Battle for the Cowl - Review

Fist off, SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't read Battle for the Cowl or Batman and Robin No. 1 and do not want the ending spoiled for you, then do not read any further! Just turn around and go read Cakewrecks or something.

So, I've been putting off posting about the Battle for the Cowl comics. I finished reading them and Batman and Robin No. 1 almost a week ago. The reason for my delay in posting? To be honest, I'm torn.

To begin with, I was completely unsurprised, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Dick Grayson was the logical choice to become the new Batman. He was the first Robin, and is an exceptional athlete and well respected by the Superhero community. That being said, I was a bit sad they went with him. I felt Tim Drake would have been a more daring direction, especially if they took their cues from Batman Beyond as to how to deal with a teenage Batman (even though it was a typo, an issue of Superman/Batman did show us a future Batman that looked like Batman Beyond being called "Tim" over the intercom). I also feel that it was slightly weird to have Dick Grayson go from "I want to be my own man and get out from under Batman's shadow like crazy" to "I'm gonna be Batman." They sortof explained his rationalle in Batman and Robin No. 1, and they'll probably go into more detail later, but at this point, I'm still kindof wondering how the complete 180 in reference to Dick's feelings about Batman happened.

Also, Dick being Batman will cause the character to change completely, which is both a good and bad thing. Dick Grayson, as Nightwing was a highly sociable Superhero. He lead multiple superhero teams, including the Teen Titans, and has been in so many crossovers higherups in DC have been quoted as saying that he's more important to the fabric of the DC superhero community than Superman. This is completely the opposite from Bruce's Batman who was always a loner and didn't like working in teams or with others. He especially hated others butting their noses into Gotham. So either Dick Grayson is going to have to change to fit the Batman mold, which I think will cause him to suffer as a character, or Batman is going to have to become... well.... not Batman.

I was also sad that they ousted Tim Drake as Robin. Dude was one of my favorite Robins, hands down and Damien had been characterized until this point, largely, as an obnoxious brat. Apparently, Tim will be starting a new career as Red Robin ala Dick Grayson in Kingdom Come. I hope that works out for him and they don't fuck it up. But that's also kindof weird considering fromt he get go Tim was adamant about not staying Robin forever. I suppose he's too interesting and well liked of a character to let retire, but still, it (like Dick's decision to become batman) seems incongrous with what we've seen from his character thus far. That being said, I'm personally glad he's going to continue on with the superheroics since he's a fav of mine.

In regards to the event as a whole, I have even more mixed feelings...

One the one hand, I feel this event couldn't have been more poorly timed, especially with who they chose as the new Robin. With the semi-recent success of the Chris Nolan Batman movies, a lot of potential new readers are going to be coming to the comics expecting Bruce Wayne, and they're not going to find him and be very confused. They might have heard of Dick Grayson if they saw the earlier Batman movies and/or any animated incarnation of Batman ever. But they'll NEVER have heard of Damien unless they read the comics. If they'd seen Batman TAS, they would have known who Tim Drake was, but no, DC decided to make the new Robin someone who no one who wasn't an existing comic reader would know about. Well done there.

On the other hand, perhaps this is the perfect time to start over. As a new reader myself, the one road block I've come up time and time again is where to start. The last big restart was in the 80s, and there have been over 600 volumes of Batman since then. Hence the reason I've been sticking to oneshot stories like Superman: Birthright, The Dark Knight Returns etc or more recent serials such as Nightwing and Superman/Batman. So with that in mind, starting a new Batman and Robin comic with issue one might be a good idea. It's a clean starting point for new readers to launch from, and all it requires is being willing to read Wikipedia for a few hours to figure out who everyone is and what's happened recently in the DC universe that the characters are reacting to.

Those are my initial thoughts. I may have more to add later, but that's the bulk for now. I thought the art was amazing and the story arc was well done. No real complaints there. The very end was a bit rushed, but I guess they wanted to be able to put some of the aftermath into Batman and Robin. I have my doubts, but I am definately looking forward to seeing how it all works out, especially since I'm pretty sure Batman isn't dead for good. Really, what it comes down to is Nighwing is one of my favorite superheroes, and I'm sad to see him go, and I hope they don't fuck it up making him Batman.

Terrible Lex Luthor

My sister and I found this at Picture is Unrelated and felt the need to share it with you.
I'm sure it's originally from some Superman themed book geared towards helping children learn math or some such. But that doesn't make it any less hilarious. Oh Lex Luthor, how far you've fallen. From Billionare super genius, to cake thief. Now that is terrible.

Link to original posting here.

Boot to the Head

I haven't posted a comic humor strip in a while, and felt it was high time to remedy that. Today's humorous moment is a frame from Justice League Unlimited #26. Comedic gold.... comedic Booster Gold, that is*

*I am fully aware how completely un-funny that was, but I said it anyway

Superman Birthright

So, I know I've mentioned Superman Birthright before. But it bears repeating. This is an amazing graphic novel. I highly recommend that you buy it, download it, whatever. Just read it. To be fair, I was a Superman fan before reading it, but I think for you non-fans, it brings a very refreshing look at an iconic hero. This comic succeeds at doing what most Superman comics completely fail at: making Superman a believable character who you can relate to. He isn't an iconic hero whose pretty much an overgrown boy scout and the epitome of all that is good. Rather, he is flawed, fallible, and very human. He is an unsure young man trying to figure out who is is and what his place is in a world where he will always be an alien. He is all this while still being the classic hero we know and love. Really, Superman Birthright is the film that Superman Returns should have been. If they do decide to reboot the Superman franchise with a new movie, I hope the screenplay writers take a good hard look at this comic which in many ways mirrors the story and character arc of Batman Begins. In Superman Birthright the people of Metropolis don't fall in love with Superman instantly; they are suspicious, distrustful, and afraid of him (all of which is encouraged by a very well done Lex Luthor). Even by the end he hasn't completely won them over - rather he's convinced them to give him a chance (with the help of Lois Lane, who'se just as wonderfully snarky as ever). For me, Superman Birthright is the way Superman should be portrayed every time. If each Superman comic had the depth of character that Birthright had, I would read them all rather than shy away for fear of another cardboard, two dimensional boyscout strongman who looks good in blue tights. And I like Superman.

If that doesn't convince you, here are two other reviews of Birthright that I think are well thought out and articulated. I recomend giving them a read as well.

Comic Book Galaxy

Intergalactic Medice Show

Blue Beetle is Bored

This comedic moment comes from Justice League Unlimited #5. Blue Beetle has been stuck on monitor duty and is really bored. How he decides to pass the time is quite hilarious.

Okay, I'm sorry, but I would NEVER touch Batman's food. Unless, ya know, I had a death wish.
I like the implication that he's already tried on Wonder Woman's costume. Oh Blue Beetle, I'm sure you'd make a fabulous drag queen.

Lancelot Lookalike

This weeks* humorous comic moment come from Justice League Unlimited #9. In it, the Justice League has gone back in time to help King Arthur fight Morgan LeFay. There is a brief running gag that I find hilarious. So I decided to share it with you all.Say it with me now: awkward! And it comes back again later during the battle.

I have a few more pages from JLU that I find quite hilarious that I just haven't gotten around to posting yet, but rest assured, they will come soon.

*I know I don't update once a week, but "weekly" sounded better than "whenever the f*ck I get around to it"

Emo Batman is Emo & Flash states the obvious

Two comic gems for you today, both from issues of the Justice League Adventures.

This first one is from Issue #11.

I love how everyone except for Batman is in a heroic pose, and Batman's at the bottom doing a sneaky vampire/villian pose. One of the few times Batman has completely failed at being bad ass.

This one is from Issue #31.
I adore the way they drew the Flash's mouth. It's so perfect for the line and the character. Well done.