Knight and Squire!!!

DC just put up the preview for Knight and Squire #. And may I say wow. Wow, wow, and ohmygod yes.

I absolutely love the characters of Knight and Squire, who have been drastically underused--basically shoved off into a corner until called upon by Grant Morrison (they were the shining light of Batman: The Black Glove). Knight doesn't have Bruce Wayne's looks, of course, but he does possess a personality to make up for it.

And seriously, just check out the art:

Review: Batgirl #13

Batgirl #13

by Brian Q. Miller
Art by Pere Perez

Rating: 5/10

The gist of this issue is that Clayface and Batgirl get into a fight because Clayface wants to break into a bank to get into his safe deposit box. We also learn that Detective Nick Gage (more on his creepy relationship with the Batfamily later) has a dead wife/girlfriend.

Well, this was certainly a dead average issue. Really, it was just kind of a cute little filler issue with a "meaningful" talk between Gage and Stephanie. Also, we see Wendy, aka Proxy, for about three panels. I'm still not convinced that she's a meaningful character.

I don't understand the need to make each and every person who comes in contact with the Batfamily a damaged person. There was absolutely no need for Nick Gage to have a skeleton in the closet. He works best as the ray of sunshine in the Gotham universe, a nice light-hearted character with some wisecracks and a touch of romantic interest.

Then there's the whole Barbara/Nick/Stephanie thing. Seriously, to be a detective you have to be at least 27. Stephanie is, at most, 19. To have both Stephanie and Barbara dating, or at least interested in, the same guy is creepy to no end. This isn't a sophomore girl crushing on a senior's boyfriend. This is a late teenager coming on to a late twenties, early thirties guy.

Seriously. Just make it a Barbara/Dick/Nick love triangle and leave it at that. (Where is Dick these days in Barbara's life? Aren't they engaged, or has that been forgotten again?)

My high points for the issue  were the art, which was kind of light and DCAU oriented, the feel Batgirl should have in my opinion. Also, Oracle is finally gone. This is Batgirl's book, after all, and I was seriously getting incredibly sick of Calculator. At least he is (apparently) taken care of for quite awhile.

Miller seems to be faltering these last few issues. Let's hope it picks back up these next issues.

Review: Jenny Sparks--Secret History of the Authority

Secret History of the Authority: Jenny Sparks (GN)

By Mark Millar
Art by John McCrea and James Hodgkins

Rating: 8/10

Though this book is not critical to the timeline of the Authority, it provides and interesting look into the (wonderful) character of Jenny Sparks. It follows Jenny through her first meeting with each member of the Authority and her life through the twentieth century.

The best issues were the Engineer, #4 (an extremely interesting a nuanced look at Hitler) and Jack Hwksmoor by far. Hawksmoor is a character we never learn much of, and this provided much needed background.

The Engineer's issue had an extremely thought provoking plot, but ultimately #4 stood above all the rest, which is sad since it didn't deal with a single other member of the Authority. This brings me to by greatest criticism, which is none of the other characters were given enough attention to feel like anything more than props next to Jenny. The Doctor's issue was mediocre, with only one good scene. Apollo and Midnighter's was flat out boring, and fell prey to the trap of portraying the pair without any personality other than their relationship.

The art, overall, held up the story well. It was the type to stand back and let the plot take over, which worked well in my opinion. Very clean, but not showy. I hadn't encountered either of the artists before this book, and it reminded me a lot of Chris Sprouse's work on The Return of Bruce Wayne. 

Overall, a nice book if you're interested in the Authority, but not exceptional.

~Caro

YouTube is Live!

Caro and Hanz (the authors of this blog, under the psuedonym Beckony) have offically posted the first Real Men Wear Tights youtube video. It's recorded on a crappy webcam, and is only the second video Caro has ever edited, but we're still proud of it!

Part 1 of our review of Batman: Under the Red Hood can be found at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKLb97K8qEA

P.S. Don't forget to vote in the new poll!