY • Art by KHOI PHAM and WADE VON GRAWBADGER • Cover by KHOI PHAM • Variant cover by CHRIS BURNHAM

“The Rise of Aqualad” finale! Out of the depths of the San Francisco bay rises King Shark, backed by an army of mutant shark-people! Outnumbered and out…teethed, can Damian, the Teen Titans and their new ally Jackson Hyde defend their city from the jaws of disaster?

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

TITANS #10

Written by DAN ABNETT • Art and cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND • Variant cover by NICK BRADSHAW

“Made in Manhattan” finale! While Wally and Dick are trapped inside Meta Solutions with the raging Mammoth, Psimon reveals that his employers have big plans for Bumblebee! Can the rest of the Titans rally before the Fearsome Five unleash hell on New York City?

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

WONDER WOMAN #20

Written by GREG RUCKA • Art and cover by BILQUIS EVELY • Variant cover by JENNY FRISON

“Godwatch” part three! Cale launches a desperate gambit to take control of Godwatch, but her plan hinges on two factors she cannot control: the witch Circe, and Wonder Woman!

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

WONDER WOMAN #21

Written by GREG RUCKA • Art and cover by LIAM SHARP • Variant cover by JENNY FRISON

“The Truth” part four! As the reality of Themyscira is revealed, Wonder Woman is forced to make a decision: defy the will of the gods or betray her Amazon sisters to Godwatch!

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

BATMAN/THE SHADOW #1

Written by SCOTT SNYDER and STEVE ORLANDO • Art and cover by RILEY ROSSMO • Variant cover by TIM SALE • Variant cover by CLIFF CHIANG • Blank variant cover • Coloring book variant cover by RILEY ROSSMO

Two of history’s greatest vigilantes are reunited at last! Murder has come to Gotham City, and Lamont Cranston appears to be the culprit…but he’s been dead for over fifty years! Batman will go to the ends of the Earth to unravel the mystery of Cranston’s life, but the mysterious Shadow will do everything in his power to stop him from learning too much…

The superstar team of writers Scott Snyder and Steve Orlando and artist Riley Rossmo brings you a dark and twisty modern noir like nothing you’ve seen before, with a brand-new villain unlike any either hero has faced! This is the unmissable crime series of 2017, so get on board now! Co-published with Dynamite.

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, 1 of 6, $3.99 US • RATED T

THE WILD STORM #3

Written by WARREN ELLIS • Art and cover by JON DAVIS-HUNT • Variant cover by JAMIE McKELVIE • Variant cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS

Angela Spica is wounded, alone and hiding from black-ops killers sent by her own benefactor, the man she thought responsible for her well-being—the mastermind behind an assassination attempt the Engineer just foiled. But, unknown to her, she might yet have a chance to survive this terrible day. The Grifter has a plan. A storm is building. And through it all, a mysterious woman crackles though the electrical devices that inhabit our lives, slipping among the invisible networks of the world. There’s something new in the world.

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T+

BATMAN ’66 MEETS WONDER WOMAN ’77 #4

Written by MARC ANDREYKO and JEFF PARKER • Art by DAVID HAHN and KARL KESEL • Cover by MICHAEL ALLRED

Ra’s al Ghul has discovered the Amazons’ Elysian Well…better known to Man’s World as a Lazarus Pit! Wonder Woman takes Batman and Robin (and Catwoman!) to confront him, but strange creatures live in the same maze, which the Amazons have used for centuries as a prison!

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, 4 of 6, $3.99 US • RATED E • DIGITAL FIRST

DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS #25

Written by MARGUERITE BENNETT • Art by ANEKE • Cover by ANT LUCIA

Vampire Batgirl, Enchantress, Ravager, Killer Croc and Frankie join together to form the all-new Suicide Squad in this special extra-size issue! After the events of the Bombshells AnnUAL, follow them on their first mission into an underwater Nazi submarine to rescue Vampire Batgirl’s long lost lover, Luc!

On sale APRIL 5 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T • DIGITAL FIRST

THE FALL AND RISE OF CAPTAIN ATOM #4

Written by CARY BATES and GREG WEISMAN • Art by WILL CONRAD • Cover by CARLOS D’ANDA

“Shock and Awe” part four! After dealing with a nuclear explosion on live TV, Captain Atom begins an uphill battle to rebuild his life and reclaim his legacy. But events from his past lives come back to haunt him in ways he could have never imagined…

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, 4 of 6, $2.99 US • RATED T

INJUSTICE: GROUND ZERO #9

Written by CHRISTOPHER SEBELA

Art by DANIEL SAMPERE, TOM DERENICK and JUAN ALBARRAN

Cover by STEPHEN SEGOVIA

The desperate plot to free Batman from Stryker’s Island and prevent his execution reaches its climax. Escape seems imminent when an angry Superman suddenly makes an appearance. Meanwhile, a newly docile Harley Quinn is taken on a joyride with the Joker and led to an encounter with Lex Luthor.

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+ • DIGITAL FIRST

INJUSTICE: GROUND ZERO #10

Written by CHRISTOPHER SEBELA

Art by JHEREMY RAAPACK and MARCO SANTUCCI

Cover by STEPHEN SEGOVIA

Tragedy strikes when two former Superman allies face their end—and the Man of Steel plans to set an example by raining down destruction on Metropolis and Gotham City. Is this the straw that will sever his bonds with the Justice League? Meanwhile, Harley gets her mojo back and leads a new uprising against The Joker’s army.

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+ • DIGITAL FIRST

THE FLINTSTONES #10

Written by MARK RUSSELL

Art by STEVE PUGH

Cover by DENYS COWAN and BILL SIENKIEWICZ

Variant cover by NICOLA SCOTT

Bedrock is in ruins and its citizens believe their mayor, Clod the Destroyer, is to blame! Meanwhile, Bamm-Bamm develops his first crush. Can his best friend Pebbles help him get the girl?

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

FUTURE QUEST #12

Written by JEFF PARKER

Art and cover by EVAN “DOC” SHANER

Variant cover by TONY HARRIS

The most daring heroes and greatest minds of Earth and a distant solar system make their last stand against the World Ender. How can we survive when other more advanced worlds have fallen? Get ready for the cosmic finale that shapes the Hanna-Barbera action adventure universe forever!

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T • Final issue

SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #12

Written by KEITH GIFFEN and J.M. DeMATTEIS

Art by DALE EAGLESHAM

Cover by HOWARD PORTER

Variant cover by PAUL GULACY

It’s a Dinkley family reunion! Can Velma reconcile with one of her brothers in order to the save the world that they destroyed? Or is someone else to blame for the apocalypse?

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

SUPER POWERS #6

Written by ART BALTAZAR and FRANCO

Art and cover by ART BALTAZAR

An epic crisis has happened, and Superman needs the help of all of his friends to save his family! But even with their help, Darkseid and his parademons might be too much to overcome! Don’t miss the shocking conclusion!

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, 6 of 6, $2.99 US • RATED E

JUSTICE LEAGUE/POWER RANGERS #4

Written by TOM TAYLOR • Art by STEPHEN BYRNE • Cover by KARL KERSCHL

Superman is determined to help the Power Rangers return to their dimension before the teens learn the pain of losing their entire planet. Billy and Cyborg have a plan that could save the day, but it seems impossible—unless there’s a Large Hadron Collider available? Co-Published with BOOM! Studios.

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, 4 of 6, $3.99 US • RATED T

GOTHAM ACADEMY: SECOND SEMESTER #8

Written by Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan and Karl Kerschl

Art by Adam Archer, MSASSYK and Sandra Hope

Cover by KARL KERSCHL

In an epic climax to this storyline, Olive faces her true destiny as the fate of Gotham Academy hangs in the balance. Will her friends be able to reach her in time…or will the Academy be lost forever?!

On sale APRIL 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

THE ODYSSEY OF THE AMAZONS #4

Written by KEVIN GREVIOUX

Art by RYAN BENJAMIN and RICHARD FRIEND

Cover by RYAN BENJAMIN

The Amazons are taken to Valhalla, heavenly home of warriors who have fallen in combat. Hessia learns where the Amazons originated and why their numbers have come to be spread throughout the world. But she’s also determined to find a way back to Earth, to rescue her comrades who have been taken by the Storm Giants. As for the Giants, they are getting ready to go to war.

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, 4 of 6, $3.99 US • RATED T+

THE KAMANDI CHALLENGE #4

Written by JAMES TYNION IV • Art by CARLOS D’ANDA • Cover by PAUL POPE • Variant cover by CARLOS D’ANDA

After the jaw-dropping end of the last issue, writer James Tynion IV and artist Carlos D’Anda take us on a high flying adventure. Kamandi’s journey has led him to the wondrous Western Wall—but is he prepared for what lies on the other side?

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, 4 of 12, $3.99 US • RATED T

SUPERGIRL: BEING SUPER #3

Written by MARIKO TAMAKI • Art and cover by JOELLE JONES

Kara Danvers’ hidden memories of her life on another planet are bubbling to the surface—but is she alone here on earth? Following the devastating events of the Midvale Earthquake, Kara and Dolly struggle to piece their lives back together—but what’s up with Coach? Their mentor is acting strangely, and her odd behavior goes from curious to downright creepy when Kara follows her back to a Lexcorp bunker deep underground. What she’s hiding will change Kara’s life forever—all will be revealed and a hero will need to be super in this penultimate chapter!

PRESTIGE FORMAT • On sale APRIL 26 • 48 pg, FC, 3 of 4, $5.99 US • RATED T

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #80

Written by DEREK FRIDOLFS

Art by RANDY ELLIOTT

Cover by DEREK FRIDOLFS

After wrapping up their latest case, the Mystery Machine may need an exorcism! When a trip to the car wash unearths a soapy spirit with intent to scare, can Mystery Inc. capture this clean fiend or will they find themselves all washed up?

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E

SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP #25

Written by SHOLLY FISCH

Art and cover by DARIO BRIZUELA

The generation gap turns into a generation gasp when the aging hipsters of Karma Corners get locked up by the ghosts of their ancestors, who are fed up with the hijinks of their meddling kids! Even with the help of Green Lantern and Green Arrow, can Scooby and the gang crack the mystery of the ghosts and reunite the town?

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E

TEEN TITANS GO! #21

Written by IVAN COHEN and DEREK FRIDOLFS

Art by ERICH OWENS and DEREK FRIDOLFS

Cover by DARIO BRIZUELA

Titans Tower has been condemned! The Titans don’t want to become couch surfers, but they have to find a new place to live while repairs are underway. Let’s find out if the Batcave is available! And when the Titans get swept up in the Goblin Grab gaming craze, Beast Boy gets swept up by Control Freak. Will his teammates rescue him, or will they be distracted by the their new favorite game?

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E • DIGITAL FIRST

MAD MAGAZINE #545

Written and illustrated by THE USUAL GANG OF IDIOTS

It’s spring! The bees are buzzing, the flowers are blooming, the grass is growing—and a new issue of MAD has sprung up like a weed!

On sale APRIL 19 • 56 pg, FC, $5.99 US

CAVE CARSON HAS A CYBERNETIC EYE #7

Written by JON RIVERA • Art and cover by MICHAEL AVON OEMING • Variant cover by ROBERT HACK

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s…Superman?! After a gnarly battle between Team Carson and the Whisperer and his cult, Cave finds a quiet moment to reminisce about his long-ago adventures with the Big Red S. But are these just fond memories, or is there a deeper mystery afoot?

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS

DOOM PATROL #7

Written by GERARD WAY

Art by MICHAEL ALLRED

Backup story art by BRANDON BIRD

Cover by MICHAEL ALLRED

Variant cover by NICK DERINGTON

How have you been, Niles Caulder? The Chief is back, and he’s ready to reshape the new Doom Patrol to be just like the old Doom Patrol—a prospect not everyone is happy with. But the team’s former leader hasn’t grown less manipulative in his old age, so nobody make any rash decisions. Pretty sure he’s up to something. Michael Allred (iZOMBIE, Silver Surfer) joins Young Animal for this special one-off issue.

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS

DOOM PATROL VOL. 1: BRICK BY BRICK TP

Written by GERARD WAY

Art by NICK DERINGTON

Cover by NICK DERINGTON and GERARD WAY

A blenderized reimagining of the ultimate series of the strange, DOOM PATROL combines elements from classic runs, new directions and things that could not be. Our entry point is Casey Brinke, a young E.M.T. on the graveyard shift to abstract enlightenment, with a past so odd that she’s not entirely sure what is real and what is not. Along with her partner, Sam Reynolds, the pair blaze a path through the city and its denizens, finding the only quiet that exists at 3 a.m. is the chaos of the brain. When the pair answer a hit-and-run call, they find themselves face to face with a familiar figure: Cliff Steele, a.k.a. Robotman. This first DOOM PATROL trade paperback collects issues #1-6.

On sale MAY 31 • 176 pg, FC, $16.99 US • MATURE READERS

MOTHER PANIC #6

Written by JODY HOUSER • Art by SHAWN CRYSTAL • Cover by TOMMY LEE EDWARDS • Variant cover by ERIC CANETE

As Mother Panic’s scope of revenge narrows, her partnership with the unhinged Pretty falls apart. Unable to bear the end to their collaboration Pretty turns on Mother Panic. After all, if she’s not with him…

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS

SHADE, THE CHANGING GIRL #7

Written by CECIL CASTELLUCCI • Art by MARGUERITE SAUVAGE • Backup story art by DAN PARENT • Cover by BECKY CLOONAN • Variant cover by MARGUERITE SAUVAGE

In this stand-alone issue, Shade begins to ponder what’s next for her on Earth. As the winter dance approaches, she reminisces about high school on Meta, and starts to wonder why she’s putting herself through that kind of hell again. Will she find the perfect dress, or will the dance be a perfect disaster? Plus, an all-new episode of “Life with Honey,” with art by Dan Parent (Kevin Keller).

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS

BLUE BEETLE VOL. 1: THE MORE THINGS CHANGE TP

Written by KEITH GIFFEN and SCOTT KOLINS

Art and cover by SCOTT KOLINS

Bonded to the Blue Beetle Scarab, teenager Jaime Reyes has no idea what he’s doing with one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. But he’s in luck, because his predecessor—Ted Kord—is back in the DC Universe, and he’s going to serve as the young hero’s mentor! Alongside fellow teen hero Doctor Fate, this duo will have to learn how to be heroes on the fly! Blue Beetle is back for a new generation as a part of DC Universe Rebirth! Collects BLUE BEETLE: REBIRTH #1, BLUE BEETLE #1-6.

On sale MAY 10 • 160 pg, FC, $16.99 US

BATMAN: DETECTIVE COMICS VOL. 2 – THE VICTIM SYNDICATE TP

Written by JAMES TYNION IV and MARGUERITE BENNETT

Art by EDDY BARROWS, ALVARO MARTINEZ, BEN OLIVER and others

Cover by JASON FABOK

In these tales from DETECTIVE COMICS #943-949, innocent victims maimed or broken by Batman’s greatest enemies band together, and they blame Batman and his fellow crime-fighters for what happened to them just as much as they blame the psychopaths who hurt them. Batman and his newly trained allies must take on these troubled souls, but one of Batman’s teammates can’t help thinking they might have a point…

On sale MAY 10 • 168 pg, FC, $16.99 US

THE FLASH VOL. 2: SPEED OF DARKNESS TP

Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON

Art by JORGE CORONA, FELIPE WATANABE, OCLAIR ALBERT, DAVIDE GIANFELICE and NEIL GOOGE

Cover by CARMINE DI GIANDOMENICO

A storm is brewing over Central City. Just as Barry begins to feel overwhelmed fighting crime, a new speedster appears—but just where did this amazing new friend come from? Spinning out of the events of DC UNIVERSE: REBIRTH #1, the Fastest Man Alive finds himself at a crossroads. Collects issues #9-13.

On sale MAY 17 • 128 pg, FC, $14.99 US

HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS VOL. 2: BOTTLED LIGHT TP

Written by ROBERT VENDITTI

Art by ETHAN VAN SCIVER, RAFA SANDOVAL, JORDI TARRAGONA, ED BENES, DEXTER VINES and V KEN MARION

Cover by ETHAN VAN SCIVER

Hal Jordan is about to go from the leader of the Green Lantern Corps to an army of one. His long, tumultuous tenure with the Corps takes several hairpin turns. At lightspeed. Toward a black hole. In a blender! Don’t miss these tales from HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #8-13.

On sale MAY 31 • 144 pg, FC, $16.99 US

SUPERGIRL VOL. 1: REIGN OF THE CYBORG SUPERMEN TP

Written by STEVE ORLANDO

Art by BRIAN CHING and EMANUELA LUPACCHINO

Cover by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO

Supergirl moves to National City! As Kara Danvers, high school student, Supergirl must balance her life as a superhero with her new life on Earth. But some demons from her Kryptonian past are coming back to haunt her, and Kara will find herself face to face with her father, the sinister Cyborg Superman! Collects SUPERGIRL: REBIRTH #1 and SUPERGIRL #1-6.

On sale MAY 17 • 168 pg, FC, $16.99 US

SUPERWOMAN VOL. 1: WHO KILLED SUPERWOMAN? TP

Written by PHIL JIMENEZ • Art by PHIL JIMENEZ, MATT SANTORELLI, JACK HERBERT, EMANUELA LUPACCHINO and RAY MCCARTHY • Cover by PHIL JIMENEZ

Imbued with the powers of Superman, Lois Lane and Lana Lang pledge to use their powers to protect Metropolis as Superwomen! The only problem is their new powers are killing them, and neither one knows how to stop it. Can they survive long enough to uncover the deadly secret of their new foe, Ultra-Woman? Collects SUPERWOMAN #1-7.

On sale MAY 3 • 168 pg, FC, $16.99 US

WONDER WOMAN VOL. 2: YEAR ONE TP

Written by GREG RUCKA

Art by NICOLA SCOTT and BILQUIS EVELY

Cover by NICOLA SCOTT

The team of writer Greg Rucka and artist Nicola Scott weave the definitive and shocking tale of Diana’s first year as Earth’s protector. Paradise has been breached, Ares stirs and the Amazons must answer with a champion of their own…one who is willing to sacrifice her home among her sisters to save a world she has never seen. Wonder Woman’s journey begins in this epic origin story! Collects WONDER WOMAN #2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14.

On sale MAY 3 • 168 pg, FC, $16.99 US

ADAM STRANGE: THE SILVER AGE OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC

Written by GARDNER FOX, EDMOND HAMILTON and JACK SCHIFF

Art by MIKE SEKOWSKY, CARMINE INFANTINO, MURPHY ANDERSON and others

Cover by MICHAEL CHO

The Silver Age adventures of Adam Strange are collected in one giant omnibus! After being mysteriously teleported to the distant world of Rann, Adam Strange’s life changed forever as he went from being an archaeologist to a cosmic hero. In these stories, Adam and his new ally, Alanna, defend Rann against alien invaders, giant monsters, mad scientists, out-of-control robots and more! This new title collects SHOWCASE #17-19 and 101-103, MYSTERY IN SPACE #53-100 and 102, STRANGE ADVENTURES #157, 222, 226, HAWKMAN #18-19 and WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #262-263.

On sale JULY 19 • 944 pg, FC, $99.99 US

BATMAN: ARKHAM – MR. FREEZE TP

Written by various

Art by various

Cover by JAE LEE

Mr. Freeze stars in this new collection that features some of his most brutal skirmishes with Batman! Collects BATMAN #121, 308, 375 and 525, DETECTIVE COMICS #373 and 595, BATMAN: MR. FREEZE #1, BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #59, BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #190-191 and BATMAN ANNUAL #1.

On sale MAY 10 • 248 pg, FC, $19.99 US

BATMAN: NEW GOTHAM VOL. 1 TP

Written by GREG RUCKA

Art by SHAWN MARTINBROUGH, JOHN WATKISS, WILL ROSADO, PHIL HESTER and others

Cover by DAVE JOHNSON

It’s a new dawn for Gotham City after the events of “No Man’s Land.” Now, Batman’s longtime nemesis Ra’s al Ghul has returned with a deadly plan that will devastate the city and the entire world! Collects DETECTIVE COMICS #742-753.

On sale MAY 24 • 336 pg, FC, $29.99 US

BATMAN BY BRIAN AZZARELLO AND EDUARDO RISSO DELUXE EDITION HC

Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO

Art and cover by EDUARDO RISSO

This deluxe edition hardcover from the award-winning team of writer Brian Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso collects the six-issue Batman epic “Broken City,” an examination of the Dark Knight and the city he protects. While hunting the murderer of a small boy’s parents, Batman is caught up in his own investigation and ruminations, only to fall prey to a deadly new pair of killers who have been stalking him. Collects BATMAN #620-625, FLASHPOINT: BATMAN—KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE #1-3 and stories from WEDNESDAY COMICS #1-12 and BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #8.

On sale JUNE 28 • 240 pg, FC, $39.99 US

BATMAN BY SCOTT SNYDER AND GREG CAPULLO BOX SET 2

Written by SCOTT SNYDER and JAMES TYNION IV

Art by GREG CAPULLO, DANNY MIKI and others

Cover by GREG CAPULLO

The second box set collecting Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s epic run includes the trade paperback editions of BATMAN VOL. 4: ZERO YEAR—SECRET CITY, BATMAN VOL. 5: ZERO YEAR—DARK CITY and BATMAN VOL. 6: GRAVEYARD SHIFT. The perfect addition to any hardcore fan’s collection, this box set continues one of the greatest comic book runs of all time.

On sale AUGUST 9 • FC, $49.99 US

BATMAN: ZERO HOUR TP

Written by DOUG MOENCH, ALAN GRANT, CHUCK DIXON, JO DUFFY and ARCHIE GOODWIN

Art by MIKE MANLEY, BRET BLEVINS, GRAHAM NOLAN, JIM BALENT, VINCE GIARRANO, TOM GRUMMETT and others Cover by GRAHAM NOLAN and SCOTT HANNA

The Dark Knight stories tying into ZERO HOUR are now collected in their entirety. Time is collapsing upon itself! The villainous Extant has ushered in a series of black holes that are swallowing the universe, past, present and future! And like everyone else in the DC Universe, the Bat-family has seen time loops affect their lives. The result? The return of Barbara Gordon, Batgirl! Collects BATMAN #0 and 511, BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #0 and 31, DETECTIVE COMICS #0 and 678, CATWOMAN #0 and 14, BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #0 and ROBIN #0 and 10.

On sale MAY 31 • 272 pg, FC, $24.99 US

BATMAN/WILDCAT TP

Written by CHUCK DIXON, BEAU SMITH and BOB HANEY

Art by SERGIO CARIELLO, JIM APARO, IRV NOVICK, BOB BROWN, NICK CARDY and others

Cover by ART THIBERT and DANNY MIKI

The fight of the century is on! But it’ll take more than muscle for Batman and Wildcat to shut down a secret superhuman fighting ring that’s killing its combatants! Two of the DC Universe’s greatest fighters go head to head in these slobberknockers from BATMAN/WILDCAT #1-3, CATWOMAN/WILDCAT #1-4 and THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #88, 97, 110, 118 and 127.

On sale MAY 17 • 280 pg, FC, $24.99 US

THE DC UNIVERSE BY MIKE MIGNOLA HC

Written by NEIL GAIMAN, JOHN BYRNE, PAUL KUPPERBERG, ROGER STERN, JERRY ORDWAY and GEORGE PEREZ • Art by MIKE MIGNOLA and others • Cover by MIKE MIGNOLA

This new title collects Mike Mignola’s work on comics including SUPERMAN: THE WORLD OF KRYPTON #1-4, ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #2, SUPERMAN #18 and 23, BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #54, BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #36, SWAMP THING ANNUAL #5, PHANTOM STRANGER #1-4 and more! Also collects dozens of covers by Mignola!

On sale MAY 10 • 400 pg, FC, $39.99 US

DEADMAN: DARK MANSION OF FORBIDDEN LOVE TP

Written by SARAH VAUGHN

Art by LAN MEDINA

Cover by STEPHANIE HANS

Trapped inside an old gothic mansion, Deadman must battle the forces of darkness alongside Berenice, a young woman with a complicated love life who is gifted—or cursed—with the ability to communicate with the dead. Romance, mystery, and evil await in this new title collecting the acclaimed prestige format miniseries!

On sale MAY 31 • 160 pg, FC, $16.99 US

DOCTOR FATE VOL. 3: FATEFUL THREADS TP

Written PAUL LEVITZ • Art by SONNY LIEW, INAKI MIRANDA and BRENDAN McCARTHY

Cover by BRENDAN McCARTHY

The original Doctor Fate has come to New York to help Khalid Nassour learn how to use and control his powers. But when their lessons lead to an Efreet appearing and lighting New York afire, Khalid and Kent must defeat it and take it back where it came from. Collects DOCTOR FATE #13-18.

On sale MAY 3 • 144 pg, FC, $16.99 US

THE LAST DAYS OF THE JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA TP

Written by ROY THOMAS and DANN THOMAS

Art by DAVID ROSS, MIKE GUSTOVICH, MICHAEL BAIR, TOM GRINDBERG, GEORGE TUSKA, LUKE MCDONNELL and others • Cover by MICHAEL BAIR

After the devastation to their home dimension following the cataclysmic events of CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, the world’s first super team faces their gravest challenge to date. As Ragnorak reigns down from the sky, the surviving members of the JSA must make the greatest sacrifice—one that would affect the DC Universe for decades to come. Collects THE LAST DAYS OF THE JUSTICE SOCIETY SPECIAL #1, plus stories from SECRET ORIGINS #7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 24, 25 and 31.

On sale MAY 10 • 336 pg, FC, $29.99 US

THE FLINTSTONES AND THE JETSONS VOL. 1 TP

Written by MIKE CARLIN, MICHAEL KUPPERMAN, SAM HENDERSON and others

Art by GLEN HANSON, TIM HARKINS, IVAN BRUNETTI, BILL WRAY and others

Cover by GLEN HANSON

In this two-in-one collection, see stories inspired by the classic animated TV series starring history’s finest families. Meet Fred, Wilma, Pebbles and Dino all over again! Visit the high-flying Jetsons one more time! Collects issues #1-6.

On sale MAY 3 • 144 pg, FC, $12.99 US

GREEN ARROW VOL. 8: THE HUNT FOR THE RED DRAGON TP

Written by MIKE GRELL • Art by RICK HOBERG, JOHN NYBERG, FRANK SPRINGER and PABLO MARCOS • Cover by MIKE GRELL

When asked to find a woman with a unique red dragon tattoo, Green Arrow’s hunt for justice becomes more than a mere manhunt, as Oliver’s prey is Shado, once his foe and his lover. Oliver soon finds myself the hunted, not the hunter. Collects GREEN ARROW #63-72.

On sale MAY 17 • 256 pg, FC, $19.99 US

JLA YEAR ONE DELUXE EDITION HC

Written by MARK WAID and BRIAN AUGUSTYN

Art by BARRY KITSON, MICHAEL BAIR, JOHN STOKES and MARK PROPST

Cover by BARRY KITSON

The definitive tale of the JLA’s formation is back in a new deluxe hardcover of the epic tale starring The Flash, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter and Aquaman! Learn how the five founding members of the JLA pulled together as a team, earning the respect of the public and defeating foes like Vandal Savage, scientist T.O. Morrow and the Brotherhood of Evil! Collects JLA: YEAR ONE #1-12, with sketches and other bonus material!

On sale MAY 3 • 336 pg, FC, 7.0625” x 10.875” • $49.99 US

HARLEY QUINN VOL. 6: BLACK, WHITE AND RED ALL OVER TP

Written by AMANDA CONNER and JIMMY PALMIOTTI

Art by CHAD HARDIN, JOHN TIMMS, MORITAT and ELSA CHARRETIER

Cover by AMANDA CONNER

Harley Quinn knows all about mad love, but she’s put all that behind her. Now she’s an independent, butt-kicking woman with a business that offers violence in the service of good. But Harley is about to find out what it feels like to be on the receiving end of some truly mad love. These stories introduce the Red Tool, who will have Harley seeing red! Collects HARLEY QUINN #26-30.

On sale MAY 31 • 176 pg, FC, $16.99 US

RAVEN TP

Written by MARV WOLFMAN

Art by ALISSON BORGES, DIOGENES NEVES and RUY JOSE

Cover by ALISSON BORGES

Raven takes a break from the Teen Titans and moves to San Francisco to face her most perilous challenge yet: high school! As Raven discovers more about her human side, one of her classmates goes missing under mysterious circumstances, and she must face an evil like none she’s known before! Collects RAVEN #1-6.

On sale MAY 10 • 144 pg, FC, $16.99 US

SUICIDE SQUAD VOL. 6: THE PHOENIX GAMBIT TP

Written by JOHN OSTRANDER, KIM YALE and DAVID M. DEVRIES

Art by LUKE MCDONNELL, GEOF ISHERWOOD and MARK BADGER

Cover by GEOF ISHERWOOD

Since their disbandment, the members of Suicide Squad have gone their separate ways. Now it’s up to the unlikely team of Amanda Waller and Batman to bring them back together! Plus, in order to prevent a confrontation between American and Soviet forces in the war-torn country Vlatava, Batman and the Suicide Squad head to Europe. Collects SUICIDE SQUAD #40-49.

On sale MAY 17 • 240 pg, FC, $19.99 US

SUPERGIRL VOL. 3: GHOSTS OF KRYPTON TP

Written by GEOFF JOHNS, KELLEY PUCKETT, KURT BUSIEK and FABIAN NICIEZA

Art by RENATO GUEDES, DREW JOHNSON, RAY SNYDER and LEE FERGUSON

Cover by DREW JOHNSON and RAY SNYDER

A new story begins with a bizarre delivery to Kara’s apartment that quickly has her hopping dimensions and traveling through deep space! These tales from ACTION COMICS #850 and SUPERGIRL #23-33 guest star Superman, Batman and the Green Lantern Corps!

On sale MAY 31 • 304 pg, FC, $29.99 US

SUPERMAN: THE FINAL DAYS OF SUPERMAN TP

Written by PETER J. TOMASI

Art by MIKEL JANIN, MIGUEL SEPULVEDA, PAUL PELLETIER, DOUG MAHNKE and others

Cover by MIKEL JANIN

With his final days upon him, the Man of Steel reaches out to his loved ones and allies to say his good-byes. Yet while he does so, the world is greeted by new threats: a dangerous being alive with fire, who insists to Lois Lane and anyone else he meets that he is the one true Superman, and a black-clad man whose appearance and powers mirror those of Superman himself! Collects SUPERMAN #51-52, ACTION COMICS #51-52, BATMAN/SUPERMAN #31-32 and SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN #28-29.

On sale MAY 24 • 200 pg, FC, $19.99 US

SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN VOL. 5: SAVAGE END TP

Written by PETER J. TOMASI

Art by DOUG MAHNKE, JAIME MENDOZA, CLIFF RICHARDS, ED BENES and JORGE JIMENEZ

Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR. and SCOTT HANNA

In these stories from SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN #25-31 and ANNUAL #2, Superman’s powers have still not returned to full strength, and now Wonder Woman is forced to turn to the rest of the Olympian gods in hopes of saving the man she loves. But this divine intervention turns out to be more trying than the God of War could have ever expected. Plus, Superman and Wonder Woman must face off against another one of the most powerful duos in the DC Universe: the twin children of the immortal madman Vandal Savage!

On sale MAY 17 • 216 pg, FC, $19.99 US

THE SUPERMAN ADVENTURES VOL. 3 TP

Written by MARK MILLAR, CHRIS DUFFY, DEVIN GRAYSON and others

Art by NEIL VOKES, ALUIR AMANCIO, BRET BLEVINS, MIKE MANLEY and TERRY AUSTIN

Cover by RICK BURCHETT and TERRY AUSTIN

Spinning out of Superman: The Animated Series, the Man of Steel’s exploits continue in these stories from SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #17-25! In these tales, Superman must protect the president of the United States from an attempted assassination, and also encounters Brainiac, Parasite, Livewire and heroes Supergirl and Batgirl!

On sale MAY 24 • 248 pg, FC, $19.99 US

TEEN TITANS GO!: READY FOR ACTION TP

Written by J. TORRES

Art by TODD NAUCK, SEAN “CHEEKS” GALLOWAY, MIKE NORTON and LARY STUCKER

Cover by TODD NAUCK and LARY STUCKER

In this collection based on the hit TV show, it’s Teen Titans to the rescue! First, Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy get their powers scrambled and no one is happy; plus a special holiday issue featuring Billy Numerous! The laughter and fun returns in this volume containing TEEN TITANS GO! #19-25.

On sale MAY 10 • 152 pg, FC, $12.99 US

WONDER WOMAN BY JOHN BYRNE BOOK ONE HC

Written by JOHN BYRNE

Art and cover by JOHN BYRNE

When a grief-stricken scientist attempts to recreate his dead son as a computer program, Wonder Woman inexplicably finds herself battling three powerful beings who are long dead! Princess Diana tries to piece together what’s behind these miraculous resurrections, but the answer to their mysterious return might not be enough to save her from the onslaught of these deadly adversaries. Collects WONDER WOMAN #101-114.

On sale MAY 24 • 328 pg, FC, $39.99 US

WONDER WOMAN: THE GOLDEN AGE OMNIBUS VOL. 2 HC

Written by WILLIAM MOULTON MARSTON and others

Art by H.G. PETER

Cover by DARWYN COOKE

In these tales from the Golden Age of Comics, Wonder Woman protects Man’s World, using her bracelets and lasso of truth to stop injustice. These tales include Wonder Woman’s battle to keep innocents from being drawn into a land of nightmares, sees her sending a gangster to Paradise Island to be reformed, attending a costume party to prevent a murder and much more! Collects COMIC CAVALCADE #6-13, SENSATION COMICS #25-48 and WONDER WOMAN #8-15.

On sale JULY 5 • 768 pg, FC, $75.00 US

ASTRO CITY #44

Written by KURT BUSIEK • Art by RICK LEONARDI • Cover by ALEX ROSS

A tale of murder, mystery…and a cat. Starring Nightingale, Sunhawk…and their cat. Did we mention the cat? The cat’s the lead character. Featuring guest art by Rick Leonardi (SUPERMAN, Spider-Man 2099). Mreow.

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

LUCIFER #17

Written by RICHARD KADREY • Art and cover by LEE GARBETT

Backed by the Presence and wielding new powers, Takehiko steps forward to take revenge on Lucifer. As the filial tradition continues, Izanami conspires with Rosemary to take down Mazikeen, or so it seems. And the only thing more disorienting than an assassin with unclear allegiances is the hangover that hits you after using a demonic drug made from the flesh of a fallen angel.

On sale APRIL 19 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS

CLEAN ROOM #18

Written by GAIL SIMONE

Art by WALTER GEOVANI

Cover by JENNY FRISON

Season One of CLEAN ROOM finishes with a literal big bang as the walls of reality come crashing down! Everything Astrid Mueller has tried to build is on fire, and she is nowhere to be seen, as the true monsters are revealed at last. A mind-bending climax to this acclaimed series’ first epic tale!

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS • Final issue

SAVAGE THINGS #2

Written by JUSTIN JORDAN

Art by IBRAHIM MOUSTAFA

Cover by JOHN PAUL LEON

Years after escaping the U.S. government’s clandestine global terrorist cell, Abel is back under surveillance. Being the only one of the trained killers to have ever left the Black Forest program, they need him to stop his former comrades before their terror campaign can escalate further. As the bad guys continue their bloody quest at a local hospital, Abel has to convince his handlers that the only way to stop these monsters is to become one. But even that might not be enough to stop Cain…

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, 2 of 8, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS

EVERAFTER: FROM THE PAGES OF FABLES #8

Written by DAVE JUSTUS and LILAH STURGES

Art by TRAVIS MOORE

Cover by TULA LOTAY

After her role in the Alcatraz catastrophe, Tanner returns home and faces the personal fallout from her professional choices. When her bullied teenage son and his friends discover a stash of Tanner’s leftover mission loot, they weaponize the artifacts and vow to punish their peers. With her son at the helm of his besieged high school, Tanner must swallow her pride and call on the Shadow Players for assistance.

On sale APRIL 5 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS

EVERAFTER VOL. 1: THE PANDORA PROTOCOL TP

Written by DAVE JUSTUS and LILAH STURGES

Art by TRAVIS MOORE • Cover by TULA LOTAY

EVERAFTER features the return of FABLES favorites Bo Peep, Peter Piper, Hansel and Connor Wolf! The Shadow Players are a global network of agents—both Fable and mundane—tasked with policing a newly enchanted world and protecting humanity from itself. Collects EVERAFTER: FROM THE PAGES OF FABLES #1-6.

On sale MAY 3 • 144 pg, FC, $16.99 US • MATURE READERS

UNFOLLOW #18

Written by ROB WILLIAMS

Art by MIKE DOWLING

Cover by MATT TAYLOR

Rubinstein’s mask leads the way to Larry Ferrell, but can the master of social media truly be defeated? After all, this is his game. The 140 come down to just one and death waits in the jungle. Who are we really?

On sale APRIL 26 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • MATURE READERS • Final issue

THE BOOKS OF MAGIC BOOK ONE TP

Written by JOHN NEY RIEBER

Art by GARY AMARO, PETER GROSS and others

Cover by CHARLES VESS

Tim Hunter, destined to become Earth’s greatest sorcerer, defends the realm of Faerie from the deadly manticore while trying to maintain a normal childhood. Is his real father the one-armed drunk in the front room, or is he the man who can turn into a hawk? Is his mother dead and buried, or is she Titania, Queen of Faerie? Plus, Death herself weighs in on the subject of identity. Collects a story from VERTIGO RAVE #1, BOOKS OF MAGIC #1-13 and ARCANA: THE BOOKS OF MAGIC ANNUAL #1.

On sale MAY 24 • 400 pg, FC, $34.99 US • MATURE READERS

HELLBLAZER VOL. 16: THE WILD CARD TP

Written by MIKE CAREY

Art by STEVE DILLON, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, MARCELO FRUSIN, MARK SIMPSON, LEE BERMEJO and DOUG ALEXANDER GREGORY

Cover by TBD

Believed to be dead, Constantine needs to set the record straight with the surviving members of his family. John walks into the middle of a range war between rival groups of magicians. Like it or not, he’s going to have to choose a side—and it would help if he knew which faction wants him dead. Then, after a tip-off from a dead informant, John takes steps to protect himself against a demonic attack. Collects HELLBLAZER #175-188.

On sale MAY 24 • 328 pg, FC, $24.99 US • MATURE READERS

FREE COUNTRY: A TALE OF THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE TP

Written by NEIL GAIMAN, TOBY LITT, ALISA KWITNEY and JAMIE DELANO

Art by PETER GROSS, CHRIS BACHALO, MIKE BARREIRO and PETER SNEJBJERG • Cover by MARK BUCKINGHAM

The two-issue miniseries THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE is collected, including new chapter written by Toby Litt that completes the tale as Gaiman originally envisioned it.

When several children go missing in an English town, the Dead Boy Detectives are on the case. A series of strange and unexpected twists takes them to Free Country, a place that dates back a millennium, where children never grow old and are free from the abuse and tyranny of adults. But Free Country is failing, and what it needs is the strength of five innately powerful children—including Timothy Hunter—to restore their uncanny world to what it once was.

RESOLICIT • On sale MAY 17 • 208 pg, FC, $19.99 US • MATURE READERS

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES GCPD ROGUES GALLERY ACTION FIGURE 5-PACK

A lone cop—Renee Montoya—is surrounded by some of Gotham City’s greatest evildoers in this amazing new action figure 5-pack inspired by Batman: The Animated Series that comes in deluxe packaging with battery-powered lights!

Each figure in this set comes with its own character-specific accessories and extra hands.

$175.00 US • AUGUST 2017

Allocations May Occur • Batteries not included

DC COVER GIRLS: ZATANNA STATUE

Designed by STANLEY “ARTGERM” LAU

Sculpted by KAREN PALINKO

EMOSEWA! Zatanna becomes the newest DC Cover Girl with this magical new statue!

Limited Edition of 5,000

Measures Approximately 10.22” Tall

$100.00 US • On Sale AUGUST 2017

Allocations May Occur

BATMAN BLACK & WHITE BY NORM BREYFOGLE STATUE

Designed by NORM BREYFOGLE

Sculpted by CHRIS DAHLBERG

Artist Norm Breyfogle lends his vision of the Dark Knight to DC Collectibles’ long-running BATMAN BLACK & WHITE statue line.

Limited Edition of 5,000

Measures Approximately 7.78” Tall

$80.00 US • On Sale AUGUST 2017

Allocations May Occur

DC SUPER-PETS!: SILKY AND WHATZIT PLUSH FIGURES

Designed by ART BALTAZAR

Two unlikely super-powered beings are the latest DC Super Pet Plush Figures: The super-speedster turtle known as Whatzit, and Starfire’s pet, Silky, from the pages of TEEN TITANS GO!

Silky comes with two plush hearts.

Each Measures Approximately 10” Tall

Each $15.00 US • On Sale AUGUST 2017

Allocations May Occur

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