To put it mildly, the Batman universe has been going through a ton of changes lately. I would recap again, but I'm sure everyone is getting sick of that. Now, its been announced that Bruce Wayne is returning to the normal DCU, and (99.9% sure about this) to the role of Batman. I am very, very pleased with this, except for one thing.
We all know that Bruce Wayne is a control freak. And Dick has gone, and, through this past year, rearranged pretty much everything having to do with the Cowl. Once Bruce returns, what's going to happen to everything that's changed this last year?
There are three possibilities (varying in probability, however) that I see:
1. Bruce returns....and swiftly dismantles everything Dick has done. The Batcave will be quickly returned to its proper place and all of the new mannerisms "Batman" has acquired will be dispensed with. The only changes that (possibly) stick are Stephanie Brown as Batgirl and Damien as Robin (again, possibly).
2. Bruce returns, resumes activites as Batman, and decides to continue acting like Dick so the public does not see yet another shift in Batman. Slowly, he reintroduces his version of Batman.
3. Bruce returns.....and that's it. He (for some unknown reason that I'm sure Grant Morrison will be able to explain) chooses not to return to the role of Batman. Maybe he assumes some sort of Oracle-ish role (although it looks like that's where Wendy's headed, so I don't know why he would), or maybe he just gets an actual life for the first time in twenty-plus years. Either way, Dick remains as Batman and the new Batman stas quo remains in effect.
Frankly, I'm hoping for the first one. I have never been Dick Grayson's biggest fan, although that's a story for another post. I really hope no one at DC pulls something screwy and suddenly Bruce decides to not be Batman.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
The Return of Bruce Wayne
Well, its finally happened. A new miniseries, called Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne will chronicle Bruce Wayne's journey through time and space in order to get home. There's two drawings, one of which is a caveman Batman and the other is a pirate Batman (who looks remarkably like Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean).
And the best part? The wonderful genius Grant Morrison is writing it! Yeah!
Yup, the guy who completely screwed up the universe is now going to put it back together. Why should we even let this guy near a book having anything to do with space and odd physics? Wasn't Final Crisis enough?
Also, a caveman Batman? Dear God.
Apparently this isn't going to be a short book, either. There are six issues, with the first being 38 pages and the rest being 30. Grant also says he's trying to do some "big ideas" in this book. Wonderful.
Don't get me wrong, I respect the guy. All-Star Superman was very good and won some awards. Batman and Robin has been enjoyable. But whenever he seems to get within a football field of something "groundbreaking" "new" or "experimental" all of that flies out the window, and we're left with some sort of crazy stuff that destroys the universe.
I'm still going to pick this book up, of course. I just don't have high hopes.
You can read USA Today's interview with Morrison here.
The two images are from the article.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Terry McGinnis
DC will soon be doing a miniseries for the "Batman Beyond" Batman, aka Terry McGinnis. For anyone who hasn't heard of this, it was an animated seres about the future. You can see it here. Personally, I really didn't like it, and therefore am not looking forward to the miniseries, but I did realize something weird.
This is Batwoman:
This is Terry McGinnis:
Is it just me, or are these costumes creepily similar? It could just be an artist fluke, not anticipating someone from the DCAU to cross over to the regular universe, but it just seems odd to me. After all, no other Batman heroes expect for Robin (who we can agree has a pretty distinct costume) has red in the costume. Well, I guess there's Red Robin, but again, it isn't similar to these at all, and has yellow.
Me, I think there's going to be some significance. Why bring Terry McGinnis back now, anyway?
This is Batwoman:
This is Terry McGinnis:
Is it just me, or are these costumes creepily similar? It could just be an artist fluke, not anticipating someone from the DCAU to cross over to the regular universe, but it just seems odd to me. After all, no other Batman heroes expect for Robin (who we can agree has a pretty distinct costume) has red in the costume. Well, I guess there's Red Robin, but again, it isn't similar to these at all, and has yellow.Me, I think there's going to be some significance. Why bring Terry McGinnis back now, anyway?
Friday, December 11, 2009
Aha!
Something I forgot to mention: Tony Daniels came back to the batbooks on the last issue of Batman. Oh, and guess who came with him. Fright, whose return I have been calling for for months.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
JSA: The Liberty Files (yes its Batman)
JSA: The Liberty Files (Graphic Novel)
By Dan Jolley
Art by Tony Harris
Rating: 9/10 (best so far)
This is an Elseworlds tale, where all the superheroes come together during WWII instead of modern time. The main character is Batman (called The Bat, a secret agent for the allied forces). He and two other heroes (The Clock, or Hourman, and The Owl, or Dr. Midnite) infiltrate Hitler's forces to take down the new super-Nazi--a brainwashed Martian Manhunter. On the way they encounter versions of the Joker, Scarecrow, and others.
Later (1948) Batman has gone back to protecting Gotham City, but he is called in to investigate agents being killed in Berlin and a Soviet nuclear device. He and the Clock reunite and also work with Superman (but not who you think). These mysteries lead to a fabulous twist ending.
Personally, I loved this. I'm not really an Elseworlds fan, but this was fantastically written with a great plot and lots of mystery. And Batman saves the world. Twice. what could be better?
The art wasn't as fabulous as the story, but it was decent. There were too many lines on all the faces, and Bruce Wayne didn't really look like I thought he should. He and Clark Kent looked very, very similar. It wasn't bad, per say, just not really my cup if tea.
By Dan Jolley
Art by Tony Harris
Rating: 9/10 (best so far)
This is an Elseworlds tale, where all the superheroes come together during WWII instead of modern time. The main character is Batman (called The Bat, a secret agent for the allied forces). He and two other heroes (The Clock, or Hourman, and The Owl, or Dr. Midnite) infiltrate Hitler's forces to take down the new super-Nazi--a brainwashed Martian Manhunter. On the way they encounter versions of the Joker, Scarecrow, and others.
Later (1948) Batman has gone back to protecting Gotham City, but he is called in to investigate agents being killed in Berlin and a Soviet nuclear device. He and the Clock reunite and also work with Superman (but not who you think). These mysteries lead to a fabulous twist ending.
Personally, I loved this. I'm not really an Elseworlds fan, but this was fantastically written with a great plot and lots of mystery. And Batman saves the world. Twice. what could be better?
The art wasn't as fabulous as the story, but it was decent. There were too many lines on all the faces, and Bruce Wayne didn't really look like I thought he should. He and Clark Kent looked very, very similar. It wasn't bad, per say, just not really my cup if tea.
You should most definitely read this.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Five Projects for DC Entertainment...
As you can tell, I am a fan of lists.
Justice League: When Worlds Collide Yes, I realize that the DCAU (DC Animated Universe for all you non-cartoonies) is pretty much defunct in favor of the Direct-to-DVD comic adaptations nowadays--which are still good, but not the same--but I have been watitng for this since they announced it. Supposedly it was going to bridge from Justice League Adventures to Justice League Unlimited, and have the Crime Syndicate as the villains. Also, this was going to be the story where Wonder Woman got her invisible jet (supposedly. So far limited information has been released, since there's a "slight chance" it might happen).
Another JLA/Batman cartoon Following from that first one, this is something else I would love to see. And not any of that "The Batman Strikes" crap with the halfway-to-manga animation. Iwould like a nice, in-continuity, Kevin-Conroy-as-Batman, Bruce-Timm-style cartoon. Got all that, DC?
A Fan Board This is something that I feel has been missing for a long time in the whole of the comic industry. The point of DCE is to increase sales of these characters, right? So give the fans a way to communicate what would be cool to see. And not just fans, the masses. Look at the appeal of the Dark Knight. Most of those people weren't comic fans. Giving the people a forum to give ideas for new project might bring in a new fan base. I'm not saying creators should bend to mass-market wishes, but they might get some new ideas and be able to test things out on people.
More actual Book-Books. Not that long ago, there was a line of actual novels about the DCU that was really quite good. There was also a line of Batman ones. This would get more writers out there, and more material. And I'm not talking about some movie-to-novel thing, but new stories. I really wish they would bring these back.
Batman: Hush Adaptation. Ohhh yeahhh. Fan girl wonderland.
Justice League: When Worlds Collide Yes, I realize that the DCAU (DC Animated Universe for all you non-cartoonies) is pretty much defunct in favor of the Direct-to-DVD comic adaptations nowadays--which are still good, but not the same--but I have been watitng for this since they announced it. Supposedly it was going to bridge from Justice League Adventures to Justice League Unlimited, and have the Crime Syndicate as the villains. Also, this was going to be the story where Wonder Woman got her invisible jet (supposedly. So far limited information has been released, since there's a "slight chance" it might happen).
Another JLA/Batman cartoon Following from that first one, this is something else I would love to see. And not any of that "The Batman Strikes" crap with the halfway-to-manga animation. Iwould like a nice, in-continuity, Kevin-Conroy-as-Batman, Bruce-Timm-style cartoon. Got all that, DC?
A Fan Board This is something that I feel has been missing for a long time in the whole of the comic industry. The point of DCE is to increase sales of these characters, right? So give the fans a way to communicate what would be cool to see. And not just fans, the masses. Look at the appeal of the Dark Knight. Most of those people weren't comic fans. Giving the people a forum to give ideas for new project might bring in a new fan base. I'm not saying creators should bend to mass-market wishes, but they might get some new ideas and be able to test things out on people.
More actual Book-Books. Not that long ago, there was a line of actual novels about the DCU that was really quite good. There was also a line of Batman ones. This would get more writers out there, and more material. And I'm not talking about some movie-to-novel thing, but new stories. I really wish they would bring these back.
Batman: Hush Adaptation. Ohhh yeahhh. Fan girl wonderland.