By Luke Abbot
Hopefully issue #4 could be the turning point for the Harley Quinn series. Up until now, it has been played mainly for laughs, enjoying the idea that there is such thing as a comic series made for Harley Quinn, but this issue, while it keeps the same style of comedy and fun, tackles themes and plot, making it one of the most impressive issues yet.
The story revolves around Harley, trying to fit into her workplace. The first scene sees her put on human make-up (a brief reminder that Harley or the Joker do not wear make-up!), and head into her new job as a psychiatrist in a nursing home. She cares for an elderly lady, who has been abandoned by her family and Harley, unable to separate herself totally from her psychotic side, decides to head out and punish this family for their behaviour. Standard Harley chaos ensues. However, this time, it brings up a lot of character themes for Harley and I found myself getting a new layer of thrill from this issue, as it made me feel a lot closer to the actual person that is Harley Quinn.
From an outsider’s perspective, Harley Quinn has always been played for laughs. She is the Joker’s lover and is always portrayed as very cartoonish, dim-witted and eccentric. Her origin story of being seduced by the Joker suggests a certain level of stupidity about the character, as newcomers to the canon will be unable to see how the psychotic Joker is capable of such a thing. No one expects Harley’s character to go too deep: a pretty female side of the coin to Joker. However, this issue shows us a Harley that is touched by this sob story of an elderly woman and decides to go and do something about it, using the only way she has ever known. We could even go as far as to compare the elderly woman to the Joker. It could be suggested that she manipulates Harley into waging war on this family, even if her manipulation is unintentional. When Harley is going about her cartoonish rampage around this poor family’s household, there is a certain admiration we have for her character, but she is doing it all for a woman she hardly knows, but wants to help. No longer will I see Harley Quinn as little more than the pretty sidekick, hanging at the Joker’s arm.
But don’t let this backstory fool you into thinking that this issue is about a poor old woman suffering from loneliness. In fact, the humour here is better than ever. Maybe it is the fact that I am used to the style of this comic now; I have spent the last week anticipating the arrival of this issue in my mail. I spent the entire reading of ‘Very Old Spice’ laughing aloud. The humour is a perfect allegory for Harley Quinn herself: very dark and bleak (she essentially tries to drown a child for being spoilt), yet irresistibly fun. One of the best jokes shows a group of bored housewives, discussing their new ‘personal massagers’, the kind of joke that you can hardly believe is being told, especially when the comic slowly removes the subtle hint that they are secretly talking about sex toys.
I also enjoy that the series now seems to have found its stride. There are a lot of running themes through the Harley comics now, so it feels more than a simple 32 page issue of ‘What’s Harley doing today?!’ We check in with Harley’s pets, her new sports team, another bounty hunter sticks his face around the corner… I like that the past issues are referenced, without dragging them too far into this particular issue. Other times, it does get in the way of the fun though. I didn’t need a two page scene, where Harley meets up with her roller-skating club. Sure, it was fun, but we could have spent those extra panels getting further into this particular issue’s arc, a feeling intensified by the inescapable thought that this is the same joke as last week, just a little bigger. Clocking in with every side of Harley’s new life could get stale quick and make each issue feel routine, rather than fresh.
However, the main reason this issue deserves praise is the fact that we finally get a taste of a bigger story arc. The ending opens up some interesting ideas and gives Harley more to do than fight the occasional hapless assassin. While, when looking back at the series in a few years’ time, I might pick up a previous issue if I want to throw myself into a Harley adventure (the attack on the family is fun, but a little standard Harley), this particular edition deserves my appreciation for actually handling something meatier in terms of narrative.
Quote of the Issue: “Which one o’ you M.I.L.P.S is Jenny Rubenstein?”
(I like to think the writers left the definition of the P to the reader’s imagination.)
For more comic views and reviews follow Luke on Twitter at @LukeBbtt and check out his website at www.oracleoffilm.com
Posted on March 23rd, 2014
Category: ORACLE OF COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman, Comic Blog, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, Harley Quinn #4 Review, Joker, Luke Abbot
Reviewed by Chris Fenn
This is a review of Damian Son of Batman issue four; however as this was only a small series I will use it as an opportunity to review the whole thing!
I’m a sucker for Damian; when I first heard of him I was put off the idea of Bruce Wayne having a son, but when I read the way he was written by Morrison and Tomasi I fell in love with the little sucker. When he was killed in Batman Incorporated I was quite shocked and knew I’d miss him, so seeing Kubert was going to write a miniseries about grown up Damian I had to get into it.
When I read the first issue I had to say my reaction was more tepid than I had hoped. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t love it. I felt Damian was characterised completely wrong; he seemed sloppy when he was with Batman. He acted like a typical teenager, more backchat for backchat’s sake than trying to prove his prowess, which is something the Damian I read never appeared to act like. As this was only the first issue I was happy to see where this was going to go.
Issue two came and again seemed to misunderstand the Damian I knew; I’m mostly talking about that part where he almost kills Bruce. Damian has always seemed to revere his father and seek his approval; it just strikes me as so out of character that he would so readily forsake the lessons instilled in him during Morrison’s run. All of this became instantly forgiven once I saw Damian put on the cowl and his trench coat.
Things really started to pick up in issue three. Damian felt much more in character as Batman; it seemed the cowl instantly matured him and turned him into the Damian I wanted to read. The scene where he rescues the children on the bus is simply brilliant; it shows off Damian’s vicious fighting style and has all of the dialogue internalised, so you don’t end up with the wise ass kid you had in issue one. I do have to say I have no idea why the priest disappeared or who he was and it is beyond me why the cat can talk; unless they are to represent Damian’s conscience and his insanity – or his sensibility.
Then came the finale – the comic I was supposed to review in the first place! Having seen the new Joker in the closing pages of issue three we now have the confrontation; new Batman against new Joker. This issue really came into its own as Damian had someone to fight for, something to prove and an antagonist that was deeply personal to him. Damian does manage to prove his own and fight based on the Batman principles, not the Al Ghul principles, and the issue ends with a beautiful scene of a criminal going wide eyes in terror upon seeing; Damian son of Batman.
I do have some hang ups with issue four, like I did with issue three. There seems to be no actual resolution to if Bruce survived or not – since Damian carried him away we never hear anything about him. My assumption was he had lived, but I think a lot of people may say they assumed he died. All in all I enjoyed this series, despite its slow start and the questions I would have liked more clarification on, and I would love to have a Damian ongoing. I’d say if you like Damian go for this miniseries, and if you don’t you’re only really missing out on a small Elseworlds.
For more comic views and reviews follow Chris on Twitter at @fenneth1989
Posted on February 3rd, 2014
Category: OUT OF THE LONG BOX, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman, Chris Fenn, Comic Blog, Comic Reviews, Damian Son Of Batman Review, Damian Wayne, DC Comics, Joker
Reviewed by Dave Robinson
By Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Chad Hardin, and Stephane Roux
There are certain things you can only get away with in a comic book, and this is one creative team that takes full advantage of that fact, from the opening splash page to the final panel. One of DC’s newest titles, the new Harley Quinn is aimed at anyone who wants to start the day off with a touch of black, but never bleak, humor.
The art, by Chad Hardin and Stephane Roux is both expressive and impossible, which is a good thing. Comic art is not about photorealism, it’s about depicting character and telling a story, and this is something the art team does brilliantly. Hardin and Roux give every person, and animal, individual facial expressions, There’s a panel on the bottom of page 3 that does a perfect job of showing multiple Harleys in a way no other form can manage.
I’m more used to seeing Amanda Conner as an artist than a writer, but together with Jimmy Palmiotti, she does a great job on this issue. It’s a done-in-one story of a girls’ night out with Harley and her best friend. I don’t want to go into too many details, but the story serves as a great way to not only introduce new characters, but also illumninate just who Harley is as a person.
For those concerned about the whole “DC is dark and gritty” meme, yes, people die in this issue. Harley’s a killer with a fairly tenuous grip on reality, and her best friend is no angel, either. If you take the book seriously, it will give you lots of ammunition for calling DC dark, but that’s not the point. This book is dark, but it’s dark and twisted humor. The violence is over the top, but it’s part of the story and magnified for effect.
Don’t think it’s all violence, though. There is one moment of tenderness from Harley’s best friend towards the end of the issue that put a smile on my face and made me want to say “awwww.”
I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Reviewed by Dave Robinson
www.daverobinsonwrites.com
@dcrwrites on Twitter
Posted on January 23rd, 2014
Category: REVIEWS, WORDS ON PICTURES
Tags: Amanda Conner, Batman, Chad Hardin, Comic Reviews, Dave Robinson, DC Comics, Harley Quinn #2 Review, Jimmy Palmiotti, Joker, Poison Ivy, Stephane Roux
By Robin Jones
The other day, Mr postman brought me an absolutely amazing nugget of brilliance. For the poultry sum of £3.50 I ordered Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s “The Killing Joke” Deluxe Edition, ranked #03 in IGN’s best Batman stories of all time, ever, ever, ever, ever so nerr. Or whatever it was called. It’s pretty, oh so pretty. The Dust jacket is all purple and gilded, then remove that and you have a beautifully embossed hardcover, with that famous final scene on it, and a delightful Joker card on the back. There’s introductions, forewards, afterwords, fore skins, editors notes, sketches and more throughout. It was worth every little penny, and it got me thinking. Dangerous I know, but I wondered, “Alan Moore’s story has been lauded as the definitve Joker/Batman story, eluding to the Joker’s origins, the constant merry-go-round between the pair of them, and the question arises: Which one is the madman?”
Is the Joker, the clown prince of crime, the purple clad comedic nut job, crazier than the Batman, the man who has to have a plan for everything, a man so mistrustful of his best friend, that he keeps the very thing that may kill him in the Batcave, on rings in preparation for him going bad! Heck, in Justice League: Doom! he even has a contingency plan, for himself! Who is that prepared, except someone who is crazy? Also, if Batman could break his high moral code, surely hundreds of people would have not lost their lives every time that The Joker, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Bane, the Scarecrow, Hush etc break free from Arkham Asylum or Blackgate? If he killed the Joker, surely that would save hundreds of lives? A move WB/DC have obviously thought about since Superman killed Zod in Man of Steel, and everyone knows that Superheroes don’t kill, right? Which is why the ambiguous ending to The Killing Joke is perfect. Does the laughter stop because Batman kills the Joker, or does the laughter stop because Batman is equally insane and merely arrests him so the whole process can continue indefinitely.
The online newspaper, the Huffington Post, even reported on a team of Mental Health experts, calling themselves Broadcast Thought, including H. Eric Bender, M.D, Vasilis K. Pozios, M.D. and a bunch of retired F.B.I analyst and the likes coming up with psychological profiles for the majority of Batman’s main villains.
Bender commented on the Joker, saying
“Someone who is ‘psychotic’ is experiencing symptoms of psychosis, a mental disorder, which can include auditory hallucinations, such as hearing voices; visual hallucinations, where they see objects that are not truly there; or have delusional thoughts, despite evidence to show that such beliefs are incorrect — such as believing that one’s movements are being tracked by deep space satellites — or disorganized behavior, in the vast majority of depictions, the Joker is not experiencing such symptoms; rather, the Joker has shown symptoms of psychopathy.”
Bender says psychopathy is a personality construct and not a diagnosis of a mental disorder. Psychopathy reflects interpersonal characteristics and behavior that are often rooted in a lack of empathy,” Bender said. “In the comics, television shows, and films, the Joker is much more akin to a psychopath and is not psychotic.”
But then Pozios has said that while some people have speculated that Batman suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder because he witnessed the death of his parents, close analysis of the medical criteria suggests he has some of the symptoms but not the disorder.
“There are actually four categories of criteria for PTSD,” Bender told AOL News. “There has to be some inciting traumatic event, such as the threat of death or serious injury. Then the person has to have re-experiencing of the event, such as through nightmares or flashbacks. “There is also hyper-arousal, such as an ex-soldier being extra sensitive to sudden noises. Finally, the person avoids places and other things associated with the traumatic event.”
Grant Morrison, noted comic book writer, recently revealed his take on things on Kevin Smith’s Fatman on Batman, saying “That’s why it’s called ‘The Killing Joke.’ The Joker tells the ‘Killing Joke’ at the end, Batman reaches out and breaks his neck, and that’s why the laughter stops and the light goes out, ’cause that was the last chance at crossing that bridge. And Alan Moore wrote the ultimate Batman/Joker story — he finished it.
This in itself sent the internet into a tizzy, with a fandom split down the middle! Would Batman actually kill the Joker? Does Batman see the potential for redemption in the Joker’s mad-capped ways? within the book itself, Batman admits that “we’re [himself and Joker] going to kill each other, aren’t we?” and that he just “wanted to know I’d [Batman] made a genuine attempt to talk things over and avert that outcome – just once.” From this alone, it sounds as if Batman is weary, tired of the constant games and struggles with the Joker, which backs Morrison’s point of it being the final Batman/Joker book. Could it really be their final chapter, hence the origin story throughout? The Killing Joke artist Brian Bolland didn’t help with his after thoughts within the book itself, finishing off his section with the quote: “Speaking of which, it’s time I revealed what really happened at the end of The Killing Joke: as our protagonists stood there in the rain laughing at the final joke, the police lights reflecting in the pools of filthy water underfoot, the Batman’s hand reached out and…..”
Again leaving the topic open to interpretation. Personally, I do think Batman killed the Joker. After the devastation he caused in the wake of Barbara Gordon’s shooting, the psychological trauma he would have caused Jim Gordon by parading him through a series of photos of the horrific deed and Batman’s weariness to their whole relationship, I personally feel something inside the Dark Knight snapped.
Alan Moore is also no help on the subject, as he has publicly criticised his own work, stating in one interview “Ultimately, at the end of the day, The Killing Joke is a story about Batman and the Joker; it isn’t about anything that you’re ever going to encounter in real life, because Batman and the Joker are not like any human beings that have ever lived. So there’s no important human information being imparted. Now, that said, I know that I’ve slagged The Killing Joke pretty remorselessly since it first came out. I mean, when I go into a sulk about something, you know, it lasts for decades. On the other hand, I’ve seen some of the other – there’ve been worse Batman books than The Killing Joke. The Killing Joke is probably not as bad as I’ve painted it. There have certainly been worse things done with Batman or with a lot of other superheroes for that matter. So in context, The Killing Joke wasn’t as bad a book as I’ve said it was, probably. That in terms of what I want from a book from my writing. Yeah, it was something that I thought was clumsy, misjudged and had no real human importance. It was just about a couple of licensed DC characters that didn’t really relate to the real world in any way.”
I guess with this one, the answer is in the mind of the reader, rather than laid out in front of you… Moore and Bolland get the last laugh there.
So, onto one of my usual features! I love including you guys in everything I do, therefore, I thought I’d ask the twitterverse, who has written/played/voiced the Joker the best? I love Heath Ledger’s Joker BUT, honestly, my favourite is Mark Hamill’s delightfully devious and downright demented portrayal of Mr J! Anyway, here’s your responses… (In no particular order…like the chaotic clown prince of crime himself hahaHAHAHAhAHahaHAHaHAHAHA… stopit.)
Andy – 42 Level One @damien14273 – Ledger for me he got it spot on, though I think Hamill could too him if he did a live action performance
Scooby-Doom! @TheScoobyDoom – Mark Hamill and Paul Dini are the masters of the Joker Ledger wasn’t Joker, he was purple Riddler.
Graham Day @Burningson – I always thought John DiMaggio gave an unexpectedly powerful performance in Under the Red Hood
The Cult Den. @TheCultDen – The best joker? Probably for me its Morrissons run, which has him as a fluid, ever changing killer (Reece)
Ian Austin @I_A_Austin – Cesar Romero.
Chris Hogan @unlikelynerd – Hammill’s voice acting is always so good. I’ve always liked how Loeb has written him. Snyder did good also. And BTAS writers
Sean Favager @Seanfav1 – Tough to call all amazing in different ways but you have to say for sheer performance Ledger brought it. #Oscar, but my Fav Joker has to be Cesar Romero though. He was nuts funny and he kept his mustache
Shane @pranksterK – Ledger. Gave the performance of a generation
Mr Fibbers @MrFibbers – I couldn’t fault any of them, I loved The childish Nicholson and the psychotic Ledger tho.
PaJi @paulpjames – There are so many, each bringing something different Caesar Romero, Kevin M Richardson, but Hamill for me. No, Nicholson. It’s in the eyes.
William Gordon @2FlashGordon7 – Mark Hamill! each one has nailed certain aspects of the Joker, none have been a PERFECT representation, but they are all still great portrayals. And I’ll get a lot of hate for this… But Snyder wrote him best, perfectly capturing the disturbing romance between bats and him and showing Jokers more horrific nature, and how he can destroy things using only words.
Mikael von Doom @alsoMike – An interesting thing here is that tho Mark Hamill is great, since I grew up with the Swedish version of BTAS, I really don’t have quite the same affinity to the original Joker/Batman voices English speakers have. I do think I prefer how Joker were written/portrayed in BTAS(whether it’s Hammil or whoever the Swedish guy is). I’m a big fan of any portrayal that has him as a comedian first, killer second. Not the other way around.
Steve M @theothersteve_m – To me it’s a tie between Ledger in TDK and Denny O’Neil bringing him back with a more sinister edge with Neal Adams.
Daniel Cole @gizmo151183 – Easy. Mark Hamill is the definitive Joker.
Inter-Comics @InterComics – I’m a Heath Ledger guy myself
Matt Johnson @PanelsAndPixels – Even though it’s recent I adored Joker in Death of the Family. He felt incredibly dangerous and unhinged, even for him.
Harry Ballentyne @CrimsonSquire -Ledger, he managed to capture the Joker’s sadistic version of comedy brilliantly.
random-shane @mprshane – Ledger was the bestest Joker
James M. Clark @JamesMClark87 – It’s a toss up between Hamill and Ledger
lottie @lottiejonesy – It would probably have to be Jack Nicholson, as he just looks like the Joker with those mad eyes!
So, after tallying up the votes, you guys have decided between you, that your favourite representation of the Joker is… Heath Ledgers! He recieved a post-humous Oscar for his turn as the nameless crown prince of crime in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and has given us so many fantastic quotes “Why So Serious!?!”, “How about a magic trick? I’m gonna make this pencil disappear” and the infamous “If, tomorrow, I tell the press that, like, a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it’s all “part of the plan.” But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds!” which has been memed to death now! My personal favourite was Mark Hamill by the way.
Anyhow, onto the results of last weeks vote. I am diving into the world of the X-Men finally, and I asked you all to choose which X-Men run I should read first. The choices were Astonishing X-Men, Days of Future Past, Broodfall, Tomorrow People and Age of Apocalypse. This one was a bit unfair, since as @sciencepie (Graham, my good friend) told me, everyone goes for Whedon, however…
Therefore, expect my review of Joss Whedon, king of the geeks, ruler of the Whedonverse, creator of Buffy and arch duke of the Avengers’s take on those Astonishing X-Men.
Until next time….
For more comic views and reviews follow Robin on Twitter at @Hulksmash1985
Posted on October 1st, 2013
Category: NEWS & VIEWS, PAPERCUTS AND INKSTAINS, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman, Comic Review, DC Comics, Joker, Killing Joke, Killing Joke Review, Robin Jones
Holy cow…
All Star Batman & Robin makes for an interesting read, but be prepared for a different kind of Batman; one that you might not like.
Written by Frank Miller, and with art by Jim Lee, All Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder (Volume 1) is an out of continuity re-imaging of The Dark Knight’s early career and first encounter with The Boy Wonder. Collecting issues 1-9 of the never finished series, Volume 1 was released in 2008, to mixed reviews. Despite some awful lines, All Star Batman & Robin makes for an interesting read, but be prepared for a different kind of Batman; one that you might not like.
All Star Batman & Robin Vol. 1 examines Batman’s early career and quickly introduces a young, bereaved Dick Grayson.
All Star Batman & Robin Vol. 1 examines Batman’s early career and quickly introduces a young, bereaved Dick Grayson. After being seemingly kidnapped by Batman, Dick Grayson begins to learn about the Batman’s secrets, his war on crime, and how The Dark Knight plans to recruit him into this war. The story continues to follow Batman as he wages his war on Gotham’s criminals trying to discover who murdered Dick’s parents, whilst Dick is left in the cave to fend for himself and invent a costumed persona.
The story continues to follow Batman as he wages his war on Gotham’s criminals, whilst Dick is left in the cave to fend for himself and invent a costumed persona.
As the book progresses we see the introduction of Black Canary, learn that it was the Joker who was behind the murder of Dick’s parents, discover that a teenage Barbara Gordon spends her evenings as Batgirl, and find out that the Justice League feels the need to rally against Batman as they believe that he has finally taken things too far by kidnapping a young boy. This culminates in a fight between Batman and Green Lantern, where Robin nearly kills Hal, leading to a realisation for both Batman and Robin that there must be time to grieve in the war on crime.
The Justice League feels the need to rally against Batman as they believe that he has finally taken things too far by kidnapping a young boy.
Whilst the premise of the story is pretty good, it’s the actual writing and characterisation that will put a lot of people off. The Batman created by Miller here is one who is violent, psychotic, and enjoys what he does. But he enjoys it too much. The Batman portrayed here acts with a reckless abandon, and enjoys the violence with sadistic glee. He’s also incredibly tough on Dick, treating him like a soldier and forcing him through hardship immediately after the death of his parents. It’s not the usual sidekick relationship that readers are used to; not by a long way.
The Batman portrayed here acts with a reckless abandon, and enjoys the violence with sadistic glee. He’s also incredibly tough on Dick, treating him like a soldier and forcing him through hardship immediately after the death of his parents.
The Batman here is unlikeable and hard to reconcile with the Batman that we are used to reading about, or even Miller’s other incarnations of Batman in Year One, and The Dark Knight Returns. Even if you consider this as early in Batman’s career when he could afford to be more reckless and enjoy what he was doing, Miller takes Batman too far, abandoning the key morals and attributes that are the cornerstone of Batman’s character. Even when Batman is shown to be more introspective and questioning of his actions, it’s hard to shake the feeling that Miller has assassinated Batman’s character. For example, Batman shows no remorse for the fact he almost kills Alfred and Vicky Vale early in the book. Add to this some of the worst lines uttered in comic books ever, including the now infamous “What, are you dense? Are you retarded or something? Who the Hell do you think I am? I’m the Goddamn Batman” line, and it’s hard to find a whole lot to like about All Star’s Batman. Batman is no longer the Dark Knight, but instead just another psycho in a cape and cowl. This is something that many people have called Batman in various comics, but it’s never something Batman has actually been.
It’s hard to shake the feeling that Miller has assassinated Batman’s character. Add to this some of the worst lines uttered in comic books ever!
Where All Star Batman & Robin succeeds is in the characterisation of Dick Grayson. All Star’s Boy Wonder is smart, skilled, introspective and quick to question both Batman’s and his own methods and actions. Another area in which All Star Batman & Robin succeeds is in the artwork by Jim Lee. There’s not much to say other than Jim Lee nails the look of the characters Miller introduces; you might not like these characters, but you can’t argue with the artwork. Likewise the writing isn’t always bad; there’s an interesting story underneath all the bad dialogue, and the relationship introduced is intriguingly different to the normal hero/sidekick dynamic. It’s just unfortunate that the majority of the dialogue turns these good factors into farce. Dig a bit deeper, and there are hints that Batman is trying to find himself, and that he may even realise that he’s taking things too far. Unfortunately this is never explored in detail, meaning it’s impossible to see Batman as anything more than a demented psychopath. One thing I really did like, though, was Miller’s juxtaposed portrayal of Batman and the Joker. By having Batman laughing continuously as he fights Gotham’s criminals and a Joker that doesn’t laugh at all, but instead seems deadly serious, Miller creates a clever paradox with the usual portrayal of these two characters.
One thing I really did like, though, was Miller’s juxtaposed portrayal of Batman and the Joker.
In truth, I did enjoy reading All Star Batman & Robin, but not for the reasons I usually enjoy reading a comic book/graphic novel. I’m not a fan of this version of Miller’s Batman at all, and I’m surprised at the quality of writing on display in places, particularly given how good Year One and The Dark Knight Returns were. Some of the lines (such as the infamous “Goddamn Batman” sequence) have no place in any type of book/comic/graphic novel no matter what the writer is trying to achieve; in this book they lower the tone to the point of absurdity and seem only to have been included for shock value, cheapening the writing as a whole. However, there’s no denying that All Star Batman & Robin is a unique and interesting portrayal of the Batman/Robin relationship dynamic, and a completely new take on Batman’s attitude towards his war on crime. This alone makes it worth a read. Just don’t expect to like the book. Don’t expect to find the Batman you recognise here. And don’t expect many answers as All Star Batman & Robin was never finished. This means that the significance of Batgirl and Catwoman’s appearances are never expanded upon, and the Joker’s motive and endgame is never revealed. Without these points ever expanded on, it makes Miller’s writing appear lazy and lacking depth; All Star Batman & Robin might come across very differently if the story it was trying to tell was ever finished.
There’s no denying that All Star Batman & Robin is a unique and interesting portrayal of the Batman/Robin relationship dynamic, and a completely new take on Batman’s attitude towards his war on crime.
All Star Batman & Robin never lives up to Miller’s other work, in particular Year One or The Dark Knight Returns. The characters are hard to like and the writing is at times terrible and cringe-worthy. The artwork is a high-point and Miller’s treatment of Dick Grayson is much better than that of Bruce Wayne, or the other DC characters that make brief appearances throughout this volume. Nonetheless it’s one of the more interesting interpretations of Batman available, and whether you love it or hate it, it’s worth reading purely for the fact there’s never been a version of Batman quite like this before, or since.
Thanks for reading. Written by Chris Orr, an Inter-Comics contributor. You can follow me on Twitter (@Orr_Man), Tumblr (www.dresslikethehulk.tumblr.com), and check out my back-catalogue of articles at www.dresslikethehulk.com.
Posted on January 25th, 2013
Category: PROJECT COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: All Star Batman & Robin, All Star Batman and Robin Volume 1 review, Bruce Wayne, Chris Orr, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, Dick Grayson, Frank Millar, Jim Lee, Joker, Justice League, Project Comics, Superman
By Kulbir Mann
Batman and the Joker are one of the greatest all time superhero villain combinations. Their names are etched in comic folklore stone. Where do you begin to explain how they work and why they work so well with each other? There are books written on the matter and there are countless works of comics, cartoons and films depicting the subject. Put simply, Bruce took on a persona to instil fear into the villains of Gotham and the Joker is Gotham underworld’s response to Batman. Is a killer clown any more or less ridiculous or crazy as a man dressed as a Bat trying to fight crime? Of course not. Regular street crime and villainy is no match for Batman and so new criminals are born and wander into the fray for the challenge.
Enter the Joker. His insane genius is so incomprehensible that a detective will not be able to piece together the clues in his mind.
Enter the Joker. His insane genius is so incomprehensible that a detective will not be able to piece together the clues in his mind. It is difficult to remember that Batman is primarily a detective even though he has a ridiculous amount of other skills. Unfortunately that is not enough to fight the Joker, which appears a ridiculous statement as Batman always wins. However there is a cost to these victories: namely to the ones Batman holds dear. Batman’s second Robin, Jason Todd was brutally murdered, Sarah Gordon, Jim Gordon’s wife was also hideously killed, Barbara Gordon, Jim’s daughter was left paralysed and he almost sent Jim to Arkham asylum. The amount of times Joker was arrested and sent to Arkham only to escape and kill is immeasurable. The only way to stop is to prevent his fleeing incarceration or simply to kill him. Batman does not kill and therein lies the problem.
The Joker adores Batman and has no immediate wish to kill him. He is a bored man and finds the Bat incredibly amusing and loves to torture him. The Joker has described Batman’s eventual death as a work of art that needs to be planned in order for it to be fitting of the icon. There was even an episode of the animated series where the Joker stops Batman from being killed because the death scene was not amazing enough. He also knows that Batman does not kill and eventually he will always be free to inflict suffering on him. All Batman can do is try to outthink his eccentric mind and catch him again before another loved one is hurt. As complex a hero villain complex as this is, there is only one man who suffers and that is Bruce Wayne.
The Joker adores Batman and has no immediate wish to kill him. He is a bored man and finds the Bat incredibly amusing and loves to torture him.
Joker has been away. He was only in one issue of the first year’s worth of new 52 comics and that was Detective Comics #1. This featured a break into Arkham asylum in order to meet the Dollmaker, who gave him the ultimate disguise: he removed his face. A disgusting final page showed Joker’s skin pinned to a wall and that was the last we heard of him, until now. The Death of the Family has begun and the Joker has returned to Gotham ready to inflict pain on Batman again. The title suggests that there will be more death and destruction to the people Bruce holds close. What is his current motivation and why has he returned now after a year? In order to answer this question we need to look closer at his comic book return.
This featured a break into Arkham asylum in order to meet the Dollmaker, who gave him the ultimate disguise: he removed his face.
There are a few obvious truths to the return of a homicidal megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur. He has to be the most feared and hated villain irrespective of Batman. He is a son of Gotham returning to reclaim his throne and he alludes to this many times when confronting Batman and the Gotham police. He also stamps his role when meeting with the Penguin, where he places himself as a prime suspect for thug murders. He barters with Cobblepot in order to manipulate him into performing a favour. Once again outthinking and positioning himself above the Penguin in the super villainy stakes. The Joker is jealous of the troubles inflicted on Batman from the court of owls, making two separate mentions of it. He is irate that Bruce struggled so much and genuinely thinks he should have managed better. The Joker wants to be his toughest villain, not some old owls. Finally I think he just missed the place and running amok around the city.
The Joker has an interesting ideology when it comes to Gotham and Batman. Batman is the Godking of Gotham and organised crime is Batman’s purpose in life. The thugs fear the bat insignia and it’s meaning, escalating Bruce to mythological status. Successfully completing a crime is the reward; it means that you have evaded the bat, let alone the booty itself. The Joker compares this to a worship like practice and Cobblepot is in charge of the offerings. There is a lovely line that states that the Penguin is the bishop in Batman’s dark kingdom. As Batman feeds on all of this crime he is satisfied he is doing his job. He is kept busy and Gotham has its champion, its king. These villains are fulfilling a role but they are simple folk, not like the Joker, not like him at all.
The Joker compares this to a worship like practice and Cobblepot is in charge of the offerings.
The Joker is special. He is Batman’s enemy and his nemesis and that relationship is special to him. When he talks to Batman he does so with emotion and sentiment, which is easily disguised with his crazy grin and laughter. The Joker has gone to a lot of effort in his return, just for Batman. He has gotten his face back, because it is who he is and he needs to be seen again, even if it means using a belt to fix his face in place. He does not want to remain unrecognisable because the world must know what he is doing and how well he is doing it. He uses an analogy of the play My King and I to describe his relationship with Bruce. It’s an interesting reference to a show about a couple being on opposing warring factions. The man and woman eventually understand one another and only then are able to share their feelings with a single dance. The Joker understands Batman’s mentality and holds him dear. He is his jester and no one else can take his role. He wants to dance with him again. The Joker takes great lengths to re-enact the evolution of their relationship, as he recreates his first kill and one of the earliest Batman meetings on a bridge at the Gotham reservoir. Batman says, “You’re nothing to me” and the Joker replies, “Shhh. Don’t do that, don’t pretend, not here, not to me.” These are amazing lines showing how upset Joker becomes when their relationship is belittled.
The Joker takes great lengths to re-enact the evolution of their relationship, as he recreates his first kill and one of the earliest Batman meetings on a bridge at the Gotham reservoir.
Batman has changed. He has a large support network and family. He is no longer a lone warrior patrolling the night and this irks the Joker. The true villains of Batman are the company he keeps and they have ruined the Joker’s dear king. He states that Batman has become soft and fat because of his poor efficiency when handling the Owls. The Joker expects more maybe because no one else is allowed to be a bigger threat. He misses the real Batman and is angry he has become weak and dependant. He needs Bruce to be stronger and be more of a challenge and therefore he needs to eliminate his family. His dialogue during the two issues is very protective of Batman and hating to all his associates. The city deserves a better Batman and he is going to return him to full glory.
He needs Bruce to be stronger and be more of a challenge and therefore he needs to eliminate his family.
Where do they go from here? Clearly the crossover will involve many titles and many bat family members. If Joker had his way they would all be killed leaving Batman to himself. I imagine he would try to torment him for as long as possible in his strange bad romance fantasy until he mentally breaks. We know that is unlikely to happen and that Batman will win outright and probably send him back to Arkham. It is the status quo as I alluded to above, but there will be a change, and it is likely someone will die or be irreparably damaged. I hope the Jason Todd storyline will be well handled given he died at the Joker’s hands once before and is not as moralistic as Batman. Whatever happens once again Bruce will be left with the guilt of an injured or dead loved one and I wonder where it will take him. What roads will he travel that he has not travelled before? He has a huge family with his world of Batmen, which need support and continued motivation, so that cannot be changed. The Joker will remain to fight another day but Bruce will bear the consequences again and I am interested to see another scar added to his brutally abused mind.
For more comic views and reviews follow Kulbir on Twitter at @Kooliebear and check out his website over at houseofflyingscalpels.com
Posted on November 23rd, 2012
Category: DEVIL IN THE DETAIL, NEWS & VIEWS
Tags: Batman, Batman Review, Bruce Wayne, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, Detective Comics, Devil in the Detail, Greg Capullo, Joker, Kulbir Mann, Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Robin, Scott Snyder
By Sean Favager
Sean takes a break from eating and relaxes with a comic!
Hello Puddings welcome back to the Comic Asylum… Normally I would ramble on about how I am and what’s been going on but not this week. This week I will be jumping both feet first into the title subject. Friday just gone my issue of Batman #13 turned up. I was late getting this issue for the fact I have happily been reading Detective Comics and was unsure to the fact I wanted my bank balance to collect two Bat books at a time. So as I’m reading about the Doll Maker and the Joker, people who were collecting Batman were given the Court of Owls. All anybody did on the internet was heap praise after praise on this storyline which I have to admit I did toy with jumping on but sat back and stuck to my guns with Detective Comics. Then the bomb was dropped, with the COO Storyline coming to a close, Team Snyder’s next storyline would be called ‘Death of the Family’ and starring none other than Mr J. I could not stick to my guns any longer and that was simply because I wanted to know how they would go about using the Clown Prince of Crime as the main villain, when in Detective Comics we witnessed the Doll Maker remove the Jokers face. So my hand was forced and I ordered a copy of Batman #13. As I said before it arrived the Friday just gone, the first thing I did was open it up and laugh at the Joker mask cover. I never got round to reading it till the Saturday, I actually put it midway in my comics pile. To me this book wasn’t vastly important as I said before I have been collecting Detective Comics. So I went about reading through my Green Lantern back issues, I finally got to the Batman book the world is talking about, and all I could think at this time is I was going to hate it. It is so hard to get into something once it has been hyped up so much by so many people. Something inside your head just automatically wants to be different and not like whatever is being force fed to you. So as I opened up and started to read I’m going to admit I really wanted to hate this book, but I couldn’t… The more I flicked through the pages the more I got engrossed in this book, and I have to say it has been a very long time I have been this into a comic where for that 20 minutes whilst reading nothing else matters but the words and pictures on the page before my eyes. Finally I got to the end and I had this feeling in my stomach I have never ever had when reading a comic or even a normal book for that matter. It was the feeling of dread and horror. It was that feeling you get after watching a scene from a movie that is so disturbing you want to look away but can’t. It was the last couple of pages that really stuck with me even a day after reading this comic book, and it was the last couple of pages that turned this story upside down…
Then the bomb was dropped, with the COO Storyline coming to a close, Team Snyder’s next storyline would be called ‘Death of the Family’ and starring none other than Mr J.
I text @Pete_the_Red the next day after reading this and told him he needs to read this book. I even went on to describe it as possibly being the most ‘iconic comic book of our generation’. His reply was that was a bold shout and the more I think about it the more I honestly think it is a true statement. A couple of weeks ago I listened to the podcast Fat Man on Batman hosted by Kevin Smith and during it he went into great length about what the Dark Knight Returns meant to him and how it was quite possibly the best Batman novel ever. We all understand it was that book that changed the course of how the Dark Knight was told on pages and even in movies. The Killing Joke is another iconic Batman book that changed the way people looked towards the Joker, a book that really solicited how deranged and crazy Mr J is. Then in film we had Tim Burton’s Batman, the darkest this character has ever been portrayed in film. This carried on into the Animated Series, yes it had to be touched down for children but still it produced some of the best Batman stories told. Unfortunately just like any other franchise the suits find ways to ruin it and they wanted child friendly films to boost toy sales so we were given Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Now we can watch them films when they are shown on television and howl at how bad they are simply for the fact we know what comes after. Warner Brothers decide to blow off the dust and reboot the Batman by handing it to Christopher Nolan. What he gives us is the Dark Knight Trilogy and he makes it even darker then Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns. Which leads me onto the point of when they finally decide to reboot the Batman again how dark do they have to make it? Will Batman have to go on a killing spree for people to go wow the Dark Knight trilogy sucked ass compared to this…
The Killing Joke is another iconic Batman book that changed the way people looked towards the Joker, a book that really solicited how deranged and crazy Mr J is.
All these questions and so much more kept rolling through my head right up until I finished reading Batman #13. It wasn’t about what Batman had to do to please us, Batman is Batman, he has his code and rules and that will never change. No matter what challenges he meets he overcomes them. It was always going to be about how his villains evolve in a means to beat him. With ‘Death of the Family’ it is the Joker who evolves and it is this character that crosses the line of no return. I went on twitter and tweeted a quote from the book on Saturday when Harley Quinn is talking to Batman, “He’s not the same Bats. He’s not my Mr J. anymore…” I think this might be the best line from the book. When we find out the Red Hood isn’t the Joker but Harley and she traps Batman she screams this to the Dark Knight. She follows this quote with “What he’s going to do to you… His plan… I can’t…” it is this conversation that really sets the tone of what kind of Joker we will be seeing in the weeks to come. These words are coming from the mouth of someone who over the years has been so faithful to her pudding that she would do anything for him. We have watched and read and even laughed at the way Joker treats Harley Quinn and the way she keeps running back to him but this time it’s completely different, and it’s here to see as she removes the red hood. She has makeup running down her face as Batman pleads to her to tell him where the Joker is whilst trapped inside a drum that is filling with liquid. This scene is so simple yet so effective because of whom the characters are in it. If this was anyone other than Harley Quinn it would just be another scene where Batman is trapped for the time being…
I went on twitter and tweeted a quote from the book on Saturday when Harley Quinn is talking to Batman, “He’s not the same Bats. He’s not my Mr J. anymore…” I think this might be the best line from the book.
What comes next is part one of the Jokers plan and it really is a shocker, as we finally get to see the Clown Prince of Crime with his face attached by a belt to his head. What really takes away from the image of how revolting it looks is what he does and that is takes a hammer and goes after Alfred. We learn about a two headed lion early on in the book and as it comes to a close Alfred hears a scratching noise at the front door of Wayne manor, he opens the door to see this lion standing there. As he looks in sheer confused state the Joker is behind, hammer in hand. We do not get to see the attack, the imagination takes over and that’s the powerful thing about this part. Its open for you to imagine and feel the terror of what is about to happen but what really did not sink in until the second read was, why has the Joker gone after Alfred? Does he know who Batman is finally or is this just a random attack? As we all know nothing is ever random with the Joker. He may come across as a crazy bastard but he always has a plan or trick up his sleeve. It is a really good cliff hanger and you do really want more but it is what follows next that really defines the Joker…
As he looks in sheer confused state the Joker is behind, hammer in hand. We do not get to see the attack, the imagination takes over and that’s the powerful thing about this part.
The flashback titled ‘Tease’ is six pages long and the most disturbing Joker has ever been that I can think off. If you would have ended the book with the hammer scene that would have been fine, the interaction between characters I explained above really tells the story, it is this flashback that completes that story. What we get is the first interaction between the Joker & Harley Quinn before she traps Batman. Harley stands in a dark room under a light as the Joker hides in the shadows, she explains she has missed him and wants to see him but the Joker just stays in the shadows. I stated earlier on about how we have all enjoyed the Harley/Joker relationship but it is within these six pages it doesn’t become enjoyable anymore. I found I really began to feel sorry for Harley because this wasn’t the Joker of old, as she asks him “What do you want me to do?”. From the darkness the reply is “Take off your clothes.”. Now this really shocked me. It shocked me because as she did so she spoke out to him with another question to no reply. It wasn’t until she asked where he was that he threw the suit at her and said put these on. That pause of him not talking is so creepy that you can’t help but think that maybe in the shadows he is getting a kick out of the power he has over Harley that she will remove her clothes at his order. It feels that he is so caught up in the moment of watching that he doesn’t hear her the first time she speaks out and that really adds to the creepiness and feeling of dread to this flashback. As she puts on the Red Hood suit Joker goes on to explain how he turned a normal person into his monster as you can see Harley look on really confused. She finally understands he wants her to look like him as Joker holds up a knife to her face saying the only thing missing is her face must go…
Now this really shocked me. It shocked me because as she did so she spoke out to him with another question to no reply. It wasn’t until she asked where he was that he threw the suit at her and said put these on.
This is where the art really stands out because the fear in Harley’s eyes leaps from the pages as Joker explains to her how painful the procedure is going to be. For all the bad Harley Quinn has done you cannot help but start to feel scared and even sorry for her. It is now the Joker is really starting to abuse the power of control he has over this woman and he does it in the most shocking way by watching her undress from the shadows and then talk about removing her face. As we know the removing of her face is a tease as he places the Red Hood on her it is the way he goes about it. You can see she is terrified of him almost to the point she doesn’t want to do it yet like a victim she just closes her eyes. Now we understand how powerful the quote I put up on Twitter from this book is. This is a completely different Joker to what anybody is used to and if it can shock a huge Batman fan in myself and leave me with so many unanswered questions you know you have something quite special in your hands. If this book is anything to go by we the fans are in for quite the horror story because that’s what I believe we have stepped into.
For all the bad Harley Quinn has done you cannot help but start to feel scared and even sorry for her.
I asked how dark Batman would have to get to top the Dark Knight Trilogy earlier on. The answer lies within the pages of Batman #13 and I think it will be a long time before another comic can even be placed in the same bracket as this gem.
You can follow Sean on Twitter at @seanfav1 or catch him on the official Comic Asylum account @Comic_Asylum
Posted on November 1st, 2012
Category: REVIEWS, THE COMIC ASYLUM
Tags: Batman #13, Batman #13 Review, Comic Asylum, DC Comics, Detective Comics, Greg Capullo, Harley Quinn, Joker, Pete Barrington, Scott Snyder, Sean Favager, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises
Written by Scott Snyder
Art and Cover by Greg Capullo
No one is safe in this; the Joker makes that very clear in his introduction scene.
I didn’t know what to expect going into this, Snyder hit a homerun with the Court of the Owls storyline so I guess I expected him to stumble out of the gates with “Death of the Family” oh, how wrong I was.
The Positives
Right off the bat this story arc feels different; dark, brutal and unforgiving. No one is safe in this; the Joker makes that very clear in his introduction scene. Snyder and Capullo’s Joker remains true to the source material while at the same time modernizes the character to give him a little more edge (like the Joker needs that). We also get a secondary story in this issue as well which takes a look at Joker’s history with other characters in the Bat Universe, it all adds up to a fantastic start to a story arc and a must buy for all Batman fans.
Snyder and Capullo’s Joker remains true to the source material while at the same time modernizes the character to give him a little more edge (like the Joker needs that).
The Negatives
No negatives, all smiles!
Right off the bat this story arc feels different; dark, brutal and unforgiving.
The Verdict
GO OUT AND BUY THIS NOW!
5 out of 5 stars!
#JokersWild
For more comic views and reviews follow Ruben on Twitter at @Ruben_Mendoza
Posted on October 12th, 2012
Category: REVIEWS, THE BURRITO BANDITO
Tags: Batman, Batman #13 Review, Burrito Bandito, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, Death Of The Family, Greg Capullo, Joker, Ruben Mendoza, Scott Snyder
By Sean Favager
Hey puddings welcome, this is the Comic Asylum and I’m your host Sean ‘the big one at the back with the simpleton expression’ Fav.
Hey puddings welcome, this is the Comic Asylum and I’m your host Sean ‘the true leader of men’ Fav. (What? Wait, why can’t I call myself that? No it doesn’t make me sound like an idiot! These people love me you’ll see. It doesn’t sound gay at all…… It’s not gay!) It’s a new day and with it I give you all a new blog. Just before we get into proceedings if you haven’t already yet, go check out Pete’s piece on the Guardians of the Galaxy. It makes for really good reading. I am thinking of putting my name forward to voice Rocket Racoon, I think a scouse racoon with a massive rocket would be entertaining (Pardon the Pun). But back to the matter at hand, with this new day I bring you all ways on what I think Warner Brothers should think about in rebooting there billion dollar crime fighter. I was planning to do this just after viewing the dark knight rises but thought it would be best to hang fire and let the dust clear. I think now with the news of a justice league film in the works it would be the right time to add my opinion on the subject. Like a great man once said….. “And here we go!”
—– —– —– —– —– —– —–—– —– —– —– —– —– —–—– —– —– —– —– —– —–—– —– —–
Hire an actor to play Batman who can actually act.
NO CLOONEY NO!! STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM BATMAN YOU GOD DAMN GRINNING HACK!
We all know there is more to Bruce Wayne than just a man dressed as a bat that kicks ass. There are so many layers to this character. Throughout the years the best incarnation of Bruce Wayne/Batman has to be Christian Bale without a shadow of a doubt. This is simply put as bale can actually act and also takes pride in his craft. Instead of going into the films thinking it was an easy way to make a quick buck he took his role extremely serious and that intensity is on full show through out the dark knight trilogy. In my eyes for the reboot they must give the part to a real actor, somebody who is making waves within the industry and can pull off the duel persona. If you read this blog regularly you will know how highly we rate Michael Fassbender and I think this role would be perfect for him. I know he is Magneto in first class but I’m just putting his name out as an example. The new batman doesn’t have to be some pretty boy to boost sales because we all know how much damage a batman film can do at the box office so hopefully WB do not make a silly mistake and rush the cast. Take your time look for fresh faces and stay away from George Clooney hah.
Bring back the Joker.
A rebooted Batman story without the Joker is madness in itself because the Joker is a huge part in the Batman universe.
It was a sad time when Heath Ledger passed just before the Dark Knight hit the big screen but what he left us with will be remembered forever. No matter where you went or who you bumped into everyone was speaking about Heath Ledger’s portrayal of Batman’s ultimate nemesis the Joker. I understand why Nolan choose not to recast the clown prince of crime for Rises, but for the new film “he has to come back, he must!”. A rebooted Batman story without the Joker is madness in itself because the Joker is a huge part in the Batman universe. With Batman you have a man of justice fighting with all these rules then you have the Joker come along. Obsessed if you like by the Batman, and how he can make him crack. Heath’s role will never be forgotten but it’s time for another to apply a Chelsea smile and cackle at death. This also leads to me to saying that there is one character that is yet to be portrayed on the big screen who we all want to see. Yes Joker’s bunny boiler of a stalker, Harley Quinn. Bringing back the Joker opens a whole new world as I will go into with my next point
Loosely adapt Arkham Asylum/City as a plot.
Can’t we just dive head first into a worn down Batman leading the captured Joker to Arkham only for it all to be the Joker’s master plan of taking over everyone’s favourite nut house.
We have seen and read Batman’s origin countless times so do we really need to see it again? Can’t we just dive head first into a worn down Batman leading the captured Joker to Arkham only for it all to be the Joker’s master plan of taking over everyone’s favourite nut house. We only really got glimpses of Arkham in Begins and I for one would revel in a new setting for the Batman to bring justice. You could even have flashbacks of the Joker making this plan whilst he is in Arkham with none other than Dr. Harleen Quinzel. The countless options of villain cameos you could add or maybe tease would be brilliant. Or if Arkham is not for you, adapt Arkham City to a screenplay. Again no origin just Bruce Wayne being thrown into Gotham’s new prison island on orders of Dr. Hugo Strange. You don’t even have to run the Jokers poisoned angle there is so many more possibilities.
Dick Grayson Takes Over The Cowl.
Grayson took the mantle of Batman twice. Grayson was performing his crime fighting duties as Nightwing and had Bruce Wayne/Talia Al Ghul’s son Damien as his sidekick Robin.
We need to remember that Bruce Wayne alone is not Batman. As was mentioned in TDKR, then anyone can be Batman (helps if you’re a billionaire with vengeance on your mind though). So there have been other people who have put on the cowl aside from Mr Wayne. This point is raised, not because we don’t believe Bruce Wayne is a good Batman but maybe it’s time for a different story from the cave, so here is a few people that could potentially don the cowl that I think could sustain a new origin story. Grayson took the mantle of Batman twice. Grayson was performing his crime fighting duties as Nightwing and had Bruce Wayne/Talia Al Ghul’s son Damien as his sidekick Robin. When Batman’s back was broken by Bane, Nightwing took up the cowl despite a pre-recorded message from Wayne, telling him not to do so and to carry on as Nightwing. Grayson realised that Gotham still needed the Bat and continued to have Robin at his side while he did. When Wayne returned to take Batman worldwide, Grayson remained as the Batman of Gotham until the events of the story arc, Flashpoint, when he returned to being Nightwing. This version of Grayson as Batman and a Wayne as Robin is a complete dynamic shift that some people might not get on board with. It would be a wise cracking Batman and a serious ass-kicker Robin. It would take a lot of people that don’t know the back story to ignore their beliefs for this to work but I believe that this is possibly the best version of a Robin that would work on screen.
Terry McGinnis Takes The Franchise In a Fresh New Direction.
The name might be new to many but McGinnis took over the role of Batman in Batman Beyond.
The name might be new to many but McGinnis took over the role of Batman in Batman Beyond. Beyond is a story arc that ran in an animated series from Jan 1999 for 52 episodes spanning 3 seasons before its run ended in Dec 2001 after a direct to video film. Beyond is set in the chronological future of the DC animated universe and focusses on McGinnis being trained in all things Bat by none other than Bruce Wayne himself. McGinnis is a 17 year old high school student and reformed troublemaker. It then becomes a classic tale of McGinnis fends off the ‘Jokerz’ gang, helped by an ailing Bruce Wayne, who has a heart scare mid-fight and is helped by Terry to Wayne Manor. McGinnis then finds the Bat Cave and is told to stay away by a recovered Wayne. Terry then returns home to find his Father murdered (a revenge act by the ‘Jokerz’) and goes back to Wayne for help. Wayne refuses to help the kid, feeling he is too old. Terry then breaks in and ‘borrows’ the bat suit to bring this gang to justice. Bruce demands the return of the suit but once seeing how Terry handles himself, he realises that Gotham needs a Batman once again and offers to train Terry. The interesting thing with this story arc is that the classic Bat-suit is no more; instead it has been replaced by an all in one black suit, no cape and a red bat across the chest. Similar to the Grayson arc above, this would probably only appeal to a few fans initially but the potential could be huge, considering that McGinnis is only 17 years old and Wayne is in his 80’s, the casting of this movie would be the main focus and if it was done right then we could see a massive franchise spin from it, if done wrong then it could kill off the Bat in the movie-verse potentially forever.
Give Superman a brief cameo.
We all know by now that a Justice League movie is all Warner Brothers are thinking about right now. So this bullet point makes so much sense.
We all know by now that a Justice League movie is all Warner Brothers are thinking about right now. So this bullet point makes so much sense. Marvel & Disney have hit it right out the ball park with how they have handled their phase one films leading into the Avengers. You would be hard pressed to find a fault so it doesn’t take a complete idiot to say “If it isn’t broke don’t try and fix it!” I think we all must agree for these great superhero films to be made we all have to stick together. Marvel have placed the blueprint out there for a superhero team up movie and I think DC should follow suit and take the time to introduce their characters before jumping straight into a JLA film. Even the simplest of cameos from Supes in a Bat film hints at the DC Universe. Example; midway through the new Batman film, have Batman flying over Gotham in the bat wing. Suddenly something fly’s over him at speed, Alfred over the radio to Batman “Was that a plane?” the response. “No Alfred that was homework!” Simple it alerts the audience that Superman is in the same universe and also Batman will be using his detective skills to find out just exactly who and what he is.
So as you can see there are some big changes we want to see to a Batman reboot. But what would you want to see for the next go around of the Dark Knight. As of last week we have all new comments boxes below so we would like to hear from you. What did we miss? What did you hate? Or do we actually need another Batman film? Just scribble down some thoughts and lets all have an old fashioned Bat Debate….
You can follow Sean on Twitter at @seanfav1 or catch him on the official Comic Asylum account @Comic_Asylum
Posted on October 4th, 2012
Category: NEWS & VIEWS, THE COMIC ASYLUM
Tags: Batman Begins, Batman Beyond, Comic Asylum, DC Comics, Film review, Heath Ledger, Joker, Sean Favager, Superman, Terry McGinnis, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises
By Jon Palmer
The Court of Owls finished spectacularly in issue #11 with “Bats” for the time being quietening the “Owls” but leaving lingering thoughts of whether Lincoln March is connected to Bruce Wayne and the inevitable demise of Alfred’s father in the side story. Inevitable because without it, Alfred may never have returned to Gotham and Bruce might have been without his most trusted confidante.
Moving into issue #12 we see a change in pace something less about Batman but a story that in one way reflects what Bruce Wayne is protecting and in another uses those same people to question how Bruce Wayne can understand the lives of those he helps through his developments and foundations.
Quite cleverly it is done through the quick introduction of Harper Row and through her reflective narrative that mimics those of Batman. From the “off” this issue drags you down into the depths of Gotham’s underground and in particular its sewers, two plot devices that are so synonymous with Batman for me that when it starts here you can only expect good things to come.
Harpers reluctance to go to the Wayne gala is captured well through the dialogue by making us all remember those situations when we’ve felt uncomfortable going somewhere for fear of being “out of place”.
Through Harper we meet her brother, Cullen Row, who is trying to get his sister to go and enjoy her night at a Wayne Gala. Her reluctance to go is captured well through the dialogue by making us all remember those situations when we’ve felt uncomfortable going somewhere for fear of being “out of place”. It’s both this and when she discovers her brother’s wound that other feeling of needing to protect a loved one.
At the moment we’ve had quite a few links back to Bruce Wayne/Batman, being underground, doing the dirty jobs and now the disguise (Harper putting on formal wear to mask where she’s come from). Even more so, that need to protect that is as much Bruce Wayne as it is Batman, Bruce Wayne protects Gotham through using his money for the better and Batman, well Batman just flies through Gotham getting to those places and situations he can’t be seen as Bruce Wayne.
The story takes its first twist after the party when Harper returns home to find her brother beaten and all their belongings gone.
The story takes its first twist after the party when Harper returns home to find her brother beaten and all their belongings gone. So, Harper wants to fix things and we learn a little more about how she learnt her skills, and how their father was at times absent. Again, I could only think about those links to Bruce/Batman, learning the skills you need to get by and protect those you love. Granted, Bruce Wayne went and learnt skills on a much larger scale but it’s all about actions and consequences. Harper’s learnt how to fix cabling, lights to make a home and keep it for her and her brother, Bruce learnt and mastered how to fight as well as becoming a very good detective because of what happened to his parents and to give people a better and safer Gotham to live in.
The next turn in the story is when Harper tries to stand up for her brother and gets in over her head, and luckily, and lets face it I think we all wish this could’ve happened if you were bullied at school, Batman turns up and the tides turn in their favour.
This is one of the reasons I really enjoyed this issue, yes I love the story arcs and the action sequences that just pummel you through from one issue to the next but this issue gives you the “nitty-gritty” (the essentials) of Batman’s world. It’s telling us that while all this massive stuff is going on with Owl’s or the Red Hood (with Robin) that it’s not to afraid to include some reality checks of people living in bad neighbourhoods, being poor and getting by or being given hell at school. The good of this all this you might be wondering is that for me it’s screaming out, “this is why we love superheroes” and why we believe in them so much.
Harper becomes slightly obsessed, a fait all of us can understand I’m sure, with her hero Batman.
Harper becomes slightly obsessed, a fait all of us can understand I’m sure, with her hero and through her knowledge of power grids turns this into wanting to help Batman as a way of paying him back. She does this and able to track him, which leads her down into the sewers amongst all the action.
With a little shift back to Batman #3 Harper does indeed help Batman, who is quick to let her know this is the last time. Indications are thought that Harper Row won’t necessarily listen.
So, at the end of this issue what I took from it is that it’s getting across everything we like about Batman, and Bruce Wayne, but playing it out through Harper. It’s noticeable that Batman isn’t in every panel or page but this works equally well, be it thinking he’s off saving someone while the gala goes on or that he’s down in the cave checking up on things.
The last bit of defiance from Harper at the end of the issue is nice and reminds us that Batman doesn’t take no for an answer either.
The last bit of defiance from Harper at the end of the issue is nice and reminds us that Batman doesn’t take no for an answer either. This issue isn’t just bridging a gap between the last arc and the next one it’s reaffirming why Bruce Wayne is Batman and let’s face it there has to be a reason for it.
I think a lot of praise is needed for both the writers and artists of this issue, I can’t say first hand but I imagine it’s a challenging task to write the issue that comes off the back of a spectacular story arc and through the dialogue, narration and the brilliant art it makes for an enjoyable read that lets you take scope of what came before and relax just a little bit before the next big thing.
Overall I found Ghost in the Machine a very nice story that shows what’s at the heart of Gotham and the people who live there and how we all need a little inspiration, help and someone to look up to when things aren’t going well.
For more comic views and reviews follow Jon on twitter at @palmerjono
Posted on August 30th, 2012
Category: IN THE BLACK HALL, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman, Batman Vol. 2 #12 Review, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, Harper Row, In The Black Hall, Joker, Jon Palmer, Scott Snyder
The issue is a one-shot from the perspective of Harper Row, a young punk rebel girl.
Let’s be clear about one thing. Batman #12 is a filler issue. Certainly not a bad filler, but one nonetheless.
This is no bad thing as, after the previous year-long ‘Court of Owls’ storyline, there would be no real advantage in going straight into the upcoming Joker saga. As the current DC range is also about to release their #0 backstory features over the next month, starting a new arc now, only to then go on a month’s hiatus would not have done any favours to the reader.
The issue is a one-shot from the perspective of Harper Row, a young punk rebel girl whose attempts to protect her gay brother from homophobic bullies do not always prove successful. In addition to fending off members of Gotham’s undesirables, we also see her work on the city’s electrical grid and how this relates to Batman’s exploits.
It now becomes evident that Batman’s warning to Harper in #7 to stay away from him refers to their brief meeting in this backstory.
The story takes place during the first few issues of the Court arc as Harper is introduced getting ready for the same dinner seen in #1 where Bruce outlines his vision for a future Gotham. In terms of Harper, this is the same girl seen resuscitating the Bat in #7 after his escape from the Court’s maze of torture. It now becomes evident that Batman’s warning to Harper in #7 to stay away from him refers to their brief meeting in this backstory. Whilst it has yet to be determined whether she will appear in the future, Harper shows a determination in continuing to aid Batman.
Batman #12 does raise an interesting point in highlighting Batman’s reluctance in accepting help from the public.
Aside from the main storyline, #12 does raise an interesting point in highlighting Batman’s reluctance in accepting help from the public. An unfortunate consequence of his image as Gotham’s ‘saviour’ is others wanting to either assist him or emulate his actions. As seen with Harper, this approach often puts them in danger, situations they are not prepared for. With a sense of responsibility for their actions, Batman does his utmost in dissuading them from this course of action. Whilst he does have the Bat-family to occasionally help him, it shows, in defending Gotham’s citizens from the city’s criminals, he must also protect them from themselves.
Scott Snyder continues writing duties here, no surprises there, however the artwork sees a change from Greg Capullo to the joint efforts of Becky Cloonan and Andy Clarke. I have never seen the advantage of a comic being split in two for artwork and this is no different. Cloonan draws the majority of pages however the change to Clarke occurs for the final six pages as we get to the conclusion. Not that this should be seen as a significant setback, however it does disrupt the flow which I see as unnecessary and could have been avoided.
Batman #12 is used to introduce the character of Row, showing Gotham from her perspective, and the struggle for many of Gotham’s underclass.
In conclusion, Batman #12 is used to introduce the character of Row, showing Gotham from her perspective, and the struggle for many of Gotham’s underclass. Her role as electrical whizz-kid also shines some light on to a previously un-touched aspect of Gotham in how Batman manipulates the city’s power supply. Whilst this was a satisfying one-shot, its relevance will likely depend on Harper’s future role in the Bat-universe.
Rating: 3/5
Follow Stuart on twitter @Martel_79 or check out his website theonlywayisgeek.blogspot.co.uk/
Posted on August 23rd, 2012
Category: REVIEWS, THE ONLY WAY IS GEEK
Tags: Batman, Batman Vol. 2 #12 Review, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, Harper Row, Joker, Scott Snyder, Stuart Ingram, The Only Way Is Geek
.jpg?150,233,0,,80,1088094271)
