Batman Comics

Hello Gothamites! I hope you’re still out there reading this even though I’ve been so woefully absent the last few weeks. Well, we have one more week of disruption but after that life will be as calm as it ever gets, so hopefully we can have some regular updates again soon.

Constant Readers may notice that my Dark Knight Rises release countdown has been removed from the sidebar since the movie came out. I’m not sure if I’ll post a full review but I did want to say that DKR was amazing, I loved it. The movie was everything I hoped for and more, and I’d like to see it at least once more in IMAX since that format adds so much to the viewing experience.

I have a couple comics to read this week, although loyal Bat-fans may wonder at the absence of Batman Inc 3. It’s not because I decided to skip one of my favourite books, not at all! Instead, this issue was delayed for a month out of respect for the Aurora Dark Knight Rises shooting, apparently some events in the issue hit a little too close to home. I can’t argue with that one, and I look forward to a day when people can be peaceful enough that Batman isn’t needed.

Batman: The Dark Knight 11 – I feel like I want to give this book more of a chance, and I think that may be because of David Finch’s appearance at the DC New 52 panel at Comic-Con. He seemed well aware of the negative feedback that the book’s received and urged everyone to give it another try now that Gregg Hurwitz is writing and Finch is only on drawing duties. I liked Hurwitz’s work on the Penguin mini-series, and I’ve enjoyed Finch’s artwork in this one, so I’m still glad to be here.

Teen Titans 11 – It’s a fun book and we all know that I need more Tim Drake in my life. Wonder Girl is the focus this week and I’m glad, I feel like I don’t know much about her and want to change that.  I have consistently enjoyed the covers on this comic, and this week’s issue (by Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund and Andrew Dalhouse) lives up to that. Just looking at this picture I want to know what’s going on, how they got here, and what happens next.

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?

Writer: Scott Lobdell

Artist: Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund

Date: Dec 2011

I quite enjoyed Teen Titans 2! So much so that I wanted to take a couple minutes to share my favourite moment with each of the main characters from the issue. Be warned, there are definite spoilers below, and you really should go get a copy of this comicbook, it’s a lot of fun!

First of all, our most fabulous flying friend Tim Drake, aka Red Robin. Check him out here in his “civilian” clothes — he’s not exactly shying away from supporting the superhero community, even when he’s not in full superhero gear! (remember, click the pictures to embiggen)

Then we have Superboy. It seems that he’s being held by the shadowy Government agency N.O.W.H.E.R.E. and made to capture other meta-human teenagers in order to earn his own freedom. Is it wrong that I kind of like evil slave Superboy? Probably. But look how hot he is!

One of those captive teenage metas is Kid Flash, and he’s really living up to his name. Here we see how he escapes from the clutches of N.O.W.H.E.R.E. – I like his attitude!

Towards the end of the book, Red Robin is in trouble and we have an excellent scene where Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark) saves the day! I don’t buy Tim’s crush on Cassie, in my mind his heart belongs to Superboy (or Batman), but it’s always excellent to see the female superhero saving the male one! With Wonder Girl I really feel like I’m coming in at the middle of the story – I don’t know who she is, how she got her powers, how she’s connected to Wonder Woman, or really much of anything about her other than her kick-ass attitude. That’s actually been a lot of fun, I enjoy getting to know her a piece at a time and I’m definitely going to keep an eye on her in future issues. Plus, what an awesome costume!