"Homecoming" #2 From Aspen Comics

Since the mysterious Celeste appeared in Hunter Wilson's swimming pool, things have become increasingly more strange. Life has been a non-stop adventure for the homecoming committee of Hillcrest High with the invasion of alien fiends, confusing relationships, and the abduction onto a UFO right out of their school gymnasium. Can they fight off aliens, plan the Homecoming dance, and avoid suspicion from their parents?

DAVID WOHL- STORY/ EMILIO LAISO- PENCILS/ BRETT SMITH- COLORS/ JOSH REED- LETTERS

"Soulfire" Volume 4 - Issue 2 Preview From Aspen Comics

Whilst the city of Anantia is in the midst of war with itself and under the malicious rule of the new King Sarin,  evil things are afoot! Can the dragons be save from their horrible fate, and will Grace succumb to the corrupted fury of Chaos that has invaded her mind? Will the Sethoru and Rathumi ever reconcile their differences? Find out in the latest issue of Soulfire #2, in stores September 26th, 2012!

Thunderbolts New Creative Team

Marvel released another set of teaser images for new titles coming out in the Marvel NOW! shuffle of creative teams on many of their titles. One of the images only had the word "Lightning" with creative team Daniel Way and Steve Dillion. The book was revealed on Wednesday to be a new line-up for the Thunderbolts title. The team of misfit heroes will feature Red Hulk, Deadpool, Venom, Punisher, and Elektra.

For anyone not following comics recently Red Hulk is actually General "Thunderbolt" Ross from the obvious Hulk stories. The previous versions of the team have seen the group operated by the government in some form, but this time Ross is forming the team to go into missions he deems important. The team is considered a group of "heroes", but each one of them originally started out as a villain.

Daniel Way has a bit of a safety blanket with the story already in having Deadpool on this team. He will be wrapping up a 4 year run on the main Deadpool title before handing it over to a new creative team in November.

The new direction Thunderbolts will be out in December.

Justice League Gets A Facelift

I can remember a recent conversation with a good comic buddy of mine where we discussed the new direction of the Justice League and the things we would like to see out of the series. Johns handling the writing is a great choice, but I've never been too high on Jim Lee's art. The man is not a terrible artist, I just feel like there is some nostalgia for him from the early 90's causing him to be slightly overrated in my eyes.

One of the changes I talked with my friend about was definitely the art and I suggested that having Ivan Reis take over would be a huge improvement. Today my wish has been granted as Buzzfeed announced that Reis is taking over the art duties on Justice League full time starting with issue #15.

Reis will be joined by his friend and collaborator Joe Prado who creates the perfect finish with inks on Ivan's art. Geoff Johns and Ivan/Joe have worked together on Green Lantern and more recently Aquaman. This does leave a question mark lingering over the regular Aquaman title, so hopefully they find someone capable of filling a large chunk of what makes that book so good.

Here's some comments from Johns on what to expect from Justice League in the coming months.

The second year of 'Justice League' will begin an adventurous, mysterious and heroic storyline focusing on our members as their greatest secrets are revealed...and the repercussions change the world. Ivan and Joe begin with a story they were born to draw -- 'Throne of Atlantis' -- a story between 'Justice League' and 'Aquaman' that will have the League experiencing what Aquaman does -- they’ll be caught between land and sea. With new relationships developing -- like Wonder Woman and Superman -- new members coming on -- like Shazam! and the all-new Atom -- and new threats rising -- like Ocean Master & Atlantis -- the Justice League will grow and change as we march towards the impending 'Trinity War.'

Which Green Lantern Are You?

Not a lot of big news breaking in the world of comics today. There is rumor abound of a major character dying in tomorrows AvX finale and the final issues of Uncanny X-Force are counting down now, but other than that it's a bit slow out there. I did come across this fun image below on DC Comics' blog, The Source. Just follow the questions to see which Lantern you would be in the Corps. I originally landed on Kyle Rayner which I didn't like very much so I went again and ended up with Tomar-Re so that's more like it.

Avengers #1 Interior Art

Marvel is shaking things up this October with a collection of new #1's throughout the company. While it isn't a full relaunch the way DC unleashed last year, many of the main titles will see new creative teams and start over at #1 to allow new readers a fresh jumping on point.

One of the biggest announcements has been Brian Bendis' departure from the main Avengers title, a writing duty he's held since 2004. A new Avengers team will debut in November with another hot writer at Marvel, Jonathan Hickman. Hickman will be joined by artist Jerome Opena.  While Opena has been in the business for a while he recently gained a lot of attention with setting the perfect mood visually for Rick Remender's Uncanny X-Force.

Check out some of the interior sketches below by Opena from Aventers #1 curteousy of Comic Vine.

Liefeld's Farewell

In the early 90's comics (mainly Marvel and Wildstorm) went through an ultra-violent period where over the top action and miniscule amount of time on the story would fill page after page. Rob Liefeld rose to popularity in that period and is a self taught artist. Take a look at that image above, what's wrong with it? If you can't see anything then I can easily point out several "Liefeldism's" that just aren't correct at all.

This article isn't about how befuddling it is that he gained such a huge following, it's about his decision to leave DC Comics only a year after he joined on with the creative talent behind 'The New 52'. Rob was once known for being difficult to work with and often missed his deadlines so when I saw the headlines I just thought he was falling back into the old ways. Check out what he's had to say so far;

Officially got off the DC52 treadmill this morning. I believe in what DC is doing, but had to preserve my sanity. I walked off all 3 books. Can’t wait to see any attempts to spin. I have every email. This is the 4th time I quit in the last 4 months. This time it will stick. Never thought the Image section of my book would be topped. This last year was a humdinger. The DC52 chapters will go top all of it. [...] Reasons are the same as everyone’s that you hear. I lasted a few months longer than I thought possible. Massive indecision, last minute and I mean LAST minute changes that alter everything. Editor pissing contests… No thxnjs. Last week my editor said ‘early on we had a lot of indie talent that weren’t used to re-writes and changes … made it hard.’ Uh, no, it’s you. Don’t look for any tell all interview with me, just follow this feed. … the best stuff has not been shared — not even close!

By following this feed he is refrencing his Twitter account. The reason why I don't think this is him dipping back into lazy habits is the fact that other creators at DC have been expressing their dislike for behind the scenes actions and not being able to express any of their own ideas and creativity into the books. George Perez and Grant Morrison are just two more names that have become fed up with the shackles they've been locked to in order to try to keep this new 52 a streamlined continuity.

DC is set to release a bunch of #0 issues next month, which will give insight into the first year/appearances of the new 52 version of the characters, and Liefeld's last writing duties will be set amongst those. He began last year with Hawk and Dove, characters he helped create. The current titles with his trademark that will soon be changing are The Savage Hawkman, Grifter, and Deathstroke.

Sounds like DC needs to treat their talent better or many more will begin walking away. I'm sure they can find easy replacements and fill-ins, but when you keep rotating writers and artists around fans become release with the constant changes. The new 52 is in in a rocky situation barely a year later.

DC Spoils The Joker

Despite the best efforts from the creative team of the regular Batman title, the big reveal of the Joker in the new 52 has been spoiled by DC itself. Yesterday saw the release of November solicitations for DC Comics and on the cover of Batman #14 is an image of the Joker from behind, teasing what awaits inside the issue.

That cover wasn't the problem though. Further down the list was Batgirl #14 with art from Ed Benes. It showed the Joker's full appearance from the front as he stands over a defeated Batgirl. This seemed to really upset regular Batman artist Greg Capullo and below are some of his comments on the spoiler DC:

As careful as I’ve been to save revealing our new Joker, the powers that be have let it out ahead if our book. Stay tuned fir MY pics. In my younger days, I’d have punched several holes in the walls of my office by now. Rest assured, I will give you terror when I draw him.

I'm sure some of his bosses saw this and asked him to retract or amend certain feelings about what had transpired and he later released the following comment:

The more I’ve thought about the Joker leak, the more I began thinking that it may have been for the best. The fact is, the way Scott [Snyder] and I will give you the Joker may have been too much for some with out this diluted sample hitting the web. DC, rightly so, had concerns about our images and story. Perhaps they leaked this intentionally to test the waters or to acclimate your minds to what is coming from us. Team Batman knows how to do one thing. Destroy. So, even if you do see the leak, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Trust me. I’m still not going to reveal my sketches. I won’t let this incident blow the whole works. Be patient. Terror is heading your way.

Take that for what you will. I don't think it's much of a problem either way as the new look is pretty recognizable and there isn't much to spoil from the images we've seen so far. I can understand Capullo's anger though as he and writer Scott Snyder were trying to leave a big surprise for their readers when the book came out.

This may even help boost sales when November comes as everyone will now be clamoring to have the first appearance of the Joker in the relaunch. It will be interesting to see how similar this version is from the one we are all familiar with. I've left the full image of the Joker at the bottom here for anyone that wants to wait until the issue is released.

Batman: Earth One Shows Strong Sales

Following 2010's release of the new graphic novel format of the Earth One series, comes the next introduce to a classic DC character. Superman: Earth One took elements of the most iconic Superman mythos and put a new twist for fans looking to be introduced to this character for the first time. The sales were really strong and it still continues to get positive reviews.

July saw the release of Batman: Earth One which follows in the footsteps of the previous effort in the series, seeing the classic elements of Batman with some moderate changes to help it feel fresh and new. I've read it myself and must say that I was thoroughly impressed with the story Geoff Johns and Gary Frank told in these pages.

Others seem to agree as Batman: Earth One topped the sales charts for graphic novels sold in stores. You can check the official statement from Nielsen BookScan below:

DC Comics’ Batman: Earth One, by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, topped the Nielsen BookScan list of graphic novels sold in bookstores in July, one of five Batman books to populate the Top 20.  The remainder of the chart was dominated by manga — five spots, with the newest volumes of Sailor Moon and Naruto claiming Nos. 2 and 3 — The Walking Dead — three volumes, with the latest slipping from No. 1 to No. 4 — and Dark Horse’s two Avatar: The Last Airbender books, by Gene Luen Yang, both of which remain in the Top 10.

Legends of the Dark Knight

Legends of the Dark Knight sounds awfully familiar to me. I'm not 100% sure, but I think there was a line of Batman action figures when I was younger that carried that title. That name will be gracing a new digital comic series from DC Comics featuring exactly who you'd expect, The Batman. It could end up being a really fun book as it will operate outside of the regular continuity of DC's New 52. Check out the official information from The Source, with some really good talent involved.

Today, we’re excited to reveal that the first chapter from LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT will be released tomorrow, followed by new chapters out every Thursday. Taking place outside of DC COMICS – THE NEW 52 continuity, the new series features several stand-alone stories by various creators that chronicle different cases handled by The Dark Knight.

 Kicking off the first chapter is the all-star line-up of LOST scribe Damon Lindelof with artwork by the critically acclaimed Jeff Lemire.  The line-up for the first six chapters of LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT is as follows:

June 7 – “The Butler Did It” written by Damon Lindelof with artwork by Jeff Lemire

June 14 – “All of the Above” written by Jonathan Larsen with artwork by JG Jones

June 21– “The Crime Never Committed” written by Tom Taylor with artwork by Nicola Scott and Wayne Faucher

June 28 – “Crisis of Identity” Part 1 written by B. Clay Moore with artwork by Ben Templesmith

July 5 – “Crisis of Identity” Part 2 written by B. Clay Moore with artwork by Ben Templesmith

July 12 – “Crisis of Identity” Part 3 written by B. Clay Moore with artwork by Ben Templesmith

Mark your calendars – Thursdays are officially all about The Dark Knight and you can get your weekly fill here for $.99 each.