DETECTIVE COMICS VOL. 2 Debuts at #1 on THE NEW YORK TIMES’ Hardcover Graphic Books Best Seller List

On Friday, THE NEW YORK TIMES published their Graphic Books Best Sellers Lists, and debuting at #1 on the Hardcover list was BATMAN: DETECTIVE COMICS, VOL. 2: SCARE TACTICS!

An armed robbery carried out by gunmen dressed as Batman. A string of similar-looking corpses turning up in morgues … then disappearing. An experiment gone dangerously awry, carried out in Bruce Wayne’s own company tower. Somehow, all of these events are tied together, orchestrated by a terrifying killer known as Mr. Toxic, and the fate of Gotham City—and the world—is on the line. Can the Dark Knight piece together the mystery, while also dealing with a gang of fear-gassing Scarecrows, an attack on Arkham Asylum by the Court of Owls and the escape of one of Arkham’s most dangerous inmates—the hypnotic Black Mask?

In BATMAN: DETECTIVE COMICS, VOL. 2: SCARE TACTICS, writer/artist Tony S. Daniel (SAVAGE HAWKMAN) and artists Ed Benes (RED LANTERNS), Szymon Kudranski (PENGUIN: PAIN AND PREJUDICE), Julio Ferreira (TEEN TITANS), Romano Molenaar (BIRDS OF PREY), and Pere Perez (BATGIRL) put Batman to the fearsome test in the new DC Universe! Plus, witness the deadly final lesson in Bruce Wayne’s training before he became Batman, from writers Gregg Hurwitz (BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT) and James Tynion IV (TALON) and artists Tony S. Daniel and Henrik Jonsson! This hardcover books collects DETECTIVE COMICS #8-12 and #0, and DETECTIVE COMICS ANNUAL #1.

Click here to read THE NEW YORK TIMES’ full list of Hardcover Graphic Books Best Sellers, which also includes BATMAN, VOL. 2: THE CITY OF OWLS, 100 BULLETS: DELUXE EDITION BOOK FOUR, AMERICAN VAMPIRE, VOL. 5, BATMAN, VOL. 1: THE COURT OF OWLS, and BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE. And click here to see THE NEW YORK TIMES’ list of Paperback Graphic Books Best Sellers, which includes the debuts of SWAMP THING, VOL. 2: FAMILY TREE and WORLDS’ FINEST, VOL. 1: LOST DAUGHTERS OF EARTH 2, as well as PUNK ROCK JESUS. Congratulations to all!

DC Entertainment Announces Two New Series at Emerald City Comic Con

This past weekend, the streets of Seattle were awash with the colors of capes, cowls, tights, and more, as Emerald City Comic Con took over the Washington State Convention Center for three days.

Timed to the convention, DC Entertainment announced the launches of two exciting titles – DC Comics’ new ongoing monthly series, TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA, and Vertigo Comics’ BROTHER LONO, an all-new 8-part miniseries spinning out of the critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling series, 100 BULLETS!

In stores this spring, TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA will shine a solo spotlight on the elusive character Pandora and begin to unravel the details of why she’s such an integral part of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. Written by Ray Fawkes (CONSTANTINE; JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK) and illustrated by Daniel Sampere (BATGIRL; JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK), this new series will be complimented by THE PHANTOM STRANGER – which will be retitled to TRINITY OF SIN: THE PHANTOM STRANGER when co-writer J.M. DeMatteis takes over full writing duties in June.

“She's spent thousands of years crossing the globe, over and over again, hearing her name cursed for all the evils of the world,” Fawkes exclusively teased to COMIC BOOK RESOURCES about the new series’ mysterious protagonist. “She carries this unfathomable guilt and this searing anger with her -- guilt because she may very well be responsible for all this suffering, and anger because she thinks she never had a chance to avoid unleashing it. She has reason to believe the game was fixed. So she's had all the time in the world to crawl through every kind of shame and pain and remorse you can imagine, and she's come out on the other side of it with a strong, pure sense of purpose. Is that going to lead to more trouble? Yeah, of course it is. But trouble for whom?”

“TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA is an action/horror title,” Fawkes continued. “It's about a blistering quest for vengeance, no-holds barred, with blatant disregard for the costs incurred -- until it breaks, like a bloody wave. Then it's about something else entirely, and I'm not going to give that away just yet.”

Also landing on shelves this spring, BROTHER LONO will reunite the Eisner Award winning creative team of Vertigo Comics’ 100 BULLETS – including writer Brian Azzarello, artist Eduardo Risso, colorist Trish Mulvihill, letterer Clem Robbins and cover artist Dave Johnson.

“It's not a continuation of 100 BULLETS. I wouldn't even call it a sequel. It's dealing with one of the characters that happened to survive. Everyone else in the series [BROTHER LONO] — it will be all new characters. It's just, what's Lono been doing since the end of that series,” Azzarello exclusively revealed to NEWSARAMA, who also debuted the cover for 100 BULLETS: BROTHER LONO #1. “We're not going to learn more about his background. We're going to learn what drives him. He's not a character that looks toward the past. He's always moving forward.”

As for how the creative team feels to be re-entering the world of 100 BULLETS together?

“We're really excited about this. We're happy to be back,” Azzarello told NEWSARAMA. “We wouldn't be doing it if we didn't have a story to tell. So luckily, we had one.”

Look for TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA and BROTHER LONO in stores this June. And keep checking back to THE SOURCE and GRAPHIC CONTENT for more about the launches of these two new series in the coming weeks!

5.2 Reasons Brian Azzarello is One of the Best Writers in Comics

Welcome DC Entertainment fans to a brand new weekly feature where we list off 5.2 Reasons of varying subjects of greatness from across our line of books, collectibles, and more!
 
Wednesday marked the launch of BEFORE WATCHMEN: COMEDIAN, and while old Eddie Blake might see the world as a dark and twisted place, we personally like to take a look at the positives—namely the existence of totally awesome comic creators like Comedian writer Brian Azzarello.
 
Already a huge fan of Azzarello, his involvement in Before Watchmen got us more pumped than Schwarzenegger—especially considering the characters he'd be working on. We took a look at the comic catalog to give you 5.2 Reasons Brian Azzarello is One of the Best Writers in Comics.

1. Wonder Woman
WONDER WOMAN #10 is out this week, but with the first issue alone, Azzarello solidified his spot in the pantheon of brilliant WW writers—embracing instead of shying away from the Amazon Princess's mythological roots. Coupled with the insanely gifted artist Cliff Chiang—who perfectly captures and balances Diana's might and beauty—Wonder Woman is like a gift from the gods.
 
2. 100 Bullets
Loaded with intrigue and blasting a non-stop barrage of action-filled slugs, Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso's 100 Bullets hits the mark as one of Vertigo's quintessential reads. Get the new Deluxe Edition trades or go digital with all 100 issues. And for more awesome collaborations from these two creators, check out BATMAN: KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE and SPACEMAN.
 
3. First Wave
Batman, Doc Savage, The Spirit—classic characters, all interacting and adventuring in the same world along with Black Canary, Rima the Jungle Girl and more. If you love pulp (the style of storytelling, not necessarily the stuff in juice, but sure, that, too) grab the softcover collection, which hit stores this week.
 
4. Joker
This comes as part of a one-two punch with the next entry, but whenever Azzarello teams with artist Lee Bermejo, the only joke is that this collaboration doesn't happen all the time. Insanely beautiful images pair with a darkly disturbing story that explores the criminal side of Gotham and features grisly realistic interpretations of Batman's famous foes.
 
5. Luthor
BATMAN/DEATHBLOW marked the first collaboration between Azzarello and Bermejo, but LUTHOR is the one that put the team on the veritable map. Originally a five-issue limited series, the graphic novel collection includes 10 new pages of material! The title takes a look at the inner workings and motivations behind humanity's self-proclaimed "savior."

 

5.1 He'll Be Teaming With Bermejo Once More On:


 

 

5.2 He May or May Not Be the God of War

 

 

Those are the reasons we're big fans of Brian Azzarello. What are yours? Feel free to sound off below, and we'll see you again in a week with another edition of 5.2 Reasons!

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