Batman Comics

Good evening Gotham! I didn’t get to write about my pull file last week, but the comics were so good I thought I’d just share a few quick thoughts and pictures from the three issues. The Night of the Owls is in full swing and the Bat-family spreads through Gotham city, protecting prominent citizens from the Talons’ attack. I’m not going to recap what happens in each issue, since you should be reading these comics already, but spoilers will definitely occur.

Batgirl 9, written by Gail Simone, art by Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes.

I especially liked the art in this issue. Check out the colour and the way the panels are designed on this page:

It was a good story, so I’m sorry, but I have to say it. Why do they have to team up Batgirl with the only female Talon? Boys and girls can’t mix and fight each other these days? Once I got past that, however, I was definitely drawn in to the story and enjoyed this issue of Batgirl.

Batman 9, written by Scott Snyder with art by Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, and Rafael Albuquerque.

This book had one of those Batman-makes-you-want-to-cheer moments that we all know and love, and I just couldn’t resist sharing it.

Damn straight! As Batman says, he gets to “play rough” because the Talons are not only incredibly strong and unnaturally regenerative, but they’re also undead (so he doesn’t have to worry about killing them). As such a strong and brilliant warrior, Batman would have to be holding back when fighting against the average Gotham criminal, so I can only imagine that in a way it would feel great to let loose a little. I also wanted to mention that I’m into the backup story, both for the story and the artwork. It’s been interesting to read about Alfred’s father Jarvis and I look forward to the revelations that come with the conclusion of his story.

Batman and Robin 9, written by Peter Tomasi, art by Lee Garbett, Andy Clarke, Ray McCarthy and Keith Champagne.

As much as I’ve enjoyed the father/son focus of this book, it’s also exciting to see Damian get the focus of the issue and really lead the action. Damian’s mission is to protect an army general who’s overseeing night training, so Damian gets to display his skill at commanding several units of trained soldiers, which is pretty amazing for a ten year old. Also there’s this – what happens when the Talon says that tonight he finishes what he started:

I know real owls’ heads turn all the way around, but even for a Talon that’s gotta hurt – from Batman’s son, I would expect nothing less.

That’s it for me today. As always I’d love to hear what you think about the Court of Owls or anything else going on in the Bat-world right now, leave a comment or send me a tweet!

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artists: Lee Garbett, Pere Perez, Alejandro Sicat

Date: December 2010

My Rating: Extremely Satisfying!

So, here we have our conclusion of Bruce Wayne’s journey through time to return to Gotham, his family and allies. Overall I enjoyed it, was surprised and intrigued, and appreciated the tying up of loose ends. But, it didn’t have the reunion moments I was hoping for – guess we’ll have to wait for the Batman: The Return one-shot I read about the other day.

This issue starts off at the end of time, with the Archivist showing us things that symbolize Bruce’s life. There are the pearls, a bell (which he rang to call Alfred when he decided to be Batman), and a gun. Kind of makes me wonder what things would symbolize my own life, you know? The crazy sea-monster is back, it seems to be like a physical representation of the curse that’s followed him through time (and is that curse responsible for his parents’ death? Is that the implication? Kind of means he’d always be Batman, no matter what.) I like how it looks like a good old vagina dentata, and also the face-hugger from Alien, anyone else find that?

When Superman and some other JLA type guys show up at the end of the universe to stop Batman, he takes their time machine and goes back to the ‘present’, leaving them there to escape right after in a different time machine that Batman left for them. He’s smart like that. Why don’t people trust Batman to always be himself, no matter what happens to him?

Batman shows up at wherever the Justice League is (the Tower?…), and Tim has to explain that he’s become a threat to existence. They have a really great moment:

So basically, everything comes together in a crazy way. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern save the day, reminding us that Batman needs his allies in order to ultimately succeed. The book closes with Batman rededicating himself to protecting Gotham city, and balance is returned to the universe.

One last thing I wanted to say was that the artwork in this book is excellent. I love how Bruce and the other people are drawn, they look like the ultimate versions of themselves. The bat-suit’s various incarnations throughout time are great, variations but always around that same theme and it works really well. If you didn’t follow Return of Bruce Wayne as the issues came out, it’s definitely a story I would recommend buying when it’s published in a compilation. OK, I’m off to read Red Robin 17. Have a great weekend! I am the night.