DC Preview Review for November Part 2 of 2

The excitement continues, no really it is exciting. Ok it is a little bit of a drag since we are still dealing with too much of the unknown.

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS #1
Written by NICK SPENCER
Art by WES CRAIG
Cover by ANDY KUBERT
On sale NOVEMBER 30 • 32 pg, 1 of 6, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
One of the most critically acclaimed series of the past year returns with a new #1 issue that serves as a great jumping-on point for new readers!
What kind of people willingly become Super Heroes, knowing that their powers will eventually kill them? That’s the question this new 6-part miniseries will explore as the team must face off against the Warlord and his Subterraneans! Nick Spencer (Morning Glories, Ultimate X-Men) teams with rising star Wes Craig for a twisted= tale of super heroics, espionage, and action!

Jim: The best series by Nick Spencer, so I was jazzed to hear that his Marvel exclusive allows him to continue writing this series. I hope this is just the first of a series of mini-series about the Thunder Agents.

Gwen: Mmm, I'll have to take Jim's word on this one.

BATMAN: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS HC
Written by BRUCE JONES
Art and cover by SAM KIETH
On sale JANUARY 11 • 112 pg, FC, $22.99 US
In this original graphic novel, Batman meets his foe The Mad Hatter for the very first time – landing The Dark Knight in a Wonderland he could never have imagined, hot on the heels of a white rabbit. But is this strange place real or a hallucination? Robin and Alfred believe he’s deep in delirium – but if that’s the case, how does he manage to resolve several mysteries that have plagued Gotham City for decades…
This fantastic tale is spun by renowned comics writer Bruce Jones (THE INCREDIBLE HULK) with surreal art by Sam Kieth (THE MAXX, BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM – MADNESS, LOBO).

Jim: Bruce Jones has done some good stories over the years and I think every writer has one good Batman story in them. Sam Keith on the art is a good enticement also. I’m glad to see the new DCU has not eliminated some nice one off projects.

Gwen: I like the Mad hatter as a villain - I always thought they should have used him in a Batman movie but I guess he's not popular enough.

HAWKMAN BY GEOFF JOHNS OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC
Written by GEOFF JOHNS and JAMES ROBINSON
Art by PATRICK GLEASON, RAGS MORALES, SCOT EATON, DON KRAMER, ETHAN VAN SCIVER, JOSE LUIS GARCIA-LOPEZ and others
Cover by ANDREW ROBINSON
On sale JANUARY 25 • 688 pg, FC, $75.00 US
Geoff Johns’s complete, acclaimed run on HAWKMAN, from issues #1-25, are collected in hardcover for the first time, along with JSA #56-58 and HAWKMAN SECRET FILES! These stories, also featuring the talents of James Robinson, Rags Morales, Patrick Gleason and many others, reintroduced Hawkman into the DCU as he tries to reunite with Hawkgirl.
But with no memory of their past lives together, Kendra wants nothing to do with Hawkman – that is, until she learns that the deaths of her parents years ago were actually murders, and she is forced to enlist Hawkman’s help in unlocking the mystery and finding their killer!

Jim: As down as I have been on Geoff Johns lately I loved his run on Hawkman and it featured a lot of great art by Rags Morales. I thought that Johns had straightened out the convoluted history of this character and then after he left the book DC (Didio) screwed it all up again. Still this was the best sustained modern era run of Hawkman.

Gwen: Ah Hawkman, the character that will never make sense for more than a handful of issues. I wish, just one, there would be a good Hawkgirl series. But the last one was so awful I don't expect there's much of a fan base for it at the moment.

SPIRIT WORLD HC
Written by JACK KIRBY, MARK EVANIER, STEVE SHERMAN and SERGIO ARAGONES
Art by JACK KIRBY, VINCE COLLETTA, MIKE ROYER and SERGIO ARAGONES
Cover by JACK KIRBY and NEAL ADAMS
ADVANCE SOLICITED • On sale APRIL 11 • 108 pg, 10” x 13.5”, B&W/FC, $39.99 US
After leaving Marvel Comics at the end of the 1960s, Jack Kirby came to DC Comics, where he soon created the series of superhero comics known collectively as “The Fourth World.” But before that came SPIRIT WORLD, a magazine that delved into the occult and the supernatural.
Now, DC reprints that hard-to-find title for the very first time in this new hardcover, including four stories completed for the second issue that appeared in WEIRD MYSTERY TALES 1-3 and FORBIDDEN TALES OF DARK MANSION #6, plus a pin-up version of the striking cover image by Kirby and Neal Adams!

Jim: An easy pass for me. While the historical context of this work makes it an interesting quirky piece, I can’t see buying material I have no interest in other then the art.

Gwen: Can't say I have much interest in it either. My "historical" comics only go back as far as the early Legion of Superheroes (as far as what I actually have an interest in reading).

AME-COMI HEROINE SERIES: RAVEN (ANGEL OF AZARATH VARIANT) PVC FIGURE
Designed by Jim Fletcher
Sculpted by Sam Greenwell
Devil on one shoulder, Angel on the other….
For Raven, it’s a constant struggle between dark and light … good and evil … heaven and hell.
Packaged in a 4-color window box with J-hook, this non-articulated PVC statue stands approximately 9” high and includes a display base.
On sale April 25, 2012 * Statue * $70 US

AME-COMI HEROINE SERIES: RAVEN (DEMON DAUGHTER VARIANT) PVC FIGURE
Designed by Jim Fletcher
Sculpted by Sam Greenwell
Devil on one shoulder, Angel on the other….
For Raven, it’s a constant struggle between dark and light … good and evil … heaven and hell.
Packaged in a 4-color window box with J-hook, this non-articulated PVC statue stands approximately 9” high and includes a display base.
On sale April 25, 2012 * Statue * $70 US

Jim: Look you can get good Raven or bad Raven as an Ame-comi figure. WHO IS BUYING THIS? I would probably buy the bad girl.

Gwen: Ummm, neither of those look like Raven at all.

Jim: Since DC is in the midst of revamping their entire universe making picks is a little tough until I get a feel for the new DCU.

Gwen: I am bummed out on DC right now. Not too much making me interested.