michael allred

Every month, comic publishers release their solicitation announcements to provide information to readers and retailers on comics that are coming out in three months’ time, but there’s so much information dropped at once that a lot can slip through the cracks. This month in DC's June solicitations, DC Rebirth brings back some more old favorites in a more traditional setting, some New 52 standout stars get a chance to return, some Golden Age heroes appear in the least likely place, and Aquaman gets hot!

Since its debut last year with some of the most compelling titles on the stands, it's safe to say that the Young Animal line has had some success digging into the more obscure characters from DC's catalog. We've even got a Cave Carson book that features Wild Dog, and it's one of the best things going. With that in mind, it makes sense that the line's approach to Jack Kirby's Fourth World looks beyond the usual characters, like Orion and Mister Miracle, and puts the spotlight on someone else. Hence Bug: The Adventures of Forager.

Comixology Unlimted continues to grow as it adds to its already deep and plentiful catalog of comics available to read via subscription, but November's update to the service may just be the best yet. Among a host of great comics joining the service, fans can sample the very first volume of Michael Allred's Madman as well as some newer must reads and some additional volumes of series that are already part of the program.

DC's digital-first re-imaginings and continuations of beloved superhero shows of decades past have not only yielded some great comics in their own right, but recently they've been crossing over with other properties in a similar vein. Batman '66 has met up with Green Hornet and The Man From Uncle while Wonder Woman '77 has been hanging out with The Bionic Woman. Later this year, thing rocket to their logical conclusion as, for the first time, Adam West and Burt Ward's Batman and Robin team-up with Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman for an epic crossover that could only be called Batman ’66 Meets Wonder Woman ’77.

Shaun Simon and Michael Allred's Art Ops is one of the titles leading the new wave of Vertigo books redefining and re-establishing DC's mature readers imprint for a new generation, and next week, Art Ops #11 sees guest artist Rob Davis step in for a story ominously titled "The Boy Who Painted Death." We've got an exclusive preview of the first few pages.

If you haven't been keeping up with Vertigo's Art Ops, here's the high concept: When figures from famous pieces of art --- your Monas Lisa, for example --- break out of their frames and start causing trouble in the real world, a special team of Art Operatives goes into action to stop them. Among their number is one Reggie Riot, who has a family connection to the organization and an arm composed of a bright, extremely prehensile embodiment of the very concept of art. Also, he can talk to art. Also also, Mike Allred draws it, so it looks amazing. In the next issue, though, it looks like the Art Ops are taking a bit of a different tactic as they move into solving pet crimes! It's an adorable new direction, as Reggie heads over to help a sweet old lady deal with an animal named Biscuits --- it just happens to play out in an extremely Vertigo Comics sort of way. Check out a preview!

On this day in 1940, DC Comics published Batman #1, which, as well as being the first appearance of The Joker, also featured the first appearance of the character we would come to know as Catwoman. Selina Kyle has been one of the most versatile characters in not only Batman’s canon, but the whole DC Universe. She’s been a hero, a villain, an ally, a lover, and for over twenty years she has been a leading lady in her own right.

Batman ‘66 sure is getting around a lot these days, having recently crossed over with other classic '60s properties like The Green Hornet and The Man From UNCLE. Now, this summer, Gotham’s greatest crimefighters are teaming up with the sharpest spies from across the pond in Batman ‘66 Meets Steed And Mrs. Peel.

Batman '66 was too good for this fallen world. With this week's digital-first issue, the series has finally come to an end after 73 chapters, and in that time, it's been an incredible tribute to the classic TV series that's also involved some incredible innovation, introducing new, '60s style takes on villains that never made it to the show, and operating on a scale that a TV show could never quite match. At its heart, though, the main appeal of the series was the way that it incorporated the signature styles of the show, which is why it's so great that it ended the way it did. In case you missed it, the final issue of Batman '66 is an origin story for the show's opening credits.

With most of its major hits and standout series having run their course months or years ago, Vertigo has been due for a renaissance for a while now. Judging from the announcements made at San Diego Comic Con late on Thursday, the publisher may be rallying, with 12 new series set to launch in the closing months of 2015 at a rate of one new issue #1 every week. Those 12 titles include a couple of previously announced books that have been rescheduled, but enough new announcements to suggest that Vertigo means to impress with its ambition. Sci fi and the supernatural are inevitably well represented, and the roster includes veteran talents, emerging names, and a few cross-disiplinary transfers in the form of novelists Lauren Beukes and Holly Black — the latter on a relaunch of Lucifer — and Supernatural creator Eric Kripke.