Michael Stuhlbarg set to join impressive ‘Doctor Strange’ cast Who would’ve thought Marvel could create such an eclectically interesting cast as they have for the one with Doctor Strange? The Wrap reports that Michael Stuhlbarg, who was just seen in Steve Jobs and Trumbo, is set to join the cast for Doctor Strange, which is …
The thing to remember about Scott Snyder is that he is not a superhero writer. For all of the Batman comics that he writes, he’s a horror writer, applying his trade more obviously to Wytches and American Vampire. Those titles are built on their dark mood and atmosphere. Rafael Albuquerque and Jock are two artists …
Working off a story from Scott Snyder and James Tynion, Tim Seeley turns in a script for Batman and Robin Eternal #3 that is simultaneously full of bouncy Bat- (or Robin) banter with some choice douchiness from Red Hood and scenes both past and present featuring the dark psychological effects of the Scarecrow’s fear toxin. This is somehow connected to the “mysterious” Mother, which our heroes are no closer to finding her identity. But there is still plenty of conflict as Dick Grayson’s Spyral colleague Poppy Ashemoore goes off the reservation, and threat level of the series increases when an important supporting character is put in the crosshairs of Mother and her creepy operatives.
The Darkseid War rages on and is proving to be the biggest and largest story DC has told yet in the New 52 and DCYou era through the Justice League title. Readers are treated to an artistic switch with Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, who were the team that ushered in a new era for The Flash at the New 52’s inception to give us this aftermath of the insanity that went down in issue #44.
At the end of Batman #45 Mr. Bloom literally crashes Geri Powers’ Batman party/news conference/gathering. Jim Gordon is to step down as the Batman and someone new is to step up. Batman is now not a single person but persons into perpetuity. This feeling of constant change is felt in this issue of Batman. Not only is that cowl supposed to change shoulders but Bruce Wayne wants to change the parts of Gotham that get destroyed the worst only to be rebuilt and cleaned last.
After last week’s blockbuster opening, Batman and Robin Eternal #2 has a little bit of a sophomore slump as a mysterious assassin almost beats Harper Row (aka Bluebird) to death until she is saved by Dick Grayson and a silent, deadly Cassandra Cain, who runs off to do other mysterious things. After the extended action scene, most of the issue is Stephanie freaking out about Dick being alive along with a flashback of Batman and Dick Grayson as Robin fighting the Scarecrow with some twisted, horror influenced art from Paul Pelletier and Tony Kordos and a bendy, trippy color scheme from Rain Beredos. This sequence makes up for a mostly lackluster fight scene between the mystery attacker, Cass, and Dick in which Pelletier starts strong with a kinetic double page spread of a full bodied kick from Cassandra Cain before pulling back from the action and even using storytelling shortcuts that diminish potential acrobatics from Grayson.
The first panel at New York Comic Con’s main stage on Friday, October 9 marked the triumphant return of an old favorite as DC Comics editors and creators gathered to celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Dark Knight Returns. They also previewed the upcoming The Dark Knight 3: The Master Race. This miniseries is co-written by original Dark Knight creator Frank Miller and seasoned comics veteran Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets) with pencils from Andy Kubert (Flashpoint) and inks from the legendary Klaus Janson (Daredevil). All of these creators were present at the panel with Miller making a surprise entrance in his trademark fedora to thunderous applause. They were joined by DC editor and moderator Brian Cunningham and publisher Jim Lee, who worked with Miller on the controversial All-Star Batman and Robin.
Hosted by the energetic Miz Caramel Vixen, the founder of Vixenvarsity.com, the #BlackComicsMonth Diversity in Comics panel featured a wide variety of panelists from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and sexualities. They also work in vastly different comics genres from Mildred Louis writing and drawing a Magical Girl webcomic with women of color called Agents of the Realm to David F. Walker, who directed a documentary about the blaxploitation genre and currently writes Cyborg for DC Comics and much more. One of the panelists, Mikki Kendall, only recently broke into comics with the Swords of Sorrow: Lady Rawhide/Miss Fury one-shot and is more well-known for her pieces about intersectional feminism for XoJane, The Guardian, and others as well as prose fiction. Vixen let each panelist speak their mind about what diversity means to them, and they often tied in their thoughts with their comics from Genius (which I scored a free copy of) to Princeless and even Batman.
Batman and Robin Eternal #1 is a genre spanning (superhero and possession horror), kick in the pants start to this weekly comic event. Scott Snyder and James Tynion set up a creepy, overarching storyline for the series by exploring the tragic side of being a Robin. (They don’t usually get out alive.) Artists Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea use speed lines, little circles, and every tool in the action cartoonist’s toolbox to give the comic a hyperactive feel as the various Robins swing, kick, and ride into action while wisely utilizing full page spreads for surprise reveals that burst the nostalgia bubble of “Batman and Robin forever”. By the end of Batman and Robin Eternal #1, readers will see the relationship between the Caped Crusader and his various sidekicks in a new, complicated light.
The two biggest topics at the Baltimore Comic Con IDW Panel were the continuation of the story arc for Walter Simonson’s Ragnarok, and the official announcement of James Tynion IV’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles / Batman crossover. Simonson and Tynion were on-hand to discuss their respective books while IDW President Greg Goldstein and Vice President of Marketing Dirk Wood acted as moderators.
In this one-shot, writers Scott Snyder and Brian Azzarello have decided to tone down Batman into a simple detective story. Set five years in the past, Batman wants to discover who’s murdered a fifteen year-old boy; sounds easy enough. But the world of Gotham is never as calm as it seems. Batman treks throughout the city questioning the likes of The Penguin, the leader of a local gang, and a GCPD detective, but in the end discovers that the young man’s demise came from the young man himself, via Mr. Bloom. Batman wasn’t there to save the young man and in the process learns that he doesn’t know as much about his home as he thought; a staple of the Snyder-era Batman run.
The 43rd issue of Batman drops like a ton of bricks. There have been those who have filled Bruce’s shoes as Batman (Dick Grayson, Jean-Paul Valley and now Jim Gordon), but it has never been imagined that Bruce wouldn’t return to the cowl. The reality in this issue is that Bruce doesn’t want to go back to being Batman because he can’t. Scott Snyder has dreamt up an otherworldly Batman pretense: Batman dies and he is then healed by the Joker’s dionesium, but the brain forgets all his past training, experience, and most importantly, past pain. For the foreseeable future it seems that Bruce Wayne is only going to be Bruce Wayne. The motivation to become the Dark Knight doesn’t exist for Bruce and this changes Gotham expansively.
One of the things that writers Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher and artist Babs Tarr have shown in their run in Batgirl is that Gotham can be home to other stories and genres other than dark conspiracy, horror, or detective tales. Batgirl #42 could be classified as a techno thriller comedy, or just a straight up superheroes defeat supervillains with an added personal layer because Barbara is teaming up with her dad even if they don’t know it. The art continues to be the biggest highlight, and Tarr’s lines continue to be sweeping and pretty, and her character models are quite adorable. Jake Wyatt and Michel Lacombe handle the layouts and showcase Batgirl’s speed and tenacity with swooping, diagonal panels even if a sequence in the big climactic fight sequence against Lightspeed is a little muddled. Colorist Serge Lapointe brings a bold, bright palette to the issue, but switches up his style for softer, happier scenes with Batgirl in her civilian life as well as going a little Post-Impressionist for the bits featuring Batman and the Gotham skyline.
For someone who had never read, nor even heard of Batman before, The Long Halloween is the best introduction to the Caped Crusader. Unlike Batman: Year One or The Dark Knight Returns, this masterpiece by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale is an epic. It’s not as boring as Year One nor is it as retrospectively over-the-top and self-gratifying as TDKR. Everything that readers want in a Batman comic is found within the pages of The Long Halloween: an intriguing murder mystery, justified appearances by memorable villains, elements of The Godfather, character examinations, and a strong emotional core centered on one of Batman’s most important villain. From the Vito Corleone inspired Carmine Falcone to the Joker reciting lines from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” as he breaks into a house, The Long Halloween presents Batman and his accompanying universe at its most concentrated and seamless. Simply put, The Long Halloween is a perfect comic. It should be at the very top of any Batman fan’s “Must Read” list, and for those who’ve already read it, The Long Halloween deserves to be read and enjoyed again and again.
Only separated by two years “The Man Who Falls” and “Year One” attempt to tell the origin of Bruce Wayne becoming Batman. Frank Miller’s story is much better known than Dennis O’Neil’s one shot, but O’Neil had a much bigger impact on the tone of Batman Begins. Christopher Nolan showcases Batman’s search for his abilities rather than giving them to Bruce Wayne at the beginning of the film. Thus, Bruce’s training and its effect is of paramount importance during the film.
Jim Gordon is usually confident in his abilities as a cop and willing to admit when he’s outmatched. This perspective is refreshing in Batman #42 as Gordon uses both parts of his personality to bring down this issue’s villain. Gordon is practicing his to be the best Batman, because “Batman doesn’t use guns.” Thus, Gordon is throwing Batarang’s while immersing himself into his new role; his commitment is admirable. For the most part the story is very straightforward: Batman learns of a disturbance, Batman takes care of said disturbance, and everyone loves Batman. But, the great thing about writer Scott Snyder is that he can pull up little pieces of truth in the most formulaic Batman story.
On the surface, the title of Final Crisis feels like a misnomer. How can there even be a “final” crisis? There will always be a DC Universe, there will always be earth-shattering dangers, and there will always be heroes to ensure the end is never really the end. But the strength of Final Crisis lies in that it recognizes this, and uses this fact as the crux of the entire event: the promotional tagline was, after all, “Heroes die. Legends live forever.” The characters and stories of the DC Universe are timeless, never-ending, and very much alive in the way that language can be said to be alive. It’s from this angle that writer Grant Morrison attempts to comment on and interact with DC’s complex and often unwieldy history. While Final Crisis is not the final challenge these characters will ever face (because nothing ever will be until the day DC stops publishing — and at this point that’ll likely be the same day CNN puts it “Nearer, My God, to Thee” video to use), one walks away from it feeling like they’ve just experienced the ultimate in everything the DC Universe was, is, and will be.
After a break for Convergence, Batgirl is back with a new villain, a new colorist, and most of all, the first real look about how Jim Gordon’s Batman affects the relationship around him. But Batgirl #41 is still both Babs’ show as readers get to see fight crime as well as interact with her roommate Frankie (who is taking on an Oracle type role) and her dad. Artist Babs Tarr also takes over both layouts and pencils and gives the comic the rush of a Saturday morning cartoon using slanted panels and slightly larger gutters to give her acrobatic style an additional “oomph”. Joel Gomez (most likely) helps out in some of the interior scenes adding details to the arcade where Babs and Frankie hang out, and the haunted house-type environment that makes up the first page of the comic, and Gotham Academy colorist Serge Lapointe give Tarr’s art a Studio Ghibli-esque palette like that series.
JLA #1 is another feather in Bryan Hitch’s artistic cap as he excels at showing superheroes in action along with labs, helicopters, explosions, and even a decent flirty interaction between Clark Kent and Lois Lane. However, his plot maybe suffers from some hypercompression as ideas, threats, and allies are introduced at a rapid pace without proper establishment. There are also a few story logic issues, The Flash and Green Lantern are written interchangeably, and Cyborg is kind of treated as deus ex machina. These misfires make JLA #1 an average comic with great art.
Being a travel agent on Earth-2 definitely has to be the Seventh Circle of Hell of careers. Sure the folks on the Nazi Earth or the Crime Syndicate Earth have their jobs cut out for them trying to convince anyone that their universe is a nice place to visit for even a nanosecond. But as Highfather’s sacrificial lamb to keep Darkseid from preying upon the whole of existence, Earth-2 makes a pretty strong case for having it the worst of all. That’s not the breaks, that’s just harsh beyond measure. But now Convergence has ushered in a whole new world — in the most literal way possible. Taking these characters in a completely new direction, Earth-2: Society makes a bold attempt at getting the Earth-2 line to hit its stride in ways that have eluded it since its inception.
It’s a shame that Gotham Academy #7 seems to be a one-off because there is so much potential for Damian as a regular member of the cast. If you’re looking to get into Gotham Academy, this probably isn’t the place. The impetus for the story and the emotional beats rely on a familiarity with the characters that isn’t established here. You should go pick up the first six issues (and the excellent Endgame tie-in), and then race your way back. Because it’s well worth it.
After the events of ‘Endgame’ the cowl has undergone a transition from Bruce Wayne to Jim Gordon, yes, that Jim Gordon, the same beat walking, cigarette smoking, and mustachioed man. Scott Snyder has never shied away from making his Batman completely different from the past 75-plus years. Here in Batman #41, Snyder does the inconceivable and replaces Batman with what seems like a less athletic, less aggressive, and lesser man. Sure, the new suit helps, but is it really Batman?
What makes the Joker such an exciting villain isn’t just his diabolical deeds, but the way he acts as the perfect foil to Batman. The Caped Crusader is a dark and brooding shadow, bound by morals, rules, and logic. The Clown Prince of Crime is a manic, posturing madman, ruled by chaos, entropy, and a disregard for anything…including himself. Everything the Joker does is to make a point, or deliver a punchline even if it comes at his own expense. He knows no limits and pushes Batman to his own limitations like no our villain. The Joker is to Batman as Kurt Cobain was to Axl Rose, or as Aaron Burr was to Alexander Hamilton, a perfect antithesis in every imaginable way. Here’s a look back at 13 of the most iconic Joker moments. These are the moments that made the Joker the one of the most memorable and recognizable villains in all of fiction, across any medium.