Official Press Release

Prepare for your favorite IDW comics to get a little more animated than usual this September! All month long, IDW will be publishing special “IDW GETS ANIMATED” variant covers rendered in vein of classic cartoons! Ever wondered what The X-Files’ Mulder and Scully would look like as colorful, hijinks-having monster chasers?  Ever wanted to see the mighty Judge Dredd as a rubber-jointed 70’s warrior? OF COURSE YOU HAVE!

Luckily for you, intrepid reader, so have we! This September only, eager fans will be able to find the following titles with special “IDW GETS ANIMATED” variant covers:

While the content of the books will be the same, these variant covers are going to be a vivid blast of cartoon madness. It’s going to be a fun month to say the least, so fans are urged to drop their local comic shop a line and reserve their copies now!

Black Dynamite #1 by Six Point Harness Studios
Danger Girl: The Chase #1 by Loston Wallace
Doctor Who #13 by Blair Shedd
Ghostbusters #8 by Dan Schoening
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #194 by Jim Rugg
Judge Dredd #11 by Phil Postma
Popeye Classics #14 by Jack Mendelsohn
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles New Animated Adventures #3 by Tanya Roberts
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2 by The Sharp Brothers
Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #21 by Andy Suriano
The X-Files: Season 10 #4 by The Sharp Brothers

Official Press Release

Starting in August, Image Comics will show readers that revenge is a dish best served with blazing side-scroller-style action when it publishes BURN THE ORPHANAGE, the first part of the BORN TO LOSE trilogy by Sina Grace (THE LI’L DEPRESSED BOY, NOT MY BAG) and Daniel Freedman (UNDYING LOVE).

Rock was a young orphan when he was left for dead in a burning building, and now he’s out to find the person responsible. With action inspired by 1980s video games like Double Dragonand Streets of Rage, Rock will take on every goon and punk in the city, along with his friends Lex and Bear, who bring their own talents into the mix.

“I’m lucky enough that I get to work with one of my best friends on a comic book that was birthed from a love of video games, music, and styles of our shared childhood,” said Grace, who both co-writes and draws the series. “We’re going to put our rough and tough hero Rock through the wringer in Burn the Orphanage, and I’m glad that the industry embraces the product of our intense friendship.”

Co-writer Freedman agreed. “Burn the Orphanage is Sina’s and my baby to the world,” he said. “While it was in our collective womb, we piped in shred guitar and 8-bit techno. Birthed it by way of interstellar travel. Nursed it on an unhealthy amount of side-scrolling, brawling, and button-mashing. And clothed it in the fur-lined rags of our childhoods, meaning acid washed jeans, bandanas and fishnets. I’m just excited for people to finally get a look at this monster.

Grace and Freedman talked about the BORN TO LOSE trilogy and their influences, appropriately, at IGN. BURN THE ORPHANAGE, the first issue of the BORN TO LOSE trilogy, will feature a variant cover by CHEW artist Rob Guillory and a Hastings-exclusive cover by Riley Rossmo (BEDLAM, DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS), both of which were revealed onMTV Geek.

BURN THE ORPHANGE: BORN TO LOSE #1 will be in stores on August 7 and is available now to pre-order from the June issue of Previews (Diamond Code JUN130429).

Las Vegas is under siege, and the inexperienced supterteam known as the Renegades are all that stand between Bloodshot and the fulfillment of his mission. But as they engage the Valiant Universe’s most feared Harbinger hunter head-on, Peter Stanchek and his allies are about to discover that Bloodshot is a much more dangerous – and much more clever – foe than they ever could have anticipated. Plus: what is the eerie connection between a battle fought long ago in North Carolina’s Great Dismal Swamp and today’s fight for the Vegas Strip?

The secret of Toyo Harada’s first Harbinger War – and its massive implications for the modern day – loom large on June 19th in Harbinger #13 – in stores the same day as Bloodshot #12! And look for the limited Harbinger #13 8-Bit Variant by artist Matthew Waite!

For more information on Harbinger Wars and the rest of the Valiant Universe, visit Valiant on Facebook, visit Valiant on Facebook, on Twitter and at ValiantUniverse.com.

HARBINGER #13
Written by JOSHUA DYSART
Art by KHARI EVANS & TREVOR HAIRSINE
Cover by PATRICK ZIRCHER (APR131274)
8-Bit Variant by MATTHEW WAITE (APR131275)
Variant Cover by KHARI EVANS (APR131276)
$3.99/T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE 6/19/13

Matt Santori-Griffith: Congratulations on the new series, Charles! Red Lanterns seems to have quite a different scope than your other New 52 title Swamp Thing, but of all the Lantern titles it could be described as potentially the most horrific. Do you see any connections between the two? 

Charles Soule: Well, they’re both somewhat color based… maybe one of these days I’ll do a Swamp Thing/Red Lanterns crossover for the holidays.  Beyond that, though, I agree that they’re fairly different in tone.  I see Swamp Thing as more of a psychological horror book exploring one man’s reaction to a great deal of insane happenings that have invaded his life, while Red Lanterns is more of a sci-fi action book starring a cool band of antiheroes.  The nice thing about that, though, is it means that I get to stretch totally different muscles between the two titles, and my imagination gets to go to different places.  I actually think it would be harder to write two books that were very similar, since they’d almost be fighting each other for the best ideas, in some ways.

MSG: It’s been revealed that Guy Gardner will be front and center in Red Lanterns. Besides his history with this corps, what makes the longstanding Green Lantern the perfect protagonist for your series?

CS: Are you familiar with Mr. Gardner?  If there’s a more perfect fellow to head over to the Reds, I don’t know who it would be.  He’s pretty ticked off most of the time as it is.  Plus, Guy has been a Red a few times in the past, although those were all relatively short-lived, and treated as horrible emergency situations that would need to be rectified as quickly as possible.  In upcoming issues, we’re not going to handle it that way – Guy’s going to be a Red for a longer period, and really explore what it means for him personally.  Through his “membership,” I also get to help re-define that Corps a bit – nudge it in some cool new directions that I think readers are going to enjoy quite a bit.

MSG: Guy historically has a somewhat ambivalent relationship with his fellow Green Lanterns (and heroes in general). What effect will joining the Red Lanterns have on his connection to his colleagues and the DCU in general?

CS: I’ve mentioned this before in other interviews, so I don’t feel like it’s giving too much away to say it here – Guy initially heads to the Reds as sort of an undercover agent for the Greens.  Hal doesn’t want to get blindsided again by some unseen threat, so he asks Guy to keep an eye on them from the inside.  It’s not the easiest assignment, obviously, but Guy’s “job” with the Reds will keep him reporting back to Oa with updates.  Of course, things don’t go totally to plan – but I don’t think any of us really want that to happen anyway.

MSG: With the Guardians who destroyed Atrocitus’ life now gone, does the former leader of the Red Lanterns have a life mission any more? Will we continue to see him as a presence in the title?

CS: Atrocitus plays a big role.  You bring up a good point – he’s a little at loose ends now that the Guardians are gone.  However, Atrocitus isn’t the kind of guy to stay idle for long, and he’s going to be pouring his energy into re-shaping his Corps into something new and more powerful.  He’s also going to be clashing with Guy Gardner almost immediately – you put two personalities like that on the same planet and you’re going to see sparks. Or mushroom clouds.

MSG: Bleez has been a divisive figure in the run so far, both within the pages and in the fan community. How do you see her role as second-in-command working now that Guy Gardner is taking the reins?

CS: Bleez is a priority for me.  I recognize her importance as a female Red Lantern, but I also want to make her a person (well, an alien person).  Her identity should be more than just “the female Red Lantern.”  Bleez understands her attractiveness and the power it gives her – but it doesn’t work on everyone, of course.  You think Zilius Zox is going to care that Bleez looks “hot” from an Earthman’s perspective?  He’s probably more turned on by foxy-looking boulders.  This basic sentiment (the character development thing, not the sexy boulders bit) applies to the entire Corps, though.  They should all be well-rounded characters.  Building that up is important, and actually pretty fun to do as a writer.

MSG: I can’t get an opportunity to talk about Red Lanterns without asking after my own favorite, Dex-Starr. Do you have plans for the cutest little rage-kitty the universe has seen?

CS: Dex-Starr is everyone’s favorite. I was on a panel recently and the whole room erupted into applause as soon as someone mentioned his name.  Don’t worry, I like Dexy quite a bit too, and I he’ll get his moments to shine.  He plays a crucial role, especially in Issues 22 and 23.

MSG: Any last words or special teases you can share with the Comicosity audience about your upcoming work?

CS: Well, I hope people enjoy what I’m doing with Red Lanterns when that first issue hits on June 26, but I also hope they check out the entire set of new creative teams on the Green Lantern books.  We’re all working very hard to create a fresh, interesting take on the cosmic side of the DCU, and there’s a lot of cool stuff coming.  And of course, it would be great if folks check out my Swamp Thing run as well.

As far as a special tease – two words: Lantern Swixxle. Thanks!

MSG: Thanks, Charles!

Charles Soule begins his run on Red Lanterns with issue #21, arriving in comic shops on June 26, 2013. Charles also writes Swamp Thing monthly for DC Comics, as well as Strange Attractors for Archaia Entertainment, 27 for Image Comics, and an upcoming run on Thunderbolts for Marvel Comics.

#1 What is the first comic you remember reading?

Kyle Higgins’ New 52 Nightwing.

#2 You can only pick two: all time favorite comic book characters?

Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) and Superboy.

#3 What is your favorite series arc, limited or mini-series of all time?

Paul Levitz’s Huntress: Crossbow at the Crossroads.

#4 How do you read your comics? Print, digital, trades?

Print: Singles and trades. I love getting issues monthly, but some stories are best as trades.

#5 What do you consider to be the most “obscure” title you read?

Don’t know if I read anything obscure but Gail Simone’s The Movement is pretty different compared to my other books.

#6 You get to pick three: Favorite writers (current or of all time)?

Gail Simone, James D Robinson and Scott Snyder.

#7 What is your favorite comic collector’s item?

My iPhone’s Batgirl Chara-Cover case.

#8 As a reader do you tend to stick to a specific publisher, follow creative teams or follow characters?

I mostly read DC but more and more of my favorite writers are leaving, so I’ll be following what they write in the future.

#9 You get to pick three (again): Favorite artists?

I don’t know many artist yet but I do follow Nicola Scott, Greg Capullo and Brett Booth’s work!

#10 What was the last comic you read before answering these questions?

Snyder’s Batman Volume 1! The book’s art and story leave you wanting more!

Official Press Release

New York, NY—June 13, 2013— This September, celebrate the X-Men’s 50^th anniversary with the first major X-Men crossover event in over three years—X-Men: Battle of the Atom! From the blockbuster creative team of Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Brian Wood, Frank Cho, Stuart Immonen, Chris Bachalo, David Lopez & Giuseppe Camuncoli, comes an event  so exhilarating,  and so groundbreaking that fans will be talking about this for years to come! Three X-Men universes collide in the biggest war mutantkind has ever seen, and you won’t believe how it all plays out. One thing’s for sure—no reader will come out unscathed!

“If All-New X-Men #1 was the shot heard round the world, X-Men Battle Of The Atom is Valley Forge,” explained Nick Lowe, Senior Editor, Marvel Entertainment. “And there’s no group of creators I’d rather go to war with than Brian [Bendis], Jason [Aaron] and Brian [Wood]. And that doesn’t even mention the murderer’s row of artists.”

Hank McCoy brought the original X-Men into the present in the hopes of changing the course of history and stopping Scott Summer’s mutant revolution before it even begins. But as the young and confused X-Men try to cope with their devastating futures, the team begins to unravel from the inside. And just as mutant civil war is about to hit it’s boiling point, an unexpected third party comes in to change the game—the future X-Men! They’ve traveled back in time with a warning—the original X-Men need to go back to their rightful time or they will be the final nail in mutantkind’s coffin. They risked everything to come to the past and won’t leave until the All-New X-Men are back in the past. It’s monumental! It’s earth-shattering! It’s X-Men: Battle of the Atom!

Beginning in September and ending in October, this 10-part weekly event is not one any fan can miss:

•                          Part 1: X-Men Battle of the Atom #1

•                          Part 2: All-New X-Men #16

•                          Part 3: X-Men #5

•                          Part 4: Uncanny X-Men #12

•                          Part 5: Wolverine & The X-Men #36

•                          Part 6: All-New X-Men #17

•                          Part 7: X-Men # 6

•                          Part 8: Uncanny X-Men #13

•                          Part 9: Wolverine & The X-Men #37

•                          Part 10: X-Men: Battle of The Atom #2

Don’t miss out on the event of the season! Who will become unlikely allies? What is S.H.I.E.L.D.’s master plan? What are the consequences for altering time and space? Most importantly, what will determine the fate of our favorite superheroes? This fall, all will be revealed in X-Men: Battle of the Atom!

X-MEN: BATTLE OF THE ATOM #1
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Art by FRANK CHO
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
Wraparound Variant by FRANK CHO
Variant Cover by JOE MADUREIRA
FOC – 8/12/2013, On Sale – 9/4/2013

ALL-NEW X-MEN #16
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Art by STUART IMMONEN
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
Variant by STUART IMMONEN
Variant Cover by ADI GRANOV
FOC – 8/12/2013, On Sale – 9/4/2013

X-MEN #5
Written by BRIAN WOOD
Art by DAVID LOPEZ
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
Variant by TERRY DODSON
FOC – 8/19/2013, On Sale – 9/11/2013

UNCANNY X-MEN #12
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Art by CHRISTOPHER BACHALO
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
Variant by CHRISTOPHER BACHALO
Emma Frost Variant by MILO MANARA
FOC – 8/26/2013, On Sale – 9/18/2013

WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #36
Written by JASON AARON
Art by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
Variant by KRIS ANKA
FOC – 9/2/2013, On Sale – 9/25/2013

Official Press Release

The Green Lantern Corps storms into the post Johns/Tomasi era with issue #21 and the rings of the Corps haven’t shone this brightly in quite awhile…

Robert Venditti co-plots with scripter Van Jensen for this issue, which marks the debut of Jensen in the New 52. From the outset, Jensen’s dialogue is spot on, nailing John Stewart’s voice and hitting all the right subtle points in his relationship with Fatality. I was given immediate comfort with his handling of Stewart, who has a strong voice and will be a great lead character in this title. Jensen’s strong dialogue continues to Oa and the other members of the Corps as he deals with the complex situation left by the events of Green Lantern #20. Oa, and the Corps in general, are in great flux right now and Jensen does a great job evoking that sense of uncertainty amongst some veteran Corps members. He and Venditti also takes a critical action for the future of this title and bring new members into the fold. Green Lantern Corps is never better than when rookies and vets are standing side by side to face a threat, and Jensen & Venditti are wasting no time bolstering the ranks of the GLC. One of the new cadets’ situation struck me immediately, and I was surprised at how quickly I bonded to some of these new characters. We’re one issue in and I have to know what happens to them. That is the sign of a well written book, and Green Lantern Corps #21 is just that.

With respect to visuals, Bernard Chang brings it, y’all. The former Demon Knights artist wasn’t most likely seen by enough eyes on that title, but he more than handles this higher profile assignment. His pencils are sharp, and his style suits this script very well. Chang handles large casts very well and makes the diversity of the characters in the title look like it was child’s play to pencil. Most importantly, he pencils a fantastic John Stewart, and if the main character in a book looks as great as Stewart does in GLC, all is well with the book.

I had high hopes for Green Lantern Corps #21 and the creative team blew them away. Jensen, Venditti and Chang appear to be on the outset of what will hopefully be a stellar run to rival that of their predecessors. Anyone doubting the Green Lantern line post Johns/Tomasi, look no further than Green Lantern Corps #21 to cast aside your doubts.

Verdict: 9.0/10

It’s Man of Steel week, and DC is celebrating, first and foremost, by releasing what could be the best Superman title since the start of the New 52. Helmed by Batman scribe Scott Snyder and Justice League artist Jim Lee, there’s no question this book has creative chops that speak for themselves. So why does it leave me wanting more?

Superman, under Snyder’s thoughtful grasp, is definitely a man of dual purpose — brains and brawn — as we get to see the Man of Steel have to think his way through the problems facing him even as he flexes his considerable muscles. The voice behind our hero is real and avoids the sense of alienation that other writers in recent years have been so fond of embracing. This guy is not above us, not apart from us, but a true human hero through and through. Lois and Jimmy make short, but significant appearances as well, with Lois Lane’s usual all-business attitude taking center stage. It’s a bit too early to tell how much either of these perennial cast members will figure into the ongoing story, but the banter each provide with Clark (even though he is no longer on the staff of the Daily Planet) is welcome and familiar feeling.

And the mystery Snyder is setting up is one perfect not only for a hero that could use a good intellectual challenge, but also one designed to pull at the strings of someone who cares deeply about the loss of life and devastation that evil men bring. By the end, when I realized what Snyder was implying about the history of World War II in the DC Universe, my mouth dropped. This tease as a prologue for the series’ first story is big, and definitely stands up to anything Lex Luthor can throw at Kal, although his presence is ominous as well.

Lee definitely has adjusted his drawing style to match the needs of his writer, giving us multiple panel single-page layouts and really reserving that bombastic splash page for the two-sided poster insert. Fans of his work should still be very pleased by his sharp pencils, but those who feel they never get enough story out of each panel will be well-satisfied by the compromise between them. The layouts on the double page spread across 2 and 3 are the best example of some innovative shapes and large amount of visual information shared, without having to sacrifice the wow effect Lee characteristically provides. His poster pages, cleverly included in the book — via cardstock and gluetab — so it does not fully necessitate removing it (if one does not desire to hang it upon a dorm room wall), provide that Lee full-page bang instead. For my taste, I wish those pages did not simply feel like blown-up versions of a regular comic page, however. If the detail on the drawing amped up four-scale along with the size, I’d probably be a bit more receptive to what many are calling a gimmick. As it stands, I just feel like it could have been fulfilled better.

The real issue here is the price point. At $4.99, it’s not the extra dollar I lament for the fold-out poster (my hesitations there aside), but the other extra dollar meant to cover 8-10 additional story pages, of which we get 2 by Dustin Nguyen. It’s a nice epilogue, but certainly not of a quality that matches similarly charged second stories in Batman or Detective Comics — all running 4 times as long. Instead we are treated to an interview transcript with Snyder and Lee that I fully expect to see posted for free on DC Comics’ website by the end of the week. This is not content I really think belongs in our monthly comics.

Overall, while the price may be a bit steep, and that will definitely hold off many skeptical readers from experiencing this title, I do have to be mindful of this story’s value in comparison to the many Superman stories of the past two years I’ve paid $2.99 of $3.99 a shot for. Superman Unchained #1 has already given me a lot more confidence in the character and story future than 6 issues of any other recent Superman series has. By that measure, $4.99 remains quite the deal.

Verdict: 8.0/10

It can be argued that every Batman story is an origin story. It’s hard to think of another character who is so singularly defined by the moment of his creation, a moment of absolute loss and absolute resolution in which a random, everyday, senseless crime traps a child in a past which becomes an eternal, mythical, inescapable present. If you read Batman comics, or watch one of the many film and TV adaptations, it’s a moment you see again and again, much as Bruce does every time he closes his eyes.

For all this, it’s surprisingly rare to see a story about Bruce Wayne growing up. Every once in a while, we get to see a bit of Bruce on his extended journey through the world to learn the skills he’ll need for his crusade, and a few times we’ve been given something like Frank Miller’s extraordinary Batman: Year One, but as in Miller’s story, these are usually stories about how the man became the Batman and distinctly not about the man as a child. In the Justice League Unlimited episode “Kids’ Stuff” — in which Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern are magically turned into children — Batman explains this away by saying that he hasn’t been a kid since he was eight years old, but while this rings true for the character, I think there’s still a missed opportunity. We’ve seen Clark Kent grow into his powers in Smallville and several versions of Superboy. There are a lot of years between the 8-year-old in Crime alley and the young (but not all that young) man who first puts on the cape and cowl.

And one of the most exciting things about the first issue of Scott Snyder’s planned eleven month “Zero Year” story is that it looks like we might finally get a story with the room and inclination to explore a bit of that territory.

As you’d imagine, there’s a lot of stage setting in Batman #21. While Snyder spends most of his time on Bruce as a young man just returned to Gotham, who has apparently not yet even imagined the need for a Batman, he also flashes forward to a rough, new Batman in a broken Gotham reminiscent of No Man’s Land, and back to a boy who hasn’t yet imagined a life without his parents and is just about to discover the caverns beneath his family home.

There are a lot of Easter eggs for the devoted fan — a familiar logo on Bruce’s baseball cap, although probably not the one you’d expect — and the reintroduction of an often forgotten family member with his own ties to the oldest Batman stories.

This is, however, not just a rich, promising beginning to a story designed with a wealth of rewards for the Batman junkie, it’s also a great, fresh beginning for a character who is always starting new.

Every night for Batman is the very first night, and Batman #21 is something special in that it gives us a glimpse of what happens before the first first night, and a Bruce Wayne who not only isn’t Batman yet, he isn’t even quite Bruce Wayne. Yet.

Verdict: 9.0/10