Batman Comics

Good evening Gotham! I didn’t get to write about my pull file last week, but the comics were so good I thought I’d just share a few quick thoughts and pictures from the three issues. The Night of the Owls is in full swing and the Bat-family spreads through Gotham city, protecting prominent citizens from the Talons’ attack. I’m not going to recap what happens in each issue, since you should be reading these comics already, but spoilers will definitely occur.

Batgirl 9, written by Gail Simone, art by Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes.

I especially liked the art in this issue. Check out the colour and the way the panels are designed on this page:

It was a good story, so I’m sorry, but I have to say it. Why do they have to team up Batgirl with the only female Talon? Boys and girls can’t mix and fight each other these days? Once I got past that, however, I was definitely drawn in to the story and enjoyed this issue of Batgirl.

Batman 9, written by Scott Snyder with art by Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, and Rafael Albuquerque.

This book had one of those Batman-makes-you-want-to-cheer moments that we all know and love, and I just couldn’t resist sharing it.

Damn straight! As Batman says, he gets to “play rough” because the Talons are not only incredibly strong and unnaturally regenerative, but they’re also undead (so he doesn’t have to worry about killing them). As such a strong and brilliant warrior, Batman would have to be holding back when fighting against the average Gotham criminal, so I can only imagine that in a way it would feel great to let loose a little. I also wanted to mention that I’m into the backup story, both for the story and the artwork. It’s been interesting to read about Alfred’s father Jarvis and I look forward to the revelations that come with the conclusion of his story.

Batman and Robin 9, written by Peter Tomasi, art by Lee Garbett, Andy Clarke, Ray McCarthy and Keith Champagne.

As much as I’ve enjoyed the father/son focus of this book, it’s also exciting to see Damian get the focus of the issue and really lead the action. Damian’s mission is to protect an army general who’s overseeing night training, so Damian gets to display his skill at commanding several units of trained soldiers, which is pretty amazing for a ten year old. Also there’s this – what happens when the Talon says that tonight he finishes what he started:

I know real owls’ heads turn all the way around, but even for a Talon that’s gotta hurt – from Batman’s son, I would expect nothing less.

That’s it for me today. As always I’d love to hear what you think about the Court of Owls or anything else going on in the Bat-world right now, leave a comment or send me a tweet!

Good evening Gotham! It’s an in-between week for comics, so there are no new Batman books to talk about today. That gives me a chance to share some favourite (love it) and not-so-favourite (livid)  moments from recent issues. Here we go!

Justice League 3, by Geoff Johns, Jim Lee and Scott Williams, gave us this page scoring points for love it. I enjoy stories about people from other places coming to our world, and seeing Wonder Woman getting to know the better parts of America is so much fun. Somehow I always knew she’d go for ice cream.

I love Wonder Woman’s kick-ass attitude! There’s a great Batman moment a bit later on in the issue, as the Justice League fights demons that are attacking the planet.

Vampire Batman, telling Green Lantern how to use his ring? How could I not love it?

Next up is Teen Titans 3, by Scott Lobdell, Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund. @VenPixel pointed out a livid moment in the issue, when Kid Flash cracks a four-digit code to unlock a door. I’m not an expert, but I don’t think the switches on the control panel could keep up with his Flash-enhanced typing skills (see ‘switch debouncing‘)!

Silly speedster, keypads are for humans. Another thing in Teen Titans that makes me livid is this scene, in which Red Robin is disguised as an old man ‘riding the rails’ to accompany Skitter across the country. When he reveals his superhero identity to Bunker, there’s a moment when Tim’s face is entirely bare – anyone as paranoid as Tim wouldn’t allow that.

Why isn’t he wearing the domino mask under the old man face? Wow, that was a weird sentence. I liked the comic overall, but I feel like they’ve been too lax with Tim going around unmasked. If we accept the idea that a tiny little mask protects his identity, we have to also assume he’ll be extremely diligent about wearing it.

Last for tonight we have Batman 3, by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion. I haven’t really been talking in detail about storylines, but I definitely love the current story in Batman. ‘The Court of Owls’, a group of men who have been “ruling Gotham from the shadows since colonial times” attempted to kill Bruce Wayne. Bruce turns to Alfred for help, and Alfred shares this story about Bruce’s great, great grandfather Alan Wayne, and his terrible fear of owls.

I love the idea that Alfred’s father was butler to the Wayne family before him! And how he tries to drug Bruce with “medicinal” tea, now that’s a butler! The art is also beautiful, on this page I especially like the top panel (we’re inside the Batman cowl, watching Bruce and Alfred) and the use of colour.

That’s it for me! It’s been fun taking a love it or livid look at comics – I might do it again! Let me know what you think of these or any other Batman comics in the comments, and have a great night.

Good evening Gotham! Oh, how I’ve missed you, and missed writing here! I hope you feel the same way and look forward to my triumphant return in a couple weeks. I’m still reading comics, so once things settle down a bit I’m sure we’ll have all sorts of interesting things to talk about. Also, who out there is reading Suicide Squad? I heard some terrible things from @zuzuhaha about their treatment of Harley Quinn in Issue 3, and would love to hear more about it from anyone who’s following the series. Here’s what I’m reading tonight – I can’t wait to get home and get started!

Batgirl 3 – It’s been an interesting arc so far, with Barbara going out as Batgirl again but not being fully ready for everything that entails. I’m definitely enjoying Gail Simone’s writing, and I’d say my biggest problem with this book is that I find Barbara’s roommate to be annoying rather than interestingly eccentric.

Batman and Robin 3 – Daddy Batman to the rescue! The last issue was great and I am so pleased with the direction that the characters are taking. Plus, who doesn’t want to see a dog living in Wayne manor? … Alfred, probably, but as long as Bruce is the one taking the heat it’s all good.

Batwoman 3 – I find the Department of Extranormal Affairs just fascinating, and I’m enjoying reading about their quest to hunt down Batwoman. When that combines with gorgeous artwork by J. H. Williams III and a budding romance with Detective Maggie Sawyer, we get a comic that I’m definitely glad to be reading.

Penguin: Pain and Prejudice 2 (of 5) – Issue 1 was interesting, and although Penguin has never been at the top of my list (any of my lists), I’m enjoying this take on his history and situation. The art style matched the content really nicely, and I’ll certainly keep this series on my pull file.

Huntress 2 (of 6) – My bat-crush on Marcus To remains intact as the Huntress kicks ass and takes names in this mini-series! Issue 1 was a great example of how a woman can be shown to be both strong and sexy, and I have to say, I’m jealous of her wardrobe! Can Helena get to the bottom of the human trafficking ring she’s found in Italy? We’ll find out! I love this cover, by Guillem March and Tomeu Morey:

Writer: Peter J Tomasi

Artist: Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray

Date: Dec 2011

This issue really brings the father and son theme to the forefront, opening with Daddy Batman trying to figure out how to raise Damian to be a good, moral person – not an easy task given Damian’s early childhood education.

I love seeing Bruce share his inner thoughts with Alfred, it shows us how important that relationship is to Bruce (and kind of sets up a parallel, reminding us that Alfred never tried to be Bruce’s father). Gleason and Gray capture Batman at his best, I’ve been very into the art in this series so far. Check out the Bat-Ass at the top of the page:

The Dynamic Duo head out and intercept a weapons shipment, in a very exciting fight sequence. Once they’ve subdued the criminals (Damian managing not to kill anyone this time around) we have another Great Moment in Wayne Parenting as Daddy Batman tells Damian “Don’t think I didn’t notice the restraint you just showed, Robin. Refusing to pound these felons with the excessive force you wanted to is commendable.” Alfred thinks Bruce could have done better and tells him so in classic Alfred style:

Damian’s still a troubled little boy, and Bruce has a few other ideas about how to deal with that, including one that I never thought I’d see outside of fanfiction – he buys a dog! With the new canine addition to the Wayne family and the return of the Bat-Pole entrance to the Bat-Cave, the relaunched Batman & Robin clearly connects itself to the earlier incarnations of these characters, even though Robin’s a different person.

There’s also a whole storyline going on that involves Batman Incorporated, in issue 1 we saw the Russian Batman killed and here in issue 2 the killer confronts Batman in the final pages. This works to place Batman & Robin in the larger context of the DCnU, which is helpful given how many Bat books there are and the still-fuzzy details of exactly what’s changed in the relaunch. When we combine that with Daddy Batman and the exciting work to protect Gotham City, we get an excellent series that and an issue that I really enjoyed reading.

Writer: James Robinson

Artists: Javi Fernandez

Date: Aug ’11

My Rating: A nice counterpoint to the main Flashpoint storyline, with good artwork.

The Outsider, it turns out, has nothing to do with the Outsiders. I should have known that, and once I re-read the first issue of Flashpoint it came back – he’s the guy who says he’ll help fight both the Amazonians and the Atlanteans, as long as it doesn’t get his suit dirty. He’s in India, and has mysterious but far-reaching powers. One thing I liked about this comic was seeing that meeting from a different point of view, it was done really well – turns out the Outsider really is hunting for that Blackout guy! Be warned, there’s a spoilers below.

A side conversation, almost a throwaway moment, tells us that Bruce isn’t the only important character who didn’t make it to the Flashpoint world:

Alfred! *sheds a single solemn tear* “Hm”? That’s all he gets? The man who was closer even than Batman to being meta-human? Well. He’ll always live on in my heart! And presumably in DCnU, too.

The fight scene that follows is sort of watered down by the dialogue, which all relates to shared history between a bunch of characters I’ve never heard of. The point seems to be that the Outsider can fight like hell, and they really play up the ‘keep the suit tidy’ thing!

I do quite like the artistic style in this issue, the use of colour and space, and I’ll definitely read the following two issues to find out what happens with the Outsider and whoever’s trying to have him killed. Here’s one of the final pages, I think it works really well.

Did anyone else read this one? Let me know what you thought of it, and have a great week!

Writer: Peter J Tomasi

Artists: Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray

Date: April 2011

My Rating: Bat-family to the rescue!

I can’t believe I’ve only written about one issue of Batman & Robin so far! This is one of my favourite series, Dick and Damian make an amazing team both because of and despite their very different personalities. They really complement each other while having enough conflict to keep things moving forward. My main problem with this issue was that the last few pages totally lost me, I have no idea what the ending meant. Hopefully next month will resolve that!

This issue starts with one of the best Bat-family scenes I’ve ever seen, and I’m not even going to share the best part – you’ll have to go pick up a copy if you want to see it Here’s page 2, Dick and Tim are so comfortable with each other, Alfred is Alfred, and Damian does his customary antisocial thing. My only problem is with Bruce Wayne’s face – just doesn’t quite look like him, you know?

Here’s an Awesome Alfred Moment — doing up Dick’s bowtie one-handed, without looking, while driving the car and making a witty reference. What can’t Alfred do?

An unknown man falls off a skyscraper, huge glowing wings attached to his back. As Batman and Robin meet with Commissioner Gordon to discuss the scene, Gordon and Robin have a moment of their own:

Gordon displays his customary integrity and respect for the citizens of Gotham, and I can see how Damian would find that a little bit ridiculous. But what really bugged me is Gordon’s dialogue in the third panel: “Never talk as flippant like that in front of me and a innocent victim again, or this’ll be the last time I let you tag along.” That sentence is just wrong! “As flippant like that”? “a innocent victim”? Someone needs a new editor, or something.

Then there’s the ending, which I won’t go into, since you’re already going to go read the book yourself. It’s funny, I started by saying I loved this series, but in the end issue 20 was not my favourite. Still, that Bat-family opening made up for a lot, and the upcoming story arc sounds pretty exciting.