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.

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?

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.

It’s Thursday, and that can only mean one thing – time to get ready for Fan Expo Canada! I don’t really know what to expect, having never been to a comic convention before, but it should be a lot of fun. I’m already trying to decide what to wear – one of my several Joker costumes, or my fabulous She-Ra dress? And how is it possible that I don’t yet have a Batman outfit?

I’m pretty excited to meet some of my favourite writers and artists, here are the people I’ll be looking out for:

Andy Kubert – artist – Flashpoint, Batman (Flashpoint 3 – the way he drew Superman was so perfect!)

David Finch – writer & artist – Batman: The Dark Knight

Tony Daniel – writer & artist – Detective Comics, Batman

Brian Azzarello – writer – Joker, Flashpoint Batman (I loved Batman & Joker in Flashpoint, can’t wait to thank him)

Yanick Paquette – artist – Batman Inc (Bruce & Selina in Batman Inc 2 was one of my favourite panels)

Cameron Stewart – artist – Batman & Robin (Damian flipping & flamethrowing in 16 was just so excellent)

Marcus To – artist – Red Robin

I also want to ask Marco Rudy why he put Harley Quinn in that awful costume on the Suicide Squad cover. Does he just not understand who she is?

There are two big DC panels that I hope to attend, the New 52 panel and the Drawing Batman panel, those both sound like fun. Other than that, I hope to walk around, see people in fantastic costumes, maybe buy some stuff, do the con thing. Michael Biehn will be there, I’ve loved him as Hicks ever since I first saw Aliens when I was about eight years old, so hopefully I can get a photo with him or something. If I’m really lucky he’ll say “Don’t be gone long, Ellen”, but that seems a bit unlikely.

Are you going to Fan Expo? Let me know, we can meet up and say hello!

Writer: David Finch

Artist: Scott Williams

Date: Jan ’11

My Rating: Exciting opening issue with a great visual style.

This is the first issue of a new series that follows Bruce Wayne (but is different than Batman Inc). It’s written and drawn by David Finch, and this opening issue is excellent.

The story follows Bruce as he searches for Dawn Golden, a woman he knew years ago in childhood and who has now mysteriously disappeared.

The book opens with Bruce and Dawn as playing together as children:

Call me crazy, but is that an Iron Man toy? Red and gold metallic outfit, glowing circle in the chest… Batman having an Iron Man toy as a child is just about the Best Idea Ever, I’m all over it.

I also really like David Finch’s drawing style. Here’s a page where Batman watches and then attacks Killer Croc, looking for information about Dawn.

Just looks good, like how a comic book should look, you know? And special bonus, though I’m a couple weeks late, there’s an awesome Happy New Years image from DC in the back of this book.