Recently in Batman Category

The great thing about the comics medium is the collaboration that happens between creators.  Sometimes we are lucky to see certain teams that just produce magical, unforgettable stories.  Lee/Kirby, Thomas/Smith, O'Neill/Adams, Moore/Gibbons, and Bendis/Oeming are just a few that come to mind right away.  After reading Detective Comics 854, I think Greg Rucka and JH Williams also belong in that roster as well.

I wasn't too sure about picking up this issue at first.  I haven't bought Detective Comics in ages and I wasn't too excited about the first few appearances of Batwoman.  After listening to Rucka's podcast interview with John Siuntres on Word Balloon, I decided to give it a read.

First off, the artwork by JH Williams is so unique, so beautiful, so other-worldly, words just can't describe it.  He's crafted the panel layouts in a very unique style.  Cinematic, but it definitely breaks through the stand panel grid layout when Batwoman is in action.  When she's back as Kate Kane (Batwoman), the panel layout changes to a more conventional format.  The color by Dave Stewart is just as important to the artwork.  The Batwoman scenes almost remind me of the old black and white magazines, that experimented with telling some stories using one color--Red--to add an element of danger to the story.  The color palette changes when Kate is in her civilian identity, full color, not garish, rich in browns and sandalwoods.  When the villain Alice shows up, she has a unique, lighter color scheme that clashes with Batwoman.  In Rucka's Work Balloon interview, he mentions that Williams and Stewart chose the colors very deliberately--for example, finding the exact right shade of red.

Enough about the art, how's the story?  One of the best that Greg Rucka has written in comics to date.  The plot is interesting, but I think he's also done a great job in carving out a section of Gotham City for Batwoman to inhabit.  She meets Batman briefly, but it's not stated whether this is Bruce Wayne or Dick Grayson--Rucka very much wanted this story to be timeless.  (Although reference is made to Kate's injuries from Final Crisis.)  Instead of a Batcave, Kate operates out of her condo, with her ex-military father providing intelligence and armory support.  Unlike Batman, Kate does carry a gun.  All of this stuff gives Kate a really interesting background, and since Rucka is knowledgeable about these things, it gives the story a little more weight.  I expect this will shine through more as the story progresses.

The main mystery involves "the thirteen covens of crime" who have elected a new leader, as all Gotham scum know, since they've seen the white smoke.  It's really comforting to me to know that Gotham scum operate just like the Catholic church!  The new leader turns out to be Alice, a bizarre woman who speaks in literary allusions.  I am glad that Rucka chose to create a new villain for this initial story instead of just throwing Kate against the Joker.

I think they are many smart choices that Rucka has made here.  All of the above, certainly, but probably just as important--Rucka is not overly wordy here.  He allows JH Williams' artwork to really breath on each and every page.  That's really awesome, and it's also why I think this run on Detective Comics is going to be a classic.  Nuff said.

Batman and Robin #1 was released today and it's every bit as enjoyable as Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's last collaboration, All Star Superman.  Every time this duo produces a comic, it's lightning in a bottle.

I think this series really has me excited because it's not reflecting back on past Silver Age themes.  Dick Grayson has taken over the role of Batman and Damian (the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia) is the new Robin.  This pairing already has me wishing that Bruce Wayne never comes back--or if he does, maybe he should retire.  Dick's taking over the Batman role very reluctantly.  To make it worse, Damian doesn't cut Dick any slack--as Bruce's son, Damian has an arrogant sense of entitlement.  He dismissively refers to Alfred as "Pennyworth" and tells Dick "I could just as easily take over my father's work on my own."  Damian's ego and over-confidence are amazing.  He says "Crime is doomed" in the new and improved Batmobile as the dynamic duo race into the night.

There's only one problem with Batman and Robin: the pages read as smooth as butter and the experience is over far too quickly.  It's not a criticism, just a testament to how well this story is told visually.  From the last teaser page it looks like Morrison has a lot of cool stories cooked up.  Nuff said.

One thing I noticed only after posting yesterday's look at various Green Lantern covers by Gil Kane was how many of them teased the reader with the death of Hal Jordan!

I always loved the DC Comics ads that paired up two characters.  Sometimes the pairings were illogical!  I remember seeing this ad for GL #70 and Detective Comics #395.  They got me with this one, I bought them both.  Nuff said.

I took a look at this issue today.  This is truly horrendous, it ends exactly like most people expected--with Dick Grayson taking over the mantle.  $12 to read something terribly executed and find out what people had guessed last year?  A rip-off.  DC should have just jumped into the new Batman without all this shit beforehand.  Nuff said.

I just don't get Batman R.I.P. at all.  I'm probably too old, too dense.  I love Grant Morrison, but this is just way over or under my head.  I've read Timothy Callahan's annotations on Batman 681 and it still does not make sense.  Still no clue about who the Big-Bad Black Glove / Dr. Hurt really was; clearly it was not Thomas Wayne.  It was not Tim Drake (Robin) or whatever that rumor was.

I'm really disappointed in how both this story and Final Crisis has been executed.  I liked how Morrison handled Batman in JLA, and his first arc with Kubert that introduced his son Damian was terrific.  But after that, things really fell apart quickly for me.  Although I will never forget what a "Bat-Radia" device is from now on.  I also don't grok how Final Crisis works with Batman R.I.P., does this story take place after FC?

It's pretty clear that we're going to have a period of time where Dick Grayson takes on the role as Batman, while Damian takes over as Robin.  I'm psyched about this change, because it seemed to me that Bruce Wayne is pretty dammed near invincible--he even makes alternate personalities in his contingency plans.  I think having Dick finally become Batman and putting up with Damian's recklessness should be a real hoot.

What happens to Tim Drake?  That's the real question.  I can see why Chuck Dixon was so pissed that he quit working for DC.  I bet he had two years worth of plans for Tim that were thrown out the window by this change of events.

Such a change likely won't last more than a year or two, given DC's track record with Kyle Rayner, Wally West, and Connor Hawke.  Nuff said.

The Golden Age Flash gets some deserved attention in Brave and Bold #13 when he teams up with Batman.  Jay Garrick is one of the few people who can put Bruce Wayne in his place, which he does several times in this story.  I love this panel with Garrick running alongside the Batboat, after rejecting Batman's offer for a ride: "No thanks, I'll provide my own transportation!"  Jerry Ordway's art is really nice in this issue, and I will envy the collector who gets to buy this particular page.  Garrick talks to Wayne about being a mentor to several DC heroes and asks him if he would ever let Dick or Tim take over as Batman.  The answer is a cold NO.  But certain signs are pointing to the Batman RIP storyline, that Bruce Wayne might stop being Batman for a while and let one of his sidekicks take over.

Mark Waid was recently interviewed on Word Balloon about a number of topics, one of them being his Brave and Bold run.  He was pleased with how it turned out, but their attempts to plugin popular guest stars misfired.  Waid thought the new Blue Beetle in issue #2 would be a big draw, and his final issue features Superman and Catwoman--who just had her own series canceled!  With this series, his recent Flash run, and his Legion of Super-Heroes team that looks to be pushed aside for the Levitz-Giffen era, Waid is the Peter Parker of the DC Universe.  But you just can't help but love the guy for trying his best.  Nuff said.

Link: Mark Waid Word Balloon Interview (May 2008).

The latest Dark Knight movie trailer is available on the official movie site.  Everything I have seen about this film leaves me utterly cold.  I know they won't be as well made, but I am more excited about the Incredible Hulk or even the X-Files films this summer.

I'm quite surprised by my own reaction.  Few movies have this type of pedigree.  Christopher Nolan made Memento (not Momento--thanks Bill Reid), one of my favorite movies.  The actors (Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart) could not be any better.  Two-Face, one of my favorite Batman villains, looks to be getting the right treatment.  There's a picture of Two-Face's sickening visage on ComicBookMovie, catch it before Warners does the cease-and-desist thing.

So why am I so indifferent to the Dark Knight?  Five reasons come to mind:

1. The costume designers fucked up the Batsuit design.  AGAIN.
2. Batman misses every opportunity to wipe out the Joker.  In one of the trailers he cruises by the Joker on his Bat-cycle before doing a U-Turn to confront him.  Couldn't he just put out his fist, and WHACK, game over?  In the comic series, we forgive this type of thing easily, but in a movie this behavior is ridiculous.
3. Rachel Dawes.  Doesn't matter if it's Katie Holmes or Maggie Gyllenhaal.  This superhero movie franchise has zero sex appeal.  I think only a psychotic woman would want to fuck Batman.  Frank Miller's answer was Black Canary.
4. Which mega-millionaire would you rather be--Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne?
5. Batman Begins is one of the few superhero movies where I did not buy the DVD. 

Nuff said.

Detective Comics 826 proves that Grant Morrison has formidable competition with the writing of Paul Dini. We finally get Dini's take on the Joker and Robin as well! Robin is fleeing a gang of gun-wielding thugs and makes the mistake of his life when he jumps into the Joker's car in order to get away. The Joker proceeds to take him on a car ride through Gotham that resembles "Death Race 2000" with David Carradine. There's a great scene where the Joker enters the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant and vents his frustation on the imcompetent employees. Don Kramer captures the maniacal look in the Joker's face perfectly, and I love that Santa hat he's wearing. I think the Joker's coming back in Morrison's book, but how can he top this? Nuff said.