Batman Comics

Good evening Gothamites! It’s new comic day again, and I’m so sorry I haven’t been writing here very often lately! There was so much to say about Batman 10 and some other great recent books, but the Bat-dress construction has been taking every moment I can spare and there’s just no time left for talking about comics. I’m officially gearing up for Comic-Con, and if anyone who reads this wants to say hi in San Diego leave me a comment! Here’s what I’m reading tonight:

Batwoman 10 - As always, I feel like I should go back and read the whole series together to really get what’s going on. Hopefully today we’ll see the story overtake the style and actually have some compelling (or memorable?) plot points, but I’m not holding my breath. In any case, the visual art is an important part of comic books, and the art in Batwoman has been really great so I’m still reading it.

Catwoman 10 - Catwoman gets angry at someone who kidnaps children, and the solicit hints at her relationship with Spark becoming a bit more than their current casual crime-fighting setup. This is one of those books that I read sort of despite itself, I’ve never been that pleased with it but it seems weird to just give up entirely. When do you decide to stop reading a comic?

Nightwing 10 – Did we ever get to the bottom of this mystery with Haly’s Circus and why Mr. Haly left the circus to Dick in his will? Did that turn out to be a Court of Owls thing or am I totally confused and it hasn’t been resolved at all? Apparently I need someone to read comics for me and explain them … Today Nightwing investigates a murder that involves a part of his costume as evidence, so that should be exciting!

Red Hood and the Outlaws 10 – The official description tells us “RED HOOD learns that STARFIRE is one of the most respected and feared commanders in all of space! Who knew?” – really, this just feels condescending to me. Who cares what Red Hood knows about Starfire, he should respect and fear her anyways based on all the recent ways she’s saved his life and been awesome. It reminds me of that time when the sparkle-vamp told Adele she could be great some day… she was already kicking ass and taking names, though she’s dressed better than Starfire. Anyways, it should be great to see Starfire get to command some troops and show Red Hood and Arsenal what she’s capable of.

Birds of Prey 10 – Still getting to know these women, but I’m really interested in Black Canary lately. Poison Ivy is injured and the Birds take her to the Amazon jungle to heal, but do they trust her allegiance yet? I sure don’t! I saw a preview of Birds of Prey where Starling meets Batman, it was pretty funny, but I’m not sure if it was from this issue or another one coming soon;  hopefully it’s this issue,otherwise I may not get any actual Batman this week! Here’s the cover, by Travel Foreman and Gabe Eltaeb, I really enjoy the colour in their costumes and especially how Batgirl is drawn:

It’s a great week for comics! There’s lots going on, especially for the Bat ladies. The Court of Owls’ attack continues in some of these issues, while others are continuing their own unrelated stories. Here’s what I’m reading tonight, as always I’d love to hear about what’s in your pull file, so leave a comment!

Birds of Prey 9 – The Birds take on the Owls, it’s their turn to pitch in and fight a Talon! What I really want is to know more about Poison Ivy, and how she’s feeling about allying with the Birds rather than doing her own bio-terrorist thing on the wrong side of the law. Maybe today we’ll get both!

Catwoman 9 – Catwoman and her new friend Spark join the Bat family in fighting the Court of Owls by protecting the Penguin. Not exactly Gotham’s finest upstanding citizen, but nobody deserves to be assassinated by an un-dead Talon! I really don’t like Guillem March’s cover, Catwoman is in one of those oh-so-unnatural poses where both boobs and butt are emphasized, but I guess that’s about par for the course here, since this is the “hot” and “sexy” title…

Justice League 9 – Based on the cover, my friend Brian who really enjoys highly meta story-about-stories comics will be pleased! There’s a new villain, and it sounds like he’s writing a comic book about the Justice League – that can only lead to problems. The backup story has also been engaging, as we see Billy Batson placed in a foster home and get to know his new family, but so far it’s not quite something that would interest me as a standalone title (not enough Batman!).

Nightwing 9 – The last issue saw Nightwing protecting Mayor Hady from the Talons, which went pretty well but ended up with an awful lot of knives sticking out of our favourite former circus performer. Today Dick will continue to kick some Owl ass, I’m sure, and I want to know what happens with William Cobb, the Talon who’s also one of Dick’s ancestors.

Red Hood and the Outlaws 9 – We all know this isn’t my favourite title, but after reading the preview over at CBR I’m actually really looking forward to it! Kenneth Rocafort’s art looks great (I’m a sucker for interesting panel design) and I found Lobdell’s writing in the preview more funny and way less annoying than usual. Taking a step back from the action, I also really want to know what happens with Jason himself. He’s insistent that he’s not a good guy, and not really part of Batman’s team, but I don’t buy it. Can anyone ever really escape Batman’s family? Would anyone truly want to?

Batwoman 9 – I’ve enjoyed this book a fair amount (it’s at about the middle of my personal Bat-comic scale) but I can’t remember what the story is actually about. This suggests that the story itself is secondary to the interwoven structure that follows six different characters, and also secondary to the artwork, which isn’t really ideal for a well-rounded comicbook. That said, I do like the art quite a lot. Here’s the cover, by Ben Oliver. I find it interesting for how some parts are very textured and detailed, such as Batwoman’s cape, while other things like her hair are very smooth.

Happy Wednesday, Gothamites! Today’s a busy day for comics and there’s a bunch of good stuff in my pull file today. Let’s jump right in!

Batman 7 – I am so excited for this book! After all the buildup with the Court of Owls, in issue 7 we get a very Batman-centric story and a big reveal that’s a surprise but also totally makes sense. I’ve been following Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo on Twitter, and although they haven’t answered any of my tweets to them they’re still pretty cool. Seeing their excitement at working on Batman and the energy they bring to the story is really gratifying, I’m glad to know that the writers are much fans of Batman as I am.

Birds of Prey 7 -  The Birds finally capture Choke, the villain they’ve been dealing with for ages, but he’s got a woman on the inside! Who could betray the Birds of Prey? Hopefully we find out today. Jesús Saíz did the colours on issue 6, and now in issue 7 he does all the drawing. I quite liked his work on issue 1, so that sounds good to me!

Batman Beyond Unlimited 2 – I read issue 1 when it came out, but don’t actually remember it, and the synopsis on DC’s site didn’t help. Hey, I like Batman, I like the future, so I”m reading it.

Catwoman 7 – I just hope Selina doesn’t get beat up in this issue, it will make a nice change. As I said before, is it so wrong to hope that things will go right for Catwoman for a change? Today we get some fancy cars and fast driving scenes, which can be difficult to do in a still medium like comics, I’m looking forward to seeing how the artists Adriana Melo and Mariah Benes do it.

Justice League 7 – It hasn’t been a month since issue 6 came out, has it? Really? This issue jumps 5 years forward to the DCU present day; I wonder how the team’s relationships have changed and grown! That out-of-character moment for Batman in issue 5 still really grates on me, but who can help loving the Justice League?

Red Hood and the Outlaws 7 – I’m really only in it for the Owls. …And because Jason Todd gets naked pretty often. Actually, I do like Kenneth Rocafort’s artistic style, that’s been consistently good through this series.

Nightwing 7 – Nightwing has been an excellent comic, I definitely like getting an in-depth look at Dick Grayson that’s centred around his life. In the previous issue, Haly’s Circus returned to Gotham and Dick was caught up in a deadly situation. Today we should finally find out why a former circus performer has been carrying a grudge against Dick. I really enjoy this cover, by Eddy Barrows and Rod Reis, it feels very textured.

Happy Wednesday, Bat-fans! It’s been a busy time at Wayne Enterprises and you may have noticed I missed talking about last week’s pull file, sorry about that! There were some good comics last week, so I’ll talk about today’s comics today, and tomorrow I’ll put up last week’s. I’d love to hear what you’re reading, you can tweet me or leave a comment below!

Batman 6 – It doesn’t feel like a month since the amazing Batman 5 came out, but I’m not complaining! Issue 5 ended on quite the cliffhanger, and from what Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo have said on Twitter, it sounds like 6 picks up there and then just keeps going! I want to know more about the Court of Owls and see Batman fight back more aggressively, maybe he’ll get started on that today.

Birds of Prey 6 - The Birds are investigating a mind-control situation, where people don’t realize they’re compromised until suddenly someone’s controlling them like a puppet. Oh, I should say a deadly bomb puppet, because this is Gotham. It’s still really weird to see Batgirl and Poison Ivy on the same team, I’m not sure how long that can possibly last.

Catwoman 6 - Catwoman just got arrested, after stealing a surprisingly large quantity of money that turned out to belong to a group of crooked cops. I’d like to see her come out on top for a change, maybe get away with something. Batman also comes around, apparently to talk about their relationship, which is something I never thought I’d say.

Red Hood and the Outlaws 6 – I said I’d give it six issues, so this one had better be good! Hopefully Starfire will get to do something other than have sex, be attacked by a monster, or be unconscious/otherwise missing. I know, I’m being unfair, but it can be frustrating sometimes to see such potential go nowhere. Today we find out how Red Hood and Starfire met, that should be interesting.

Nightwing 6 – I love many people in the Bat-verse, and Dick Grayson is one of them. Having Dick’s first adventure in this series be with Haly’s Circuis is really fitting. Once he figures out its secrets and how that relates to him, he can move on and truly dedicate himself to fighting for Gotham as Nightwing. In issue 6 the circus finally returns to Gotham City; I love the cover by Eddy Barrows and Rod Reis, as well as the art throughout the whole series.

Good morning Gotham! I hope everyone survived yesterday’s Internet Strike unscathed; I know personally the lack of Reddit access was very disconcerting, but I also wanted to show my support for a free and open internet! As you can see, I haven’t been as successful at writing here through the week as I’d hoped to be, but I’m still trying and hope that my lovely readers enjoy the weekly pull file posts. As always, I’d love to hear about what you’re reading, what you think about the comics I’m reading, or anything else related to Batman comics – leave a comment!

Batman 5 – The Court of Owls continues making trouble for the Bat-Family and Gotham City! How could they possibly think that Batman will give up Gotham and stop fighting for his Mission? Silly Owls, how little they know. I read this issue on the way to work today, and oh, oh my goodness. This is how the comic medium should be used! If anyone out there is not sure that Batman is worth reading, please go pick up issues 4 and 5 and you’ll see how amazing the Goddamn Batman can be.

Birds of Prey 5 - The Birds have been fighting a mysterious group called the Cleaners. Issue 4 ended with them facing down dozens of murderous robots, but when Issue 5 opens the team finds themselves standing in the street, with Batgirl nowhere to be found. Even worse, they all have different memories as to how they got there! How could someone control all their minds and memories like that? With such power, what else will this mysterious “Choke” person do? The possibility of discord with Poison Ivy, not necessarily a hero, is exacerbated by all the conflicting memories. If the Birds can’t trust each other, who can they trust?

Catwoman 5 – I have to say, I do kind of care about Selina, and want her to be okay. At the end of Issue 4 she faced a new villain called Reach, who presented a real challenge – Reach can control gravity, and Catwoman found herself in the sky without a parachute! When I was reading Catwoman 5 this morning my main complaint was the writing, especially the narration. Winick seems unsure if he wants Catwoman’s inner thoughts to be in past tense or present, and it kept jarring me out of the story while I tried to figure out what she was talking about.

Red Hood and the Outlaws 5 – Starfire’s been attacked by a giant lizard type guy called Crux, he’s seeking vengeance for his parents who were killed by an alien ship from her planet when it crash landed on Earth. I did like Issue 5 more than, say, Issue 1, but I’m still not convinced. There’s an interesting parallel to be drawn between Crux and Batman. They both started as ordinary (non-meta) people, their lives were forever changed by the tragedy of their parents’ murder, and they’ve dedicated the rest of their lives to responding to it. Of course, Batman took a very different approach than Crux, but it goes to show, when we look closely we can find a point of connection with just about anyone.

Nightwing 5 – Dick Grayson has been traveling with Haly’s Circus, trying to figure out who killed Mr Haly and what secret the circus has been hiding. This issue has a bit of a digression, with a woman who summons a demon to kidnap her ex-lover Jimmy (the circus’s clown), and I liked that little storyline, it brought Jimmy from a bit character to a real fleshed-out person. I’ve noticed a theme among several of the Bat-comics, where someone on the team is not fully honest and may be working for the other side, and this is one of the books where that happens (along with Birds of Prey and a few others). Is it possible that all the double agents from all the different comics will be tied together in the big Court of Owls crossover storyline that’s coming up? Here’s the cover, by Eddy Barrows, I just love it… maybe because Nightwing’s costume is a little bit torn?

Hello Bat-fans! Oh, how I miss you! What with life being kinda crazy right now and my scanner being broken, detailed posts just haven’t been in the cards (as our favourite Joker might say), so I hope you’ll forgive me. I’m going to keep working on it and have big plans for the coming year. OK, here’s what’s in my pull file this week, it’s a good one:

Batman 4 – The Court of Owls storyline continues, with Batman investigating the shadowy group at the heart of Gotham’s criminal underworld. I’ve mentioned how much I enjoy this comic, so all they have to do is continue being awesome!

Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes – Did the unpublished Batman Inc issues from before the relaunch get repurposed as this one-shot? I’m not sure, but I loved everything about Batman Inc (Morrison’s story line and writing! Burnham and Stewart’s art!) and so I’m definitely interested in reading this one. I hope it ties up the loose ends of this story!

Birds of Prey 4 – Batgirl joins up with the Birds of Prey! I suspect they won’t all get along really well – somehow I can’t imagine Barbara Gordon working on the same team as Poison Ivy, and I’d probably feel the same about the other Birds if I knew them. This should be fun.

Catwoman 4 – When we last left Catwoman she was destroying evidence in her dead best friend’s apartment and the police had just burst in. That can’t lead anywhere good! My guess is that she’ll escape out the window and then up to the roof. I’m still not sure if I want to keep reading this book, but I’ll wait and give it a chance to really grab me (or turn me off).

Nightwing 4 – Dick Grayson continues his quest to find Mr. Haly’s killer and understand his own past! Batgirl’s busy this month, she turns up in Florida to work with Nightwing and apparently we start getting answers to some of the questions raised in the first three issues.

Red Hood and the Outlaws 4 – As mentioned before, I’m giving this book six issues before deciding to drop it from my pull file. I’m waiting because I want to give the creators a chance to respond to the criticism raised after the first issue, and six issues seems like long enough to do that. Also, I like what I’ve seen of the characters in other stories, so I’d enjoy reading them if it’s done well.

Justice League 4 – Aquaman! I keep hearing he’s awesome now, but haven’t been reading his comic so this is all new and exciting. I really like the art in this series, and watching the Justice League come together and start getting to know each other as a team. Here’s the cover, by Jim Lee and Scott Williams.

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 Gotham! Despite the dark and dreary weather today, the shine has not yet worn off the DCnU for me. I guess eventually I’ll need to accept excitement as a permanent state of being, but until then I will be surprised every week to find myself excited for the new comic books. What do you think, are you finding that the relaunch has reinvigorated your approach to comics? Here’s what I got today:

Batman 2 – The first issue of Batman had an Arkham Asylum breakout, excellent art, and some awesome bat-moments. What more needs to be said? It’s the classic flavour, the Goddamn Batman, I’m happy.

Birds of Prey 2 – I’m still getting to know these characters, and enjoying every minute. Black Canary seems pretty cool, and I like a woman who fights crime in fishnets, reminds me of my Rocky Horror days.

Catwoman 2 – Is this going to be as questionable as the previous issue? I don’t expect that anything’s changed, but we’ll see how it goes. I’ve wanted to see Batman on the morning after for ages, so I’ll take what I can get. Maybe Catwoman shouldn’t try to be a superhero book, and should embrace its status as a romance comic?

Justice League 2 – I know some people weren’t into it, but I enjoyed issue 1 and look forward to reading about how the Justice League comes together (yes, I said it). Last issue we saw Batman and Green Lantern meet and then find Superman, so this week we should get to see how Superman reacts to Batman – based on the cover, I get the idea that it’s not all sunshine and roses!

Red Hood and the Outlaws 2 – This book is on notice, I’m giving it three issues to get less awful and then if I’m not satisfied I’ll stop buying it. Actually, I’m not sure if that’s the best approach – the first three issues are probably already written and done, so if the authors and DC actually make changes based on the outcry after issue 1, that probably won’t show up until later on. Any thoughts on how to deal with that? I don’t even know what the storyline will be in issue 2, I just hope not to be as disappointed as I was last month.

Nightwing 2 – Nightwing! Sexiest of the formerly-mulleted superheroes. Dick Grayson is being targeted by a mysterious assassin, and Nightwing has to save the day! It doesn’t help that they’re the same person… Take a look at the cover by Eddy Barrows and Rod Reis, Nightwing is so dynamic. I’m definitely looking forward to reading this series.

 Batman: Odyssey 1 of 7 – I’m not getting this book! I know, not what you would expect to see here, but I read all the issues that were put out before the relaunch, and I just don’t like it. So if anyone out there is reading it, let me know what you think! Neal Adams may be a great name in Batman history, but I think I’ll have to read some of his earlier work to get a ticket on that train.

Oh, how I love new comic book day. Especially with these new #1′s coming out now, it’s just a whole world of adventure ahead. I picked up all the Bat-titles today and am excited to get started!

Batman 1 – Batman! It’s the goddamn Batman! I know it’s kind of silly but I’m totally excited that this is Batman #1, it feels special! With Scott Snyder writing, coming from Detective Comics to Batman, we know this is going to be excellent.

Birds of Prey 1 – I’m hoping that the relaunch gives me a good starting point for the series, which I didn’t really get into earlier. Black Canary is an interesting character and I’ve liked what I’ve seen of her in fanfiction, so it will be great to read about her in comic form.

Catwoman 1 – Definitely excited to read this book! I’ve seen a few very positive comments on Twitter today, and since I already enjoy both the writer (Judd Winick) and the artist (Guillem March), I have a good feeling about this.

Nightwing 1 – Nightwing; he’s so hot right now. I’ve seen Dick Grayson as Batman and gotten to know him in that role, so I’m interested in how he’ll be different as Nightwing, and also what aspects of Batman he brings to it.

Red Hood and the Outlaws 1 – I’m reading this for sexy Jason Todd with red hair, and the hope that he’ll get naked as often in the relaunched world as he did before. Getting to know Arsenal and Starfire will be great as well, and I’m sure they’ll get up to exciting hijinks. This cover is by Kenneth Rocafort, I really enjoy it:

It’s here! It’s finally happening! Storylines are wrapping up in preparation for the big re-launch, and we get to find out what happens! I’m looking forward to this week’s comics  even more than usual. And for those of you who are wondering about the Dark Knight Rises filming this past weekend, I am definitely writing about it, but it will take a couple more days before that’s ready to share. It was an epic day, but also long and hot, and very tiring. OK, here’s this week’s pull file!

Batgirl 24 – The last issue ended with a big surprise that I would expect to have huge consequences in Stephanie’s life, although knowing that it’s being rebooted kind of reduces the drama. I’ve really grown to like Steph so I’m interested to see what she does, and Bryan Q Miller’s writing has been great on this series.

Batman and Robin 26 – This is probably a one-issue story, since it’s the last one before the relaunch and last month we saw the end of the Red Hood story arc. That’s cool, I’m not quite ready to let go of the Dick and Damian Dynamic Duo and hopefully they’ll have lots of witty banter and badass moments in this issue.

Birds of Prey 15 – Some characters that I don’t really know are in danger! Will they survive? Probably. Will I get emotionally involved? Doubtful, but always possible, I do tend to over-invest.  I’m not so into this series but will be reading it after the relaunch and hopefully that’ll give me the good entrance point that I need – after all, that’s sort of the point of the DCnU.

Detective Comics 881 – This is the one I’m most anticipating – the conclusion to the Jim Gordon & James Jr storyline!! Scott Snyder’s writing has been fantastic and I really like the way both Jock and Francesco Francavilla are doing the artwork, I prefer the two of them working together over either one individually. Last issue ended on quite the cliffhanger but as one commenter said, Barbara is way too smart not to have a plan of some sort. And as a bonus, it’s a longer than normal issue also, at 40 pages.

Flashpoint: Deadman and the Flying Graysons 3 of 3 – The thrilling conclusion! This mini-series has been such a fascinating window into an alternate life for Dick Grayson, and yet also maintains the themes (love, family, passion) that really inform his character in the main Bat-verse. I’m looking forward to finding out how the adult Dick copes with the deaths of his parents, and if it drives him in the same directions that it did when he was a child.

Red Robin 26 – So sad to see this issue come, since it’s the last one in the series I love! But I also know I’ll enjoy it, especially Marcus To’s great art. In this issue Tim confronts his father’s killer, I’m really looking forward to seeing how that goes. It should be a great wrap-up for the series.

Batman 80-Page Giant 2011 – Nothing like a random special issue to top up a great week of comics! Looking through the writers and artists, I don’t see many names I recognize, but I’m a big fan of the cover by Dustin Nguyen.