It's time again to take apart the newest comic book solicitations and find the best and most interesting DC Comics slated to come out in January 2011. January is iconic cover month is kind of like the "Faces of Evil" thing two years ago, except instead of the standard cover logo they're just gonna put the character's icon and a picture of them in an "iconic" pose, like with the "Final Crisis" covers.

Check out our 10 picks for January after the jump!

1. BATMAN INCORPORATED #3



Written by GRANT MORRISON

Art by YANICK PAQUETTE & MICHAEL LACOMBE

Cover by DAVID FINCH & SCOTT WILLIAMS

1:25 Variant cover by J.H. WILLIAMS III

Batman and Catwoman travel to South America to reunite with Gaucho, Argentina's Batman Incorporated representative. But their trip may be cut short when an unexpected adversary sends things spiraling downward!


On sale JANUARY 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US



You remember when they launched two new ongoing Batman series featuring Bruce Wayne in November? Oh right, they haven't even started yet, but we've already got "The Dark Knight" #3 skipping a ship month, and it looks like its cover has been allocated to the third issue of "Batman Incorporated" instead, since that puppy is by David Finch and the original solicitation listed Yanick Paquette and J.H. Williams III. Schedule problems before the release of the first issue are a bad sign, but "Incorporated" continues to look fantastic.
2. DAYTRIPPER TP


Written by GABRIEL BÁ and FÁBIO MOON

Art by FÁBIO MOON and GABRIEL BÁ

Cover by GABRIEL BÁ


"One of the most memorable things we've read in a long time." - io9


"Beautifully written and utterly gorgeous, DAYTRIPPER completely blew me away." - Gerard Way (Umbrella Academy, My Chemical Romance)


What are the most important days of your life? Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá answer that question in the critical and commercial hit series that took the industry by storm, winning praise from such comics veterans as Terry Moore, Craig Thompson and Jeff Smith. Follow aspiring writer Brás de Oliva Domingos as each chapter of DAYTRIPPER peers in at a completely different moment in his life. Moon and Bá tell a beautifully lyrical tale chronicling Domingos's entire existence – from his loves to his deaths and all the possibilities in between. Introduction by Craig Thompson (Blankets).


On sale FEBRUARY 2 • 256 pg, FC, $19.99 US MATURE READERS

I haven't read this, and I've been told that it was amazing in single issues and is probably best experienced that way, but basically every single person I know has told me that this was one of, if not THE, best books of 2010. I'm very excited to finally get to read this.

3. SUPERGIRL #60

Written by NICK SPENCER

Art by BERNARD CHANG

Cover by AMY REEDER & RICHARD FRIEND

SUPERGIRL welcomes aboard writer Nick Spencer (JIMMY OLSEN, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS, Morning Glories) and artist Bernard Chang (WONDER WOMAN, SUPERMAN) for a Girl of Steel story unlike any other! Someone is trying to kill the young heroes of the DC Universe! Who is this villain, and how can Supergirl stop him? Maybe her friends can help – namely, Batgirl, Blue Beetle, Miss Martian, Static and...Robin?! Buckle up, folks, because this one puts the pedal to the metal on page one and doesn't let up for a second!

On sale JANUARY 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

If you've been reading us lately, you've probably been able to tell how hot on Nick Spencer's new "Jimmy Olsen" backup we are. It's smart, funny, well-drawn and an incredibly effective modern update of the big-ideas, low-explanations style of Silver Age Jimmy Olsen comics. I find no reason to believe his work on "Supergirl" will potentially be any different, and while I'll be sad to see Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle leave the book, Spencer and Chang could give it a shot in the arm and make it a real must-read title again.

4. STARMAN/CONGORILLA

Written by JAMES ROBINSON

Art by BRETT BOOTH

Cover by GENE HA

In this tie-in to the "JLA Omega" storyline, the new blue and gold team of Congorilla and Mikaal Tomas work to unlock the secrets behind the toxic Omega Man's dark energy, which encases Washington D.C. To do this they must embark on a quest to find the Fountain of Youth, encountering diverse heroes from the DCU along the way including Animal Man, Sirocco and a certain wonder dog named Rex. And all the while, Mikaal and Congorilla must outrun and outwit a cadre of terrorist assassins from Gorilla City. This is a breakneck chase through the DCU, but with a serious end-goal – saving the lives of their fellow members of the JLA!

ONE-SHOT • On sale JANUARY 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

James Robinson, obscure characters, self-contained one-shot. As much guff as the dude has gotten for some of his writing recently COUGHcryforjusticeCOUGH, if the strength of "Starman" #81 is anything to go by, this should be something like a fish in water.

5. THE NEW YORK FIVE #1

Written by BRIAN WOOD

Art by RYAN KELLY

Cover by BRIAN WOOD & RYAN KELLY

There's nothing more exciting than college life in the big city. But complications can follow you from dark places – and not just from your boring hometown. In THE NEW YORK FIVE, Riley's sister Angie is making a name in the Lower East Side with her new band, and now Riley is the black sheep of the family. Lona's murky past appears to have been hiding an alarming proficiency for stalkerism, and Merissa and Ren will confront uncomfortable situations involving older men. But who is the "five" in THE NEW YORK FIVE? Find out as Vertigo reunites this cast with its stellar creative team of Brian Wood (DEMO, DMZ, NORTHLANDERS) and Ryan Kelly (LUCIFER, Local) in this standard-sized 4-issue miniseries.

On sale JANUARY 26 • 1 of 4 • 32 pg, B&W, no interior ads • $2.99 US MATURE READERS

Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly's Minx graphic novel series returns, at Vertigo, with a "Mature Readers" tag. I really hope that's just a solicitation mistype since it's in the Vertigo section, but if it actually is for mature readers, that is the saddest admission that Minx never reached its targeted demographic I've ever seen. I'm serious, I need a tissue. Hopefully, though, it's just a continuation of their fun YA story about college freshmen in NYC.

6. DOC SAVAGE #10

Written by IVAN BRANDON

Art by PHIL WINSLADE

Cover by J.G. JONES

It was the war that changed everything and brought Clark Savage, Jr., and Ronan McKenna together. But the things those men had to do as soldiers would one day tear them apart! Don't miss this thrilling flashback to the history of the First Wave universe; a story that sets the scene for the deadly conclusion of Doc's adventure in the Middle East!

On sale JANUARY 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

7. THE SPIRIT #10

Written by DAVID HINE

Art by MORITAT

Cover by LADRÖNN

Roscoe Kalashnikov was sure he could get away with murder – and in a town as corrupt as Central City, maybe he could. But if that's so, why do his victim's words still haunt him? She said something about "the spirit of justice" and now, around every corner, Roscoe is seeing a flash of trench coat and the briefest glimpse of a masked man...

On sale JANUARY 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

I'd just like to say I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when they sat there and tried to figure out what they were going to do for iconic Doc Savage and Spirit logos, and just how people responded when someone finally went "you know, f--k it, let's just put the regular logos on there and call it a day. They aren't our property anyway."


8. WEIRD WORLDS #1

Written by KEVIN VAN HOOK, AARON LOPRESTI and KEVIN MAGUIRE

Art by JERRY ORDWAY, AARON LOPRESTI & MATT RYAN and KEVIN MAGUIRE

Cover by JUSTINIANO

Welcome to one of the weirdest titles DC has ever assembled – 6 issues filled with stories of monsters, ghouls and far-out cosmic craziness!

Each month, you'll be treated to new 10-page chapters in three exciting serials. In this debut issue, Kevin Van Hook and Jerry Ordway bring you the continuing adventures of Lobo, everyone's favorite Czarnian (after all, he's the only one left, so he'd better be your favorite). Aaron Lopresti introduces you to his newest creation, the kind-hearted monster called Garbageman. And Kevin Maguire takes you to the farthest reaches of outer space with the introduction of a hero called Tanga!

Wrap it all up in a cover by the amazing Justiniano, and you've got a truly monstrous hit on your hands! These artists are letting their freak flags fly – join them, why don't you?

On sale JANUARY 5 • 1 of 6 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

Proving once again I'm a crappy prognosticator after my guess that the third "Weird Worlds" feature would be by a writer/artist, this is a six-issue mini featuring a Lobo story by Kevin VanHook and Jerry Ordway (I have to say, Ordway is an unconventional choice for Lobo), a new "Garbage Man" character by Aaron Lopresti, and "Tonga" by Kevin Maguire, which he talked about at the DC Universe panel at New York Comic Con.

9. BATMAN: TIME AND THE BATMAN

Written by GRANT MORRISON and FABIAN NICIEZA

Art by DAVID FINCH, TONY DANIEL, ANDY KUBERT and FRANK QUITELY

Cover by DAVID FINCH and SCOTT WILLIAMS

Grant Morrison returns to BATMAN with tales from issues #700-703, illustrated by an all-star roster of artists including Andy Kubert, Tony Daniel and Frank Quitely. Don't miss a tale that reveals secret details in The Dark Knight's adventures following BATMAN R.I.P and the return of Bruce Wayne to Gotham City!

On sale MARCH 2 • 128 pg, FC, $19.99 US

$20 for four issues, one of which ("Batman" #703) is actually a prelude to the "Road Home" one-shot event and largely unrelated to the other three, which take place in the grand continuum of Grant Morrison's Big Batman Story. It'd be fair if #700 was legitimately oversized, but considering it was a standard ol' 30 pages with a bunch of pin-ups and unreleased covers in the back, this entire enterprise is pretty much highway robbery. I hope at some point they collect Morrison's "Batman" in a way that's less fragmented.

These ARE good comics, though.

10. SUPERMAN/BATMAN: TORMENT

Written by ALAN BURNETT

Art and cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN & DEREK FRIDOLFS

Collecting SUPERMAN/BATMAN #37-42, written by Alan Burnett (Superman/Batman Adventures and Batman Beyond animated series) and illustrated by the STREETS OF GOTHAM art team of Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs! This volume takes the Dark Knight and Superman from the alleys of Gotham City to the outer reaches of Apokolips in a quest that pits them against Darkseid, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, and more!

On sale FEBRUARY 16 • 160 pg, FC, $14.99 US

This totally great, largely overlooked story was one of the last real Fourth World stories before "Final Crisis" that, for the most part, wasn't ground into the "Countdown" narrative processor (at least, not until the epilogue). Otherwise, this is just a really cool story by DC Animated Universe alum Alan Burnett and artist Dustin Nguyen where Superman fights Darkseid and Batman tries not to bang Orion's wife. Well-written, well-characterized, well-drawn, I totally recommend this.

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