Batman Comics

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 and Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the dull grey November weather. I took a break from comics over the past week, I had been feeling much less excited and inspired to read and write about the Bat-verse. Is anyone else feeling this way? I’m not sure if it’s because Flashpoint and the relaunch used up all my excitement and now things are calming down, or because I’ve got real life taking up my metaphorical spoons, but it’s probably a combination of both. So here’s what I got last week and this week, I’d love to hear what you think about these or any other comicbooks in the comments!

November 16

Batman 3 – Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion continue to deliver excitement and amazing comic art in the central Batman title! DC has been promising a far-reaching storyline that gets into the history of Gotham City and Batman’s place within it, and this issue is the starting point. I can’t wait!

Birds of Prey 3 – Poison Ivy joins the team! That really emphasizes the blurring line between heroes and villains in this book – I enjoy the fact that all four women on the team have checkered histories and aren’t easy to fit into any one category. Seems almost like real life, you know?

Nightwing 3 – Dick Grayson goes to Chicago with Haly’s Circus, while he works to solve Mr Haly’s murder and decide what to do with his own future. Tom Waits says things will be better in Chicago, maybe he’s right! (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go buy Bad As Me, it’s an amazing album and I’m pretty sure Batman would like it too).

Red Hood and the Outlaws 3 – I’m still giving this series a chance, but I’m not very optimistic. This issue delves into the team’s pasts, and it’s possible that Red Hood and Arsenal can learn how not to be sexist jerks, but that doesn’t save us from the writer and artists’ choices in how they represent Starfire. Maybe she can develop a bit more agency? I know this will all end in disappointment.

Justice League 3 – Introducing Wonder Woman! There was some controversy over Green Lantern’s reaction to her appearance, but I’ll read the issue before coming to any conclusions. Personally I like the slow build-up of the team, unlike some people who wanted to see all the Justice League members in the first issue.

Catwoman 3 – Will the Bat-sex continue? We’ll find out! It sounds like Catwoman ends up in a hostage situation, and given how focused she is on being independent and controlling her own destiny, I doubt that she’ll be very happy about it! Guillem March’s art continues to look fantastic, his style really captures how devastating Catwoman’s claws can be. Take a look at the awesome cover art for this issue:

November 23

Batman: The Dark Knight 3 – I still haven’t got a good handle on this title – how is this different from the main Batman book? The other Bat-titles all have their own special aspects (Batman & Robin is all about that father/son dynamic and how they work together; Detective Comics is about his detective work, etc). I’m going to re-read the first two issues before starting #3 and hopefully that will give me some sense of what makes Batman: The Dark Knight special.

Teen Titans 3 – Now, this one I really have been looking forward to. Not only do we have the fabulous Tim as Red Robin (but I really want to start calling him Tinkerbell, with feathers like those), we also meet a new Titan – Bunker. Apparently he’s out as gay from the first issue, and I’m always glad to see more queer representation in comics – as long as he’s also a fully-formed character beyond his sexual orientation. This could be just the encouragement that Red Robin and Superboy need to bring their love out in the open! Or maybe that’s just my own personal Bat-verse. Here’s the cover, by Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund:

One final thought – I’d really love to see DC even out the release dates of their Bat-family titles. Some weeks I get 5 or more comics while other weeks there are only one or two. What’s the deal DC? Does anyone else find this odd, or should I just get over it?

Catwoman 1 – Writer: Judd Winick, Artist: Guillem March

Red Hood and the Outlaws 1 – Writer: Scott Lobdell, Artist: Kenneth Rocafort

There’s a lot of discussion lately about two comics that came out last week, Catwoman 1 and Red Hood and the Outlaws 1. These books were the first in the relaunched DC world to really show sex and sexual relationships between characters, and both the content of the books themselves and the reader response has been fascinating. Although I won’t be able to respond to the other commentary at this point, I do want to share a few of my own thoughts about these comics. As usual, standard disclaimers apply – there will be spoilers, and my opinions are just that, my opinions, not set in stone, but still worthy of basic respect (as are your own).

It definitely makes sense to me for there to be sex in Batman comics. When people spend their time running around in life and death situations, and when they work and/or fight with each other consistently over time, sex is gonna happen. (If I’m wrong on that one please don’t correct me, let me believe in this fantasy world for a little while longer.)

So if we’re assuming that sex will occur, the question becomes ‘What elements need to be in place for this to be okay?’ I’d say the first is consent, of course, and after that we have things like, does this fit with the character’s personality, does it make sense at this time in the story, what does this mean for the characters and their relationships, and also more meta considerations like, what does this mean for how people (specifically, women) are represented in comics? I’m not going to be able to answer all those questions for both these books today, but I wanted to give you a sense of what kinds of things I’m thinking about.

Catwoman 1 introduces us to Selina Kyle as she gathers her most cherished possessions (cats and costume) and escapes her apartment just before some pissed off bad guys blow it up. With a friend’s help Selina finds a job and a place to stay for the next few days, but the new plan doesn’t last long in the face of a blast from the past – an abuser from Selina’s history appears and she takes the opportunity to beat him to a pulp, presumably as revenge for what he did to a friend of hers (or maybe her mother?).

We can learn a few interesting things from the story so far. First, they show Selina as being unafraid and able to handle herself very well in hand-to-hand combat with a larger opponent – this would normally mean she’s being represented as a strong and self-sustaining character, but it’s made problematic by the fact that she’s jeopardizing her safety and the job at hand for the emotional satisfaction of revenge.

Second, I was very interested by the way Selina is represented in the opening pages. We see parts of her face and body, both dressed and undressed, but it’s not until the third page that we see a full body image, and even then she’s not fully clothed – this makes it so much easier to dis-associate what we’re seeing and taking pleasure in from the character’s essential humanity. Visually segmenting the body in this way, especially by not showing Selina’s eyes, serves to help fetishize it, giving the viewer power to look without that gaze being returned, and breaking the body up into bite-sized parts, more easy to consume. Through the rest of the book Selina is drawn in mostly full-body or three-quarter shots, but as an introduction to the character it’s fascinating that we start with the segmented body, and with the emphasis on her breasts (which basically represent the site of union with the mythical mother figure, and thus the source of all joy to the voyeuristic viewer) (thank you, my education is now worthwhile).

An interesting contrast is that in Red Hood we see many full-body shots of Starfire. That said, her costume is extremely revealing, consisting mostly of straps that appear to be metallic and which seem to have no relationship to gravity or each other. I actually have far more problems with how Starfire was written than with Catwoman, and in terms of representation it seemed that Starfire is consistently presented for display in a way that Catwoman simply wasn’t.

Starfire is shown swimming in the ocean, and the book makes the voyeuristic aspect of the scene explicit when they show a child taking her photo (without permission) and posting it online – later on this leads to her being identified as an unauthorized alien. She’s being punished for being seen, as though by simply  existing she’s inviting attention and comment regarding her body. Why? Why is the main purpose of Starfire to be looked at? She’s a superhero, a powerful alien creature, and yet all she does here is receive the male gaze (of the child who photographs her, the superheros she works and has sex with, and of the target market). I’m disappointed that instead of learning about her personality or fighting style (both of which we get with Red Hood and Arsenal) all we see of Starfire is the desire for unfriendly, un-emotional sex. Even when Arsenal asks if she’s working with Red Hood, the answer’s all about sex, not her abilities or personality. What a huge change from her character in past incarnations, when sex was the physical representation of a strong love and connection between people (not that there always has to be a commitment, but why can’t she even remember who she’s been with? Why deny her the ability to make a deep connection with another person that grows over time?)

Goodness, this is getting long. Let’s get to the actual sex, then, shall we? First and foremost, Bats and Cats. In the closing section of Catwoman 1, Batman arrives at the penthouse where Selina’s staying; as he asks what she’s gotten herself into she kisses him.

At first Batman turns her down, saying “No, we’re not doing this again,” but Selina’s internal monologue tells us “Usually it’s because I want him. Tonight I think it’s because I need him. Every time… he protests. Then… gives in.” I hate to say it, but this bothered me because if it were the other way around and Batman was saying this about Catwoman, I would be obligated to object. Granted, some non/con and powerplay is always fun in fanfiction, but if comics are supposed to represent actual real-life decisions (comics are to fanfic what reality is to fantasy?), I have to say it’s best to err on the side of getting consent before the sex starts. On the other hand, we could also argue that as Batman he has power and privilege that few others ever could, and as such it’s almost essential for true consent to be possible that Batman is not the initiator, and that he holds back until it’s beyond clear that the sex is desired.

Finally, in the last page of Catwoman 1 there are some elements of role reversal that really intrigue me – Catwoman’s on top (OK, that’s no surprise) but it’s her face we see, and she’s the one who remains fully clothed and covered. Batman’s suit is hiked up exposing his body, and Batman’s face is obscured, thus rendering him more available to take on the fantasy appearance of the reader. This could be a coincidence, or just the artist’s idea of what these two characters would find the most pleasurable and expedient in the circumstances, but it can also function as a point of entry (pun intended) for the viewer – with Batman’s face hidden it could be anyone under the cowl, the reader included.

Starfire’s lack of memory also really troubles me. Arsenal asks her if she remembers the people she worked with on the Teen Titans (I think?!), and I couldn’t believe that she didn’t even remember Dick – they were engaged, made it as far as the altar; if she doesn’t remember humans enough for us to make an impression on her, why would she have almost married one? Clearly this is a very different take on the character. Although there is of course the capacity to enjoy oneself in the moment, without memory or anticipation clouding the present, I still find it implausible that someone who “doesn’t see humans as more than sights and smells” (what does that even mean? what is life other than sensory input, processed and translated into patterns by our brains?) would want to work, fight, and have sex with us. It feels like as a character she’s being held back from developing emotional relationships in favour of being available to a variety of partners without having to worry about emotional attachments. I am absolutely not saying that all sex has to be within a committed relationship, or that Starfire (when will we get to know her by more than a code name?) shouldn’t have sex with whoever she wants, whenever she wants. I’m just asking why she couldn’t be a character who loves everyone she screws, instead of no-one.

I feel like I’ve come across as very negative, probably because I’ve only focused on the things that I find problematic in these comics. But as much as I want to see sex in Batman comics, in the end what I’m left with most is a sense of disappointment. Catwoman and Starfire are amazing characters, who have so much potential to be powerful, controversial, inspirational, and yes, sexy. There is definitely a place for sex in comicbooks, but I don’t think these writers (and thus DC in general) have gotten it right yet. On the plus side, the voyeur inside me is definitely looking forward to their further attempts.