2/27/13

This week was a great week, but the most sad comic week I have ever been through. I think you all know why.

• Batman Incorporated #8

This issue was one of the single most dramatic issues I have ever read. The story begins in a warzone unlike anything you've ever seen and just gets better. They really should not have named this series Incorporated, but rather Batman Family I mean seriously, you have Dick, Tim, Damian, Bruce and Commissioner Gordon all fighting at the same time against the same enemy...But, anyways, the writing was clever and snappy (what we have come to expect from Grant Morrison) and I though the artwork was also phenomenal. Without going into the gory details I will say that Damian's death was very well thought through. I really hope that this series will continue even without Grant because it is a really intriguing story arc.

• Batman: The Dark Knight #17

I have really come to enjoy this series for what it is. And it is a way to settle a solid foundation for Batman while keeping fans entertained. I have never though the Mad Hatter as anything but in Gregg Hurwitz's hands he is quite an interesting villain. This issue has a perfect balance of flashback and suspense. The Mad Hatter is beyond brutal and completely insane, if they ever make a movie featuring him it will send children into endless fits of nightmares.

• Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1

I bought this book off of a recommendation, so I clearly wasn't a fan before today. It was a very good comic, I think it was the best way to introduce me to the main character and it made up a good, entertaining issue. I though it was weird (space guns, aliens) although it wasn't as weird as say Fear Agent. Steve McNiven's art was very clean and satisfying. I will be anxiously looking forward to #1.

• Talon #5

I though that the last issue of Talon was a truly compelling comic, I was back this month to read all about the next chapter in Calvin Rose's life. This book started out well, Calvin and his ragtag team of companions talking about their tedious lives living in a bunker. The daughter of Calvin's love interest Casey Washington is a very cute character and the only young comic book character character authors have ever gotten right. The dialogue is the star of this comic as Snyder and Tynion masterfully create scene after scene of smooth and natural conversation while not boring the reader. This is a skill that is to be admired and cherished. I got really desperate when the band of anti-courtists were discussing the infiltration of a Court controlled fortress that was seemingly impossible. I am very excited for the next issue.

• Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan #4 of 4

As much as I hate JMS I have enjoyed Dr. Manhattan. This last issue was strange, and I don't think the strangeness really paid off. There were two times when I had to twist the comic around in my hands to understand what was going on. There was also a large Ozymandias prescence in this particular issue. I actually think this creative team got the character of Ozy much better than they did Dr. Manhattan so this issue was a break from the ordinary series. Like the other Before Watchmen titles, I'm glad I was along for the ride, but I'm glad the ride is over.

• Teen Titans #17

I was just picking up my friends comic, this is not my sub, but I decided to read and review this anyways. This was also a Death of the Family Aftermath issue, so I was mildly interested. This comic started mediocre with the sad creation of a new villain that seemed suspiciously like something that belonged in an X-Men book. It was really a standard new mutant introduction; young boy afraid of his powers, he says how the powers started out weak and then grew more intense, blah, blah, blah. Anyways this kid is hooked up to this machine and gets stabbed a bunch of times, classic. Then some supervillain takes the new villain in as his minion. The Titans move their residence to a giant cruise ship (courtesy of Tim Drake) and they set sail moping in self pity about their recent run-in with the Joker and checking out the ship. In the course of the night the Titans manage to: piss one another off (multiple times), make terrible jokes, have a conversation that made my skin crawl and Tim Drake made out with every woman on board. There was really no entertainment at all in this entire issue.

My Final Goodbye to Damian Wayne

I hope you all know that I love Damian, with all of my heart. He is the best Robin and one of the best characters in comics. I was heartbroken when I looked on my Google+ feed to see an article about the death of Damian. Since then I have been preparing for Wednesday when my heart will be torn from my chest as I read Batman Incorporated #8. So this my friends and loyal readers, is my final tribute to Damian Wayne.
When I first got into comics I loved Batman. But I hated Robin. I always thought of Batman as some kind of bad-ass loner who didn't need an annoying little kid at his side. As I got to know the Bat-Family better one character stood out to be the most interesting seeming; Batman's Son. However, I still was opposed to Robin. It was that bittersweet moment when I just finished one of my newly purchased graphic novels. I turn the page hoping for some more of the story even though I knew that I was at the end of the book. I saw one of those ad pages where they spotlight an author and show all of the Batman books they have written. This particular page showcased Grant Morrison. I looked the page up and down and came across the cover of Batman and Son. I don't know what it was about that picture but in my mind I decided that moment that I needed all of the comics with Damian in them that I could possibly get my greedy hands on. Thus began my relationship with this particular comic book character.
A couple days later a box arrives from Amazon marked with my name. I ripped the box open and found all of the GNs I ordered tucked in. I first "met" Damian as an infant on the last page of Batman: Son of the Demon. I devoured Batman and Son in the same night. I think Grant Morrison introduced me to many things that night.

1. Truly good comic writing.
2. Damian Wayne.
3. The idea that Robins are pretty awesome.
4. Some of my favorite ever stories.

As I kept reading about and getting fascinated by the ten-year-old boy my interest for comics grew. I bought boxes and boxes of GNs loving everything about the "Death Era." I think that the New 52 has also made Damian the amazing character he is. Batman and Robin is the only series of the New 52 in which I have never had a complaint about a single issue. Batman Incorporated has also been a super exciting and fun series.
As I think about these decision Grant Morrison is making I am ultimately sad. The Batman canon will not be quite as intriguing without him and that will disappoint fans, but most of all I am sad because Damian is going to die. Batman Incorporated will be the first title I read tomorrow and I plan on burying a picture of Damian in my backyard. I really hope he's gonna get resurrected in a couple years, because if not I will send DC so many complaint emails they won't even be able to breath. (that didn't make much sense.)

2/20/13

I enjoy storyarcs and crossovers. I thought Death of the Family was quite a good storyline, and just when you thought it was over you pick up your comics on Wednesday, Friday for me, and find "Death of the Family; Aftermath" in giant letters on the cover of all of the bat-titles. For me I say "YAY! More of the story I so enjoy." Yet as I sit down and actually start reading the comics I find myself thinking something different altogether. This weeks reviews:

• Catwoman #17

New story, great. Black Diamond Probability was subpar at best in Catwoman's title, I think we can all agree about that much. This issue finds Catwoman breaking up a kid's heroin dealing by whipping them senseless, a nice "I'm going to tell your parents." would have been appropriate to the situation, but Catwoman is rated T+ for some reason so the author just wants to throw in random, racy moments of violence for no purpose other than to prove it is rated T+ for a reason.
The art, as always, is neat but nothing outstanding and sometimes the scenes of action get a little hard to understand. My main problem with this title, however, is that the dialogue is poorly written. This includes cops making remarks that are so unlifelike that it's funny, and an endless slew of cat metaphors that make my skin crawl. Catwoman is a very interesting character, and her title could be very interesting, the writer just has to come up with more interesting enemies than a fat guy with a fishnet over his head.

Spoiler Alert: The scene depicted doesn't occur in the book.

• Nightwing #17

The title of this issue is The Long Week, and that pretty much sums up the entire issue. Dick is moping around complaining about the fallout of Jokers visit and feeling really sorry for himself. He visits the circus and some clown who is close to death blames Dick for the disaster for who-knows-what reason then Dick pretty muh goes crazy and violent while fighting crime. Of course it is Damien who stops Dick's spontaneous rampage and brings him to his senses. I felt that this was a decent way to show us readers how Dick feels after Death of the Family, my complaint about this issue comes from the art.

There is a new artist on the book who is not bad at all, he just can't cover up Dick's identity. That's right, for the first time since I started reading comics I think that the identity of a superhero might be at stake. Dick looks identical to Nightwing that even the youngest child could tell the difference.

• Thor God of Thunder #5

This is my first review of a Thor comic, I read the first four way after they came out, so I am pretty darn excited. The series has been awesome both in writing and in illustrations, and I couldn't wait for the finale to the God Butcher storyline.

Writing dialogue is hard. That is the main barrier that keeps great writers from being fantastic. Jason Aaron nails dialogue every single time, that's what makes him such a phenomenal writer. This finale is spectacular consisting of the three Thors dealing with the God Butcher in different ways. The present Thor fights the God Butcher head-on as he revisits his past encounter with the God Butcher through memory. This shows the past Thor and his decibels fighting Gorr in a cave. The future Thor gets a much needed visit from his confused, past-self and continues to fight Gorr's berserkers. The issue leaves us with just the right amount of answers and questions and leaves us wanting next month's Gorr-igin issue.

I can't get over how great Esad Rubic's art is.

• Indestructible Hulk #4

IH has been the best damn Hulk series I have ever read, Mark Waid captures perfectly the two very different characters of Hulk and Bruce Banner and Leinil Yu's art is the best the Hulk book has ever gotten. I think that this creative team is better at times when a scene has lots of thinking or dialogue, the beginning of this issue was one of those scenes. The last third of the book was a fast-paced action scene that was interesting but not very well laid-out. I give them credit, however, because the action is all underwater which is hard to write. Overall this was a good issue and I am very ready for the next.

• Red Hood and the Outlaws #17

Of all of the Death of the Family tie-ins RHO was my least favorite, yet the aftermath was the best thus far. Roy was annoying as usual but other than that the story was sad and moving. All of the reactions of the characters to both the other characters and the situation at hand. The art is OK but nothing special and the dialogue is also decent. I do think that Lobdell nailed Damien and Jason's relationship.

Thank you everybody for joining me for this weeks reviews and please come back next week for more.

Why Marvel Can Change the Universe and DC Can't

From my brief knowledge of Marvel Comics I have noticed one thing in particular. They like to change the universe, a lot. Take for example Civil War a giant mega-crossover that changed the course of every series it touched. My argument here is not that this kind of strategy is a bad thing, just that is a pain in the ass to catch up on. I haven't been reading Marvel for hundreds of years so I don't know what they mean when they mention a reference from Secret Invasion in a Marvel NOW series. I don't think that this is fair for anyone who wants to read a quality comic without having to buy every single comic that preceded it. I am however, enjoying how most have the Marvel NOW series have been based off of AvsX. I am not saying that AvsX was at all decent (it wasn't.) It's just kind of neat to see how the X-Men are dealing with Scott Summer's being so changed. That being said I don't think they should stop putting out big Marvel events (Mostly because I want to be able to read them as they come out, now that I have a better sense of the Marvel Universe.) I just think that Marvel should think through what will happen before they write the story. I say this because now with Marvel it seems like all of the writers who are writing about the aftermath of AvsX have to compensate for their co-workers lame story by writing about something that was minor but interesting in the event.
This is a problem that only Marvel has to deal with (Enter DC Comics.) It seems as though DC is scared to ever change anything in their universe. What was their latest event? Flashpoint? All we got from that was an origin reboot. If anything I would have DC do a what-if story. Take Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe even though I haven't read it, it seems like a fun story that would never actually happen but is cool to read about. May I suggest Lord Grayson, an alternate universe where Dick gets so drunk on power when he is Batman that he decides to kill Bruce when he returns and disbands the Justice League, making him the king. And what if Jason then challenged him for the throne? The main question is why not?
What I want to summarize about this post is two things. Marvel is too ambitious and needs to work on the actual content of their mega-events and DC needs to be more ambitious and throw a curveball sometimes. Please tell me what you think about it and if a Lord Grayson storyline is a good idea.

2/13/13

Today provided a marvelous Batman story, a sub-par Batgirl story, a pleasantly unusual story of my favorite, Damian Wayne and an utterly nonsensical and confusing Comedian comic. Once again, here are this weeks reviews.

• Batman #17

What have we come to expect from comic finales? Drama, tension, resolution, and most importantly a change. We don't want to have spent hours of our lives reading a comic that will never mean anything than the initial thrill it provided us. Snyder and Capullo's stunning ending gave me all four of those things.
There was definitely drama. Hell, when isn't there drama when it's a story about the Joker? From an interesting trap to the psychotic jokes and tricks we have come to expect from the Clown Prince of Crime. There was also drama to the point of me feeling like I was there, I credit that mostly to Greg Capullo whom I will always think of when I think of the Joker.
Tension is a hard thin to bring to a comic. In a movie scary music, slow-motion and quick dialogue will do the trick, but in a comic the tension is purely the excitement and the vividness of the drawings. I was scared, worried and excited all at the same time. One of the key factors in this chapter of Death of the Family was the actual family. The family is a hard group to bring together and keep the suspense high. Snyder managed that by having the family face a different form of Joker evil than Batman.
The story pulled into the finale with many loose ends and questions left unanswered, I felt at peace with the end result. One of my favorite parts of the whole comic was the end where Joker leaves one last non-lethal gag that I will forever remember.
Did it change the entire universe? No, not really. However, this will always be remembered as one of the greatest Joker stories ever told. People refer to a great comic storyline as a party, you can be late to the party, or not come at all. I think I overstayed my welcome and read the invitation too many times. By that I mean that I probably shouldn't have bought all of the tie-ins and I shouldn't have read all of the pre-event articles. But it was a party I am glad I attended.

• Batgirl #17

This issue tells the story of the fallout of Death of the Family and describes the difficult relationship between James Jr. and the rest of the Gordons. It was kind of good, and kind of random, I really don't see what DC sees in these Joker-inspired gangs but they seem to really be trying to suck all of the material possible out of them. My main problem with this comic, however, was that it was a change of creative teams. Gail Simone was doing a great job on the book and it seems like a stupid idea to take her off the book. The new artist is quite good but the writer has yet to impress me.

• Batman and Robin #17

This was the single most pointlessly weird issue thus far in the New 52. The vast majority of the book is dedicated to showing Bruce, Alfred and Damian's dreams. They are all brutal and somewhat psychotic, but very entertaining. The art, especially the extraordinary inking, adds to the eeriness of this comic.
I have come to realize that they do this kind of thing in the Batman and Robin book just to show what a queer relationship they have.

• Before Watchmen: Comedian #5 of 6

Of all of the mediocre Before Watchmen titles two books have really stood out. 

1. Silk Spectre was awesome
2. Comedian is terrible

Comedian has just been incomprehensible. They are trying to tell this elaborate story of the Vietnam war by flashing back and then switching back to the present, again and again and again. It really drives me nuts when I see the Comedian playing games with some Vietcong kids and then immediately turn the page to find a violent jungle battle. There is literally no transition between scenes, I mean at all. It is also way over-brutalized and the language is filthy for no reason. I understand that the Vietnam war was gory and the Comedian is a brutal character, but did they show that kind of stuff in the original Watchmen? I am not excited for the sequel, and I don't think it will include any of the traits of a good sequel from the Batman review.

2/6/13

This was a very fun week for one reason. HIT-GIRL. There was also The New 52 Young Romance valentines day special. I can pretty much write the conversation they had in their conference room. "Okay, we've done this before and we can do this again. How do we extract the most amount of money from our fans and giving them the least possible amount of entertainment?" "How about we release a hardcover edition a year before the paperback so that fans have the choice of waiting 1 and a half years for their comics to be collected into one book at a normal price or they could throw ten dollars down the toilet by buying a hardcover?" "Great idea!" "Wait a second, haven't we done that before?" "Yeah, how about we do a holiday themed issue where we get a bunch of creative teams to make about 5 crappy pages and then show 2 awesome characters kissing on the cover?" "Best idea yet!"

• Hit-Girl #5

Hit-Girl is awesome. Kick-Ass is awesome. Mark Millar is awesome. This issue is awesome. This couldn't have been a funnier, more gore filled, intriguing comic. I liked every aspect of it. From the clever plot to Hit-Girl hanging someone with their guts spilling out. I though that JRJR's art was terrific like usual and that this was a fantastic way to wrap up this awesome mini-series. To make things even better in the back I found out that the Kick-Ass 2 movie just finished filming, the Secret Service is going to get it's own movie and that Kick-Ass 3 is coming out in May. Really, what could be better?

•  The New 52 Young Romance Valentines Day Special

More like, what could be worse? This book had several flaws, so many that I will list them as bullets:

• Too damn expensive. I pay $8 for a book that's not even worth the time I spent reading it.
• Sloppy writing. Every conversation was so awkward and forced it made my skin crawl.
• Art changing every five pages. I can't stand when a series changes artists so you could imagine how I would feel as I switched from one art-style to another while I was just getting used to the first.
• Too many stories. I wish that they had cut half of the tales in the book so that the two somewhat interesting ones; Batgirl, Aquaman, could get some more time in the spotlight.

There was one good thing. In the middle of the comic there were the funniest Valentines cards ever.

Sorry

Due to a tight schedule I was not able to make it to a Comic Store today. Do not fear! Reviews of the new comics will be posted tomorrow. I am still trying for that goal of 500 pageviews by friday. Keep reading!
Shoutout to Adam Snape and Steven Viscido. Check out their blogs.  comicbookkid.co.uk and http://statuesandsuperheroes.blogspot.com/. Both great blogs that I would reccomend. See you tommorow.

Damian Wayne haters and how sick of them I am

Damian is the best Robin. Period. He has got more personality, is more deadly, has a richer background, and is more personally connected to Bruce than any of the other Robins. All the time people complain; "He's a brat." "He's too young." He's clueless." He's ignorant." They're all wrong! These comments are said because Damian is young and they are complaining about that. Well news-flash, ten year olds have personalities too. Dick is mature and can handle adult things, but aren't there already enough grown-ups in the superhero universe? I find that the only person who ever respects Damian at all is Alfred. Bruce can't stop mentioning that Damian is his son even though he seems to feel ashamed about it, Tim hates Damian because Damian almost killed him in Batman and Son, Dick is now too preoccupied being Nightwing to talk to Damian and when he finally does he is awkward, Jason doesn't respect him because Jason doesn't respect anybody. Alfred genuinely cares for Damian and supports all of his ideas.

Also remember that Damian isn't living the easiest life possible. He runs around every night fighting druglords and mob bosses and he's not even 5 feet tall. I get that the whole young hero thing is Spiderman's thing but Damian doesn't whine about parking tickets.
He is also really funny. If the haters would just give the complaining a rest and actually pick up a Batman and Robin comic they would see how hilarious Damian can be. He is a clever boy and that is emphasized in every good writers take on him. Especially in Batman and Robin Annual #1 (see full review in post 1/30/13) Damian tricks his dad to go and do something he shouldn't. A normal behavior that is unique to this situation.

Even in this interesting drawing Damian is portrayed as a selfish jerk.

I know this is a controversial conversation and would love to see what you guys think. Comment below or hit me up on Google+. I want to get to 500 pageviews by the end of the week so keep reading and stay tuned for this weeks reviews!

Marvel Digital Attempts

As I begin to explore the world of Marvel I am loaned a bag of comics from a Marvel fan who wants me to read some Marvel NOW materiel. Being an owner of a tablet if I enter the digital code into my computer so they will be with me if I have my tablet. Aside from being a very convenient way to read comics it is a very good way to be able to loan comics to friends. If I share my password with anyone they can all read the same comic without having to pay $4.00. This way I can acquire many comics without having to spend the amount I would have to pay without the digital comics. I feel that this is an extremely beneficial perk but just don't see how it could possibly work with Marvel's business model, if the goal is to sell more copies why are they giving a free one away with every purchase? I will continue to enjoy and use this great app.

With the borrowed comics aforementioned in this post I began spotting the Marvel AR emblem which I have never payed much attention to. Using my IPod Touch I downloaded the app passing a suspicious 2 and a half star rating. My first attempt with this app was on Thor: God of Thunder #3 on an awesome picture of Thor riding a bloody horse. The app gave very few directions on how to use the almost empty interface and when I finally figured out how to work it the whole thing just refused to work. So, I was standing over my comic double-tapping the screen repeatedly (capture image button maybe?) and yet nothing was happening. Despite all of the negativity and bad reviews of this app I was pretty excited to see an image of Thor floating in my bedroom, because that's what AR is anyways, right? Wrong. Once the image was finally done loading the screen showed a black and white image of the panel in front of me. At the slowest possible speed the screen scrolls down the page of the same comic I was just looking at and slowly gains color. Already bored to death I am appalled when the app stalls and freezes. Upset but still optimistic, I give the app another try on a different panel. This time it shows me a barely understandable video of the illustrator waving around a toy Thor hammer and giving me advice on how to smell like a Viking. This app is clearly a waste of time and a failed attempt at a fairly interesting concept.