Batman Comics

Good evening, Gotham City! It’s a quieter week again – I really wish DC would space out the Batman titles over the month! That said, I’m definitely looking forward to tonight’s comics, and this weekend I’ll enjoy the time I’m not spending on reading by working on my Bat-suit instead! What are you reading this week? Leave a comment and let me know!

Batman Beyond Unlimited 4 – Pretty sure I skipped issue 3, but I didn’t want the Annual to be lonely on the walk home from the Beguiling. The description on DC’s site has pretty much no information about this comic,  and the issues that I did read weren’t particularly memorable, but who knows – this might turn out to be my favourite comic ever! There’s a whole world of possibility out there, old chum.

Batman Annual 1 - What’s the deal with annual issues? I’ve wondered this for a long time, and today with Batman Annual 1 coming out I decided it’s time to find out. Quickly Robin, to Wikipedia! It turns out Annual issues are just what they sound like, although they’re not reliably put out every year, and at first Annual issues generally included reprints of stories that had already been published elsewhere. These days the Annual issue is new material, often a themed issue with several stories or a one-shot story that does not fit in with the current continuity, and with a significantly higher page count than a regular weekly comic.

So, now that we’ve had our Official Comic Book History Moment, Batman Annual 1 is 48 pages of Mr. Freeze and how he relates to the Court of Owls. We already saw a bit of that in Red Hood 9, but this is a great way to showcase a new villain who I’m sure we’ll see plenty more of in years to come, and also keep the momentum going on the Court of Owls storyline until Batman 10 comes out in a couple weeks.

Here’s the cover, by Jason Fabok, with colours by Peter Steigerwald. I love how Batman looks, you can really tell how huge he is. Mr. Freeze is all white and shades of blue, which is entirely perfect for someone as wintery as he is, though the red goggles lend a certain menace while also suggesting that he’s got a fiery inner self behind the icy exterior. And need I mention the owl?

Happy Wednesday, Bat-friends and Bat-foes! New comic day once again, and as always there are some great things waiting for me at The Beguiling. There’s been a lot of internet buzz lately about DC’s announcement that someone’s coming out as gay, and I’ve got a post about that coming later this week, but first things first. What are you reading today? Here’s what’s in my pull file:

Batman Incorporated 1 – Grant Morrison returns to the Bat-verse with the continuation of his pre-relaunch Batman Incorporated story. Bruce Wayne has publicly stated that he’s financially supporting Batman, and Batman goes around the world setting up franchises while learning more about the evil organization Leviathan. I’ve loved Morrison’s work with Batman; he understands the character so well, and brings a very special twisted sensibility that works perfectly in this setting. Now that Damian is Robin, I’m excited to see how Morrison writes the little Wayne brat. Chris Burnham’s art was superb on the previous run of this title, so that’s another reason to pick this one up. Plus, nobody forget, issue 3 has Matches Malone on the cover, my little fangirl heart is all aflutter!!

Batman: The Dark Knight 9 – Keeping the Night of the Owls showdown active while we wait for the upcoming conclusion in Batman 10 and 11, Red Robin heads back to Gotham for a showdown with a Talon! This kind of demonstrates exactly why B:TDK is not my favourite comic – what do Red Robin and the Talon have to do with Batman being the Darkest of Knights? That said, I won’t complain about seeing more Red Robin, we all know I love me some Tim Drake, and overall this title has been fun to read.

Teen Titans 9 – Two Tim Drake comics in one day? I may never recover! The Titans and some other dudes continue fighting a bunch of bad guys in a weird hellish arena, and more importantly, some creepy character in a hood is stealing Red Robin’s style. When it comes to feathered capes, there can be only one! Here’s the cover, by Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, and Andrew Dalhouse, click to enlarge and fully enjoy the wingspan.

Thanks to Dee for the shiny new ‘pull file’ header image, based on Dustin Nguyen’s cover for 2011′s Batman 80 page giant.

Batfriends, something hugely exciting just happened! Scott Snyder answered me on Twitter!!

As I’m sure you all know, Scott writes Batman and I’ve been loving his Court of Owls storyline. First he tweeted a few of the leading theories about the Court of Owls, and I responded with my own opinion on the topic:

Then Scott (I feel like we can be on a first name basis now) answered me!

How awesome is that!! Makes me wish I’d been a bit more eloquent in my comment but I’ll get over it. And he noticed my new avatar, which is from Batman 9!

As for it being a continuity change, I think it could definitely work. Joe Chill doesn’t have to just be a random thug, he could be sent there by the Court. Actually, he could still be just a guy, and maybe the Court of Owls was working in the background to put him in the right place at the right time, knowing he’d take that last murderous step himself? All it takes is one bad day…

I definitely think that the Jarvis Pennyworth back-up story in Batman 9 laid the groundwork for a scenario where Martha and Thomas Wayne start trying to improve Gotham City and help their fellow citizens, and the Court would want to get them out of the way to maintain their own control over the city. It’s so poetic – The Court kills Thomas and Martha, leading to Bruce’s decision to become Batman, and in the end they’ve created the instrument of their own downfall!

So there we go, a little bit of excitement in an otherwise dull day.

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.

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!

Happy Wednesday, Bat-fans! Once again it’s been longer than I’d like between updates, but we do what we can. Despite not sharing my pull file last week or the week before I did read my comics, and love the Court of Owls storyline. I’m trying not to speculate too much about who’s behind it, but it’s been fun seeing theories online. What do you think will happen this week, and who do you think is really in charge of the Court of Owls? Leave a comment and let me know!

For the record, on April 18th I picked up Batman 8, Birds Of Prey 8, Catwoman 8, Justice League 8, Nightwing 8 and Red Hood and the Outlaws 8 (yes, I’m still buying it…) It was a busy week! Then on April 25th I read Dark Knight 8 and Teen Titans 8. Today is also a great day for Batman comic readers, here’s what I’ll be buying after work today:

Batwing 9 – Issue 8 came with some startling realizations about Batwing’s current nemesis Massacre, and I wonder how that will tie in to the Court of Owls storyline today. Perhaps there’s no connection at all, the Court may just swoop in and disrupt everything in this issue! Either way, with art by Marcus To we’re in good hands and I’m sure we’ll finally see some background detail in the art, what a relief.

Detective Comics 9 – The Court of Owls comes to Detective Comics as well! Batman has to protect one of the Talons’ targets, Jeremiah Arkham, which I guess means he’s back in charge of Arkham Asylum? That’s a far stretch from where we last saw him before the relaunch, when he was Black Mask (and just as villainous as the name suggests). I’m excited to find out what happened and what Jeremiah’s up to now!

Earth Two 1 – This new series opens up an alternate universe, where we meet Golden Age heroes Jay Garrick (Flash) and Alan Scott (Green Lantern). I got pretty confused just trying to figure that much out, so I hope James Robinson writes it to be a good first-issue introduction for those of us who started reading comics within the last few years and aren’t well-versed in DC history. Artwork by Nicola Scott, I’m not familiar with her work but it’s always nice to have another female artist in the mix!

Teen Titans Annual #1 – I don’t understand why there’s a random “annual” issue (well, maybe not so random) or why it costs $4.99 (most comics are $2.99) but surprise, I got this anyways. Teen Titans is good stuff, so I’ll go along for the ride.

World’s Finest 1 – Huntress and Power Girl from Earth Two are stranded in Earth One. How did they get here? Why can’t they go back? What will they do, what are they like, what do they want? I have so many questions! I’m also definitely excited that this comic is focused on two heroines, and I like the subversive aspect – instead of the classic World’s Finest team-up (Batman, Superman, and Robin) we have Power Girl (Superman’s cousin) and Huntress (Helena Wayne). There’s potential here! I really enjoy the cover, by George Perez and Hi-Fi (yes, really).

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.

Batman 4 – 6

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artists: Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion

Hello dear readers! Today we continue our look at what we’ve learned about the Court of Owls, moving on to Batman issues 4, 5 and 6. If you missed the first part of this discussion check it out here!

In Batman 4 we get a surprisingly deep look into the dark time in Bruce’s life shortly after his parents’ murder. He became convinced that Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed as part of a larger conspiracy, but despite searching obsessively then and at later times through his life, Bruce never found any evidence of the Court of Owls.

I know I’m supposed to be concentrating on information today, but the artwork here is just so beautiful. There’s a distinct change (as you can see in the picture above) when we enter Bruce’s memory: details get fuzzy, contrast is high. As Bruce finishes telling Dick this story about his past, we learn not only what he discovered but also how it shaped him as a detective.

Batman had been examining Alan Wayne’s bones, and found that Alan was probably stabbed to death in a manner very similar to the unidentified man at the beginning of issue 1. He heads into the sewers searching for the source of a residue he found on the bones, but while he’s there Talon finds him and traps Batman in the Court’s labyrinth!

We know all about the labyrinth from my closer look at Batman 5, but there are a few details I didn’t mention that definitely help us know our enemy, I want to look at two particular things here. The walls covered in photos tell us that the Court of Owls has been around for a very very long time, and have been using their labyrinth to drive people crazy for just as long.

Of course, it’s also possible that they just built the labyrinth recently, and it’s all a very elaborate trick to make it appear old. Then there’s the room full of coffins, which tells us that they’ve either been keeping their Talons after they die, or new Talons are being prepared to fight. Neither one of those options sounds good to me!

Finally, we have Batman 6, where our hero fights back against the maddening effects of the labyrinth. Here’s where we really get the goods. First Batman and Talon fight, and it turns out Talon’s quite the talkative little guy.

Now that’s a lot of information! Who else has been forever entombed in the labyrinth? Will we ever find out? I love Batman’s answer when he’s offered last words. They fight, and when Talon thinks he has the upper hand, he asks the Court what he should do with Batman. We finally get a good look at the Court of Owls in action, and it is chilling.

They’re like ghouls! Or owls, I guess; I may never trust owls again (put them on the list with cats!).  I love how the top and bottom panels spill out over the edges of the frames, it really emphasizes that the Court is outside of the labyrinth they’ve put Batman into and brings out that overpowered feeling. This is probably my favourite page in the book – what is up with that child? She is extremely creepy, I like it.

Batman, of course, is not defeated, although he ends up in quite a tight spot and I’m a bit worried about him. The last page I wanted to share is the second-last page of the issue, and although we don’t get any specific information about the Court, I think it shows something very important.

The person (I hesitate to call her a “lady”) in the wheelchair seems to be in charge. Someone else, possibly the younger woman, is sentimental and wants to give Talon a chance to heal, but he’s “disposed of” in the river that Batman just escaped to, and that’s that. Besides, there are other Talons ready and waiting…

I hope that this look at the Court of Owls and what we’ve learned about them in Batman so far has been helpful, I know it was for me! Now I feel ready to take on the whole Court myself, as long as I’ve got Batman and his family on my side. In the next couple weeks we have wrap-up issues of Detective Comics, Batman and Robin, and other titles, as those story arcs conclude, and then on March 21st Batman 7 comes out. That issue will bring the Court’s first full assault on Gotham city, and apparently many secrets will be revealed – I can’t wait!

Happy Wednesday, everyone! This week is also a bit on the quiet side, with two new comics for me today. I’m looking forward to reading them, but I haven’t forgotten about my followup to the Court of Owls post. Hopefully I can look at Batman 4, 5 and 6 soon! Until then, here’s what I’ve got this week:

Justice League 6 – When we last left the League they were fighting Darkseid, Superman had been captured, and not only had Batman headed off to rescue him, he’d done it with no mask on. I can’t wait to see how they’ll get out of this one. I read the first couple pages and it was actually awesome, all the characters feel like the best versions of themselves.

Batman Beyond Unlimited 1 – Batman in the future has so much potential, even though I wasn’t a huge fan of the previous Batman Beyond series I wanted to give this one a try. It should be nice to see how a new creative team handles Terry McGinnis as Batman with old man Bruce. This issue also has a Justice League Beyond story, which was published digitally before print. I like Dustin Nguyen’s cover, it definitely captures that futuristic feel:

Batman 1 – 3

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artists: Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion

Since issue 1 of the DCnU, Batman has been focused on the Court of Owls, a mysterious group of Gotham’s elite whose motives, while unclear, are sinister. So far they’ve limited themselves to Batman himself, but in coming weeks the Court will attack Gotham City and spread to other comic titles including Batman & Robin, Detective Comics, and Batgirl.

I’m sure Batman is preparing for the Court of Owls’ attack by learning everything he can about his enemy, and we should do the same thing. Here’s what we’ve learned about the Court of Owls in Batman 1 – 3; issues 4 – 6 will be coming soon, but you can also read my overall thoughts on the excellent Batman 5 here.

Batman 1 gives us the first clue that the Court of Owls exists, when an unidentifiable man is found stabbed to death. The knives found inside the man are decorated with small owls.

As you can see, Batman’s not interested in the Court of Owls, he doesn’t want to even consider them. This issue also sets up the general theme of this book being about Gotham City itself, and Batman’s place in it.

With Batman 2, we learn much more about the Court of Owls. Three hired goons steal ten statues of some sort from the Hellenistic wing (of Gotham City Museum, I assume), tying the Court to Ancient Greece (and not for the last time). Later, Batman and Jim Gordon CSI the stabbing victim, finding an implant in his tooth that also has the Owl emblem on it.

That nursery rhyme will be repeated many times over the coming issues of Batman, it’s so ominous! We don’t learn much more about the Court in this issue, but the next day when Bruce is meeting with Lincoln March (who’s campaigning to be Mayor) they’re attacked by Talon, the Court’s assassin. Our first view of this new foe is intimidating, he’s as big as Batman and has a wide array of knives and other weapons.

At the end of issue 2, Bruce still denies that the Court of Owls exists, but he won’t be able to maintain that for much longer. Batman 3 is where we really start delving into the historical aspect of things. The book starts with Alan Wayne, Bruce’s great- great-grandfather, the man who built Wayne Tower. In the later years of his life, he grew obsessed with owls and convinced that they were living inside the walls of his own home.

We learn more about the Court of Owls in the second half of this book, when Batman realizes that they’ve been developing ‘nests’ in the 13th floors of buildings funded by an Alan Wayne memorial trust. Here inside Wayne Tower itself he finds what may be their very first nest, with a photograph dating back to 1891.

From there Batman goes from nest to nest, I’m not sure if he’s just collecting information or if he’s destroying them as he goes. We can see their weaponry, different setups but all involving a fascinating array of swords, knives, axes, and other bladed weapons. Each nest has a different Talon uniform in it, and there are nearly twenty likely buildings.

So what have we learned? The Court has remained hidden, even from Batman, for at least the last hundred years, and possibly several times that. They’re well prepared for all sorts of aggressive and illegal activities, and are invested in maintaining control of Gotham City behind the scenes.

I’m especially curious about the Ancient Greek connection, though maybe they just liked the symbol because it represents wealth and power. In issues 4, 5, and 6, we’ll see what happens when things get a little more real for Batman — issue 3 ends with Batman triggering a tripwire that explodes the building, and as the story continues the Court of Owls really brings the fight to Batman in new and exciting ways.