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Discussion on the "Batman" series

Batman #1 was great. Nice start to the series with plenty of mystery.

I liked this one. Probably my favourite of the recent issue 1s. It was accessible without retreading too much familiar ground. I'm really looking forward to seeing where Snyder goes with this run.

It was nice to see a cameo from the Burton Batmobile too.

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And the Riddler's new look seems to have been based on Tim Burton's unused design for Batman 3.

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Yeah those 2 things really stuck out for me!

Quote from: Silver Nemesis on Fri, 23 Sep  2011, 20:23
And the Riddler's new look seems to have been based on Tim Burton's unused design for Batman 3.

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As neat-o as it is to see a version of the Riddler that is said to be based on a possible unused Burton design, I kinda hope it's just how Greg Capullo chooses to draw him, and not a look that's mandated for other artists to follow. Similar to how the Penguin's appearance goes from classic, to something more Burton-like depending on who's drawing him.

Just never really cared for the IDEA of a shaved question mark. Still not a fan of it when the look is actually presented in a Batman comic either.

Well we are into issue 8 and the Court of the Owls has been building to this point.

The events of Night of the Owls in Batman #8 were pretty intense and I can't wait to pick up the other crossovers in this arc. 3 other titles I get every month but i will have to pick up Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood and all the rest! I'm hearing All Star Western has some cool stuff.

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Yeeessssssss!

^ Wow, that's a graphic image.

Looking forward to this.

Also, Tony Daniel is off Detective Comics after issue 12 - John Layman and Jason Fabok are taking over!
http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2012/07/05/announcing-a-new-writer-and-artist-for-detective-comics

First look of the New 52 Joker.

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The entire Court of Owls saga has been the best new Batman story I've read in years.  I can't wait for the Joker!

I picked up Batman #0 at Comikaze (They were selling it for $3.00, as opposed to the $3.99 cover price).  It's my first New 52 comic and I have to say that I enjoyed it, along with its backup story.

SPOILERS:
- I was a bit disappointed though that it ended in a cliffhanger.
- I thought the opening was very interesting.  Sort of a combination of The Dark Knight's opening bank robbery and Bruce's failed undercover stint before donning the cape and cowl in Year One.
- I was always curious to see a previous confrontation of Batman and the Red Hood Gang that didn't involve the Ace Chemical plant yet, so it was cool to see them here.
- I'm also wondering, based on the ending, if this means that the Red Hood Gang knows that Bruce Wayne is fighting crime now.
- I like the idea of Bruce settling into a brownstone near Crime Alley with an early version of the Bat Bunker down below.  It makes sense for him to want to be closer to the city and the war when he's starting out, though now I wonder how Snyder's story will lead him towards returning to the Manor.
- There's some nice tension between Bruce and Gordon in the rooftop scene.  Interesting that Uncle Philip is now back in canon, though from Martha's side of the family this time.  It seems that he's a bit of a Mr. Earle type figure now.

The back-up story, Tomorrow, was also cool to see Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake characterized before they became Robin.  It also looks like the Flying Graysons uniform is more of an early Nightwing outfit, rather than the standard red and green.

QuoteInteresting that Uncle Philip is now back in canon, though from Martha's side of the family this time.  It seems that he's a bit of a Mr. Earle type figure now.

That was the thing that struck me the most about #0. The way Gordon was hinting at Philip's (mis)management of Wayne Enterprises definitely reminded me of William Earle. I wonder if they'll reinvent him as an antagonist. In the Golden Age comics, before Alfred was introduced, it was Philip who raised Bruce after his parents were killed. But since Alfred now plays that role in Bruce's origin, it leaves some scope to reinterpret Philip in a different light.

Has anyone been following villains month?

I've got Joker, Harley, Court of Owls, Ras Al Ghul and Bane & Joker's Daughter is on the way.
Haven't read any though....

...Snyder and Capullo are coming here this weekend so I have been going back through Owls and Death of the Family the past few weeks.

btw, anyone got any questions for either of the two guys...I'm trying to get a few together for a site interview - any help appreciated!

Sorry, I've just noticed there's already a seperate thread about villains month.
http://www.batman-online.com/forum/index.php?topic=2377.0

I've only read the Joker issue so far. And there's not much to say about it. I was wondering if the other issues are any good.

Quote...Snyder and Capullo are coming here this weekend so I have been going back through Owls and Death of the Family the past few weeks.

btw, anyone got any questions for either of the two guys...I'm trying to get a few together for a site interview - any help appreciated!

Could you get them to say Batman Returns is amazing so I can add their quotes to our 'Comic Creators Comment on Tim Burton's Batman' thread?

It'd be great if you could land an interview with one or both of those guys. Although I can't think of any good questions at the moment.

Anyone catch #24?

Very cool. Nice nods to previous classic stories plus..

[spoiler]
...the new origin of The Joker.
[spoiler]

Not sure if it was intentional but when Batman is chasing down the Red Hood Gang leader, Red Hood One escapes via a rope ladder from a helicopter. Batman uses a grappling hook around his leg to pull him off it.

Got caught up on this. At first I didn't care much for it but I've found myself loving it. The Death of the Family and Zero Year stories were so captivating.

So is the one right now. At the end of #35 I literally screamed "Holy sh*t!" lol.

I have been reading Scott Snyder's run on Batman since it started in 2011 and it has been a rollercoaster ride from start to finish, but since he is leaving the book to go to 'All-Star Batman' after REBIRTH starts, then I will be heading for that comic as well.

Fav plots in order.

1. Zero Year
2. Court or Owls/Night of Owls
3. Super Heavy
4. End-Game
5. Death of the Family

It's really hard to put these into an order (since I loved them all), but here it is.

DC has set Bruce and Selina's wedding date for Batman #50 (July):
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2018/02/01/dc-comcis-reveals-batman-and-catwomans-wedding-date

The countdown begins in DC Nation #0 (May).


Let's hope this has a happier ending than their Earth-Two marriage did.

I finally got around to reading the trade paperbacks for The Court of Owls and The City of Owls nearly a month ago. My only regret was not making the time to read them sooner, I really enjoyed it. The Batman vs Robin adopted parts of the story, but doesn't quite do it justice.

I know this story is seven years old, but SPOILERS for those who haven't read it yet.




...





I loved how Scott Snyder created this nursery rhyme that set up the Court of Owls as a myth but actually had a stranglehold of Gotham for generations, including terrorising the Wayne family legacy. I've noticed that Bruce's bitter and near death experience in his first investigation into his parents' deaths as a child, believing it was a conspiracy caused by the Court of Owls, left him even more traumatised growing up. Sure, the experience made him learn to never to let emotion cloud his judgment again, and it motivated him to hone his skills to investigate meticulously. But emotionally, it does come at a cost, as he is too cold and abrupt, which leads people around feeling alienated. Dick Grayson getting outraged over Bruce coldly telling him the Talon he had in custody was his great grandfather is an example of this. Because he's so aloof, Bruce does come across as selfish too; with his plans to rebuild Gotham City, he admitted a part of him was to use bases around the city to be on further lookout to keep the crime rate under control. Which is very telling of Batman's personality - always trying to take control and plan ahead for any possible trouble. It can be looked as somebody who is very determined, or very neurotic. Perhaps even both.

The Court of Owls doesn't shy from tackling the creepy side of the mythos we've never seen before. Haly's Circus giving away their child performers to the Court so they could be transformed as the next generation of Talons does make you wonder how Dick would've been like as a villain, since he was chosen to become a soldier to their cause before his parents died. It adds another sense of fortune to an otherwise tragic backstory for Dick; not only did Bruce adopting him enabled him towards a good life, it saved Dick from being brainwashed into an assassin. I wouldn't mind if somebody were to wrote an Elseworlds story of Dick Grayson as a Talon. Snyder's take on Mr Freeze was unique; depicting him as more of a psychopath instead of the tragic villain we've been used to since BTAS. It's definitely disturbing watching him from killing his own mother and has a delusional obsession with Nora Fries who, unlike in most continuity, he never knew because she had been cryogenically frozen for seventy years! The torture the Court of Owls put Batman through that led him to regain his strength after looking at a frail and frightened photograph of his great-grandfather Alan was one of the best moments of the character's willpower in comics. Last but not least, that whole open-ended confrontation with Lincoln Marsh whether or not he is Bruce's brother was something unique to the mythos. Very bold and fascinating to read.

It does have its share of plot holes, like how the hell did the Court manage to get that tooth with the electrum in Dick's mouth, but I'm glad I got around to reading this. The praise for it is deserved. A couple of things I've noticed:

- The Wonder Tower building in the Arkham City video game reminds me a lot of the old Wayne Tower building in Snyder's story here. Since both works were released in 2011, could it be a coincidence?

- The Willowwood Home for Children - the abandoned building where Batman confronted Lincoln Marsh/Thomas Wayne Jr. - was a reference to the notorious Willowbrook State School in New York City. Yes, I'm sad to say that there was a real life equivalent of a school for the mentally handicapped that abused children and left them to rot. Thankfully, that depraved institution has been closed for decades.

Yeah, Court of Owls was good, but the ending was kinda weak. There's a lot of potential for future Owl stories.

As for getting into some "newish" Batman comics that I haven't read, I'm finishing up on Batman Eternal. I read the first 2 Vols about 3-4 year ago, and DC had a sale on the last Vol, so I'm doing that now. After that, I'll be diving into Rebirth, which I've heard some mixed things on it, so I'll just have to read it for myself.

Quote from: Travesty on Mon, 15 Oct  2018, 21:34
As for getting into some "newish" Batman comics that I haven't read, I'm finishing up on Batman Eternal. I read the first 2 Vols about 3-4 year ago, and DC had a sale on the last Vol, so I'm doing that now. After that, I'll be diving into Rebirth, which I've heard some mixed things on it, so I'll just have to read it for myself.

A coworker of mine is a dedicated comic book reader, and he's loving Tom King's run at the moment. He also recommended King's run on Mister Miracle.

I've only read the first issue of Batman Rebirth featuring Calendar Man, but it might take a long while until I have the time to read the current run.

Court of Owls is awesome. I have no problem calling it a modern classic. I'm a huge fan of the labyrinth section, where an exhausted and virtually insane Batman summons extra reserves to kick all of their asses and finally escape. The assault on Wayne Manor during City of Owls is also fantastic. They created a mysterious, action packed story that expanded the world in an interesting way. It touches on the past and reinvents it at the same time.

Snyder's entire run was solid gold in my view. Death of the Family was enjoyable. But the ending with Joker and the batfamily is what really makes it for me. Zero Year is one of the better Riddler stories, and it treats Batman's early career in a unique way. Worth checking out. The Gordon as Batman arc is also quite good. I admire the contrasts it provides between the two characters, the policeman and the vigilante. How they differ and how they're also the same.

On the whole, the Rebirth era has not come close to what Scott Snyder did. Although I did really enjoy the War of Jokes and Riddles. That's the best Batman story in recent times - they nailed it. And the Batman/Catwoman proposal stuff has been okay.
*SPOILERS*

Years after locking him down in the sewers to starve, the latest issue of Batman has our man breaking KG Beast's neck with a close range shot from the grapnel gun. He leaves him laying flat on his back in the snow. This is the type of incident I have no problem with. The fight in question is a legitimate life and death situation with KG Beast not looking to maim.

Just like the B89 fight with Ray Charles.

I was looking again at the Tom King comics and it reminded me why I generally don't like them. The dialogue is so unnatural and the product as a whole feels like a stilted construct.

Take this as one example:

"I am not a joke. I am not a riddle! I am not a bird or a cat or a penguin! I'm not a scarecrow or a plant or a puppet! I am not your broken friend! I am not your regretful teacher! I am not a child's fairy tale! I am not a circus act here to amuse and frighten you! I am not another one of your madmen howling at the moon! And I...I am not...I am not some rich boy playing dress-up! I AM BANE!"

I get these are comics, but no one speaks like this. It comes across as the author speaking directly to the reader, rather than the authentic character. The author trying to say "look, I really get what Bane (or whatever character they're depicting), is all about."

I find it really off-putting.

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Wed, 18 Nov  2020, 01:01
I was looking again at the Tom King comics and it reminded me why I generally don't like them. The dialogue is so unnatural and the product as a whole feels like a stilted construct.

Take this as one example:

"I am not a joke. I am not a riddle! I am not a bird or a cat or a penguin! I'm not a scarecrow or a plant or a puppet! I am not your broken friend! I am not your regretful teacher! I am not a child's fairy tale! I am not a circus act here to amuse and frighten you! I am not another one of your madmen howling at the moon! And I...I am not...I am not some rich boy playing dress-up! I AM BANE!"

I get these are comics, but no one speaks like this. It comes across as the author speaking directly to the reader, rather than the authentic character. The author trying to say "look, I really get what Bane (or whatever character they're depicting), is all about."

I find it really off-putting.

There's a tendency in modern comics to waaaaaaaaaaaaaay overwrite the dialogue. Why not just write something more direct like "I am not playing a game. I AM BANE!" or some such? Or hell, just those last threee words.

Honestly, you could probably delete half the dialogue from most comics and probably end up with more effective material. Go back to Marvel Comics in the eighties that weren't written by Chris Claremont and there you'll find virtual paragons of efficiency. The dialogue and captioning tend to be very direct.

Iow, it's not designed to be copied and pasted into a film script.

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Wed, 18 Nov  2020, 01:01
I was looking again at the Tom King comics and it reminded me why I generally don't like them. The dialogue is so unnatural and the product as a whole feels like a stilted construct.

Take this as one example:

"I am not a joke. I am not a riddle! I am not a bird or a cat or a penguin! I'm not a scarecrow or a plant or a puppet! I am not your broken friend! I am not your regretful teacher! I am not a child's fairy tale! I am not a circus act here to amuse and frighten you! I am not another one of your madmen howling at the moon! And I...I am not...I am not some rich boy playing dress-up! I AM BANE!"

I get these are comics, but no one speaks like this. It comes across as the author speaking directly to the reader, rather than the authentic character. The author trying to say "look, I really get what Bane (or whatever character they're depicting), is all about."

I find it really off-putting.

I see his character dialogue is just as cringe as what I hear about his twitter feed.

Something else: I like Catwoman, but the Batman romance needs to be toned way down or even better, eliminated. I remember doing a post years back being okay with the romance dynamic, but not now. It's reducing his character. I don't want Batman happier and 'normal'. I want him dark, brooding and focused on the mission. A relationship works for Clark, but Bruce? Shut him off emotionally for a while. Cold hearted and alone. Reclaim the purity of his darkness and shun him being an accessory. 

Batman: The Detective is a six run arc, and on the simplistic side, but I'm enjoying the pacing and action more than the main line. This Batman is compassionate but older, wiser and with less attachment, leaving Gotham because he feels like there's nothing keeping him there. That type of mentality is what I've been wanting. I'm not a fan of how Bruce Wayne is drawn but the Knightmare influenced costume is great, and London atmospheric. Stripping away the rogues gallery lends something to it as well.

Is anybody psyched for Batman #135 (900)? It establishes Keaton's and West's Batman in the DC comics continuity.
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Quote from: GBglide on Thu,  4 May  2023, 22:09
Is anybody psyched for Batman #135 (900)? It establishes Keaton's and West's Batman in the DC comics continuity.
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I haven't kept up with DC Comics since shortly after "DC Rebirth" (I grew cold during New52, Rebirth had me back for a hot minute, but it was quickly squandered away), but the images of Keats and West briefly encountering the comic book iteration are neat moments.

I remember something similar back during the "Zero Hour" event with Superman being confronted by multiple Batmen, including the Lewis Wilson, and DCAU Batman's. At least on the cover.

(https://media.comicbook.com/2017/02/superman-the-man-of-steel-37-cover-bogdanove-231793.jpg)

Iirc, in that issue of Superman: The Man Of Steel, in rapid succession, Superman encountered the Finger/Kane Batman, the O'Neil/Adams Batman and Miller's TDKR Batman. It was like the Batmen swapped out with each other during their conversation. There may have been other Batmen too. But those for sure were there.

And obviously, the cover included even more Batmen.

Jon Bogdanove had some incredible range.

Quote from: GBglide on Thu,  4 May  2023, 22:09
Is anybody psyched for Batman #135 (900)? It establishes Keaton's and West's Batman in the DC comics continuity.

I'm looking forward to it. This promises to be the No Way Home multiverse tale some people would be wanting in comparison to the way The Flash handles things, which I don't really have a problem with. Arkham Batman is included too, and it confirms the fear toxin hallucination we see at the end of Arkham Knight was indeed him with references to his identity going public and life as he knew it being over. That would be a fascinating story to explore in a line of comics.

Quote from: thecolorsblend on Sat,  6 May  2023, 03:08
Iirc, in that issue of Superman: The Man Of Steel, in rapid succession, Superman encountered the Finger/Kane Batman, the O'Neil/Adams Batman and Miller's TDKR Batman. It was like the Batmen swapped out with each other during their conversation. There may have been other Batmen too. But those for sure were there.

And obviously, the cover included even more Batmen.

Jon Bogdanove had some incredible range.

I also dug that Kelly Jones' Batman was also one that got a nod on the cover.

Course, how could you miss those bat ears!

I was a little confused by the last page, what's the deal with all the Batmen being turned into Zur-en-arrh?