Category Archives: Batman
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 9/28/13
Surprise, surprise, Villains Month isn’t half bad this week! Again, I’m not reading everything, but the few villainous issues I did pick up were actually pretty good. I especially liked the Man-Bat and Ocean Master issues, though Sinestro’s comic was really just a big character recap. So again, Villains Month is a mixed bag of different comic book styles, some of which work, and some of which don’t.
Meanwhile, it feels like forever since Forever Evil #1 came out. Say what you will about Event Comics, but Marvel clearly has a great idea when it comes to publishing them. Both Infinity and Battle of the Atom have had a new chapter every week since they started, and that makes the stories much, much better than having to wait a whole month to find out what the heck is going to happen in Forever Evil.
As such, the new chapter of Battle of the Atom wins Comic Book of the Week hands down. Jason Aaron takes over the story with Wolverine and the X-Men #36, and I think it was the best issue of the crossover to date! So many exciting things happen, with just as many great character moments.
Yes, Deadpool, tell us the future! I want to see Goldballs with a long, storied X-Men career.
Comic Reviews: Avengers #20, Man-Bat #1, Ocean Master #1, Sinestro #1, Trial of the Punisher #1, and Wolverine and the X-Men #36.
Gotham Central TV Show to Become a Reality
This is exciting news, because it once again means someone out there in TV Land is reading my blog. It seems that FOX has committed to producing Gotham, a series about Commissioner Gordon as a detective on the mean streets of Gotham City. According to Deadline, the show will focus on Gordon and the early lives of Gotham City’s famous super-villains. I’m also just going to assume that the show will include other members of the GCPD, essentially making it Gotham Central the show!
He’s getting to old for this
For those who don’t know, Gotham Central was a short-lived comic book series from DC a few years ago that told the story of the Major Crimes Unit in the GCPD. It focused on the detectives who investigate all the super-crime in Gotham, and the trials and tribulations that come with living in Batman’s shadow and going up against guys like the Joker. According to the article, the show is not going to include Batman, which, of course, is insane. Why would you not include Batman!? What is this ridiculous belief that viewers won’t be able to tell the difference between TV Batman and movie Batman? Or is it a legal thing? Isn’t Batman owned by Warner Bros? Why can’t they rule for themselves that Batman can appear in both movies and TV shows!?
One of the best parts of Gotham Central was that Batman (and Robin) were always out there in the shadows, as if looking over the detectives shoulders. But, of course, that’s not the only draw of Gotham Central. The terror that comes from investigating guys like the Joker and Two-Face was really a major part of the comic. Hopefully they can infuse that into this new show.
All of them are way too old for this
And I would just look to point out that I had Gotham Central at the top of my list for Comic Books that Should Become TV Shows. So once again my blog is at the cutting edge of pop culture ideas. And any studio executives who want to use some of the other suggestions on my list, go right ahead. I don’t mind.
Hopefully, if Gotham is a success and leads to multiple seasons, DC and Warner Bros. will understand the benefit of introducing Batman. And if they did, I wouldn’t really want them to show Batman anyway. Imagine a whole season where Gordon and his people are haunted by some shadowy vigilante and strange claims of a man who looks like a demon bat. Now that would be good television!
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 9/14/13
Villains Month continues this week at DC Comics, and I’m enjoying it well enough so far. It’s a marketing stunt, and I’m OK with DC going all out for their marketing stunts. It appears to me like they’re using a few up and coming writers to actually pen the dialogue, so that’s pretty cool. I’m disappointed that Geoff Johns didn’t write out Black Manta #1, but he plotted it, and writer Tony Bedard did well enough.
Speaking of Villains Month, this week was the debut of the new Lobo. Does he live up to the controversy? Read ahead and see.
Comic Book of the Week goes to Mighty Avengers #1. There were some good Villains Month issues, but Mighty Avengers exceeded expectations in ways I did not predict. It might actually turn out to be a pretty good comic. With some pretty fun characters, like this guy…
Comic Reviews: Avengers #19, Black Manta #1, Lobo #1, Mighty Avengers #1, Riddler #1, and X-Men #5.
Batman is the Knight of Awesome
A super artist named Mauricio Abril decided to up his awesome level by drawing/painting this epic Batman adventure.
Set to the tune of “Knights of Cydonia” by Muse, Batman just kicks a lot of butt in pure Batman style. I know that if I were an artist in any way whatsoever (besides wordsmith), I would totally do Batman art all the time. That makes life worth living.
Punishing Dick Grayson, and Why It Could Be a Good Thing
Dick Grayson can’t seem to catch a break. And I don’t just mean the murder of his parents when he was still a boy. I mean Dick Grayson as a comic book superhero can’t seem to catch a break in DC Comics’ New 52 universe. In less than two years, Dick found out that his childhood home, Haley’s Circus, was actually a front for the villainous Court of Owls secret society, and that Dick himself was in line to become one of their undead assassins (until the whole Batman and Robin thing happened instead). Then he found out his childhood sweetheart was a psychopath who betrayed him and tried to kill him, only for her to then be murdered by the Joker as a means of punishing Dick.
Then when he inherited Haley’s Circus and sunk all of his life savings into fixing it up, that too was destroyed by the Joker. Then Dick found out that Batman was keeping secrets from him, leading to an angry split between the two heroes. Then he found out the man who murdered his parents was still alive and hiding in Chicago!
And now Nightwing has been chosen as the sacrificial lamb for the new Forever Evil event.
So that’s why they put him in red
Don’t worry, he’s not dead…at least not yet.
But something almost as huge happened to Nightwing in this week’s Forever Evil #1. As a big Robin and Nightwing fan, I’m worried about any major change to one of my favorite characters. But I’m here to tell you that this change might not be all that bad. In fact, this could work out very well in Nightwing’s favor.
As long as DC manages to use it to tell some good stories. That part is questionable.
But this isn’t the end of the world. Join me after the jump for full SPOILERS and why I think this could be good for the character.
Henchman-4-Hire 