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!

Good evening Gothamites! It’s new comic day again, and I’m so sorry I haven’t been writing here very often lately! There was so much to say about Batman 10 and some other great recent books, but the Bat-dress construction has been taking every moment I can spare and there’s just no time left for talking about comics. I’m officially gearing up for Comic-Con, and if anyone who reads this wants to say hi in San Diego leave me a comment! Here’s what I’m reading tonight:

Batwoman 10 - As always, I feel like I should go back and read the whole series together to really get what’s going on. Hopefully today we’ll see the story overtake the style and actually have some compelling (or memorable?) plot points, but I’m not holding my breath. In any case, the visual art is an important part of comic books, and the art in Batwoman has been really great so I’m still reading it.

Catwoman 10 - Catwoman gets angry at someone who kidnaps children, and the solicit hints at her relationship with Spark becoming a bit more than their current casual crime-fighting setup. This is one of those books that I read sort of despite itself, I’ve never been that pleased with it but it seems weird to just give up entirely. When do you decide to stop reading a comic?

Nightwing 10 – Did we ever get to the bottom of this mystery with Haly’s Circus and why Mr. Haly left the circus to Dick in his will? Did that turn out to be a Court of Owls thing or am I totally confused and it hasn’t been resolved at all? Apparently I need someone to read comics for me and explain them … Today Nightwing investigates a murder that involves a part of his costume as evidence, so that should be exciting!

Red Hood and the Outlaws 10 – The official description tells us “RED HOOD learns that STARFIRE is one of the most respected and feared commanders in all of space! Who knew?” – really, this just feels condescending to me. Who cares what Red Hood knows about Starfire, he should respect and fear her anyways based on all the recent ways she’s saved his life and been awesome. It reminds me of that time when the sparkle-vamp told Adele she could be great some day… she was already kicking ass and taking names, though she’s dressed better than Starfire. Anyways, it should be great to see Starfire get to command some troops and show Red Hood and Arsenal what she’s capable of.

Birds of Prey 10 – Still getting to know these women, but I’m really interested in Black Canary lately. Poison Ivy is injured and the Birds take her to the Amazon jungle to heal, but do they trust her allegiance yet? I sure don’t! I saw a preview of Birds of Prey where Starling meets Batman, it was pretty funny, but I’m not sure if it was from this issue or another one coming soon;  hopefully it’s this issue,otherwise I may not get any actual Batman this week! Here’s the cover, by Travel Foreman and Gabe Eltaeb, I really enjoy the colour in their costumes and especially how Batgirl is drawn:

It’s a great week for comics! There’s lots going on, especially for the Bat ladies. The Court of Owls’ attack continues in some of these issues, while others are continuing their own unrelated stories. Here’s what I’m reading tonight, as always I’d love to hear about what’s in your pull file, so leave a comment!

Birds of Prey 9 – The Birds take on the Owls, it’s their turn to pitch in and fight a Talon! What I really want is to know more about Poison Ivy, and how she’s feeling about allying with the Birds rather than doing her own bio-terrorist thing on the wrong side of the law. Maybe today we’ll get both!

Catwoman 9 – Catwoman and her new friend Spark join the Bat family in fighting the Court of Owls by protecting the Penguin. Not exactly Gotham’s finest upstanding citizen, but nobody deserves to be assassinated by an un-dead Talon! I really don’t like Guillem March’s cover, Catwoman is in one of those oh-so-unnatural poses where both boobs and butt are emphasized, but I guess that’s about par for the course here, since this is the “hot” and “sexy” title…

Justice League 9 – Based on the cover, my friend Brian who really enjoys highly meta story-about-stories comics will be pleased! There’s a new villain, and it sounds like he’s writing a comic book about the Justice League – that can only lead to problems. The backup story has also been engaging, as we see Billy Batson placed in a foster home and get to know his new family, but so far it’s not quite something that would interest me as a standalone title (not enough Batman!).

Nightwing 9 – The last issue saw Nightwing protecting Mayor Hady from the Talons, which went pretty well but ended up with an awful lot of knives sticking out of our favourite former circus performer. Today Dick will continue to kick some Owl ass, I’m sure, and I want to know what happens with William Cobb, the Talon who’s also one of Dick’s ancestors.

Red Hood and the Outlaws 9 – We all know this isn’t my favourite title, but after reading the preview over at CBR I’m actually really looking forward to it! Kenneth Rocafort’s art looks great (I’m a sucker for interesting panel design) and I found Lobdell’s writing in the preview more funny and way less annoying than usual. Taking a step back from the action, I also really want to know what happens with Jason himself. He’s insistent that he’s not a good guy, and not really part of Batman’s team, but I don’t buy it. Can anyone ever really escape Batman’s family? Would anyone truly want to?

Batwoman 9 – I’ve enjoyed this book a fair amount (it’s at about the middle of my personal Bat-comic scale) but I can’t remember what the story is actually about. This suggests that the story itself is secondary to the interwoven structure that follows six different characters, and also secondary to the artwork, which isn’t really ideal for a well-rounded comicbook. That said, I do like the art quite a lot. Here’s the cover, by Ben Oliver. I find it interesting for how some parts are very textured and detailed, such as Batwoman’s cape, while other things like her hair are very smooth.

Writer: Judd Winick

Artists: Dustin Nguyen, Derek Fridolfs

Date: June 2012

Batwing 8 was really good. I had been unsure as to whether I wanted to continue reading this comic, though in the end I would’ve kept with it a bit longer for sure because I’m looking forward Marcus To’s upcoming art and the Court of Owls tie-in. After this issue, I’m reading it for itself, and to find out what happens with Batwing as a person. Warning, there will be spoilers ahead, including about the identity of Massacre.

The story since issue 1 has been about Batwing developing as a Bat-brand vigilante and finding his Mission, while also searching for Massacre, who’s been out killing former African vigilantes. Here in issue 8 we finally discover who Massacre is, and although I had my suspicions from the beginning (and I was totally right) it played out really well. I definitely felt engaged in the story and captivated by the relationships and effect on Batwing himself. Here’s the amazing moment where he realizes that General Keita was not the man behind the mask:

David (Batwing) realizes here that Massacre is his brother Isaac, who was a child soldier with him in Keita’s army. As I was reading this I couldn’t help but compare David with Bruce Wayne. They were born into wildly different circumstances, and they grew up almost in different worlds, but they each lost family to tragedy, and turned to crimefighting to help heal their grief. The two men talk when things finally quiet down. This was the part that really got me interested in Batwing, and in where David will go as a character after this.

Is there anything better than a Batman who believes in you? I don’t think so. The other thing that I enjoyed about Batwing 8 was Dustin Nguyen’s art. He has a very particular style, and although this is less detailed than some of his other work, especially in the backgrounds (maybe they didn’t give him much time?) I really enjoy how he drew Batman, Robin and Nightwing as well as the art we’ve already seen of Batwing himself. Here’s a great moment with our Gotham crew, ready to jump off the page:

So there we are, Batwing 8. It was sad, but in a good way, and definitely worth reading. If you’re reading it I’d love to hear what you think about this issue and where they’re going from here, comments are always welcome.

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.

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.