Batman Comics

Happy Wednesday, Bat-fans! It’s a great week for new comics, we get some really fun things to read today. In related news, San Diego Comic-Con is rapidly approaching and the costume making is going quite well. Now I just have to be patient and wait for the organizers to post the panel schedule! Is anyone who reads this planning to be there? Leave a comment and let me know! Now, here’s what I found in my pull file this week:

Batman Incorporated 2 – I was very into issue 1, and I’m sure that Morrison and Burnham will continue to provide excellent Bat-stories with gorgeous art. Burnham teased on Twitter today that we get some back-story for the Talia/Bruce relationship, please tell me I’m not the only one hoping for some Naked Bruce Wayne time!!

For those of you wondering if Bruce was Batman yet when Damian was conceived, you’ll find out in just a few short hours!

— Chris Burnham (@TheBurnham) June 27, 2012

Batman: The Dark Knight 10 – This title has been kind of all over the place, with art that’s sometimes awesome and sometimes less so, and writing that’s been kind of uninspiring. Today Gregg Hurwitz takes over the writing with a new story arc featuring Scarecrow as the villain. The problem that Batman: The Dark Knight has had all along is that it doesn’t know what distinguishes it from all the other Bat-titles, so if this is their way of moving towards a more horror-themed comic, I think that’s a really good idea.

Justice League 10 - Who has two thumbs and can’t remember anything about Justice League 9? This girl! I even went back and read a summary of the issue (thanks gothamspoilers.com) and still have no idea what’s going on. It’s a great comic, but maybe my attention has been a little too dedicated to making the Bat-dress…

Teen Titans 10 - It feels too early for another Titans book, but that’s cool, I’m into anything that involves Tim Drake and dinosaurs! This week we get more info about Kid Flash’s background, and Bunker asks Red Robin what the deal is with their missing teammate Skitter; the Titans are definitely keeping busy! I had to share this cover for those dinosaurs I mentioned, but I love it for another reason too: I hope it’s the first in a long line of pictures I can tag “Kid Flash Outruns His Uniform.” This is by Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund and Andrew Dalhouse.

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?