Category Archives: Batman
Nightwing Lives! Becomes Secret Agent!
Looks like we were right: Dick Grayson is going to survive Forever Evil! But it seems he’ll be giving up the superhero lifestyle to become a spy.
For some reason.
He’s OK with guns now
Revealed by USA Today, Dick will be the star of a new series called Grayson, because apparently somebody finds that more marketable than Nightwing? Maybe?
According to the interview, Batman knows Dick is alive, and orders Dick to become an undercover spy for the agency Spyral. The new writers hope it will be an international caper sort of book, with Dick dodging bullets and fighting bad guys. The writers are Tim Seeley and Tom King, himself a former CIA agent.
Of the new series, King says:
“He’s doing something that’s going to cause pain to his friends and family, but he believes in the cause. That tension between having to do something good but having the cost of it being pain to his family, it drives him a little crazy.”
The new series will start in July.
I’m not sure what to think about it. Definitely an interesting direction to send Dick Grayson, but then DC gave Dick half a dozen new directions in his short-lived New 52 series. Remember when his moving to Chicago was supposed to be a big deal? Dick Grayson definitely needs a solid, permanent status quo. He needs some grounded storytelling. Is this the answer? I have no idea. It’s kind of insane, really. Dick Grayson as a random super spy? I mean…I guess. It’s really all going to come down to the quality of the work itself. There’s almost no predicting how this series will be at this point. Either Seeley and King write a good comic or they don’t.
I’m sure Dick will be back to being Nightwing before too long.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 4/12/14
I am not often someone who toots his own horn – usually – but I think it’s time to share with you all that I’ve been picking up some other blog duties on the side of Henchman-4-Hire. I volunteered a few months ago to write additional comic book reviews for the website Word of the Nerd. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? I write a different style of review for them, adding to my already big workload here.
So just in case you’d like to read some additional reviews of mine, you can check out my takes on Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #1 and Nightcrawler #1 this week. Sometimes my reviews have overlapped between the two sites, but why do that when I can just share with you lot some other reviews I’ve written around the webs!
And no way am I going to abandon the weekly Hench-Sized reviews! This week sees the return of the All-New Ghost Rider, Captain Marvel and Secret Avengers, with the debut issue of Batman Eternal, DC Comics’ big new weekly Batman series. Does it live up to the hype?
No, no it doesn’t.
The second issue of Secret Avengers wins Comic Book of the Week for its playful style and strong characters. But Captain Marvel wins moment of the week with a guest appearance by Carol’s cat Chewie! Cats in comics are my kryptonite. I’m not ashamed to admit that.
Both ‘Carol’ and ‘Captain Marvel’ would be good names for cats, I think. Or maybe just ‘The Captain’. Or even ‘Captain Cat’. I could do this all day.
Comic Reviews: All-New Ghost Rider #2, Batman Eternal #1, Captain Marvel #2, Secret Avengers #2 and Superman/Wonder Woman #7.
Do You Want to Watch Some Batman?
If I was Bruce Timm, legendary creator of Batman: The Animated Series, I would also spend my free time making professional-grade Batman shorts.
This little video is making the rounds on the Internet as Timm’s contribution to Batman’s 75th anniversary. It’s an interesting little piece, even though it seems Batman’s best weapons are a rock and a tree limb. And do we really need to acknowledge Batman’s original design in modern adaptations? Do we really have to admit that there was a time when Batman thought big, floppy bat ears and small, purple gloves were a good idea? Can’t we just gloss over that?
Robin Watch: A Challenger Appears
It would appear that a new contender for the position of Robin appeared in this week’s Detective Comics #30 – at least as far as Newarama is concerned. They’re usually pretty cool, so I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and put Annette Aguila on my radar as a potential Robin candidate. Any development in DC’s search for the next Robin is worth noting in my returning column, Robin Watch!
(Though if I were more clever with puns, I probably should have called it ‘Bird Watching’.)
Batman isn’t going to be a solo act forever. A new Boy or Girl Wonder is on the way, and I’m dying to find out who it’s going to be. Could it be Annie Aguila? What does she have going for her?
According to Detective Comics #30, she might just be a motocross badass.
Favors yellow, green and red coloring, eh?
The creative team of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato have jumped from their time on Flash to take over Detective Comics, and their first issue introduces Aguila and her mother Elena. Newsarama seems to think Annie Aguila might be a contender for Robin, considering how DC is hyping up the issue. She’s 18, seems pretty tough, and has some spectacular motorcycling skills. Her mother is also in a bit of danger by the end of the issue.
Manapul and Buccellato were a bit coy about her chances as Robin when Newarama asked them about her.
Could she be a contender? Maybe! Join me after the jump to examine some of the clues.
6 Things I Hate That Everybody Else Loves
A couple months ago, I wrote a List of Six about things I love that everybody else seems to hate. A few of you suggested in the comments that I do the reverse list, so here we are. But this list was much harder to put together. ‘Hate’ is a much stronger word than ‘Love’, and I’m just not a hateful guy. I’m mostly apathetic to things I don’t like, especially when it comes to pop culture. Sure there are things in this world that I hate, like having to scrape off my car windshield on an icy morning or when my Internet connection dies.
Or peas, I absolutely hate peas. Worst food in the world!
Just looking at this picture makes me gag
But this is a pop culture blog, and I want to keep it that way. So I racked my brain and tried to think of six things in pop culture that I hate but everybody else seems to love. And it can’t just be things that are popular or successful that I hate. I despise the cult of celebrity that surrounds the Kardashians, but they remain popular – but they’re only popular to that certain cult of people. Most of us would readily agree that the Kardashians are terrible. So they don’t count.
I think I’ve got a solid list. Here are 6 things that I hate that most people, especially my fellow geeks, seem to love.
I apologize in advance if I start going on some vicious rants. And as always, please feel free to share some of your own hates in the comments!
Henchman-4-Hire 