2012 Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues: Manhunter and Iron Fist

Click For More!


Almost a year ago, we covered Ross' Paul Kirk team-up fanfic collage Marvel Two-in-One: The Lost Issues: The Thing and Manhunter. Ross has been busy making a bunch of J'Onn J'Onzz ones since then, but I need to offer up the original Manhunter one more time to clear the decks and start catching up with the fun...

...More Lost Team-Up Issues...

• The Doom Patrol @ DC Bloodlines
• Zatanna and The Scarlet Witch @ Justice League Detroit
• The Thing and The Justice League of America @ Power of the Atom
• Wonder Woman and Wonder Man @ Diana Prince

2013 New 52 Martian Manhunter Commission by Julius Abrera

Click To Enlarge

"Im not a fan of the Martian Manhunter but he definitely is one of the most powerful character in Dc comics.

I am open for commissions contact me on julsabrera@gmail.com if interested."

Yes, another art post. Sorry, but I spent the whole evening scanning in Comicpalooza commissions and coloring select pieces for their posts/sidebar icons. I'm not any good at all at it, but some pieces really pop once you add in even paltry flat MS Paint colors. Anyhow, while looking for filler I stumbled upon this bitchin' art by Julius Abrera, who to be frank (who else should I be?) I'd never heard of before. It reminds me that I technically got a New 52 J'Onn J'Onzz commission done by Brian Denham last weekend, but through a series of events too complicated to get into here, I ended up with a refund instead. However, the art apparently exists, so if anyone catches sight of it (or the George Perez Martian Manhunter head shot also drawn in Houston that Illegal Machine saw but I missed,) please let me know a.s.a.p.

2013 “New 52 Thantos” art by “Illegal Machine”

Click To Enlarge


As previously mentioned, my best friend “Illegal Machine” was instrumental in the creation of this blog, and decided to doodle a Martian Manhunter villain for me a number of months back. I kept putting off posting the art for various reasons, then lost the file to an OS change, and asked for it to be re-sent in April. The Ill Mac was never really happy with the first piece though, so my request started him down the road to revision for a more thorough reworking of Thantos the 3-In-1 Man. As he put it, "I'm obsessed with how the [redacted] to draw his eye sockets/nose with 3 eyes."

My response to the above offering was, “Oooo! I like this one a lot better than the "real thing." Very cool alien vibe, although I am compelled to point out that he can no longer use his head like a drill bit. He's clearly Post-Crisis, then.” I very much enjoyed the way Thantos' unibrow formed a sort of winged creature, the soft but still unsettling eyes, the broad flat nose, and the metal neck guard. Regardless, the Ill Mac was compelled to begin again from scratch...

Click To Enlarge

“I forgot about the drillbit head. Hmm. Maybe I'll take another shot tonight. He started to turn out a little "Main Evil Guy From Harry Potter Whose Name I Can't Remember". I was also trying to picture how his head would be drawn from the side. NOT IMPORTANT.

I was looking at some of the pics of him you have on the site, and I honestly don't think his original creator had a clue how his head was constructed. Just a jumble of lines around the sketchy parts. I RESPECT HIS BOLDNESS, THOUGH.”

What I dubbed the "New 52" model was closer to Joe Certa's original design than Not-Really-All-That-Lord Voldemort-Like. It was also many times more creepily inhuman. I still quite like his first try, but it's a question of magnitude, with the first being a sympathetic vivisectionist and the second being full throttle genocidal horror show. Those three soulless eyes atop that crooked plastic doll face gives me the heebie-jeebies, and the spiral neckpiece didn't just allude to his drilling powers, but let you know that he did horrible things with them. "I don't know whether to congratulate you or report you to the authorities. Let me know when you're satisfied enough to stop drawing and I'll post this beast. Very impressive!"

Click To Enlarge


The Illegal Machine continued to elongate Thantos' head, polish his chrome, and fill out his shoulders to better suggest his towering height (even in comparison to J'onn J'onzz.) Secure in his mastery of "Thanatos" (I had to correct him repeatedly,) Ill Mac thought "Maybe side view?" Possibly unwise, given his audience. I unleashed a litany of off-color jokes about Thantos' rather phallic profile, which apparently did not amuse the Mac, as he packed up his (sex?) toys and stormed home. I pressed him to see if he had anything left to offer. "I'm totally going to post the side view. It adds a psychosexual/body horror element to the character-- kind of a mutant Brian DePalma thing. I just had to tease you because a) peen hee-hee! and b) it's totally going to come up one way or another if I lay it down for public display." Mac gave me a list of three bullet points he wanted covered in the post, all of which were illustrated best above, but I thought I'd use his final point verbatim.

"the eyes/ cheek bones/mandible were interesting on the actual in-comic renderings of Thantos...when you look at it closely, you can tell the artist didn't put much thought into how his face is actually structured. I always like to picture what the skull underneath looks like when I draw. Pretty challenging with this dude."

Despite giving the Ill Mac a hard time over the 3-in-1 Man (see what I did there,) I still think this revision of the character is friggin' awesome. As much as I dig the Vile Menagerie, I figure a lot of these guys are irredeemable goofs bound for the scrapheap. I never would have figured Thantos' silly ass could be salvaged, but the Ill Mac did such a magnificent job with his update, I could totally see him as a player in modern comics. I got a Thantos commission at Comicpalooza that has dazzled everybody who has seen it, but these are still my favorite illustrations of the character...



...Even if it does look like he totally had a guest appearance in Farrah Superstar: Backdoor Teen Mom...

UPDATE:

Click To Enlarge


The Ill Mac can't stop fiddling with his third eye drillbit. After this post was published, he decided to take one more pass at the 3-in-1 Man's side view. I made a lot of penis jokes over his previous try, but now... I think it looks even more like a circumcised pecker than ever before. Mark 1 was more like one of those Pyrex wands. Why yes, I do give these sorts of matters considerable thought...

2008 “The Martian Manhunter” color art by Imbong Hadisoebroto

Click To Enlarge


"Alien Atlas" damnit. Or "Martian Marvel." Or "Sleuth from Outer Space." Or...

BongzBerry

• Aquaman @ Justice League Detroit
• Captain Marvel @ DC Bloodlines
• Hawkman @ Power of the Atom
• Wonder Woman @ Diana Prince

2013 Comicpalooza Artists Memorial Day Checklist

2013 Martian Manhunter art by Biram Ba

Click To Enlarge

"I thought I might try painting in grayscale and then adding colour, but I couldn’t make it work. So finally I just added red. Still looks kind of crappy, but it must do for now."

2012 Martian Manhunter color art by Sam Shin

Click To Enlarge

"The Martian done in copics."

Sam Shin

• Wonder Woman @ Diana Prince
• Zatanna @ Justice League Detroit

2006 “Aquaman: How I Spent My Summer Vacation” art by Rick Gibson

Click To Enlarge

“-- Featuring Aquaman...Again...Wow, For Someone Who Supposedly Hates Aquaman I Sure Draw Him Alot.

-- Also, First Appearance Of The Martian Manhunter...Yeah...Im Sorry.

-- The Idea For This Came From From An Episode Of The Drew Carey, One Of Them Jumps In A Huge Glass Of Beer, After Seeing That Episode I Always Wanted To Do A Comic Like That And I Realized Aquamans The Perfect Sucker...Uhh...Person For This Comic Strip.

-- Yeah, The JLA Cant Take Aquaman Anywhere Without Him Jumping Into A Huge Mug Of Beer...And For Some Reason Martian Manhunters Always Elected To Babysit Aquaman....The Lesser JLA Members Get Teamed Up While The Cooler Ones Have All The Fun.

-- Enjoy!”

2006 “The Martian Manhunter” art by Rick Gibson

Click To Enlarge

“-- DC's Martian Manhunter, Alien And Member Of The JLA.

-- He's One Of The Characters I Dont Much Like, He's Like The Vision...Part Of A legendary Team, But He's Just Not Eye Catchingly Interesting, It's Probably Just me Though, But With A Team That Involves Batman, Superman, Wonderwoman, The Flash, Green Arrow, And Hal Jordan....And Aquaman, The Martian Manhunter Just Gets Lost Under The Greatness.

-- My Little Self Goal Was To Make Him Look Cool, Instead Of A Bad 70's Sci Fi Movie, I Tried To Make Him Look More Mean, I Didnt Really Use My Full Resources Though But Im Happy with It.

-- I Like His "True Martian" Form Better, It Just Looks Cooler And Less....Cheesy.

-- Enjoy”

...and that's why you're the star of a filler post in the final hours of the day instead of getting a 24 hour cycle. I also really look forward to the Vision turning up in a future Avengers movie. He's one of my favorites of that team.

2012 Human Squirrel Comicpalooza Commission by Chris Beaver

Click To Enlarge


My final Comicpalooza 2012 commission, posted on the eve of the 2013 convention, is one of my favorites of the entire collection. Ahead of the con, I'd settled on asking Beaver to draw Hunter Commander J'en, which didn't end up coming to pass until later that year when we met up again at Space City Con. I'd been going back and forth on having him draw Ben Stoves, since Beaver had a habit of doing cute drawings of his namesake rodent, and even one scary high contrast "chiaroscuro" version that might look cool applied to the Squirrel. There was another artist who specialized in boss furry anthropomorphics though, and Beaver had a great way with lifelike ladies, so I thought the matter was settled. The other artist had a great concept for the Human Squirrel, but the execution was hampered by her restricting her con pieces to $5 quick figure sketches. Her piece whet my appetite for more Human Squirrel, so I took a second shot with the character at the same con.



I don't recall how long it took me to identify Chris Beaver at the con, since I don't remember if he had any big identifiers at his table. Once I did find him though, I told him all about his virtues as mentioned in the J'en post, as well as the stuff I just stated in the previous paragraph about my thought process. Beaver is a quiet, unassuming sort, whereas anyone who has listened to my guest appearances on The Fire and Water Podcast knows I've naturally got the tongue of a cokehead, so he just nodded and looked a bit like a deer caught in the headlights of my verbal onslaught.

When I came back for the $40 piece, I was delighted to find it in color on industrial board. The expression on the Human Squirrel's face is priceless! While taking the heist bag straight from the provided reference, Beaver changed up the color and perspective to make it his own. I adore how squirrel-like the figure is while making it plainly obvious that this is a man in a velveteen suit with visible seams on his mask, gloves, and even what appear to be buttons on his chest piece. Showing off the jewels he swiped in his furry paw, there's a strange innocence to the character-- communicating in one image the insanity of the concept of a second story man in a mascot costume who would later turn over a new leaf and go straight. Even the vague silhouetted structure in the background recall's Scipio Garling's Magical Tudor Barn. How perfect is this thing?!?



My two best friends attended Comicpalooza, and have long histories with the funnybooks. Even my girlfriend gets into this stuff, and we all have strong, conflicting opinions about what does and does not make for a great commission. It's a rarity when we all agree on something, but all four of us dug Chris Beaver's piece and see it as a highlight of my commissionary adventures. I've got an 11" x 17" color duplication of the original art framed on the wall at eyeline with my desk, next to Brian Denham's Bel Juz and both beneath the Alex Ross Martian Manhunter poster, forming a trifecta of negative space awesomeness where the figures pop like mad. Sweeeet!

I don't know if Chris Beaver will be back in town, but his publisher will have a booth, so we'll wait and see. In the meantime, visit his deviantART gallery!

2012 “J'onn J'onzz A.K.A. Martian Manhunter” by FiresideSong

Click To Enlarge

"Me = J'onn J'onzz fan!"

2009 “J'onn and M'gann - Beyond” color art by Kristian Trigwell

Click To Enlarge

"Another duo, this time it's a familiar character and a new one. The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) in the "beyond era" looking about half way between his natural form and his "old" superhero form and a costume that's equal parts Justice Lord and the new outfit DC designed a few years back.

Miss Martian (M'gann M'orzz) looks a little bit more like Kara than I had intended, but I suppose it's appropriate. Since in the DCAU there don't appear to be any White Martians her back story would be somewhat different. I'm going to go with her being a natural Green Martian that was discovered in a stasis capsule, buried into the side of a mountain range in Antarctica. One would presume she'd been there since before the Imperium wiped out Mars."

2009 Justice League Unlimited by Arvid Wessman

Click To Enlarge

"A tribute painting of The Justice League Unlimited. Hawkgirl, Superman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, Flash, Batman and Wonder Woman."

2013 “The Post-Punk / New Wave Martian Manhunter”

A Brazilian artist who goes by the handle "Butcher Billy" likes to do mash-ups of super-humans and real world figures, which I've found amusing in the past. Today, beginning on some friends' blogs and continuing through spotlights on various industry sites, Butcher Billy really blew the doors off by tapping a flush vein for the M_TV generation. By taking early '80s DC icons and combining them with the New Wave artists I adore, Butcher Billy so totally bowled me over that I had to get into the game myself. I never want J'Onn J'Onzz to become too popular, because he'll cease to be "mine" and will likely find a staid status quo instead of eternally simmering with untapped potential. However, it bums me out when his under the radar status excludes him from art projects like this, so I felt the urge to rectify the matter.



A few names popped into my head before David Byrne, but once it did I shut down all other contenders. Byrne has a natural alien quality about him, and his esoteric art school lyrics suit the Sleuth from Outer Space far better than, say, the lust and angst of a Ric Ocasek (who could have been a good Plastic Man, now that I mention it.) Many consider the Talking Heads to be the greatest new wave band ever, which is a little higher profile than I would have gone for under normal circumstances, but the fit was too good to deny. Just think of their catalog of hits like the Alien Atlas' buffet of powers, while Byrne's lack of adulation compared to an Elvis/Madonna/Prince etc. placing him more squarely on Mars II.

I couldn't find any pictures of Byrne bald, but I figured I would just stick his face on an old drawing, so that non-problem was easily solved. The reference I used was from a Life Magazine photographer, but I couldn't find a credit. I'd hoped to just blow out the contrast and keep this simple, but the lighting and graytones made that impossible with my outdated software.



Instead, I started free-mousing over the picture in Windows Paint, and when I wasn't appalled by the result, I kept going. Once I was satisfied, I obliterated the underlying photo, tilted the drawing, resized, and stuck it over a Joe Certa splash page scanned from Showcase Presents Martian Manhunter.

The great thing about this project was that, as opposed to the fake comic book covers I usually do, this didn't have to look like a real publication. Following Butcher Billy's example, I went loud with the coloring, tossed in elements willy nilly, and was given permission to obscure as much of the Martian Manhunter logo as I pleased. Usually, I put together fully realized elements and merge them, but for this I just slapped one black and white layer on top of another and colored the whole thing at once. As liberating as all that freewheeling was, it still took me a great many more hours than I hoped to get this done. No Thomas Dolby Ray Palmers or Taco Paco Ramones for my other blogs!



I had a copy of Justice League of America #230 handy, which made the cover elements a snap, and allowed me to differentiate this from Butcher Billy's work in more ways than just the inferior quality of mine. In case you forgot, that was wholly appropriate as the final chapter of "War of the Worlds 1984." The song lyrics are from "And She Was" and "Mr. Jones."

The Post-Punk / New Wave Super Friends

• Aquaman @ The Aquaman Shrine
• Firestorm @ Firestorm Fan
• Plastic Man @ DC Bloodlines
• Wonder Woman @ Diana Prince
• Butcher Billy's tumblr post of the full set

2010 “J'onn J'onzz” by Jenn “Wrecker-lady”

Click To Enlarge


There's also a pure line version...

"Just a quick piece I did during my free time. Not sure when I'll get time to work on colors though."

Comicpalooza 2013 Artists' Alley Attack!

The grand commission rush of 2013 is about to be on, such as it will be. We've looked at Comicpalooza's "name" artists as of mid-March and this blog's returning commission "alumni". Now it's time to head down to artists' alley, as well as spotlighting some late additions to the featured guest list. To be frank, I'm trying to keep my expectations low. I'm not gearing up for a fifth anniversary celebration anymore, nor do I have anywhere near the kind of bread to toss around as last time. There are more famous artists than ever before, but the ones that aren't cost prohibitive either have problematic restrictions on their commissions or don't sketch at all. Phoenix Comicon* is a much larger and more established show competing for the same holiday weekend who are very specific about Marat Mychaels appearing all four days in Arizona, so we'll see if he makes it to Houston. There's a lot of familiar faces, which are welcome in most cases, but there's also the "oh, hi again" factor replacing the freshness of the new. With just over a week to go, there's an element of resignation riding alongside the excitement, but I figure we'll still end up with some peachy pictures by the end of this deal from some of these folks...

Gerry Kissell Last year I totally blew this guy off for lack of relevant reference, but he's started up his own art blog since, and it turns out he's quite good. Imagine for instance B'rett drawn realistically like the dude pictured above. I kind of had my heart set on Cay'an last year, but balked at $140 for a single figure from an up n' coming yet relatively unknown artist with a bit of an attitude. I'll chat this guy up to see if he's more reasonable.



E.K. Weaver

I don't tend to hesitate in asking female artists to draw ladies, unless they're sexually provocative like Bette Noir or something. I tend to be more skittish about asking minority artists to draw "one of their own," especially as a white male who admittedly probably has factored their orientation into my decision making process. It's a good thing then that E.K. Weaver is not a gay man writing a queer strip like I initially assumed, but a married lady who just happens to rock the yaoi quite well, so maybe I can finally get a Triumph done. Then again, her husband's name is Brett, so wouldn't that be a twist?



David Mack A late booked guest rather than a part of "Artist's Alley." Obviously, Mack is a well known artist from his creator owned Kabuki, his run on Daredevil, and a great many comic covers. I believe he was in town in 2010, but I figured he'd be out of my price range, and never approached him. Turns out he'll do simple sketches for $20, so I'm hopeful to get some sort of whackazz, artsy-fartsy Post-Crisis J'Onn J'Onzz action.



J. Michael Stovall (Stovepipe Curiosities)

I adore this fellow's art style(s.) He's extremely versatile, bouncing from stark depression era imagery to smoldering Timm pin-ups to lighthearted cartooning to Fantagraphics indie fare. I think I'd want to tour Middletown with him.




Paul Maybury I got a sweet Devil Men of Pluto piece from Maybury last year, but I'm not sure about a follow-up. I think that indie vibe worked well for L'lex Xanadar and company, but I'm having trouble picturing other rogues done up in that fashion, so I welcome suggestions. A B&W brush and ink single figure runs $80.



Ashley Cassaday has eight pieces of good looking color anime/video game art that I can readily find, and then nothing else. I'd have to see more and scope her rates, plus I'm not sure of an appropriate subject. Chrislea brings the chibi, but outside of Zook I'm not sure what to do with it. I like a number of Christa Deason's pieces, but her base style and quality are wildly inconsistent.



Cody Schibi I peek in on Schibi's blog pretty regularly, and he announced his attendance at Comicpalooza months before the official con site did. He's moved up from Artists' Alley to Guest, and I do wonder what the hell kind of criteria they apply to come up with that distinction. Not to imply anything against Schibi though, as he's become one of my favorite commissioners. His full color figures with lettered dialogue for under $100 are phenomenal.



It would be really boss to get a Vile Menagerie logo designed by Tony Casteel, but I'm not sure if he would be up for that in terms of time and expense. Similarly, Ross Hughes Freelance Digital Colorist might be just the thing to spruce up some of my old black and white pieces, if the terms pan out. If not, there's a couple of other colorists also in attendance...



Mark Nasso I finally got Nasso's Space City Con Fernus piece up last week, and there's plenty of creepy, ookie characters I'd like him to do next.





Damon Bowie I'm very happy Bowie got added in these final days, since he's excellent at doing the clean, crisp full figures that are easy for even me to color and convert into sidebar icons. He's an ace with intricate armor, and I've got some tricky characters I'd like him to handle. Even if he doubled his asking price from last year, I'd be getting a steal.





Nick Pitarra We have much love for the local hero and The Manhattan Projects artist around here. He's a great illustrator and all around swell guy. That said, his asking price was something like three times Damon Bowie's last year, and his C2E2 quotes are two-and-a-half times that for a bust. Sorry, but I think I've been priced out of the Pitarra business.





Vo Nguyen It's a sad statement when an artist you enjoy gets added late to a con and you're like "NOOoooo!" Nguyen just turned up on the Artist Alley roster at the last minute, so now I have to adjust my budget/plans, because the guy's too good to pass up.



*The Phoenix Comicon guest list makes me ill. I like my littler local Comicpalooza, because I get to meet and/or work with the artists in attendance that I have an interest in. It makes me feel I get the most out of the show. Phoenix is so big that I doubt I could just randomly shake hands with everyone I'd like to meet, much less decide on and pay for commissions. There's something to be said for a manageable, contained experience. However, it would have been nice if Comicpalooza's guest/programming lists had been locked down a lot sooner than nine days or so before the show.

2012 The Mercurian Renegade Space City Con Commission by Cody Schibi

"Forgot to share this commission from @SpaceCityCon last week. An obscure comic character whose name I cant remember: pic.twitter.com/mWuw1P82"

To recap, ahead of Comicpalooza 2012, my research into the artistic stylings of Cody Schibi so impressed me in its detail that I figured it would cost many hundreds of dollars, and therefore be out of my price range. I spoke with him anyway, and when I realized my assumption that his work was worth Benjamins did not jibe with his self-stated pursuit of mere Washingtons, I picked up one of my top two favorite commissions of the con for just $50.00. While pulling together all the links involved with spotlighting Schibi's Mister Moth piece, I revisited his blog drawing a blank, and learned days ahead of the event that Space City Con had gone from a total low rent joke to an arrival point for the likes of Art Adams, Whilce Portacio, Vo Nguyen, Chris Beaver, Robert Wilson IV, Adrian Nelson, Mark Nasso and Nick Pitarra. Without Schibi's notice, none of those pieces would have come into being, so I'm grateful to him for that.

I'm also appreciative that Schibi provided another stellar commission that was a top highlight of a convention, rounding out my 2012 Space City Con collection. I kicked myself for not going the $80 full figure (in color!) route with Mr. Moth after I saw the incredible work Schibi produced, and did not make the same mistake with The Mercurian.

This Renegade was something of a precursor to the mohawk-fin revision of Despero (I almost snuck it in last December,) and one of the Martian Manhunter's cooler looking Silver Age adversaries. I never tried to buy up any pricey back issues of Detective Comics, but I put together a decent run of the Alien Atlas' House of Mystery appearances on the cheap. Compared to the cruddy creatures unleashed by the Diabolu Idol-Head and Mr. V's goons, the Mercurian seemed a cut above. Only after the Showcase Presents reprints afforded me access to the Alien Atlas' more ardent adversaries did I realize the Mercurian was a bit of a dud. He just kind of showed up to conquer Earth, and when his slap fight with J'onn J'onzz didn't go his way, he cut and ran. This was in the midst of a VULTURE story, and it was they who produced the captivity-bubble-generating rifle that gave the Martian Marvel the biggest hassle in the issue. J'onn still easily duped and disarmed both parties for a speedy resolution. I explained the Mercurian's single lackluster outing to Schibi, which I'm sure played into the character's moaning "Who the HELL am I?" Let's face it, the guy is essentially defined by his planet of origin. You'd get angsty about being dubbed "The Earthling," right?

As usual, my scan of a resized color Xerox fails to capture much of the nuance of the actual 11" x 17" art. There are no gaps in the ruddy flesh tones in the original, and the tunic is much lighter, revealing more detail. That's probably a good thing when it comes to the "panty shot," wherein I'm "treated" to cameltoe from the first world circling Sol. The gray trail coming off of the raygun's barrel is actually detritus from where I had to fold the paper on my copy to scan, and you lose a lot of the googaws on that thing. In fact, I've decided to offer detail shots just to highlight how much I couldn't get into the overall scan. I love the fine bits of wrinkles and dermatological disorder on this bastard, as well as the color debris swarming around the Mercurian. I consider Cody Schibi one of my finest "draft picks" of convention season, and I can't wait to see what he lobs back at me when I serve him another obscurity from the Vile Menagerie in less than two weeks...

Martian Sightings for August, 2013

I'll talk about all those likely cheesy Trinity War books I'll probably still buy in a minute, but I have something to say first. I'm looking at these Arkham City action figures, along with the Infinite Crisis Atomic Wonder Woman statue, and I simply find it all friggin' repugnant. It's like Juggalos have taken over the design aesthetic of DC Comics. Generations to come will laugh at how vulgar and stupid we were for putting up with this crap. Just because super-heroes have gone mainstream doesn't mean it's okay to pander to literally the lowest common denominator of all possible audiences, and will either drown in fail sauce or push the entire medium back into the grimiest ghetto of popular culture alongside furries and the oeuvre of V. C. Andrews' ghost writer.

Martian Manhunter

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #7
Written by GEOFF JOHNS and JEFF LEMIRE
Art by DOUG MAHNKE and CHRISTIAN ALAMY
Cover by DOUG MAHNKE
1:25 Variant cover by MIKEL JANIN
1:00 B&W Variant cover by DOUG MAHNKE
“We Can Be Heroes” Blank variant cover available
On sale AUGUST 14 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Retailers: This issue will ship with five covers. This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue. Please see the order form for more information.

TRINITY WAR CHAPTER 4! The hunt for a murder suspect leads Superman and his new teammates to the secret behind the Secret Society, while Batman finds the key to the crime—and one of the Leaguers will be forever changed by it. Plus, who is the Secret Society of Super-Villains and what are their plans for Pandora?

I don't like Mahnke's six-pointed starburst in space Martian Manhunter chest insignia as much as the red/gray/black "pie chart" one most commonly seen in the New 52, but it's way better than Dave Finch's "shower flower sticker." Also, I'd quite like to see Mahnke do the JLA again in the more realistic style he's developed with Christian Alamy.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #23
Written by JEFF LEMIRE and RAY FAWKES
Art by MIKEL JANIN
Cover by DOUG MANHKE
1:25 Variant cover by MIKAL JANIN
1:100 B&W Variant cover by DOUG MAHNKE
On sale AUGUST 21 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.

TRINITY WAR CHAPTER 5! The Justice Leagues continues to fracture as the murder of a hero is solved—and the line between justice and vengeance blurs as they head off to find those responsible!

The Green Arrow guy is co-writing this thing. Maybe he's going supernatural?

JUSTICE LEAGUE #23
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
Cover by DOUG MAHNKE
1:25 Variant cover by MIKAL JANIN
1:00 B&W Variant cover by DOUG MAHNKE
On sale AUGUST 28 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Retailers: This issue will ship with four covers. This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue. Please see the order form for more information.

TRINITY WAR CHAPTER 6! Trinity War concludes! But that doesn’t mean all ends well for our heroes. The secret behind Pandora’s Box is revealed and it means the end of the Justice Leagues!

No it doesn't.

TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA #3
Written by RAY FAWKES
Art by DANIEL SAMPERE and VICENTE CIFUENTES
Cover by RYAN SOOK
1:25 B&W Variant cover by RYAN SOOK
On sale AUGUST 21 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.

A “Trinity War” tie-in! As both the heroes and the villains continue to hunt Pandora down, she makes a crucial decision involving the Seven Deadly Sins, one that will affect the entire world…

So this is all a Shazam thing?

TRINITY OF SIN: THE PHANTOM STRANGER #11
Written by J.M. DeMATTEIS
Art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by GUILLEM MARCH
On sale AUGUST 7 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

The key to ending “Trinity War” may be the soul of a murdered Justice League member, so the Phantom Stranger must lead a covert team—including Batman, Deadman and Katana—into the afterlife to try to retrieve it! But the Stranger made a promise never to return to the afterlife— and when he breaks that promise, he’ll find that the Hosts of Heaven are all too eager to dish out his punishment!

At first I was all like OMG, they killed a secret Leaguer within the five year New 52 timeline. Then I remembered that they're going to kill somebody in Justice League of America #4, and here's where they'll either be resurrected or have their requiem. Vibe? Steve Trevor?

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA’S VIBE #7
Written by STERLING GATES
Art by PETE WOODS and SEAN PARSONS
Cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
On sale AUGUST 21 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

Afraid that A.R.G.U.S. has been lying to him, Vibe goes on the run! But he doesn’t get very far before a new villain with ties to his past threatens to turn his future upside down!

Is that what the New 52 Gypsy is going to look like? Ew. Hopefully, New 52 Reverb means cancellation comes with #8.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: TRINITY WAR—DIRECTOR’S CUT #1
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by IVAN REIS
On sale AUGUST 7 • 64 pg, FC, $5.99 US • RATED T

The War of the Justice Leagues is here—and now, DC Comics presents the first chapter in this epic event in a new Director’s Cut, featuring Geoff Johns’ original script from JUSTICE LEAGUE #22 and Ivan Reis’ artwork presented in pencil form!

DC ONE MILLION OMNIBUS HC
Written by GRANT MORRISON, MARK MILLAR, MARK WAID, RON MARZ, GARTH ENNIS, JAMES ROBINSON, GEOFF JOHNS and others
Art by VAL SEMEIKS, PHIL JIMENEZ, CULLY HAMNER, MARK BUCKINGHAM, J.H. WILLIAMS III, BRYAN HITCH, KEITH GIFFEN, SEAN PHILLIPS, DAN JURGENS and others
Cover by RYAN SOOK
On sale OCTOBER 30 • 1,080 pg, FC, $99.99 US

The 1999 event masterminded by Grant Morrison is collected in its entirety in one massive hardcover! In the 853rd century, Earth remains safe thanks to the descendants of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and others—but they’ve never met anything like the sentient super-computer Solaris. This incredible collection includes DC ONE MILLION #1-4, plus the #1,000,000 issues of ACTION COMICS, ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, AQUAMAN, AZRAEL, BATMAN, BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT, BOOSTER GOLD, CATWOMAN, CHASE, CHRONOS, THE CREEPER, DETECTIVE COMICS, THE FLASH, GREEN ARROW, GREEN LANTERN, HITMAN, IMPULSE, JLA, LEGION OF SUPER HEROES, LEGIONNAIRES, LOBO, MARTIAN MANHUNTER, NIGHTWING, POWER OF SHAZAM, RESURRECTION MAN, ROBIN, STARMAN, SUPERBOY, SUPERGIRL, SUPERMAN, SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL, SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF TOMORROW, WONDER WOMAN, YOUNG JUSTICE, as well as DC ONE MILLION 80-PAGE GIANT #1 and SUPERMAN/BATMAN #79-80.

I wasn't a big fan of this event, which was painfully bloated and unfocused, plus I hated the art of Val Semeiks on the core mini-series. On the other hand, there's a bunch of cool Martian Manhunter moments in this, and his millionth issue was one of the best (though they really should have included the Bryan Hitch drawn epilogue in Martian Manhunter #11, because duh.

JLA EARTH TWO DELUXE EDITION HC
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Art and cover by FRANK QUITELY
On sale OCTOBER 2 • 144 pg, FC, 7.0625” x 10.875”, $24.99 US

The amazing original graphic novel from the ALL-STAR SUPERMAN creative team of writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely is back in a new deluxe edition hardcover, that includes a gallery of preliminary art that’s never been published before! Ultraman, Owlman, Power Ring, and Johnny Quick rule their world without mercy or opposition, until the sudden appearance of Superman, Batman and the rest of the Justice League! Realties clash as the Justice League travels to an alternate reality to face off against distorted mirror images of themselves… This Deluxe Edition features a new cover by Frank Quitely, plus previously unpublished sketch material and more.

I wasn't as wild for this one as many of you, who would probably have it in their personal top ten Martian Manhunter stories. It's still pretty good in my book, though.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 2: THE VILLAIN’S JOURNEY TP
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by JIM LEE, SCOTT WILLIAMS, GENE HA, CARLOS D’ANDA, IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
Cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
On sale SEPTEMBER 25 • 176 pg, FC, $16.99 US

In this new trade paperback collecting issues #7-12 of the smash-hit series, find out what who has joined the team after its origin! And why does Green Arrow want to join their ranks so badly? Plus, someone is out to get the Justice League, and he is determined to show the world how mortal these godlike beings really are!

There's that two page splash where the Alien Atlas battles the entire League at once. Then 174 other pages.

2011 “Supergirl: GLC” color art by Ricken

Click To Enlarge

"The team up from [SUPERGIRL: Good-Looking Corpse] series:heart: mmm...I know I know Damian's smartest youngster! not like this XP sometimes Kara, sometimes Steph makes his face ease up... I don't know how he feels it but I like it"