Batman Comics

Hello Gothamites! I hope you’re still out there reading this even though I’ve been so woefully absent the last few weeks. Well, we have one more week of disruption but after that life will be as calm as it ever gets, so hopefully we can have some regular updates again soon.

Constant Readers may notice that my Dark Knight Rises release countdown has been removed from the sidebar since the movie came out. I’m not sure if I’ll post a full review but I did want to say that DKR was amazing, I loved it. The movie was everything I hoped for and more, and I’d like to see it at least once more in IMAX since that format adds so much to the viewing experience.

I have a couple comics to read this week, although loyal Bat-fans may wonder at the absence of Batman Inc 3. It’s not because I decided to skip one of my favourite books, not at all! Instead, this issue was delayed for a month out of respect for the Aurora Dark Knight Rises shooting, apparently some events in the issue hit a little too close to home. I can’t argue with that one, and I look forward to a day when people can be peaceful enough that Batman isn’t needed.

Batman: The Dark Knight 11 – I feel like I want to give this book more of a chance, and I think that may be because of David Finch’s appearance at the DC New 52 panel at Comic-Con. He seemed well aware of the negative feedback that the book’s received and urged everyone to give it another try now that Gregg Hurwitz is writing and Finch is only on drawing duties. I liked Hurwitz’s work on the Penguin mini-series, and I’ve enjoyed Finch’s artwork in this one, so I’m still glad to be here.

Teen Titans 11 – It’s a fun book and we all know that I need more Tim Drake in my life. Wonder Girl is the focus this week and I’m glad, I feel like I don’t know much about her and want to change that.  I have consistently enjoyed the covers on this comic, and this week’s issue (by Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund and Andrew Dalhouse) lives up to that. Just looking at this picture I want to know what’s going on, how they got here, and what happens next.

Happy Wednesday, Bat-fans! It’s a great week for new comics, we get some really fun things to read today. In related news, San Diego Comic-Con is rapidly approaching and the costume making is going quite well. Now I just have to be patient and wait for the organizers to post the panel schedule! Is anyone who reads this planning to be there? Leave a comment and let me know! Now, here’s what I found in my pull file this week:

Batman Incorporated 2 – I was very into issue 1, and I’m sure that Morrison and Burnham will continue to provide excellent Bat-stories with gorgeous art. Burnham teased on Twitter today that we get some back-story for the Talia/Bruce relationship, please tell me I’m not the only one hoping for some Naked Bruce Wayne time!!

For those of you wondering if Bruce was Batman yet when Damian was conceived, you’ll find out in just a few short hours!

— Chris Burnham (@TheBurnham) June 27, 2012

Batman: The Dark Knight 10 – This title has been kind of all over the place, with art that’s sometimes awesome and sometimes less so, and writing that’s been kind of uninspiring. Today Gregg Hurwitz takes over the writing with a new story arc featuring Scarecrow as the villain. The problem that Batman: The Dark Knight has had all along is that it doesn’t know what distinguishes it from all the other Bat-titles, so if this is their way of moving towards a more horror-themed comic, I think that’s a really good idea.

Justice League 10 - Who has two thumbs and can’t remember anything about Justice League 9? This girl! I even went back and read a summary of the issue (thanks gothamspoilers.com) and still have no idea what’s going on. It’s a great comic, but maybe my attention has been a little too dedicated to making the Bat-dress…

Teen Titans 10 - It feels too early for another Titans book, but that’s cool, I’m into anything that involves Tim Drake and dinosaurs! This week we get more info about Kid Flash’s background, and Bunker asks Red Robin what the deal is with their missing teammate Skitter; the Titans are definitely keeping busy! I had to share this cover for those dinosaurs I mentioned, but I love it for another reason too: I hope it’s the first in a long line of pictures I can tag “Kid Flash Outruns His Uniform.” This is by Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund and Andrew Dalhouse.

Happy Wednesday, Bat-friends and Bat-foes! New comic day once again, and as always there are some great things waiting for me at The Beguiling. There’s been a lot of internet buzz lately about DC’s announcement that someone’s coming out as gay, and I’ve got a post about that coming later this week, but first things first. What are you reading today? Here’s what’s in my pull file:

Batman Incorporated 1 – Grant Morrison returns to the Bat-verse with the continuation of his pre-relaunch Batman Incorporated story. Bruce Wayne has publicly stated that he’s financially supporting Batman, and Batman goes around the world setting up franchises while learning more about the evil organization Leviathan. I’ve loved Morrison’s work with Batman; he understands the character so well, and brings a very special twisted sensibility that works perfectly in this setting. Now that Damian is Robin, I’m excited to see how Morrison writes the little Wayne brat. Chris Burnham’s art was superb on the previous run of this title, so that’s another reason to pick this one up. Plus, nobody forget, issue 3 has Matches Malone on the cover, my little fangirl heart is all aflutter!!

Batman: The Dark Knight 9 – Keeping the Night of the Owls showdown active while we wait for the upcoming conclusion in Batman 10 and 11, Red Robin heads back to Gotham for a showdown with a Talon! This kind of demonstrates exactly why B:TDK is not my favourite comic – what do Red Robin and the Talon have to do with Batman being the Darkest of Knights? That said, I won’t complain about seeing more Red Robin, we all know I love me some Tim Drake, and overall this title has been fun to read.

Teen Titans 9 – Two Tim Drake comics in one day? I may never recover! The Titans and some other dudes continue fighting a bunch of bad guys in a weird hellish arena, and more importantly, some creepy character in a hood is stealing Red Robin’s style. When it comes to feathered capes, there can be only one! Here’s the cover, by Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, and Andrew Dalhouse, click to enlarge and fully enjoy the wingspan.

Thanks to Dee for the shiny new ‘pull file’ header image, based on Dustin Nguyen’s cover for 2011′s Batman 80 page giant.

Good evening Gotham! Once again real life got in the way of my Batman time, it’s just not fair how that happens. Not only did I not get to write about last week’s comics, I didn’t even get to read them! Hopefully that doesn’t become the new normal, or I’ll have to realign priorities … who needs a day job, anyways? Just because Batman is also CEO of Wayne Enterprises doesn’t mean I can’t quit my job to focus on reading comics, right? So here’s what’s waiting for me:

Batman: The Dark Knight 7 – It’s a fun comic, what else do we need? We’re still fighting Bane and his new version of Venom, which Batman just got over thanks to some Super help. Now he’s off to find Flash and save him from a grisly end, while also tracking down more information about that mysterious white rabbit lady (has she done anything other than run around being mysterious?).

Teen Titans 7 – The Titans head to N.O.W.H.E.R.E. Headquarters (how do they find it?) to rescue Evil Superboy, and presumably drop the ‘evil’ on the way home. Overall this comic still feels like it’s in the ‘getting started’ stages, rather than being fully involved in an adventure, but I’m not complaining. I actually really enjoy extended team-coming-together stories, and it’s great to see these young heroes get to know each other.

Batwing 8 – Massacre’s hunt for former African superheroes has brought him to Gotham City, with Batwing hot on his heels. I’m looking forward to seeing how Batwing interacts with our favourite Gothamites (Batgirl, Robin, and Nightwing), and also to the big reveal about who Massacre is behind the mask.

Detective Comics 8 – Last issue we had a big showdown in Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge, and Batman rescued his girlfriend (I think?) Charlotte from icy doom. I’m feeling surprisingly lacklustre about this issue, and I want to see more detective work, but I know I’ll enjoy it once I start reading. There’s also a second feature with art by Szymon Kudranski, who drew the Penguin book that I liked so much. Here’s the cover, by Tony Daniel, I love the smoke (fear gas?!) and how Batman looks like he’s ready to just jump off the page.

Good evening Gotham! It’s kind of a slow week for Batman comics, only two in my pull file today, but I’m okay with that. I feel like I need some time to think about everything that’s going on lately and really enjoy the different characters and storylines – this Court of Owls thing is so exciting! Here’s what I have today:

Batman: The Dark Knight 6 – Issue 5 of Batman: The Dark Knight ended on quite a cliffhanger, with Superman taking on a drug-crazed Batman, so I’m definitely going into it with anticipation and interest. This is the make-or-break issue, after reading it I’ll decide if I want to keep getting this comic. I’m pretty into the Court of Owls crossover, so really all issue 6 has to do is not mess up. Here’s hoping!

Teen Titans 6 – The Titans have to save Kid Flash! I love these issues, where it’s just the crew having adventures and doing their thing, not part of any big event or apocalypse. I hope to see Red Robin interact with Superboy more, they’re so cute together. Take a look at the cover, by Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund, I really enjoy the shattered glass and the look on Red Robin’s face.

The Batman comics that came out this past Wednesday were, as a whole, not as exciting as I had hoped. Not too much happened this week! Did anyone else feel the same way? I do want to share a couple love it and livid moments, so here we go.

The first comic I read this week was I Vampire 5, by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Andrea Sorrentino. I always love seeing Batman interact with characters from other comics, it gives us an interesting view into his goals and concerns. So, what happens when Vampires come to Gotham? Hint: Batman spends a lot of time trying to beat information out of a vampire.

I enjoyed the visual style of this book, with these wide scenic panels. The advantage is that we get a broader context for what we’re seeing, but the trade-off is that instead of a really dynamic action-packed story it feels more like we’re seeing the events unfold through a series of still images. This isn’t a bad thing, it actually emphasizes the long-term view that an immortal vampire might take.

I’m trying to give Batman: The Dark Knight, by David Finch, Paul Jenkins and Richard Friend, a serious chance. Dark Knight 5 opens with a fight between Batman and Scarecrow, where Crane has just sprayed fear toxin and proceeded to taunt Batman (you know, as one does). This means we get the pleasure of seeing some of Bats’ more technicolour nightmares:

I love this page, I feel like they’re bringing the fun back to the horrific images of Batman’s worst terrors. And what does it mean that pictured among all the villains is Bruce’s own son Damian? Being who he is, of course, Batman doesn’t succumb to the fear toxin, and so Scarecrow injects him with anti-fear toxin. Wouldn’t the fear and anti-fear toxins cancel each other out? Also, I’ve read a lot of fanfic that starts along these lines, and I can tell you it leads nowhere good. In the end, Dark Knight 5 was OK but nothing much happened; I’ll give it one more issue and then decide if it’s worth continuing.

Last and almost least we have Justice League 5, by Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, and Scott Williams. I was so ready to love this issue, and it just didn’t happen! I’m going to spoil the ending anyways, so be warned! Basically in issue 5 the League fights Darkseid, Batman gives Green Lantern a pep talk, and Superman gets kidnapped by Darkseid’s weird robot guys. The thing that really made me livid was right near the end. Here’s the page, can you see what’s wrong with this picture?

Batman would never take his cowl off! If he wants to have a Heartwarming Moment with Green Lantern, he’d find some way to do so without compromising security and the Mission. Besides – are we supposed to think that because he removed the cowl and the Bat symbol from his chest now Darkseid won’t realize he’s Batman? Oh sure, Bruce Wayne is Just A Regular Guy, and he just happens to be running around in a form-fitting armored suit that coincidentally looks just like Batman’s suit minus a few crucial details. I couldn’t believe it, and can only hope that in Justice League 6 the writers come up with some sort of explanation. Batman always has a plan, but does DC?

Happy Wednesday, my fellow Bat-fans! After a long day working at Wayne Enterprises I’m always excited for new comicbook day. Here’s what’s in my Pull File:

Batman: The Dark Knight 5 – Why am I still reading this comic? Mostly because I want to know what’s up with the white rabbit lady. Every time Dark Knight comes out I comment that I’m not that into it, haven’t connected, and yet I continue buying it. We’ll see how long that continues – Issue 6 will be A Time Of Reckoning for a few titles in my pull file. Anyways, Batman’s been encountering bad guys who are all hopped up on a Venom-type compound that makes them really big and crazy, and in this issue it seems like he gets a dose of that himself. This might actually be great – I like a Batman who’s even bigger and crazier than usual!

I, Vampire 5 – I know what you’re thinking. Why is she reading a non-Batman comic, and more importantly, telling me about it? I don’t know anything about I Vampire, but apparently Batman’s involved in this issue and on the cover of issue 6, so I’ll check it out.

Justice League 5 – This one I am excited for, I’ve quite enjoyed Justice League so far. We’re still watching the team come together, with Wonder Woman and Aquaman showing up last issue, so now that the gang’s all here I’m excited to see what they do. They’re going to be fighting Darkseid, who I don’t really know anything about. I wonder why Batman isn’t on the cover, maybe he’s not really featured in this issue? We’ll find out!

Teen Titans 5 - Similar to Justice League, the Titans now all know each other and are starting to work and fight together instead of against each other. We still get the goodness that is Evil Superboy, and I’ve got all sorts of ideas about how Red Robin (Tinkerbell!) can lure Kon over to the good side. Starting with cookies, ending with nekkid superhero time, you know what I mean. I like Kid Flash on the cover, he looks like he’s having fun:

Hello and Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the dull grey November weather. I took a break from comics over the past week, I had been feeling much less excited and inspired to read and write about the Bat-verse. Is anyone else feeling this way? I’m not sure if it’s because Flashpoint and the relaunch used up all my excitement and now things are calming down, or because I’ve got real life taking up my metaphorical spoons, but it’s probably a combination of both. So here’s what I got last week and this week, I’d love to hear what you think about these or any other comicbooks in the comments!

November 16

Batman 3 – Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion continue to deliver excitement and amazing comic art in the central Batman title! DC has been promising a far-reaching storyline that gets into the history of Gotham City and Batman’s place within it, and this issue is the starting point. I can’t wait!

Birds of Prey 3 – Poison Ivy joins the team! That really emphasizes the blurring line between heroes and villains in this book – I enjoy the fact that all four women on the team have checkered histories and aren’t easy to fit into any one category. Seems almost like real life, you know?

Nightwing 3 – Dick Grayson goes to Chicago with Haly’s Circus, while he works to solve Mr Haly’s murder and decide what to do with his own future. Tom Waits says things will be better in Chicago, maybe he’s right! (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go buy Bad As Me, it’s an amazing album and I’m pretty sure Batman would like it too).

Red Hood and the Outlaws 3 – I’m still giving this series a chance, but I’m not very optimistic. This issue delves into the team’s pasts, and it’s possible that Red Hood and Arsenal can learn how not to be sexist jerks, but that doesn’t save us from the writer and artists’ choices in how they represent Starfire. Maybe she can develop a bit more agency? I know this will all end in disappointment.

Justice League 3 – Introducing Wonder Woman! There was some controversy over Green Lantern’s reaction to her appearance, but I’ll read the issue before coming to any conclusions. Personally I like the slow build-up of the team, unlike some people who wanted to see all the Justice League members in the first issue.

Catwoman 3 – Will the Bat-sex continue? We’ll find out! It sounds like Catwoman ends up in a hostage situation, and given how focused she is on being independent and controlling her own destiny, I doubt that she’ll be very happy about it! Guillem March’s art continues to look fantastic, his style really captures how devastating Catwoman’s claws can be. Take a look at the awesome cover art for this issue:

November 23

Batman: The Dark Knight 3 – I still haven’t got a good handle on this title – how is this different from the main Batman book? The other Bat-titles all have their own special aspects (Batman & Robin is all about that father/son dynamic and how they work together; Detective Comics is about his detective work, etc). I’m going to re-read the first two issues before starting #3 and hopefully that will give me some sense of what makes Batman: The Dark Knight special.

Teen Titans 3 – Now, this one I really have been looking forward to. Not only do we have the fabulous Tim as Red Robin (but I really want to start calling him Tinkerbell, with feathers like those), we also meet a new Titan – Bunker. Apparently he’s out as gay from the first issue, and I’m always glad to see more queer representation in comics – as long as he’s also a fully-formed character beyond his sexual orientation. This could be just the encouragement that Red Robin and Superboy need to bring their love out in the open! Or maybe that’s just my own personal Bat-verse. Here’s the cover, by Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund:

One final thought – I’d really love to see DC even out the release dates of their Bat-family titles. Some weeks I get 5 or more comics while other weeks there are only one or two. What’s the deal DC? Does anyone else find this odd, or should I just get over it?

Good evening and happy new comics day, Gotham City! You may have noticed that things have been a little quieter than usual around here lately, and you would’ve been right. There’s a lot going on in this Bat-fan’s life right now, and so for the next few weeks I won’t be updating as often as I’d like. But don’t worry, I’ll be back soon, and hopefully in the interim we’ll have a Green Lantern feature and maybe some other interesting things for you to enjoy. Anyways, it’s a short list today but these are two comics that I’m definitely looking forward to reading!

Teen Titans 2 – The opening issue of this series started bringing the team together, and my favourite parts were when Tim showed how awesome he is. Today I understand Superboy will show up, and so his romance with Red Robin can commence! I’m also hoping to get to know Kid Flash a bit better; so far he seems impulsive and quite young (as expected), that gives him a lot of room to grow over the course of the series.

Batman: The Dark Knight 2 – Issue 1 gave us a dramatic Arkham Asylum breakout and ended with Batman confronting Two-Face, so I’m sure issue 2 will be action-packed and full of the Bat-action we all enjoy. I really like the art style, I found that the fight scenes were easy to follow and Batman looks great. Although I wasn’t the biggest fan of this series prior to the relaunch, I’m feeling pretty good about how things are going right now. With a cover like this one, by David Finch and Richard Friend, we can’t go wrong!

One of the great things about a relaunch is that we can start tracking all sorts of fun things, because we have a distinct starting point. So in the spirit of good fun and classic Batman action, I’m going to try to keep track of all the Arkham Asylum breakouts. It seems to happen every other week, but that can’t be right, can it? They must learn how to keep the bad guys secure eventually… So far in the first month of the DCnU we’ve seen two breakout situations at Arkham Asylum.

Batman 1, written by Scott Snyder and with art by Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion, opens with Batman facing off against some familiar faces in the hallway of Arkham:

After the fight he meets up with Gordon on the roof of the GCPD, it turns out this wasn’t actually a breakout. I’m still going to count it for these purposes, all the inmates were set free and chaos ensued, so it’s close enough.

Then we have this week’s Dark Knight 1, by Paul Jenkins, David Finch, and Richard Friend. This breakout is of the more explosive and bloody type, here’s how it starts:

Batman shows up in his classic dramatic way, and takes charge to save as many guards as possible.

I wonder if we’ll find out how he knew to go for Two-Face? This makes two breakouts so far, and hopefully it’ll keep happening and keep us all well entertained in the future!

Arkham Asylum Breakout Score: Batman 1; Dark Knight 1.