Batman joins the newly reformed Justice League of America in issue number 41 of the JLA written by James Robinson, penciled by Mark Bagley and ably inked by Hunter, Alquiza, and Wong.
First and foremost, what is the most striking detail about this issue? The continuity problem! Not only does this issue take place after Blackest Night is over it also spoils the ending to “Justice League: Cry for Justice”. So anyone who wants an advanced look at how that series ends, help yourselves! (Not that “Cry” has exactly set the world on fire. Also written by Robinson, it is now running late.)
Batman does not take a central role in this book as it is, of course, a team up affair. The story starts out with a disconsolate Donna Troy ready to walk away from it all. Burnt out and “beaten down” Troy happens across a crime scene where children are being held hostage in a hospital and she is forced to act. After securing the children and stuffing the bad guys, she openly questions herself, lashes out at Wonder Woman and proclaims, “I am done.”
Or not.
After a short lecture from Wonder Woman and a brief interlude through America’s colonial period (with a sidebar trip to the Smithsonian, which serves as a future JLA storyline) Troy relents and starts the recruitment process. Starfire and Cyborg quickly sign up and Troy takes off to Gotham City. Here we catch up with the Caped Crusaders in the middle of a beat down of some poor Killer Moth wannabe’s. The new Batman and Robin are at their acrobatic best and seem to be following the Judd Winick model. Lighter in attitude and much less grimmer in tone. The action stops as Troy appears on the scene and says not bad to "Batman". Batman, in quotes, as she knows it is Dick Grayson beneath the cowl. She compliments the duo and refers to Damian as a kid. Cue comedic retort from the new Damian Robin, “Kid?” he says, “How dare you Harlot.” Funny and not too far off as Donna Troy is sporting a skin tight cat suit that might be more appropriate to the bedroom than a back alley.
The two exchange some small talk and catch up quickly. Batman tells Donna that he just put down “Yellow Wasp” and is on the trail of a bigger evil doer called” The Broker” who has been setting up hideouts and putting together groups for what may be a larger storyline in the future. He correctly deduces Donna hasn’t arrived for chit-chat and asks her if her visit means she wants him to join the Justice League. She is amazed at his deductive prowess (he cheated) and the seal the deal with a groan inducing “fist bump”. Again, from the Winick model? Of course if she had asked me to join the League I would have told she had me at revealing, skin tight jump suit that barely covers her ample, um, attributes. Just sayin’. (Oh yes, Damian says he's in too.)
The story continues as Donna goes off to recruit the new Dr. Light, Mon-El as the Superman sub, Green Lantern, and Green Arrow. The final panel is a full pager and is a nice portrait of the Hal Jordan Green Lantern and Batman.
The artwork seems a bit rushed but the inking was fine. Like I said, the last panel is pretty cool and Mon El gets a nice action splash page. The story? Well, it is a reboot of the JLA series, so Robinson had to fit in a lot threads just to pull each character in. Hopefully future plots will be tighter. I’m curious how large a role the Dick Grayson Batman will play in this series and if he will continue the lighter tone discussed earlier. I’m actually hoping he’ll keep the cape and cowl and stay on as Batman in the JLA even after Bruce Wayne returns. There is more than one Green Lantern after all. Anyone think DC has the guts to allow that angle?
Yeah, I didn’t think so either.
Justice League of America #41:
Reviewed by Dark Knight Dave
Yesterday, Tony Daniel made a post on his blog about an upcoming cover for Batman. Batman #698 was solicited for April at the end of January, but Daniel didn't think that the cover did justice to what he had in store for the Riddler. Here is the updated cover from Daniel himself.
Posted by Dustin
Green Lantern featuring Batman
Well, the comic starts off with a man being chased through Gotham City by some a saber-tooth tiger and a skull with wings that can breathe fire. The man is later killed by a man holding a Tattoo gun. After killing him, the unknown man writes a message on the dead man’s chest and the media claims this murder was done by a Green Lantern villain known as The Tattooed Man.
So Batman calls in Hal Jordan to help, as we all know Batman doesn’t like other hero’s villains in his city. So Green Lantern comes to the Batcave. He asks Bruce why he didn’t just call him, instead of getting Green Arrow to pass on the message. This leads to Hal and Bruce having a little argument as Bruce still doesn’t trust Hal (Continuity Note: Before coming back to life, Hal Jordan was affected by the evil Avatar of the Sinestro Corps Parallax). Bruce shows Hal the crime scene photos and says that they are dealing with Tattooed Man. Jordan thinks different as the Tattooed Man he knows of is locked up in prison. So they go out looking for this new Tattooed Man, but not before Bruce punches Jordan in the face and says that they are now even.
They take the Batmobile to the last known whereabouts of the new Tattooed Man. In the Batmobile, Hal tries to make Batman laugh, but he has a hard time doing so. He even makes a joke about Robin and asks if any of sidekicks ever grow because the seat is so far forward. Bruce tells him to buckle up which Hal jokes it off. Bruce hits a speed bump which in turn makes Hal hit the roof of the Batmobile. This is my favorite part of the issue because you see that Bruce does have a funny side to him. Soon afterwards, they are both attacked by the Tattooed Man, who calls them both sinners. Hal then gets the Tattooed Man attention, Bruce knocks him out with one punch, and the police come and arrest him. Bruce and Hal go back to the Batcave, where Jordan gives Bruce his power ring and asks him to put it on. Bruce refuses until Hal begs and tells Bruce it will help him overcome his greatest fear like it did for him with the death of his father. Bruce puts it on and his costume changes to a Green Lantern costume mixed with the Batsuit, which is pretty cool! Then Bruce creates an image of his parents with the ring and starts to cry. He takes off the ring and tells Hal that he is not ready got overcome his fear. Before Jordan leaves Bruce smiles and tells him that it’s good to have him back. Hal smiles and replies, “It’s good to be back”.
This issue is pretty good. The story is very solid and doesn’t feel like random team between two superheroes. Geoff Johns portrays the bad blood Bruce has towards Hal throughout. Johns also shows in this issue that he is a Batman fan and knows how to write Batman. This was really good. Didn’t feel like a pointless team issue. It made me glad that I picked it up last year at a comic book traders market. Also the back and forth banter between Hal and Bruce was priceless. Another thing I have to give Johns credit for is reminding us that Jordan and Bruce both saw their loved ones and they each handled it in their own way. The only problem I had with this issue was the fight they had with Tattooed Man. The fight was only two pages long and felt like it could have been longer. But hey, that's just me. I can’t wait and see what Johns bring to Batman: Earth One. The penciling by Ethan Van Sciver who not only draws a good Batman, but his art is amazing.
Green Lantern #9:
Reviewed by Johnny Impulse
After a too long overdue absence, we have another audio review. This time we have Graphic Audio's Infinite Crisis Part 2. In this episode, each important and episodic character had been given a great deal of characterization in part from the voice actors. For this I give this one 5 out of 5 Batarangs.
Buy the Graphic Audio for this episode here
Reviewed by Dmitriy
Editor's Note: That's right. You did not read the title incorrect. We are going to start trying to review other books that we normally do not review on the comic cast. These books would fall into the catergory of books that are not main Batman titles, but feature Batman characters in them. If you are interested in helping review more DCU books that feature the Bat-family, email us at tbu@thebatmanuniverse.net. And now on with the review-Dustin
The Brave and the Bold is one of DC’s most underrated titles that are currently being published. J. Michael Straczynski’s run on the title has been some of the best superhero team-ups that you will ever read. JMS has truly perfected the one and done storytelling method. Issue number thirty-one is one of the most interesting stories that JMS has written thus far. In this issue, he brings together two unlikely characters, the Atom and the Joker.
If you haven’t been reading the Brave and the Bold, you should start. While the stories do not always involve Batman or Batman related characters, the title has been fun superhero comics at its finest. The basic premise is the Joker is dying from some sort of neurological problems. The doctors at Arkham Asylum come to the conclusion that only the Atom can save him by shrinking down and entering the Joker’s brain to disperse some sort of canister that contains chemicals that could save the Joker just as easily kill him. The Atom reluctantly agrees with hopes that the procedure will kill the Joker rather then save him. However, there’s a catch; the doctors explain that there is a chance that some of the Joker’s memories and behaviors could spill-over into the Atom’s own brain if he is hit by a bioelectrical surge that houses any memories, which would leave the Atom with these horrible memories. The Atom quickly makes his way to the Joker’s brain but is struck by one of the surges. During a memory we learn that the Joker has always felt like an outcast, ever since his early childhood. We also learn that he would often act out through violence which would make life for his parents extremely stressful. We also see during a memory that as a teenager, he barricades the doors of his parent’s home and lights the house on fire while they are in it. After the Atom regains his himself, he is yet again struck by another surge. During these memories, we see the beginning of the Joker’s career and some of his most sinister crimes and murders. We also learn that the Joker feels he is a victim of society and he will not stop until everyone is a killer just like him. After the Atom awakes from these memories he decides to save the Joker. He believes that the Joker is better off being a prisoner of his own mind rather than being dead. The procedure is a success and the Atom questions the doctors; he asks if the memories could be long-term. The doctors do not believe so but are not one-hundred percent sure. The Joker awakes and finds it amusing that the Atom saved his life rather then letting him die. The Atom explains that the Joker is a prisoner of his own mind. The Joker calls the Atom, “Weird”, which leads to the Atom remembering something the Joker, said as a child. This sends the Joker into a livid laughter in which he replies, “Happy Dreams”.
After reading the issue summary, you probably are thinking, “What a ridiculous concept” and, “How many times have they told this kind of story”, and you are exactly right. However, JMS keeps you excited and this issue is just good comic book fun. JMS is one of my favorite writers and I thought he did an excellent job in bringing these two characters together. While we may find this to be an illogical concept, this should not shy you away from picking up this book.
Issue number thirty-one also marks the first issue of JMS’ run that the artist, Jesus Saiz did not do the penciling for. If you are familiar with Saiz’s work, than you are aware of how polished and well-rounded he is. Chad Hardin and Justiniano are solid artists in their own respects, but are not the caliber of Saiz. There are slight inconsistencies throughout the issues that I think these two will work out as they continue to do more work in comics. The artwork isn’t fantastic, but is respectable and doesn’t take anything away from the story.
I have always enjoyed superhero team-up books, but I have felt that this method of storytelling has declined in recent years. JMS has reinvigorated this concept and continues to provide us with good fun. I strongly suggest going and checking out issue number thirty one and check out some of JMS’ previous issues. You will not be disappointed.
The Brave and the Bold #31:
Reviewed by Zfactor
The much anticipated delayed issue number seven of Batman and Robin has finally arrived. The elusive writing talents of Grant Morrison continue to pack the panels with action-packed entertainment. However, the issue also marks the first of three issues done by the brilliant Cameron Stewart. Issue number seven keeps Batman and Robin as the best bat title, but does falter in some aspects.
Issue number seven returns the series to the quirky and ridiculous nature of the first story arc. Morrison returns to writing fun and action-packed panels that keep the reader at the edge of their seat. Cameron Stewart isn’t Frank Quietly, but Stewart is an improvement of Philip Tan. Issue number seven is by far one of the strongest issues of the series thus far.
The basic plot of issue seven is Dick is attempting to resurrect who he thinks is in the Batman suit, Bruce Wayne, by using a Lazarus Pit. The issue opens were number six left us; Dick is removing the corpse of someone in a Batman suit. I say someone because while most are saying that this is Bruce Wayne, I am not quite ready to make that statement yet. We then cut quickly to England where Dick and Squire are racing across England to rescue civilians on a wired subway train. Dick and Squire successfully prevent the criminal known as Eddie English from completing his plan. English is known as “The Pearly Prince”, the son of “The Pearly King of Crime”. Dick heads over to the prison to meet with the Pearly King. During the discussion, we learn that a game of cards was played and Eddie won a mine from King Coal that contained a Lazarus Pit. As Dick and Squire are leaving the prison, we learn that The Knight is already down in the mine helping Dick because as we know, Damian is currently unavailable. We then see Damian is undergoing surgery at the hands of Talia’s best medical assets. Alfred has come to watch the procedure and shows concern for Damian. Talia assures Alfred of his safety on his way back to Gotham. Talia also asks Alfred if he truly believes Bruce Wayne is dead, in which he explains that he saw the body and the identity has been verified by several people. We then cut to Dick and Squire making their way into the abandoned mines that Dick and the Pearly King discussed earlier. Upon entering the mines, they are attacked by some of King Coal’s men, with the aid of The Knight; the three of them make quick work of the henchmen. After Dick and Cyril greet each other, Dick learns what exactly is in the mine, a lost Lazarus Pit. The three discover a coffin that the henchmen were carrying. The coffin explodes and appears Batwoman. She quickly reacts and begins to question Dick while attacking him. Batwoman demands to know who is being resurrected, in which Dick explains Batman, which confuses Batwoman. Dick explains to her that he is the new Batman and the original Batman died saving the world, however Dick does not reveal his identity to Kate. The four heroes enter the room that contains the Lazarus Pit and we learn that Dick has already had the body wearing the bat suit put into the Lazarus Pit. The issue ends with the hand of the body arising from the pit.
Now aside from one editorial mistake, I found this issue to be a rather fun and entertaining ride that kept me compelled. I thought Morrison did a terrific job to returning to his original light-hearted tone that worked so well during the first story arc. My one problem with this issue is that the pacing is rather erratic and the story can be a bit confusing at first. The issue opens with Dick carrying the dead body of someone in the Batman costume, and then immediately we see Dick racing across England. What? I guess I would have liked some sort of plot point that explained Dick’s movement from point A to point B. However, Morrison returned the title to its original roots and I am excited to read more.
When I first learned that Cameron Stewart was going to be working on this title I thought, wow, he is a terrific artist but he is not someone I would think of working on a Batman book. However, Stewart is an excellent storyteller and he does not disappoint in issue seven. Stewart’s clean and expressive line works perfectly with Morrison’s style. Stewart brings this raw energy that was lacking during the Philip Tan issues. I also feel like he is the perfect artist to be working on this current story arc, that appears is going to be quite silly and action-packed. I look forward to see the next two issues he will be working on.
Overall, this issue is by no means perfect. The pacing is so fast that I feel some key details were left out and I found myself a bit confused at times. However, this confusion did not detract me from the story. I felt the artwork lent itself perfectly to the storyline. This title continues to remain at the top of the stack for me and I look forward to issue number eight.
Batman and Robin #7:
Reviewed by Zfactor
DESIGNED BY ANDY KUBERT
SCULPTED BY OLUF HARTVIGSON
In today's review, we have the Batman family Multi-part statue. Now I was really excited that Andy Kubert did the drawing for this statue and felt with DC's black and white series of statues that this would be awesome…..well not so fast. The sculptor Oluf Hartvigson did not do the greatest of jobs on this piece. The characters themselves look like they could of used a bit more detail and maybe some nice body tone. They almost look like $10 figures you put on a base all together. And with a price tag of $150.00 per statue (which there were 3) I don't see myself recommending this to anyone other then true…really, really, really true Batman collectors. I mean you have to be die hard to buy this.
I will say that I was excited to finally get the last piece to put Batman together since you need all three statues which each held a Batman piece. As I sit back at my desk in my office and look at the piece I am glad to see them all together and maybe that's what makes me think it was worth it, but what's really funny is that Commissioner Gordon looks totally BA!!!!
Reviewed by Apple
Hello Bat-fans, Zach here, and I would like to introduce you to a new segment I like to call “Creator Spotlight”. Twice a month, I will write a lengthy piece about a creator who has strong ties to the character of Batman. Let me present you with our first spotlight, one of my personal favorites, the legendary writer/artist Frank Miller.
Frank Miller is considered to be one of the most prolific and influential comic book creators of all time. Miller has left his mark on some of the most prominent characters in the comic book industry. Miller is praised for his work on Daredevil, Wolverine, Sin City, 300, Spawn, Elektra, Give Me Liberty, and of course, Batman. Miller’s Batman work includes; Batman: Year One, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again and his most recent work on All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder. Miller also wrote the Spawn/Batman crossover in 1994.
Frank Miller’s name has always been associated with two characters, Daredevil and Batman. Miller initially started out in the industry with brief stints with Gold Key Comics and DC Comics. Miller would make his name writing the character Daredevil, who, at the time was on the verge of cancellation. Miller’s first encounter with the dark knight was in 1980, where he drew a Batman Christmas story in DC Holiday Special, in which he had the opportunity of working with another significant Batman creator, Dennis O’ Neil. After leaving Marvel Comics, Miller wrote and penciled Ronin, his creator owned book published by DC Comics. Miller then began writing and penciling Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Nobody could predict the impact that Miller was about to have on the Batman mythos.
In 1986, DC published Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, which is often to be considered the comic to bring the grim and gritty Batman. The Dark Knight Returns depicted a new kind of Batman, an old and bitter Bruce Wayne brought out of retirement to stop the latest up rise in crime and chaos. Miller also did all the penciling for the title, which is in my opinion, if anyone else had penciled this book, that special something would have been lost. Klaus Janson did the inking, who had previously collaborated with Miller on Daredevil. The Dark Knight Returns was the first Batman storyline to break away from the previous depictions of the character. In a lot of ways, it revolutionized the way Batman would be written and changed the medium of comics as well.
Following the success of The Dark Knight Returns, Miller began a new Batman project. Batman: Year One was an updated origin, but not a reboot of the character. Year One ran the main Batman comic book series from issue #404 to #407 in 1987. Miller wrote the story while the great David Mazzucchelli provided the artwork. The result was an instant classic. With Miller’s action packed and smoothly paced storyline, Mazzucchelli was able to provide us with some of the greatest artwork that we have ever seen in a Batman comic book. To this day, I still truly believe that Batman: Year One is still the greatest Batman masterpiece.
After a fourteen year break from the character, Miller return to write and pencil the sequel to DKR, The Dark Knight Strikes Again in 2001. The fan reception was rather negative. However, can you truly blame Miller? Fans were bugging him for years to put out a sequel. And while the consensus opinion was that Miller should have left it alone, I still think the final product was quite enjoyable and presented the readers with a very noir like storyline that I thought was rather clever.
After Miller’s negative reviews of The Dark Knight Strikes Again, he once again stepped away from the character, but only for 4 years this time. Miller returned to DC to collaborate with artist Jim Lee on All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder in 2005. The initial fan response was explosive; issue #1 was the number one selling single issue for the year of 2005. However, after constant delays and the controversial characterizations, the book has been received rather harshly. Many fans complain about the bitter characterization of Batman, as well as the lack of action that the issues have contained. I have found this book to be fun and I consider this to be Miller’s form of Batman satire. In my opinion, he seems to be mocking the industry’s dramatic shift in the late 1980’s and how dark comics became. Jim Lee’s artwork remains to be fantastic and while there have only been ten issues since 2005; more are expected to be on the way sometime in the future.
There is no denying the impact that Miller has had on Batman over the years. Miller’s work on Batman set up the style and tone of the Batman comics from the mid 1980’s to present day. He explored the darker side of the character that no one had ever really done before. Much has been said about Miller’s later Batman work, but I cannot think of any other writer I would want writing a Batman comic out of continuity. I definitely agree that Miller has changed over the years, but all writers do. He remains to be one of the most influential creators in the comic industry. His innovative and controversial style will be echoed by comic fans and fellow creators forever.
“Who the hell do you think I am? I’m the goddamn Batman.”
-Batman, All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder
Written by Frank Miller
Well bat-fans, I hope you enjoyed this week’s Creator Spotlight on the one and only Frank Miller. Look for the next Creator Spotlight which will be on the great Jim Aparo. Tune in next time, Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Blog.
Posted by Zach
In today's edition of Creator Posts, we see a number of things buzzing around the net. The first thing is with today's release of the anticipated Batman and Robin #7, there are all kinds of talk about it. Be sure to follow Cameron Stewart and Grant Morrison to see their thoughts throughout the day.
Next, we have some awesome art that was posted up on Lee Garbet's blog. The art is from next month's Batgirl #7.
Posted by Dustin
DESIGNED BY LEE BERMEJO
SCULPTED BY JEAN ST. JEAN
I picked up this statue the other day from my local comic store and even though i have been collecting all of the Batman black and white series of statues i did not know how i felt about this one? I'll explain, Lee Bermejo's art work is so raw and heavy in dark inks that i wondered how the heck would a sculptor capture Bermejo's artwork. but Jean did a wonderful job.
The Caped Crusader looks like he just stepped out of the joker graphic novel and on to my statue shelf. i have rarely been disappointed with DC Direct's product on the B&W series and I'm glad to say this statue is great to add to any bat-fan collection.
This statue cost around $80.00 and for any Lee Bermejo fans this is a must own.
Batman Black and White Statue: Batman by Lee Bermejo:
Reviewed by Apple
So…..
This is why "Batman and Robin" issue 7 has been delayed so long? For those who don't know, the above is a preview image for issue 7 that DC Comics released today and it sure confuses me about the fate of Bruce Wayne's body. We now have three bodies of Wayne floating around the DCU.
1) Caveman Bruce as seen in "Final Crisis" issue 7 and the upcoming "Return of Bruce Wayne" mini-series.
2) The body (which may be fake in light of this) that Dick buried over in "Batman" whose skull is now being used in "Blackest Night".
3) This new addition to the madness.
So anyone have any theories in what's going on? Got me. I hope "Batman and Robin" issue 7 clears things up, otherwise this just raises more questions.
Posted by Josh
After a one issue stint on Streets of Gotham number seven, Paul Dini again takes a break from the title and hands the writing duties over to guest writer Mike Benson. Benson gives us part one of the two part story arc titled, “Hardcore Nights”. Dustin Nguyen remains to be as good as they get, and Mike Benson writes a shockingly excellent story.
Paul Dini’s absence from the title has proven to me that other writers should be taking a crack at this title. Streets of Gotham #8 has answered my prayers, give me a Batman book that is hard-boiled and utilizes Batman’s detective expertise. Benson focuses on the relationship between Batman and Gordon, and their ability to work together to solve a crime. Issue number eight is a simple, yet extremely entertaining issue that remains visually stunning.
Issue number eight opens with the murder of a former professional criminal. Batman and Gordon review the body at the morgue and go through the man’s file. They come to the conclusion that the murder was personal, and Batman discreetly comments that maybe this killer is doing him and the police a favor. I thought Benson’s dialogue between Gordon and Batman was well constructed throughout the issue. Batman suspects a former criminal who may have killed the deceased out of revenge. We learn that this criminal, Charlie had nothing to do with the killing and Batman lets him off. Again, Benson writes Dick’s Batman very straight forward and to the point. I often found myself almost thinking that this was Bruce because I thought Benson wrote a very grim and gritty Batman. The next night, another body is found slain in a warehouse. Gordon and Batman connect the two murders together and learn that these men must have ties to one another. After doing some sleuthing, Batman comes across a membership card to a “sex club” belonging to the second victim. Dick realizes that this is the connection between the victims and the murder and decides to do a little undercover work. A fairly simple plot that is written so well. Under a different persona, Dick heads into this exotic night club and learns of all the powerful people that belong to it. After telling an escort that he likes to “spice things up”, she introduces him to one of her colleagues. Dick and the escort head out of the club when she is attacked by a former boyfriend. Dick begins to choke him when the escort steps in and breaks up the altercation. Dick and her enter a limo and head for a hotel room. The ex-boyfriend takes the bait and follows them to their room. However, Dick is anticipating this and expecting a little disturbance. This issue ends with the ex-boyfriend kicking the hotel room door in with a gun in his hand. I anxiously await the conclusion to this wonderful two part story.
The Manhunter co-feature picks off where the last ended. Batman and Robin prevent Kate from inflicting anymore damage upon Two-Face. However, she pushes him off the ledge distracting the caped crusader and allowing her to escape. After Batman and Robin rescue Harvey, we cut to the Gotham court room. We also learn that Harvey plans on defending himself in the case, which Kate only naturally disputes. However, Dr. Jeremiah Arkham provides the court with evidence that while the Harvey part of his’ personality is in control, he is completely capable of defending himself. Kate then has a sit down with Jane Doe offering her a deal. Kate offers Jane that if she testifies against Two-Face, Doe’s sentence will reduced to life instead of the death penalty. Doe tells Kate that she’ll have to think about which leads to their discussion ending. The issue ends with a guard leading Jane Doe to Two-Face’s cell, where we learn that he has a deal for Jane as well. We will have to wait to find out in the next issue of Streets of Gotham.
For me, this was the strongest issue of the series. Please Mike Benson, write more Batman material! Benson is considered to be an up and coming writer who has a lot of potential. I could see why in issue number eight. Dialogue is always the number two thing I look for in a comic, besides plot, and this issue was well plotted and the dialogue was clean and straight to the point. This is a quick and fun detective story that is very straight forward. I think Mike Benson should be given the book indefinitely if part two of this story arc is as good as part one was.
What can I say about Dustin Nguyen that I haven’t already said before? He is just such a consistent artist and is art has really grown on me over the last couple of years. I thought the cover he did was absolutely fantastic and the interiors, as always, just perfectly paneled. Dustin Nguyen is starting to become one of my favorite Batman artists.
Manhunter remains to be worth the extra dollar and I have become invested in this character for the first time. It’s extremely disappointing to me that this co-feature will not be around much longer. I think it fits perfectly with this title. Marc Andreyko writes Kate Spencer’s character really well. I also find his Two-Face to be very appealing. He continues to write an extremely solid back-up.
I absolutely love Jeremy Haun’s pencils. I think him with the combination of John Lucas on inks and Nick Filardi on colors is golden. You can never complain about the artwork in this back up. Just really good and consistent stuff.
Street of Gotham has finally found the solutions to some of its problems; Get Paul Dini off this book? I would much rather two and three part stories by a revolving panel of writers who get to team-up with Dustin Nguyen. However, this then brings me back to my question; why keep publishing this book? I thought issue number eight was a HUGE surprise and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. GO CHECK IT OUT!
Batman: Streets of Gotham:
Reviewed by Zfactor
Red Robin #8 is the end to the arc known as the council of spiders, and really is the finale to everything that Chris Yost has been setting up since issue #1. That being said, this issue is not something to cheer about, on the contrary, I found this issue to be the most cliched and boring of the entire series, and after reading what has came before this, which is saying something.
The comic really just comes across as Yost not really knowing how to write a finale to an arc and throwing stuff at the page and seeing what sticks. Let me take the final four pages for example, and these will be spoiling the comic: Red Robin blows up the cradle, and escapes with Tam, just as it’s blowing up. Tam kisses Red Robin and screams “I’m alive!"
The villains survive with barely a scratch on them. They were in the middle of the explosions inside the cave, and are walking out without a scratch. When she escapes the cave, the wanderer, leader of the council of spiders proclaims they have a new target, heroes. Well excuse me while I pretend to care that you survived.
The art in this issue, is very average, as usual, I do not really care for Marcus To’s art in this comic. This whole comic under To's pencils really lacks anything to get me interested in Tim and his international exploits.
Chris Yost as usual hands a very average script that achieves nothing and really makes this whole comic feels like Tim is just playing around outside Gotham, waiting for Bruce to come back, so that he can go back to being Robin. I really am not a fan of Yost’s need to have jump cuts every two panels, but after seeing him here trying to keep a story linear, I really want him to actually come up with an interesting plot for this comic, and execute it well.
All in all, this is a very mediocre end, to a very average storyline, with both writer and artist not seeming to know what they want from the character. Leaving me, as the reader of this comic, very disappointed.
Red Robin #8:
Reviewed by Suavestar
It's felt like a long month since turning the last page of Batgirl #5 and seeing Stephanie Brown, lying on the floor, having been shot in the head. Sure, I knew she'd be okay but I was genuinely taken-aback by the conclusion of the issue and I was looking forward to seeing how the story continued.
Batgirl #6 – Batgirl Rising, Core Requirements, part 2 of 3 – begins with Stephanie dropping in and out of consciousness as she receives treatment in the back of a Gotham ambulance. As one painful memory after another crosses her mind she wakes with a start on the realization that she's been shot.
With Stephanie 'missing in action' Barbara Gordon is back at the Batcave scanning the emergency service radio frequencies for information about her whereabouts when her systems lock onto the codename that Stephanie gives the medics. Realizing that the ambulance is heading to West Mercy Hospital – where Steph's mother works – Barbara distracts (and this is the understatement of the year!) the medics long enough for Stephanie to escape their attention.
Atop the Gotham Police HQ Commissioner Gordon, accompanied by Detective Nick Gage, meets with Batman to discuss the kidnapping of young Francisco Gracia. From a neighboring building Stephanie – now dressed as Batgirl – spies on them before being interrupted by the young Robin. As we discovered in issue #5, the two just can't get along and inevitably start bickering – with hilarious results! Forced to intervene Dick – in 'guardian' mode – breaks the pair apart and sends them both away for a time-out.
Furious with his young associates behavior Dick is reminded by Barbara that Stephanie and Damian aren't the first Batgirl and Robin to have trouble getting along … a comment both Dick and Barbara immediately regret as, for a moment, the mood between them turns sour.
Having temporarily settled their differences, at least enough to semi-agree on a plan, Stephanie and Damian break into Jordanna Spence's apartment and confront Francisco's girlfriend – what does she know about his disappearance? Why aren't the kidnappers demanding a ransom? Where is he?
In the meantime, Dick finds himself under attack as he pilots the Batmobile high over Devil's Square. As he reacts to avoid a collision he discovers his attacker is none other than Roxanne Sutton – 'Roxy Rocket' – who sends a figure resembling Francisco Gracia tumbling to earth. Rescuing the young man Dick discovers it's not Francisco but Freddie 'Riot' Frankenstein who in turn replicates and begins attacking the Batmobile.
As Dick struggles to keep his vehicle airborne we witness an angry roof-top exchange between Francisco and his father in which the older man explains that he knows he's made mistakes in his life but his plan will help him to clear his debts. As Jordanna had earlier told Stephanie, Gracia Senior is a gambler, often doing very well, and just as often very badly … he's in debt to 'Roulette' and his only release is to help her.
Elsewhere, with the Batmobile grounded and Dick injured, Barbara orders Stephanie and Damian, who along with Jordanna are following Roulette's plans to hunt down and kill Batman via an on-line video feed, to find Dick and bring him home.
Once again, another great – fun – issue of Batgirl. Without wanting to dismiss the storyline itself, which is certainly strong enough to maintain my interest, at the moment the true joy in this book for me is following the 'cast' as they develop their individual and group personalities.
The bickering, or banter, between Stephanie and Damian is brilliantly written by Brian Q. Miller and one of the highlights throughout this issue. Carrying on like brother and sister, their verbal dueling is genuinely funny and it must be said, at times quite charming – Stephanie describing Damian/Robin as a 'little badger' and Damian responding to Stephanie's declaration that she's been shot in the head by replying that she's got brain damage and he's not surprised had me chuckling.
The art throughout the issue, literally from cover to cover, is magnificent. I can't at the moment think of a book that's offering better interior art than we're seeing from Lee Garbett and Phil Noto's covers are great: I loved the sense of mischief between Stephanie and Damian as they are interrupted by Dick on this cover. Take a look at the look on Damian's face – he's startled that he's been discovered but at the same time he just can't hide the joy he's feeling!
I enjoyed the 'villains' in this story – Roulette, Riot, Roxy Rocket, and to a lesser extent, Doctor Phosphorous – and I'm looking forward to seeing them hunting their prey through the next issue.
Aside from Stephanie and Damian's relationship I again enjoyed the exchanges between Barbara and Dick and the way the mood between them quickly swings from affection, to irritation and back again to affection. I struggled somewhat to understand Barbara's actions in preventing the ambulance carrying Stephanie from reaching the hospital – would she really make the vehicle crash and risk injuring the medics, passers-by or an already injured Stephanie? I don't think so and this 'misjudgement', so early in the issue, troubled me throughout my read. Likewise, the ease with which Stephanie (or more to the point Mr Miller) shook-off the gun-shot wound to the head was a little … unsatisfactory – clearly I was relieved she was okay but I did feel just a little cheated after the jolt with which the previous issue ended.
These criticisms aside, this really was another excellent issue of Batgirl – great writing, quality artwork, fun without ever being silly, a real 'page-turner' that at the same time satisfied me and left me wanting more: quite possibly the most enjoyable book I'm picking up at the moment.
Batgirl #6:
Reviewed by Zaius
Here is our final episode for the reboot of BBFB, The Ring, The Arrow and the Bat. This introduces Bruce to other DCU heroes in an adventure that overlaps two stories involving Oliver Queen. It's fairly entertaining and a good introduction to the Green Arrow and Hal Jordan as well as giving us an idea of Batman's attitude to teaming up. If you would like to see more BBFB episodes on this blog please comment below and we can arrange it otherwise thanks for keeping up and please keep listening to the comic podcast for future BBFB episodes. I still have plenty more to review as I read through the dark knights career. Keep reading!
Posted by Nick