Thursday 30 August 2012

To Boldly Flee - Part 3


Wednesday 29 August 2012

BAMF Girls Club (Ep. 1): Hermione, Katniss, Lisbeth, Buffy, Michonne, an...

Sunday 26 August 2012

Police Corruption in Gotham City

From 2000 to roughly 2009, it was something of a golden age for me in regards to the kinds of stories in the Batman universe that were being published. There were the Cassandra Cain Batgirl stories, obviously, but with Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker and the like at the helm of the Bat Books, Gotham really began to shape itself up into being like an actual city, rather than being merely the backdrop where Batman punches bad guys. Stuff happened in the background when the superheroes and villains weren't present, and one of the best series in this regard was Rucka and Brubaker's Gotham Central.

Tuesday 14 August 2012

100 Greatest Maniacal Movie Laughs

DCnU News: Tim Drake was Never Robin!

Wow, that's going to mess up the Young Justice cartoon some then.

Batman: Earth One Review

Read Batman: Earth One, which is intended to be a "modernised" take on the character for a "new generation" of Batman fans. Like what All Star Batman was meant to be before Frank Miller went Wiseau and claimed that it was actually a comedy.

It fairs better than the Superman: Earth One comic, where Superman was reimagined as a gloomy hoodie wearing teenager in a move apparently targetted at the Emo or Twilight fan set, though maybe that's because a dark and brooding Batman is the standard model while when you try to write Superman the same way... things get weird.

Basic plot? Batman begins his campaign to investigate the death of his parents, mayorial candidate Thomas Wayne and his wife/campaign manager Martha Arkham-Wayne, who were killed in the middle of the election against theovertly corrupt mayor Oswald Cobblepot (never called the Penguin in-story, though they do reference him wearing a " trademark Penguin suit"). And while this is going on, former celebrity cop Harvey Bullock arrives in Gotham and is partnered up with the thoroughly beaten down Jim Gordon, loudly announcing that he's going to solve the Waynes' murder and get himself back in the limelight...

Overall, non-spoiler review? The art by Gary Frank is good, though occasionally a little dead-eyed, with the decision to actually show Bruce's eyes while he's in the costume actually improving how he emotions for the most part. The characterisation and dialogue worked for the most part, though there are some questionable things there.

 Some parts worked, some didn't, and you could really tell that it was written by Geoff Johns in places, considering some of the stuff inserted into the story to make it more "mature". Brings some new things to the table and presents them in such a way that they work in unexpected ways. Would read again, though I'm looking forward to the sequel more, considering the hint that they dropped about various characters.

Spoilers Follow