DC Comics Unveil June Pride Issues

Well hey there, fellow fans of fantastic fiction, and welcome to the very first day of the 2022 Pride Month celebrations, it’s lovely to see you all gathered here in the Precinct’s legendary Comic Crypts to help us celebrate diversity and inclusion.

Pride Month is imperative in raising awareness of the LGBTQ+ community and other societal implications. The month of June was originally chosen for it’s context to the 1969 Stonewall riots, where the LGBT community of the time held a series of protests and demonstrations against an unjust raid at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich village.

DC Comics themselves have a long standing within the LGBTQ+ community, with a number of their heroes and villains being gay, trans and bisexual, beginning with their first ever gay character – Extrano – the magical based Superhero created by Joe Staton and Steve Englehart in 1987. Since that time DC have led the way for inclusionary characters with, quite possibly, their most famous being Kate Kane aka – Batwoman.

 

From the 7th of June you’ll be able to get your majestic mitts on a variety of outstanding proud comic cover classics from a perfect plethora of DC’s very best artistic auteurs, featuring a compelling cast of DC’s leading LGBTQ+ characters including Nubia, Jon Kent, Harley and Ivy, Jackson Hyde and many more…

Plus, alongside all this comic cover loveliness, DC will also be releasing a 100 page anthology comic featuring 13 all new stories spotlighting their LGBTQ fan favourite characters written and illustrated by some of the very best writers and artists in the comic-book field including – Devin Grayson, Stephanie Phillips, Alyssa Wong, Zoe Thorogood Jen Bartel, Phil Jimenez and even ol’ Batsy himself, the awesome – Kevin Conroy (legendary voice artist for the Dark Knight in Batman: The Animated Series)

DC Comics’ Pride 2022 #1 Will Be Available At Your Local Comic-Book Emporium From June 7th.

DC Comics Showcase Summer Swimsuit Specials!

Merciful Minerva! DC Comics, that bodacious bastion of superlative superheroics, has (literally!) unveiled it’s pantheon of costume clad crimefighters, and villains, in an upcoming comic cover event that sees their finest heroes and enemies peel off their spandex and show some skin in a sassy, sinewy summer swimsuit showcase special!

That’s right, fellow fans of fantastic flirty fiction, some of DC’s most popular characters will be donning their saucy speedos and bodacious bikinis in a new variant cover series releasing this August. Yep, even the notorious curmudgeonly creature of the night known as The Batman will don his bat-trunks to kick sand in the face of The Joker! alongside another nine naughty but nice heroes and villains including Nightwing, Nubia, Supergirl and Deathstroke.

These vivacious variants are brought to you by some of the very best artists working in the wonderful world of comics today including – Nicola Scott (Nightwing #95 variant), Derek Chew (Nubia #3) Mikel Janin (Batman #126), Emanuela Lupacchino (Black Adam #3) and many more.

So why not brush the sand from between your toes, pull on your flip flops and make your way down to your local comic-book emporium this August to bask in the radiant rays of these captivating covers!

Comic Cover Of The Week: Harley Quinn The Animated Series – Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour #1

Welcome, my cool and compelling comic collecting cohorts to another enticing episode of Comic Cover Of The Week, and, hoo boy, this post is full to the brim with mischievous mirth and mayhem courtesy of that hellacious hellion of hi-jinks -Harley Quinn!

That’s right, oh fellow fans of fantastic fiction, the psychedelic psychopath of print and crazy clowness – Harley Quinn teams up with her plant powered partner in crime and love – Poison Ivy in a wild and reckless whistle stop tour where the pernicious pairing will be eating, banging and, um, killing in copious quantities! Pretty much an average day in the life of Harley Quinn then huh.

This digital first series picks up from the end of season two of the fantastic Harley Quinn Animated Series, with Harley and Ivy on the run after the close call that was Ivy’s blighted wedding to Kite-Man. What we’re talking about here is a crazy car chase in the style of Thelma and Louise but on steroids and mushrooms, with a side of psychedelia, as I mentioned, a typical day in the life of that magnificent mistress of mayhem.

Writer – Tee Franklin has done a wonderful job of bringing the animated series to the printed page, and the art by Max Sarin perfectly captures the spirit and tone of Harl and Ivy’s astonishing adolescent animated adventures, the facial expressions are absolutely sublime, with Harl and co running a glorious gamut of extremely expressive emotions throughout the 20 page run.

A heartfelt yet zany journey through the larger than life and vivid adventures of Harley and Ivy, this perfect project by Franklin and Sarin acts as an ideal stop-gap for fervent fans of the animated series as they wait with bated breath for Season Three.

Comic Cover Of The Week: Harley Quinn #4

Welcome, fellow fans of fantastic fiction, to our final effervescent entry (for this year at least) in the gorgeous and glorious gamut of cool and compelling comic cover collectables celebrating Pride month and DC Comics’ very own LGBT characters and creators.

And I can honestly think of no better dynamic duo to end this diversity celebration than hellacious hellcat – Harley Quinn and her partner in crime, and love – Poison Ivy. The astounding artwork adorning Harley Quinn #4 is brought to you by astonishing artistic auteur – Kris Anka, and is my absolute fave entry from DC’s exemplary emancipation excursion. And remember friends – All Pride, No Prejudice!

Harley may be trekking through a sewer, but you’d better get your mind out of the gutter! The rhyming zombie behemoth – Solomon Grundy ain’t too happy that Harl’s in his domain (though to be fair, it’s really Killer Croc’s domain, but then there’s a lot of sewer dwellers in Gotham City, both above and below!) Grundy is either going to welcome Harl with open arms or crush her! And she can’t let that happen ’cause her bud Kevin is at the mercy of Hugo Strange, and Hugo is going to do everything in his power to break Kevin and turn him against her…

Harley Quinn #4 Is Available At Your Local Comic-Book Emporium Right Now!

Precinct1313 Recommends: DC Pride #1

DC Comics’ Pride Month celebrations continue apace with today’s release of their anthology annual – DC Pride #1, an astonishing analect of DC’s very own LGBTQIA heroes and villains. The eighty page dazzling digest collates nine new narratives dedicated to LGBT characters and creators, beginning with a story centred on their arguably most popular gay hero – Kate Kane, aka – Batwoman.

Batwoman: Wrong Side Of The Looking Glass, is the ten page lead story by James Tynion IV and Trung Le Nguyen and equates Kate’s life struggle as a lesbian and costumed hero with a mirrored allegory between herself and twin sister Alice. Beautiful and poignant prose by Tynion, with absolutely gorgeous and intricate visuals by Trung Le Nguyen, whose art promotes a fantastic fairy tale feel to the emotional proceedings and metaphoric mirror plotline.

Perpetual partners of perky perfection – Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy are up next, with the tantalising tale – Another Word For A Truck To Move Your Furniture – written by marvellous Mariko Tamaki, with the astounding art by one of the Precinct’s favourite artistic auteurs – Amy Reeder. This fantastic fable explores Harley and Ivy’s romantic relationship through a fabulously fun, yet touching tale that involves – furniture removal, glorious gags, and a little bit of the ol’ ultraviolence all wrapped up in that inimitable Harley/Ivy cool craziness! Tender, silly and utterly irrepressible, just like Harley herself, this is most certainly my favourite story contained within this fabulous volume.

By far the most fascinating fable within these proud pages is the superlative superhero scenario – Date Night – the comic-book introduction to trans hero – Nia Nal aka The Dreamer, a character whose first ever appearance was on the hit CW show – Supergirl. This is Dreamer’s inauguration into the DC comic-book universe, with an excellent exploration of her interpersonal relationships, powers, and character. Giving this story its unique approbation and emotional weight is the fact that the author of the piece is none other than the actor who portrayed Nia Nal in the aforementioned Supergirl show – Nicole Maines, the transgender rights activist who holds the distinction of being the first transgender superhero in live action. 

Six more sterling storylines are contained within this magnificent manuscript, each and every one a poignant parable and captivating celebration of LGBT pride, life struggles, empowerment and the joy of just being and accepting who you are. Inclusivity and determination are dealt with in an uplifting and sincere collection of stories by the diverse assembly of writers and artists, with each and every chapter a heartfelt allegory of enlightenment and emancipation.

Hot on the heels of this valuable volume of visionary values, DC have also announced that as a continuation of Pride Month celebrations they will also be publishing a trade anthology of the GLAAD nominated – Suicide Squad: Bad Blood and LGBT romance thriller – Poison Ivy: Thorns, alongside their month long Pride Month comic cover collectables which began with last week’s – Crush and Lobo #1.

DC Comics Announce Pride Anthology And Unveil Stunning Pride Variant Covers

DC Comics To Release An 80 Page Pride Anthology And Themed Variant Covers In June.

DC Comics that bodacious bastion of superlative Superheroics have announced an 80 page anthology comic celebrating it’s LGBTQIA characters will be released during World Pride Month on June 8th 2021. DC have a burgeoning cast of characters that identify as LGBT, with the most recent being that of Alan Scott – the golden age Green Lantern, who  confided to his daughter and son that he was gay during an emotional segment in DC’s Infinite Frontier #0.

DC have a long standing in the LGBT community with their first ever gay character – Extrano, the magical based superhero who was created by Joe Staton and Steve Englehart, and made his first appearance in the 1987 series Millenium and The New Guardians. Of course, leading the charge for inclusionary heroes in the DC Universe is the bombastic Batwoman, Kate Kane is probably one of the most recognised LGBT superheroes on the planet, with the recent CW TV series helping to cement her fame and popularity in the Pride community.

With Pride month only a few weeks away DC have released images of their 80 page Pride spectacular, which will feature classic characters such as – Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Batwoman, Extrano, Alan Scott, Midnighter and Apollo and The Question. Also of interest is that the trans hero – Nia Nal aka Dreamer, who first made an appearance in the CW’s Supergirl series, will make her inaugural entry into comic-book history in the highly anticipated anthology special.

And if that isn’t cool enough, then DC have also announced 9 tie in variant covers for that very same month with fantastic artists – Yoshi Yoshitani, Jen Bartel, Kris Anka, Travis G. Moore David Talaski, Stephen Byrne, Kevin Wada, and Paulina Ganucheau bringing their astounding artistic skills to the table for these inclusive issues. Oh, and a brand new DC rainbow logo to complete this captivating celebration.

DC Pride #01, And All Nine Variants Will Be Available At Your Local Comic-Book Emporium From The 8th June. Will You Be Adding Any Of These To Your Pull List? Why Not Comment Below…

Comic Cover(s) Of The Week

A Dynamic Duo Of Delightfully Dazzling And Delectable Drawings…

“Well hey there fellow fans of fantastic fiction and welcome once again to another enticing episode of Comic Cover Of The Week. And this week we have some rather resplendent renderings for your discerning delectation!”

DC Comics’ recent imprint – Black Label is a line of limited series aimed at a mature audience that began with the somewhat controversial (though, not in my opinion) Batman: Damned in September of 2018. Building upon the success of that first mini-series, DC subsequently launched several new Black Label series which include – Batman: Last Knight On Earth, Superman: Year One, and most recently  ‘Harleen’. Their newest recent entry to this distinctly adult line is the Kami Garcia penned – Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity, and the variant cover by marvellous Mike Mayhew is an absolute corker, it has to be said.

Stunning Photo-realistic Variant Cover By Marvellous Mike Mayhew

Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity charts the first meeting of one Dr Harleen Quinzel and the Jester of Genocide. Kami Garcia offers up an interesting twist on the titular troublesome twosome by re-imagining Harley as forensic psychologist and criminal profiler tasked with helping to hunt down a prolific serial killer with a penchant for murderous theatrics known only as The Joker. Joker/Harley; Criminal Insanity is scheduled for a nine issue run and is available from your local comic-book emporium right now, and in our opinion is well worth investing your time in if you’re in any way, shape, or form a fan of Ms Quinzel and Mr J.

And next on our cosmically cool and collectable comic cover countdown is this really rather rapturous rendering from wonderful Warren Louw of the pernicious plant powered eco-terrorist Poison Ivy.

Poison Ivy Perfection By Warren Louw!

Continuing on from last month’s premiere issue, we find our lovable (yet highly dangerous) duo, Harley and Ivy on the run from the fractious felon Floronic Man, who is determined to force Ivy to accept her place in connection to the green. With Gotham City even more unstable and treacherous than ever thanks to its recent overthrow and internment by SuperVillain Bane, Harley and Ivy literally dive into a rabbit hole by seeking sanctuary with none other than former Arkham patient Jervis Tetch, more infamously known as The Mad Hatter. Yet what they’re about to experience couldn’t be further removed from a Wonderland!

Women In Comics Presents: The Astonishing Art Of Amanda Conner…

I’ve been actively reading and collecting comic-books since I was a mere six years of age, my first ever encounter with a Superhero was through the dark and surly one himself – The Batman. From there I became a superfan of the Themysciran Titan – Wonder Woman, and eventually over the decades became a devoted stalwart of DC Comics and their menagerie of costume clad heroes and villains.

Not being content to just absorb the wonderfully fantastic stories wrought from the fevered minds of the various comic creators over the years, like most things I love in life, I was also heavily into the creative process behind the formation of the thrilling and titanic tales brought forth by said tomes… especially the diverse styles of the sundry artists who have regaled us with their wondrous takes on classic characters.

From an early age my favourite artists included such talented individuals as Neal Adams, George Perez, Brian Bolland, Norm Breyfogle, Adam Hughes, Phil Jimenez, Nicola Scott, Emanuel Luppachino and many, many too numerous to mention. Picking a favourite from these would always prove to be an insurmountable challenge… that was until I discovered the astonishing art of one Amanda Conner, from that point on anybody enquiring as to who my fave artist was, would not be able to shut me up as I enthused and rhapsodised over her awesome artwork. Quirky, zany, fun, and instantly recognisable… for me personally, Amanda will always be numero uno!

Amanda’s creative career began in the late 1980’s working for companies such as Archie Comics, Marvel and Harris’ Comics on their Vampirella series (which is where I first discovered her phenomenal oeuvre) But it was her work on the sundry female DC characters that led me to fall in love with her adroit artistic endeavours, especially her work with Starfire, Harley Quinn and Power Girl, which all remain (and always will) my absolute favourite versions of those iconic characters. 

On May of this year at the Comic-Con Revolution event in California, Amanda was honoured as the recipient of the Joe Kubert Distinguished Storyteller award, a prestigious achievement given only to the most outstanding comic-book creators, who exemplify both Joe Kubert’s artistic talent and commitment to the nurturing of the comic-book community. And long may she reign…

The Week In Geek… With Precinct1313

Welcome fellow agents of Precinct1313 to another episode of ‘The Week In Geek’ where we love to share our favourite Comic Book, Video-Game and Cult Movie news for your perusal and pleasure…

David Ayer Sends Out A Siren Call…

Best be prepared folks, I may just get a tad bit over-excited on this one… just sayin’.

‘Gotham City Sirens!, Gotham City Sirens!!, Gotham City Sirens!!!, Gotham City Sirens!!!!, Gotham City Sirens!!!!!, Gotham Cit… Phew!’

OK, now that I’ve calmed down (a bit) let’s get straight to the epic news that DC Comics’ troublesome trio, Gotham City Sirens, have been announced as a major motion picture as part of the burgeoning DC Cinematic Universe. Suicide Squad director, David Ayer will be returning to helm the flick, and it will also mark the return of Margot Robbie as the Hellacious Harley Quinn. 

Gotham City Sirens is one of our all time favourite comic book runs here in Precinct1313, the scintillating series was first published in 2009 and brought together three of Batman’s most famous female foes, feline felon – Catwoman, vined vixen – Poison Ivy, and of course mischievous misfit – Harley Quinn. The series lasted just two short years despite being a financial and critical success, to make way for DC’s ‘New52’ reboot. However, the Triumvirate of Temperamental Troublemakers have come together to cause mischief, mirth and misbehaviour several times since then, mostly in Harl’s own long running (and most excellent) comic book series.

Little else is currently known about the project, but Warner Bros have announced that the marvellous movie will be scripted by Geneva Dworet-Robertson, who is also currently writing the screenplay for another famous fictional female, Lara Croft, for the 2018 dated  ‘Tomb Raider’ reboot.

Exciting times ahead indeed, my fellow fans of fantastic fiction, what with next year’s Justice League movie and of course Wonder Woman’s solo film, let’s be honest it’s about time that more female led comic book movies were being developed, and DC have an infinite amount of Superheroines and Villainesses they can bring to the silver screen, we have our fingers crossed for Batwoman, Power Girl and The Huntress being next.

          

Comic Cover Of The Week: Harley Quinn Road Trip Special #1

Copyright: DC Comics

Welcome back fellow fans of fantastic fiction to another instalment of  Comic Cover Of The Week, and this week our spotlight of splendour falls upon “Harley Quinn: Road Trip Special #1.” What do you get when you take DC’s most popular female psychotic, throw in a little feline felon, plus a dash of vined vixen?, the long awaited return of the excessively popular trio known as the Gotham City Sirens, of course! That’s right Harley, Catwoman and Poison Ivy team up once more on a crazy cross country road trip chock full of mirth, madness and mayhem.

“We’re back!”

Writers Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti present us with another fast and frantic issue that really showcases why the popular 2009-2011 series Gotham City Sirens needs to return… pronto! As with most stories starring the mischievous minx of mirth, this offers a fun and light-hearted tale that follows our terrific trio as they travel across America, so Harley can attempt to fulfill her Uncle’s dying wish to transport his ashes to Long Island… and of course, as always, utter chaos ensues.

Harley Quinn: Road Trip Special is available at your local comic book emporium right now. Written by: Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti. Cover by: Amanda Conner. Interior art by: Bret Blevins

Comic Cover Of The Week: Convergence – Harley Quinn #1

(DC Comics, 2015)

New comics Wednesday is upon us once more, and having just returned from my local purveyor of stupendous, spandex-clad superheroes with this weeks purchases, I have to say the cover that stands out the most for me is the Harley Quinn Convergence #1, the soft pastels effect is gorgeous. Convergence is DC’s month long epic saga that brings together every single hero and villain who ever existed, across all timelines and alternate realities.

Plot Synopsis: Harley’s life has become mundane and almost normal (!?) over the past year, but will she be ready to return to her crazy old ways when Catwoman and Poison Ivy recruit her to help fight… Captain Carrot!!

Harley Quinn Convergence #1 is available right now at your local comic book emporium. Written by: Steve Pugh. Interior art by: John Dell and Phil Winslade. Cover art by: Steve Pugh. Variant cover by: Chip Kidd.

Precinct1313 Recommends: Arkham Asylum – 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

Warning: May cause insanity!

Has it really been 25 years since the release of the stupendous Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth? Hard to believe it has been so long since this outstanding piece of Batman lore was delivered to us by master storyteller Grant Morrison and comic artist supreme Dave McKean.

“Enough madness? Enough? … And how do you measure madness?”

This classic tale is considered one of the greatest comic books of all time, garnering many awards at the time for both its dark storyline and the amazingly twisted art. It is also Grant Morrison’s first ever Batman tale, after this Morrison would go on to be one of the most prolific writers of the Caped Crusader’s adventures down the years.

‘Sometimes it’s only madness that makes us what we are’

It is April fools day and the insane inmates of Arkham have taken control of the asylum, in exchange for the hostages they want … the Batman, and so the Dark Knight must traverse a nightmarish journey into the twisted minds of some of Arkham’s most dangerous denizens including Poison Ivy, Two Face, the Scarecrow and of course the clown prince of crime himself … the Joker in full on demented mode. This is one of the darkest and most disturbing of all of the Batman’s adventures, taking you on a carnival ride of horror and dark wonder. Dave McKean’s artwork on this is sublime, really drawing you into the unhinged and disturbing world of maniacal Supervillains and murderers with its strange and dreamlike visual quality. Also of note is the lettering of the book by Gaspar Saladino, with each of the different characters having their very own font style, this was the very first comic to really do this and it has become a popular trait of the comics medium since.

The anniversary edition is available right now in both hardcover and softcover versions, weighing in at 216 pages in length.

Precinct1313 Rating: 5 degenerate Supervillains out of 5