.jpg "Batman: Odyssey #2")
We continue with Neal Adams’ return to Batman with the second issue of Batman Odyssey.
We start with Bruce again telling some unseen person the story that began the last one. Bruce explains how the scene with Man-Bat was actually Bruce waiting for Langstrom to deliver some codes so Bruce would know the source of a donation, which turned out to be Ra’s al Ghul. Bruce then goes back to the museum story. Where last we left with a bunch of goons shooting up hydrogen tanks in vehicles with a professor and young daughter caught in the cross-hairs.
Fortunately the guns don’t do anything as the hydrogen was infused in a hydride. An explosion then happens, and Bruce explains that it was Robin taking out semi trucks. Batman comes up behind the goons and starts going to town asking them questions about who they work for and gives an explanation for why the hydrogen was not exploding. As the goons turn their guns on Batman, Robin jumps in and lends a hand, Batman then goes to find the professor, Dr. Petrason, and his daughter. Once he finds them, he tries to get them to leave, hides them in a corner and then heads out to see if its clear. Unfortunately a whole bunch of goons were waiting for him and Batman is lit up ala Sonny Corleone at the tool booth in The Godfather.
We then pick up more of Bruce’s narration as he explains that at the moment he collapsed, he was thinking about the parts to his first adventure story that he didn’t get a chance to tell Robin last issue. We cut to that scene, Bruce on top of the train with the Spanish agent, who explains that Bruce did not completely knock out the two guys who Bruce punched out the last time. However they jumped off the train and the agent seems to want to blow the train, with the passengers in it. Bruce now has to move quickly the get the passengers off that train.
First he manages to get the car with the explosives away from the passenger car. Then its time to get the passengers off the train. However they are frightened, and have no clue as to what to think of this costume, even thinking him to be a vampire! Since everyone, even the conductor, seems to be ignoring what Bruce is saying at this point, Bruce unfortunately has to resort to brandishing two pistols in order to scare the passengers into the next car. All except for one, an elderly woman whom he has to carry off onto the next car.
The bomb does go off, the car gets thrown off the tracks, Batman figured though that no one would get killed though, though he and the old woman did get hurled from the train and into a pile of dirt. As Batman and the old woman are getting up, the conductor rushes in, proclaiming Batman to be a murderer and saying that Batman was the one who destroyed the train. The conductor then shoots Batman right in the same spot Bruce was telling his unseen conversation partner about in the first page of the first issue. The inertia of the shooting causes the conductor to pass out, and Batman does the same.
We then cut back to Bruce talking about the incident, and then explaining how since that day he has made sure his costume is bullet proof and a special one is rigged with a fake blood distribution system, like the one at the pier story, which is apparently two months prior to this conversation. We cut back to that scene and we end on the thugs preparing to finish the job by shooting Batman in the head.
This was a solid continuation of the story Adams had began with. The Langstrom story is left dangling, but we do have 10 more issues to go. The splash images of Bruce getting shot up were a highlight, sort of reinforcing the idea of Bruce being very much a street level hero that could get in a bad way with just some common thugs. Can’t wait to see how things progress with the story Adams is telling.
Batman: Odyssey #2:
Reviewed by SteveJRogers
Red Robin #15 is carrying on Fabian's first storyline of the series, with Tim Drake in crutches going to see the resurrected Captain Boomerang, who murdered Tim’s father in Identity Crisis. The real question I had when I saw this page was why was Tim Drake in crutches?
In this issue, Fabian takes care of the problem he set up in Gotham Gazette of Vicki Vale finding out the Bat-Families secret identities. You know the thing that Chris Yost could not be bothered to deal with in his “fantastic” run on the comic. Well, about a year and a half later, we finally see resolution to this issue, even if it has really achieved nothing, but I am glad that Fabian is tying up a loose thread rather than leaving it be.
The issue has Fabian creating another new rogue for Red Robin in the Scarab, sadly this rogue is useless and foiled by the end of the issue, so in other words, will probably never be heard from again. Shame, she looked like she could be a good character, but Fabian seems to have a bigger plan involving Anarky going on, who was the villain from the last few issues of his run on the old Robin title.
Anyway, back to the crutches and Vicki Vale thing. Tim decides to take care of Vicki Vale by staging a stunt where he will be crippled by Scarab during a press conference, with Vale in attendance. It’s a good idea, even if the playing out of the idea is a bit awkward, and would make the reader say, what a cop out. Tim uses a stunt double to trick Vale that he cannot be Red Robin if Tim has to walk around in crutches all the time. It’s stupid, but it’s better than bringing Vicki Vale into the Bat-Family and letting her know their secrets.
The art here as always with Marcus To is solid and dependable. There truly is nothing more I can say about it, good art, nothing more, and nothing less.
I said last month about how I don’t want Tim to regress back to who he was and to stay his own man as Red Robin. Sadly, Tim has to discuss his plan with Dick and how he almost needs Dick's approval. We also have a mildly interesting scene where Batgirl, which would have worked if Tim were still Robin, but Damian is Robin now. Maybe that’s just a nitpick though.
I do look the fact that Tim will be going up against Anarky in the next few issues. Looking back on the last few issues of Robin when Tim took on Anarky, Anarky beat Tim as Robin, however Red Robin beat Anarky, so it’s obvious Anarky would have a score to settle with Red Robin instead of just going after Damian.
All in all, this series is getting back on form thanks to Fabians writing. A couple of issues ago I would have said Tim was a character in the DCU that I really hated where he was going, with his emo attitude and self depreciating “I can’t do anything right” attitude. Fabian is attempting to fix that issue here; sadly he has a lot of stuff to fix before Red Robin can truly be seen as a solo hero in the DCU in my eyes. But if anyone can save Tim Drake, Fabian Nicenza and Marcus To can.
Red Robin #15:
Reviewed by Suavestar
Batman: Under the Red Hood is the next film in the series of DC animated films released by Warner Bros. It marks the first time Batman has a solo film that isn't related to another film project. I don't think fans will be disappointed by this film at all. I was pleasantly surprised by the film as I immediately try not to have high expectations for them.
When Batman: Under the Red Hood was first announced, I had to instantly go back and read the Batman: Under the Hood storyline. I wanted to see if making this a film was feasible. There are some obvious changes that were made to the film, but that is because it is a film. I understand that films can not be one hundred percent true to the original source material. The thing I was most interested in was whether or not they would mention Superboy Prime's punch into the wall of time. They did change that around, but I thought it worked out just fine. If they changed something like the Joker using a gun instead of a crowbar and then an explosion, I would have been upset.
The film does a nice job at mixing the past and present together to make sense. It helps a lot for fans of Batman who do not read the comics as well as first time viewers. This marks the first time Jason Todd has appeared in DC animation and they needed to make sure they did a good job at introducing the character to not only inform you of who he is, but also why he is important to the Batman Universe.
As far as the voice cast, another superb job. Casting of the various characters was perfect. Bruce Greenwood took a unique direction with his Batman voice that made you understand the pain that he has felt after loosing his partner. Although it worked for this film, I would hope that when Greenwood is voicing Batman in the upcoming Young Justice series, he has more than sadness to express. John DiMaggio as the Joker was a unique take that I just might have to say, could be the new definitive Joker voice. It is a mix of sadistic, crazy, and funny, and it works perfectly. Jensen Ackles as Red Hood did an amazing job as well by really making you understand where the character is coming from. The supporting cast of Wade Williams as the Black Mask and Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing also felt right.
As far as the special features go, I am reviewing the blu-ray version of the film which has more special features than the other versions released. The digital copy of the film is always a nice addition. One of the documentaries is about Jason Todd's death and the fans' involvement. It was good, but it was off-setting when I kept seeing images of Tim Drake and Dick Grayson shown when Todd was the only one being talked about. We also get a first look at Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. Based on the animation alone, this looks much more promising than Public Enemies. The DC Showcase was for Jonah Hex this time. I felt as if they chose Hex because of the release of the live-action film that didn't fare so well at the box office. It was good, but not memorable. The final documentary talked about the history of Dick Grayson as Robin. This was the best special feature ever released on these films.
Overall, I think Batman: Under the Red Hood was a fantastic film that did take some liberties in certain areas of the film, but it still worked and made the film entertaining. I would rate this at the top of the DC animated films as of right now. I can't help but to start to imagine, what they are going to do with Batman: Year One next year.
Batman: Under the Red Hood:
Reviewed by Dustin
As many followers of this site and the podcasts that come with it know, there is a movement right now spearheaded by the host of Batgirl to Oracle: A Barbara Gordon Podcast to get Batgirl: Year One back on the slate for production by DC Universe Animation. It is a worthy cause, but after watching Batman: Under The Red Hood, and considering most of DCU’s “comics-to-screen” adaptations so far, it kind of makes me think it’s a blessing in disguise that the Batgirl: Year One mini was taken off the table.
Now, if this was an original story, I’d say “okay, its decent enough” and I know Hollywood has a tendency to place fast and loose with adapting source material (just ask Stephen King about The Shinning, and I kid you not, before Coppola took the reigns The Godfather would have been set in Kansas City and the Corleones would have been a bunch of hippies), but this is a case where the actual story could be told on screen and didn’t need to be all convoluted to fit a certain director’s vision. It’s a comic book cartoon, how hard is it to translate from the printed page to the animated screen, I mean that is exactly what they did in the 1960s with stuff like the Marvel cartoons.
Alright, to start with, what the heck is so wrong in keeping with the original A Death In The Family source material? Jason Todd was on the quest to find his mother, finds her in Ethiopia who got into bed with The Joker who beats Tood to near death in a warehouse, ties up the mother and leaves them both to die in an explosion. Why the heck is it some random plot by Ra's al Ghul with the Joker working for him in Slovakia? Family themes were all over that story, there is no need to completely change it for whatever reason they want to give.
In fact, why the heck is Ra’s even in this to begin with? He is supposed to be dead when Under The Hood was coming out? Do we really need him to provide exposition to Batman about how Jason was resurrected? I hate to borrow a phrase with bad connotations among comic book fandom, but its comic books, we don’t have to explain it! Or let me put it in the words of Grant Morrison in a recent Comic Con panel, “it works cause ITS FICTION!” All they had to do was just have Jason causally refer to remembering being in some kind of Lazarus Pit or whatever, heck Talia al Ghul would have fit nicely into this story, why did they use her and not Ra’s?
No mention at all about Bruce’s state of mind at the time of Under The Hood, going through the crap of Identity Crisis and War Games and pretty much isolating himself, another great theme of the story that is completely done with. I mean why is Nightwing there but not Tim Drake Robin? A throwaway line goes a long way in filling gaps that I understand can’t be filmed in a tightly formatted story.
Speaking of Tim Drake, aesthetically speaking why the heck were the teen Todd flashbacks and the memorial of the Tim Drake costume? Todd was still rocking the vintage Golden and Silver Age version of the Robin costume at the time of his death. Sure it wasn’t Dick Grayson, but tell me that emotional punch of the famous image of Batman cradling Todd doesn’t get you more because it’s a classic Robin outfit on the boy.
I did like seeing Nightwing’s inclusion, but, wasn’t he nursing a bad leg at the time? They kind of allude to this in the film, but in the books he is drawn with a brace on his leg, but whatever. The more important issue I’m having with Dick Grayson is why is some two-bit thug fully aware that Nightwing is in fact Batman’s old partner Robin? I can buy The Joker having an inkling that the first Robin and this Nightwing guy are one and the same, but some thug? Yeah it is that throwaway line of exposition I was saying should be there, but coming from the wrong person and the wrong way. So everyone is aware of the history of the Bat-Family is basically what this movie is telling us, never mind the fact that Batman himself is supposed to be an urban legend.
Now I did like the turf war going on with Black Mask being put against Red Hood with Batman going after Red Hood, but something about Wade Williams’ performance wasn’t doing it for me. Reading the comics I kind of imagined Roman Sionis a bit like Michael Corleone, maybe Tony Soprano as well. Calm on the surface, but raging when called upon to do so. I watched this movie, and I’m thinking of screwball comedy versions of mafia gang leaders; something to snicker at and not to be feared of. The voice just did not sync up to what I have in mind when it comes to Black Mask at all, and that took me out of his scenes completely.
This really is indicative of the problem with the comics-to-screen adaptations. Too much time is spent cutting and reshaping the story to fit the limits of the 75 minute time frame, they really are better off making completely original stories and working within their continuities like Green Lantern: First Flight and Wonder Woman, or give the team the freedom to delve into the story by expanding the running time. Otherwise they are going to be stuck churning out stuff that bears some resemblance to the source material but in the end seems very half baked because of it.
Batman: Under the Red Hood:
Reviewed by SteveJRogers
When Batman: Under The Red Hood was announced as the latest animated feature that DC was coming out with, I have to confess that I wasn’t very excited about the announcement, and in the following weeks I couldn’t understand why people were talking about it so much. Whether it was on this website, other Batman websites, or general comic book websites, I just didn’t understand why people were so excited about a glorified cartoon. At the time, I thought that there was no way that this would be good for the Batman Universe, there was no way that this animated movie could be meaningful because of the fact that (a) there was no way the creators behind the feature could possibly fit the entire Jason Todd story into the plot, (b) if they did (I felt at the time) it would make the film drag on and on, that’s only to say IF they could fit it into 75 minutes worth of animation, and (c) how respectful would it be to the source material and the fans in general? The whole animated feature thing (with a few exceptions) fails to meet a certain mark that I personally set in my mind, as often these films feel thin and uninspired, falling into a meaningless category that I, for the most part, ignore and regard as nothing but a one trick pony. They lack a certain element that makes them distinct and memorable in the sense that I feel that I can’t believe in what is happening on the screen. I complained and complained mostly to my friends that this was just going to be another piece of trash stuck on the bottom of a garbage can, that we were being set up for a big disappointment that we were suckered into buying. And let me just state now that I was devastatingly wrong, little did I know all I needed to do was shut my mouth.
Under The Red hood could have been horrible, shuffling through the mud to progress a story to it’s horrible end, or it could have played the “I’m dead, but now I’m alive to enact my revenge” card. Both of which are just disgusting. Thankfully though, everyone that participated in this little gem has taken the high road and actively took the material to heart to present a coherent, meaningful, respectful, and memorable piece of a collective movie experience. Not only did it meet and exceed my expectation, it single-handedly made me believe the animated feature is a viable medium to which you can tell a story. This movie peeled off my immediate misconceptions of how this specific subject matter could and would be handled. Whether it was the strong dialogue or the majestic flow of the story, the movie is woven with the most delicate and sweeping moments of everything that you hold dear, and all the misconceptions I’ve previously mentioned is quickly forgotten as you are engrossed in the story that is told, and the action sequences that are perfectly choreographed with such grandeur that your mouth will be hanging open throughout the whole movie. The movie succeeds because of the fact that it isn’t trying to beat you over the head with the major plot points and twists it takes into consideration the fact that we’ve all seen this before, but that not to say the movie is bland and unconvincing, the twists and major plot points of the story still hit as hard in this movie as the first time you read the source material.
Although, plot points were cut out and some were completely re-written the film stays true to the original vision of the writers and artists that created it. The art in the film is nothing short of impressive, Bruce blends into the background while striking a distinct presence in a given scene while the spikes of color come as a surprise, the cape and cowl are pure black, and while the cape doesn‘t have the romanticism it has in the comics, the overall bat suit is perfectly drawn, it breathes fear and respect whenever it is shown. The Joker is also drawn well, this Joker is physically scarier and a lot more sinister than your average Joke. They don’t over do it, but don’t undercut him either. With the attention to detail, the Joker’s back room plastic surgery, mangled, disfigured face folds in and out as he talks and laughs showing the same old smile we are all familiar with while evoking a certain sense of insanity and madness. As for Jason Todd, I don’t think the artists in the film really brought anything new to the Red Hood persona, besides the striking red, I do think they did Jason as Robin really good, you can almost feel Jason trying to make his way out of the warehouse before the bomb explodes, you feel his pain and desperation, which helps you emotionally connect with him, and to help you understand why he’s so mad at Batman and why he wants to beat the Joker with a crowbar. The art overall is a true winner, it is boundless and flawless, as it flashes, turns grim and has that down to earth realism that bounces effortlessly between the dialogue which works to the fullest of it’s ability to deliver a complex and subtle stream of words, that is not too preachy or overly wrought. You can tell Judd Winick didn’t overdo the dialogue, the way Dick and Bruce interact and react to each other, the innocence of Jason Todd and his interaction with Bruce, are just two examples from a plethora of well written and smart script. Winick also succeeds with the relationship in the film, the way Dick and Bruce fight and look out for one another, the way they seamlessly work together each of them knowing where the other is, what their gonna do, and if they need help. Or the Bruce and Jason relationship that starts out innocent enough with Jason in the full spring of youth, joking around with Bruce and, like Dick, working with him, to a troubled teenager who is over aggressive, brash, and is upset at everything, to a vengeful, spiteful dark shade of what he used to be when he was a boy. They all work together like they should and like they do in the comic books.
The dialogue in the film is hit and miss for me. Bruce Greenwood feels misplaced to me, like he doesn’t truly get the overtone of Batman his voice just doesn’t have that extra push into darkness and fear that I have come to expect, it almost feels like he half performed it. While Greenwood’s Batman growl/voice isn’t very good, he does a very good Bruce Wayne capturing that honest, good-hearted Fatherly figure, you can really feel the remorse and pain in Bruce’s voice and Greenwood knocks it out of the park, as a whole though I think he did a very good job portraying the voice of the Dark Knight, although stiff at times, Greenwood becomes both Batman and Bruce Wayne. John DiMaggio as The Joker struck me as odd. I didn’t know he had such a thick talking voice, it sounds like he drank some bourbon and ate gravel after screaming all night. While it is a great voice I don’t think it matched at all, and maybe I’m used to Mark Hamil’s high pitched squeal, but The Joker in the movie doesn’t match the voice and while the look of The Joker has been attuned somewhat to DiMaggio’s voice, his voice fails to match the physical Joker, even though he has a great voice. But where DiMaggio succeeds is with the laugh. The Joker’s laugh is haunting, as it should be, it sends chills down your spine and gives you goosebumps, it sounds as if he is laughing so hard his voice is breaking and that he can’t laugh any hard and as soon as you think it’s going to break it tops itself in a symphony insanity and madness. Neil Patrick Harris as Dick Grayson/Nightwing was also a weird casting choice, honestly I couldn’t see Doogie Howser voicing both sides of Dick Grayson and while he can sound forced and cheesy at times he does a fairly good job at playing Dick. And finally, Jensen Ackles as Jason. While nothing really stuck out to me he doesn’t fail at bringing the true believable qualities that Jason has or doesn’t have to the screen, you can hear the anger in his voice and you buy into it which makes Jason an even more tragic character. Overall though, while it isn’t the easiest thing to do (voice Batman characters), I have a newly found respect for all these actors and their work in this film which I must wholly applaud.
All in all, the film doesn’t fail to hit it’s mark, in fact, it not only hit its mark, it far surpasses it. To me, the greatest triumph of this movie is how the creators, actors, and whoever else balanced the emotions and the emotional struggle the characters feel and go through, it brings to life a deep sadness that lives within all of us that have read the source material and have suppressed, you just can’t get this kind of thing with a comic. At the end of the film I was heartbroken, not only because of Jason’s tragic life but because it brought back the emotion I felt when I first saw Jason being murdered. It brought it out of my subconscious and brought it to the light where I was forced to face it. And the fact that this movie was done so well lends to the overall success of this film. Truly a great watch for any Bat-fan.
Batman: Under the Red Hood:
Reviewed by Dane
.jpg "Batman: Odyssey #1 (of 6)")
Neal Adams, one of the titans of the industry, returns to the world of Bruce Wayne in this 12 issue mini series. Adams's resume is that of one of the founding fathers of the Bronze Age of the medium in the 1970s, as well as a champion of creators rights. Read Superman vs. Hollywood for a look at how Adams was influential in Superman's creators getting a cut of the movie's profits.
We begin the story, both written and drawn by Adams, with Bruce talking to the camera, apparently about the image on the cover where he is getting a bullet through his arm. It appears this is the Bruce of today recalling that incident as happening early in his career.
We are taken to that incident, as Bruce, with a gun in hand, is out breaking up a train heist, Bruce gains the upper hand, but gets in a standoff with a Commissioner Rodriguez. The standoff is broken up by Rodriguez getting killed by a Spanish agent whom Batman was helping in the fuel heist case.
The scene shifts to Bruce and Dick Grayson, as Robin, discussing the incident in the Bat-Cave, and the merits of firearm usage and importantly why Batman no longer uses them. This interchange actually happens as Robin gets into a tussle with Man-Bat and features some nifty acrobatics from Robin. Present day Bruce discusses how a mystery was unraveling around him at that time and that it was consuming him.
Langstrom, after being taken down by Robin and has an important message for Bruce about findings that Bruce had wanted, but Bruce would rather hear it once Langstrom reverts back to his human form. With an urgent call from Commissioner Gordon has Bruce and Dick leave Langstrom in the cave to take his anti-serum.
Gordon is at a pier, which Batman suspects is a cover-up for the Riddler breaking in at the mint. Batman though, to the consternation of both Gordon and Robin, decides that the pier is where they should go.
Back in the cave, Langstrom accidentally drops the serum, causing him to have to fly out himself, still needing to warn Bruce about something. He is then menaced by a larger Man-Bat who tells him not to tell Bruce what Langstrom was going to tell him about "the cave."
We cut back to the Batmobile headed towards the pier as we see Batman has added harrier technology to the car as it flies over and makes a nice splash landing into the water. Meanwhile, Gordon is waiting for their arrival as the Gotham Police do not seem to be making any headway with most of their men over at the mint. Batman comes in and informs Gordon that he and Robin will head off the hijackers at the end of the pier as Gordon prepares his men to handle the stragglers.
While this is going on, a professor and his young daughter are hostages in a warehouse where the main guy, with a machine gun, starts blasting up some hydrogen tanks in a car. And that's where we leave off.
Kind of wish this wasn't a four dollar book. Seriously, this felt like a book that should carry the price tag of the day back in the height of the Bronze Age of Batman in the 1970s and in the early 1980s, and in a very good way. Both of the art and writing was great, and really seemed to be out of time, as if I was reading a back issue, though without the smell. Liked the use of humor out of Bruce, fun line in particular was "it's James Bond cubed" referring to the Batmobile that can now fly and float on water. Yeah, come to think of it, Bruce is a street level Bond, especially back in this era. Maybe more Timothy Dalton or Pierce Brosnan than the Roger Moore who was Bond during the 1970s and early 1980s. There is one thing though, I find it a bit off putting seeing Dick Grayson in Tim Drake's, and now Damian Wayne's classic Robin garb. But that is a small nit pick.
It is a great hook to the story, and I can't wait to go along for this ride.
Batman: Odyssey #1:
Reviewed by SteveJRogers
Volume two of the Under The Hood trade picks up with Batman #645, and we are treated to a retelling of Jason Todd’s Post-Crisis origin. It should be noted that in Todd’s brief Pre-Crisis form (made his debut early in 1983) his origin is nearly identical to Dick Grayson’s, right down being orphaned and being taking under Bruce Wayne’s wing! This retelling, as well as an incident with Captain Boomerang, is interwoven in-between Bruce and Alfred trying to determine what exactly happened, which includes finding out that Todd’s casket is empty. In a way this was done to retcon Todd’s bratty behavior as being the result of a “mean streak” and thereby explaining why Todd would be driven to where he is as The Red Hood
In order to combat The Red Hood, The Black Mask enlists the aid of Deathstroke and his Secret Society of Super Villains. Two of them, Captain Nazi and the Hyena are shown, a third, Count Vertigo surprisingly shows up in midst of the fight with Red Hood and Batman. While Batman causes Hyena to go after Count Vertigo, Red Hood kills Captain Nazi, an act that Batman berates Red Hood about.
Batman #648 starts out with Jason sending a message to Wayne Manor, one that causes Alfred to deduce that Todd somehow has The Joker held captive. While this is going on Todd as the Red Hood is busy taking on The Black Mask himself, but it turns out to be a ruse as it isn’t Todd under the mask at all! We then see Todd with a tied up Joker. Batman arrived in time to see the faux Hood revealed and offers proof to Black Mask that it isn’t the real Red Hood, after realizing where Todd is, Batman leaves to confront him.
Underscoring the climatic showdown with Batman, Todd (no Red Hood mask for the rest of the story) and Joker is the on-panel destruction by Chemo of Bludhaven, also seen in Infinite Crisis #4.
The battle that rages throughout #650 is essentially a chance to give contrasts to what Batman does, his moral code, and what Todd is doing, as well as Todd quipping about Bruce’s tactical style of fighting. In the end Bruce is able to subdue Todd before Todd can blow Joker’s head off, Joker then shoots an explosive, and we are left with Batman looking through the debris, and the fate of both Todd and Joker are unknown (as well as Nightwing’s which is discussed by both Bruce and Jason as they watch Chemo go off).
The trade wraps up with what surely should be the start of movie, a chronological account of what exactly happened to bring Jason Todd back among the living.
Batman Annual # 25, written by the same scribe, Judd Winick, as is the rest of the story, and illustrated by Shane Davis who also did #646, Doug Mahnke had done the chores on #635-639, 641, 645 (it should be noted that Tim Drake appears on the cover of #645, but only appears in a one panel group shot in issue #635 in the entire trade), 647-649, Paul Lee for # 640 and Eric Battle did #650. The story goes through Todd’s death, and the whole Superboy time wall punches, and the idea that six months after being buried, Todd was reanimated, but with severe brain damage and couldn’t say who he was. A year later Todd’s fight-or-flight instincts took over and he made an escape from the hospital that he was in and took to the streets. He was then found by Talia al Ghul, daughter of Ra’s, and both she and her father tried to nurse and train the boy (they knew exactly who he was) to health in the hopes that he’d be their protege. Exactly how this fits in with Talia’s own son Damian whom be showing up in Grant Morrison’s run soon after this was published was never mentioned.
Ra’s becomes disappointed after a year that Todd is still very much in a vegetative state and decides to cut the whole project. Talia dumps Todd into a Lazarus pit behind Ra’s back and telling the boy to run and sets things in motion for Todd’s revengeful ways against Bruce for not killing the Joker for his murder. It is shown that Todd contacts Tommy Elliot, Hush, and becomes part of the mind games war Hush is waging with Bruce. And we see that it was in fact Jason at first in the graveyard battle in Hush, only switching himself out with Clayface after seeing Bruce not having much of a reaction to a returned Jason Todd, and it ends with Todd resolved to the fact that he must confront Batman and The Joker.
Well, this is certainly an entertaining story and worthy of being shown in a movie format. Issues with Winick’s story telling abilities and what has happened with the Jason Todd character in the ensuing years aside, this was a good tale, perhaps as good as any to show why Bruce Wayne’s moral code exists and how one can be lost to the darkness of one’s goals for revenge via going well over moral lines.
That being said, the story does cause one to see the shame of what was done with the Jason Todd character since. If this had been a one-off or Batman was able to get through to Jason and get him back on the straight and narrow path, maybe things would be different for the character. In fact there was an attempt to push Todd to being less Punisher like, but Todd went right back to the “only way to fight crime is to kill criminals” approach in both Battle For The Cowl and Batman & Robin and seemingly got his butt handed to him by Dick Grayson both times leads that approach to be pretty much a one-trick-pony status.
But enough talk about how stale and broken the character has become, the movie should stand as a nice standalone piece, as most of the DC Universe animated films have, though the 75 minute running time does concern me a bit. While a good story can take place with cutting out most of the 8 issue arc with mostly throw away pieces of dialogue and whatnot, it was disconcerting with what they did with Superman/Batman: Public Enemies which both cut entire storylines but changed around elements of the story to better fit a video version narrative. Especially considering it looks like they are going to include stuff from the Annual, when quite frankly just the stuff with Batman, Red Hood, Black Mask and Joker should make a good tight movie, with allusions to other things that happen during the storyline through dialogue and whatnot.
In any event, both of the trades are nice and quick reads and a good standalone story, if you don’t think about what has gone on since!
Batman: Under the Hood-Volume 2:
Reviewed by SteveJRogers
Jason Todd. The name now invokes dread for comic book fans for several reasons. The first being the obnoxious punk who fans couldn’t get to the phone lines fast enough to kill off. The next a ghost that haunted the Dark Knight, a point that was brought up as often as the death of Thomas & Martha Wayne. The final reason a resurrected character that may just be the biggest example of a comic book company doing something grandiose but not knowing, or understanding, what to do after the original idea got executed.
In any event, DC Animation later this month will be retelling the story arc that brought Jason Todd back among the living in the DCU in Batman: Under The Red Hood. The storyline was originally told in the pages of Batman #635-641 (came out in December of 2004), and 645-650 (April of 2006) (642-644 appears to be a special stand alone issues for some reason) as well as Batman Annual # 25 from 2006. Batman 635-641 were collected in Batman: Under The Hood vol. 1 which came out in 2005, and 645-650 and the annual were collected in vol. 2 in 2006.
Most comic fans, or at least the ones following Batman titles, should know the story of Jason Todd, or at least the Post-Crisis version, but just in case you don’t, here is what you need to know. Basically street urchin found by Batman trying to jack the wheels off the Bat-mobile, becomes the second Robin. DC put it to a fan call-in vote to kill him off, which they do and he dies by the hands of The Joker. He later becomes a “symbol” by Bruce about the cost of his private war on crime with a memorial in the Bat Cave and constant mentions about being a lost partner.
The first “inkling” about Jason returning came within Jeph Loeb’s “Hush” storyline, where Batman fights Hush in Batman 617-618 in 2003. Hush reveals himself to be Jason Todd, but in reality it was Clayface and it was all part of the mind games being played on Bruce. We jump to 2006’s Infinite Crisis and the now infamous “Superboy Prime Time Wall Punches” which caused all sorts of changes to DC continuity in yet another attempt by DC to “fix” problems caused by earlier continuity “fixes.” Jason Todd returning to life, though everyone, including himself, knows that he died (to be fair this is common in most resurrection stories, it just seems comical that this happened due to a change in time but nothing really “changed”).
And so, Judd Winick was given the task to spin the tale in the Batman title of Jason Todd’s return to Gotham, which is where presumably the new movie will start. The first volume of the story introduces Todd as The Red Hood, a new take on an identity The Joker used in a Golden Age story, as well as a supposed “origin” used by Alan Moore for The Killing Joke (supposedly since Joker even says in that story, "I prefer his origin to be multiple choice") who is acting as a masked Punisher like vigilante killing off thugs that he finds. Red Hood is finding these thugs by working under the cover as a psychotic villain, and trying to muscle his way onto Black Mask’s turf.
Now this story takes place just after the War Games storyline, so Bruce is cut off from just about all of his usual supporting cast, except for Nightwing who drops by in #636 to help Bruce working on a case, pun slightly intended as it actually is a case, or crate shipment that Batman is trying to prevent. A bomb explodes on one of the crates, and Bruce and Dick meet the Red Hood for the first time.
The cargo turns out to be for Black Mask and is Amazo, a super villain with the powers of members of The Justice League. Batman and Nightwing have a decent fight and dispose of Amazo, which angers Black Mask. Black Mask’s feelings perk up when Red Hood calls him up to say that he managed to pilfer a crate not touched by the original Dynamic Duo, a crate loaded with Kryptonite. Red Hood essentially tries to sell the stuff, to which Black Mask orders Mr. Freeze to go out and kill Red Hood. This brings us to the second meeting of Batman and Red Hood, but Red Hood and Freeze get away before any good old fashioned fighting goes down.
#637 then ends with Red Hood visiting the Joker in his abandoned circus hideout and unleashing a beating not unlike the one Joker gave him in Batman #427 and revealing to the readers that yes, this is in fact Jason Todd.
The rest of volume 1 of the story is Bruce working on the suspicion he has. Based on the familiarity he felt when fighting the Red Hood in the first place, this could actually be Jason Todd. He and Zatanna first investigate Ra’s Al Ghul’s Lazarus Pits to see if any have been opened recently. They then visit Jason Blood, aka Etrigan The Demon, to find out how one can be resurrected. Finally Batman has a talk with both Green Arrow, (of which, as well as his conversation with Zatanna, seems to imply that Bruce knows about the mind wipe that Zatanna did to him in Identity Crisis) and Superman about their respective returns from the dead.
#641 wraps up with the start of the fight between Red Hood and Batman that started issue #635 with Jason Todd revealing himself to Batman. The two have a discussion; right in the open with their masks off, about how to handle crime in Gotham. Well, actually Todd has his Robin style domino mask. Turns out the resurrection has made Jason Todd angrier and more willing to go beyond Bruce’s moral code about killing or crossing lines. And the first volume ends with the final panel of #641 with Bruce telling Alfred to keep the Todd memorial case up as Todd’s return “doesn’t change anything at all.”
Batman: Under the Hood-Volume 1:
Editor's Note: Tune in tomorrow for volume two of Batman: Under the Red Hood.
Posted by SteveJRogers
Red Robin #14 is the second part of Fabian’s “Hit list” storyline, and also, his return to Tim Drake's life.
Last month I wrote about how it was great to see Fabian back on the book, and I was looking forward to more. It was only later that I started to think that something wasn’t sitting right with me. After I had sent Dustin the review I had realized what it was, Tim was in the exact same position he was before Bruce left. Tim was not actually growing up. He was still a teenager and I had felt like I had read the stories of Tim going through all of this already, and frankly I didn’t want to read them again. There’s a new Robin in town, and it ain’t Tim.
#14 starts off with someone who I thought was Tim looking at his hit list, but after reading the dialogue, I figured out it was Damian. It was here I noticed that Marcus To is really only doing one face for Tim, Dick and Damian to share.
Fabian is writing this issue to give the reader exactly what he thinks they want, which is Red Robin VS Robin. But at the same time, Fabian gives some page time to advance other threads. Instead of just an entire issue of Damian trying to beat the daylight out of Tim, we have the advancement of Red Robins hit list, Tim dealing with being the new boss at Wayne Enterprises and of course, the revelation of who Tim has on his hit list, which is a who’s who of the DC Universe, heroes and villains. We also see a heart to heart on Tim’s tactics between Tim and Dick Grayson.
The issue ends with a mysterious person handing Black Manta’s not quite so bad-ass twin a briefcase full of money, and asking him to kill Tim Wayne.
So, that was issue #14, and I may have skimmed over things, but to be honest, this issue is full of threads that Fabian is branching out, that actually taking the time to explain them all and what they could involve what take an extra page of word to type. For the most part, I enjoyed the threads, and the knowledge that these are things that although are small now, will be branching out to bigger things in the near future. I do hope that Tim distances himself from the Bat-Family sooner rather than later, as two issues into Nicieza’s run, and I am already bored of the constant interactions between Dick and Tim. If this book were Batman and Red Robin, I wouldn’t mind. But this is Red Robin’s book and he needs to be given the stage to shine on his own.
The art by Marcus To for the most part, is fantastic. He is really hitting his stride now. He has a distinct style, and with the exception of male faces, he can draw a damn fine page. The fight scene between Tim and Damian in this issue was well choreographed, and I can see To and inker Ray McCarthy getting better on the book from here.
So, this is Red Robin #14. A good solid issue, with only a few nitpicks. However in this day and age, where there are at least 7 Bat-books out a month, and prices only going up, Red Robin really needs to start showing why it is a must own book.
Red Robin #14:
Reviewed by Suavestar
For a man who needs no introduction in our little world, we would expect nothing but the best in-between our old favorite comic book’s pages or at least a hint of the quality this man has bequeathed upon the Batman franchise consistently for so long. The man I’m talking about is of course Dennis O’Neil. O’Neil’s return to Detective Comics for a stand alone issue does not disappoint whatsoever. While I was initially hesitant on the fact that he wasn’t writing Bruce Wayne’s Batman and the fact that I thought he would mix up Dick with Bruce, all of those thoughts were immediately erased upon learning that Dick was narrating his own personal story starting from an incident that happened back in his old Robin days. To say that Dennis O’Neil hit the nail on the head when it came to Dick’s voice is an understatement. He not only nailed it, he took a monolith of a building, where it once was unsteady and swaying, and built a solid foundation upon which Dick thrives and becomes the Batman. Dick is no longer just putting on a cape and cowl and chasing down bad guys. He becomes the legend. He becomes Batman’s true calling. He fills in every little gap where once it was empty. Dick is now Batman, it‘s his personal story, in his voice, and his Batman. There is not much that’s wrong here. O’Neil is a master and he just proved that he knows more than any other writer who has ever touched a Batman book all the while weaving a great story all in a single issue.
What singles this issue out, besides what I’ve already mentioned, is that it flashes back to Dick’s old day’s as Robin teamed up with Bruce’s Batman as they are on their way to investigate an art gallery robbery. The art shifts from Dustin Nguyen’s newer pencils to the older days of Batman, it does this seamlessly and does not interrupt or rudely distract, it matches the story perfectly and lends to the story while pushing it forward and making it clear as day that we are in a certain time period and in a certain context which puts us (the reader) in the right mind set to experience what’s being presented. Nguyen’s pencils are spot on as always. David Baron’s colors are gentle and relaxing when we see Batman flying around in the Gotham Night, but intense when there is a need for it. The art overall is at its best here and doesn’t fail to impress.
Our story starts off with Batman getting into a fight with three men who he ran into while trying to find a medallion in an old abandoned house. Batman falls through the floor and finds the medallion under some dirt thus triggering a flashback to the old days. The Joker is in front of the house we’ve just seen, but in this instance it’s a grand and sweeping mansion. The Joker kills the guard at the front gates and in the mansion steals a medallion but before he can leave a man wielding a sword stops him. Meanwhile Batman and Robin, now Bruce and Dick, are cruising the town looking for trouble when an old woman rushes up to them and frantically tells them that there is a dead man lying on the sidewalk. Batman tells Robin to wait in the car while he goes and investigates. In the mansion The Joker makes his exit while the sword wielding man’s attention is focused on the recently arrived Batman. The two fight and Batman of course, ends up victorious. While the fight is going on Robin is shadowing the Joker as he bumps into a man named Loomis secretly pulling the chain from the medallion in Loomis’ pocket. Robin takes the Joker down and the Police arrests the Joker, Loomis, and the man with the sword. While riding in the back of the police van the man with the sword triggers a bomb he had hidden in his pants and the Joker and Loomis run off into the night. Later on Loomis is caught and put on trial for murder. As evidence, the district attorney at the time who we all know is Harvey Dent, presents the chain the Joker had slipped into Loomis’ pocket when they bumped into each other. Loomis is found guilty and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. For good behavior he is released early though he is now an old dying man. One night he is visited by Batman and questioned about the night he was arrested along with the Joker. Although Dick was shadowing the Joker from the mansion till he was arrested, he never saw The Joker toss the medallion, as the only thing that was recovered was the chain. So Dick, using his detective skills, surmises that the Joker ditched it in the mansion and thus we are brought back to the beginning of the issue with Dick fighting the three men and finding the medallion. The issue ends with Dick going back to Loomis’ house and while exhausted, thinks he catches a glimpse of the Joker leaving Loomis’ apartment. Upon entering, Dick states that he has found evidence that will clear Loomis of all charges and clear his name only to find out that the Joker was in fact there and that he killed Loomis with his laughing gas.
While it is truly a great issue I really hated that this issue ended and that it was final. I feel that what was great about this particular issue will be forgotten and Detective Comics will go back to what we were presented with before O’Neil did this stand-alone. I wonder if and hope that David Hine will take into consideration and continue what has been done here but as evidenced in his previous work mainly on the Azrael book it honestly isn’t something to be truly excited for. But I have my hopes. Also I think it’s about time we get an honest Batman and Joker story where they both pull the right punches and are constantly out doing each other. It has been two years since the release of The Dark Knight and Heath Ledger’s Joker, that now it’s appropriate to have another Joker story instead of these hints as evidence in Grant Morrison’s Batman #700, this issue and various other appearances. But I must commend O’Neil’s treatment of the Joker, there is a great separation from Ledger’s Joker and the Joker presented here. While Ledger’s Joker is dark, sinister, brooding and psychotic the Joker presented here is a lighter version going back to the days where he wasn’t dark and brooding but a maniacal laughing stock busting out joke after joke while doing all the things that Ledger’s Joker hinted towards and in some cases matched. But the highlight here is the Dick Grayson Batman as I’ve said before. He is fully formed and distinct, and very beautifully written. Whereas before it was the constant reminder that this is Dick and not Bruce, O’Neil makes the distinction, gets into Dick’s brain and settles there while pumping out dialogue that feels free, flowing, and natural and is what I personally think Dick would say, act, and react like. Like Bruce before, O’Neil gives Dick’s Batman a good amount of humanity, clarity, and overall character progression, he sticks to the image of The Dark Knight as we know it while creating a distinct incarnation of Dick both as a human being and as Batman. I feel closer to Dick Grayson than I ever have before whether it was Nightwing or Robin the only thing that comes close for me is Dick’s Origin story and that has been done over and over again, this issue brings forth a new Dick Grayson and refreshing all that‘s been done before. This story makes huge leaps and bounds in the psyche of Dick Grayson and Batman as a whole and it’s brevity only adds to it, it’s only a glimpse or taste, it leaves us wanting more though we know we probably wont get any more and in that way among better, greater things is what makes this issue the most memorable issue I have read in a very very long time.
Detective Comics #866:
Reviewed by Dane
In the 1960s, writer Bob Haney got the idea to take all the younger characters in the DC Universe and mash them together as a team. Not unlike the very successful Justice League Of America. And so in the summer of 1964, in the pages of Brave and The Bold #54, Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad teamed up. A year later, in issue 60 the team got its first female member in Wonder Girl, and a name, Teen Titans. And by 1966 the team would have its very own magazine. The Titans would see many twists and turns through the years, but at the core was still Dick Grayson, either as Robin or Nightwing. And as the book “grew up” from its early Silver Age roots, especially with the Marv Wolfman-George Perez 1980 relaunch of the title, it appeared writers would thrust the role of “leader” onto Grayson. Even on the animated series based on the Wolfman relaunched lineup, Robin was very much the leader of the team.
And so in 1999, when the team was renamed simply “Titans” guess who was right in front? Yup, Dick Grayson, now of course in his Nightwing personae. So in 2010 (JLA issue # 41 to be exact), now taking over, for the second time, the Batman mantle of his mentor Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson is finally a card carrying member of the Justice League of America! And once again it appears the writer, this time James Robinson, who has been on the book since #38, is angling Dick into a leadership role. This seems especially the case since in issue # 41 he assembled a team of heavyweights, drawing from former League and Titan heavy hitters and proceeded to disassemble them by issue #43! Leaving Batman with Donna Troy (Wonder Girl), Mikaal Tomas (aka the current Starman), and Congo Bill (aka Congorilla) as the current JLA lineup, the latter two from Robinson’s JLA: Cry For Justice mini-series. This is especially interesting since there is a feeling that DC wants a return of the “classic 7 (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter)” in the 75th anniversary year of the company. But that is most likely down the road this year, in the meantime it’s Dick, Wonder Girl, Starman and Congorilla as your JLA roll call.
Well, that brings us to the current story arc, which features the Brightest Day trade dress, due to the fact that it is dealing with the return of Jade, who was one of the Black Lanterns who got resurrected at the end of Blackest Night. Issue # 44 featured Jade returning to Earth in the middle of a meteor fragment, and her father, Alan Scott, Earth’s first Green Lantern of the Justice Society of America, in bad shape with emerald energy emitting from him.
And so, preamble out of the way, we begin with Justice League Of America issue # 45. Written by James Robinson, art by Mark Bagley, inks by Rob Hunter and Norm Rapmund.
We begin where #44 left off. In Germany, with Jade announcing to Jason Blood that she will not stand down, and Dick's inner monologue exposition on her. Well, it turns out the meteor was part of the Starheart, which Jade describes. Then members of the JSA, trying to follow Alan Scott, whom is in a trance, headed right towards the said Starheart fly in, but their plane gets ripped up by what appears to be a mind controlled Power Girl. The speedsters in the JSA, Jay Garrick Flash and Jesse Quick are able to save the team. The matter gets complicated when Obsidian gets taken over by whatever is drawing Alan to the Starheart.
And from out of literally nowhere, even several characters inner monologue the fact, Supergirl flies in to take out Power Girl. It turns out Congorilla had signaled for her help before they left the Watchtower. Batman then gets Jade to use her magic based power to take down Power Girl (Kryptonian in case you didn’t know). While Batman wonders why the Starheart affected Power Girl, but not Supergirl, Jade then goes into an explanation of Starheart via a retelling of Alan Scott’s origin.
Well, the Starheart was this rock, created by the Guardians of The Universe as a way to create order between chaos and good. A piece broke off, fell to earth where Alan Scott found it, becoming Earth’s first Green Lantern. After Jade finishes up her story, Mr. Terrific, and Batman start receiving reports throughout the world of magic wielders going crazy. It is theorized that it could be in part thanks to the chaos part of Starheart. Then Alan appears to be out of his trance, but only to talk about the Starheart bringing about the end of the world, and he is transformed into something akin to what Alan Scott wore in the Kingdom Come story.
Well, that was interesting. Right now we are dealing with a JSA story in the pages of JLA. Which is fine, but is this something needed if Robinson is trying to mold a new team? I guess since the whole Starheart/Alan Scott situation is a big enough problem that the JLA has to be present for then yeah. Obviously the DCU’s biggest team has to confront it. It should be noted that this is part one of a story, and the second part will be in Justice Society of America #41 next month.
Don’t get me wrong, its a good story, its just feels like reading a JSA story with the JLA as the guest stars in their own title! Maybe that’s just the “B-Team” feel of the team at the moment, and wanting to see that team rise or fall before getting its first team-up with a team like the JSA. Yes, DC is all about the cross branding, and since Brightest Day is the current event, the flagship team book has to be a part of it. In any case this is still a good issue.
Justice League of America #45:
Reviewed by SteveJRogers
A Bat-Bulletin about
The Return of Bruce Wayne
It’s interesting isn’t it?
A iconic hero who has been a mainstay of the company since FDR was in the White House dies in midst of a major crossover event. But he really didn’t die but was trapped in some time and space void where he was seen reliving past events. However, while still mourning the “passing” of a legend, the mantle of the name, as well as the costume and everything, fell to the first sidekick the hero ever had. This included a full blown “return” mini-series for the returning hero, coming back to a universe that sorely missed him and one in a state of “interesting times.”
Oh, you thought I was talking about Bruce Wayne?
Nope, just ruminating on the striking similarities over the 4 year arc over at Marvel concerning the “death” and return of Steve Rogers, Captain America, and DC’s death and eventual return of Bruce Wayne, Batman.
Like Bruce, Steve was seemingly taken out in midst of a very polarizing crossover event, more so due to the politically, and socially, charged nature of the series known as Civil War. After his death it came time to give the mantle of the character to someone else. That someone else was Bucky Barnes. Retconned back but as Soviet agent called Winter Solider. Basically taking an idea of what would happen if Cap was found by the enemy instead of the Avengers and running with it.
In any event, the sad duty of carrying on the legacy of the presumed dead hero fell to Barnes. Much like Dick Grayson accepting that he must continue on what Bruce had started with Batman. It is interesting when one considers Robin’s and Bucky’s beginnings. Nearly 70 years after their respective debuts as youthful sidekicks (Robin in Detective# 38 in 1940, Bucky in Captain America Comics # 1 a year later) they’d become the heroes that they were sidekicks to.
Well, it didn’t take much thinking at the time to realize Batman did not die during his tussle with Darkseid at the end of Final Crisis # 6, but that he was hit with the Omega Sanction, which apparently is where one lives a life over-and-over-and-over-and-over-and-over…you get the point. This will play out in this summer’s Return Of Bruce Wayne mini-series, however Steve Rogers’ fate was not as clearly foretold when the events were unfolded. But indeed, as last years’ Captain America: Reborn series showed, Cap was instead “stuck” in time and relived through past events before being brought back into current continuity.
Now, things will get interesting from here, as currently while Steve Rogers is very much back among the living, certain events in the Marvel Universe dictated that Bucky continue as being “Captain America” but Steve Rogers was recently put in control of US security after the fall of Norman Osborn. While I highly doubt Bruce Wayne will be heading in that direction, things should be interesting to see what DC comes up with;
How exactly will he be brought out of the Omega Sanction?
How will his fellow heroes react to the original Batman being back?
Will DC actually HAVE him back in the cowl right away?
Well, these questions and more should be answered in the coming year. No doubt the higher ups in Time Warner are probably pushing DC to get the guy back where he should be by the time the next movie came out, but then again The Dark Knight came out as R.I.P and Final Crisis were putting Bruce in position to be gone for a while. But at the same time somehow the entire Knightfall-Prodigal-Troika saga got neatly wrapped up in the time frame in between Batman Returns and Batman Forever, so these things do have a tendency to work out!
Posted by SteveJRogers
Greetings everyone, and welcome back to Creator Spotlight. In this piece, I take a look at the highly successful and controversial Grant Morrison. You either love him or you hate him, I love him, but what about you? Let’s take a look:
Grant Morrison is one of the most highly creative and respected comic book writers in the medium today. However, while Morrison is considered a true pioneer of the comics’ medium, his works often divide the fan base of characters such as Batman.
Morrison began his career in comics working for Near Myths magazine. It was here that he introduced his character, Gideon Stargrave, who appeared in issues three and four of the magazine. Unfortunately, the magazine only ran for five issues before cancellation. Following his work at Near Myths, Morrison found himself writing comic strips and penning various issues of the comic, Starblazer. Morrison would leave the comics scene briefly, but he would later return and begin working for Marvel UK briefly before moving over to 2000AD. While working there, Morrison along with Steve Yeowell and Brendan McCarthy would create Zenith. Zenith, a popular piece in the 2000AD magazine would consistently appear from 1987 to 1992. Zenith is responsible for Morrison landing a job at DC Comics. Morrison would propose Animal Man. Now Animal Man was a somewhat forgotten DC character who Morrison would later revive. Morrison would write the first twenty six issues of the series and the title proved to be highly successful. With Morrison’s unique prospective on the superhero genre, DC would hand him the rains to Doom Patrol in 1989. Morrison would take a rather simple group of characters and expand greatly upon the concept. 1989 would prove to be rather important role in Morrison’s career, along with Doom Patrol, Morrison would write Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth.
The story was released as an original graphic novel and there is no other Batman graphic novel like it. By this point in his career, Morrison had established himself as a writer who would often want the reader to read in between the panels. Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth was no different. At the time, Morrison felt that too many writers were taking the realistic approach to Batman; therefore he countered that with a very surreal and mythical approach. While the story was simple; Batman enters Arkham Asylum to gain the asylum back from the prisoners, Morrison did an excellent job of weaving various forms of symbolism into the story. And while the story focuses on Batman, it is very much about Amadeus Arkham and how the asylum came to be. Morrison also greatly altered some of the characterizations of many of Batman’s villains; especially the Joker. Morrison depicted the eccentric clown as a transvestite. Along with Morrison, the artwork was done by Dave McKean. McKean created a world with boundaries within Morrison’s scripted pages, it was like no other Batman comic before it, and there has been nothing like it since.
With the enormous success of Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, Morrison was now a household name in the comics industry. The graphic novel has gone on to become the best-selling graphic novel of all-time. In April of 1990, DC gave Morrison five issues in the fairly new Batman title, Legends of the Dark Knight. The storyline was titled, “Gothic”, and again, Morrison incorporated some surreal and satanic themes into the plot. The book was penciled by the legendary Klaus Janson and the storyline is considered to be one of the best of the series and one of the darkest Batman stories of all time.
Throughout the 1990s, Morrison would continue to work with DC Comics but would also have work published with small publishers, and would continue to have printed material in 2000AD. During this time, Morrison would also establish his relationship with fellow Scotsman, writer Mark Millar. The two would collaborate on various projects throughout the decade. Also during this time, Morrison would write his rather epic and fan favorite run on the Justice League of America. JLA was Morrison writing fun and action-packed superhero comics, and this is my favorite run of JLA. Morrison would also begin working within the Vertigo and Wildstorm universes. Morrison would work closely with DC Comics until 2000, where after the release of JLA: Earth 2, he would leave for Marvel Comics. However, while Morrison enjoyed success at Marvel, in 2004 he returned to DC and Vertigo. Morrison would relive great success with the releases of We3 and his return to the JLA. Over the next two years at DC, Morrison would continue to be their ace with such works as Seven Soldiers of Victory, 52, and All Star Superman. However, Morrison could not keep away from the bat and in 2006, was given the rains to the Batman main title, and really the entire Batman universe.
Morrison began his Batman run with issue #655 in September. He would begin with artist Andy Kubert, who was also working with DC for the first time. The storyline was titled; “Batman and Son” and it would run until issue #658. This would mark the beginning of the highly-acclaimed “Batman R.I.P.” story arc. Morrison would then attempt a prose issue, with issue #663, “The Clown at Midnight”. While it was a bold attempt and good story, fans didn’t seem to take kindly to it. None the less, Morrison continued with act II of Batman’s demise in, “The Black Glove” storyline. Morrison would collaborate with the talents of J.H. Williams III and then the current writer/artist on Batman, Tony Daniel. After the first two issues of the storyline, “The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul” would crossover into the main title for issues #670 and #671. Morrison wrote the prelude and part 4 of 7 in the storyline that would also crossover into the Robin, Nightwing, and Detective Comics titles. Morrison would then continue on with “The Black Glove” storyline that was wrapped up with issue #675. Morrison, along with Tony Daniel, would begin of his epic and controversial Batman tale, with Batman R.I.P.
For the better part of two years, Morrison had been writing Batman and everything he had been working for was leading up to Batman R.I.P. All of the issues he had written going back to the beginning with issue #655 were intricate pieces to understanding the over all story. R.I.P. began with issue #676 in May of 2008 and concluded with the Last Rites storyline, issues #682 and #683. Also that same year, Morrison penned the DC main even, Final Crisis, which ended up playing a big role in the future of the current Batman universe. While I personally feel that Morrison’s run on Batman has been unforgettable and one of the best that I’ve read in a long time, many fans feel that Morrison began writing for himself. Many readers felt that they were misled and the ending was not what they were looking for. The question I ask is; did Morrison not capture the very essence of Batman’s character? Did he not show great respect and understanding for this comic book mythology we all love?
Following a brief absence from the Batman titles, Morrison made his triumphant return in June of 2009 with the release of Batman and Robin #1. The result was an epic critical and commercial success. The first three issues of the series are considered by many to be the best written superhero comics that were published in 2009. Morrison was redeemed by fans for any of his prior Batman work. Along with great artist and close friend, Frank Quitely, Morrison was able to capture the quirky and action-packed fun that we all have come to love inside the pages of comics. However, after issue three, Frank Quitely left the title, and the book has since had a revolving panel of artists every three issues. Morrison has remained and the book has lost some of the magic that it had within those first three issues. None the less, it is still considered to be the best current Batman title currently being released.
In addition to Batman and Robin, Morrison is writing The Return of Bruce Wayne miniseries. The first issue is set to release today. The six issues miniseries will bring Bruce Wayne back to Gotham City, and will be the latest chapter in Morrison’s Batman epic which continues. Morrison is also set to return to Batman with issue #700 in June of 2010. Morrison just continues to leave a rather large stamp on the character.
Grant Morrison is widely recognized and considered to be of “rock star” status in the comic book world. There is no denying that no other creator has impacted the character of Batman like Morrison has. He has taken chances, some that haven’t always worked but others that had. He isn’t afraid of making mistakes and I feel like he has taken the Batman universe in a fresh and bold new direction that will change the future of the character forever. Love him or hate him, you have to respect him.
That concludes this entry of Creator Spotlight; I hope you enjoyed a look at the rather impressive look at the career of Grant Morrison. Next time, I will be elaborating on the fan-favorite artist, Tim Sale. Until then, tune in next time, same bat-time, same bat-channel.
Posted by Zach
Howdy everyone, and welcome back to the latest Creator Spotlight. Zach here as always and in this entry, we are going to be taking a look at the career of artist, Norm Breyfogle. And here we go:
Norm Breyfogle started working in comics at a very young age; 16 to be exact. Breyfogle’s first gig was writing and cartooning a book titled, Tech-Team. Breyfogle would then go on and complete high school. While in college, he did some work for a local magazine in Michigan and also did some work for the publisher, Book Concern. In 1984, Breyfogle met a talent agent and illustrated a six page story in DC’s New Talent Showcase. Breyfogle then started to receive more work; a back up in American Flagg, pencils in Eclipse Comic’s Tales of Terror, a Captain America short story in Marvel Fanfare, and then the title; Whisper for First Comics. However, in 1987, Breyfogle returned to DC and began working on Detective Comics, and that is where the story begins.
At the time of Breyfogle’s arrival to Detective Comics, the book’s sales had stooped tremendously and the title was sinking fast. However, with the help of writers Alan Grant and, briefly John Wagner, they were able to stop the bleeding and begin the revival of the series. Breyfogle would work on Detective Comics consistently for three years (1987 to 1990). During this time, Breyfogle would become the numero uno Batman artist of the late 80s and early 90s. After his work on Detective Comics, he moved over to the main Batman title.
Breyfogle would make twenty six appearances on Batman that spanned form June of 1990 to July of 1998. During his time on the title, Breyfogle and Alan Grant would remain a strong combination. Breyfogle was also responsible for penciling Tim Drake’s first night as Robin in issue #465. Much like Detective Comics, Grant’s and Breyfogle’s created villains would often appear in Batman as well.
However, Breyfogle and Grant were not done with the bat quite yet. The two would introduce a new Batman title, Shadow of the Bat in June of 1992. And while Breyfogle would only work on a total of eight issues during the series run, the initial story arc, The Last Arkham is arguably the most unforgettable.
For most of the early 90s, Breyfogle was considered “The Batman Artist”, and somehow I feel like he is always forgotten by so many. Breyfogle’s artwork was so energetic and had so much life to it. In my opinion, he really brought the pages to life, something that I think many artists struggle to do. Maybe he is forgotten because he didn’t pencil the epic storylines, but instead, along with Alan Grant, they just wrote solid Batman comics for years. Breyfogle’s Batman was my first interpretation of the character in comic book form. To me, he should always be considered in the same breath as Neal Adams, Jim Aparo and David Mazzucchelli as one of the greatest Batman artists of all-time.
Well, again thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoyed a peak into the career of Norm Breyfogle. The next creator spotlight will be highlighting the very talented and controversial writer, Grant Morrison. I can hardly wait! Tune in next time, same bat time, same bat channel.
Posted by Zach
A new story-arc – 'Robins are Red …'; a new cover artist – Stanley 'Artgerm' Lau; a new interior artwork team – Talent Caldwell with Yvel Guichet and John Stanisci; plus a distinguished guest-star – Red Robin himself, Tim Drake: and maybe because there was so much 'new' about it Batgirl #8 felt, for me, just a little unsatisfactory. An enjoyable read? Yes, for sure, but just a little unsatisfactory nevertheless.
Following a brief – indeed very brief – appearance in Red Robin #9 this issue of Batgirl opens about 60 seconds or so before Red Robin #9 closes: Stephanie is in full combat mode, feverishly engaged in physical training. Pounding the training droids, who in turn scream motivational messages at her, Stephanie is very much 'in the zone'. Moments later, as she discovers she's not alone, she snaps out of the zone and we're back where Red Robin #9 ended -'Stephanie?!?', 'Tim'.
Stephanie and Tim, Batgirl and Red Robin, come face to face – the occasion catching both of them by surprise leading to some puzzled looks, sharp exchanges and barbed comments. No sooner had the former 'couple' calmed down and each taken a deep breath than they receive a warning that the Thompkins Clinic has been broken into, at which point Tim seizes control of the Bat computer – much to Steph's irritation! – and prepares to set off for the city – but not before sarcastically calling Steph 'Batgirl' and mocking her vehicle, the Ricochet that was revealed in issue #7.
In the meantime, we cut to a city center diner where we witness Barbara Gordon and Detective Nick Gage flirting shamelessly over a cup of coffee and a 'simple meal' – certainly not a date apparently! – as Babs does her best to apologize that their last get-together didn't go particularly smoothly. The two are getting along famously when they, and other diners, realize that despite being on a variety of networks none of them is able to get a mobile signal. At the very moment Steph and Tim race past the restaurant, both Barbara and Detective Gage realize that something is amiss, make their excuses and leave.
Arriving at the Thompkins Clinic, Tim immediately engages a couple of tech assassins who he discovers had broken into the offices – as Stephanie watches on she reflects how they have each changed and wonders what's happened in Tim's life to change him.
Discovering that the assassins were trying to access Leslie's patient files, with a menacing threat that 'Leslie's the first' and with electronic communication – internet, mobile phone and the comms link to Oracle – down, Steph realizes it's up to the two of them to intervene as Tim in turn, reluctantly it must be said, accepts that he needs her help.
Out of their costumes, Stephanie and Tim attend the Gotham Metropolitan Museum of Art where there is a fundraiser for the Thompkins Clinic taking place. Concerned for Leslie's safety Tim decides this would be a good moment for his public return to Gotham City high-society – with the hope of creating a distraction that will allow Steph to 'extract' Leslie.
At the Batcave, meanwhile, and still struggling to access any form of electronic communication, Barbara is surprised to discover the Ricochet – minus it's owner/driver (pilot perhaps?) – labeled 'return to sender' with an accompanying hand-written note from Stephanie explaining what she and Tim are planning.
Returning to the fundraiser, Leslie and Wendy Harris are having a 'heart to heart' – Wendy feels she's being used to promote the work of the Thompkins clinic while Leslie reminds Wendy that she's an attractive, strong, young woman who needs to start believing in herself a little more – when Stephanie interrupts, takes Leslie by the hand and leads her away, explaining that she's in danger.
Reunited with Tim in a museum storeroom, and with Leslie concealed, the two come under attack from a dozen or so of Ra's assassins. With a reminder of past encounters as Spoiler and Robin, Stephanie and Tim engage the assassins and as the last assailant hits the ground Stephanie – in something of a daze at this point – inadvertently punches Tim! With the immediate danger averted Barbara reveals that she's managed to overcome the communication problems that the city has been experiencing thanks to a little help from 'a little bluebird'.
Later that night, back in costume and high up on the rooftops of Gotham City, Stephanie tells Tim that she wants him to know that she's a different woman that the one he used to know; that she's changed. As Tim takes her hand, Steph pulls back – and the two discover they are not alone …
With the previous story-arc in Batgirl #7 ending very much on a high – for me at least, I know not everyone felt the same – this issue, as a whole, delighted and disappointed me in equal measures.
On the face of it I thought the story was excellent – who couldn't enjoy Stephanie and Tim versus The League of Assassins? Scratch beneath the surface though and I felt that the story flattered somewhat to deceive. I enjoyed the overall look and feel of the book although I felt it suffered somewhat from a lack of consistency.
The relationship between Stephanie and Tim was, quite naturally, a core theme throughout and was written, I thought, very nicely – interactions between the two had an 'awkward' feel that I sure many of us can relate to from our own personal or professional lives: a sense of 'we ought to talk about it, but I really don't want to talk about it'. Likewise, I enjoyed the Spoiler/Robin flashback panels and thought these were used very well.
I felt we saw a different Stephanie, and a different Batgirl, as a result of Tim's involvement in the issue and having seen her grow into a confident, head-strong young woman through previous issues she seemed to lose some of her self-belief and independence while working with Tim – she almost became his 'sidekick' at one point when she stood and watched on through a window while Tim fought the assassins at the clinic. This isn't a criticism as such, it's just that I've enjoyed seeing Stephanie grow and through this issue she appeared, to me at least, to have taken a couple of steps backwards – many would say that's a true reflection on life, and I couldn't disagree.
Onto the 'look' of the book and I've said many, many times that probably more than anything else art is very much a subjective thing: who hasn't looked at a painting or sculpture at some time and thought 'very nice, but is it art?'. If I was coming to this book afresh I'd be very happy with how it looked but I'm not, and following Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott's superb art throughout the first seven issues, I couldn't help but make comparisons – I like the artwork in this book, I just didn't like it as much as in the previous issues. Furthermore, as I say, it felt inconsistent at times, never more so than with what I think the credits are referring to as the 'end sequence': I'm not sure why it was necessary, or desirable, to have guest artists but the change of style mid-story jarred with me.
In summary, did I enjoy this book? Absolutely. Did it leave me feeling a little dissatisfied? Yes, it did somewhat.
Would I recommend picking the book up? Yes, 100% yes.
Batgirl #8:
Reviewed by Zaius