Batman: Year One by Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli
Chapters One - Four [the end]
See here for some of my thoughts on this book.
Batman: The Man Who Laughs by Ed Brubaker & Doug Mahnke
Like the film it inspired, Batman: Year One ends with newly-promoted Captain Jim Gordon informing Batman about a rising threat: the Joker. As The Dark Knight will do on film, The Man Who Laughs follows directly from this moment... Written very recently (2005), The Man Who Laughs mixes elements of Year One, the Joker's origin from The Killing Joke, and Batman's original first battle with him (in 1940's Batman #1), to retell the story of the Batman's first encounter with his nemesis. It's part of a new wave of creators retelling early Batman stories: 2005/6's Batman and the Monster Men is set during Year One and tells of Batman's first encounter with Dr Hugo Strange, while 2006/7's Batman and the Mad Monk retells another tale from Batman's first few appearances in Detective Comics, and leads directly into The Man Who Laughs (all three of these stories are collected in The Batman Chronicles Volume 1).
Batman: Made of Wood by Ed Brubaker & Patrick Zircher
(from the Batman: The Man Who Laughs hardcover)
Only tenuously linked with The Man Who Laughs: same writer and major involvement for (a retired) Gordon. In some ways it mirrors the construction of Man Who Laughs (which in turn mirrors Year One), with Gordon and Batman pursuing different lines of inquiry, narrated in journal-style text boxes. The story itself concerns a series of murders from the '40s, when Green Lantern patrolled Gotham. Consequently it's a bit of a team-up tale, a genre I don't care for on the whole, especially when it's someone with silly superpowers intruding on Batman's superpower-free world. On the plus side, the last page gives some nice extra meaning / modified perspective on what went before.
Not that this really matters to anyone, but... normally I keep what I've read/watched to alphabetical order, but have here stuck to the order I read them because my comments flow that way.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Batman. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Batman. Sort by date Show all posts
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Sunday, 3 June 2012
Comics: Night of the Owls
Night of the Owls begins!
And with the publication last Wednesday of Batman Annual #1, the event is now over... but I've saved up the whole thing to read in one go. Well, I say one go -- it's fourteen issues, so it'll probably be two or three goes. And the other advantage to waiting is I can read it in reading order rather than publication order... though as they're mostly standalone stories, and some issues take place across multiple other ones anyway, I doubt it really matters.
So, in reading order...
Batman #8 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, James Tynion IV & Rafael Albuquerque
Here the night begins with a whole team of Talons attacking Wayne Manor, forcing Bruce and Alfred to retreat into the Batcave where they realise the full extent of the Court's plan. It's primarily an action issue, with some good fights, but it also sets up where the whole event is going.
This is also the first issue of Batman to have a backup strip (co-written by Snyder & Tynion and drawn by Albuquerque) and, unusually, it continues the story immediately where the main one leaves off, plus leads directly into the wider Bat-family's involvement in the event. I hope there's no one who just ignores those extra bits...
Nightwing #8 by Kyle Higgins & Eddy Barrows
They've labelled this a "prelude" to the main event, just because it fell outside the main month when everything as tying in, which is stupid really: Alfred's call from the Batman backup comes very early in the issue (complete with a Night of the Owls timestap), before Nightwing ends up battling a Talon and it all ends on a "to be continued" cliffhanger. I imagine if one only read Nightwing #9 as part of the event, it would feel a tad confusing -- this is as much a part of it as anything else.
And once again, I swear no one actually reads these comics before they put an age rating on them. Despite featuring a graphic beheading (amongst sundry other violence), this retains the series' regular T rating. Perhaps it's a moot point -- comics mostly sell to grown men who should know better these days -- but still, if you're going to bother, do it right.
Batgirl #9 by Gail Simone & Ardian Syaf
I'm behind on Batgirl -- last one I read was #6, so I'm skipping two issues here -- but it's Night of the Owls! And it's a standalone issue as part of that, so it's OK.
The way they pitched Night of the Owls, I was expecting the main story to be contained to Batman (and maybe Nightwing) with all the other titles telling smaller one-on-one stories about Bat-family members which are connected to the main story but not essential. Based on this one issue, that's not entirely the case: not only does this reference several other issues (plenty of footnotes telling you where to go for the full story), but it's based around a pretty significant incident (I imagine -- we'll see), involving not only Batgirl but also Commissioner Gordon, and a turning-point victory for the Court.
While it would be good for comics crossovers generally if not every involved issue was essential to understanding what the hell's going on, I'm glad that not all the books in Night of the Owls will be providing ancillary stories that don't really matter.
Oh, and Batgirl fights a female Talon -- I hope they don't have all the female heroes fighting female Talons, because that's just too coincidental.
Batman and Robin #9 by Peter J. Tomasi, Lee Garbett & Andy Clarke
Or Robin, this issue, as Batman is pretty busy elsewhere (considering he's the sole starring character in three other titles; though I think Batman: The Dark Knight subs in Red Robin this month (which is funny, really, because as the only one without Batman in the actual title, you'd think Detective Comics would be the natural home for a non-Batman story. But hey-ho, that's comics for you.)).
Unlike Batgirl, this is a standalone ancillary tale, but a pretty good one. Another bloody beheading though -- in fact, there's four. Four. And Americans count this as Teen. God.
Batwing #9 by Judd Winick & Marcus To
So we reach the first title in the Night of the Owls that I've never read before (there'll be several more of these before we're done). It's another standalone tale in which 'African Batman' Batwing defends Batman, Inc.'s Lucius Fox from a Talon attack. It also builds on some elements from Batwing's regular run, I think, but in no way that locks out people like me who'll only pick up this issue. It's fine enough as a bit of a scrap, but it's not going to convince me to start buying the book regularly.
It's also nice that in several books characters who would know note how much the Talon moves like Nightwing -- in Batgirl, here, and later in Red Hood.... Neat. As for other recurring themes, there's no beheadings this time (only a threatened one), but yet another repetition of Alfred's call from the end of Batman #8. I suppose I don't blame them, it's a good way of quickly kicking off the plot, but I'll know it by heart at this rate. At least Red Hood and the Outlaws put it at the end of their preceding issue.
And Batwing doesn't fight a black Talon, so that's good (see comment on Batgirl above for why I note this).
Batman #9 by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo
Back to the main title next for the primary issue of the whole event -- it's even titled Night of the Owls, just to make sure you know. This one covers a fair chunk of the evening, passing around and over the events of several books that will follow (and some that have gone before) -- there's a glaring space left for the events of Detective Comics #9, for instance. (For some reason the reading list puts that four issues away yet, but I'd consider putting it next. Maybe there's a reason I'll discover when I get to it.)
As a whole, the issue by itself doesn't quite have the grandiosity that an event of this scale promises. It's a fight -- a tough one, admittedly, but still just a fight -- followed by a quick trip in the Batmobile to the next plot token. I suppose that's kind of the problem with the Night of the Owls: by making it a Big Event they've made it seem like the climax to the story, but actually that's a couple of issues away yet. Not bad, just not quite the event linchpin one feels it should have been.
The backup strip (again co-written by Snyder & James Tynion IV with art from Rafael Albuquerque) is titled The Fall of the House of Wayne, Part 1 of 3, and tells the story of another Talon attack, this one in the past, on Alfred's father and former servant to the Waynes, Jarvis Pennyworth. It promises some secret to the history of the Wayne family, which some have speculated will be a re-writing of Batman's origin story. We'll see.
Red Hood and the Outlaws #9 by Scott Lobdell & Kenneth Rocafort
Another one I've never read before. More successful than Batwing this issue, in my opinion, though obviously you can't use these to judge the whole series. Some of the cast's banter is more forced than funny, and Rocafort's unusual layouts are a mixed blessing (that they're strange is nice; that this sometimes results in very small panels is more debatable), but it tells a whole story that doesn't feel woefully short, with some major character beats (that Red Hood has previously been resurrected a la the Talons is neatly used).
It also ties in nicely to the rest of the event: there's Mr Freeze, who'll crop up majorly in Batman Annual #1 (which is placed later on the reading list, though there's no clues left here to where it should sit), and the last couple of pages wrap up the story from Batgirl, as well as pointing the way to Birds of Prey (which is next on the reading list). All good stuff. Despite early reservations, this is perhaps my favourite single issue of the event so far.
And that's the halfway point! More tomorrow.
And with the publication last Wednesday of Batman Annual #1, the event is now over... but I've saved up the whole thing to read in one go. Well, I say one go -- it's fourteen issues, so it'll probably be two or three goes. And the other advantage to waiting is I can read it in reading order rather than publication order... though as they're mostly standalone stories, and some issues take place across multiple other ones anyway, I doubt it really matters.
So, in reading order...
Batman #8 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, James Tynion IV & Rafael Albuquerque
Here the night begins with a whole team of Talons attacking Wayne Manor, forcing Bruce and Alfred to retreat into the Batcave where they realise the full extent of the Court's plan. It's primarily an action issue, with some good fights, but it also sets up where the whole event is going.
This is also the first issue of Batman to have a backup strip (co-written by Snyder & Tynion and drawn by Albuquerque) and, unusually, it continues the story immediately where the main one leaves off, plus leads directly into the wider Bat-family's involvement in the event. I hope there's no one who just ignores those extra bits...
Nightwing #8 by Kyle Higgins & Eddy Barrows
They've labelled this a "prelude" to the main event, just because it fell outside the main month when everything as tying in, which is stupid really: Alfred's call from the Batman backup comes very early in the issue (complete with a Night of the Owls timestap), before Nightwing ends up battling a Talon and it all ends on a "to be continued" cliffhanger. I imagine if one only read Nightwing #9 as part of the event, it would feel a tad confusing -- this is as much a part of it as anything else.
And once again, I swear no one actually reads these comics before they put an age rating on them. Despite featuring a graphic beheading (amongst sundry other violence), this retains the series' regular T rating. Perhaps it's a moot point -- comics mostly sell to grown men who should know better these days -- but still, if you're going to bother, do it right.
Batgirl #9 by Gail Simone & Ardian Syaf
I'm behind on Batgirl -- last one I read was #6, so I'm skipping two issues here -- but it's Night of the Owls! And it's a standalone issue as part of that, so it's OK.
The way they pitched Night of the Owls, I was expecting the main story to be contained to Batman (and maybe Nightwing) with all the other titles telling smaller one-on-one stories about Bat-family members which are connected to the main story but not essential. Based on this one issue, that's not entirely the case: not only does this reference several other issues (plenty of footnotes telling you where to go for the full story), but it's based around a pretty significant incident (I imagine -- we'll see), involving not only Batgirl but also Commissioner Gordon, and a turning-point victory for the Court.
While it would be good for comics crossovers generally if not every involved issue was essential to understanding what the hell's going on, I'm glad that not all the books in Night of the Owls will be providing ancillary stories that don't really matter.
Oh, and Batgirl fights a female Talon -- I hope they don't have all the female heroes fighting female Talons, because that's just too coincidental.
Batman and Robin #9 by Peter J. Tomasi, Lee Garbett & Andy Clarke
Or Robin, this issue, as Batman is pretty busy elsewhere (considering he's the sole starring character in three other titles; though I think Batman: The Dark Knight subs in Red Robin this month (which is funny, really, because as the only one without Batman in the actual title, you'd think Detective Comics would be the natural home for a non-Batman story. But hey-ho, that's comics for you.)).
Unlike Batgirl, this is a standalone ancillary tale, but a pretty good one. Another bloody beheading though -- in fact, there's four. Four. And Americans count this as Teen. God.
Batwing #9 by Judd Winick & Marcus To
So we reach the first title in the Night of the Owls that I've never read before (there'll be several more of these before we're done). It's another standalone tale in which 'African Batman' Batwing defends Batman, Inc.'s Lucius Fox from a Talon attack. It also builds on some elements from Batwing's regular run, I think, but in no way that locks out people like me who'll only pick up this issue. It's fine enough as a bit of a scrap, but it's not going to convince me to start buying the book regularly.
It's also nice that in several books characters who would know note how much the Talon moves like Nightwing -- in Batgirl, here, and later in Red Hood.... Neat. As for other recurring themes, there's no beheadings this time (only a threatened one), but yet another repetition of Alfred's call from the end of Batman #8. I suppose I don't blame them, it's a good way of quickly kicking off the plot, but I'll know it by heart at this rate. At least Red Hood and the Outlaws put it at the end of their preceding issue.
And Batwing doesn't fight a black Talon, so that's good (see comment on Batgirl above for why I note this).
Batman #9 by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo
Back to the main title next for the primary issue of the whole event -- it's even titled Night of the Owls, just to make sure you know. This one covers a fair chunk of the evening, passing around and over the events of several books that will follow (and some that have gone before) -- there's a glaring space left for the events of Detective Comics #9, for instance. (For some reason the reading list puts that four issues away yet, but I'd consider putting it next. Maybe there's a reason I'll discover when I get to it.)
As a whole, the issue by itself doesn't quite have the grandiosity that an event of this scale promises. It's a fight -- a tough one, admittedly, but still just a fight -- followed by a quick trip in the Batmobile to the next plot token. I suppose that's kind of the problem with the Night of the Owls: by making it a Big Event they've made it seem like the climax to the story, but actually that's a couple of issues away yet. Not bad, just not quite the event linchpin one feels it should have been.
The backup strip (again co-written by Snyder & James Tynion IV with art from Rafael Albuquerque) is titled The Fall of the House of Wayne, Part 1 of 3, and tells the story of another Talon attack, this one in the past, on Alfred's father and former servant to the Waynes, Jarvis Pennyworth. It promises some secret to the history of the Wayne family, which some have speculated will be a re-writing of Batman's origin story. We'll see.
Red Hood and the Outlaws #9 by Scott Lobdell & Kenneth Rocafort
Another one I've never read before. More successful than Batwing this issue, in my opinion, though obviously you can't use these to judge the whole series. Some of the cast's banter is more forced than funny, and Rocafort's unusual layouts are a mixed blessing (that they're strange is nice; that this sometimes results in very small panels is more debatable), but it tells a whole story that doesn't feel woefully short, with some major character beats (that Red Hood has previously been resurrected a la the Talons is neatly used).
It also ties in nicely to the rest of the event: there's Mr Freeze, who'll crop up majorly in Batman Annual #1 (which is placed later on the reading list, though there's no clues left here to where it should sit), and the last couple of pages wrap up the story from Batgirl, as well as pointing the way to Birds of Prey (which is next on the reading list). All good stuff. Despite early reservations, this is perhaps my favourite single issue of the event so far.
And that's the halfway point! More tomorrow.
Sunday, 22 July 2012
this week on 100 Films
This week has seen 100 Films in a Year go a bit Batman crazy in anticipation of the release of The Dark Knight Rises, including both new reviews and old ones re-posted to the new blog.
The headline piece, now, is my spoiler-free initial thoughts on The Dark Knight Rises. Other than that, click through for reviews of...
The Batman Series
Featuring new reviews of Batman (1989), Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
Batman (1966)
Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
Batman: Year One (2011)
The Dark Knight (2008)
My original review from 2008.
The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience (2008)
My thoughts on seeing The Dark Knight in its intended IMAX format back in 2008, sadly something I won't be able to repeat for The Dark Knight Rises.
More next Sunday, including new-to-new-blog reviews of M and four Wallander films going up later today.
The headline piece, now, is my spoiler-free initial thoughts on The Dark Knight Rises. Other than that, click through for reviews of...
The Batman Series
Featuring new reviews of Batman (1989), Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
Batman (1966)
Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
Batman: Year One (2011)
The Dark Knight (2008)
My original review from 2008.
The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience (2008)
My thoughts on seeing The Dark Knight in its intended IMAX format back in 2008, sadly something I won't be able to repeat for The Dark Knight Rises.
More next Sunday, including new-to-new-blog reviews of M and four Wallander films going up later today.
Saturday, 10 March 2012
Comics
Six tales from Gotham City today...
Batman #6 by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo
Snyder's telling a great Batman tale overall, but it must be said that not much happens this issue; it's the last act of the last issue's story, really -- just a long fight ending in a double cliffhanger. Ah well.
Batman and Robin #6 by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
Batman: The Dark Knight #6 by David Finch, Paul Jenkins & Joe Harris
Middling... which is as good as TDK gets. It still outsells Batman & Robin, which I can't help but feel must be down to the quality of their namesake films.
Batwoman #6 by J.H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman & Amy Reeder
New (to Batwoman) artist Reeder has a pleasant cartoony style, but it's nothing compared to the work Williams III was doing before. Oh well. They've replaced intricately-designed art with an apparently intricate story, following six characters across multiple time periods. Be interesting to see how that pans out.
Nightwing #6 by Kyle Higgins, Eddy Barrows & Geraldo Borges
Resurrection Man #6 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Fernando Dagnino
Nice one-and-done set in Arkham Asylum.
Every non-Batman book seems keen to get in on the Gotham City action at the minute: after All Star Western moved Jonah Hex there, I, Vampire just did a two-parter in Batman's city, and now there's Resurrection Man too; and that doesn't include the mass of non-Batman Bat-family books. Wouldn't be surprised if there's even more I'm not aware of. But hey, Batman's always popular, so why not.
Batman #6 by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo
Snyder's telling a great Batman tale overall, but it must be said that not much happens this issue; it's the last act of the last issue's story, really -- just a long fight ending in a double cliffhanger. Ah well.
Batman and Robin #6 by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
Batman: The Dark Knight #6 by David Finch, Paul Jenkins & Joe Harris
Middling... which is as good as TDK gets. It still outsells Batman & Robin, which I can't help but feel must be down to the quality of their namesake films.
Batwoman #6 by J.H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman & Amy Reeder
New (to Batwoman) artist Reeder has a pleasant cartoony style, but it's nothing compared to the work Williams III was doing before. Oh well. They've replaced intricately-designed art with an apparently intricate story, following six characters across multiple time periods. Be interesting to see how that pans out.
Nightwing #6 by Kyle Higgins, Eddy Barrows & Geraldo Borges
Resurrection Man #6 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Fernando Dagnino
Nice one-and-done set in Arkham Asylum.
Every non-Batman book seems keen to get in on the Gotham City action at the minute: after All Star Western moved Jonah Hex there, I, Vampire just did a two-parter in Batman's city, and now there's Resurrection Man too; and that doesn't include the mass of non-Batman Bat-family books. Wouldn't be surprised if there's even more I'm not aware of. But hey, Batman's always popular, so why not.
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Non-Fiction
Holy Franchise, Batman! by Gary Collinson
Part 1: Live-Action Batman - Batman on hiatus (1997-2003) (pages 120-124)
Part 1: Live-Action Batman - Aborted spin-offs (pages 169-175)
Part 2: Animated Batman - The Dark Knight in the DC Animated Universe - Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) (pages 189-191)
Part 2: Animated Batman - The further animated adventures of the Caped Crusader - The Batman vs Dracula: The Animated Movie (2005) (pages 217-219)
Part 3: Batman of the Future (pages 242-244) [the end]
I am nothing if not thorough in listing exactly what I've read.
Part 1: Live-Action Batman - Batman on hiatus (1997-2003) (pages 120-124)
Part 1: Live-Action Batman - Aborted spin-offs (pages 169-175)
Part 2: Animated Batman - The Dark Knight in the DC Animated Universe - Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) (pages 189-191)
Part 2: Animated Batman - The further animated adventures of the Caped Crusader - The Batman vs Dracula: The Animated Movie (2005) (pages 217-219)
Part 3: Batman of the Future (pages 242-244) [the end]
I am nothing if not thorough in listing exactly what I've read.
Monday, 3 October 2011
DC's The New 52 #1s: My Thoughts
With all of DC's New 52 first issues now out, and with (most of*) the ones I've chosen having finally made their way to me and been read by me, I thought I'd offer some quick thoughts on each (in the order I read them)…
(* I have three more #1s on order from their second printings, but I figure as it's nearly time for #2s (they start on Wednesday) it was best to give in and post this.)
Justice League by Geoff Johns & Jim Lee
This came in for a lot of stick, it felt like. No, it's not the greatest book ever, but it was a more-than-solid introduction to the series and universe. It may suffer from the infamous decompressed storytelling, but the thing is, so does everything else -- that's just how comics are now, and while it might be good if that were changed, it's going to require a shift bigger even than DC's re-numbering re-launch. So with that in mind, I think this is actually pretty good: there's action, humour, mystery, and the story is both newbie friendly and prepares them for what it's like to read comics. Good job.
Detective Comics by Tony S. Daniel
Both these first two Bat books felt slower than Justice League, to my mind; or, rather, less content-filled. This particular one sees Batman encounter the Joker in a way that suggests he's been tracking him for years but never really come face-to-face with him… and, in that grisly and surprising cliffhanger, maybe he never will! This is looking like it might be set up for something altogether more unusual.
Batman and Robin by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
Bit on the fence about this one. For one thing, it's not at all newbie friendly, referencing and building on a tonne of stuff from the last few years of Bat books. Luckily for me I'd been reading up a bit out of idle curiosity, but a total newbie is going to be totally lost. Fail as a new #1, then. Even more so than the two books above, this has long scenes with pages of few panels -- it's either slowly character building (followed by a decent action sequence in the second half), or a bit thumb-twiddling. The plot developing is Moscow is intriguing so I'll stick with it for now.
Resurrection Man by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Fernando Dagnino
This is one of the books I picked up retrospectively, having heard good things. The concept always appealed, mind, so I guess that says something about following your instincts. Anyway, it was worth it. This is a great example of how to do a re-launch character introduction without telling the origin story: we learn his powers, we learn there are people after him, there's plenty of enticing mystery but none of it feels like we need to know his past to understand. Can't wait to read more, and indeed it makes me want to go back and read the original run too. Can't say better than that.
Batman by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo
The only Batman-starring book in the relaunch that seems to have achieved widespread acclaim, I wasn't as completely convinced. It's got some great bits though, including the cliffhanger and some proper detective work from our hero, but equally some speechmaking by Bruce Wayne drags along in the middle. Greg Capullo's art is brilliant in places, mainly anything with Batman himself, but I'm not such a fan of his manga-ish renderings of human characters. I also still resent the excellent solicited cover being switched for Capullo's cartoonish rendering of the same scene. Maybe they feared it would raise the wrong expectations for the internal art?
Batgirl by Gail Simone & Ardian Syaf
One of the best-selling and popular books of the relaunch, which lead me to get hold of it a bit later. Personally I didn't care for it a great deal -- it has an interesting villain and setup with Barbara Gordon's newfound ability to walk again (and hence her return to active superheroing), and I'd quite like to see where all that goes, but it felt even briefer than the other books I've read so far. Perhaps that's the fault of the format I read it in: with digital I don't think I savoured the art and storytelling in the same way I did the ones I bought in print. Which is kinda interesting, I suppose. That said, I'm not alone: as the CBR review I quoted before said, "it feels like Batgirl #1 has barely gotten moving full steam ahead when we get to the cliffhanger."
Batwoman by J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman
A long-awaited title finally emerges as part of the New 52. I have no idea why exactly it was so anticipated, but I'm sure people found it worth the wait. It's a tad hard to get into for a new reader, stuffed as it is with allusions to backstory and previous plots, but it feels like it's worth getting through that because the actual story and characters are intriguing. And, even more so, the art by J.H. Williams III is gorgeous: the crisp pencils and detailed inks really make an impact, and there's masses of innovative page layouts that demand your attention to follow (in a good way) and that you sit back and appreciate them as art in their own right. Loved it.
Aquaman by Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis
"How does it feel to be nobody's favourite superhero?" a character asks Aquaman in this issue, neatly bringing his real-world status into the story. Johns does this throughout, making the book a very entertaining read. And it's true, of course: real-world popularity effects how important characters are in-universe, because that's what makes readers want to see more or less of a character, and that makes them more or less involved in big stories. Anyway, it's a fun read, with strong art, especially the intriguing well-designed villains. I look forward to more.
Batman: The Dark Knight by David Finch & Paul Jenkins
This seems to have been the worst reviewed of the four books starring Batman, and I can see why. It has the slightest story of all four, achieving virtually nothing in its 20 pages. Plus, coming at the end of the month, its Bruce-Wayne-making-a-speech centre section and a big prison break sequence both feel repetitious of Batman #1. Finch's art is fine when drawing action but I find it ugly when crafting faces, making the long-ish dialogue-based scene at a charity gala an uncomfortable read. Even the cliffhanger wasn't particular intriguing for me. The reviews are right, this is easily the weakest Batman book of the New 52.
All Star Western by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Moritat
My initial run through The New 52's #1 ends with perhaps my most anticipated book. All Star Western is a continuation of Gray & Palmiotti's surprisingly-lengthy run on Jonah Hex in all but name… well, and setting. Instead of the Wild West, here Hex finds himself in a burgeoning Gotham City, teamed up with Dr Amadeus Arkham (yes, as in the Asylum) to hunt down a murderer of prostitutes. And, in the process, perhaps tie-in a little to the modern-day arc in Batman. Clever… but, importantly, it feels like neither will be dependant on you reading the other, just offer neat commentary/parallels if you do. This is an exciting, violent, gritty book, beautifully rendered in a sketchy style by Moritat. It lived up to all my expectations and I can't wait for more.
So that's that. If you're interested, my favourite books were Resurrection Man, All Star Western, Aquaman and Batman, while my least favourite were Batgirl and Batman: The Dark Knight. Neither of those were bad per se -- Batgirl in particular had a lot to recommend it -- but I either really liked or outright loved the other eight I've read so far.
I've been intending to read even more of the New 52 #1s at some point, possibly even all of them -- I suppose I ought to get on with it, really, to see if I'd want to continue with any other series. I'm sure I'll share similarly bitesize opinions on those as I read them, but as I read them rather than in a pointlessly saved-up way such as this.
(* I have three more #1s on order from their second printings, but I figure as it's nearly time for #2s (they start on Wednesday) it was best to give in and post this.)
Justice League by Geoff Johns & Jim Lee
This came in for a lot of stick, it felt like. No, it's not the greatest book ever, but it was a more-than-solid introduction to the series and universe. It may suffer from the infamous decompressed storytelling, but the thing is, so does everything else -- that's just how comics are now, and while it might be good if that were changed, it's going to require a shift bigger even than DC's re-numbering re-launch. So with that in mind, I think this is actually pretty good: there's action, humour, mystery, and the story is both newbie friendly and prepares them for what it's like to read comics. Good job.
Detective Comics by Tony S. Daniel
Both these first two Bat books felt slower than Justice League, to my mind; or, rather, less content-filled. This particular one sees Batman encounter the Joker in a way that suggests he's been tracking him for years but never really come face-to-face with him… and, in that grisly and surprising cliffhanger, maybe he never will! This is looking like it might be set up for something altogether more unusual.
Batman and Robin by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
Bit on the fence about this one. For one thing, it's not at all newbie friendly, referencing and building on a tonne of stuff from the last few years of Bat books. Luckily for me I'd been reading up a bit out of idle curiosity, but a total newbie is going to be totally lost. Fail as a new #1, then. Even more so than the two books above, this has long scenes with pages of few panels -- it's either slowly character building (followed by a decent action sequence in the second half), or a bit thumb-twiddling. The plot developing is Moscow is intriguing so I'll stick with it for now.
Resurrection Man by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Fernando Dagnino
This is one of the books I picked up retrospectively, having heard good things. The concept always appealed, mind, so I guess that says something about following your instincts. Anyway, it was worth it. This is a great example of how to do a re-launch character introduction without telling the origin story: we learn his powers, we learn there are people after him, there's plenty of enticing mystery but none of it feels like we need to know his past to understand. Can't wait to read more, and indeed it makes me want to go back and read the original run too. Can't say better than that.
Batman by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo
The only Batman-starring book in the relaunch that seems to have achieved widespread acclaim, I wasn't as completely convinced. It's got some great bits though, including the cliffhanger and some proper detective work from our hero, but equally some speechmaking by Bruce Wayne drags along in the middle. Greg Capullo's art is brilliant in places, mainly anything with Batman himself, but I'm not such a fan of his manga-ish renderings of human characters. I also still resent the excellent solicited cover being switched for Capullo's cartoonish rendering of the same scene. Maybe they feared it would raise the wrong expectations for the internal art?
Batgirl by Gail Simone & Ardian Syaf
One of the best-selling and popular books of the relaunch, which lead me to get hold of it a bit later. Personally I didn't care for it a great deal -- it has an interesting villain and setup with Barbara Gordon's newfound ability to walk again (and hence her return to active superheroing), and I'd quite like to see where all that goes, but it felt even briefer than the other books I've read so far. Perhaps that's the fault of the format I read it in: with digital I don't think I savoured the art and storytelling in the same way I did the ones I bought in print. Which is kinda interesting, I suppose. That said, I'm not alone: as the CBR review I quoted before said, "it feels like Batgirl #1 has barely gotten moving full steam ahead when we get to the cliffhanger."
Batwoman by J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman
A long-awaited title finally emerges as part of the New 52. I have no idea why exactly it was so anticipated, but I'm sure people found it worth the wait. It's a tad hard to get into for a new reader, stuffed as it is with allusions to backstory and previous plots, but it feels like it's worth getting through that because the actual story and characters are intriguing. And, even more so, the art by J.H. Williams III is gorgeous: the crisp pencils and detailed inks really make an impact, and there's masses of innovative page layouts that demand your attention to follow (in a good way) and that you sit back and appreciate them as art in their own right. Loved it.
Aquaman by Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis
"How does it feel to be nobody's favourite superhero?" a character asks Aquaman in this issue, neatly bringing his real-world status into the story. Johns does this throughout, making the book a very entertaining read. And it's true, of course: real-world popularity effects how important characters are in-universe, because that's what makes readers want to see more or less of a character, and that makes them more or less involved in big stories. Anyway, it's a fun read, with strong art, especially the intriguing well-designed villains. I look forward to more.
Batman: The Dark Knight by David Finch & Paul Jenkins
This seems to have been the worst reviewed of the four books starring Batman, and I can see why. It has the slightest story of all four, achieving virtually nothing in its 20 pages. Plus, coming at the end of the month, its Bruce-Wayne-making-a-speech centre section and a big prison break sequence both feel repetitious of Batman #1. Finch's art is fine when drawing action but I find it ugly when crafting faces, making the long-ish dialogue-based scene at a charity gala an uncomfortable read. Even the cliffhanger wasn't particular intriguing for me. The reviews are right, this is easily the weakest Batman book of the New 52.
All Star Western by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Moritat
My initial run through The New 52's #1 ends with perhaps my most anticipated book. All Star Western is a continuation of Gray & Palmiotti's surprisingly-lengthy run on Jonah Hex in all but name… well, and setting. Instead of the Wild West, here Hex finds himself in a burgeoning Gotham City, teamed up with Dr Amadeus Arkham (yes, as in the Asylum) to hunt down a murderer of prostitutes. And, in the process, perhaps tie-in a little to the modern-day arc in Batman. Clever… but, importantly, it feels like neither will be dependant on you reading the other, just offer neat commentary/parallels if you do. This is an exciting, violent, gritty book, beautifully rendered in a sketchy style by Moritat. It lived up to all my expectations and I can't wait for more.
So that's that. If you're interested, my favourite books were Resurrection Man, All Star Western, Aquaman and Batman, while my least favourite were Batgirl and Batman: The Dark Knight. Neither of those were bad per se -- Batgirl in particular had a lot to recommend it -- but I either really liked or outright loved the other eight I've read so far.
I've been intending to read even more of the New 52 #1s at some point, possibly even all of them -- I suppose I ought to get on with it, really, to see if I'd want to continue with any other series. I'm sure I'll share similarly bitesize opinions on those as I read them, but as I read them rather than in a pointlessly saved-up way such as this.
Sunday, 1 April 2012
Comics
Batman #7 by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo
Some fantastic twists and revelations as Batman's battle against the Court of Owls continues. The Night of the Owls crossover is coming, and it's set to be exciting.
That said, some kind of "previously on" mightn't go amiss from time to time. When it's a month between issues it can be tough to remember little details, and when things hark back to stuff published six or more months ago it can get even tougher. And, mainly, I have no idea who the girl in the opening scene is, but we clearly should. Grr.
Still: see also this article, by Nathan Birch at Gamma Squad: 9 Reasons Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman is the Best Bat-Book in Decades. I'm not qualified to make such a bold assertion, but I concur with all the reasons why it's awesome. Reading this arc, it feels like you're watching a classic in the making.
Nightwing #7 by Kyle Higgins, Eddy Barrows & Geraldo Borges
It's a shame that Batman and Nightwing are published in the same week -- the end of this issue duplicates a scene from Batman #7, but elements of it make much more sense coming after the earlier events of this instalment (which wraps up the relaunched series' first arc ahead of the Night of the Owls), so it would have been better to have read this first. Both issues do work regardless... though having read Batman first, the scene in question feels somewhat transplanted from there to here... despite, like I said, feeling I should have read this first. Weird.
I started buying Nightwing because, as The New 52 kicked off, there were comments that it would be closely tied to Batman. It seemed obvious how at first -- there was a Big Thing at the end of Batman #1 -- but then that went away quite quickly. I stuck with it, though, because it was a good tale in its own right... and now I'm very glad I both started and kept it up, because it turns out the whole thing (both so far and, especially, going forward) is pretty closely tied to the Court of Owls storyline. And, as we have established, that's awesome.
Some fantastic twists and revelations as Batman's battle against the Court of Owls continues. The Night of the Owls crossover is coming, and it's set to be exciting.
That said, some kind of "previously on" mightn't go amiss from time to time. When it's a month between issues it can be tough to remember little details, and when things hark back to stuff published six or more months ago it can get even tougher. And, mainly, I have no idea who the girl in the opening scene is, but we clearly should. Grr.
Still: see also this article, by Nathan Birch at Gamma Squad: 9 Reasons Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman is the Best Bat-Book in Decades. I'm not qualified to make such a bold assertion, but I concur with all the reasons why it's awesome. Reading this arc, it feels like you're watching a classic in the making.
Nightwing #7 by Kyle Higgins, Eddy Barrows & Geraldo Borges
It's a shame that Batman and Nightwing are published in the same week -- the end of this issue duplicates a scene from Batman #7, but elements of it make much more sense coming after the earlier events of this instalment (which wraps up the relaunched series' first arc ahead of the Night of the Owls), so it would have been better to have read this first. Both issues do work regardless... though having read Batman first, the scene in question feels somewhat transplanted from there to here... despite, like I said, feeling I should have read this first. Weird.
I started buying Nightwing because, as The New 52 kicked off, there were comments that it would be closely tied to Batman. It seemed obvious how at first -- there was a Big Thing at the end of Batman #1 -- but then that went away quite quickly. I stuck with it, though, because it was a good tale in its own right... and now I'm very glad I both started and kept it up, because it turns out the whole thing (both so far and, especially, going forward) is pretty closely tied to the Court of Owls storyline. And, as we have established, that's awesome.
Saturday, 18 August 2012
TV
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
1x01 The Rise of the Blue Beetle!
1x02 Terror on Dinosaur Island!
This most recent of the many Batman animated series recently came to an end (well, nine months ago), but it's just begun being shown on Channel 5 over here. It started during the Olympics, so I'm playing catch-up now (they're up to episode five, so not much catch-up).
I believe it was consciously designed to be a lighter, brighter, more kid-centric Bat-cartoon, after decades of darkness across the likes of Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond. It means it's a crazy kind of colourful fun that you don't find anywhere else in the Bat-verse right now (and soon won't find any longer, as the new animated series replacing it -- Beware the Batman -- very much swings back towards the dark). Far from the gritty real-world / quasi-real-world of current Batman films and comics, these two episodes feature space travel through a wormhole to save an amoebic alien race on the other side of the galaxy and a battle against a race of gorilla-men on a dinosaur-populated island. You don't get much less "gritty" or "real" than that.
Each episode, Batman teams up with a different DC hero. That part doesn't work so well in these two episodes. I mean, they're not bad, but both feature a lesser-known member of DC's cast, and both have essentially the same character arc (prove they're worthy to be a hero, saving Batman in the process; while he also does some saving-y stuff so as to not appear useless). Hopefully there's more variety to come.
Lorraine's Fast, Fresh and Easy Food
1x01 Easy Entertaining
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Once Upon a Time
1x15 Red Handed
That was, by OUaT's standards, exceptional. By anyone else's it was "quite good", but, y'know, every little helps.
1x01 The Rise of the Blue Beetle!
1x02 Terror on Dinosaur Island!
This most recent of the many Batman animated series recently came to an end (well, nine months ago), but it's just begun being shown on Channel 5 over here. It started during the Olympics, so I'm playing catch-up now (they're up to episode five, so not much catch-up).
I believe it was consciously designed to be a lighter, brighter, more kid-centric Bat-cartoon, after decades of darkness across the likes of Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond. It means it's a crazy kind of colourful fun that you don't find anywhere else in the Bat-verse right now (and soon won't find any longer, as the new animated series replacing it -- Beware the Batman -- very much swings back towards the dark). Far from the gritty real-world / quasi-real-world of current Batman films and comics, these two episodes feature space travel through a wormhole to save an amoebic alien race on the other side of the galaxy and a battle against a race of gorilla-men on a dinosaur-populated island. You don't get much less "gritty" or "real" than that.
Each episode, Batman teams up with a different DC hero. That part doesn't work so well in these two episodes. I mean, they're not bad, but both feature a lesser-known member of DC's cast, and both have essentially the same character arc (prove they're worthy to be a hero, saving Batman in the process; while he also does some saving-y stuff so as to not appear useless). Hopefully there's more variety to come.
Lorraine's Fast, Fresh and Easy Food
1x01 Easy Entertaining
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Once Upon a Time
1x15 Red Handed
That was, by OUaT's standards, exceptional. By anyone else's it was "quite good", but, y'know, every little helps.
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
Comics: Night of the Owls
Night of the Owls concludes!
I've so far given over two posts to my thoughts on last month's Batman event: for the first half, see Sunday, and for the next few see yesterday.
And so to the final few issues...
Batman: The Dark Knight #9 by Judd Winick & David Finch
Well, that was an odd one. A Talon's perspective on the night, showing some of his earlier life and then his rebirth for this particular night -- a neat idea, and one with some good moments. The Talon in question is the one who killed Lincoln March in Batman #9, so we also get a new perspective on that issue's final pages followed by a What Happened Next.
But... Red Robin is featured prominently on the cover, but turns up for just one panel, in which nothing like the cover event occurs. What was he doing during the Night? I don't think it's covered anywhere. Incredibly odd choice for a cover image, anyway. Then the issue ends with this particular Talon slinking off into the sewers, still alive. Will he be revisited later? I doubt it -- The Dark Knight is moving on; this event hasn't even been referred to in Batman so it'd be weird to bring it up later.
Batman Annual #1 by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV & Jason Fabok
Here's one that's included in the event almost by default. It's really a Mr Freeze story, re-telling his origin with a new New 52 twist, but it takes place on the Night of the Owls (after it, really) and refers to Freeze's involvement in passing. If one were to look back over the event as part of the ongoing Court of Owls story, however, this segment should probably be left out.
As a story in its own right, then, it's incredibly decompressed. Though nearly double the length of a regular issue, I think it could easily be condensed to normal size without too much effort. It's a shame Snyder and Tynion can't put all those extra pages to good use, rather than just use them to tell a short story in more expanded form. So many panels which are so thoroughly pointless... Oh, modern comics.
The main talking point is the new twist at the end. Some people will surely be up in arms about it; personally, I think it's a neat new twist. It changes things in an interesting way, but it's hardly a history-betraying re-write.
Catwoman #9 by Judd Winick & Guillem March
Winick pens his third issue for the Night of the Owls, making him as prolific as event mastermind Scott Snyder. (More so, you could argue, as Snyder only co-wrote Batman Annual and only has two more because the previous month's issue of Batman is also included. But anyway.)
So here we have the last issue of the Night itself (there's still All Star Western, as you can see below, but more on that in a moment). It's the early hours of the morning and Catwoman (and some sidekick she currently has) accidentally runs into a Talon trying to kill the Penguin. She doesn't know about the whole shebang, but fights and defeats him anyway.
And yet, for all that unconnectedness, this is one of the better-characterised Talons of the whole event. Many other issues have tried to make them more than masked assassins, but I think this is the most successful -- even including the issue that was entirely from a Talon's perspective! Seems even with a new writer The Dark Knight can't really succeed... even if that writer also wrote this one. Funny how these things work out.
Oh, and this one is rated T+, presumably because there's a nude male bottom and characters say things like "crap", "hell" and "Godalmighty". Though based on the content/rating dynamic of other books, I imagine the rating came before the content.
All Star Western #9 by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Moritat
Difficult to place in a reading list, this: it takes place over a hundred years before the Night itself, but does feature a Talon and is branded as a tie-in. But really, it's shoehorned into the thing, even less significant to the Court of Owls story than some of the standalone ancillary tales from other Bat-books this month (at least those take place on the right night!) Instead, forcing a Talon into the ongoing Hex story means the promising August 7 storyline is cut short -- all wrapped up in just six pages. I worried about that happening when I read the last issue and this one realises my concerns. They seemed to have a lot of potential, so this is real a shame.
Then the Owl thing finishes off the longer plot in another seven pages (was it really so many?!), and a new story begins in the final seven. It would seem efficient were it not for very little happening in each of these long chunks. When All Star is good it's great, but it seems to struggle to transition from one story to the next. You don't need a handover instalment (which they seem to keep doing), just devote a whole issue to a climax and start afresh the month after. As it is, all the endings feel rushed with a tacked-on new beginning. Shame.
Also this issue, the concluding part of Patrick Scherberger-pencilled backup strip Nighthawk and Cinnamon, which has no relation to the Owls whatsoever. It's a decent story, nicely drawn, but there's just so much needless dialogue. It has a kind of B-movie cheesiness which is sort of nice, but even allowing for that being deliberate there's just so much. A little pruning, please.
And that's that! Bit of a downbeat conclusion to the event, with no issue here that really has a significant bearing on the storyline. Indeed, two of them are barely connected at all. Oh well.
Overall, it's been pretty fun. The winner for me is the two-part Nightwing tale, though Red Hood and the Outlaws was surprisingly good too. The main story, taking place in two issues of Batman, felt underwhelming, with a lack of scope considering the Gotham-wide nature of the event -- indeed, such a sense was conveyed better in Batgirl, of all things! Actually, that was one of the event's better issues too.
I imagine the Batman pieces actually fare better when taken as two instalments near the climax of the eleven-issue Court of Owls saga, rather than as the linchpin of the Night of the Owls. That's been a great story and I can't wait to see how it ends.
I've so far given over two posts to my thoughts on last month's Batman event: for the first half, see Sunday, and for the next few see yesterday.
And so to the final few issues...
Batman: The Dark Knight #9 by Judd Winick & David Finch
Well, that was an odd one. A Talon's perspective on the night, showing some of his earlier life and then his rebirth for this particular night -- a neat idea, and one with some good moments. The Talon in question is the one who killed Lincoln March in Batman #9, so we also get a new perspective on that issue's final pages followed by a What Happened Next.
But... Red Robin is featured prominently on the cover, but turns up for just one panel, in which nothing like the cover event occurs. What was he doing during the Night? I don't think it's covered anywhere. Incredibly odd choice for a cover image, anyway. Then the issue ends with this particular Talon slinking off into the sewers, still alive. Will he be revisited later? I doubt it -- The Dark Knight is moving on; this event hasn't even been referred to in Batman so it'd be weird to bring it up later.
Batman Annual #1 by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV & Jason Fabok
Here's one that's included in the event almost by default. It's really a Mr Freeze story, re-telling his origin with a new New 52 twist, but it takes place on the Night of the Owls (after it, really) and refers to Freeze's involvement in passing. If one were to look back over the event as part of the ongoing Court of Owls story, however, this segment should probably be left out.
As a story in its own right, then, it's incredibly decompressed. Though nearly double the length of a regular issue, I think it could easily be condensed to normal size without too much effort. It's a shame Snyder and Tynion can't put all those extra pages to good use, rather than just use them to tell a short story in more expanded form. So many panels which are so thoroughly pointless... Oh, modern comics.
The main talking point is the new twist at the end. Some people will surely be up in arms about it; personally, I think it's a neat new twist. It changes things in an interesting way, but it's hardly a history-betraying re-write.
Catwoman #9 by Judd Winick & Guillem March
Winick pens his third issue for the Night of the Owls, making him as prolific as event mastermind Scott Snyder. (More so, you could argue, as Snyder only co-wrote Batman Annual and only has two more because the previous month's issue of Batman is also included. But anyway.)
So here we have the last issue of the Night itself (there's still All Star Western, as you can see below, but more on that in a moment). It's the early hours of the morning and Catwoman (and some sidekick she currently has) accidentally runs into a Talon trying to kill the Penguin. She doesn't know about the whole shebang, but fights and defeats him anyway.
And yet, for all that unconnectedness, this is one of the better-characterised Talons of the whole event. Many other issues have tried to make them more than masked assassins, but I think this is the most successful -- even including the issue that was entirely from a Talon's perspective! Seems even with a new writer The Dark Knight can't really succeed... even if that writer also wrote this one. Funny how these things work out.
Oh, and this one is rated T+, presumably because there's a nude male bottom and characters say things like "crap", "hell" and "Godalmighty". Though based on the content/rating dynamic of other books, I imagine the rating came before the content.
All Star Western #9 by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Moritat
Difficult to place in a reading list, this: it takes place over a hundred years before the Night itself, but does feature a Talon and is branded as a tie-in. But really, it's shoehorned into the thing, even less significant to the Court of Owls story than some of the standalone ancillary tales from other Bat-books this month (at least those take place on the right night!) Instead, forcing a Talon into the ongoing Hex story means the promising August 7 storyline is cut short -- all wrapped up in just six pages. I worried about that happening when I read the last issue and this one realises my concerns. They seemed to have a lot of potential, so this is real a shame.
Then the Owl thing finishes off the longer plot in another seven pages (was it really so many?!), and a new story begins in the final seven. It would seem efficient were it not for very little happening in each of these long chunks. When All Star is good it's great, but it seems to struggle to transition from one story to the next. You don't need a handover instalment (which they seem to keep doing), just devote a whole issue to a climax and start afresh the month after. As it is, all the endings feel rushed with a tacked-on new beginning. Shame.
Also this issue, the concluding part of Patrick Scherberger-pencilled backup strip Nighthawk and Cinnamon, which has no relation to the Owls whatsoever. It's a decent story, nicely drawn, but there's just so much needless dialogue. It has a kind of B-movie cheesiness which is sort of nice, but even allowing for that being deliberate there's just so much. A little pruning, please.
And that's that! Bit of a downbeat conclusion to the event, with no issue here that really has a significant bearing on the storyline. Indeed, two of them are barely connected at all. Oh well.
Overall, it's been pretty fun. The winner for me is the two-part Nightwing tale, though Red Hood and the Outlaws was surprisingly good too. The main story, taking place in two issues of Batman, felt underwhelming, with a lack of scope considering the Gotham-wide nature of the event -- indeed, such a sense was conveyed better in Batgirl, of all things! Actually, that was one of the event's better issues too.
I imagine the Batman pieces actually fare better when taken as two instalments near the climax of the eleven-issue Court of Owls saga, rather than as the linchpin of the Night of the Owls. That's been a great story and I can't wait to see how it ends.
Monday, 9 July 2012
Films
Batman (1989)[4th or so watch]
I realised yesterday that I haven't watched a Batman film since the Adam West one three years ago, and I haven't watched one of the modern (i.e. Tim Burton and later) ones since I saw The Dark Knight in cinemas! With my curiosity piqued, I worked out that I probably haven't watched the others (i.e. Batman, Returns, Forever, and Robin, Begins) since 2006. That's like forever.
So, with the final part of Nolan's Bat trilogy less than two weeks away, I thought, "what better time to re-watch them all?" So I intend to.
Main thought after this one is how weird it is watching it in the wake of Nolan's films. This used to be the dark and serious take on superheroes, treating them in a more grown-up fashion. Now, it looks positively comic book-y. Sure, it's a bit grown-up -- there's elements of psychology and adult relationships, not just Boy's Own Adventure -- but the level of heightened reality and camp... nothing like comic book adaptations now.
Also, you forget just how true it was that the earlier Batman films focussed more on the villains than the hero. Batman's in the first scene, but that's it for a while, and it takes Bruce Wayne ages to appear. The story follows Jack Napier/the Joker and a pair of journalists, primarily Vicki Vale, though (again) I think it's easy to forget how prominent her partner (Alexander Knox, played by Robert Wuhl) is. The film puts a little more emphasis on Wayne/Batman later on, but for a hefty chunk it's not really about him at all. You can really see why Nolan & co thought that was a seam waiting to be tapped when it came to Begins.
(Incidentally, I first saw Batman when I was a kid, so I have no idea how many times I've actually seen it. Same goes for Returns (same situation) and Forever (which I saw in the cinema, but don't really know how many times I may've watched it on TV, etc). All of these numbers are, therefore, a guesstimate.)
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Comics
Batman and Robin #4 & #5 by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
Well, I never: Batman and Robin has moved (as I recently thought it might) from being a middling-to-weak Bat book that I was aiming to drop at the end of the story (gotta finish a story) to my second-favourite current Batman book (Batman is fairly unassailable as one of my favourites fullstop right now).
After the newbie-bothering past-looking setup of the first two issues, it's built into a new and engrossing story. It's not faultless -- Tomasi allows some scenes to toddle on too long, with Gleason's art not always intricate enough to justify some of the needless splash pages -- but, overall, it's an entertaining read.
And Alfred rescuing the titular duo with a remote-controlled Batplane? Win.
Batman: The Dark Knight #5 by David Finch & Paul Jenkins
That was... actually not as bad as it has been. Still fundamentally flawed, mind: it's far, far too short, shamelessly padded with splash pages, double-page splashes, and whole pages given over to a series of large panels conveying something that would have worked just as well in a single regular panel. So all this issue has is a Scarecrow-Batman fight followed by a Batman-Superman fight, albeit with a slight twist... but that's still all it is. And while much of Finch's art is good, I still hate his rendering of human faces.
This book was still on my ditch pile, hoping to reduce my comics spend, but just as that day begins to approach (#9 ends this story) they've gone and announced a new writer will take over after the current story: Gregg Hurwitz, who's just penned the highly-praised Penguin: Pain and Prejudice miniseries (which I now intend to catch up on). So I guess I'll keep it on a bit longer. Well played, DC.
Well, I never: Batman and Robin has moved (as I recently thought it might) from being a middling-to-weak Bat book that I was aiming to drop at the end of the story (gotta finish a story) to my second-favourite current Batman book (Batman is fairly unassailable as one of my favourites fullstop right now).
After the newbie-bothering past-looking setup of the first two issues, it's built into a new and engrossing story. It's not faultless -- Tomasi allows some scenes to toddle on too long, with Gleason's art not always intricate enough to justify some of the needless splash pages -- but, overall, it's an entertaining read.
And Alfred rescuing the titular duo with a remote-controlled Batplane? Win.
Batman: The Dark Knight #5 by David Finch & Paul Jenkins
That was... actually not as bad as it has been. Still fundamentally flawed, mind: it's far, far too short, shamelessly padded with splash pages, double-page splashes, and whole pages given over to a series of large panels conveying something that would have worked just as well in a single regular panel. So all this issue has is a Scarecrow-Batman fight followed by a Batman-Superman fight, albeit with a slight twist... but that's still all it is. And while much of Finch's art is good, I still hate his rendering of human faces.
This book was still on my ditch pile, hoping to reduce my comics spend, but just as that day begins to approach (#9 ends this story) they've gone and announced a new writer will take over after the current story: Gregg Hurwitz, who's just penned the highly-praised Penguin: Pain and Prejudice miniseries (which I now intend to catch up on). So I guess I'll keep it on a bit longer. Well played, DC.
Saturday, 28 June 2008
"Batman: The Killing Joke" by Alan Moore & Brian Bolland
As regular readers will have noticed, I've been reading a lot of stuff by Alan Moore lately. Moore is widely credited with revolutionising the comics medium over a series of works, and I'm finally beginning to catch up with them. Most of his stories are wholly original tales, such as Watchmen (the most praised of them all) or V for Vendetta; when not, they're usually his own tales from re-used material, such as From Hell (a take on Jack the Ripper) or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (which takes Victorian literary characters and makes a superhero team out of them). In this context, The Killing Joke is a rarity, because it's a Batman story -- a well-established existing character, obviously. Published in 1988, the 46-page tale is from the same era as Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, and not long after Watchmen -- all part of the growing-up and 'darkening' of comics in the '80s. Arguably this can be seen in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film, but with 2006's Batman Begins taking elements from Year One and Dark Knight Returns and the forthcoming The Dark Knight reportedly using Killing Joke as the basis for its version of the Joker (not to mention Watchmen finally being released next year), it seems the full effect of this particular movement has taken a bit longer to hit our screens.
But enough of that, what of the tale itself? It has two prongs: a 'present' element, in which a recently escaped Joker kidnaps Commissioner Gordon and psychology tortures him, attempting to prove that anyone can be driven mad as the Joker was; and a past thread, in which a young father-to-be has quit his job to be a comedian, but is considering a crime to make ends meet... Within this, Moore packs in all his favourite regular tricks and techniques: there's the opening few panels that pull out from extreme close-up to long shot; two stories told in parallel, one revealing the past of a character; a version of match-cutting in and out of these; zooming in and out of items/faces across multiple panels; retaining the same static 'shot' across multiple panels, often while something develops in the background; long passages with no dialogue; using several panels to show a character performing a simple action; an act of sexual violence as a key plot point; a deliberate blurring of the line between hero and villain; long, wordy, philosophical speeches; and mirroring techniques in the structure -- here, for example, the opening line of the finale is inserted as the book's first line, while at the same time Batman's opening dialogue is repeated over the climax. To say Moore is repetitive or constantly copying himself may be a bit much, but he certainly has a tendency to re-use a certain set of techniques in new arrangements to craft his tales (a bit like Steven Moffat with Doctor Who, then).
The story aside, Bolland's art is fantastic. Stylistically, it looks like it was drawn now, not 20 years ago, which in part must be due to fresh colouring. Bolland was never happy with the original colouring of the book -- he was scheduled to do it, but ran out of time and so it had to be completed by John Higgins, who didn't have the same vision as Bolland -- and so he was glad to have the chance to re-do it for this new edition. I haven't seen the original to compare fully, and it will surely upset some purists, but it looks brilliant. Bolland has clearly utilised all the modern computer-based techniques available to colourists, creating a subdued pallet that suits the story's nature. While the gaudy colours of Watchmen create a thematic counterpoint to the grim, realistic story, here I think such a technique would just undermine the point, so Bolland's new work fits like a glove. From the odd frame I've managed to find of the original colouring online, I'd actually quite like to get hold of that just for the sake of comparison.
IGN voted The Killing Joke as the 3rd greatest Batman story ever. I'm yet to read most of those that surround it on that list, so can't really comment for myself, but, in spite of Moore's increasingly familiar tropes, it's an engrossing story. The recent oversized hardback re-release, called The Deluxe Edition on the cover, is certainly worth owning -- while its £12 RRP is steep for a 46-page main story, 8-page second strip, and 6 pages of other stuff, it can be had for less and seems worth it to me.
While I'm primarily reading Watchmen at the minute, don't be surprised if more graphic novel reviews -- primarily Batman ones, I expect -- crop up over the next week or two.
But enough of that, what of the tale itself? It has two prongs: a 'present' element, in which a recently escaped Joker kidnaps Commissioner Gordon and psychology tortures him, attempting to prove that anyone can be driven mad as the Joker was; and a past thread, in which a young father-to-be has quit his job to be a comedian, but is considering a crime to make ends meet... Within this, Moore packs in all his favourite regular tricks and techniques: there's the opening few panels that pull out from extreme close-up to long shot; two stories told in parallel, one revealing the past of a character; a version of match-cutting in and out of these; zooming in and out of items/faces across multiple panels; retaining the same static 'shot' across multiple panels, often while something develops in the background; long passages with no dialogue; using several panels to show a character performing a simple action; an act of sexual violence as a key plot point; a deliberate blurring of the line between hero and villain; long, wordy, philosophical speeches; and mirroring techniques in the structure -- here, for example, the opening line of the finale is inserted as the book's first line, while at the same time Batman's opening dialogue is repeated over the climax. To say Moore is repetitive or constantly copying himself may be a bit much, but he certainly has a tendency to re-use a certain set of techniques in new arrangements to craft his tales (a bit like Steven Moffat with Doctor Who, then).
The story aside, Bolland's art is fantastic. Stylistically, it looks like it was drawn now, not 20 years ago, which in part must be due to fresh colouring. Bolland was never happy with the original colouring of the book -- he was scheduled to do it, but ran out of time and so it had to be completed by John Higgins, who didn't have the same vision as Bolland -- and so he was glad to have the chance to re-do it for this new edition. I haven't seen the original to compare fully, and it will surely upset some purists, but it looks brilliant. Bolland has clearly utilised all the modern computer-based techniques available to colourists, creating a subdued pallet that suits the story's nature. While the gaudy colours of Watchmen create a thematic counterpoint to the grim, realistic story, here I think such a technique would just undermine the point, so Bolland's new work fits like a glove. From the odd frame I've managed to find of the original colouring online, I'd actually quite like to get hold of that just for the sake of comparison.
IGN voted The Killing Joke as the 3rd greatest Batman story ever. I'm yet to read most of those that surround it on that list, so can't really comment for myself, but, in spite of Moore's increasingly familiar tropes, it's an engrossing story. The recent oversized hardback re-release, called The Deluxe Edition on the cover, is certainly worth owning -- while its £12 RRP is steep for a 46-page main story, 8-page second strip, and 6 pages of other stuff, it can be had for less and seems worth it to me.
While I'm primarily reading Watchmen at the minute, don't be surprised if more graphic novel reviews -- primarily Batman ones, I expect -- crop up over the next week or two.
Monday, 5 November 2018
TV
Batman: The Animated Series
1x14 Heart of Ice
2x19 Deep Freeze
The complete series was released on Blu-ray in the UK today, and now I own it -- hurrah! So why am I starting with this random selection of episodes? Well, the box set also includes the two films that are canon with the TV series, Mask of the Phantasm (which I watched relatively recently*) and SubZero (which I've never seen). The SubZero disc also includes four TV episodes to present the whole story of Mr Freeze in chronological order. I decided to inaugurate my set by watching SubZero, because I've been meaning to get round to it for years, but it seemed to make sense to watch all the lead-up episodes first. As well as these two, there's the New Batman Adventures one and the Batman Beyond one (see below!), which are both set after SubZero. I'll watch all of these again when I reach their respective places in the series proper... whenever I get round to watching that (goodness knows when that'll be!)
Batman Beyond (aka Batman of the Future)
1x05 Meltdown
I've arranged everything in alphabetical order here as normal, and SubZero is of course in a separate post, so here's the order they actually go in (and the order I watched them in): Heart of Ice, Deep Freeze, SubZero, Cold Comfort, Meltdown. Sorted.
Great News
1x01 Pilot
1x02 Bear Attack
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
The New Batman Adventures
1x03 Cold Comfort
This is counted as season three of B:TAS by the box set, but everywhere online (well, Wikipedia and IMDb, at least) count it as a separate series, for various reasons I won't go into here. On the evidence of this episode, it's not as good as the prior series.
* It turns out "relatively recently" here means "a whole year ago this week"! Where does time go?!
1x14 Heart of Ice
2x19 Deep Freeze
The complete series was released on Blu-ray in the UK today, and now I own it -- hurrah! So why am I starting with this random selection of episodes? Well, the box set also includes the two films that are canon with the TV series, Mask of the Phantasm (which I watched relatively recently*) and SubZero (which I've never seen). The SubZero disc also includes four TV episodes to present the whole story of Mr Freeze in chronological order. I decided to inaugurate my set by watching SubZero, because I've been meaning to get round to it for years, but it seemed to make sense to watch all the lead-up episodes first. As well as these two, there's the New Batman Adventures one and the Batman Beyond one (see below!), which are both set after SubZero. I'll watch all of these again when I reach their respective places in the series proper... whenever I get round to watching that (goodness knows when that'll be!)
Batman Beyond (aka Batman of the Future)
1x05 Meltdown
I've arranged everything in alphabetical order here as normal, and SubZero is of course in a separate post, so here's the order they actually go in (and the order I watched them in): Heart of Ice, Deep Freeze, SubZero, Cold Comfort, Meltdown. Sorted.
Great News
1x01 Pilot
1x02 Bear Attack
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
The New Batman Adventures
1x03 Cold Comfort
This is counted as season three of B:TAS by the box set, but everywhere online (well, Wikipedia and IMDb, at least) count it as a separate series, for various reasons I won't go into here. On the evidence of this episode, it's not as good as the prior series.
* It turns out "relatively recently" here means "a whole year ago this week"! Where does time go?!
Sunday, 3 November 2024
Comics
Absolute Batman #1 by Scott Snyder & Nick Dragotta
I wasn’t sure I was going to bother with this new Elseworlds variant of Batman. On one hand, it’s written by Scott Snyder, whose Batman work I greatly enjoyed back when I was regularly buying comics the last time in 2011–14. On the other, it sounded like it perhaps deviated too far from what makes Batman Batman; plus, it’s not as if I don’t buy enough other comics that I’m not getting round to reading (including two regular Batman titles). But then it became “the comic everyone was talking about” when it released, and that talk all seemed to be positive, so I bought issue one — and only just got round to reading it, because hey, that's what I'm like.
Anyway, it is indeed absolutely fantastic and I can't wait for more. Thanks, general chatter, for persuading me to read it.
I wasn’t sure I was going to bother with this new Elseworlds variant of Batman. On one hand, it’s written by Scott Snyder, whose Batman work I greatly enjoyed back when I was regularly buying comics the last time in 2011–14. On the other, it sounded like it perhaps deviated too far from what makes Batman Batman; plus, it’s not as if I don’t buy enough other comics that I’m not getting round to reading (including two regular Batman titles). But then it became “the comic everyone was talking about” when it released, and that talk all seemed to be positive, so I bought issue one — and only just got round to reading it, because hey, that's what I'm like.
Anyway, it is indeed absolutely fantastic and I can't wait for more. Thanks, general chatter, for persuading me to read it.
Monday, 4 June 2012
Comics: Night of the Owls
Night of the Owls continues!
For my thoughts on the first half, see yesterday's post. The next batch (according to this reading order) begins with...
Birds of Prey #9 by Duane Swierczynski & Travel Foreman
Not the strongest issue to get back into things with, as the ragtag group of minor characters that are the Birds of Prey battle another generic Talon.
There are some good touches -- the Talons-eye-view panels that re-imagine what he's seeing as being from the 1800s are neat, and Foreman (formerly of Animal Man) delivers good imagery all round -- but Swierczynski's dialogue feels awfully clunky, shoehorning in references to on-going plot threads for no good reason... other than perhaps as some kind of attempt to get the casual Night of the Owls reader to start buying BoP regularly. Well, not close to working on me.
Fine, but (along with Batwing) the least-essential tie-in yet.
Oh, and no beheadings, but a gory double-page spread at the start including slit throats and spilled intestines. Still rated T.
Nightwing #9 by Kyle Higgins, Eddy Barrows & Andres Guinaldo
Picking up where the previous issue left off, this finishes the flashback story of the first Talon Batman encountered, who is also (spoilers!) Nightwing's great-grandfather, while in the present day the relatives go head-to-head.
It's one of the best issues of the whole event, in my opinion. While Batman may be aiming for an epic main battle against the Court of Owls, Nightwing conveys the personal, emotional impact of events on such a key member of the Bat-family. It makes this storyline much more of a heavy-hitter, and proves that Nightwing is as essential to the storyline as the main title.
Detective Comics #9 by Tony S. Daniel
Batman turns up at Arkham Asylum, presumably at some point in the couple-of-hours gap between two panels near the end of Batman #9. There's also a brief reference to the end of Nightwing #9, and the implication Batman's off to find the Birds of Prey in their #9... which is interesting, because he doesn't turn up in that issue!
Anyway, despite the presence of Batman himself this is pretty much a standalone fight. Though he leaves with Dr Arkham at the end for no particular reason, unless that thread's going to crop up again in one of the few remaining issues. Considering he decides to drop him with Nightwing, I can't imagine which.
The Two-Face backup strip continues, nothing to do with the event. Szymon Kudranski's art is impenetrably dark and shadow-driven, making an already lacklustre story even harder to follow. Meh.
More tomorrow.
For my thoughts on the first half, see yesterday's post. The next batch (according to this reading order) begins with...
Birds of Prey #9 by Duane Swierczynski & Travel Foreman
Not the strongest issue to get back into things with, as the ragtag group of minor characters that are the Birds of Prey battle another generic Talon.
There are some good touches -- the Talons-eye-view panels that re-imagine what he's seeing as being from the 1800s are neat, and Foreman (formerly of Animal Man) delivers good imagery all round -- but Swierczynski's dialogue feels awfully clunky, shoehorning in references to on-going plot threads for no good reason... other than perhaps as some kind of attempt to get the casual Night of the Owls reader to start buying BoP regularly. Well, not close to working on me.
Fine, but (along with Batwing) the least-essential tie-in yet.
Oh, and no beheadings, but a gory double-page spread at the start including slit throats and spilled intestines. Still rated T.
Nightwing #9 by Kyle Higgins, Eddy Barrows & Andres Guinaldo
Picking up where the previous issue left off, this finishes the flashback story of the first Talon Batman encountered, who is also (spoilers!) Nightwing's great-grandfather, while in the present day the relatives go head-to-head.
It's one of the best issues of the whole event, in my opinion. While Batman may be aiming for an epic main battle against the Court of Owls, Nightwing conveys the personal, emotional impact of events on such a key member of the Bat-family. It makes this storyline much more of a heavy-hitter, and proves that Nightwing is as essential to the storyline as the main title.
Detective Comics #9 by Tony S. Daniel
Batman turns up at Arkham Asylum, presumably at some point in the couple-of-hours gap between two panels near the end of Batman #9. There's also a brief reference to the end of Nightwing #9, and the implication Batman's off to find the Birds of Prey in their #9... which is interesting, because he doesn't turn up in that issue!
Anyway, despite the presence of Batman himself this is pretty much a standalone fight. Though he leaves with Dr Arkham at the end for no particular reason, unless that thread's going to crop up again in one of the few remaining issues. Considering he decides to drop him with Nightwing, I can't imagine which.
The Two-Face backup strip continues, nothing to do with the event. Szymon Kudranski's art is impenetrably dark and shadow-driven, making an already lacklustre story even harder to follow. Meh.
More tomorrow.
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Films
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)[#57 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]
Just time enough to drop this in to my schedule of Batman viewing. If you don't know, it's a theatrically-released spin-off from the acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series animated series, which Those In The Know have long hailed as one of the best Bat-films of any kind.
And by golly, they're right! It's bloody brilliant. Not sure where I'd place it in the overall scheme of Batman movies, but then that's always hard because they have such different styles anyway. Though I don't think it's far from the truth to say it has one of the absolute best, most complex storylines for the character of Bruce Wayne -- certainly better than anything in the Burton films, better than Batman Forever, and more original than the familiar vengeance arc offered in Begins. The nearest similarity may be parts of the Bruce-Rachel story in The Dark Knight and its (apparent) continued effect in The Dark Knight Rises. But even then, this may have the edge.
Add to that stunning design and animation, including multiple barnstorming action sequences, and it all adds up to fantastic entertainment. And for an American animation, it's stunningly mature/adult/grown-up, while also remaining kid-friendly. Outstanding.
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Comics
Six issues read today...
All Star Western #3 by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Moritat
Funny issue, this one: the story from the first two is wrapped up quickly, but with bits apparently left hanging, then it picks up a new thing... which isn't new because it was in the beginning of #1 (I think, because I don't really remember it). Moritat's apparently scratchy, chunky, basic art is surprisingly detailed, which is wonderful, especially in action scenes. Plus it really suits the grimy, gritty tone of the book. But overall, it feels like it needs to get going on a proper meaty story, like the first issue seemed to promise, and if/when it does I'll enjoy it even more.
Elsewhere, the Gray/Palmiotti-penned Jordi Bernet-drawn back-up strip El Diablo comes to a conclusion even limper than its opening. Ho hum. Many they need to look to 2000 AD for a lesson in storytelling in 6-8 page chunks.
Batman: The Dark Knight #3 & #4 by David Finch & Paul Jenkins
Still by far the worst Batman book going. Finch & Jenkins seem to tell a well-paced story... until it stops suddenly with the end of the issue. The plot (by both creators) seems to be constructed around shoehorning in cameos at every turn, as if someone's tried to craft the ultimate Batman story and failed miserably by doing far, far too much. Jenkins (writing) attempts to add some emotional depth to proceedings in #4, but he doesn't seem to have the chops to pull it off. Finch's art is fine, occasionally great, when depicting superhero antics, but his human faces range from not-great to nasty.
So I'm sticking it out to the end of this arc, but I'm quite looking forward to dropping it. Sadly, based on the schedule for collected editions, that won't be until #9! And I doubt DC will follow me in ditching it -- the fact there are currently four Batman-starring books suggests they like having one every week. Though with Batman Incorporated returning in a few months, maybe they'll ditch this at the next round of changes.
Batwoman #3, #4 & #5 by J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman
The absolutely stunning artwork alone would make this worth reading, but it's also backed up by an engrossing story featuring detailed and plausible characters. Surely one of the best books of the New 52, probably current mainstream comics full stop. It's technically the end of the current arc here, but there's a lot of story to go forward. It's changing artist next issue for some reason, so I hope that doesn't effect it too badly.
Definitely considering getting the collected edition of this story, especially if it's oversized, just to see the art again and appreciate it even more fully. Plus that collection will include #0, which I missed. It's out in June (in the US at least).
All Star Western #3 by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Moritat
Funny issue, this one: the story from the first two is wrapped up quickly, but with bits apparently left hanging, then it picks up a new thing... which isn't new because it was in the beginning of #1 (I think, because I don't really remember it). Moritat's apparently scratchy, chunky, basic art is surprisingly detailed, which is wonderful, especially in action scenes. Plus it really suits the grimy, gritty tone of the book. But overall, it feels like it needs to get going on a proper meaty story, like the first issue seemed to promise, and if/when it does I'll enjoy it even more.
Elsewhere, the Gray/Palmiotti-penned Jordi Bernet-drawn back-up strip El Diablo comes to a conclusion even limper than its opening. Ho hum. Many they need to look to 2000 AD for a lesson in storytelling in 6-8 page chunks.
Batman: The Dark Knight #3 & #4 by David Finch & Paul Jenkins
Still by far the worst Batman book going. Finch & Jenkins seem to tell a well-paced story... until it stops suddenly with the end of the issue. The plot (by both creators) seems to be constructed around shoehorning in cameos at every turn, as if someone's tried to craft the ultimate Batman story and failed miserably by doing far, far too much. Jenkins (writing) attempts to add some emotional depth to proceedings in #4, but he doesn't seem to have the chops to pull it off. Finch's art is fine, occasionally great, when depicting superhero antics, but his human faces range from not-great to nasty.
So I'm sticking it out to the end of this arc, but I'm quite looking forward to dropping it. Sadly, based on the schedule for collected editions, that won't be until #9! And I doubt DC will follow me in ditching it -- the fact there are currently four Batman-starring books suggests they like having one every week. Though with Batman Incorporated returning in a few months, maybe they'll ditch this at the next round of changes.
Batwoman #3, #4 & #5 by J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman
The absolutely stunning artwork alone would make this worth reading, but it's also backed up by an engrossing story featuring detailed and plausible characters. Surely one of the best books of the New 52, probably current mainstream comics full stop. It's technically the end of the current arc here, but there's a lot of story to go forward. It's changing artist next issue for some reason, so I hope that doesn't effect it too badly.
Definitely considering getting the collected edition of this story, especially if it's oversized, just to see the art again and appreciate it even more fully. Plus that collection will include #0, which I missed. It's out in June (in the US at least).
Tuesday, 22 April 2014
Comics
Batman Eternal #1 by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV & Jason Fabok
To celebrate Batman's 75th anniversary, DC are releasing this weekly epic by a host of top creators (there's also a "consulting writer" credit for Ray Fawkes, John Layman and Tim Seeley) -- so as it's weekly, I thought I really ought to get reading. Solid start; much promise.
Also:
Batman #28 by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV & Dustin Nguyen
I'm way behind on Batman (OK, let's be honest: a) I'm waaaay behind, and b) I'm waaaay behind on almost everything else too), but #28 steps aside from the main storyline for a preview/flashforward/something to the events of Batman Eternal. Apparently it's set between issues 39 and 40 of the weekly, meaning they won't catch up to it until next year (depending on Christmastime release dates, those two issues might both be out in January 2015).
And it's every inch the issue that knows it's a teaser, full of lines so self consciously cryptic, so avoiding mentioning names or specifics, that you don't think anyone would ever say them in real life -- like, "you know how bad it is out there... you know how much we need what you have in here." Ooh, why's it bad? What does she have? Why would you only allude to it like that if you both know what it is?
Still, it is intriguing, and presents much excitement of its own, so it's all good.
She-Hulk #2 by Charles Soule & Javier Pulido
Less grim than the above. Tonnes of fun, in fact. Hurrah.
To celebrate Batman's 75th anniversary, DC are releasing this weekly epic by a host of top creators (there's also a "consulting writer" credit for Ray Fawkes, John Layman and Tim Seeley) -- so as it's weekly, I thought I really ought to get reading. Solid start; much promise.
Also:
Batman #28 by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV & Dustin Nguyen
I'm way behind on Batman (OK, let's be honest: a) I'm waaaay behind, and b) I'm waaaay behind on almost everything else too), but #28 steps aside from the main storyline for a preview/flashforward/something to the events of Batman Eternal. Apparently it's set between issues 39 and 40 of the weekly, meaning they won't catch up to it until next year (depending on Christmastime release dates, those two issues might both be out in January 2015).
And it's every inch the issue that knows it's a teaser, full of lines so self consciously cryptic, so avoiding mentioning names or specifics, that you don't think anyone would ever say them in real life -- like, "you know how bad it is out there... you know how much we need what you have in here." Ooh, why's it bad? What does she have? Why would you only allude to it like that if you both know what it is?
Still, it is intriguing, and presents much excitement of its own, so it's all good.
She-Hulk #2 by Charles Soule & Javier Pulido
Less grim than the above. Tonnes of fun, in fact. Hurrah.
Sunday, 6 July 2008
"Batman: Year One" by Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli
Batman: Year One is one of the key late '80s tales (like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns) that are credited with re-defining the comics medium. It's as much Jim Gordon's story as Batman's, succinctly showing how Batman's emergence began to change things in a corrupt, ruined Gotham. It's clear that a lot of this formed the basis to Batman Begins, though I'd argue the film's embellishments improve on this version.
The most recent edition also includes a page from an L.A. Confidential-style gossip rag, 'The Crime Blotter'; an introduction by Denny O'Neill (written in 1988); an interesting illustrated afterword by David Mazzucchelli ; a selection of script pages and corresponding layouts; a gallery of sketches and covers (including more roughs); to-scale reproductions of original art and newspaper-print pages; and, finally, another afterword, by Frank Miller.
These extras represent 40 pages, much of it very interesting. Especially intriguing were Mazzucchelli's early '80s submission pencils, which show a detailed realistic style, which was largely abandoned for a scratchy, sketchier style through Year One.
The most recent edition also includes a page from an L.A. Confidential-style gossip rag, 'The Crime Blotter'; an introduction by Denny O'Neill (written in 1988); an interesting illustrated afterword by David Mazzucchelli ; a selection of script pages and corresponding layouts; a gallery of sketches and covers (including more roughs); to-scale reproductions of original art and newspaper-print pages; and, finally, another afterword, by Frank Miller.
These extras represent 40 pages, much of it very interesting. Especially intriguing were Mazzucchelli's early '80s submission pencils, which show a detailed realistic style, which was largely abandoned for a scratchy, sketchier style through Year One.
Saturday, 28 June 2008
Fiction
Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore & Brian Bolland
As well as the main story, there's an introduction by Tim Sale, an afterword by Brian Bolland, and a selection of art from the files of Brian Bolland included in the recently released Batman: The Killing Joke - The Deluxe Edition.
See here for my thoughts on The Killing Joke.
Blood Fever by Charlie Higson
Chapters 28 - 30 [the end]
An odd final few chapters, in which James faces off a string of increasingly minor enemies. Still, all in, an even better book than the first. Next up, the apparently Da Vinci Code-esque Double or Die.
An Innocent Guy by Brian Bolland
(from Batman: The Killing Joke - The Deluxe Edition)
Short Batman story written and drawn by Brian Bolland. Originally published as part of the Batman: Black & White strand, it's presented here in a coloured form.
Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Chapter VI
Walter J. Kovacs files
See here for my thoughts on these chapters of Watchmen.
As well as the main story, there's an introduction by Tim Sale, an afterword by Brian Bolland, and a selection of art from the files of Brian Bolland included in the recently released Batman: The Killing Joke - The Deluxe Edition.
See here for my thoughts on The Killing Joke.
Blood Fever by Charlie Higson
Chapters 28 - 30 [the end]
An odd final few chapters, in which James faces off a string of increasingly minor enemies. Still, all in, an even better book than the first. Next up, the apparently Da Vinci Code-esque Double or Die.
An Innocent Guy by Brian Bolland
(from Batman: The Killing Joke - The Deluxe Edition)
Short Batman story written and drawn by Brian Bolland. Originally published as part of the Batman: Black & White strand, it's presented here in a coloured form.
Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Chapter VI
Walter J. Kovacs files
See here for my thoughts on these chapters of Watchmen.
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