Writer Judd Winick and artist Mark Bagley kick off part three of their four-part BATMAN story with a bang, as Penguin ups the ante in his bid to become the top crook in Gotham and enlists a few of Arkham’s finest to keep the Dark Knight occupied. Meanwhile, a new player enters the scene to help the Penguin — or does he have more devious goals? All this while Two-Face gets closer to making a startling discovery about who Batman really is.

BATMAN #690 hits today.

Spinning out directly from last month’s “Red Circle” event from superstar writer J. Michael Straczynski, we’ve got a first look at THE SHIELD #1, the debut issue of the new ongoing series chronicling the patriotic hero’s exploits. Along for the ride is an INFERNO co-feature. The main story, written by Eric Trautmann with art by Marco Rudy takes Lt. Joe Higgins — a.k.a. the Shield — into the hot spots across the globe where civilians fear to tread. His first mission finds him in Bialya, the nation destroyed by Black Adam in the pages of 52. There’s something lurking in the mountains beyond militia activity, and it’s up to the Shield to investigate.

Meanwhile, in the INFERNO co-feature by writer Brandon Jerwa and artist Greg Scott, we meet Inferno — but who is he? And why are the Dark Men after him?

THE SHIELD #1 hits 9/9.

Well, glad you asked. It’s a four-part crossover event involving both SUPERGIRL and ACTION COMIC, and, as you probably guessed from the title of the story, it also involves Reactron. But we’ve got more info for you, right from Superman Group Editor Matt Idelson, plus some snazzy pages. Take it away, Matt:

“Greg Rucka and Sterling Gates co-write SUPERGIRL #45-46 and ACTION COMICS #881-882 as they reach the climax of a few long-simmering threads, not the least of which are Supergirl and Flamebird’s blood fued, Kara’s first encounter with Nightwing, and, like the title says, the hunt for Reactron, killer of Zor-El. Well, that last part isn’t in the title, but you know what I mean. Oh, and since this is coming right out of ‘Codename: Patriot,’ everyone on Earth and their mother are gunning for these heroes.”

And here are some pages from the first ACTION and SUPERGIRL installments.

“The Hunt for Reactron” kicks off in ACTION COMICS #881, hitting 9/16.

We unveiled a short preview of the first issue of MAGOG, from writer Keith Giffen and artist Howard Porter a while back, but it never hurts to gently remind you that it’s in stores this week. We also thought it’d be nice to throw in a few extra pages, for good measure.

Tired of the restraints that come with being a card-carrying member of the JSA, Magog decides to take justice into his own hands. But how does that synch up with Magog’s own, apparently unavoidable destiny? We can’t tell, but these pages should shed some light on the situation.

MAGOG #1 hits tomorrow.