Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Sensational Comics for July, 2013



Wonder Woman


WONDER WOMAN #22
Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO
Art and cover by CLIFF CHIANG
1:25 B&W cover by CLIFF CHIANG
On sale JULY 17 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.

Welcome to New Genesis! Wonder Woman makes her first visit to Orion’s homeworld and comes face to face with the Highfather...and sees the strange hold he has over his uncontrollable son!
I'm not entirely comfortable with Kirby's entire Fourth World getting annexed by the New 52 Wonder Woman.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #22
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:25 Variant cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
1:00 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale JULY 3 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Retailers: This issue will ship with four covers. Please see the order form for more information. This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.

TRINITY WAR, the action-mystery event of the summer, begins with a full-length epic adventure! The death of a hero ignites a violent war among the Justice Leagues! It’s League vs. League vs. League as an impending darkness approaches the DC Universe. But the truth behind it all will lead to an evil that threatens every hero on the planet. And what does the Secret Society of Super-Villains have to with this? Everything.

There's no way I'm buying that a war between the three Leagues was in DC's plans when they announced "Trinity War" over a year ago. Perhaps it was going to be a war between Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, all depicted on the cover of The New 52 FCBD Special Edition? Maybe it was that trio versus the Trinity of Sin comprised of Pandora, the Phantom Stranger and (puh-leez) the Question? Maybe it was supposed to involve Justice League International, or maybe their reasonably well selling book was axed because it was later determined to be in the way? Personally, I think the concept was as half baked as the New 52 in general, and in working things out en route, came up with a bigger story for this to simply lead into. Therefore, I expect that this will suck.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #6
Written by GEOFF JOHNS and JEFF LEMIRE
Art by DOUG MAHNKE and CHRISTIAN ALAMY
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:25 Variant cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
1:00 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale JULY 10 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Retailers: This issue will ship with four covers. Please see the order form for more information. This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.

TRINITY WAR CHAPTER 2! The War of the Justice Leagues continues as one hero is arrested and another goes rogue. Who is responsible for the evil that has infected the League? And who is the true killer? Only the Question knows the answer...
I'm really struggling with how stupid making the Question a mystical character is. Nice prominent spot for the Atom, and I dig Pandora's passivity amidst this chaos. It'll be interesting to see how the Justice League relates to Martian Manhunter and his team. I guess that coffin on the cover of the last issue meant something after all. Good that the JLofA will get field tested on their secret reason for existing straight away, rather than stringing us along endlessly on the conflict.
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #22
Written by JEFF LEMIRE and RAY FAWKES
Art by MIKEL JANIN
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:25 Variant cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
1:00 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale JULY 24 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.

TRINITY WAR CHAPTER 3! A member of the Justice League defects to Justice League Dark. But what does Constantine know about this murder that he isn’t telling? And what dark secret does one of our Leaguers hold that could turn the tide of this Justice League War?

No one seriously cares about how JLDark matches up with the other two teams, but Lemire would be wise to use their magic angle to spin out of this event hard. Not A.J. Lieberman stripmining Hush hard, but there's an opportunity there. Just please don't have Vic Sage join the team as their Fox Mulder/Lone Gunman.

TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA #2
Written by RAY FAWKES
Art by DANIEL SAMPERE and VICENTE CIFUENTES
Cover by RYAN SOOK
1:25 B&W Variant cover by RYAN SOOK
On sale JULY 17 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.

As “TRINITY WAR” erupts and battle lines are drawn, Pandora finds herself standing alone against The Secret Society of Super-Villains!
In case you missed it, the SSoSV will likely figure into an event unto themselves, given their build-up. Wonder if their role in those last issues of Savage Hawkman will figure into this? I don't see any Amazing Amazon adversaries anywhere, which hurts my interest.
CONSTANTINE #5
Written by RAY FAWKES
Art and cover by RENATO GUEDES
On sale JULY 17 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+

As the TRINITY WAR rages around him, John Constantine takes a keen interest in Billy Batson’s power of Shazam! But does he want to mentor Billy or destroy him?
Cash grab? The co-writer of JLDark and full scripter of Pandora is on this, though.
TRINITY OF SIN: THE PHANTOM STRANGER #10
Written by J.M. DeMATTEIS
Art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by JAE LEE
On sale JULY 3 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

On the eve of “TRINITY WAR,” the Stranger is forced to make the most difficult choice he’s faced in thousands of years walking in the wilderness. What or who could pose such a challenge?
This one? Probably not very important.
WONDER WOMAN VOL. 3: IRON HC
Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO Art by CLIFF CHIANG, TONY AKINS, DAN GREEN and AMILCAR PINNA Cover by CLIFF CHIANG On sale SEPTEMBER 11 • 176 pg, FC, $24.99 US In these stories from issues #0 and #13-18, a terrible betrayal forces Wonder Woman to make a deal with the gods who want her dead, and her “family” grows larger than she could have imagined. Will the mysterious Orion help Wonder Woman rescue Zola’s baby from the clutches of Hermes, or does he have darker intentions?
BATWOMAN VOL. 3: WORLD’S FINEST HC
Written by J.H. WILLIAMS III and W. HADEN BLACKMAN
Art by J.H. WILLIAMS III and TREVOR McCARTHY
Cover by J.H. WILLIAMS III
On sale SEPTEMBER 18 • 160 pg, FC, $22.99 US

Batwoman’s search for Medusa brings her together with Wonder Woman in these stories from issues #12-17 and #0, but even this team might not be enough to bring down the mythological monster, as Bones, the DEO, Abbot and the Religion of Crime all descend on Gotham City to take part in the fight.
LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT: JIM APARO VOL. 2 HC
Written by BOB HANEY and CARY BURKETT
Art by JIM APARO, JOHN CALNAN and JOE STATON
Cover by JIM APARO
On sale SEPTEMBER 4 • 520 pg, FC, $49.99 US

In these stories from THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #123-145 and 147-151, Batman teams up with The Flash, Aquaman, Mister Miracle, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Deadman, Green Lantern, Hawkman, The Phantom Stranger, Supergirl, the Teen Titans—and Jim Aparo himself!
JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 3: THRONE OF ATLANTIS HC
Written by GEOFF JOHNS Art by IVAN REIS, JOE PRADO, PAUL PELLETIER, ART THIBERT, PETE WOODS and PERE PEREZ Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO On sale SEPTEMBER 25 • 192 pg, FC, $24.99 US In this sea-splashed epic from JUSTICE LEAGUE #13-17 and AQUAMAN #15-16, Atlantis is struck by a U.S. Navy missile gone awry, and Ocean Master leads the undersea city’s forces in an attack on the east coast of the United States! The Justice League must turn back the tide, but they are woefully overmatched by the Atlantean Army! How can they save the world from annihilation?
INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US #7
Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art by JHEREMY RAAPACK, MIKE S. MILLER and KEVIN MAGUIRE
Cover by MICO SUAYAN
On sale JULY 31 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T • DIGITAL FIRST

The tragic death of one of their own has further divided the heroes. Friendships fracture as paths are chosen. The citizens of Earth, too, are divided in their feelings on the heroes’ new, proactive roles, and Billy Batson wants to hear what they have to say. Meanwhile, a signal from Metropolis proves that someone—or something—has survived.
AME-COMI GIRLS #5
Written by JUSTIN GRAY and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art by HORACIO DOMINGUES, TED NAIFEH and ANDRES PONCE
Cover by EDDIE NUNEZ
On sale JULY 3 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T • DIGITAL FIRST

The origins of Hawkgirl and Alanna Strange are both revealed. And while Sinestra unleashes her undead forces on Thanagar, a New God is forged on Rann. Will she prove to be their only salvation against Sinestra’s relentless assault?

Wonder Girl Cassie Sandsmark


TEEN TITANS #22
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art by EDDY BARROWS and EBER FERREIRA
Cover by HOWARD PORTER
1:25 B&W Variant cover by HOWARD PORTER
On sale JULY 24 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.

Trigon triumphs over the Teen Titans as he begins to turn Manhattan into a staging ground for a demonic takeover of the planet.

4 comments:

mathematicscore said...

I'm pretty into the Diana/New Gods stuff, cuz it has a little more synchronicity than Superman and the New Gods.

Then again, I like the New Gods mixed with most anything.

Diabolu Frank said...

It's true that gods go well with gods, but we're talking about gods introduced in a Jimmy Olsen comic and who, when they mingled with super-heroes at all, gravitated toward Superman for forty years. Anyway, I just really hope Diana doesn't suck craggy face with Orion.

karl said...

Im getting all these issues [except the Teen Titans that Ive given up on] and find this Trinity War a bit stagey but am willing to give it a chance. It may put Diana back in the DCU proper.
By the way, have you heard that Lennox in the WW book is to be revealed as Cassie's [Wonder Girl] father in the Titans book?

Diabolu Frank said...

Wonder Woman is the worst dynastic centerpiece ever. Donna Troy gets created due to an editorial error, it gets explained through a retcon, and Wonder Girl gets extensive use of the power of flight to establish her separate identity. Then Wonder Woman starts flying and gets rebooted in such a way that Donna Troy's backstory is forever ruined. Cassie Sandsmark is redefined when it's revealed that Zeus was her father, but now Zeus is Wonder Woman's daddy, so Cassie needs a whole new sperm donor.

All of the above is meant to cover for the fact that I've read exactly one issue of the New 52 series and don't know who Lennox is.