Batman Comics

Hello Bat-fans! We’re in that calm before the storm now, with costume prep finished but Comic Con not until next week, so I have time for some Quickies! This afternoon I read three new comics, I’m not going to recap the whole stories for you (go buy some comics!) but here are a few fun moments that I hope you enjoy. Be warned – spoilers below!

Detective Comics 11, written by Tony Daniel, art by Julio Ferreira, Eduardo Pansica, Eber Ferreira, and Tomeu Morey

This comic makes a lot more sense if you read Batman in Adam West’s voice, rather than Kevin Conroy or Christian Bale.  Still, lines like “Moving .. in … slow … motion” followed immediately with “… cant move … fast enough” leaves something to be desired, I’m sure Batman would be thinking more than that. The art is okay; some of the panels where the perspective is at an odd angle end up looking a bit weird, but we get a page of Bruce in the shower so I won’t complain.

Batwing 11, written by Judd Winick, art by Marcus To, Ryan Winn, Le Beau Underwood, and Brian Reber

In the last issue, the family of Matu Ba (Batwing’s ‘Alfred’) was all killed, and today he has to go to a small dictatorship country called Tundi for their funerals. Meanwhile, Batwing is fighting Long the Antlered Dragon, and with Nightwing’s help they’re tracking a missing nuclear weapon. This issue is great, not losing momentum when switching between storylines, and fitting a lot of story into the 20 pages. Batman and Penguin share a great moment here, so although it doesn’t feature Batwing, I wanted to share it just for Marcus To’s art.

Justice League 10, written by Geoff Johns, art by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Mark Irwin, and Jonathan Glapion

This guy Graves is going after the enemies of the Justice League, which sounds good but really just gives him more information about how to fight the League themselves. This leads to the inevitable argument up on the Watchtower where Cyborg reveals things he knows about each member of the League. We also get a nice Batman/Superman moment:

Graves suck the life-force out of each member of the Justice League one by one, magically feeding on their pain and sorrow. We see each member of the League fall except Batman. On the final page he’s shown defeated with the rest of his team, but why is he the only one who we don’t see taken down? Maybe that will come back in the next issue…  I also notice that Gary Frank is mentioned on the cover of this issue, but not on the title page, that’s a bit odd.

Good evening, Gotham City!! Happy Canada day to those in Gotham North, and Happy Independence Day to my friends south of the border! This hot weather puts me in the mood for a cool drink and a comicbook, and lucky for me there are a few good ones coming out today. Before I get to that, though, a costume update — as I’m sure everyone will be glad to hear, my Bat-dress is ready to go! It’s about time, since the San Diego Comic Con is next week! I don’t have any full costume photos to share quite yet, but here’s a blurry iPhone shot that gives you an idea of what the utility belt looks like:

Yes, those are Bat-sunglasses, we creatures of the shadows don’t do too well with California’s bright sunshine. Enough costume talk, here’s what I’m reading this week:

Batman: Earth One – Batman’s origin story, the official DCnU version! Some people may think it’s redundant, but I love a good origin and don’t mind reading Batman’s again! With a storyline that’s as well known as this one, it’s always interesting to see what the writer adds, changes, or removes altogether. I think Geoff Johns has enough history with the character to do it justice, and although I’m not very familiar with Gary Frank’s art, I’ve liked his recent Justice League work. Although I don’t normally buy hardcover graphic novels when they first come out, this was a birthday present that I’m definitely looking forward to reading (and thanks again!!)

Earth 2 3 – Still mad at DC for calling it Earth 2 instead of Earth Two. And don’t tell, but I may have neglected to actually read issue 2 (despite enjoying issue 1)… This isn’t technically a Bat-book anyways, but I have to read it for gay Alan Scott if nothing else!

Detective Comics 11 – I’ve seen a lot of hate for Tony Daniel’s run in this series, and I didn’t really agree because I’ve generally enjoyed D.C. lately (especially issue 10, I thought it was great, though it’s possible that most of what I enjoyed was the art…) Then it occurred to me that the main problem I have with D.C. was how they started big with the Joker (insert Nic Cage quote here) and then didn’t follow through, we haven’t seen Mister J all year. I’m thrilled to bits that the Batman team will be writing a Joker storyline, but whose fault is it that we had to wait this long? Of course, I don’t know what goes on behind the doors of DC Comics (and I get the sense even that people working there don’t plan ahead sometimes) but maybe if Daniel had done something with the Joker, he’d be writing Detective Comics for more than a couple more issues.

World’s Finest 3 – The continued adventures of Huntress and Power Girl! I really enjoy the inversion here: the “World’s Finest” title starred Superman and Batman for so long, it’s great to see two women taking up that title and all the symbolism that goes with it. We’re early in the series, still getting to know the characters and learning how they relate to each other and the world they find themselves in. I’m most interested to see how Helena Wayne goes from being Robin to being Huntress, and how she grieves the loss of her father, the Batman of Earth 2.

Batwing 11 - The villain here is a gangster named Long, who just happens to be a dragon. Not a man in a dragon costume, no. An actual dragon. This is why I read comics! What is the point of having a guy in Bat armor running around fighting crime if not to have him fight a dragon? Exactly. Add in Marcus To’s art and I’m definitely sold; take a look at this cover – I love Long’s antlers, and Nightwing is just perfect!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The first 2 of the 4 monthly Green Lantern titles, Green Lantern #1 and Red Lanterns #1 came out this week, and give us a great opportunity to learn about some important characters in the Green Lantern universe.

Green Lantern continuity has remained generally consistent since the Silver Age, when Hal Jordan was first introduced as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, and DC decided not to reboot the franchise during the transition to The New 52. As I understand it, everything that has happened to Hal and the other Lanterns in the “old” DC universe (including Blackest Night and Brightest Day) still happened, but it all took place during the “past 5 years,” between when Justice League is set and “now.”

That’s not to say that nothing has changed for the characters. At the end of War of The Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan was stripped of his power ring and discharged from the Green Lantern Coprs, and Sinestro, his nemesis and sworn enemy of the Corps, regained the ring that he lost years earlier (more on this below).

I’m going to introduce a few of the important characters from Green Lantern #1 and Red Lanterns #1, and hopefully get you familiar enough with the story to follow along as the series goes on.

But before you can understand any character, it’s important to understand what ties most of them together:

The Green Lantern Corps

Billions of years ago, the Guardians Of The Universe, among the oldest and wisest races, created the Green Lantern Corps to serve as an inter-galactic police force, which they hoped would bring order to the chaos of the universe. They divided the universe into 3600 “sectors,” and assigned to each sector a Green Lantern, who wears a Power Ring, to serve as a police man. The Power Rings draw their power from the Central Power Battery, housed on the planet Oa, in Sector 0000, where the Guardians live and direct the Corps. The Power Battery harnesses the Green Power of Will from all the sentient beings in the universe. This Green Willpower gives each Lantern his or her power, and allows them to serve their sector.

Sinestro

Thaal Sinestro was first introduced as the Green Lantern from Sector 2815, which is right next to our own Sector 2814, and initially served as a mentor to the first Human Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. However, after Hal discovered that Sinestro had abused his power and made himself a dictator on his own planet, Sinestro was stripped of his ring and imprisoned. After escaping, Sinestro fashioned himself a Yellow Power Ring, and founded the Sinestro Corps, which harnessed the Yellow energy of Fear.

After recruiting thousands of people who could “instill great fear,” Sinestro waged a war against the Green Lantern Corps. He has always maintained that he is working for the good of the universe, and believed that the guardians have lost their way. He and Hal have worked together recently, along with members of the other 5 Corps, helping to defeat Necron during Blackest Night and during the finale of War of The Green Lanterns. To the surprise of everyone, including the Guardians, a Green Power Ring chose him once again, and he found himself in an emerald uniform (and on the cover of Green Lantern #1).

Sinestro’s hatred of the Guardians is obvious in this issue. He makes it clear that he doesn’t want to be a Green Lantern, and at his first opportunity, he insults the Guardians. Sinestro has always been a fascinating character, because he cares very little for anyone’s authority except his own. On top of that, he’s often right. The Guardians have made many many mistakes over the years, yet they demand that they never be questioned. I am really interested to see where this plot takes Sinestro. Maybe he’ll find redemption, or at the very least explain the plan he has underway. (And yes, he always has a plan.)

Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy

Hal Jordan

Hal Jordan has a very stereotypical origin story. When he was 7, he watched as his father’s fighter jet exploded. He joined the Air Force so he could fly like his father, until he was dishonorably discharged. He held the only job he could, working as a test pilot for his childhood friend Carol Ferris, whose father had owned the plane Hal’s had been flying.

One day, he was chosen to wear the Power Ring of Sector 2814, after its previous bearer, Abin Sur, crashed his spaceship and died. He joined the Green Lantern Corps, and, due to his quick reflexes and equally quick wit, became one of the greatest Lanterns to ever live. Unfortunately, when an old enemy destroyed his home town of Coast City, he was driven mad, and became posessed by Parallax, the Yellow entity of Fear. He went on the warpath, and destroyed most of the Corps, and eventually Oa, before he could be subdued. He was eventually brought back to life (in Green Lantern: Rebirth), and helped re-form the Corps he had once destroyed.

Hal led the Corps through the Sinestro Corps War, and was instrumental during Blackest Night and Brightest Day, and eventually ended the War Of The Green Lanterns by killing Krona, the rogue Guardian who had taken over the Corps. For the crime of killing a Guardian (even an evil one), Hal was stripped of his ring, and sent home to Earth, which is where we pick up his story in this issue.

Hal has been a “hero” for so long that he can’t help but try to save the day if he can, which leads him to jump off a balcony, across an alley, and into an apartment to stop an apparent domestic attack.

Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy

Unfortunately, Hal jumped into the middle of a movie set, and was a arrested. His old friend Carol Ferris, herself now the leader of the Star Sapphires, the Violet Corps of Love, has to bail him out. At dinner that night, Hal, for the umpteenth time, ruins their relationship by asking for Carol to co-sign a car loan, rather than proposing, as she expected.

Hal and Carol have never been able to make it work as a couple, despite working well when they’re battling intergalactic foes. But at this point, they have been through so much together that it would be nearly impossible for either of them to have a functioning relationship with anyone else. The writer of Green Lantern (Geoff Johns, who has written it since Rebirth, I believe) doesn’t go to this well so often that it seems like well-treaded ground, but I almost wish he would either put them together or break them up once and for all. All the back-and-forth will get old quickly.

The Corps

I’ve alluded to many of the other Corps so far, so I’d like to lay them out once and for all. Each Corps has a colour and associated emotion, which may be familliar to anyone who read Blackest Night. They are:

• The Red Lantern Corps of Rage, led by Atrocitus
• The Orange Lantern Corps of Avarice, whose only living member is Larfleeze
• The Sinestro Corps (Yellow) of Fear, founded by Sinestro
• The Green Lantern Corps of Willpower, previously led by Hal Jordan
• The Blue Lantern Corps of Hope, led by Saint Walker
• The Indigo Tribe of Compassion, led by Indigo-1
• The Star Sapphires (Violet) of Love, led by Carol Ferris

Michael Mulipola

The Red Lanterns

The first Red Lantern was Atrocitus, whose entire planet was slaughtered, and swore vengeance upon the Guardians. He was imprisoned by them for eons, but eventually escaped, murdered his fellow prisoners, and from their blood forged the Red Power Battery. He built up his Corps with Lanterns who have almost always suffered a great tragedy in their life, and waged war against the Guardians. But with Krona dead, Atrocitus has lost the driving force in his life. Red Lanterns #1 sets up an interesting new normal for this character and his minions. Atrocitus has never been portrayed as “evil,” but only “vengeful,” (and for good reasons), and this issue has him embrace that, vowing to “punish those who deserve retribution.”

Peter Milligan, Ed Benes, Rob Hunter

Earlier in this issue Atrocitus reveals that he used to be a psychologist, and this frame shows what he’s become. He failed at the one goal he had in his life (killing Krona), and is re-focusing, trying to do some good the only way he can. I think this book, written by Peter Milligan with art by Ed Benes and Rob Hunter, may quickly become one of my favourites, with a great opportunity for deep characters and amazing art.

Writer: Geoff Johns

Artists: Andy Kubert, Sandra Hope, Jesse Delperdang

Date: Late October 2011

Rating: I LOVED Flashpoint 5. I thought the ending was excellent, and it was a great lead-in to The New 52 and the relaunched DC Universe.

Today I want to make a few Batman-related comments about Flashpoint 5; I’m not going to go through the whole book, which I hope you’ve read by now. Be warned, this will deal with the ending of the story, so if you haven’t read it there will be spoilers!

With Flashpoint, the problem inherent to the story (like most alternate universe stories) is that if Flash is successful in re-aligning the universe and bringing things back to “normal”, then all the events of the series are wiped away. If the war that destroyed Earth never happened, why should we care about it? As he lies dying, Flashpoint Batman (Thomas Wayne) sends Flash on his journey to end that world so a better one can replace it. I can’t tell you how much I loved Thomas Wayne in this moment! (remember, click to embiggen)

But at the same time he sends with Flash a letter for his son Bruce. This letter, and Flash’s memories of the life he never really lived, give the whole miniseries a purpose and an effect that lasts into the new 52. What changes in Batman will we see, if he’s a Batman who got some closure from his murdered father?

Bruce might be less tormented, more whole; will that change how he operates as Batman? I think not much, because this letter arrives several years after he’s taken on the cowl, and many years after his parents are killed – he’s already got years of loss and pain built up. But I hope that this message from his father changes how Bruce interacts with his own adopted sons, and that his relationship with his Robins is improved because of it.

One thing I really wonder is if the part we are shown is the whole letter. We see “Dear Son, There’s only one thing that I know about life. I know some things happen by chance.” This is beautiful, but it doesn’t feel like enough. Bruce reads the letter over four panels, and of course he could be re-reading it several times, but I think instead this suggests that the letter is longer. Also, when we see the signature at the end we see the bottom of the words preceding it, and those letters don’t match up with the words “by chance”. My theory is that the letter contained a few other things – first, that it wasn’t chance but choice, Thomas and Martha decided together to give up their lives for Bruce. Then something about being Batman, which now Bruce can share with his father, and then finally something about how his parents always loved him.

When Flash tells Bruce that he can still remember growing up with his mother (who died years ago in the “real” timeline), Bruce says “It could be a gift, Barry. A gift to make it all a little easier.” I feel like that’s what DC has given Bruce here, with the letter from his own father; some healing, even though it’s been such a long journey to get here, can go a long way.

Editor’s Note: We are thrilled to welcome a new contributor to Batman-Comics.com. Mike will be bringing a different perspective and broadening our horizons a bit beyond the gritty streets of Gotham City. I know we’ll all enjoy following Green Lantern’s adventures with him!  — Spice.

Hi there! Spice has asked me to start writing for her blog, but to bring something different. Instead of hanging out in dreary and dark Gotham and all around her silly planet, I’m going to be kicking back in beautiful Coast City and travelling around the whole universe. That’s right! I’m going to be your regular Green Lantern correspondent! I’ll be doing posts every few weeks about all the latest goings on in Sector 2814 (that’s Earth, for the uninitiated), Oa, and wherever else the Green Lantern Corps finds themselves.

But first, a bit about me. I haven’t been reading comics for very long, but I dove in and dove in hard. I’ve always liked Green Lantern, even though he hasn’t been well represented outside the printed page. But early this year, I picked up a copy of Green Lantern: Rebirth (where Hal Jordan reclaims his rightful place as a Green Lantern), and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Green Lantern: Rebirth cover by Ethan Van Sciver

I quickly read through 6 years’ worth of Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps, where I grew to love Hal Jordan, the cocky test pilot; John Stewart, the ex-marine with a dark past; Guy Gardner, the wisecracking ex-football player; Kyle Rayner, the soulful artist; and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps. I read as they fought the Sinestro Corps, and witnessed the emergence of the other 5 corps. I devoured the Blackest Night and Brightest Day series, including most of their tie-in stories, slowly being exposed to all the corners of the DC Universe. By the time I caught up with the comics, the recent War Of The Green Lanterns was in full force, spanning three different books each month. I watched as Lanterns fought Lanterns (with heavy casualties),  Hal Jordan was stripped of his ring, and Sinestro once again donned the emerald uniform.

Yes, it’s been a long trip for me in such a short amount of time. And now, with the New 52 and the launch of the new DC Universe, I’m going to be reviewing the 4 Green Lantern books for you. I’ll give my thoughts on the story lines, artwork, writing and whatever else I think is important or interesting in the DC Universe.

Going forward, I’m going to be reading 6 books every month. They are

• Green Lantern, which will star Sinestro in issue #1 (with Hal Jordan returning to the mantle soon, I hope);
• Green Lantern Corps, which will follow the story of John Stewart, Guy Guardner, Kilowog and the rest of the Corps;
• Green Lantern New Guardians, which will follow Kyle Rayner as he leads a team comprised of members from each of the 7 corps of the Emotional Spectrum (which I’ll expand on when I first review the book);
• Red Lanterns, a series which will focus on only one part of the emotional spectrum;
• Justice League, which tells the story of how the “greatest team of heroes the world has ever known” met and joined together;
• and Justice League International, where Guy Gardner and his team will… well, I’m not really sure. But anything with Guy gets me as a reader.

Sinestro, from the cover of Green Lantern #1, by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado

I’m going to try to write a couple of posts every month with my thoughts on the books I’m reading, though I’ll mostly stick to the 4 GL books. I’ll introduce you to the wide universe of Green Lantern, teach you about the different Corps, and probably make fun of Batman a bit along the way. (Here’s a comic to get things started).

So I hope you’ll stick around and read my reviews here every few weeks. As long as you keep reading, I’ll keep writing. And please follow me on twitter, @mikebach. I’d love to hear what you think.

In brightest day,
In blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who worship evil’s might
Beware my power,
Green Lantern’s Light!

Beware – there will be Flashpoint and Flashpoint: Batman spoilers below.

Batman & Robin 25 (Sep ’11)

Writer & Artists: Judd Winick, Greg Tocchini, Andy Smith

Batman & Robin continues to be one of my favourite comicbooks, it’s just so damn enjoyable! This issue finishes the story arc where Jason gets himself transferred from Arkham to Blackgate, and then proceeds to kill as many other prisoners as possible. A mystery woman and her Zoo Crew break Jason out on his way back to Arkham, holding his girlfriend Scarlet hostage in return for his cooperation. This leads us to my new favourite thing, and our newest fun tag here — Jason Gets Naked! The goodness started in Batman & Robin 23, here’s another excellent page from that issue:

“…Death didn’t do anything except slow me down a little.” And here’s Jason in B&R 25, doing what it takes to rescue Scarlet. Awesome.

Flashpoint 3 of 5 (Sep ’11)

Writer & Artists: Geoff Johns, Andy Kubert, Sandra Hope

In the last issue Flash convinced Batman to help him be struck by lighting, in hopes of regaining his powers. The attempt left him with burns over most of his body but he’s determined to try again. This time it works, he gets his superspeed and healing abilities back! Flash suggests that they should find Superman, and Batman enlists the help of Cyborg by offering his own aid as a strategist in the coming war against both Wonder Woman’s and Aquaman’s forces. Holy complex storyline, Batman! Anyways, it leads to such a cool plot twist – in this world, Superman landed in Metropolis instead of Smallville and was immediately taken in by the Government. The worst part is, they kept him underground his whole life! He’s scrawny and timid!

He’s drawn perfectly, and those eyes – it’s so clearly Superman in there, just aching to get out and rock. Overall Flashpoint has been a cool alternate world story, I’m really into it.

Flashpoint: Batman – Knight of Vengeance (Sep ’11)

Writer & Artist: Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso

I still haven’t gotten over Wayne Casino, what a great concept. One thing that does confuse me a bit is the timing – when does this happen in relation to the overall Flashpoint story? Joker has taken Harvey and Gilda Dent’s twins hostage (some things never change) and Gordon’s traced them to the abandoned Wayne Manor. When he arrives he sees Joker holding a gun to Dent’s son, and Gordon shoots first – but all is not as it seems.

Such beautiful art, I like the colouring choices and how we move from a close-up of the girl’s face to wider and wider shots as Gordon comes to understand the situation he’s in. The last few pages of the book are brilliant and twisted, and although I won’t give away here who the Joker really is, I will say you really should be reading this book.