Batman and Robin Issue 18 - Undone

In the wake of Damian Wayne's death in Batman Inc. 8, the following months in the DCU will be mourning issues starting off with the Requiem tie-ins and Batman & Robin issue 18 has started it off with a bang. This powerful issue is all silent with not one word being spewed and damn is it powerful. After finishing, I can honestly say that i was on the verge of tears due to it's impact. Each panel just shows the pain Bruce is feeling slowly but surely until the last page with the climax of the tale.

Among the titles out this week (Batman, Detective Comics, B&R,  and Batgirl) Batman & Robin 18 takes the cake for Requiem tie-ins. Even if you are not a reader of this series, picking up this issue is a must. Bruce's pain is so vivid and compelling and you do not want to be left out. 10/10 all the way on this book. Good job Gleason and the rest of the creative time.

R.I.P. Damian. You will be missed

Grant, congrats on breaking our hearts

Death of the Family Conclusion Review

Spoiler. This is it. Snyder's final installment of the Death of the Family story arc and it's quite the doozie. Full of epic moments though not what you may be expecting. This book tends to lean more towards psychological moments than action packed fight scenes between the Joker and Batman. But that is to be expected after all due to the two's relationship.

Was it a bit anti-climatic?
Depends... if you bought into the hype of Alfred dying or at least someone meeting their fate, then you may be a bit let down. But let's look at this logically. Joker, considering he does not know who Alfred is to Batman, has no reason to kill the old man. To him, he thinks Batman views him as just another citizen. It doesn't make sense that Joker would kill Alfred in spite of hurting Batman. Not to mention, even IF Joker knew Alfred's significance to Batman, I still don't think he would kill off Alfred. Because wouldn't that just take the fun out of Joker's never ending game? Now yes, you could pull the "But he killed Jason" card but Jason and Alfred are two different people to Bruce. He loves them both but nonetheless, they play different parts in his life.

Although I'm in love with Snyder's writing and Capullo's art, I have to admit that although I did love the psychological conclusion to the story involving the revelations of why Joker had his face removed and the explanation to 'removing' the whole Bat Family's face, I wish there was a bit more of an action conclusion that added to the psychological part. And Joker falling down the waterfall... Meh. Same song and dance I feel. We've seen it before where the villain just "get's away".

Showing snippets of each of the Bat members at the end of the issue pondering what had just went down was also a nice touch. It made me sit and think about the 5 months that have passed that enclosed this story and the trauma that came with it. I think Damian and Jason's were the most powerful scenes.

All in all, I am very satisfied with the conclusion and I hope this team of Snyder and Capullo stick with us for issues to come. I give this a solid 9.5/10 and am definitely excited for what's to come in the Batman saga

Death of the Family Review (Up to Batman Issue 16)

What can I say? This is one of the most promising, drama filled. action packed story lines I've ever read. Scott Snyder's writing is like poetry and I cannot get enough of it. The first page of issue 15 (Batman) had me with my heart going a hundred miles an hour. I probably read it twenty times. And the cliffhanger at the end had me at the edge of my seat. But I think the true jewel on the crown is Batman issue 13. The beginning of all the madness with the Joker. This was definitely one of my favorite comics of all time. The references to earlier stories, the writing, the art, THE COVER. It was all perfect. If you haven't checked out DC's Death of the Family story arc yet, you are missing out.

Why I Disliked the Dark Knight Rises Film

Explicit Language And Spoilers
So today I was discussing the final installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy with my friends and their arguments as to why it is the greatest superhero film ever got me revved up to post this rant. Here we go...

Bane In general 
Christopher Nolan claimed that he wanted The Dark Knight Trilogy to be 'realistic' and not all flashy with giant action packed scenes which i commend. But I'm sorry, tell me the realism in a man who we can guesstimate is about 50 years old (Due to the flashback with Talia as a child and how young she looked then and how old he looked) breaking THE BATMAN'S back. This is not your average Joe. We are talking about The Dark Knight and some random fuck who just has this "strength" can pick him up and break his back? Because Nolan wanted a 'realistic' approach to the series, he lacked the privilege of including Bane's MAIN WEAPON which is his venom which makes him strong in the first place. So that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Second, Bane's mask.... my friends claimed that there was some gas that just keeps him alive. I'm sorry. What? What fucking gas? There was no mention of that in the whole film.Way to be real Nolan. And finally, Bane's weak excuse of a death. Now I've heard the reasoning of his death being what it was because "right when you find out he is just a pawn in Talia's plan, he just becomes a normal person and it doesn't matter." But no Nolan. You cannot do that. This is the villain we have been following the whole film and you just kill him like that? I don't know. Maybe it's just my opinion but I thought it was pathetic. Now this rant is not a rip on Tom Hardy who I believe did an excellent job portraying Bane with voice, personality, and all but let's face it. He did not have the right stature to play Bane. Nolan should have picked someone like Ryback from the WWE who actually has the proper build.

The Ending
I've already heard your excuse for this. It was on auto pilot. If so, riddle me this. What is with the split second scene of Batman in some machinery which you ASSUME is the bat vehicle? My friends defended that he was somewhere else and that was just some machine of his. Bullshit! You witness him take off after kissing Catwoman! Where else would be be? At the fucking batcave? No. And my friend claims that The Bat vehicle is based off of a military vehicle? Um. No. I don't think Batman has the power of traveling 6 miles in 50 seconds. That's wayyyyy too far fetched. Nolan should have just killed him off. If I hear "It wasn't the ending we wanted. It was the ending we needed" one more time, I'm gonna lose it.

Miscellaneous

• I love the man. But even Joseph Gordon-Levitt doesn't have the power to just immediately detect Batman when he enters the room. That was also a far fetched move.
• Bane and his men can just stash away 5 or so motorbikes in the Wall street building and make a cool escape?
• During the motorbike scene where Bruce Wayne first appears as Batman. When the cops chase Batman, that was one of the most ridiculous car chases I've ever seen. There had to have been at least 100 cop cars all chasing one bike. So they just totally forgot their original assignment of chasing Bane and his men? This whole movie was far fetched.
• My friend was speaking out of both ends of his mouth claiming that TDKR was better than Marvel's The Avengers as a superhero movie. How? A superhero movie should have outrageous fight scenes with over the top powers and action. If my friend wants to claim that TDKR is realistic, he cannot also claim that it's better than The Avengers when it comes to action and superhero mannerisms. I've been reading comic books all my life and the fact that these friends of mine claimed to know more about the batman franchise than me (even though they've never picked up a comic in their life) is a slap in the face considering how seriously I take my comic book lore. 

You may have your opinions and I have nothing wrong with that. These are my opinions and my facts to back them up. 

Batman #10 Reviewed

BATMAN ISSUE 10 SPOILERS
With the DC New 52 Crossover event coming to a close, I'm anxious to see how they wrap it up. Earlier this month the Batman issue 10 came out and holy mother of god. What a cliffhanger... Bruce Wayne has a brother and he's leader of the Court of the Owls??? And he was running for mayor?? Talk about a twist! I had my jaw to the floor when i finished that issue and I can't wait for more.... WHY DO CLIFFHANGERS HAVE TO MAKE ME SCREAM IN AGONY??? Gah. Well regardless, Night of the Owls seemed to end up to be quite a clever story and I'm very impressed. Glad I kept up.

Epic Cover

Batman: Arkham Unhinged Comic Review Update

Okay. So this is an update to my previous Arkham Unhinged review. I've read issues two and three since then and all I've got to say is what the fraking frak. What happened??? This comic had so much potential thanks to the success of the ground breaking, addictive video game and they started off strong with an entertaining first issue with Catwoman and Two-Face back story and then there's these next two issues that were far from interesting. I'm definitely taking this out of my folder at my comic shop. The art is still cool but would be so much cooler if there was actually some god damn action every once in a while! I mean the second issue is Batman talking to Commissioner Gordon for the whole story and the third is just about the Penguin talking about how he used to be friends with the Joker or something. It was lame. I spoke to soon about this comic unfortunately. But I do have to admit. The covers to each issue so far have been pretty fantastic.

Batman: Arkham Unhinged (Arkham City's Sidekick) Reviewed

Warning: Minor Spoilers for Batman: Arkham City Video Game
For fellow fans of the multi-platform video game hit Batman: Arkham City, I present to you it's back story sidekick, Batman: Arkham Unhinged. I picked up issue one today at my local comic shop and was hesitant on getting the second issue due to my trusty comic employee saying the first issue didn't have much of a cliffhanger. So here I am now with the first issue under my belt and I must say wow. If you have any interest in the video game, buy this comic. The first issue gives you the background info on Catwoman and Two Face's feud and how they both ended up in Arkham City. It also shows you how Two Face got Catwoman's stolen goodies. Filled with action on just about every page and quality art, Arkham Unhinged was definitely worth it's $3 price tag that it bears. And for all you women super hero lovers out there, do not fear. Catwoman's cleavage is VERY noticeable in this comic with plenty of shots that would make a stalker drool. I also must say that the cover art is VERY entertaining.
I hope this series has much success. Like I said, for any video game fans out there who don't know where to start with comics and want to start somewhere, here ya go.

The Dark Knight Rises: A Conclusion of Epic Proportions... With One Problem

As many of you know, the final installment in the Nolan Batman series is coming to a close with the title The Dark Knight Rises. Being a fan of the first two movies, I'm thrilled to see how it all comes together. But. Being the disective critic I am, I must bring one issue to the table that has been bugging me ever since I first saw the trailer (Which was amazing by the way). What's up with Bane? Really? You're gonna bring The Scarecrow and The Joker to life in such an awe like way and then this is what you do with Bane? Put some guy in a trench coat with a mask on? Where's the bulging muscle? The lack of shirt? The tubes all over his body filling him with the venom that gives him super strength? I mean yes, the Arkham video games do make him a bit... excessive but I mean c'mon Nolan. You can do better than that. I talked to my friend about this issue I'm seeing and he claims that they need to make the movie at least somewhat believable... Really? A superhero movie believable? That's the point of superheroes... to escape this reality. Not to stay in this fixated, conservative world but to escape. So do I agree with my friend's opinion? Frak no. I want the big, buff venom surging Bane I know from the comic books. I wanna see him break Batman's back too like the Knightfall story arc... But that may be asking for too much. I don't know. Maybe I'm being too picky. I just wish that they would stick with the original Bane theme more. Maybe they will and the movie will show him getting bulging muscles with veins popping out later in the movie. But until then, I'll be skeptical. But don't get me wrong guys. I'm excited for the final Nolan movie. I'm sure it'll be amazing and full of awesomeness.

Why Superman Does Not Deserve the Credit He Gets

Superman. The world's most popular (For some reason) super hero. Why? You tell me. But this post isn't about why he's the greatest super hero. It's focusing on the complete opposite which is why Superman, the loser alien from Krypton is one of the worst super heroes ever created.
For starters, something as simple as his color scheme. Really? Primary colors? What are you, five? For such a popular super hero like yourself Superman, shouldn't you have a more elaborate color combination. Even Green Lantern's is better... and his is only one base color! Go back to elementary school Clark.
Second, he's invincible (Unless he's encountering the distant material Kryptonite). No super hero should be allowed to have the power that Superman holds. Why? It stands for a boring series and boring villains (Unless it's Doomsday). I was reading my Superman comic compilation the other day and one of the issues was Clark Kent at a TV interview and he was trying to get out of the lie of him being Superman. Really? That's not a frakin comic story! That's just a lame filler. And I'm not saying that fillers in comic book series are pointless. They're not. Because half the time, they're brought up later in a series and they add for good character development. But when you're focusing an issue on getting out of a lie in an interview, you know the character sucks. Superman needs more vulnerabilities!!!
Next reason on my list: Superman's stupid hair curl... What the hell is that? Are you a greaser from The Outsiders or something?
I will admit that Superman is the icon for super heroes and he has given comic books fame but I just gotta ask... WHY??? Shouldn't Spider-Man or Batman who are more like the common man be the face of super heroes??? I mean yes Bruce Wayne is rich as frak and Spider-Man can climb walls and shoot webs but when you take those away, they're just you're average guy! In fact Bruce IS you're average guy! I feel the human population would be more attracted to someone they can relate to more than some far away alien baby. And it's not like Superman has been around for years before icons like Batman. The Dark Knight was only created a year later.
He's cocky - Superman is invincible. And he knows he's invincible. So what does he do when harm comes to his precious world? He faces it head on. Tell me what's entertaining about that. Would you rather watch The Avengers take on Hank Pym's catastrophic creation Ultron who they admit is smarter than them all put together or would you rather watch Superman take on Lex Luther for the billionth time and kick the bald man's ass? It's a no-brainer to me. If you want a plot and you want to watch your heroes triumph when hope is bleak, don't go to Superman.

Please Note: This post is MY personal opinion and for you Superman lovers out there, please do not get mad. As you can see, I feel strongly about this subject but I do not mean for this to be a burn on you Man of Steel fans out there. Take this post with a grain of salt!

Thoughts on "Night of the Owls"

It's owls vs. bats right now during DC's New 52 issues where they're crossing over all of the bat related stories (Batwing, NightWing, Batman, Catwoman, etc.) into one big epic. The idea for this began in issue one of Batman of the New 52 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo with "The Court of the Owls" story. It's now being fully blown into a crossover event. The first seven issues of Batman explore who the Court of Owls are. A fairy tale gone wrong basically about top notch assassins known as Talons that hunt their prey (And the bats are on the top of their list!) Batman issue 8 and NightWing issue 8 starts the crossover event with Night Wing having a tremendous cliffhanger at the end. I've only managed to read those two issues of Night of the Owls so far and apart from it still being dragged out in the Batman series, it's very interesting and  full of surprises. Can't wait for more! But really? Drag one story out for 8 issues in an ongoing series? A bit excessive if you ask me. Apart from that, I'm excited to read the others in the crossover. Especially Catwoman and Batwing.