The first trailer for Batman: Year One has hit the interwebs. I’m a big fan of DC’s animation but this quick glimpse feels like it’s lacking the awesome of Frank Miller’s original tale. What do you think?
On Friday we were saddened to learn that artist Gene Colan passed away from complications with liver disease. Although most will remember him for his work on several Marvel titles including Daredevil, Tomb of Dracula, Howard the Duck, and Doctor Strange, (not to mention doing the art for Iron Man #1), I’ll remember Gene Colan most fondly for his work on a DC title in the early-to-mid 1980’s.
During my early years of reading comics Colan took over the artist duties of a title I never missed – Detective Comics. His run climaxed in his second to last issue (Detective Comics #566) in which he was given the opportunity to draw most of Batman’s current Rogues Gallery. Although the story itself was weak (Batman and Robin attempting to decipher a mysterious message by going through Bat-computer files of their most nefarious foes) it did offer Colan to go out on a high note.
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Gene Colan draws the Batman’s rogues gallery Read More »
For an issue that is jam-packed with important events and characters I’m not quite sure how this issue of Batman is such a trainwreck. Two-Face returns to Gotham, but he’s not the only Dent who’s got a role to play.
We also get Batman (tiptoeing around like a ballet dancer on steroids thanks to Steve Scott’s art) attempting to deal with Kitrina Falcone and hunt down a psychotic Two-Face who is even more lost than usual without his trademark coin.
And then there’s the late reveal and final panel which returns Gilda Dent to Gotham as well, as the arm candy of Mario Falcone? Like everything else in this issue it takes a good idea and turns it into pure shock and filler without context or meaning.
I’ve read some bad Batman comics in my day, but this issue is such a clusterfuck it’s baffling to behold. Here’s hoping the title makes some swift changes and gets back on track as soon as possible.
[DC, $2.99]
Writer Judd Winick, who seems to be all over the DCU these days, takes over the writing duties with this issue. It’s appropriate that Winick writes the return of Jason Todd story as it was his tale that brought the former Robin back from the dead and transformed him into a bloodthirsty anti-hero.
Sadly Winick is forced to deal with a Jason Todd that still has Grant Morrison‘s fingerprints all over him. We get the red hair (which I’m okay with) and, if the covers are to be believed, the return of the Captain Red Penis Head costume (which I’m not okay with).
The issue begins, after a quick recap of the character, with a conversation between Batman and his former sidekick. What works so well here is how Bruce honestly doesn’t know how to communicate with someone who has gone so far off the path he laid out for him.
From their we see the Red Hood swiftly killing enemies (brutally) and prompting a prison transfer back to Arkham Asylum which results in his eventual escape (but hopefully not the return of the penis head costume).
The Red Hood is out, and things should be about to get interesting. I actually like this version of Jason Todd (in the biker outfit, not the worst comic costume of all-time), and I’m hoping by the end of the storyline we get a little better sense of how he’s going to fit into the DCU and, more specifically, the Batman universe. Worth a look.
[DC, $2.99]
Batman and Robin #23 Read More »
After being injured in an explosion Batman (Diedrich Bader) is and is no longer able to protect Gotham four of his closest pals each take it upon themselves to step in for the Dark Knight. And so Gotham goes from one Batman to four.
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Night of the Batmen! Read More »
