Batman

Batman and Robin Annual #2

/ / Comics

Batman and Robin Annual #2My issue with Batman and Robin Annual #2, which is a mostly unremarkable recreation of Dick Grayson first day as Robin, is the comic is simply yet another example of DC continuing to shit all over their own characters’ beloved comic history by rebranding the first Robin costume as a crappy version of Tim Drake‘s pre-New 52 costume.

Although the Annual’s story allows it to weave in Damian (reminding us how much the Bat-books miss him right now), it doesn’t actually do much to compare Damian and Dick’s versions of Robin (which is really supposed to be the point). I will say the joke about an average day in school for Dick was funny (but didn’t need to be repeated). But the villain, Tusk, is completely forgettable, and even this younger version of Batman comes off like a complete prick through 90% of the story.

Even with the fan bait of giving Batman fans a taste of the character Grant Morrison killed only because he could, Batman and Robin Annual #2 is unremarkarkable except for the fact it will likely continue to piss off longtime DC fans. Pass.

[DC, $4.99]

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Worlds’ Finest Annual #1

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Worlds' Finest Annual #1Before they were Power Girl and the Huntress on another Earth they were Supergirl and Robin. More times than not comic annuals aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. Overpriced and often featuring multiple disjointed stories from more than one creative group, the standalone issues often don’t even fit into the series’ current storyline.

With the Huntress and Power Girl, however, there’s an entire vein of tales left untapped from their time as Robin and Supergirl from Earth-2. Other than a few short flashbacks, we’ve seen little of the heroines original time as heroes before becoming trapped on an alternate Earth.

We get three separate tales. The first gives us Robin’s first outing as Batman‘s partner. The second involves Kara enjoying a little normalcy before being unable to save her date for the evening. And the third story combines the first two as Helena and Power Girl work together to take on an evil Amazon (with an unusual connection to Wonder Woman) who is to blame for Kara’s recent misfortune. Despite the $5 price-tag, it’s still worth a look.

[DC, $4.99]

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Batman ’66 #7

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Batman '66 #7One of my favorite criminals from the 60’s Batman TV-show was False Face (played by an uncredited Malachi Throne). Only making a single appearance on the show in the two-parter “True or False Face” and “Holy Rat Race” the constantly-masked villain capable of perfectly impersonating anyone gets his own comic adventure here as the villain impersonates millionaire Bruce Wayne and attempts to destroy Mount Rushmore!

The adventure is fun, if over-the-top, and forces Batman to abandon showing up as Bruce Wayne until Batman and Robin can clear his name. If I have a major complaint its the unnecessary ambiguous clues False Face leaves for the Dynamic Duo making him come off a bit like a second-rate Riddler.

The back-up story is a bit odd as the Joker decides to take Wall Street’s advice and downsize to increase profits only to not have enough henchmen to properly execute a heist or defend himself against Batman and Robin. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time

/ / Home Video
  • Title: JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time
  • IMDB: link

JLA Adventures: Trapped in TimeAimed more to a kid-friendly all-ages audience than the much more publicized Justice League: War release, and available only at Target (as a tie-in to the store’s JLA toy line), JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time proves to be a hell of a lot of fun. Rather than adapting an existing mini-series or comic arc (which seems all that DC has been interested in lately), Trapped in Time offers an original adventure from screenwriter Michael Ryan and director Giancarlo Volpe that’s a bit of a throwback to the old Super Friends days.

The straight-to-DVD adventure begins with the Legion of Doom‘s latest plan of world conquest by expanding the polar ice caps which leaves Lex Luthor (Fred Tatasciore) stuck in ice for hundreds of years before his frozen remains are eventually discovered. Accidentally released by two junior members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Lex uses the knowledge and technology of the future to return to the past with a plan to stop the Justice League from ever forming by attacking Superman while he was still an infant.

…

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Worlds’ Finest #19

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Worlds' Finest #19With Power Girl‘s wild power fluctuations becoming more frequent and dangerous, the Huntress decides it may be time for the pair to consider finding help. After a year-and-a-half of the title focues on the pair to themselves (other than Helena’s friendship with Damian, and Power Girl meeting Supergirl) it appears Worlds’ Finest is finally ready to introduce Earth-2’s Robin and Supergirl to this world’s heroes.

Much of Worlds’ Finest #19 is set-up as Kara’s latest power freak-outs leave Helena stuck in a public park in her pajamas and almost burn down Starr Industries’ board room. Realizing her friend needs all the help she can get, Helena breaks into the Batcave hoping to convince this world’s Batman to help the daughter of another world’s Batman.

I”m glad the pair’s isolation is coming to an end, but I would have preferred the issue to move along quicker rather than simply set-up events for confrontations which apparently won’t even take place in this title (as DC plans to begin the pair’s introduction to the wider DCU in Batman/Superman #8). Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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