If you’re a fan of a comics character with a new film heading into theaters, you just have to love the synergy that comes into play between comics and celluloid as the movie countdown begins. While the rest of the world reels in the throes of passion for “The Avengers,” DC Comics is working feverishly to insure their boy Batman is well-covered in print before “The Dark Knight Rises” hits screens in July. Night of the Owls, a multi-issue crossover between almost all of the Batman titles — 10 of them — spreads its wings to reinforce the Bat-brand in the hearts and minds of consumers.

“This is the first major league crossover that DC has attempted since the advent of the New 52, and it is particularly fitting that it should spread out among the Batman family as these tend to be tighter-knit than other books in the DC Universe,” said Ed Katschke of Monarch Cards & Comics. “The story follows the events of one tragic night in Gotham City as a secret cabal called the Court of Owls attempts to cement its control over the city by sending its undead assassins out to murder prominent citizens. The call to arms goes out to all Batman allies and they scramble across the city trying to save as many targets as they can. It’s a simple yet reliable plot point and one that successfully brings the many disparate segments of the Batman family together in a coherent and exciting way. The best thing of all? You don’t have to read all of the tie-ins to follow the main story — that’s being covered in Batman  — but you’ll miss a rare treat if you don’t check out at least a few of the myriad chapters.”

The crossover titles include Batman and Robin, Nightwing, Batwing, Catwoman, Batgirl, Birds of Prey and others. DC is also promoting the May 23 return of superstar writer Grant Morrison to the Batman stable with a new Batman, Incorporated No. 1 and is busy soliciting loads of “The Dark Knight Rises” busts, statues and other merchandise through its in-house collectibles brand DC Direct.

Tags: Batgirl, Batman, Batwing, Birds of Prey, Catwoman, Christopher Nolan, DC Comics, Jim Beard, Monarch Cards and Comics, Nightwing, Robin

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 11:01 am and is filed under Comics, Star.
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The time is swiftly approaching when comic shop owners must decide what to buy — and how many — from among DC Comics’ line-wide September relaunch. You can help your favorite shop by letting them know which titles you’d like to sample, for most factor in their customers’ feedback when making those oh-so-important monthly inventory purchases. Some of DC’s new books are no-brainers, standard superhero fare that pleases across the reader spectrum, while others are, let’s say, more eclectic. Here are a few examples of some of the DC square pegs that may fail to find their place on the board.

Batwing — Basically, a black Batman in Africa. Culled from a one-page appearance in a 1970s issue, this hero’s going to have to fight an uphill battle to win his spurs. Minority headliner characters rarely find their niche in today’s market, and the exotic locale of the Dark Continent might look good on paper but might not speak to Westerners. It’s superhero hijinks with a good chance of pretension.

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. — A monstrous protagonist, who works for a strange government agency, investigates and battles weird forces. Sounds like Hellboy, doesn’t it? Pretty sure it does to DC, too, but that’s not stopping the publisher from attempting to carve out its own version of the famous monster investigator. There are several horror books on DC’s new schedule, but this one seems to be treading more familiar ground.

Demon Knights — A medieval romp with eldritch energies to spare. DC has had a tiny stable of medieval-era characters that stretches back to the 1950s — when better to throw them against the wall to see if they’ll stick? Without a doubt, this book has to be one of the true long-shots of the relaunch, but fortunately it has British writer Paul Cornell holding the reins and guiding its magicked suits of armor across the thorny fields.

Blackhawks — An international team of soldiers use cutting-edge weapons to wage war against terrorists — in other words, DC’s version of G.I. Joe. The original Blackhawks were creatures of the 1940s and ’50s, but this new group will probably be even more diverse in terms of race, gender and creed, along with what sounds like “home-grown” terrorist opponents. That’s so much “safer” than the pesky problem of foreign extremists, of course.

All-Star Western — Horror, War, Knights and now … a Western. Yep, DC’s pulled out all stops to insure its new line has a bit of everything that once made up the comics industry’s bread-and-butter. This one’s got Jonah Hex in the saddle and a Gotham City milieu; hey, maybe that could actually work …

Tags: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., All-Star Western, Batman, Batwing, DC Comics, Demon Knights, Frankenstein, G.I. Joe, Jim Beard, Jonah Hex

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 at 3:57 pm and is filed under Comics, Star.
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