Batman Comics

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.

Batman 4 – 6

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artists: Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion

Hello dear readers! Today we continue our look at what we’ve learned about the Court of Owls, moving on to Batman issues 4, 5 and 6. If you missed the first part of this discussion check it out here!

In Batman 4 we get a surprisingly deep look into the dark time in Bruce’s life shortly after his parents’ murder. He became convinced that Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed as part of a larger conspiracy, but despite searching obsessively then and at later times through his life, Bruce never found any evidence of the Court of Owls.

I know I’m supposed to be concentrating on information today, but the artwork here is just so beautiful. There’s a distinct change (as you can see in the picture above) when we enter Bruce’s memory: details get fuzzy, contrast is high. As Bruce finishes telling Dick this story about his past, we learn not only what he discovered but also how it shaped him as a detective.

Batman had been examining Alan Wayne’s bones, and found that Alan was probably stabbed to death in a manner very similar to the unidentified man at the beginning of issue 1. He heads into the sewers searching for the source of a residue he found on the bones, but while he’s there Talon finds him and traps Batman in the Court’s labyrinth!

We know all about the labyrinth from my closer look at Batman 5, but there are a few details I didn’t mention that definitely help us know our enemy, I want to look at two particular things here. The walls covered in photos tell us that the Court of Owls has been around for a very very long time, and have been using their labyrinth to drive people crazy for just as long.

Of course, it’s also possible that they just built the labyrinth recently, and it’s all a very elaborate trick to make it appear old. Then there’s the room full of coffins, which tells us that they’ve either been keeping their Talons after they die, or new Talons are being prepared to fight. Neither one of those options sounds good to me!

Finally, we have Batman 6, where our hero fights back against the maddening effects of the labyrinth. Here’s where we really get the goods. First Batman and Talon fight, and it turns out Talon’s quite the talkative little guy.

Now that’s a lot of information! Who else has been forever entombed in the labyrinth? Will we ever find out? I love Batman’s answer when he’s offered last words. They fight, and when Talon thinks he has the upper hand, he asks the Court what he should do with Batman. We finally get a good look at the Court of Owls in action, and it is chilling.

They’re like ghouls! Or owls, I guess; I may never trust owls again (put them on the list with cats!).  I love how the top and bottom panels spill out over the edges of the frames, it really emphasizes that the Court is outside of the labyrinth they’ve put Batman into and brings out that overpowered feeling. This is probably my favourite page in the book – what is up with that child? She is extremely creepy, I like it.

Batman, of course, is not defeated, although he ends up in quite a tight spot and I’m a bit worried about him. The last page I wanted to share is the second-last page of the issue, and although we don’t get any specific information about the Court, I think it shows something very important.

The person (I hesitate to call her a “lady”) in the wheelchair seems to be in charge. Someone else, possibly the younger woman, is sentimental and wants to give Talon a chance to heal, but he’s “disposed of” in the river that Batman just escaped to, and that’s that. Besides, there are other Talons ready and waiting…

I hope that this look at the Court of Owls and what we’ve learned about them in Batman so far has been helpful, I know it was for me! Now I feel ready to take on the whole Court myself, as long as I’ve got Batman and his family on my side. In the next couple weeks we have wrap-up issues of Detective Comics, Batman and Robin, and other titles, as those story arcs conclude, and then on March 21st Batman 7 comes out. That issue will bring the Court’s first full assault on Gotham city, and apparently many secrets will be revealed – I can’t wait!

I’m rereading the new Batman comics and noticed a detail in the artwork that I thought was very smart, so I had to take a quick break and share it with you. The artists are Greg Capullo for pencils, Jonathan Glapion as inker and Fco Plascencia doing the colours; Scott Snyder is the writer.

Here’s Dick Grayson in issue 1, all dressed up and ready to go to a fancy fundraiser:

Now here he is as Nightwing, in Batman 2:

His tuxedo matches his costume! Now that is smart Bat branding.

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?

My husband @VenPixel and I went to Fan Expo Canada this weekend, and we had a really nice time! I’m obviously not a reporter, so I won’t attempt to do an objective review of the event, but I’d like to share some highlights. Be careful, there are some spoilers below for the DCnU!

We started by finding the DC table and I got to meet James Robinson, writer of Justice League of America. I told him I enjoyed his run on JLA, and specifically that he made me interested in non-Bat characters such as Supergirl, who recently had sort of an identity crisis and became a very dark version of herself. He thanked me and and started to talk about women in comics, which has been a real hotbed of conversation lately (there was a lot of discussion about women creators at the San Diego ComicCon DC panel, check out DC Women Kicking Ass for details). Robinson said that there are actually a lot of women in JLA, which I agreed with, and then said that I should come to the DC New 52 Panel (which I’d already planned to attend) because they’d be announcing something and it also involved women characters. I considered saying that I think the larger concern is women on the creative side, since in my opinion women aren’t under-represented within the comics themselves (though how they’re represented is questionable), but instead I just told him I’d see him at the panel and that was that! It was very exciting have met him.

Batman Inc 1 variant cover by Yannick Paquette

Then we went and got seated for the New 52 panel. Remember, if you want real reporting it’s not here, these are just the bits I cared enough about to write down.

Dan DiDio asked who likes Justice League, then picked a kid out of the audience and let him read the new Justice League 1 and Flashpoint 5, which as we know won’t be released until Wednesday. I was so jealous! We can only hope that the kid understood the huge significance of the moment

Tony Daniel talked about how Dick Grayson is a totally different Batman than Bruce Wayne, and how excited he is to be writing Bruce (now that he’ll be working on Detective Comics instead of on Batman). That book is high on my list in the DCnU. Daniel said that Detective Comics will be very focused on Batman and his solo detective work, we might see Jim and Alfred but not much. Batman will have a love interest, and it’s not Catwoman! That’s exciting, I can enjoy the Bats/Cats relationship but it’s nice to give Bruce some variety. Daniel also told us that we’ll see short plot arcs but big concepts, and it leads into something big next year. Francis Manapul said that the ending of Detective Comics 1 is a cliffhanger that will “blow our faces away”. Can’t wait to find out what he means by that!

Captain America special Fan Expo cover

On the topic of characters in the relaunched DC universe, Eddie Berganza (the editor) said that they’re being cautious about how they reintroduce characters, and they don’t want to do it all at once. It has to feel fresh and new, and they’re waiting to have the right tone and people involved in each comic. He was asked specifically about Wally West and Donna Troy, and said “just wait”. What about the events of Hush, does Catwoman still know who Batman really is? Eddie said Catwoman 1 will have a scene about identities that answers those questions, I’m looking forward to seeing where they go with that since it will have a pretty big effect on how the different characters interact.

Finally, we have news about Stephanie Brown!! She was Batgirl, but as we know Barbara Gordon will be returning to that cape, and everyone’s been wondering what Steph will be doing in the DCnU. So, we don’t have to wonder anymore. Spoiler alert! Dan DiDio said that Steph will return to costumed crimefighting as ‘Spoiler’, her original alter-identity. That’s amazing! I am so glad to know that she’ll be getting action in the comics, and really look forward to reading about her adventures.

After the New 52 panel I got to say hi to Brian Azzarello and Yanick Paquette. I told Brian how much I loved the Flashpoint Batman mini-series, his take on Thomas and Martha Wayne was amazing, and his Joker comic was super cool. I thanked Yanick for the Batman Inc art, and told him that specifically in issue 2 I loved how he drew Bruce and Selina together, they looked exactly like themselves. He seemed pleased with that, and it was really exciting to get to meet them!

Batman 247 - Special Holiday issue!

We went to the Drawing Batman panel, where Marcus To and Tony Daniel both took turns drawing, and it was projected for us to watch. I’m still amazed at their skill and talent, being able to draw like that would be so great – I can do all sorts of handiwork but drawing is definitely beyond me. While they drew they answered questions about their work, comics, etc. I asked them to talk about drawing Joker, and their answers were very interesting! Daniel said that when he was working with Grant Morrison, their Joker was influenced by David Bowie and Iggy Pop, but modern and cool. To said that his Joker was inspired by Batman: The Animated Series, and the dark eye makeup was very important. He also liked Jim Lee and Frank Quitely’s takes on Joker, which I definitely agree with. That panel was great, they’re both such excellent but different artists. I hoped to get one of the drawings they did but wasn’t so lucky.  After the panel I introduced myself to Marcus To, he’s been nice enough to answer me on Twitter so it was cool to connect in real life.

We walked around on the main floor, I bought Batman 247 which is on my list of Matches Malone issues but discovered when I got home that Matches isn’t actually in the comic! So it seems that I do have all his Batman and Detective Comics appearances! The rest will be harder to find, they’re less common and some are worth less so they’ll be in 50 cent bins, which means they’re not as well organized.

I also bought a beautiful print of the Batman Inc 1 variant cover by Yanick Paquette (which you can see above), and he signed it for me! I’ll get it framed, such an excellent piece of artwork.

And then we were done with Fan Expo! There were people in all sorts of amazing outfits, I was so impressed with how creative and high-quality some were! We had a good time, and it definitely helped convince me that going to San Diego ComicCon next year is a good idea. Now it’s time to start planning my costumes! If you went to Fan Expo I’d love to hear about your experiences and see photos, so leave a comment!

Batman 713

Writers & Artists: Fabian Nicieza, Steve Scott, Daniel Sampere, Andrei Bressan, Walden Wong, Rich Perrota, Rodney Ramos

This is the wrap-up issue leading into the DCnU reboot, and it’s written as a retelling of the Batman story. It opens with “This is the story of a boy who lost his parents, but through that loss gained a noble purpose in life. He grew up obsessed with fighting crime — with the idea of never letting any other innocents suffer as he had.” Our narrator describes Bruce first taking on the cowl, then working with Robin, and as the story progresses the artistic style changes to match the era depicted. Here’s a panel I really enjoyed, I haven’t seen Batman looking that cheerful in years.

As the tale continues we realize that the narrator isn’t Batman himself, and I started to wonder if it was Joker. He refers to the first Robin as “an incredibly annoying child”, after all. But, the level of detail and care for the characters showed it couldn’t possibly be Joker telling this story. Who else, then, would give only one brief mention of all of Jason Todd, as though the only important parts of his involvement with the Mission were when he showed up and then when he died?

And at the same time, criticize Tim’s Robin as a “mistake”? I was so upset by that! But once you read it and figure out who the narrator is, it makes sense. As a wrap-up story I did like this issue, especially the way it’s drawn and the suggestion at the end that the Bat-cave needs a Bat-pole – it really really does.

Justice League of America 60

Writers & Artists: James Robinson, Daniel Sampere, Wayne Faucher

This issue also tied up loose ends – specifically, the entire Justice League. Over the course of the story as they remember old battles and think about their own futures, everyone on the JLA decides to quit! It’s a pretty good way of opening up space for the new JLA, since at least nobody has to die.

They reminisce about a few huge fights, I had a hard time getting into that and understanding the impact of those battles on these heroes, possibly because of how it was written and possibly because those situations happened in books I haven’t read. There were also some great moments and beautiful art, like Supergirl killing an evil robot bare-handed:

I love that she wears super-shorts under her super-skirt! Helps protect the super-modesty. We also have a really interesting moment where Congorilla brings up Batman Inc and African superheroes in general (I stuck two pages together for ease of reading, it didnt look exactly like this in the book):

He makes a good point, I think — Africa is a big place and I’m not surprised that there are already superheroes working there. But why is that the only person who sees this is a Scottish man-turned-Gorilla? It reminded me of how white the JLA is, and the whole superhero world. One thing I really hope to see as the DCnU launches and then grows is more diversity, both in terms of creators working at DC comics and also in the characters portrayed. There was that great image showing other heroes posed like Wonder Woman (Batman’s awesome!), that’s such a prime example of how women are represented differently. I think the comic world in general, and DC within that, has a lot of room to grow and this relaunch is a great opportunity to bring in a wide range of characters. I hope they live up to the possibility.

Today I want to try something new, and talk about a few different comics. There’s so many to choose from!

Batman 710 (Jul ’11)

Writer & Artists: Tony Daniel, Steve Scott, Ryan Winn

This could be a standard, boring “Two-Face loses his coin” story, but it’s saved by an interesting twist in terms of who stole the coin (don’t worry, I won’t give it away). Instead it’s tense and Two-Face is compelling, clearly over the edge and furious.  This issue is all about when past and present meet, and my favourite part is when Dick takes a moment – in the midst of a fight – to think back on his years of caped crusading:

Batman & Robin 23 (Jul ’11)

Writer & Artists: Judd Winick, Guillem March, Andrei Bresson

Bruce and Jason, reunited at last! I don’t understand why Jason suddenly has red hair, but I’m also not complaining. We start with Batman (Bruce) visiting Jason where he’s being held at Arkham Asylum, having been caught as Red Hood. Is my favourite part when Jason asks after Damian’s mom? (We all know both Bruce and Jason were romantically involved with Talia.) Or is it the tiny little  towels they seem to provide in prison showers? No, my favourite part is the three new guys who show up at the end. I don’t want to spoil it, so let’s enjoy Jason’s shower:

On a more serious note, I am interested to see how they reconcile Bruce and Jason’s close familial relationship with Jason’s apparent embrace of his homicidal tendencies.

Gates of Gotham 1 of 5 (Jul ’11)

Writer & Artists: Scott Snyder, Kyle Higgins, Trevor McCarthy

In Gotham’s history, three bridges are built dedicated to three men – Alan Wayne, and men identified only as Edward and Theodore. In Gotham’s present, those three bridges are destroyed. The second one leads back to Penguin, and you’ll never guess who the third one was! There’s a wonderful Batman & Gordon moment in the middle of the story. Sometimes I forget that the Commissioner isn’t in on the whole Secret, because he’s just so awesome.

Remember, you can click on images to see the bigger versions. Let me know what you think about these or any other Batman comics from this week!