The new series by David Finch has been buzzed about for months. The question everyone seems to be asking is "Do we really need another Bat-Family title?" I don't know the answer to that, unfortunately. What I do know is we're given a pretty decent story here.   We start with young Bruce introducing us to Dawn Golden, a childhood acquaintance we're informed broke his heart during his college days. It's clear young Bruce and young Dawn don't get along right…

Tags: alfred pennyworth, batcave, batman, batman incorporated, batman: the dark knight, batmobile, bruce wayne, david finch, dawn golden, dick grayson, gcpd, gotham city, james gordon, killer croc, lars beck, narrows, penguin

Just in time for the 25th anniversary of “Back to the Future” its Superman/Batman #79 featuring Superman and Batman from DC One Million! (Just an aside here, have the efforts of today’s superheroes been so unsuccessful in battling evil that we need superheroes thousands of years from now?)   As DC would have it the superheroes of today have inspired the heroes of the 853rd century and if we are going to have heroes from there we are going to have villains.   Our story starts with the villain, his name…

Tags: back to the future, batman, boom tube, chris roberson, dc one million, epoch, jesus merino, justice league of america, robin, superman, superman/batman

This winter the 70th anniversary of Captain America, Steve Rogers’ debut was celebrated. In March though, another 70th anniversary was marked, though not to the fanfare that it should have. Detective Comics issue # 38, with an April cover date, hit the stands with a brand new character bursting out of a frame being held up by a beaming with pride Batman. Dubbed on the cover as “the sensational character find of 1940” Robin, The Boy Wonder, aka Dick Grayson, would get his origin story in that issue, as well as appearing alongside Bruce swinging on the cover of…

Tags: all star squadron, batgirl, batman, batman: a death in the family, batman: batman and son, batman: rip, batman: son of the demon, batmobile, bronze age, bruce wayne, bucky barnes, captain america, carrie kelley, crisis on infinite earths, damian wayne, detective comics, dick grayson, earth-1, earth-2, golden age, grant morrison, impulse, jason todd, justice league, justice society of america, nightwing, red robin, robin, silver age, spoiler, star spangled comics, star spangled war stories, star-spangled kid, stephanie brown, steve rogers, superboy, superman, talia al ghul, teen titans, the brave and the bold, the dark knight returns, tim drake, tomahawk, wayne foundation, young justice

Heart of Hush holds a special place in my comic book collection. It was actually the first Detective Comics story I bought, and one of the first things I ever started to read in the DC Universe. So when Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen were given their own series to continue working together I was more than a little excited and the promise of a follow up to Heart of Hush should have been an instant success for the duo. Unfortunately, Batman: Streets…

Tags: batman: rip, batman: streets of gotham, bedbug, bruce wayne, derek fridolfs, detective comics, dustin nguyen, firefly, hush, paul dini, ragman, tommy elliot

If you stuck it out after Detective Comics Annual 12 and grabbed Batman Annual 28, I think you’ll find your patience rewarded. David Hine has stepped up his game and delivers a satisfying end to “All the Rage”.   The pieces all come together as Renee Montoya (aka the Question) infiltrates the Golden Portal and draws its leader, the exotically beautiful and dangerous Korrigan, out of hiding. Dick, Bruce, and Bilal manage to save Leni Urbana from being assassinated and close in on Korrigan, leading to…

Tags: agustin padilla, andres guinaldo, annual, azrael, batman, batman: rip, bruce wayne, david hine, denny o'neil, detective comics, dick grayson, gotham city, korrigan, kyle higgins, leni urbana, nightrunner, paris, question, renee montoya, veil

Batman Odyssey
The Tooth and Nothing but the Tooth!
    Batman Odyssey by Neal Adams just reached its penultimate issue recently and what strikes me most about this series? No, it’s not all the callbacks to the seventies Batman, nor the wide variety of characters nor the cutting edge Bat-tech.   It’s the teeth.   Man, Neal Adams loves to draw them choppers! It makes you wonder what kind of dental plan his Batman has. My first instinct…

Tags: aquaman, batman, batman: odyssey, justice league of america, neal adams, riddler, teen titans

It’s too bad that Streets of Gotham will be discontinued this spring, but at least with the current story arc, House of Hush, it looks like the series may go out with a bang. When Paul Dini writes for this series, it’s been great and so far this Hush story has been no different.   The Bedbug’s Bite opens with Bruce checking out a large gathering of people in Gotham and discovers that they are all sleepwalking under the control of…

Tags: arkham asylum, batman: streets of gotham, bedbug, blackgate, bruce wayne, dr death, dustin nguyen, gotham city, harley quinn, hush, paul dini, penguin, ragman, tommy elliot

Does Size Matter? Chapter 2
  In “The Year of the Batmen Part 11”, we examined scale, more specifically, the size of Batman in relation to others. As exhibit “A” I offered Batman in relation to Superman as seen in Superman #703, two peers in size if not exactly in strength. Below is that evidence.     As I said before the Batman measured above in relationship to Superman is not the Bruce Wayne Batman but Dick Grayson instead. Mr. Grayson however…

Tags: batman, bruce wayne, dick grayson, superman, superman/batman

"Fugitive!" screams the cover as our hero Batgirl – Stephanie Brown – finds herself accused of murder, on the run, quite literally, through Devil's Square and away from the pursuing GCPD. With beads of perspiration on her brow Steph's caught in the police spotlight as she wonders just how she's found herself in this position – she 'knows for a fact' that the murder was committed by a mysterious group of students dressed like the Grim Reaper but the officers just aren't giving her the opportunity to…

Tags: barbara gordon, batgirl, bruce wayne, bryan q miller, devil's square, dustin nguyen, firewall, francisco gracia, fugitive, gcpd, gotham university, grim reaper, jordanna spence, marvin harris, newton flitwik, nick gage, oracle, proxy, richard kimble, ricochet, stephanie brown, wendy harris

Batman Orphans part two opens exactly where part one left off. Bruce is suffering the effects of the fear toxin, still envisioning his parents being gunned down in a filthy alley. Unfortunately, Samantha Locke is on scene to see the whole thing happen. In his vision, Bruce is dressed in the Robin outfit and Samantha is playing the part of Joe Chill. He begins to attack her, before Sam Jackson fights him off.   Fortunately, Alfred intervenes and takes Bruce away, though not before Samantha exposes the…

Tags: alfred pennyworth, arkham asylum, bat-grotto, batman, batman: orphans, birds of prey, bludhaven, bookworm, bruce wayne, crispus allen, dick grayson, firebug, francisco ramirez, hugo strange, joe chill, lance, merlyn, monica, national whisper, nightwing, oracle, red talon, renee montoya, riddler, robin, sam jackson, samantha locke, talia al ghul, tim drake, troy