Category Archives: DC
Review: Teen Titans #30
Strap in, friends. We’ve got a bumpy ride ahead of us. Teen Titans #30 is the worst issue of the entire series. Scott Lobdell has been cancelled, and it’s clear from this issue that he isn’t going down without a war. He’s going to bury his volume of Teen Titans! In horrible dialogue, in ridiculous callbacks, in desperate attempts to wrap-up dangling plot threads; whatever he can cram into this ending, he’s gonna do it.
Teen Titans #30
Lobdell’s Teen Titans has got nothing left to lose and nothing more to gain. It’s going to flame out in craptacular fashion!
Comic Rating: 1/10 – Terrible!
I will never know what Lobdell originally planned for the Titans’ return from the future, but there’s no way it was Teen Titans #30. I’m going to assume that he assumed he’d be writing the series for a long while to come, and that this cancellation was never part of the plan. You’ll see what I mean when we get to the synopsis, but Lobdell just shovels characters, plots and dialogue into this final issue in such a way that it’s clear he’s trying to squeeze in as much as possible before the end. I suppose it was nice of DC to let Lobdell finish the series on his own terms. I would also call it a mistake, except that who cares? Teen Titans is going to restart with a brand new #1 issue, and there’s a good chance that, in a few months, Lobdell’s entire run will just be a footnote in history. We’ll never have to think about it ever again.
I just don’t know if I can properly convey how bad this issue is. I wish I was more poetic or clever, and maybe I could turn this review into its own work of art. But I am not that gifted. I am just a man. A man of many words, yes, some of them rambling, but a man I remain. Though perhaps inspired by some of my favorite superhumans, maybe I can rise to the challenge and use these many words for the good of all Internetkind. Maybe I have what it takes to talk about the painfully unfunny dialogue, the mind-bogglingly pointless cameos or the unfettered love of editorial notes pointing you to previous issues. I think…I think I can do this.
Gulp, here we go! Join me after the jump for the full synopsis and more review of the worst Teen Titans issue you will ever read!
Batman: Arkham Origins DLC Out Today!
It doesn’t feature Robin – as far as I know – but Mr. Freeze is a good consolation prize, right? Plus, Batman gets a beefy new super suit!
That’s a pretty awesome trailer. I haven’t played Batman: Arkham Origins since it came out, but I definitely enjoyed it, so maybe I’ll plot down the $10 and get this DLC. I’ve been looking for some new games recently.
Double Dose of Batman Fun!
Who loves themselves some Batman? Apparently the world of animation does, because here we’ve got two – count’em, two! – separate Batman animated spectaculars! And seeing as how it’s the Monday after Easter, the second most Batman of all the major holidays, I figure now is as good a time as any to share.
First up is a short cartoon starring Batman Beyond, produced by Darwyn Cooke, one of the true greats.
It’s a neat little cartoon. Though I never knew Cooke was such a big Batman Beyond fan. As we learned a few weeks ago, I am not.
Though while we’re on the topic, isn’t it way past time for Batman Beyond to get a Robin Beyond? Just sayin’…
The second Batman offering today is the trailer for the next animated feature: Batman: Assault on Arkham! It’s set in the Arkham Asylum video game universe, which is pretty cool. And it stars the Suicide Squad alongside Batman, which is equally cool.
Trailer looks neat! Though I would like to point out that there’s no sign yet of a Robin cameo…
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 4/19/14
This week was another wallet-busting week of comics. I may have to hold back on my caviar sandwiches if I hope to afford all of them! Fortunately, that means there were a lot of good comics in my pile this week, and I love me some good comics.
Plus, there were a whole bunch of DC titles that I read this week! We’ve got reviews for Batman, Wonder Woman and Batwoman, as if they all combined somehow. There’s also the latest issues of Batman Eternal and Harley Quinn, as well as the first issue of the new Sinestro solo series! Now there is a character I’m excited about!
On the Marvel side of things, the final issue of Superior Spider-Man hit the stands and it is…a nice conclusion. It’s not as amazing as I was hoping it would be. Instead, it seems more like Dan Slott and Marvel are in a rush to get to the new status quo of the new Amazing Spider-Man. Can’t say I blame them. We’ve also got new issues of Uncanny X-Men and the utterly fantastic Ms. Marvel, which wins Comic Book of the Week for sheer greatness and adorability.
She also uses ‘Embiggen’, making her the coolest teenager ever
I wonder what a younger, superhero-loving Sean would think about the fact that one of my favorite comics right now is about the awkward youth of a teenage girl. Of course, Young Sean was a big fan of The Secret World of Alex Mack, so there is a precedence.
Comic Reviews: Batman #30, Batman Eternal #2, Batwoman #30, Harley Quinn #5, Ms. Marvel #3, Sinestro #1, Superior Spider-Man #31, Uncanny X-Men #20 and Wonder Woman #30.
Robin Watch: Robin Rising: Omega!
Big news on the Robin front today! DC Comics and writer Peter J. Tomasi revealed in an interview with the LA Times that Robin is definitely coming back this year for Batman’s 75th anniversary!
But which Robin?
Today’s news seems to point to a resurrected Damian Wayne – but doesn’t confirm it one way or another.
Zombie Robin?
Tomasi will be writing a one-shot called Robin Rising: Omega on July 16, which will kick off the finale of his ongoing ‘Search for Robin’ storyline. That issue will be immediately followed by Batman and Robin #33, returning to the series’ original title. When the last Robin, Damian Wayne, died last year, the series Batman and Robin played a game of teaming up Batman with a bunch of other heroes and villains. They went through everything from Batman and Nightwing to Batman and Aquaman. Throughout the series, Batman has been on a quest to try and resurrect his dead son, Damian – though first he has to get Damian’s body back from the madman, R’as al Ghul!
Will Batman succeed? Maybe. I guess that’s what Robin Rising: Omega is going to be about. Right now, Tomasi is only teasing the outcome of this new one-shot.
In the interview, he said:
Let’s just say that we are most definitely bringing back a Robin for Batman’s 75th anniversary. Batman needs a Robin and Robin needs a Batman, so what more needs to be said except that “Robin Rises: Omega,” drawn by the stupendous Andy Kubert, starts and ends with a bang and everything that occurs in this epic story all has seeds that Pat Gleason and I planted back during our first arc in “Batman and Robin: Born To Kill.”
There’s no gimmicks. We’re telling a character-centric action-adventure story that new readers can easily jump on board due to the way we constructed the opening pages of “Robin Rises: Omega” No. 1 that gives readers the ability to emotionally plug in and get up to speed without having read the series from the start of the New 52.
And it goes without saying, of course, that anyone following the book from our first issue will see that this has all been an organic uber-story and that all the moments they’ve spent with the characters will pay off as Pat, Andy and I serve our only purpose, which is to honor the actual title of the book so everyone can be invested in the roller coaster ride whether you’re new to the party or already scrunched up comfortably in the corner.
Tomasi isn’t coming right out and saying that Batman will succeed in resurrecting Damian, only that they’re ‘bringing back a Robin’ for the anniversary, emphasis on the ‘a’.
Heck, maybe they’re not even giving Batman a new Robin so much as just playing around with Robin. I don’t know what’s going to happen.
Apparently it involves Apokolips
Personally, I don’t want them to resurrect Damian. I think comic book resurrections are a little too silly these days, especially if you’re going to do it within a year of the character dying in the first place. If DC wanted Damian to stay Robin, why not just tell Grant Morrison not to kill him?
I’ll admit that Damian was growing on me as a character towards the end, especially in his partnership with Dick Grayson, but bringing Damian back from the dead just so he can be Robin again strikes the wrong chord with me. Especially when DC has been teasing a new, female Robin.
I firmly believe that DC needs to create a new Robin to go along with the New 52. DC needs to create another Tim Drake, someone who can be a popular Robin for another 20+ years. Damian is turning into too much of a stunt character. Plus, what’s the point of threatening Robin’s life if all Batman has to do is resurrect them within a year?
Of course, if they don’t make Damian Robin again, that leaves Carrie Kelley available in Tomasi’s comic. Of the various female candidates, Carrie is the one Tomasi introduced and is writing about. But I want Carrie to be the new Robin less than I want Damian back from the dead, so I dunno what I’m supposed to do.
Just keep reading, I guess.
Henchman-4-Hire 