This Just Happened: Sibling Rivalry

SPOILER ALERT: If you have not read BATGIRL #18 and do not wish to know what happens, stop reading this post now (major spoilers ahead!)

“Death of the Family” is over, and Barbara Gordon (a.k.a. Batgirl) has survived yet another terrifying ordeal with The Joker. But is she ready for a showdown with another one her greatest foes, her brother James, Jr.?! He’s already sold her out to The Joker – but what will he do next?

In “The Mask of Ashes,” from the creative team of guest writer Ray Fawkes and artists Daniel Sampere and Rob Hunter, Batgirl and her devious brother take sibling rivalry to a whole new level.

Last issue, Batgirl found herself in Firebugs’ path as he proceeded to burn down an entire building. Now, the fire seems to have set off a bigger trap, which brings the entire building down – with Batgirl still in it!

James witnesses the whole scene, and watches the locals dig through the rubble to find Batgirl. Just as hope begins to dwindle, Batgirl emerges, bloodied and bruised.

Meanwhile, Barbara’s father, Commissioner Gordon, receives tragic news from Batman about the death of his sidekick, Robin (for more on this, click here. And be sure to check out all of the Bat-family books this month for more of Damian’s “Requiem”).

Commissioner Gordon delivers the news to his daughter, but before she can grieve the death of her ally, she receives a phone call from James. He’s got plans for his sister. Big ones.

But before Batgirl can investigate these plans, she must bring Firebug to justice. After knocking him out and leaving him for the police, Batgirl sets off to track James. Her signal tracer leads her to an abandoned house, the perfect place for James’ secret headquarters, but he is nowhere to be found.

Instead, James is in a child’s bedroom, calling his newly recovering mother. But this isn’t your typical mother/son talk, as James has an ultimatum for her: Come to the Gotham Bay Aquarium or Barbara dies!

Will James’ mother agree to his terms? And what does this have to do with his plans for Batgirl? Place your bets in the comments section below!

Below, take a look at the final page of “The Mask of Ashes,” as James teases a gruesome death for Batgirl! And be sure to pick up a copy of BATGIRL #18, in stores now!


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!

Preview Monday: BATGIRL #15 and SAUCER COUNTRY #10

Welcome back for another installment of Preview Monday! This week we’re giving you exclusive first looks at BATGIRL #15 and SAUCER COUNTRY #10.

 

Following the jaw-dropping events of BATGIRL #14, The Joker decides that it’s time for a wedding – with Batgirl as his bride! This week, “Death of the Family” continues as Barbara fights back against the murderous Clown Prince of Crime. Can Batgirl succeed and save her mother? Or will she be forced to marry the most feared man in Batman’s Rogues Gallery? Find out in BATGIRL #15, in stores this Wednesday, written by Gail Simone and illustrated by Daniel Sampere and Vicente Cifuentes. Click here for an exclusive preview of the issue.

 

Also this week, “The Reticulan Candidate” storyline concludes in SAUCER COUNTRY #10. While Arcadia and her team move onto the Democratic debate in Las Vegas, Michael finds himself wondering what’s real and what he is truly capable of. Can he finally be honest with Arcadia and tell her about his dreams? Also, who will step up to ask a question and shock everyone during the debate? Written by Paul Cornell and drawn by Ryan Kelly, SAUCER COUNTRY #10 lands in stores this Wednesday. Click here for an exclusive preview of the issue.

Annuals Spotlight: BATGIRL ANNUAL #1

This Halloween, DC Comics will release its next batch of Annuals. These special oversized issues will not only build off of the events in their respective series, but will also greatly impact the expanding DC Universe. Leading up to their October 31 releases, we’ll be putting individual spotlights on each of these Annual issues by giving you special sneak peeks at what’s to come! Yesterday, you got a taste of JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK ANNUAL #1. Today, we’re taking you to Gotham City with a first look at BATGIRL ANNUAL #1.

 

Written by Gail Simone and illustrated by Admira Wijaya and Daniel Sampere, BATGIRL ANNUAL #1 marks the first meeting between Batgirl and Catwoman in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. Will these two women be able to work together to form an alliance? Or are their differences too extreme? Plus, witness the return of the Talon that Barbara battled during this past spring’s “Night of the Owls” crossover event. And given how things ended the last time she and Batgirl faced off, it’s safe to assume she won’t be knocking at Barbara’s door with a basket of mini-muffins.

 

“BATGIRL ANNUAL #1 tells the tale of Batgirl’s first meeting with Catwoman and how they are somewhat like oil and water,” teased editor Brian Cunningham. “I can’t say enough great things about Admira Wijaya and Daniel Sampere’s art. Their unique approach makes this Annual look very special, and you have not heard the last of these guys, I can assure you of that.”

 

Below, take a sneak peek at BATGIRL ANNUAL #1 by checking out Batgirl and Catwoman side-by-side ready for action. And don’t forget to pick up the issue when it hits stores next Wednesday!

 

Editor Matt Idelson talks I,VAMPIRE/JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK Crossover

When I, VAMPIRE writer Josh Fialkov royally messed up and killed his lead character, we had no choice but to reach out to Peter Milligan, scribe of JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK to help bail us out. What resulted was one of the first crossovers of the NEW 52, encapsulating issues #7-8 of both titles.

With Andrew dead, the very first vampire ever has arisen (in Gotham, naturally), and the JLDark need to stop a primordial force. And while the battlefront on Earth is definitely pretty intense, it's the trips to other planes of reality that are going to reveal some things about the late Mr. Bennett and change the game for both books. A member of the Dark team will be a member no longer once this is done. Actually, they won't be around to be a member.

And if I haven't put you to sleep with my blathering yet, take a gander at some of the artwork from the two titles joining to tell one story!

--Matt

The Evolution of The Dark Knight

In the final issue of the current run of BATMAN, The Dark Knight’s past is illuminated. Featuring appearances by a wide array of classic characters including Robin, Catwoman, Batgirl, Nightwing, The Riddler, Jim Gordon and Superman, BATMAN #713 traces the evolution of The Dark Knight and Bat-family.

BATMAN #713 comes from the creative team of Fabian Nicieza, Steve Scott, Daniel Sampere, Andrei Bressan, Walden Wong, Rich Perrotta and Rodney Ramos. This is the final issue of the current arc of the series and it flies onto stands tomorrow.

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