Batman Comics

It’s new comic day and I’m back with my weekly pull file! Didn’t manage to share last week’s comics, but I did read Detective Comics 7, Batwing 7, and Huntress 6. They were all good, and based on Huntress 6 I think I’ll read the new series World’s Finest that’s starting soon. I like Helena and want to see more of her! This week I have three excellent Bat-titles, which I’ll be reading as soon as we’re done here.

Batgirl 7 – This issue gives us Barbara’s side of the events of The Killing Joke, which left her paralyzed until the DC relaunch when she regained the ability to walk. That’s actually really exciting to me; we so often hear stories about women told by men and from the perspective of men, it’s great to see this event which is so crucial to the character’s development from her own perspective. If anyone can do her justice, Gail Simone can.

Batwoman 7 – The last issue was written with a really interesting structure, and it wove together six (I think) people’s stories over the course of the issue. It was excellent in both art and writing, so I’m looking forward to that being continued here in issue seven. This is one of the issues drawn by Amy Reeder, who also drew 6 and 8; it was announced recently that she’s not working on it anymore and I’m disappointed, simply because I quite liked her style and felt that it suited the story very well. I hope she finds work on another book and that Batwoman continues to be awesome with the new team.

Batman & Robin 7 – I’m always happy when it’s a Batman & Robin week! We’re still in the ‘Damian Runs Away With a Bad Guy’ storyline, today Batman finds Damian in Morgan Ducard’s lair and confronts them. I expect to see a smashing fight scene, lots of expensive weaponry and destruction of property, and judicious application of post-battle Bat-hugs. Based on the cover, by Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray and John Kalisz, I’m sure I won’t be disappointed!

Writer: Peter J Tomasi

Artist: Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray

Date: Dec 2011

This issue really brings the father and son theme to the forefront, opening with Daddy Batman trying to figure out how to raise Damian to be a good, moral person – not an easy task given Damian’s early childhood education.

I love seeing Bruce share his inner thoughts with Alfred, it shows us how important that relationship is to Bruce (and kind of sets up a parallel, reminding us that Alfred never tried to be Bruce’s father). Gleason and Gray capture Batman at his best, I’ve been very into the art in this series so far. Check out the Bat-Ass at the top of the page:

The Dynamic Duo head out and intercept a weapons shipment, in a very exciting fight sequence. Once they’ve subdued the criminals (Damian managing not to kill anyone this time around) we have another Great Moment in Wayne Parenting as Daddy Batman tells Damian “Don’t think I didn’t notice the restraint you just showed, Robin. Refusing to pound these felons with the excessive force you wanted to is commendable.” Alfred thinks Bruce could have done better and tells him so in classic Alfred style:

Damian’s still a troubled little boy, and Bruce has a few other ideas about how to deal with that, including one that I never thought I’d see outside of fanfiction – he buys a dog! With the new canine addition to the Wayne family and the return of the Bat-Pole entrance to the Bat-Cave, the relaunched Batman & Robin clearly connects itself to the earlier incarnations of these characters, even though Robin’s a different person.

There’s also a whole storyline going on that involves Batman Incorporated, in issue 1 we saw the Russian Batman killed and here in issue 2 the killer confronts Batman in the final pages. This works to place Batman & Robin in the larger context of the DCnU, which is helpful given how many Bat books there are and the still-fuzzy details of exactly what’s changed in the relaunch. When we combine that with Daddy Batman and the exciting work to protect Gotham City, we get an excellent series that and an issue that I really enjoyed reading.

Writer: Peter J Tomasi

Artist: Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray

Date: Nov 2011

My Rating: Great issue, a fresh start to the Dynamic Duo but grounded in the Bat-history we all know and love.

I love seeing Bruce Wayne as a father, and in many ways this issue is about how he handles exactly that. He and Damian begin working together as Batman and Robin and they get off to a difficult start. As usual, here come some spoilers (I’m also assuming you’ve read the end of Flashpoint!) If you haven’t yet, go read this book yourself and then come back to discuss – I’ll wait, and it’s well worth it.

Bruce starts in the study, in a scene that’s reminiscent of an important moment in Frank Miller’s ‘Batman: Year One‘, and also of Morrison’s Batman stories. Speaking to his father’s bust, Bruce says “Tonight’s the night, Father. It’s time for a change.” Damian met his father at the same age Bruce was when he lost his own, and that seems particularly meaningful tonight, on the anniversary of Thomas and Martha Wayne’s deaths. As they prepare for patrol, Bruce opens up to Damian in a way he hasn’t before.

Bonus points for the return of the Batpole. Also, “Sometimes I think your secrets have secrets” is a great line, but how sad for Damian to think that about his own father. I guess Damian’s overall hostility shouldn’t be surprising, but it really shows how much Bruce will have to overcome in order to get closer to his son – and Damian’s got a lot of growing ahead of him. As Batman goes on to explain the changes he plans to make, I realized that this represents a big shift in his whole outlook. He’s making an effort to focus on the future, on the potential of his relationship with Damian, on what they can do for Gotham, rather than on the loss that brought him to the life he’s now leading.

I think this change is a result of the letter Bruce received from his father. That really gave him some closure, and let him move on from it in a different way than he ever had before. This book also connects the relaunched Batman with the symbols that have always represented Bruce’s chosen path in life – the bell ringing as he sits in the study considering the future (that was a Morrison thing, right? I can’t get to my back issues right now!); the pearls that fell from his mother’s neck as she died; I’m surprised that I couldn’t find more actual bats in this issue.

This next page is one of my favourites, for sure – I love that Batman has to teach someone how to have a heart. It’s kind of perfectly fitting for Damian to be exactly as cynical as he is, to force Bruce to counterbalance that. How is it that Batman is the one with the better sense of humour? I for one am loving this.

Batman’s boat can do anything. One other thing I wanted to mention is the art, as you can see from the pictures above it’s amazing. I love the colour palette, how the pages work together and sort of flow as a whole, and the art really works to enhance the story and the mood of what’s going on. If it continues to be this good, Batman & Robin will remain one of my favourite comic series.

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi

Artists: Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray

Date: June 2011

My Rating: Great story, beautiful art and lots of fun, as a Batman comic should be.

There was so much goodness in Batman & Robin 22, I can’t even tell you. I definitely reccommend buying this issue and adding the series to your pull file, it just gets better and better.

The plot is our standard ‘child traumatized by father’s death at the hands of a costumed villain, swears revenge on everyone’ situation. This “White Knight” glows and wears wings, and goes around finding relatives of inmates of Arkham Asylum (past and present). Then he convinces them to kill themselves so they can no longer “add to the world’s pain”.

What really sets this story apart is the awesomeness of Dick and Damian. Check out this page where the Dynamic Duo and Alfred talk about what defines us as people (click to enlarge, as always):

I can’t get over how Damian’s face is drawn, and his body language – it adds so much to the dialogue. He puts on this sneering, scornful front, but inside he wants Batman’s reassurance that he belongs on the good team. Kind of reminds us that he’s, like, eight years old or something insane like that.

They’re interrupted when Arkham itself starts to glow, and they head out to discover that the GCPD (why were they already on the scene?) has been temporarily blinded by the flash of bright light. I love Gordon, staying calm even though he has no idea what’s going on or if his sudden blindness is permanent. The art is beautiful, look at how Batman is shadowed against his own cape as he jumps into action.

Inside Arkham, cells are filling up with glowing water which will soon drown the inmates. The White Knight has stuck photos of dead family members to each resident’s cell, but for one notable exception:

Gotta love that Joker!! No regard for his own possible demise, I’d expect nothing less. There’s also a great picture of how he reacts to the sudden in-cell shower, and you’d never guess what he does when the cell fills up entirely.

Zsazs manages to get out of his cell, so Batman follows the White Knight up to the roof while Robin stays to subdue Zsazs and stop the water filling the cells from killing everyone. With his usual style, Damian does just that:

Love the sound effects! Meanwhile, the White knight manages to wound Batman, but a little spear through the side won’t prevent Batman from a snarky comeback.

Projectile sharpened ears are the best bat-suit modification I’ve ever seen.

Well! I’ve shown more pictures than usual while still leaving out a couple really great parts. This book was drawn and coloured beautifully, it’s an exciting story, and Batman and Robin are the perfect combination of badass and funny. Overall, an awesome issue in a great series. Have a great night, Gotham city!

Writer: Peter J Tomasi

Artists: Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray

Date: April 2011

My Rating: Bat-family to the rescue!

I can’t believe I’ve only written about one issue of Batman & Robin so far! This is one of my favourite series, Dick and Damian make an amazing team both because of and despite their very different personalities. They really complement each other while having enough conflict to keep things moving forward. My main problem with this issue was that the last few pages totally lost me, I have no idea what the ending meant. Hopefully next month will resolve that!

This issue starts with one of the best Bat-family scenes I’ve ever seen, and I’m not even going to share the best part – you’ll have to go pick up a copy if you want to see it Here’s page 2, Dick and Tim are so comfortable with each other, Alfred is Alfred, and Damian does his customary antisocial thing. My only problem is with Bruce Wayne’s face – just doesn’t quite look like him, you know?

Here’s an Awesome Alfred Moment — doing up Dick’s bowtie one-handed, without looking, while driving the car and making a witty reference. What can’t Alfred do?

An unknown man falls off a skyscraper, huge glowing wings attached to his back. As Batman and Robin meet with Commissioner Gordon to discuss the scene, Gordon and Robin have a moment of their own:

Gordon displays his customary integrity and respect for the citizens of Gotham, and I can see how Damian would find that a little bit ridiculous. But what really bugged me is Gordon’s dialogue in the third panel: “Never talk as flippant like that in front of me and a innocent victim again, or this’ll be the last time I let you tag along.” That sentence is just wrong! “As flippant like that”? “a innocent victim”? Someone needs a new editor, or something.

Then there’s the ending, which I won’t go into, since you’re already going to go read the book yourself. It’s funny, I started by saying I loved this series, but in the end issue 20 was not my favourite. Still, that Bat-family opening made up for a lot, and the upcoming story arc sounds pretty exciting.