Six years ago, a series of grisly murders rocked the city of Gotham. Despite the efforts of the police and the legendary Batman, the crimes remained unsolved, the victims unavenged.

Now, the killer has returned and Batman has been granted a chance at redemption. But the pursuit of a murderer unlike any he has ever faced leads Batman on a strange and unexpected path: a young girl, the fields of Vietnam, and ultimately to his own dark soul.

The time of the Harvest Breed has come, when the gates of Hell will be thrown open forever.

This excellent graphic novel, Batman Harvest Breed TPB, is just $16.15, so make sure to add it to your collection if you’re a fan of the Bat. You can find this and many other awesome horror titles on our Horror Month page.

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Written by Brian Azzarello; Art by Phil Noto; Sketchbook material and variant cover by Rags Morales; Cover by JG Jones

Doc Savage returns to DC Comics…and comes face-to-fist with the Batman! Superstar scribe Brian Azzarello (100 BULLETS, JOKER) and the breathtaking art of Phil Noto combine to shine the first light on a shadowy new version of the DC Universe, where the thugs run rampant, corruption runs deep, and even heroes can’t be trusted! Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze, hates what he’s heard about the connections between a grisly murder and Gotham City’s violent new vigilante. But the Batman can’t abide do-gooders getting in his way…and his .45 just won’t stay in its holster!

Be here for this vital prologue to an upcoming 6-issue miniseries by Azzarello and Rags Morales (IDENTITY CRISIS), which will pull back the curtain to reveal the full width and breadth of DC’s new pulp-influenced universe. This special issue also features sketchbook material by Rags Morales that will show you just what you’re in for! You might think you’re ready – but you’re very, very wrong…

Format: FC, 56pg.
Price: $4.99

In the ‘Totally Insane’ FreeFlow Combat map, players’ will be tested to their fullest as scores of escaped lunatics bear down upon BATMAN as they make their escape through the asylum’s secure records facility. These fast-moving foes will challenge all but the most practiced players, with quick reactions and expert timing needed to fend off wave upon wave of insane inmates, bent on taking down the DARK KNIGHT. In the ‘Nocturnal Hunter’ Invisible Predator map, players take on a wholly different approach, practicing their predatory skills to remain in the shadows, utilizing the Arkham watchtowers and Batman’s arsenal of gadgets to gain the upper hand on The Joker’s army of goons patrolling below.

Video reviews for JSA #30, Superman #691, Flash: Rebirth #4, Hulk #14, Secret Warriors #7, Last Days of Animal Man #4, Wonder Woman #35, New Mutants #4, Batman: The Widening Gyre #1, Sinister Spider-Man #4, X-Force #18, Gotham City Sirens #3, Dark Wolverine #77, Avengers: Initiative #27,

Green Lantern #45 (BUY IT)
Blackest Night: Titans #1 (BUY IT)
Detective Comics #856 (BUY IT)
Batman & Robin #3 (SPLIT DECISION)
New Avengers #56 (WAIT FOR THE TRADE)
Gotham Sirens #3 (DIANA’S BOOK OF THE WEEK)
Batman: The Widening Gyre #1 (SHOLA’S BOOK OF THE WEEK)
Beta Ray Bill #3 (JON’S BOOK OF THE WEEK)
Diana’s Recaps (Last Days of Animal Man, Sinister Spider-Man, Dark X-Men: Beginnings)

Special thanks as always to Comic Smash for providing Diana’s books for review and Midtown Comics for providing Jon’s.

Already set to star in Jonah Hex in June 2010, and in Michael Turner’s Fathom in the same year, according to British Tabloid, The Sun reports the current “It Girl” and Transformers star has possibly signed on to be in Christopher Nolan’s third Batman film set to hit theaters in 2011 along with Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Gary Oldman.

Read the whole article on The San Diego Movie Examiner

Also check out:

First, returning of course, is Tony Stark, the billionaire playboy:

But who could forget that Tony is really Iron Man? Of course, his suit has a few new toys since the last movie:

But enough about what we know! How about the plot details? Well, picking up from the last movie, there’s not one, not two, but THREE new antagonists for Tony to face off against! First, there’s the hideous Whiplash:

Whiplash is like a dark mirror of Tony Stark himself, and has issues with Tony’s parents:

Whiplash teams up with Justin Hammer, yet another billionaire, who doesn’t quite have the scruples that Tony Stark does:

And last, but not least, there’s Natasha Romanoff, the new, unassuming secretary at Stark Industries:

…Or at least that’s how she seems! When she throws on a little black leather, she becomes the Black Widow:

Is she good? Bad? A romantic interest for Tony… Or Iron Man? We’ll have to wait until next Summer to find out. Only one thing I can say for sure… The last scene’s climactic battle includes rocket penguins:

Iron Man Returns, Summer 2010. Be there!

Diverting Attention: Comics

Existence 2.0 #1
Image Comics
Writer: Nick Spencer
Art: Ron Salas
Price: $3.50
Grade: B

Want to know why science isn’t sexy? Because it’s never been put to use in things we really value. Forget about cloning sheep, chickens or any other farm animals. What if scientists cloned celebrities, or could reach into your genetic code and alter who you are, or brought back the dead? It can all be had, for the right price and Nick Spencer and Ron Salas are trying to help you imagine that world in Existence 2.0, a new series about a cutting edge physicist who is murdered but before dying is able to transfer his mind to his murderer’s body.

Sylvester Baladine was a man who had it all thanks to his underground work as a contract scientist: a family, a mistress, and the mind to put dangerous thoughts into reality. But that was his prior life, and now he looks through the jade eyes of contract killer named Marko. At first, living in new skin is a world of change that includes a long line of hot women and the fast life. But when he discovers that his daughter from his previous life was kidnapped, our protagonist uses Marko’s assets and skills to get to the bottom of his own murder. Who sent this man to kill him, and why?

The lead character brings readers into his world of amoral activity and questionable character by way of strong narration, raw and dynamic art, accompanied by the soundtrack of a subdued color palette. It’s a package similar to what Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have been doing at Marvel’s Icon imprint, with enough twisted layman science to keep the pages turning quickly.

Spencer balances out the man of science with the man of action evenly in a nonlinear story. While I would like to hear a better separation of distinct dialogue between the peripheral characters (they all sound like the same person), the story moves at a wonderful pace and Spencer gives us two lead characters we want to know more about in the late Sylvester, and the taken-over Marko. Salas’ work excels in striking shadowed artwork. He still has some work to do on consistent body proportion and perspective, but I appreciate the varying camera angles and love the brushed ink work. I hope to see more background art in subsequent issues too because the panels that have them show promising talent. Together, Spencer and Salas are synchronized well especially on pages 14-15 when Marko rediscovers his life of luxury and all of the action scenes, which isn’t always the easiest thing to do in comics. If you like both crime and science fiction genres this, fresh mesh of the two comes recommended.

Detective Comics #854
DC Comics
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artists/Colorists: J.H. Williams III and Dave Stewart (Batwoman), Cully Hamner and Laura Martin (The Question)
Price: $3.99
Grade: A+

Since Final Crisis I have walked away from much of the DCU not because I really want to but because of increasing costs, I am just becoming more picky as to where my dollar goes. I was a longtime reader of Batman and Detective, but chose to jump ship on the whole Batman: R.I.P. And Battle for the Cowl because you can’t fool this reader again. Bruce Wayne’s just taking a vacation, I know. And then Detective Comics #854 came out which has me rethinking my pull list.

First off, let me get this out of the way. WOW! This is possibly the most gorgeous superhero book that came out all year. It’s been a long time that the art alone nearly sold me to pick up a random comic but penciler J.H. Williams III and colorist Dave Stewart outdid themselves in a robust, full-bodied issue inspiring frequent quips of “bad-ass,” featuring intricate and playful layouts, eye-popping visuals, and two of the most impressive splash pages in years. The art pair may single-handedly elevate the albino fetish to a new high. I’ll toast to that.

Now add a great entry point for new or returning readers. I could honestly give two shits about Batwoman in the whole scheme of things, but when she’s written by Greg Rucka, my dog ears raise up. Again we feel the impact of Batman without his actual presence as Batwoman is asked to cover a particular sector of Gotham is not above her ability but we are introduced to someone who walked out of Grant Morrison’s wet dreams. Rucka is the one male writer who I can give complete confidence in when writing female leads. By the end of this appetizing issue, I was ready for the next issue for dessert, then the one after that for a midnight snack. I ate this issue up and have put Detective Comics back on my pull list! Just keep this team together for the long haul, DC. The increase in cost is offset by an eight page backup story of the Question, written by Rucka and art by a longtime favorite of mine, Cully Hamner and Laura Martin. Highly recommended!

Strongman
SLG Publishing
Writer: Charles Soule
Art: Allan Gladfelter
$9.95
Grade: A-

This review has been long overdue because I really enjoyed every page of this sleeper of a hit which came out a few months ago about devoted Mexican lucha wrestler, El Tigre who doubled as a vigilante in the 1960’s but stopped when tragedy struck one day. Too many bottles of cerveza to count, El Tigre is sought out by a damsel in distress to redeem himself by saving a city where the citizens are being mined of their internal organs only to be served as appetizers to the elite.

Charles Soule orchestrates a full-length story around the fun-loving El Tigre at the center of it, a down and out former, street-wise wrestler who refuses to take off his lucha mask for anyone. Each character has a particular voice unique to the rest of the cast, especially the mastermind behind the sinister plot. It would be easy for Soule to take the easy way out and make it non-stop action, or be over-the-top silly, but he’s really challenged himself by combining a niche culture, duality and dark humor, into a fully realized world where humanity rules the day. He achieved it successfully as I found myself unable to put it down until I cried like a little girl at the end. Strongman is not insultingly simple, nor is it weighed down by exposition or unneeded garbage that clutters up the solid black and white art of Allen Gladfelter. Each character has a unique and great design and the extras in the back of the book show just how much work was put into making everything look right. Creative use of zip-tone will always earn praise from me and Gladfelter has excellent control of it, not only using it for shading but also for design. Each panel is full of detail and depth that’s clear to examine, even in its digest format. If I had to nitpick one thing, I would say that the lettering could have been greatly improved. Too many words are hyphenated and spaced awkwardly that make the reading experience suffer a bit; but not so much that it takes away from the overall enjoyment of Strongman. It’s not every day that a lucha story makes its way to readers, it’s also not every day you get to read something this fun. Pick it up or order it today and enjoy it for a long time!

Our previous post, with side-by-side scans from the original versus the new edition, has drawn a lot of reader feedback for and against the new coloring.

Here’s Bolland on the removal of Batman’s yellow oval, which — judging by the level of the aforementioned comment activity — was apparently a big deal to many:

“You’ll notice that I got rid of the yellow oval round the bat-symbol on Batman’s chest,” notes Bolland. “It was introduced in 1964, and I could never see the point of it. In 2007, it looked kind of anachronistic and I got rid of it. I made the choice without consulting naybody. I could have enlarged the black bat-symbol to the size it is today, but that would have involved too much work. Objections to my decision run along the lines that it’s sacrilegious to rewrite history — as if the original Killing Joke is some kind of sacred document written on tablets of stone. Alan, admittedly, does look a bit like Moses, but it’s just a comic book, and I had the freedom to make it the way I thought looked best.”

click for full-size

Bolland offers a number of other interesting tidbits, including rendered colors vs flat colors and the Joker being “the one who brings the color to an otherwise drab world”.

Wizard #211 is out today.

Favorite Announcement: David Lafuente on Ultimate Comics Spider-Man with Brian Michael Bendis. Lafuente has been blowing my mind with near perfect work on Patsy Walker: Hellcat, and Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3. Bendis’ Ultimate Spider-Man is, month after month, the most consistent book Marvel has (possibly ever) published. Putting them together makes me giddy with glee.

Favorite Sneak-Peek: Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert’s “What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader.” Again, if I can get past these annoying tech problems, you’ll see our advanced review of it. But suffice to say, get yourself to the comic shop this week; it’s one of the best Batman stories ever written.

Favorite Picture: That one is easy, it’s tiny Wolverine:

Also, Pete was there.

Favorite Overheard Phrase: I didn’t even hear this one, it was just related to me, but on a commission some guy was getting:

“I like the way he’s grabbing her boobs, but I don’t like her eyes. She looks too surprised, and Captain America doesn’t rape people.”

Favorite Interview: That was actually Pete talking to DMC, of Run/DMC (it’s mind-blowingly good, no joke), but Joss Whedon and Tahmoh Penikett (Helo from Battlestar) in the booth at the same time? I nearly threw up and died.

So, those of you who were at NYCC: what were YOUR favorite moments?

NRAMA: Superman’s final wish – Why did he wish for a happy ending, rather than something literal, like Batman coming back?

GM: ‘Batman coming back’ is a little bit too specific an ending for a story about stories. Let’s face it, there’s always a dangerous ‘Monkey’s Paw’ element to making any specific wish – what if Batman ‘comes back’ but as a zombie, or a villain, or as a tiny little Batman who just sits there? 

How much would you pay for Grant Morrison to write six issues about a tiny little Batman who just sits there? Because I would pay $3.99 an issue. Hear that, DC? That’s $23.94 right there.

Maybe he could team up with Scarface’s doll? I don’t know, I’m just spitballing here.