tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75989578768927445782024-02-21T03:17:58.316-05:00The Matt SignalShining a Spotlight On Great Comics!The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.comBlogger572125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-76020250902919573712017-09-11T13:00:00.000-04:002017-09-11T13:00:05.887-04:00Batman: The Animated Series- 25 Years Later<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ajBu2sI3C_Fb3rWdPTv1EtchvGEvgIDaNykfE7d5y8D2ovJcZhGnvIEsxG9kihngycS5F7FyD2qfkXKfhdtSZyVEsd_GfVjuUfqGOXlzCXaBEfpfDZOiM60GvkoNLoT5UN1j5YOeN6Mp/s1600/AnimatedLogo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="336" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ajBu2sI3C_Fb3rWdPTv1EtchvGEvgIDaNykfE7d5y8D2ovJcZhGnvIEsxG9kihngycS5F7FyD2qfkXKfhdtSZyVEsd_GfVjuUfqGOXlzCXaBEfpfDZOiM60GvkoNLoT5UN1j5YOeN6Mp/s320/AnimatedLogo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Last Tuesday marked the 25th anniversary of the premiere of my favorite animated series of all time, which should surprise no one to be <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i>. And while I didn't have time to get up a post on that day, I decided to hold it back until today, as today marks the 25th anniversary of one of my personal favorite episodes, "<a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-matt-signal-advent-calendar-2015.html">Joker's Favor</a>," the episode that introduced one of the series most enduring legacies: Harley Quinn. So today, we say happy birthday to Harley, and we look back on 25 years of the animated series that changed the way people looked at "kids" cartoons, and specifically how it helped foster the already growing devotion of one pre-teen to all things Batman.<br />
<br />
I remember the first time I read anything about the upcoming Batman cartoon. In those long ago pre-internet days, you got your comics news on paper, from various periodicals, and the one that had a big feature on the upcoming cartoon was the tenth or twelfth issue of <i>Wizard</i> magazine (it was 25 years ago, cut a guy come slack on not remembering the exact issue number). This was back before <i>Wizard</i> became the slick, glossy embodiment of everything good and ill in comics in the 90s, and was more a price guide with some articles. I remember walking home from a news stand, and stopping dead as I looked at the character models sheets that were published in the magazine: this was a style that wasn't a super slick and "realistic" as comics in the 90s, but was stylized and different, but very cool. I wasn't in love with the clearly <i>Batman Returns</i> inspired Penguin, but everyone else looked great! I liked Batman's costume which was grey and dark blue, something between the classic version from comics of the past twenty years, which had a lighter blue, and the black costume of the Burton films. I even recognized the names of some of the voice actors, although I didn't know this Kevin Conroy who was voicing Batman, or Tim Curry, who was voicing Joker.<br />
<br />
The series premiered on a special Saturday morning showing, as the cartoon would normally run Monday through Friday at 4:30 on Fox, back when cartoons were aired on Fox and the WB (or just syndicated Channel 11 before the WB was a thing). That first week, from September 5th through September 12th of 1992, there were actually going to be eight days with eight episodes running, including a primetime, seven o'clock airing on Sunday! This was the kind of buzz you didn't get around a cartoon back in the 90s.<br />
<br />
That Saturday morning, I can actually remember sitting down on the floor, closer to the TV than I usually would because I didn't want to miss a moment or a word, and Saturday mornings were primetime for screaming two and seven year old brothers. And when that opening sequence began, with its action and explosions, its mobsters and Batman, it's shadows and substance, I was drawn in entirely. The first episode to air was not the pilot, but "The Cat and the Claw Part 1," probably to capitalize on Catwoman's popularity after the previous summer's Batman Returns, and I was surprised to see a story much closer to what I was just starting to read in the comics than to the still syndicated <i>Batman</i> 1966 TV series: terrorists stealing a chemical weapon, a Catwoman who was sympathetic, and a Batman whose voice was like something out of a dream; immediately I knew that Kevin Conroy was THE voice of Batman.<br />
<br />
I'm not going to bore you with a rundown of every episode of the series, but I will say that first week showed exactly what this series could do. "The Cat and the Claw" (part 2 aired the following Saturday morning, wrapping up the initial eight day run) was an action story, akin to classic movie serials, but the rest of the episodes were different. The true pilot, "On Leather Wings" aired on Sunday, and debuted Man-Bat. It was a horror story, with a bat monster, and was truly beautiful to watch; I dare you to look at it and not think it could have been animated today.<br />
<br />
Monday's episode was "Heart of Ice," the debut of the animated series Mr. Freeze, whose Mike Mignola redesigned armor is still the gold standard for Mr. Freeze looks today, and more than that, it's a true tragedy, about a good man driven by love to extreme lengths, and the pain he feels at his loss, a story that redefined Mr. Freeze completely. Tuesday and Wednesday was a two part story that introduced Clayface, creating a version of the character with the same name as the second comic book Clayface and a background with similarities to the first, but twists all the animated series own.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFsF3i83330DeNA9M3fpA5wrLgq_Gkm-8svTElhbQhjQGMcfR0imZHetRqx8vfs4tXlpoUVM_FmxGehgYPvFM2uCvLxSTzPDRlnV6I_weOmS2yHCA0s4rh8HslLrGiDR2tb3ptVfHXNTHF/s1600/Batman_Animated_Series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="528" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFsF3i83330DeNA9M3fpA5wrLgq_Gkm-8svTElhbQhjQGMcfR0imZHetRqx8vfs4tXlpoUVM_FmxGehgYPvFM2uCvLxSTzPDRlnV6I_weOmS2yHCA0s4rh8HslLrGiDR2tb3ptVfHXNTHF/s320/Batman_Animated_Series.jpg" width="281" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Thursday was a complete curveball, an episode entitled "It's Never Too Late," with no supervillains at all, but featuring mobsters! And not funny mobsters, but serious, gun toting mobsters. I remember watching this with a friend who kept waiting for some costumed crook to show up, but I loved it. The episode had heart and pathos, about an old mob boss who was given one last chance to get out of the life. I don't think anything shown in an animated block before had ever strayed so far from the typical toy cartoon model of the 80s so far.<br />
<br />
And finally, Friday, came the day I was waiting for: the introduction of the Joker, my favorite Batman villain, to this new version of the Batman mythos. I linked to a piece up above where I wrote about this episode in detail, so I won't go into that here, but other than featuring the story of an everyman trapped between the Joker and Batman, and introducing Harley Quinn, it featured the debut of a voice actor whose Joker would go on to define that character as much as Conroy would define Batman: not Tim Curry, as I had read in that first article, but Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill. It was a perfect week to start off this series, showing it's range, from comedic to tragic, and it's style.<br />
<br />
Over the course of 85 episodes, <i>Batman: The Animated Series </i>would introduce most of the great villains and supporting characters of the Batman mythos. We would see the TV/film debuts of villains like Two-Face, Ra's al Ghul, Bane, and supporting characters like Harvey Bullock and Leslie Tompkins, characters who are major parts of the pop culture landscape of Batman now. Not only would we get the surprise superstardom of Harley Quinn, but Renee Montoya was created for the cartoon as well (although she would appear in the comics first due to the longer lead time for animation). And while original characters Lock-Up, Baby Doll, and Roxy Rocket aren't household names, they are still interesting characters, and I personally think Roxy Rocket is one really good story away from being a big hit.<br />
<br />
Not every episode was perfect, but give me one series where that is true. What you got though, was a vision. A vision of what Batman can be. I was talking on Thursday to a friend, and we were discussing how there is no platonic ideal of what Batman (or any character who has existed in the public mind for so long) is; everyone has their own interpretation as a creator, and fans gravitate toward one or the other, or create their own head canon. For me, my choice for the platonic ideal of Batman is <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i>. It is a dark knight who is not a psychopath or a fascist. It's a Batman who cares, who exists in this nebulous Gotham City that is somewhere between the 1940s and the now. It's villains are bright or dark, and sometimes both, but aren't a joke. It synthesized aspects from all the previous 50 plus years of Batman into a streamlined, easy to comprehend version of the character that never spoke down to its audience and made them think about right and wrong. It's a world of fleshed out characters like nothing that existed in children's animation before.<br />
<br />
That legacy is key to this series. Not only would the rest of the DC Animated Universe not exist, as <i>The New Batman Adventures</i>, <i>Superman: The Animated Series</i>, <i>Justice League/Justice League Unlimited,</i> <i>Static Shock</i>, and <i>Batman Beyond</i> all followed directly on the heals of Bruce Timm's style and vision, but do you think Disney would have been comfortable enough to let Greg Weisman craft his dark fairy tale <i>Gargoyles </i>without precedent for smart kid's TV? Or Fox would have let the<i> X-Men</i> animated series, which appeared about two months after <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i> appeared, push the envelope with some of its darker themes? And series like <i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i>, <i>Samurai Jack</i>, and other modern action classics all owe a little something to the first show that tried to be more than just a 22 minute toy commercial. This was trailblazing work, this was something different, and something that happens once in a generation.<br />
<br />
I mentioned the series that followed in the same universe as <i>Batman: The Animated Series </i>as key to its legacy, but there are other places where the series reached. "Mad Love," Paul Dini and Bruce Timm's one shot comic revealing the origin of Harley Quinn, won an Eisner Award. <i>Batman: Mask of the Phantasm</i>, the feature film that was set in the same world and crafted by the same creators, is a lost gem, and was recently released on Blu-Ray if you haven't seen it, or haven't seen in in a while. DC Direct is in the process of releasing a shockingly comprehensive line of action figures based on all these designs, Funko just released it's second wave of Pop! figures inspired by the series, and both a card game and a dice game were released this year with <i>Batman: The Animated Series </i>themes. And just a few weeks ago, <i>Batman & Harley Quinn</i>, a new animated movie featuring art style and many of the voices of the original series, was released, showing that there's still interest (it's a lot of fun, by the way, and you should check it out).<br />
<br />
So, twenty-five years later, where am I? In my heart of hearts, I'm still an 11 year old, sitting on the carpet in front of my family's TV in the living room, listening to those first strains of the theme to <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i>. It still sweeps me away to away to a world of dark heroes and villainous clowns, a world that might not be as black-and-white as the other cartoons that I had loved to this point. It's animation, it's stories, everything about it was something that redefined the way superhero cartoons were looked at, and I'm grateful every time I see a new cartoon that is action and story packed, that these creators made something as special as <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i>.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-78935276488013043652017-06-28T16:51:00.000-04:002017-06-28T16:51:21.915-04:00Listen Up!: Comics and Culture Podcasts You Should Check OutSo, I said I'd keep writing, even a bit more infrequently, and so here I am again.<br />
<br />
As I haven't been blogging, I've had even more time to listen to podcasts. I've written about <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/03/recommended-listening-for-34-matt.html">podcasts I listen to </a>before, and, working from home, I've discovered so many more that are really worth listening to for comic fans. It's a brave frontier out there, folks, with plenty of interesting shows. I'm going to provide you with a rundown of the show, and a comic or two to go along with each one; of course since many of today's are directly comic podcasts, some of those are kinda gimmes. I listen to all these podcasts through Stitcher, but they all have websites that you can visit to listen to episodes, and are available on iTunes and other podcatchers. So, to quote Hub of the first podcast I'll be talking about, without any further ado, let's a-do this.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://ttwasteland.tumblr.com/">Titan Up the Defense</a>- Silver Age comics are wacky, I think we all know that. They are ripe for riffing and for looking back on in a light, fun way. And that's what the podcast currently known as <i>Titan Up the Defense</i>, and originally known as <i>Teen Titans Wasteland</i>, started out as. Brother Hub and Cory, with a liberal supply of "podcast juice"(that's booze to the uninitiated), spent sixty episodes digging into the madness and wonderment of Silver Age <i>Teen Titans</i> comics. Hub and Cory have a great rapport, with Hub being the old school Titans fan bringing Cory into it, and while you could jump in on most any episode, it's great to start from the beginning, to watch the running gags and Cory's knowledge of the Titans develop. But once they ran out of those sixties and seventies Titans comics, the show got a facelift, to become <i>Titan Up the Defense</i>. The current run bounces back and forth between issues of the 80s Wolfman & Perez <i>New Teen Titans</i> run and the classic 70s <i>Defenders</i> series from Marvel. I can't stress enough how much fun these guys seem to be having, and that comes through in the podcast; you laugh along with Kid Flash chugging maple syrup and appearances from Xemnu the Titan. But for all the humor, there are also some serious-ish discussions of race and politics of the time as reflected through the the lens of these series, which makes for some thing to actually think about. And while that is important, you really are tuning in to hear the guys doing mini-radio plays of Hostess ads, figuring out what Aqualad is up ti in issues he doesn't appear in, and discussions about the Titans favorite past times: eavesdropping and not understanding how secret identities work. DC recently released two <i>Teen Titans </i>Omnibuses of the silver and early bronze age stuff, and there are trades of the <i>New Teen Titans</i> run currently being published, with volume seven due out in August. The <i>Defenders</i> stuff is harder to track down now, but there are <i>Essential Defenders</i> volumes you can still find with some looking. <i>Titan Up the Defense</i> hits every Wednesday.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.thelightningandthestorm.com/">Thor: The Lightning and the Storm</a>- In my last podcast post, I wrote about <a href="http://www.xplainthexmen.com/"><i>Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men</i></a>, a podcast that traces the history of the X-Men and their related books from the 60s to present (well, to the early 90s as of now). But Jay and Miles are taking the summer off, as Jay move to the East Coast (Welcome, Jay! Hope you survive the experience!), and for the summer, Miles is teaming with Elisabeth Allie, regular guest from his X-Men podcast, to spend 13 episodes discussing Walt Simonson's legendary run on <i>The Might Thor</i>. Miles has been talking up that run on <i>X-Plain the X-Men</i> since pretty much that podcast began, and last March I went and I read through the entire run, and hot damn it is as good as he said! And now, he and Elisabeth are hitting all the high points: the war with Surtur, Frog Thor, and "He Stood Alone at Gjallerbru." There has rarely been a podcast that radiated such excitement as this one: these are comics that Miles LOVES, and he loves sharing them with Elisabeth, who is on her first read through, and he loves sharing them with the listener. And since there's a definite beginning, middle, and end to the series, you know what commitment you're in for, and what it's building towards, although there are so many amazing climaxes in this run nearly any episode could be talking about the big finale. Episode eight dropped this week, so there's time to get in there and catch up before that final episode. Oh, and for pure crossover synergy, Elisabeth was the guest on last week's Titan Up the Defense, and Miles will be guesting this week, so check those out to get a chance to hear many great podcasters together, Walt Simonson's <i>Mighty Thor</i> has been collected in omnibus and four trades, all of which may or may not be in print thanks the the vagueries of Marvel's trade program; however the trailers for <i>Thor: Ragnarok</i> seem to be drawing from this classic run, so I bet they'll be back in print soon enough. <i>Thor: The Lightning and the Storm</i> hits weekly on Sundays.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.maximumfun.org/shows/adventure-zone">The Adventure Zone</a>- I think I've talked before about how much I love RPGs. I have a biweekly gaming group, affectionately addressed as Nerdstorm, where my wife, five friends, and I get together and sometimes play boardgames, but usually different RPGs: <i>Dungeons and Dragons</i>, <i>Pathfinder</i>, <i>Call of Cthulhu</i>, <i>Dresden Files</i>, and others. And if you've never been part of an RPG group, there are certain dynamics that develop in any group. And no show, TV, web, or podcast, has ever encapsulated the development of an RPG group and campaign better to me than <i>The Adventure Zone</i>. Griffin McElroy DMs (Dungeonmasters, or crafts the story) a D&D campaign for his brothers, Justin and Travis, and their dad, Clint. What starts out as fairly standard D&D for beginners becomes something much deeper and more fascinating as the campaign moves forward. The plot is elaborate and the mysteries pay off wonderfully; this is a podcast you really should start from episode one. The great PCs (player characters) are: Magnus Burnsides (Travis), the fighter with a heart of gold and no patience for anything, Taako (Justin), the wizard who is also a chef and does his best work staying out of the fray, and Merle Highchurch (Clint), the at times almost agnostic cleric of Pan, all of whom have become wonderfully three dimensional characters. And Griffin's NPCs (Non-Player Characters) include some absolute delights, the kind of characters you look forward to seeing come back again and again; my favorites are Angus McDonald, the world's greatest boy detective, and Klarg the Hugbear (like a bugbear, only cuddlier; Klarg likes tea). Even if you have no interest in D&D, this is a rollicking adventure story that never goes where you're expecting it to. Currently, graphic novel adaptations of <i>The Adventure Zone</i> are in the works from First Second, an excellent graphic novel publisher, but if you want something with the same flavor to keep you busy, you should try <i><a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2015/05/recommended-reading-for-515-rat-queens.html">Rat Queens</a></i> from Image Comics to tide you over. <i>The Adventure Zone</i> is released biweekly on Thursdays.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.mythpodcast.com/">Myths and Legends</a>- Comics and mythology are inextricably linked: from Wonder Woman's mythical patrons to Thor and the Asgardians in Marvel Comics to Dream of the Endless and all the mythology in <i>The Sandman</i>, the well never seems to run dry for creators to find new creatures and myths. And there are a lot of podcasts that tell myths, urban legends, and stories of the paranormal. But one of the best, and the one that I think fits best with the comic book mindset, is <i>Myths and Legends</i>. Jason Weiser hosts and narrates each episode, and tells the original or definitive (as best as can possibly be found) version of a classic myth, legend, or fairy tale. And I mean the ORIGINAL versions of those Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales, so we're talking, the weird, screwed up versions. But one of the charms of the podcast is it's not just Greek and Norse myths and European fairy tales; nope you get Japanese myths, Slavic myths, tales of the Round Table, tales of the Arabian Nights, and more. Week in and week out, you never quite know what you're going to get. And after each main story, there's a second short story, a Creature of the Week, featuring an odd mythological beast or cryptid. This week's is a personal favorite cryptid of mine, the Skunk Ape, but if you want to hear the ultimate COTW, you need to check out <a href="https://www.mythpodcast.com/3570/25-dragons-this-is-where-you-get-to-make-it-right/">Butter Cat</a>. I will also say, if you listen from episode one on, you see the growth of Weiser as a podcaster and storyteller. The early episodes are enjoyable, but he tells the stories in a fairly matter of fact way. As the podcast continues, you see more authorial voice, more narrative and charm, and it makes an enjoyable podcast a must listen. If you want comics featuring myths and legends, you should check out Image's <i>Wayward</i>, which heavily features Japanese mythology, Dark Horse's <i>Hellboy</i>, for Slavic myths, and of course Vertigo's <i>The Sandman</i> for a little bit of everything. <i>Myths and Legends</i> is released Wednesday morning, and is the podcast I download every week and listen to on my way to the comic shop, so it has a particular association for me with my Wednesday pilgrimage.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=11773&cmd=tc">The Old Time Superman Radio Show</a>- I first discovered host Adam Graham with his <i>Detectives of Old Time Radio</i> podcast, a daily podcast featuring such luminaries of 40s and 50s detection as Boston Blackie, Richard Diamond, and Johnny Dollar, plus many others. But through that show, I discovered that Graham also has a show that plays the classic Superman radio show from the 40s. It's charming, with plenty of adventure and plots that fit in well with the vibe of late Golden Age comics. There's not a lot more to say about this one, but if you're curious about those old time Superman stories, or enjoy tales of the Golden and Silver Age of comics, you should try this show out. There are plenty of collections of Superman from this era, so any good comic shop should be able to help you find some classic Superman. Stitcher has been doing weird things with my feed on this show, releasing four or five episodes at a go, so I have a hard time telling when it actually drops, but there are 900+ episodes, so there's plenty of back catalog.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://whyy.org/cms/eleanoramplified/">The Radio Adventures of Eleanor Amplified</a>- So, in case you haven't read much of this blog before, I have a real soft spot for all ages comics; you know, the ones that appeal to kids and adults on different levels, or just tell stories that are enjoyable for everyone. And when it comes to podcasts, I've discovered one that fits that same criteria to a T: <i>The Radio Adventures of Eleanor Amplified</i>, from my local NPR station, WHYY in Philadelphia. Eleanor Amplified is a radio journalist who knows no fear and will stop at nothing to get the scoop. She's like Lois Lane on the radio, but she doesn't have the Man of Steel to help her out, so she has to take care of herself. Told in the style of classic old time radio drama, this show has a full cast, sound effects... the works! The first season sees Eleanor taking on the CEO of Megablurg, a multinational corporation, who has designs of national and global domination. There are smugglers, robots, prisons, mad scientists, and all the trappings of a wild adventure story. The episodes are nice and short, so they'll work with the attention span of small kids, but there's also a "Road Trip Edition" available, that has the entire first season in one long form audio movie. The show was conceived by one of the producers of the popular NPR interview and review series, <i>Fresh Air with Terry Gross</i>, so there's a bonus episode where Gross interviews series creator John Sheehan and speaks with Eleanor herself. If you enjoy<i> Lumberjanes</i>, <i>Goldie Vance</i>, or <i>Gotham Academy</i>, or basically any comic with a strong female protagonist, you should check out <i>Eleanor Amplified</i>. <i>The Radio Adventures of Eleanor Amplified</i> is currently between seasons, although a couple of bonus episodes featuring the origin of Eleanor were recently released, with the promise of season two to come.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-48938477868197736332017-06-12T13:00:00.000-04:002017-06-12T13:00:38.838-04:00In Memoriam: Adam West<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagb2g9vChLwH4zvS_TMADH4vgwc41yPNrOPnRBejWizSKwo0mDRBF_Hkz0PXbt49va6sVxpNPOEz9ykmaCIOksI2FJ17GJadORBlnwOB4W4rfFwRZ4WVi1mdyBK9X-PHpsBZLvfeXDsnE/s1600/Adam+West+Batman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagb2g9vChLwH4zvS_TMADH4vgwc41yPNrOPnRBejWizSKwo0mDRBF_Hkz0PXbt49va6sVxpNPOEz9ykmaCIOksI2FJ17GJadORBlnwOB4W4rfFwRZ4WVi1mdyBK9X-PHpsBZLvfeXDsnE/s1600/Adam+West+Batman.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So, it's been a while, huh? And while I'm preparing to return to The Matt Signal on a more regular basis, an event this past weekend has made me shake off the dust and write a little something in tribute to the first Batman that many of my generation share.<br />
<br />
I can't remember if I had seen the classic <i>Batman</i> TV series before I received <i>Who's Who in the DC Universe #2</i>, the first comic I was ever given, the issue that spotlighted most characters whose name began with a "B." I know I watched it in syndication pretty regularly from when I was a kid through when it stopped being syndicated, sometime after <i>Batman Returns</i>, but by then I had <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i> and I hardly noticed. But I know that gaudy, lively, energetic series was part of my formative years, and you can't talk about that series without talking about Adam West, it's Batman, who passed away over the weekend at the age of 88.<br />
<br />
People have very different opinions of the <i>Batman</i> TV series. Glen Weldon, the NPR comic book critic who wrote the excellent book on Batman's history, <i>The Caped Crusade</i>, said in an episode of NPR's <i>Pop Culture Happy Hour</i> (exactly which one I alas cannot recall, and pardon the paraphrasing if you read this, Glen), that most people go through three phases when it comes to that series: as kids they love it as an adventure series, as teenagers/twenty-somethings they hate it because it's so campy and doesn't take Batman as a SERIOUS CHARACTER, and as adults they learn to love it again as a piece of crazy camp art. And a good part of that camp artistry comes from Adam West's straight faced performance as Batman.<br />
<br />
It would have been easy to play Batman for laughs, to make him a goof or a joke, but producer William Dozier didn't want that: he knew that having a Batman who was this rock of deadpan seriousness in an absurd world is what would sell the series. And Adam West pulled that off perfectly. He delivered every line with a degree of gravitas. He only winked at the camera when it was written to do it, like when he was pulling the wool of his secret identity over the eyes of the sweet (if a bit dim) Aunt Harriet, Commissioner Gordon, and Chief O'Hara. He was dashing as Bruce Wayne, heroic as Batman, and while the villains often tried to steal the show, he held his own (which is more than can be said for other live action Batmans).<br />
<br />
I think everyone who has come to appreciate the madcap genius of the series has favorite episodes. While the Joker is my favorite villain in Batman history, when it comes that this series, Burgess Meredith's Penguin is the performance that always grabs me, and the two parter, "Hizzonner the Penguin/Dizzoner the Penguin," where the Penguin and Batman run against each other for mayor of Gotham is clever and has Batman give great speeches about the importance of elections and government (and the concept of Penguins mayoral ambitions that has been recycled in <i>Batman Returns</i>, <i>Gotham</i>, and the tie-in comics to <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i>). Joker does pop up in the favorite, "Surf's Up! Joker's Under!" where Joker and Batman compete in a surfing contest, which is as delightfully absurd as it sounds. There are more episodes than I can name, with the Catwomans, the Riddlers (although, as much as I love John Astin in <i>Addams Family</i> and <i>Night Court</i>, Frank Gorshin is the truly memorable Riddler, while Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt are equally memorable as Catwoman), and numerous other villains that spring to mind, but Adam West's Batman always stood against the criminals of Gotham.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPsjeWgCblxtov1Zau8jnox5O4gXZJSLNkdGFdwxtLXV7IgsIr6UNhCKJnYZbs6CLFCtjLrd2yVkcMHHjJ5k8cqlxRNs_uKpBdN74s5mFFgU8FU-lqPlSL5VQ2pTdN75dTs_CCNxT3t1z/s1600/Batman+Bomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="375" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPsjeWgCblxtov1Zau8jnox5O4gXZJSLNkdGFdwxtLXV7IgsIr6UNhCKJnYZbs6CLFCtjLrd2yVkcMHHjJ5k8cqlxRNs_uKpBdN74s5mFFgU8FU-lqPlSL5VQ2pTdN75dTs_CCNxT3t1z/s320/Batman+Bomb.jpg" width="289" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
And if I'm talking about Adam West and Batman, I need to briefly discuss the feature film tied into that series. Not only did it have the most spectacular scenes that ever were tied to West, including Shark Repellent Bat Spray, dehydrated pirate goons in the Batcave, and a bomb on the boardwalk, it also allowed West to do some real acting. Early in the movie, he becomes smitten by a reporter (who is clearly Catwoman in disguise to the viewer), and throughout the movie he romances her, and when it is revealed she is Catwoman, he genuinely looks pained by the betrayal. It's a nice bit of acting, and proves that West is more than just a stiff, cardboard cut-out of an actor, but is actually trying, and acting as Batman.<br />
<br />
Sadly, most of the stars of this classic bit of superhero lore have now passed on. Burt Ward (Robin) and Julie Newmar (the first Catwoman) are the only regular or recurring members of the cast who are still with us. Adam West was a fixture at conventions, always out talking to his fans and reminding them of when Batman would dance (I never met him myself, and admit to having heard mixed opinions on how he was with fans, but it is undeniable he was an ambassador for his own take on Batman, and had an easy smile when someone came up to him). Towards the end of his life, I know he was working on a second direct-to-DVD animated film, a sequel to last year's charming <i>Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders</i>, voicing Batman in the lost episode featuring Two-Face, which was <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2014/11/reviews-of-comics-from-wednesday-1119.html">adapted into a comic a couple years back</a>, and would have William Shatner voicing the villain; I am unsure if the recording was completed before Mr. West's passing, but I hope it was, as it would make a great final testament to his lasting impact as Batman.<br />
<br />
So, goodbye Adam West. Safe journey to whatever might be next, and may you never have one of those days where you just can't get rid of a bomb.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-34558728113144136342016-10-26T11:03:00.001-04:002016-10-26T14:54:32.630-04:00The Great Batman: Brave and the Bold Rewatch: Mayhem of the Music Meister!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT53FQwRme1-1pbor_sCUWRJ2n9FNoJdKAIzZjhRgcJsfpPGinht7TpZN-am3AcVLVyr9G3aFsVTzQQqQw1sXeGMvMU4yC-RQC8NIQXSuLS2XA4XlFBIKTd-nfzK1-Ey1NvmvakBGCi2hy/s1600/Mayhem_of_the_Music_Meister%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT53FQwRme1-1pbor_sCUWRJ2n9FNoJdKAIzZjhRgcJsfpPGinht7TpZN-am3AcVLVyr9G3aFsVTzQQqQw1sXeGMvMU4yC-RQC8NIQXSuLS2XA4XlFBIKTd-nfzK1-Ey1NvmvakBGCi2hy/s320/Mayhem_of_the_Music_Meister%2521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Season One, Episode Twenty-Five: Mayhem of the Music Meister!</b><br />
<b>Written by Michael Jelenic</b><br />
<b>Directed by Ben Jones</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b><u>Plot Synopsis</u></b><br />
<br />
<b>Teaser: </b>The Music Meister walks out in front of a curtain and starts to conduct an orchestra.<br />
<b><br />Episode: </b><i>(Song titles appear in italics as they appear in the episode)</i><br />
<br />
The curtain parts and shows a military base, where Black Manta's walker fires on the soldiers, causing them to flee. Black Manta, Gorilla Grodd, and Clock King are inside, preparing to hijack the rocket that holds the United Nations new communications satellite, which they plan to use to cause chaos on global communications. But before they can get on the rocket, the are interrupted by Black Canary, Green Arrow, and Aquaman. But before they can start fighting, the begin... to sing.<br />
<br />
As they sing in bewilderment, the mastermind behind the singing appears: The Music Meister, who instructs them to stop fighting him, which they do and he begins to details his plan and origin (<i>I'm the Music Meister</i>). The heroes and villains begin to dance and sing back-up as he explains he controls people by singing at them. Observing from a distance, Batman sees the singing and dancing as the heroes prepare the satellite to launch.<br />
<br />
When Music Meister hears Black Canary sing, he becomes enchanted by her, but her Canary Cry knocks him off his feet as Batman drops from his Bat-gyro, having out in an earpiece to protect him from Music Meister's hypnosis. While Batman easily gets the upperhand on Music Meister, the villains sends his controlled heroes and villains to attack Batman. Batman is able to fight the others to a standstill until Music Meister sets off the rocket to launch, and commands the heroes and villains to do a kickline into the flames blasting from the rocket, as the curtains close again, ending Act One.<br />
<br />
As Music Meister speeds away on a keyboard on wheels, Batman chooses to save his friends and enemies from being burned alive by using two Bat-grapnels to hold them in place and then fire a net from the Bat-gyro to hold them. With the rocket and Music Meister gone, the spell is broken, and the heroes knock out the villains. Batman knows there's more to Music Meister's plan, and Black Canary asks to join him in hunting down the new foe. He gives the heroes earplugs to protect them, and tells them to stay with the defeated villains until the police arrive, taking off alone, and Black Canary ignores Green Arrows attempts to court her affections.<br />
<br />
At a concert hall, Music Meister plays the organ and talks to a cardboard audience, detailing his plan to use the satellite to spread his hypnotic power over the world, musing there's one thing that can stop him. And as he says it, Batman appears, and Music Meister hits keys in the organ which spews smoke to let him escape and begins to sing about Batman's ability to drive villains crazy an ruin their plans (<i>Drives Us Bats</i>).<br />
<br />
Music Meister leads Batman on a chase through the city, getting people to randomly attack him, before arriving at Blackgate Prison and causing a mass breakout, which is foiled by Batman and his allies. As they fight, Black Canary watches Batman fight and sings about her wanting Batman to love her (<i>If Only</i>). Music Meister joins in, singing about his own feelings for Canary, making it a duet. He is able to blast Canary and Batman with an energy bolt, knocking them unconscious as the curtain falls on Act Two.<br />
<br />
The curtains open on a closed club now filled with huge machinery chugging away, producing a beat that Music Mesiter sings to about his death trap (<i>Death Trap</i>). Batman and Canary are tied together, and as Music Meister leaves, acid and lasers begin moving towards the heroes, the walls start closing in, and a bomb starts ticking, but Batman is able to use his gadgets to get Canary and himself out.<br />
<br />
Music Meister has set up in Gotham Square, with Aquaman and Green Arrow guarding him, preparing for the finale of his scheme, but Batman and Canary appear to stop him. But Music Meister's final costume change has speakers built in, allowing him to project his voice farther and create an army of innocent citizens to protect him (<i>The World is Mine</i>), while others begin to steal everything they can. And coupling the speakers and mic system with the satellite, all of Gotham begins to bring Music Meister everything they can get their hands on, not just in Gotham, but everywhere.<br />
<br />
Under Music Meister's control, Aquaman grabs Black Canary, but Green Arrow is able to break the mind control long enough to free Canary before Aquaman starts and outrageous hero on hero fight. Batman and Canary again try to stop Music Meister, but his legion of thralls interfere. They are able to grab Canary and remove her earplugs, leaving Batman alone to fight. Canary turns on Batman, and begins fighting Batman, but Batman challenges Music Meister to have Canary match him in a singing contest, note for note, going higher and higher. Distracted by the singing, Music Meister doesn't see Batman loop a Batrope tied to a Batarang around his microphone. Batman pulls the mike in front of Canary as she hits the high note, her Canary Cry triggering and blowing out all the speakers and breaking Music Meister's spell, before Batman slugs the villain, knocking him unconscious and saving the world from musical mind control.<br />
<br />
Canary goes to Batman, who explains he used a gadget to match her voice, and she asks him to dinner, but he refuses, because crime doesn't take breaks. before he swings off. Canary begins to sing again about her crush in Batman, but Green Arrow joins in about his feelings for her (<i>If Only [Reprise]</i>), and she is shocked by his singing voice, and the two join hands and sing in front of the sparkling lights of the damaged stage as a single spotlight shines on them, and the curtain closes on the heroes looking into each other's eyes.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Who's Who</u></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguiLIFgPKT-1MeR62eIneSxXXLK-nEIT0vIhwqmsnbWkslXj0yyY2nM-ie-WSGwcJ94pi9r3aMaZvPULniGjBBPwE0dZ-oon9Gy_EjfQtcBtdhH75klAnySW4_Ow1LSFSDbI7q6lKDqK2Z/s1600/music+meister.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguiLIFgPKT-1MeR62eIneSxXXLK-nEIT0vIhwqmsnbWkslXj0yyY2nM-ie-WSGwcJ94pi9r3aMaZvPULniGjBBPwE0dZ-oon9Gy_EjfQtcBtdhH75klAnySW4_Ow1LSFSDbI7q6lKDqK2Z/s320/music+meister.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Music Meister (Voiced by Neil Patrick Harris)</b></div>
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: </b><b><i> </i>None</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Twenty-Five: <i>Mayhem of the Music Meister!</i></b><br />
<br />
As a young child, the Music Meister was bullied because he could sing beautifully in choir. But one day, when surrounded by bullies, he began to sing and they stopped. And soon he was controlling them. He realized he could control people with the sound of his voice, and so began his path to supervillainy. This is the Music Meister's only full appearance; he will cameo a few more times, but never speaks or sings in any of them. Music Meister can control anyone in the sound of his singing voice, and has many music related gadgets.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<b>Black Canary (Voiced by Grey Griffin)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>Flash Comics #86 </i>(August, 1947)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_29.html">Season One, Episode Sixteen- <i>Night of the Huntress!</i></a></b></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Green Arrow (Voiced by James Arnold Taylor)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>More Fun Comics #73 </i>(November, 1941)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch.html">Season One, Episode One- <i>Rise of the Blue Beetle</i></a></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Aquaman (voiced by John DiMaggio)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>First comic book appearance: <i>More Fun Comics #73</i> (November 1941)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>First Brave and the Bold appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_30.html">Season 1, Episode 3- <i>Evil Under the Sea!</i></a></b></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Gorilla Grodd (Voice by John DiMaggio)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>The Flash #106 </i>(May, 1959)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_23.html">Season One, Episode Two- <i>Terror on Dinosaur Island!</i></a></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Black Manta (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>First comic book appearance: <i>Aquaman #35</i> (September 1967)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>First Brave and the Bold appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_30.html">Season 1, Episode 3- <i>Evil Under the Sea!</i></a></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Clock King (Voice by Dee Bradley Baker)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>World's Finest Comics #111 </i>(August, 1960)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch.html">Season One, Episode One- <i>Rise of the Blue Beetle</i></a></b></div>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><u>Continuity, Comics Connections, and Notes</u></b><br />
<div>
<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAw1Wg6bEw1s_n3t3Q-T0Gjh8nwZZYg1Br_QPzlcdj8oNeq5k-JFqhIx_Y2_Mj5ju1F7Sh-XCGlCK8jD8PFBBBxf8weAvI3t9uJj7DjADhLXHJiPhn7aIbwNVNN4-xySdUIOfA_V6WZzw/s1600/music+meister.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAw1Wg6bEw1s_n3t3Q-T0Gjh8nwZZYg1Br_QPzlcdj8oNeq5k-JFqhIx_Y2_Mj5ju1F7Sh-XCGlCK8jD8PFBBBxf8weAvI3t9uJj7DjADhLXHJiPhn7aIbwNVNN4-xySdUIOfA_V6WZzw/s320/music+meister.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Mayhem of the Music Meister" is one of the most popular episodes Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Seriously, I can't tell you how wonderful it is. The songs are whip smart and catchy, Neil Patrick Harris, star of stage and screen best known as the title character on <i>Doogie Howser, M.D.</i> and as the womanizing Barney Stinson on<i> How I Met Your Mother</i>, completely knocks his performance out of the park, and it's just delightful through and through. It's so popular that contributor Dan Grote included it as one of his picks for best animated episodes in last year's <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-matt-signal-advent-calendar-2015_8.html">Advent Calendar</a>.<br />
<br />
If you watch the episode and love it, the soundtrack was released to download and on CD through Amazon.<br />
<br />
Batman's singing voice is provided not by Diedrich Bader, who voices Batman in the series, but Jeff Bennett, who voices the Joker on the series.</div>
<div>
<br />
Among the numerous references in this episode, there's a particularly fun one. As Music Meister sends the heroes and villains at the beginning to fight Batman, they start snapping their fingers, which is a nod to the classic musical <i>West Side Story</i>, where the two street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, snap at the beginning of their dance based rumbles.<br />
<br />
During the number "Drives Us Bats," the cuts to the villains singing in Arkham includes nearly every villain who has appeared in this series, not to mention most of the original villains from the <i>Batman</i> TV series from the '60s: King Tut, Psycho Pirate, Top, Crazy Quilt, Mad Hatter, Calendar Man, Mr. Freeze, Tweedles, Scarecrow, Two-Face, Joker, False Face, Shame, Cavalier, Egghead, Kiteman, Babyface, Louie the Lilac, Felix Faust, Fun Haus, Shark, Sportsmaster, Bookworm, The Archer, Grodd, Black Manta, Clock King<br />
<br />
Music Meister makes numerous costume changes throughout the episode, hitting on various musical genres and musical influences including Phantom of the Opera, Liberace, Mozart, Marching Band, Disco King, Kiss, Behorned Opera Singer. Elvis, and Punk.<br />
<br />
During "Death Trap" the walls of the room surrounding Batman and Black Cnaary are platered with what look like band stickers, and each of the stickers has the name of DC Universe team, both great and small. It would take forever to list them all, but if you pause your DVD or stream with the DC Wiki open, you'll see some amazing deep cuts in there.</div>
The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-52092540294447216282016-10-24T16:00:00.000-04:002018-08-17T13:53:35.391-04:00Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 10/19<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-jSqCnv9dVP3LwIGDcv3YBHBWLMVGjDH1j8OFw7IC7iv_hAJmUCGxn9wjw86nt3CHGuU03GioVo_ESz9Rww9j4aVCNhNMZzvPJlS5nObbqDUhoMaAW23-Ad-btuVcIlqQKs1QniyO0oFA/s1600/backstagers3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-jSqCnv9dVP3LwIGDcv3YBHBWLMVGjDH1j8OFw7IC7iv_hAJmUCGxn9wjw86nt3CHGuU03GioVo_ESz9Rww9j4aVCNhNMZzvPJlS5nObbqDUhoMaAW23-Ad-btuVcIlqQKs1QniyO0oFA/s1600/backstagers3.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>The Backstagers #3</b><br />
<b>Story: James Tynion IV</b><br />
<b>Art: Rian Sygh & Walter Baiamonte</b><br />
<br />
I have fond memories about both working backstage on student productions and high school theatricals, although not connected (I did most of my production work in college, while I acted in high school. I died on stage twice in one play!). So, because of this, I was drawn to <i>The Backstagers</i>, another of Boom Box's YA titles, along the same lines as <i>Lumberjanes </i>and <i>Goldie Vance</i>, and it is as delightful and charming as those titles, while being its own book. The Backstagers features a cast of five high school boys at an all boys school who are the stage crew on this year's production, a so-thinly-veiled-it's not-at-all-veiled production of <i>Les Miserables</i>. But what makes this more than just a behind-the-scenes of a play comic is that the backstage is full of tunnels, hallways, and passages full of monsters and creatures (which isn't too far off some of the back stages I've been in over the years. While the first two issues did a lot to set the tone and establish the characters through the eyes of new crew member Jory, issue three takes us to that most dreaded of times for a stage crew: Tech Week, the week where you run the show over and over and make sure everything works. This issue focuses on Beckett, one of the long time members of the crew, who has been the most, shall we say, standoffish member of the crew in those first couple of issue. Writer James Tynion IV does a great job of explaining why Beckett is the way he is in this issue, really fleshing out his character; not just establishing his crush on the play's leading lady, Bailey Brentwood, who is by no means the prima donna mean girl that one might expect from a high school drama star, but also exploring that Beckett is a classic introvert, someone who just needs his own time and space, something this introvert respects and understands with every part of his being.. Also, teaming the grumpy Beckett with the joyful little sprite that is other Backstager Sasha creates a classic duo who don't work. The issue has some great art from Rian Sygh, specifically a splash page of a scene from the play with cast members standing on a barricade, giving you an idea of just how weird this play is (it's Les Mis! Only they're clowns! And there's a bear!). And another two page spread that has small panels over a lighting plot where you get to see much of the crew and cast doing their work in little snippets is one of the best comic representations of what I picture as a TV or movie montage that I've ever seen. This issue is a great work in both character and craft, and just a ton of fun. And while this issue has very little of the supernatural aspects that the first couple have had, short of a magic crystal that powers the lights and lighting board, which is something every theater, high school, college, or professional, would love to have, the set up for what's coming next issue has the promise of all sorts of magic and monsters. Between <i>Backstagers </i>and <i>Detective Comics</i>, James Tynion IV is proving to be an amazing writer of ensemble, character based comics, and I'm looking forwar to where he takes this book next. And, yes, I swore after <i>Goldie Vance</i> that is Boom Box did another mini-series to ongoing transition I wouldn't get suckered in, but, well, if the folks at Boom read this and happen to make that decision, I'm in for the long haul.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvSfhwNjzuNr01Gcr7zFF8uJi8RSvAiKDr4SDfxbF9zvcu607ANkyWmW8ObMUcyPR_zk8-nDhsXfeHHWPC-D0qUqwgtwV1e7OcUj88OukBpggWvb3KTueIsdVBpyb35-RuGmz1JDNz4X0/s1600/Batman-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvSfhwNjzuNr01Gcr7zFF8uJi8RSvAiKDr4SDfxbF9zvcu607ANkyWmW8ObMUcyPR_zk8-nDhsXfeHHWPC-D0qUqwgtwV1e7OcUj88OukBpggWvb3KTueIsdVBpyb35-RuGmz1JDNz4X0/s320/Batman-9.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Batman #9</b><br />
<b>Story: Tom King</b><br />
<b>Art: Mikel Janin & June Chung</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Detective Comics</i> has been the Bat book that has absorbed my love and attention since the beginning of the Rebirth era, which is not to say that <i>Batman </i>to this point hasn't been a good comic. It's been a solid, big screen action comics with some nice character beats and work establishing Duke Thomas's relationship with Batman and the new character of Gotham Girl. But the new arc that debuts this issue, "I Am Suicide" looks to be a story that is going to take a good book and push it to new heights. Batman has plans to go to Santa Prisca, home of Bane, to retrieve the villainous Psycho Pirate, who used his powers to infect Gotham Girl with a never ending cycle of fear, and to do it, he's going to need backup, and in this case, he's been offered it by Amanda Waller. Yes, Batman is leading a Suicide Squad. Before we get to Batman, though, the issue opens with Bane and Psycho Pirate, and a bit of a recap of some of Bane's formative years, which are horrifying, and why Bane has taken Psycho Pirate, which is interesting. Bane has been an odd character since the New 52 tossed away much of his later character development, returning him to the character he was in his earlier appearances, or worse to the more thuggish version from various media interpretations, but here it seems King is attempting to deepen the psychology of Bane, which makes for a truly creepy few pages. The majority of this issue a classic, "assembling the team," sequence, but it's not in a sunny happy place like the gathering of a new Justice League. Nope, we're in the bowels of Arkham Asylum. Batman walks out of the Asylum with five members for his team, each very different from the next, Firstly we get the original Ventriloquist, Arnold Wesker. Wesker was one of the characters resurrected by the continuity changes of<i> Flashpoint</i>, but has appeared only in cameos, and has been in many ways overshadowed by the new Ventriloquist created by Gail Simone for <i>Batgirl </i>and <i>Secret Six</i>. Here we get a half reformed Wesker who has broken away from Scarface, but still is seeking someone to pull his strings, which is an interesting view of the character. Bronze Tiger has also been a character who the New 52 continuity didn't treat well, turning him from noble fighter fighting his darker urges into just another member of the League of Assassins. This issue, though, returns him to the classic Suicide Squad member and gives him a great two page sparring session with Batman, one that ends with a smile and the two being revealed to share a history. Punch and Jewlee have been minor characters at the best of times, although they do have a history with the Squad as well, and I'm curious to see what King does to make them more than D-List Joker and Harley. And finally, well, here there be SPOILERS ... is Catwoman, awaiting execution for over two hundred counts of murder. When we last saw Catwoman, which was before Rebirth, she had given up leading Gotham's crime families and had returned to her old status quo, so this is a big, big shocker, and I'm curious to see exactly where King is taking this. On top of all of this, the art from Mikel Janin keeps getting better and better, Seriously, how this guy is not a star is beyond me, with a style reminiscent of early J.H. Williams III. The Bane flashback alone is chilling, and his take on Arkham is excellently creepy.This first issue sets up so much promise for this arc, I can't wait to see how it pays off.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGDDb3cnYy81lfmycRqIZZAPB7LZzrcR0hx3BxqIjfRh8fBQM6zC8Tw9LCuhIOnB-GQdKcgsZgZ0cFj7dr8zmooS6A1oN5uqr9cPfBQSuw7x5U3m3Qb6LWVzcHzuWuvGK3pkp6zAZt0oS/s1600/faith4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGDDb3cnYy81lfmycRqIZZAPB7LZzrcR0hx3BxqIjfRh8fBQM6zC8Tw9LCuhIOnB-GQdKcgsZgZ0cFj7dr8zmooS6A1oN5uqr9cPfBQSuw7x5U3m3Qb6LWVzcHzuWuvGK3pkp6zAZt0oS/s1600/faith4.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Faith #4</b><br />
<b>Story: Jody Houser</b><br />
<b>Art: Pere Perez, Marguerite Sauvage, & Andrew Dalhouse</b><br />
<br />
There are times when I feel like heroism in superhero comics are in short supply. DC is trying to course correct more in this direction with Rebirth, and the results are promising but still early. Marvel continues to have its heroes fighting other heroes more than villains, with some exceptions (like <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/10/a-very-ryan-north-friday.html">Squirrel Girl</a>). But there's one comic you can always go to where heroism is front and center, and that is Valiant's<i> Faith</i>. At the end of last month a magical artifact created a duplicate Faith, and now both Faith's, along with Faith's boyfriend Obadiah Archer, are hunting down the villain who is using the magical duplication artifact to rob a comic con. It would be easy enough to make this an evil duplicate thing, but that's not where this story goes. Instead we have two heroic Faiths dealing with a legion of criminal doubles all cosplaying a character called Murderous Mouse. I again have to applaud Jody Houser for finding a way to make even the second part of a two-parter new reader friendly. You get a good explanation of Faith's status quo and you get to see all the best parts of her. There's a great exchange between the two Faiths about ysalamiri and how much they miss the <i>Star Wars</i> E.U., which touches on Faith's status as fangirl. You get to see her in action, showing her as a superhero. You get those delightful Marguerite Sauvage drawn daydreams, including a comment on how having two of her would make, "dating weird" (which reminds me of a hilarious moment from the <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> episode, "The Replacement," You know, the one with two Xanders, when Anya talks about keeping both of them around for a while. Hey, I'm reviewing <i>Faith</i>. Pop culture references are a must), which show that Faith has her head in the clouds at times. And at the end of the story, the duplicate Faith performs an amazingly heroic act, one I don't want to spoil, which shows that no matter which version of her you have, Faith is a hero at heart. And I have to say, while I want to see Faith on her own with her regular supporting cast, and Archer needs Armstrong, I would love a quarterly, "Archer & Faith," series where we just see them go on dates and get into crazy adventures because their dynamic is just adorable. <i>Faith </i>remains a book in classic superheroic tradition, where good wins, and good guys are good guys, and I will take that and relish it month in and month out.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-18845276918991016512016-10-21T13:50:00.000-04:002017-06-12T15:15:16.042-04:00A Very Ryan North FridayRyan North is a writer who has slowly but surely made his way into a position where, whenever his name is attached to a project, I have to have a look. Sure, I'd read <i>Dinosaur Comics</i> on-line and had a good laugh. But when he started writing the <i>Adventure Time</i> comic, and perfectly capturing the whimsy, wit, and occasional tragedy of Finn, Jake, and all their pals, I really took notice. And with the <i>Unbeatable Squirrel Girl </i>from Marvel, one of the most joyful (and dense) comics on the racks, I moved from impressed to enamored. So, today, I'm going to focus on a couple of North's long form projects, things I've read recently that have been a real ray of sunshine.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqDHY0kJGmCkoydjU-jNFstVEuODtPb3GkoCptNhWp-UlPRuZDGIJo_p6ZWr7mt19BIri8I0f_OIo9jUY_QoYG_hyMpRq8j1HNPlMop4n9GG7N5paej4sukcR2IysvR9BMOSzwn4tEqSU/s1600/ubsgbumu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqDHY0kJGmCkoydjU-jNFstVEuODtPb3GkoCptNhWp-UlPRuZDGIJo_p6ZWr7mt19BIri8I0f_OIo9jUY_QoYG_hyMpRq8j1HNPlMop4n9GG7N5paej4sukcR2IysvR9BMOSzwn4tEqSU/s320/ubsgbumu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Over the past few years, Marvel has developed a nice program of original graphic novels. Usually stand alone and new reader friendly, some, like <i>Avengers: Rage of Ultron</i>, wind up being important to main continuity, while others, like Jim Starlin's most recent Thanos trilogy, are delights for old fans who get to revisit old characters and creators that don't get as much play in the main MU anymore. But the most recent,released a couple weeks ago, is a giant, standalone Squirrel Girl story too big for the regular ongoing. From the regular creators of the monthly title, Ryan North and Erica Henderson, this hardcover is entitled: <i>The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe! </i>And boy howdy does she ever.<br />
<br />
For those of you who don't know Squirrel Girl from her appearances in Avengers comics, in her own series, or in my reviews, well Squirrel Girl is Doreen Green, college computer programming student and superhero. Along with her friend and roommate Nancy Whitehead, fellow superheroes Chipmunk Hunk and Koi Boi, and her best squirrel pal, Tippy Toe, Squirrel Girl fights crime, but often stops crime without violence by talking and reasoning with her foes. Which isn't to say she can't kick some butt when she wants to. <i>Unbeatable Squirrel Girl </i>is a fun, all-ages series, and this graphic novel provides everything you need to know about Squirrel Girl and her crew is you haven't read anything before, but is full of fun for longtime Squirrel Girl fans.<br />
<br />
The core conceit of the graphic novel is a simple one: after winding up in a device created by the High Evolutionary that Tony Stark was puttering around with, Squirrel Girl winds up getting duplicated. The new Squirrel Girl, named Allene (Squirrel Girl's middle name), starts out as the perfect partner for Squirrel Girl, but after a couple days, takes a darker turn as she decides that the world would be better off run by squirrels. And so, while also fighting her better half, Allene decides that she needs to beat up all the other heroes and villains, as they could be a thorn in her side. And since Doreen is the unbeatable Squirrel Girl, you know she's going to win in the end, but she's never had a tougher fight than against her own doppelganger, and there are plenty of twists and turns along the way.<br />
<br />
It's hard to review or discuss anything Squirrel Girl without just saying, over and over again, "Its just so much fun!" That's what defines this book, the pure unbridled joy of living in this big crazy superhero world. And even in what is possibly the most dire adventure in Squirrel Girl's series to date, that joy isn't lost. You still get quips, you still get adorable squirrels, and you still get more Marvel Universe Easter Eggs than any book I can remember in recent years. When it says that Squirrel Girl beats up the Marvel Universe, she does it, because there are more characters in here than you can shake a stick at. And not just big names like Iron Man (whose fault this all is), Spider-Man (who has a thing or two to say about clones), and Thor (whose hammer is super important to the story), but characters like Lady Octopus and Mysterion (knock off Spidey villains, unite!) and the newly created Johnny Fishlips, who... has fish lips, I guess. Oh, and Deadpool pops up, and while we all love Deadpool, Deadpool in an all ages sort of story usually wouldn't work, but it does here for a fun little gag. I should point out, though, that Deadpool is a regular presence in <i>Unbeatable Squirrel Girl</i> thanks to Doreen having a full set of "Deadpool's Guide to Supervillains" trading cards, which she uses for background info on various villains, and there are plenty of those in here too.<br />
<br />
So, I've talked about the fun and the excitement, but there's another thing that makes Squirrel Girl great, and that's that the character (and the book) has a huge heart. At the end of the book, a supporting character is near death's door, and instead of having a funeral for yet another supporting character in the Marvel Universe, Squirrel Girl gets the collected heroes, who have defeated Allene (I know you might think that's a spoiler, but guess what: the good guys win), to work together to save a life. With tears in her eyes, she says to Iron Man, "We have the <b>best heroes on the planet</b> gathered <b>right here</b>, and you're saying we can't save her? You <b>shut up</b> with that!" And then she talks to the heroes, gets them to work together, and they save a life. Because it's what heroes do. It's a noble, heart-warming moment, and in what feels like an increasingly cynical Marvel Universe, it's a breath of fresh air.<br />
<br />
Oh, and two important things I want to point out about reading a Squirrel Girl story by North and Henderson. There is no comic from either of the Big Two out there that is this dense, and I use that phrase in the best possible way. Most comics, I can sit down and breeze through in ten/fifteen minutes, and most original graphic novels or trades in an hour and change. A Squirrel Girl takes twice that, between how packed with dialogue and panels the pages are, and with the little text commentary at the bottom of most pages. And don't even think about skipping that text at the bottom of the pages! It's like the footnotes in a <i>Discworld </i>novel: a lot of the best jokes are down there.<br />
<br />
I've talked a lot about story here, but this is a tour-de-force for artist Erica Henderson as much as for Ryan North. Henderson gets to draw everybody in her trademark style, and they all look great. Her pages are exciting and fluid, but never busy, and you can pick over them for ages looking for all the cameos she has in there. I also love how each character looks so different. It's so easy to get away with having a handful of standard faces/bodies in comic book art, but Henderson's characters are all very different and very distinct. And those different faces are all wonderfully emotive, with big eyes and open expressions that help tell the story as much as any word. It's also impressive to note that Henderson not only pencilled and inked (with an ink assist from Tom Fowler) the whole book (except for those Deadpool Villain Cards, those came from series regular colorist Rico Renzi), but she also colored it herself, and did a stellar job of it.<br />
<br />
Oh, and before I move on, let me point out that the production backmatter is really enjoyable on this book, and you really should read to the end, even if you're usually the type of reader who isn't into that stuff. Trust me. If you've ever seen a Marvel movie, you know that things can happen after the credits.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCdTVx9j7Gz4UidL4wyLF7FTqDuEc2C3VQtJrUIMRzK9yxB2eUl0ZBEkNUAkQmLzQ5TYwxvR3ba186sH5irYOKMycfYqptAliz0WrRRplMWGkVy7b1al0o2Jl1nw6n0t8UdxLxsLInA0Z4/s1600/tbontb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCdTVx9j7Gz4UidL4wyLF7FTqDuEc2C3VQtJrUIMRzK9yxB2eUl0ZBEkNUAkQmLzQ5TYwxvR3ba186sH5irYOKMycfYqptAliz0WrRRplMWGkVy7b1al0o2Jl1nw6n0t8UdxLxsLInA0Z4/s1600/tbontb.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Now speaking of Ryan North and fun, I also just finished my umpteenth journey through his choosable-path adventure book, <i>To Be Or Not To Be</i>. For those if us who were children of the 70s and 80s, you might remember this as <i>Choose your Own Adventure </i>(which is a phrase with a copyright, so to quote Groundskeeper Willy, "Shhhh, you wanna get sued?") story. But in this case, it's the story of <i>Hamlet</i>, the prince of Denmark, the greatest tragedy ever written, only you get to make the decisions!<br />
<br />
Now, I know what many of you are thinking, "Aw, man, Hamlet was such a whiner. I don't want to get into his head." Well, you don't have to! First, you can make Hamlet into a man of action, which is awesome, but there are two other options as well. One you can play as Hamlet Sr., the ghost, who can go attempting to exact ghost vengeance on his crappy brother, Claudius. Or, and I can't recommend this highly enough, you can read through the path as Ophelia. And Ophelia is awesome! She's a scientist, she knows who she is and what she wants, and she's just badass. My favorite path/ending so far has been Ophelia decides that all this noise in Denmark is the pits, and so she goes off on vacation in England where she captures some terrorists and becomes this awesome spy! That's a way better ending than drowning herself!<br />
<br />
And if all that isn't enough, there are plenty of one page illustrations that tie in to the endings form some really great comic book artists, including Noelle (<i>Nimona</i>, <i>Lumberjanes</i>) Stevenson, Becky (<i>Demo</i>) Cloonan, Chip (<i>Sex Criminals</i>, <i>Jughead</i>) Zdarsky, John (<i>Bad Machinery</i>, <i>Giant Days</i>) Allison, and a bunch more.<br />
<br />
Seriously, folks, I can't recommend <i>To Be Or Not To Be </i>highly enough. I've written before about my love of Shakespeare (I'm going to an event in a week where I get to see an original First Folio and I'm giddy over it), and this is a great way to enjoy the world of Shakespeare even if you're not into him. It's fun, it's fresh, it's hilarious in places. You can follow along with Yorick's skull icons to follow the path of the play, or go off on whatever flights of fancy you can come up with within the book. Seriously, do yourself a favor, and go out and buy this book or get thee to a nunnery!<br />
<br />
Both <i>Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe</i> and <i>To Be Or Not To Be</i> are available wherever books are sold, and at may finer comic book stores.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-34465908818184878692016-10-19T10:53:00.000-04:002016-10-19T13:30:29.948-04:00The Great Batman: Brave and the Bold Rewatch: Inside the Outsiders!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPK28FoE4vD87xVOtIelFAzmQCSnpanf_gBWLpLmCzYooT3bIZ0rIFVYorC_3K3-29oeAHpH0YRvT-J_0E6Ozal6BeoX6wM5CQ17JdtDtwQrDUXnzZftyeixfw9s1sjpYlwdCqgL9QUGLg/s1600/Inside_the_Outsiders%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPK28FoE4vD87xVOtIelFAzmQCSnpanf_gBWLpLmCzYooT3bIZ0rIFVYorC_3K3-29oeAHpH0YRvT-J_0E6Ozal6BeoX6wM5CQ17JdtDtwQrDUXnzZftyeixfw9s1sjpYlwdCqgL9QUGLg/s320/Inside_the_Outsiders%2521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Season One, Episode Twenty-Four: Inside the Outsiders!</b><br />
<b>Written by Alex Van Dyne</b><br />
<b>Directed by Michael Chang</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b><u>Plot Synopsis</u></b><br />
<b><br />Teaser: </b>Batman and Green Arrow are tied at the top a post that is slowly lowering as large jungle cats growl at them and try to reach them. Green Arrow is irritated that Batman didn't see the trap that got them into this situation coming, as Batman should know better having fought Catwoman numerous times. Batman and Catwoman talk, with batman trying to talk her out of her life of crime, and Green Arrow is shocked (and annoyed) when he realizes they're flirting. As they near the cats, Batman uses a Batarang to sever the ropes tying the heroes and they swing to safety. Green Arrow fights Catwoman's thugs, while Batman fights the villain herself. The heroes defeat Catwoman and her goons, and are preparing to take them in when Catwoman escapes, leaving Batman with a note including her phone number and a message that says, "Call Me."<br />
<b><br />Episode: </b>Batman runs through a hallway covered in creeoy golden masks that shoot blasts at him, but he makes it through, crashing into a room where the Psycho Pirate sits in a high tech throne. The Outsiders are in glass tubes that are feeding energy into Psycho Pirate, who is feeding on their emotions. Batman plans to open the chambers, but doing that will fry their brains, and the only way Batman has to save them is to enter the dream world of Psycho Pirate to pull them out, so he dons one of Psycho Pirate's helmets and heads in.<br />
<br />
He appears in what appears to be a Japanese temple, and he sees a younger Katana and her old master. She has revealed the location of a sword, and an evil ronin has now arrived seeking it. Katana watches her memory play out, seeing her master die, as Batman tries to snap her out of it. Katana tells Batman this is her nightmare, but this time she will get revenge, and grabs the sword to fight Takeo, the ronin. Takeo tells her that it was her mouth that killed her master, and she prepares to strike down her foe.<br />
<br />
At the last moment, Batman intercepts her blade with the energy sword from his utility belt, and the two of them commence dueling, Batman telling her this is now their way, or that of her master. Takeo again goads her on, saying she is now silent because she was responsible for her master's death and feels guilty, while Batman says that she is silent to honor him. This reminder snaps her out of it, and she stops fighting. Takeo transforms into Psycho Pirate, who had been playing on her guilt, who then disappears. Batman knows Psycho Pirate feeds off rage, and he thinks Black Lighting is the main course.<br />
<br />
Appearing in an alleyway, Batman and Katana head out to find Black Lightning, prepared for the worst. What they find is a Black Lightning who is attacking people not for crimes but for little social infractions and anything that irritates him. Batman talks to him, trying to get him to calm down, and instead Black Lighting attacks, annoyed at Batman's cape. Katana saves a bystander who turns into Psycho Pirate who tries to get her to again attack, but she does not and he seems offput by it.<br />
<br />
Black Lightning continues to attack Batman, Psycho Pirate growing more powerful, and then Black Lightning sees on TV... Uni the Unicorn (an homage to Barney the Dinosaur), and his anger grows. Black Lightning says hugs don't solve everything, and Batman tells him neither does rage, and that his anger was just making Psycho Pirate stronger. Psycho Pirate disappears in a flash, but as he does he causes Uni to leap from the screen and break through the glass. Black Lightning blasts him into confetti, but an army of Uni's come at him. Batman again tells him to channel his anger and energy into stopping Psycho Pirate, and this time Black Lightning listens. he embraces the possibility of happiness and the Uni's disappear. Again Psycho Pirate disappears, and Black Lightning is sure the worst is behind them, since Metamorpho is a happy guy. But as the clouds turn into a huge, angry Metamorpho, Batman knows that the worst is yet to come.<br />
<br />
Now in what looks like the wreck of a city, Metamorpho transforms into more and more destructive forms, destroying everything. Batman realizes that Metamorpho's bottled up rage has been fueling Psycho Pirate all along. Psycho Pirate hovers near Metamorpho's ear like the devil on his shoulder, feeding his anger: anger that he is a freak who can't go out in public, anger that part of him believes his friends are laughing at him, not with him. and Metamorpho attacks.<br />
<br />
Batman tells the Outsiders they can't harm Metamorpho, since he would be hurt in real life too, and so they have to reason with him. Black Lightning tells him they count on him, that he has the coolest powers in the world, but Psych Pirate counters that all they're doing is using him, and Metamorpho attacks again, saved only by Batman flying them away in his jetpack. He tells Black Lightning and Katana to keep reasoning with Metamorpho while he takes care of Psycho Pirate.<br />
<br />
While the Outsiders dodge Metamorpho, Batman attacks Psycho Pirate. Black Lightning and Katana stand under the giant Metamorpho, and it's Katana speaking that stops him. They talk to him, telling him that they're a team, friends, and that they need him, and as he calms down, Batman begins to gain the upper hand on Psycho Pirate. Finally, Metamorpho shrinks down and hugs his friends, back to his normal self.<br />
<br />
The dream world splits apart, and Batman awakens, but finds Psycho Pirate out of his throne, standing by a switch which the villain throws, obliterating the Outsiders. In a rage, Batman begins to pound on Psycho Pirate, who is feeding on the anger of the righteous, but Batman realizes this is still a dream, and Batman centers himself, feeding Psycho Pirate happy thoughts, which he can't take, and proceeds to happily knock out the villain.<br />
<br />
With the Psycho Pirate finally defeated, Batman and the Outsiders stand over the defeated Psycho Pirate. As Batman walks off to call the authorities, the Outsiders wonder what are Batman's happiest thoughts.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Who's Who</u></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhhD_hSg0TfMP92IEcAQtiUI3qR_droPnBSCprM1rOIuClOZkVNytRredeISfI_UOqVX_AohoTqbB4wwTLj_E5YCV7TPj0ei9yfr_1UniDBgEJdgSkVKh3iipbDhX276BbbcPVHR56qLv/s1600/insidetheoutsiders9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhhD_hSg0TfMP92IEcAQtiUI3qR_droPnBSCprM1rOIuClOZkVNytRredeISfI_UOqVX_AohoTqbB4wwTLj_E5YCV7TPj0ei9yfr_1UniDBgEJdgSkVKh3iipbDhX276BbbcPVHR56qLv/s320/insidetheoutsiders9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Black Lightning (Voiced by Bumper Robinson)</b></div>
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> Black Lightning #1 </i>(April, 1977)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_20.html">Season One, Episode Six- <i>Enter the Outsiders!</i></a></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<div>
<b>Katana (Voiced by Vyvan Pham)</b></div>
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> The Brave and the Bold #200 </i>(July, 1983)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance:<a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_20.html"> Season One, Episode Six- <i>Enter the Outsiders!</i></a></b></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Metamorpho (Voiced by Scott Menville)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> </i></b><b><i>The Brave and the Bold #57 </i>(January, 1965)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_20.html">Season One, Episode Six- <i>Enter the Outsiders!</i></a></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<b>Psycho Pirate (Voiced by Armin Shimmerman)</b></div>
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> Showcase #56 </i>(May-June 1965)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b>Season One, Episode Twenty-Four: <i>Inside the Outsiders!</i></b><br />
<br />
The Psycho Pirate who appears in <i>Brave and the Bold</i> is the second character to use that name in the comics, Roger Hayden. He was a villain of Earth-2, the Justice Society's Earth, who received the Medusa Mask, a relic that allowed him to manipulate emotions, from the original Psycho Pirate. Psycho Pirate would be a thorn in the side of various members of the Justice Society, but would reach new prominence during DC's legendary crossover event, <i>Crisis on Infinite Earths,</i> where he would become an accomplice and agent of the Anti-Monitor. He would survive the Crisis, and would be the only person with a full memory of the existence of the Pre-Crisis multiverse, knowledge which drove him mad. He would appear very sporadically over the course of the next twenty years, most notably in Grant Morrison's <i>Animal Man</i>, before he was recruited by Alexander Luthor during Infinite Crisis, where he was killed by Black Adam. Psycho Pirate has recently reappeared in the Rebirth era Battman series, as a part of Task Force X, and is the mcguffin of the new arc of that series, which begins today. While Psycho Pirate has no innate abilities, the Medusa Mask which he possesses allows him to force emotional states on others and to enhance emotions they already feel.<br />
<br />
<b>Green Arrow (Voiced by James Arnold Taylor)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>More Fun Comics #73 </i>(November, 1941)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch.html">Season One, Episode One- <i>Rise of the Blue Beetle</i></a></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Catwoman (Voiced by Nike Futterman)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> Batman #1 (Spring, 1940)</i></b><br />
<b>First Full Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b>Season One, Episode Twenty-Four: <i>Inside the Outsiders!</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Selina Kyle is Batman's most persistent female foe. Her origins have changed and morphed over her more than seventy-five years of existence, but it always comes around to her being the world's best cat burglar and a lover of all things feline. In some versions she is abused wife, in others a prostitute, and other times simply a runaway kid. She and Batman spar, each often trying to win the other over to their side of the law, and in recent years, she has been as often an anti-hero as she has been a villain. She is probably Batman's greatest love interest (at least in my opinion), and in more than one universe in the multiverse or adaptation of Batman in other media, it is Catwoman who Batman winds up with. She is one of the greatest characters in comics, and one of the most visible female characters, bot defined by the male hero she is attached to, by clever, powerful, and often wickedly funny in her own right. Catwoman has no superhuman abilities, but is an expert thief, acrobat, escape artist, and hand-to-hand fighter. Her weapons of choice include a cat o'nine tails whip and claws built into her gloves.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Continuity, Comics Connections, and Notes</u></b><br />
<br />
So, if you're watching along on DVDs, you will notice that this is not the next episode on the DVD. There care three orders in which the last three episodes of Season One ("Inside the Outsiders", "Menace of the Music Meister", and The Fate of Equinox") can be looked. There is the DVD order, which places this episode last in the season, the order in which they were aired which puts Music Meister before this episode, or the episode numbers, which is the order I chose, meaning this episode is next, followed by Music Meister, and and ending with the Equinox episode, which feels like a season finale.<br />
<br />
Catwoman gets her Who's Who entry this week, despite having cameoed twice before, in <i>Legends of the Dark Mite!</i> and <i>Hail the Tornado Tyrant</i>! However, both of those were silent cameos, and this being her first full appearance, I held off spotlighting her until now.<br />
<br />
Armin Shimmerman, who voiced Psycho Pirate this episode, and is best known to genre TV fans as Quark on <i>Star Trek: Deep Space Nine</i> and Principal Snyder on <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>, has appeared on Brave and the Bold once before, voicing Calculator in <i>Night of the Huntress</i>, and will appear one more time, but that's for the future.<br />
<br />
I just want to call out a very cool visual in this episode. During the Black Lightning sequence, the whole world in in grey scale except for the people who are frustrating him, who appear in color.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-57530046952432877862016-10-17T14:47:00.002-04:002016-10-17T14:47:54.722-04:00Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 10/12<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoMfKu7_DuH3gbeqpKn-Z4p9s0Ga8hAId4IC6r9tGUcQKBbg_dxVxb-VLLENnvLUjrsj3nnihES0QnoG6YcQT2FhdM8Jhm1Ijl-HFvjcK1I1e-auO3Pk5iqiYPSXzgrQjRwGYlyA50IkyO/s1600/Vader+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoMfKu7_DuH3gbeqpKn-Z4p9s0Ga8hAId4IC6r9tGUcQKBbg_dxVxb-VLLENnvLUjrsj3nnihES0QnoG6YcQT2FhdM8Jhm1Ijl-HFvjcK1I1e-auO3Pk5iqiYPSXzgrQjRwGYlyA50IkyO/s1600/Vader+25.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Darth Vader #25</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Story: Kieron Gillen</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Art: Salvador Larroca & Edgar Delgado and Max Fiumara & Dave Stewart </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Darth Vader</i> has been a consistent high point of Marvel's new<i> Star Wars </i>line. It's been a slow burn of a series, where all twenty-four issues and an annual have built towards this final issue. Dr. Cylo, the mad scientist who has been Vader's adversary throughout the series, first attempting to replace Vader in Emperor Palpatine's eyes and then to take over the Empire itself, faces his final battle with Vader this issue, and its a testament to artist Salvador Larroca. Vader is a force of nature, silent and terrifying. I went through and counted, and Vader has no more than fifteen word balloons throughout not just the battle, but the entire issue, many of which are one or two words. And Vader's face is covered the entire time, so an artist can't even fall back on facial expressions. So Larroca uses body language to show the readers what is going through Vader's mind, much of which is, well, pretty much murder. Beyond the battle with Cylo, we get a scene between Vader and the Emperor which is one of my favorite scenes between the two in a long time. It shows the twisted relationship between the Sith, how manipulation and betrayal are so central to everything they represent, and makes the reader feel for Vader in a way, as the one mentor figure he has left applauds him for betrayal. The final scenes of the main story show Vader dealing with his underling Dr. Aphra, and shows that while Palpatine has embraced the ideal of betrayal as strength and rewards it, Vader most assuredly has not, and we see Vader deal, quite harshly, with his other Imperial nemesis, this one a political foe, Grand General Tagge, and while I don't want to give too much away there, well, if you've seen the original <i>Star Wars</i> trilogy, you know what happens when you screw up in front of Vader, something Admiral Ozzel, who stood there and watched maybe should have learned from before the events of <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>. But the final two pages take Vader in a different direction, as we get a silent view into his mind, and see him considering a much less violent confrontation with his son, Luke. This issue shows all manner of aspects of Vader: warrior enforcer, apprentice, leader, and father, and through that shows just what an incredibly nuanced character he is, no matter what words he speaks. The two epilogues to the issue are interesting in their own right. One is a brief scene that sets up Dr. Aphra's upcoming series, and helps establish her new trajectory and her supporting cast (the Wookiee bounty hunter Black Krrsantan and the evil droids Triple Zero and Beetee-One ). The other is a silent piece, set on Tatooine, as we see the results of what Vader has done to the Tusken Raiders, the Sand People. It's a chilling little story, and is hard to write about without laying it out point by point, but needs to be seen. I'm going to miss the <i>Darth Vader</i> ongoing series, it's powerful narrative and dark turns, but I'm looking forward to see where Gillen takes the <i>Doctor Aphra</i> series.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcERVDAS8FSb1DNk9jdb_ZLBhzse1Wzfmrf_2RbhMK60MExCAlBYAnNjxmsHy0yYqH40agO5zs1yxakTLcaIj3tEZyqJagQPxlfhJt-1ryEPp0Fafc-F-KK44tzEF622dB-hmpjZ-0Lto-/s1600/TheFix_06-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcERVDAS8FSb1DNk9jdb_ZLBhzse1Wzfmrf_2RbhMK60MExCAlBYAnNjxmsHy0yYqH40agO5zs1yxakTLcaIj3tEZyqJagQPxlfhJt-1ryEPp0Fafc-F-KK44tzEF622dB-hmpjZ-0Lto-/s320/TheFix_06-1.png" width="208" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>The Fix #6</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Story: Nick Spencer</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Art: Steve Lieber & Ryan Hill</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In most cases, I have a hard time with stories where there are no redeeming characters, Even stories starring anti-heroes or downright villains show a nuanced portrayal of those characters, like Darth Vader in the previous review or Walter White in <i>Breaking Bad</i>. However, <i>The Fix</i>, Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber, is the exception to this rule, as there is not a single character in this book who has a redeeming characteristic. When the principal character who is the least morally reprehensible is the crooked internal affairs cop (with the exception of Pretzels the dog. Pretzels is the best), you know you're in for a ride. This issue gives us a new one of lead character Roy's crooked side businesses, trafficking in stolen celebrity personal items. And frankly, this is far from the worst thing we've seen Roy do, but it's the fact that he's actively employing meth addicts to do it that makes it even more reprehensible. The story of how Roy met Matty, the chief meth addict, is one of the darkly comedic things that makes <i>The Fix</i> work so well. I mean, I honestly laughed out loud so hard I doubled over and got a very strange look from my wife, and when I tried to explain why it was funny, the look just got stranger. In theory, bum fight shouldn't be funny, and in real life practice they aren't, but in the twisted world that Spencer and Lieber have created, the whole sequence is utterly hilarious. And as we understand exactly what Roy has been up to, and exactly where this has gone, and exactly what Roy has planned for Matty's friends who he assumed are responsible for the death of the starlet he had them rob and he assumed killed, well the hole he dug just keeps getting bigger. And the big reveal of what this has all been about, what the killers were looking for, well, I don't know if it would work in any other comic, but it sure as heck works here. If all of that wasn't enough, we get two scenes away from Roy, and if you were hoping for characters you could empathize with and see as light in a corrupt world, you are in the wrong place. We get a scene that further develops the mayor of L.A., who has a... unique habit during press conferences, and one with Donovan, the movie producer, and his really interesting fantasy life. The thing that keeps me coming back to this book, aside from the twisty plot, the comedy, and the excellent Steve Lieber art, is the fact that these characters have to get their comeuppance sooner or later, and I just can't wait to see how big a hole they can dig before they fall into it. And after this issue, I can't wait to see them all get what's coming to them more than ever, in the best possible way.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2ysep5V5yph8mZR_v80D4is7NHejAWw3LUSj4v6-__NCgRYTXFq2s4A4hWxA6YC5SmfBEUE2d_-cdW5tMEgDpGXwH-93RE1no8g4u-aXc5hEpMIFMX07A6c4WvGvpWvfP7FZKZazCb6n/s1600/peepland1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2ysep5V5yph8mZR_v80D4is7NHejAWw3LUSj4v6-__NCgRYTXFq2s4A4hWxA6YC5SmfBEUE2d_-cdW5tMEgDpGXwH-93RE1no8g4u-aXc5hEpMIFMX07A6c4WvGvpWvfP7FZKZazCb6n/s1600/peepland1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Hard Case Crime: Peepland #1</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Story: Christa Faust & Gary Phillips</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Art: Andrea Camerini & Marco Lesko</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The Hard Case Crime label is an impressive publishing initiative that has presented both reissues of classic noirs and new stories in the best noir and crime fiction styles, and I became familiar with their novels by the publication of two original works by Stephen King, <i>The Colorado Kid</i> and <i>Joyland</i>. And when I heard they were going to partner with Titan Comics to produce new crime comics, I was excited, and I'm pleased to say that <i>Peepland</i>, one of their inaugural offerings, is an excellent crime comic. I chose to try this series for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the writers. I'm familiar with Christa Faust only by reputation, but Gary Phillips has written some amazing crime comics over his career, most notably to me the Vertigo mini-series <i>Angeltown</i> and from Boom Studios <i>The Rinse</i>. The setting also appeals to me. The comic is set in New York City in the mid-80s, back before the city was sanitized. I was a kid back then, so it's not like I spent any time wandering those red light districts, but I know people who did, people who tell stories of Time Square before Disney rolled in, and so I get a sense of the city I love from bygone days. And this comic is set deep in those red light districts. Starring Roxy, a peepshow performer, the comic starts with a man running for his life from two thugs before hiding a video cassette (remember those?) in Roxy's booth. Pretty soon, the police are involved as the man, the producer of a <i>Girls Gone Wild</i>-esque series of pornographic videos, is dead and more than one group is looking for the tape. Roxy is a sympathetic protagonist, and presented in a real way: she's not the sex worker who's just doing it to pay her way through law school or some similar trope, but is someone who does what she does and has a life outside it, an uncle slowly dying of AIDS when AIDS was a short-term death sentence, an ex-boyfriend, and curiosity about that tape that is going to get her in trouble before the series is out, I have no doubt, especially when we see what's on the tape. Aside from our lead, we get plenty of other characters, all fitting into a classic crime/noir mold: other dancers and performers at Peepland, thugs and toughs, hardnose cops; this might be set in the 80s, and the events might only work in that particular era, but it's got a gritty feel right out of the best 40s noirs. In case the title didn't make it clear, by the way, this is a comic for mature audiences, with nudity and lots of bad language, but it's also for mature audiences because it's smart and complex, with characters and a mystery that will appeal to readers who are looking for something to really dig their teeth into.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>And Dan Grote's back with a very special issue of </i>Deadpool...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3AYXiZ02BvYvFdex0gxoR3h_f_z-g1A0mf3Ed9Yz-ESmHqi2fdinJ9fqo3a9KjJE6-smkDiWGrYBWZnEigJCPnbTPCh-qvUR3SamwcTpsQN6BOdBoVmk08smIrFTYZhwPx9rC5AzcizP/s1600/dp20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3AYXiZ02BvYvFdex0gxoR3h_f_z-g1A0mf3Ed9Yz-ESmHqi2fdinJ9fqo3a9KjJE6-smkDiWGrYBWZnEigJCPnbTPCh-qvUR3SamwcTpsQN6BOdBoVmk08smIrFTYZhwPx9rC5AzcizP/s320/dp20.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Deadpool #20<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Story by Gerry Duggan<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Art by Matteo Lolli and Guru-eFX</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In which Deadpool stops someone from committing suicide
through violence.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let that sink in for a second.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We’ve all seen superheroes talk ordinary folks off the
ledge, literally and figuratively. Superman arguably did it best in <i>All-Star Superman</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Deadpool is not Superman. Hell, he’s barely a superhero.
He’s a guy who often wants to be good but doesn’t know how because he’s lived a
life of violence and insanity. Which is why he gloms onto other superheroes –
Spider-Man, Captain America, etc. – and demands to become their new best friend
whether they like it or not.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On this night, a young woman named Danielle is staring down
at the street from the roof of the Schafer Theatre, formerly the home of the
Avengers’ Unity Team, the Mercs for Money, and Deadpool. Wade leads with “Don’t
jump!” and follows with “Parker Industries is just a few blocks down.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, things have been pretty crappy – well, crappier, I
guess – for Wade lately. His wife has been cheating on him, his team has
abandoned him, his base was destroyed. Frankly, if this were the Joe Kelly era,
he’d be in the depths of a sadomasochistic pity party and probably push her off
the building himself.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Instead, Wade takes her to see <i>Hamilton</i> and lets her go on a ridealong while he beats up deadbeats
as part of his pro bono work. Along the way, Danielle learns useful things like
the best way to get bad guys to come to the door (Yell “Sexy maids!”) and when
to kick or blow down said door and begin delivering beatings. Danielle even
picks up a bat at one point and joins in the fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Violence solves everything if you’re good at it,” Wade
insists. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Their magical smashy-smashy tour ends at the emergency room,
where Wade drops her off for pre-arranged help.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m smart enough to know I’m dumb enough that I can’t help
you,” he says. “But they can.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This isn’t Wade doing the right thing to impress Spider-Man
or Agent Preston or Cable or any of his usual over-the-shoulder angels.
Nobody’s watching. This is Wade doing genuine good the best way he knows how,
while remaining completely in character and recognizing his own flaws. This is
Gerry Duggan once again teaching a master class on how to develop a
chaotic-neutral quasihero.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After Danielle walks into the ER, Wade finally finds the
perfect thing to say: “You gotta remember: No matter how bad things get … that
life is fluid. There’s always the chance that something great is waiting around
the next corner. (Steps in dog poop) You just have to find a way to keep
rounding corners.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In other words, “You’re much stronger than you think you are.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Deadpool</i>’s been
teasing a showdown with Madcap for months now, but recent issues have had next
to nothing to do with that. This issue is no exception, but it’s also probably
one of the best standalone ‘Pool issues ever.<o:p></o:p></div>
The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-35447025790439920042016-09-19T14:00:00.000-04:002016-09-19T14:00:19.112-04:00Reviews of comics from Wednesday 9/14<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjts7RvrpN_xkXP4RP2Gx0MBS5Tl4N9YmAp1SzUuIfHMOBDOW8JUXRIyhzUSnh6dYt8SSbyd2vmSLVMJqJOOgzU3vxEBrz_jwcXMCCimjpzz3bL9LuycEL49AlMqgZzdKWXCimAqakVvrxV/s1600/Detective940_NoTim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjts7RvrpN_xkXP4RP2Gx0MBS5Tl4N9YmAp1SzUuIfHMOBDOW8JUXRIyhzUSnh6dYt8SSbyd2vmSLVMJqJOOgzU3vxEBrz_jwcXMCCimjpzz3bL9LuycEL49AlMqgZzdKWXCimAqakVvrxV/s1600/Detective940_NoTim.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Detective Comics #940</b><br />
<b>Story: James Tynion IV</b><br />
<b>Art: Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, & Adriano Lucas</b><br />
<br />
And so ends the first arc of the new <i>Detective Comics</i>, and what an ending it is. I've been singing the praises of this title since it returned with its new Rebirth era creative team, and this finale doesn't disappoint. There will be SPOILERS for the issue in this review, more than I usually would put in one, but frankly the ending of this issue has been all over all the major comic news sites since Wednesday, so I feel I can address it. I want to start by talking about thee aspect of the issue that hasn't been discussed all over the place, which is James Tynion's handling of Batwoman and her confrontation with her father, Colonel Jake Kane. Kane has been the primary antagonist of this arc, him and his para-military Colony organization, and to see Batwoman stand up to her father is a bravura moment for that character. This is the strong, take no prisoners hero that was introduced all those years ago in <i>52</i>, the character who should have been a star and was shunted to the side until all the buzz around her had died down. Kate Kane is a woman of principal, who stands by what she believes in, even if it means her imprisoning her own father. And Kane remains just this side of sympathetic, a man who truly believes that what he's doing is right, which makes him all the more interesting as a foe. But now I have to touch on is Tim Drake, Red Robin, and his fate. On Friday, I wrote about <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/09/why-i-love-tim-drake.html">what makes Tim Drake such a great character</a>. And his final showdown with the drones that the Colony were sending to kill suspected agents of the League of Shadows is a perfect indicator of what makes Tim great: he went down a hero. He knew that his chances were slim, that he might be sacrificing his own life when he set himself as the drones only target, and when he knew he couldn't win? He stood his ground and went out a hero. It was a marvelous moment, and would have been an excellent death, if that's what it was. Instead, we see him taken by the mysterious Mr. Oz. There are interesting new hints to what exactly Mr. Oz is doing, and what his plans are, which are all good for the overall progress of the DC Universe and for Tim's future, but it's also great to see Tim, the one person who kept the faith when Batman "died" in <i>Final Crisis</i> and was sure Bruce was alive, still having faith that his friends will find him despite his own seeming death. Add in a perfect scene of Batman showing real and true sadness at the apparent death of one of his charges, and you have an issue that is as emotionally resonant as it was action packed, a perfect superhero comic.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh1HiMzBBA8p3liFOkNpxdZU7dOtkcuJ96EBCeOqaNoDWKMuLS8t1QmPWYRztEnylrHIwUEdvKJpc7IlYkK3JSQJrCJYSrTbI8pTxWnCYlcMQhvrecRIbViDnR0K5FOQzAambxS0zQUSRI/s1600/Faith+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh1HiMzBBA8p3liFOkNpxdZU7dOtkcuJ96EBCeOqaNoDWKMuLS8t1QmPWYRztEnylrHIwUEdvKJpc7IlYkK3JSQJrCJYSrTbI8pTxWnCYlcMQhvrecRIbViDnR0K5FOQzAambxS0zQUSRI/s1600/Faith+3.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Faith #3</b><br />
<b>Story: Jody Houser</b><br />
<b>Art: Pere Perez and Andrew Dalhouse & Marguerite Sauvage</b><br />
<br />
In case you haven't read any of my previous reviews of her series or any articles about the character, Valiant's breakout hit character Faith is a fangirl. A major league fangirl. And that part of her character is part of her charm. So it's probably not the least bit surprising that Faith would spend a story arc going to a comic con. And she's bringing her boyfriend, Archer of <i>Archer and Armstrong</i> along for his first con. The two head out, in cosplay naturally, and because this is a superhero comic, pretty soon they're getting involved investigating thefts at the convention and the theft turns out to be way more than just a simple fan who wants to make off with stuff he couldn't afford. The appeal of this issue comes from the interactions between Faith and Archer. We saw their first date in a recent issue of <i>A+A</i>, but now we're seeing them more deeply into their relationship, and on Faith's home turf. The two are so perfect together, Archer so naive and Faith so confident in this setting. And the reasons why Faith is so determined to see that justice is done at the con, and what cons mean to her, is something that I think all of us who live in a world of fandom should read, because it's something that is easily forgotten: about how cons are places where we meet and greet those we admire and more how we get to share the things we love with others who love them, and how no one has a right to interfere with that. I love how positive Faith is, how she is always looking for the best in others, but how she's also always willing to stand up for herself and others. The art for the issue by Pere Perez is especially good, with all sorts of wonderful Easter Eggs in the con scenes, and a great design for Faith's cosplay, something that still evokes her costume while having a different, piratical air. <i>Faith</i> is one of the best comics from Valiant, a fun superhero comic that embraces fandom and fans, with a great hero; it's also a comic that is easy to jump on to at pretty much any point, and this issue is especially good as a jumping on point, as everything you need to know is right here. Oh, and not just everything you need to know about Faith; there are con going tips throughout the issue that are well worth taking note of, even if you're an old hand at it. I mean, who knows when you're going to be called on to fight evil at your next con?<br />
<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>And Dan Grote is here with a review of a... Batman comic!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvSuteQ1MnUCh0YX57a6BSiX_xVfmITjosKAz8MoNvHwDJ9aEzKrOLcE1OvE-XjTSg_oL-JB4OV_EZhOdz0gpTWEa-O4gQLOkJKKY9KxUHimZCv8IXlrYZYgRacxl4NZymM1Cwa3f2Vaq/s1600/asb2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvSuteQ1MnUCh0YX57a6BSiX_xVfmITjosKAz8MoNvHwDJ9aEzKrOLcE1OvE-XjTSg_oL-JB4OV_EZhOdz0gpTWEa-O4gQLOkJKKY9KxUHimZCv8IXlrYZYgRacxl4NZymM1Cwa3f2Vaq/s1600/asb2.jpg" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>All-Star Batman #2<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Story: Scott Snyder<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Art: John Romita Jr., Danny Miki and Dean White (main
story); Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire (backup strip)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the end of Season 2 of <i>The Venture Bros.</i>, after the
Sovereign has revealed himself as (a shapeshifter who takes the form of) David
Bowie, Henchmen 21 and 24 remark on their favorite Bowie albums, and 21 harps
on 24 for liking “ChangesOne” because “Changes is a best-of.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>All-Star Batman</i> is, in many ways, a best-of. But it’s also
something new.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Part of it is Batman barreling through a highlight reel of
his enemies (roughly) two by two as he and Two-Face buddy-cop their way across
the country. So we get appearances from requisite Bat-foes like the Penguin,
Killer Croc and Victor Zsasz, in addition to deeper cuts like the KGBeast and
Gentleman Ghost. We also get art from John Romita Jr., one of comics’ warmest
blankets for more than 30 years.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But while Scott Snyder spent five years cementing himself as
one of the all-time great Bat-writers, he’s not done leaving his mark.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Take, for example, his take on Two-Face. Snyder’s Two-Face
is portrayed as much darker than in years past, explaining away his campier
exploits as cries for help from the Harvey Dent side of his personality. This
Two-Face isn’t just setting other villains on the Bat. Even allies like Jim
Gordon have a vested interest in stopping Bruce from reaching the series’
MacGuffin, a purported cure for the Two-Face side of Dent. If successful,
Two-Face has threatened to release the dirt he has on everyone in Gotham, and
that’s a lot of dirt.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And yes, Bruce is training a new sidekick, but despite
headlining a title called <i>We Are Robin</i>, Duke Thomas is not taking up the
mantle, nor is he wearing the standard red, green and yellow. Just the yellow.
The backup strips focus on Duke’s training, which isn’t so much about learning
martial arts or how to win a melee fight but a study in psychology, both in
Duke’s relationship with his psychotically altered parents and in learning how
Batman’s never-ending parade of Arkham escapee foes thinks. Because let’s face
it, working with Batman means exposing yourself to messed-up stuff every second
of the day.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oh, and Bats uses actual shark repellant against King Shark.
Because if Grant Morrison’s Unified Theory of Batman has taught us anything,
it’s that Batman done right should be grimdark and silly simultaneously.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
So if Matt and I had the repartee of 21 and 24, he’d be
doing his duty by calling me a poseur for liking the “ChangesOne” that is <i>All-Star
Batman</i>. Also I’d be dead in a season. But whatever, my point is, as The Matt
Signal’s resident “Not a DC guy” guy, I’m loving this book. And Bowie rules.<o:p></o:p></div>
The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-85301092960550715042016-09-16T15:51:00.001-04:002020-01-29T14:29:18.228-05:00Why I Love Tim Drake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_CVF8ligjji-1J2h8v0vpzfjuUlHwkd1U_k4c46-MS3wPCpKO4AtKWEYOBaVEFG3pmZclK70Zr3CuakTxX7vRmWVuwHKAkEuAIttWH0jYqeEJH6saPLDiNQeEXElqYcB-30zV-aHWDPKG/s1600/Whos+Who.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_CVF8ligjji-1J2h8v0vpzfjuUlHwkd1U_k4c46-MS3wPCpKO4AtKWEYOBaVEFG3pmZclK70Zr3CuakTxX7vRmWVuwHKAkEuAIttWH0jYqeEJH6saPLDiNQeEXElqYcB-30zV-aHWDPKG/s320/Whos+Who.jpg" width="223" /></a></div>
<br />
Tim Drake has been all over the comic book news sites this week. I'm not going to talk about the details of why right here, just to make sure everyone who doesn't want to be spoiled has a chance to read the issue that's causing the furor. I'm just going to make a short post today about who Tim Drake is as a character and why he's not only my favorite Robin, but one of my ten favorite comic characters ever.<br />
<br />
I started reading comic officially (or as official as you can get) with <i>Batman #445</i>. Tim Drake made his first appearance in costume in <i>Batman #442</i> (although he would be out of costume, simply training, and wouldn't get his own until issue 457). So first and foremost, I grew up with Tim. Now, Tim is lucky that he's perpetually stuck at an age between 16 and 18, while I have continued to grow sadly older, but I don't hold that against him. There's something about that character, a character who was new when you were just starting out as a fan, that you latch onto and connect with. That's, frankly, why sidekicks were created, to give readers an entry point for these stories about adults.<br />
<br />
But more than just our relative newness, the thing that made Tim Drake great is he was a good kid who got into superheroing because it was the right thing to do. Ultimately, all of the many tragedies that Tim would encounter over the years took place after he took up the mantle of Robin; I'll discuss the changes made in the New 52 and why I feel they detract from Tim as a character later. Tim wasn't an orphan (although he was a rich kid with absentee parents which I doubt many readers had), he didn't have a reason to become Robin except he felt like Batman needed a Robin and Gotham and the world needed a Batman. Tim, like one of my other favorite sidekicks made good, Wally West, was basically a fanboy who got to live the dream: he got to partner with his favorite hero. And who amongst us in fandom wouldn't like that?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqtk4_lswh9IScsaEcB28AJBh_8GV3Oxov6IcFnMhXdo4tZRj55ZPGRj9LCVoZk9Z5344XalMOjuu3eytF93VoT2de9hvbtEyuMm_07aiH-BewI4RnYu0cdyjw-F03eiuK3psQc2vp6ZI/s1600/Red+Costume.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqtk4_lswh9IScsaEcB28AJBh_8GV3Oxov6IcFnMhXdo4tZRj55ZPGRj9LCVoZk9Z5344XalMOjuu3eytF93VoT2de9hvbtEyuMm_07aiH-BewI4RnYu0cdyjw-F03eiuK3psQc2vp6ZI/s320/Red+Costume.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The other thing that made me love Tim Drake initially was that he was a brain. He had figured out Batman and Robin's identities using his natural deductive skills. Tim's first solo mission isn't a Robin mission, but is Tim trying to use his computer and detective skills to try to find a hacker called Moneyspider, who turns out to be the Batman villain Anarky, a teenage villain, who would go on to be one of Tim's nemeses. Tim was naturally more physically capable than most of the readers, but he wasn't a kid acrobat like Dick Grayson; there's a great moment in <i>Robin #10</i>, a <i>Zero Hour </i>crossover where Tim briefly meets a time displaced teenage Dick Grayson, where Tim marvels at Dick's acrobatic skills and doesn't think he'll ever be able to live up to them. And that was fine, because Tim was the smartest of the Robins, the best detective of the lot. And for readers who love Batman because he's the smartest guy in the room, that made Tim the ideal Robin.<br />
<br />
After finally taking on the name of Robin, Tim would develop his own rogues gallery and supporting cast as he starred in first three mini-series and then an ongoing series that lasted for well over one hundred issues. Tim would fight the blind martial artist and gang leader King Snake, his lieutenant, Lynx, and their street gang, the Ghost Dragons; the aforementioned Anarky, the teen anarchist; Ulysses Hadrian Arstrong, the teen strategic genius known as The General. The characters around him included his dad, Jack Drake and step mom Dana, his geeky best friend Ives, his first girlfriend, Ariana, and his on again/off again main squeeze, Spoiler. That's not to mention his friendship with other heroes as a member of the teams Young Justice and Teen Titans, and of course his regular team-ups with Batman and the other members of the Batman family. There is a wonderful issue of <i>Nightwing</i>, issue twenty-five, "The Boys," that really looks into the brotherly relationship between Tim and Dick Grayson. This was a richer life as a character than either of the previous Robins had while they were Robin, and made Tim a much more interesting character,<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XQvKcqTRlLOXx25ARHNPLevwRnPlGCz5GupwCnhXRgxpkIP-0Ofem7FT-vaEnvGfoVi-FTRWyRZ9cSVPPe_BRBrEzkjAy7prr-vbYDTSmjbdZRJbve_6gQUYorc2GMUJGkalG8SWOa4M/s1600/Red_Robin_0019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XQvKcqTRlLOXx25ARHNPLevwRnPlGCz5GupwCnhXRgxpkIP-0Ofem7FT-vaEnvGfoVi-FTRWyRZ9cSVPPe_BRBrEzkjAy7prr-vbYDTSmjbdZRJbve_6gQUYorc2GMUJGkalG8SWOa4M/s320/Red_Robin_0019.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<br />
Eventually, when a new Robin needed to come along, in this case Bruce's son Damian. He was a very different character than Tim. While Tim was an everyman sort of sidekick, Damian was completely unique and uncommon: while Tim was a fanboy, Damian had been trained since birth to be a deadly assassin. And when the time came for Tim to take up his new identity as Red Robin, the first storyline in his series reaffirmed his status as the number one Batman fan: he was the only one who believed that Bruce Wayne had not died in battle with Darkseid in <i>Final Crisis</i>, and he went out to find him. There's a wonderful meta-commentary there about how the hero who started out as a fan would be the one who would persevere through apparent death to believe wholeheartedly that the hero he idolized would still be alive.<br />
<br />
But with the introduction of Damian, Tim was a little at ends as a character. Dick Grayson was able to take up the Nightwing identity when Jason Todd came along and became Robin, but Tim had a second hand new identity; Red Robin was Dick Grayson from an alternate future, whose identity had been briefly co-opted by Jason Todd before Tim took it. His last ongoing series, the <i>Red Robin </i>ongoing, was cut short by the New 52 reboot of DC Comics, with Tim in a very dark place. And I was hopeful that the reboot would give Tim a fresh start and make him the fun, young hero he was at his beginning.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSvIQd0pul2gOCF63yka346z3_RIrCt-isGYRXm2ZaTzoAPIJXZxJuj5E2T1JVA1in_RXv_8t2MbeMnlb56iipSQ5_wnOfQlBnL9HvZrWrfa4Y0wMBn5AH0o7E5t05PsTKcHSdKK-GqF2A/s1600/Red_Robin_0044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSvIQd0pul2gOCF63yka346z3_RIrCt-isGYRXm2ZaTzoAPIJXZxJuj5E2T1JVA1in_RXv_8t2MbeMnlb56iipSQ5_wnOfQlBnL9HvZrWrfa4Y0wMBn5AH0o7E5t05PsTKcHSdKK-GqF2A/s320/Red_Robin_0044.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Alas, this was not to be. The Tim Drake of the <i>Teen Titans </i>series from the New 52 bore only a passing resemblance to his previous incarnation. He had never been Robin and wasn't even really named Tim Drake; that was a name he took when he came to work with Batman. He was suddenly a gymnastic savant, and had a tragic backstory, where his own carelessness had forced his parents into witness protection. And most keenly felt, he no longer had any real emotional ties to Batman and Nightwing. Batman had been a foster father to him, and Nightwing the coolest big brother you could imagine pre-New 52. Now, Tim kept them at arms length and always had; and while he was part of their family, he wasn't close with them. He did suddenly become close friends with Jason Todd, Red Hood, who had repeatedly tried to kill Tim in the old continuity, which did more to help further Jason's redemption than did anything for Tim as a character. And the greatest of indignities: while Tim did still figure out Batman's identity, so did Dick Grayson, using pretty much the same methodology Tim did in the old continuity, taking away yet another thing that made Tim unique.<br />
<br />
I don't necessarily lay all of this on the heads of the creators of those titles. Tim has been a historically difficult character to handle when taken out of his specific point of introduction. The Tim Drake in <i>Batman: The Animated Series </i>is much more Jason Todd than Tim Drake, as he has Jason's origin and doesn't have Tim's intellect; he basically has Tim's good nature grafted on to Jason to make him less of a jerk. The Tim in the <i>Batman: Arkham</i> games is a little better, but is still more of a roughneck than Tim is. <i>Young Justice </i>got it closest to right; while it gave Tim's hacker skills to Dick Grayson initially, when Tim himself appeared, he was the quiet, smart member of the younger generation of heroes.<br />
<br />
So where did that leave Tim? Well, in the past year and change, thing have gotten better for him. <i>Batman and Robin Eternal</i>, the weekly Batman mini-series that focused on the various Robins and other Bat family members working together in a globetrotting adventure during the brief period of time where Bruce had no memory of being Batman, did a great job of re-establishing Tim's relationship with the other member of Batman's family, and the arc of<i> Detective Comics</i> that wrapped this week played on all of Tim's best traits: his intellect, how well he works with others, and how much he cares about people. It got everything right, and made Tim feel like Tim again, and that Tim is a character that readers will keep hoping to see more of.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jwJNOL-GJi4fjYGT90Dx47wscX7gqi_-u6e9-ytJMWN9bRaab0dRYE-EHgxQstLBidbqcIQ-JENAmGMdo8iWF1hvAm2I2mDgt77Jsa_fEFzlYV8-4z4I5KE75NbEaeQI5HZhTcyv-ajh/s1600/tec939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jwJNOL-GJi4fjYGT90Dx47wscX7gqi_-u6e9-ytJMWN9bRaab0dRYE-EHgxQstLBidbqcIQ-JENAmGMdo8iWF1hvAm2I2mDgt77Jsa_fEFzlYV8-4z4I5KE75NbEaeQI5HZhTcyv-ajh/s1600/tec939.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-76963457892206149282016-09-14T14:33:00.001-04:002016-09-14T14:33:48.506-04:00The Great Batman: Brave and the Bold Rewatch: When OMAC Attacks!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZcg2KLSX-A4TCZn9aOpfcQ01CyhsOU-ghyphenhyphenG5NoSz7MtuIPB_rDYHNtkMPMUJwCNqNYVVm2Bcx0NZa9RKiQ9Phw-uw8WkpdUQsmlms_-sKGXVo4wiZ9jO1S_aWSF9DvsyxZFUG6Vlq08hA/s1600/When_OMAC_Attacks%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZcg2KLSX-A4TCZn9aOpfcQ01CyhsOU-ghyphenhyphenG5NoSz7MtuIPB_rDYHNtkMPMUJwCNqNYVVm2Bcx0NZa9RKiQ9Phw-uw8WkpdUQsmlms_-sKGXVo4wiZ9jO1S_aWSF9DvsyxZFUG6Vlq08hA/s320/When_OMAC_Attacks%2521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Season One, Episode Twenty-Three: When OMAC Attacks!</b><br />
<b>Written by Stan Berkowitz</b><br />
<b>Directed by Brandon Vietti</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b><u>Plot Synopsis</u></b><br />
<b><br />Teaser: </b>A mighty battles between two fleets wages in space. The Batplane flies towards them, and Batman tells his passengers, the brother heroes Hawk and Dove to deal with the ground forces while he stops the warships so he can get both sides to the bargaining table. Batman drops them off, telling them not to fight amongst themselves, and the two jump into battle, bickering all the while. Batman stops the fleet, and contacts Hawk and Dove, who are still arguing peace vs. aggression. Later, even as the treaty is signed between the Controllers and the Warlords of Okaara, the two continue to bicker.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Episode: </b>At the headquarters of the Global Peace Agency, the faceless members of the mysterious law enforcement organization berate Batman for not completing the mission they assigned him, finding and stopping the villainous General Kafka, quickly enough for their liking. The GPA agents explain that Kafka must be stopped before he can create a biological tranformative. The GPA tells Batman they will be assigning him a partner. A janitor, Buddy Blank, comes in, and spills water on Batman while gushing over what a big fan he is of the Dark Knight. When Batman asks about the partner, they tell him Buddy is his partner, as they contact the artificially intelligent satellite Brother Eye, which transforms Buddy into the GPA's top agent, OMAC, the One Man Army Corps, a powerful entity who has no knowledge of his life as a janitor.<br />
<br />
Later, Batman and OMAC surveil a mountain fortress. Batman says he has something that will let them slip in, but OMAC instead has Brother Eye, who can upgrade OMAC's powers on demand, enhance his strength and he leaps to the compound, busting down the wall before smashing the tanks and beating all the soldiers unconscious. Batman offers OMAC the advice that excessive force isn't the answer to everything, which OMAC promptly ignores.<br />
<br />
In Kafka's lab, Batman and OMAC break in to find Kafka waiting. OMAC leaps for Kafka, who blasts him, and the two run off deeper into the lab. Batman is about to follow when Equinox appears, telling Batman he is not supposed to be here, that Equinox has set this whole thing in motion as part of his plan to maintain balance. batman shoots his grapnel into the air, saying he will try to tip the scales to the side of the good guys, but the grapnel cable snaps and Equinox disappears into the shadows.<br />
<br />
OMAC and Kafka continue to fight, and when OMAC has Kafka at his mercy, he calls on Brother Eye to give him energy powers to blast Kafka. Batman interferes to stop OMAC from killing Kafka, and the stray blast hits the vat of Kafka's experimental chemical which floods the room. Batman is able to get himself and OMAC out, but the chemical washes over Kafka. Batman and OMAC stare each other down, Batman chiding OMAC for being merciless. But from the wreckage bursts Kafka, reborn from the chemicals as the metal monster, Shrapnel.<br />
<br />
Shrapnel fires metal projectiles at Batman and OMAC, and one hits the symbol on OMAC's chest. When Batman is able to get to OMAC, he finds that he has been transformed back into Buddy. Batman escapes with Buddy, as Shrapnel swears revenge. Back at the GPA, the agents again blame Batman for failing, but Batman warns them about Equinox, telling them he feels Equinox is probably responsible for OMAC reverting to Buddy. Batman feels the GPA is abusing Buddy, not letting him know what they're doing to him and that an OMAC with some of Buddy's heart would be a better solider.<br />
<br />
Buddy is in his room, wishing he could get another shot at Shrapnel. Batman appears in the room's shadows startling Buddy, coming to check on him. Batman reassures Buddy that underneath it, there's a string man waiting to break out, but before they can talk more, the complex shakes. Batman assumes it's Shrapnel, and looks to find Buddy once more transformed into OMAC. In the streets outside, Shrapnel is attacking. Batman and OMAC again confront him, and OMAC again doesn't listen to Batman's ideas about being more subtle.<br />
<br />
Before Batman can join the fight, Equinox reappears, telling Batman he warned him about interference. Equinox tells Batman he feels they are similar both trying to balance the scale, be it of justice, like Batman, or like himself in a grander sense. Batman throws a Batarang at Equinox, which he transforms into a living bat with a thought.<br />
<br />
OMAC and Shrapnel continue to fight, only now Shrapnel has the upper hand. He tells OMAC that the GPA came to his country to stop a war, and destroyed a village in the process. It was his village, and Shrapnel survived to seek revenge on the GPA. Batman makes another attempt to stop Equinox, but a tree branch falls on him, stopping him. Equinox tells Batman that his plan is to balance the scales here, to have the city the GPA is headquartered in destroyed to balance the loss of Shrapnel's home village. Batman looks at Equinox in dawning horror as he swings off, finding that Shrapnel's path is leading towards a nuclear plant, and OMAC is not fairing well on the fight.<br />
<br />
In the plant, OMACis continuing to take punishment, and doesn't stop all of Shrapnel's projectiles, which damage the plant's control panel, starting a meltdown. Batman rushes into the plant to try to stop the meltdown while OMAC and Shrapnel still battle. Finally, OMAC decides to listen to Batman's words, and he has Brother Eye give him full strength to shields, which stops him from being hurt when Shrapnel punches him through the building. He now knows fighting Shrapnel only makes him stronger, so he's hoping this will stop him.<br />
<br />
Batman goes to enter the reactor to stop the meltdown to have Equinox magically appear again to stop him. The two discuss the philosophy of balance as they fight. OMAC continues, to take blow after blow from Shrapnel, and Shrapnel begins to lose his steam; OMAC has realized that Shrapnel absorbs and redirects energy, and by not fighting him, Shrapnel has nothing to fight with. OMAC uses a girder to hold Shrapnel in place, just as his own energy reserves reach zero, transforming him back to Buddy. Buddy sees the chaos at the plant and charges in.<br />
<br />
Batman is able to get a grenade past Equinox, blowing up the security panel and gaining access to the nuclear core. Equinox warns him that the radiation will destroy him, but Batman pushes on anyway, and when Equinox tries to stop him, Buddy appears, knocking Equinox aside and letting Batman charge into the core. Batman reaches the control rods and is able to to push them into the core, stopping the meltdown, and is on the verge of death when Equinox appears and saves Batman's life, magically healing him, saying it is not his time before disappearing.<br />
<br />
Buddy, in a radiation suit, pulls Batman from he core, and is overjoyed that he has fought a supervillain, confident he Equinox will not return. But Batman looks to the moon, sure they have not seen the end of the villain, as the moon changes to the yin yang symbol of Equinox.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Who's Who</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisGWE-pdapjTLZ6DJa-IwrV48Wpka_dEef7kvKbihUtdHxQd1_CnZL8p3RC4TnlLwQA6DwilT5vycg3RuFG502y6lEy3VBlCi-pje-_kgoND08i1NlIrXtDCPJQAW0B_jeM1tU_csc5mee/s1600/batmanbravebold_ep23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisGWE-pdapjTLZ6DJa-IwrV48Wpka_dEef7kvKbihUtdHxQd1_CnZL8p3RC4TnlLwQA6DwilT5vycg3RuFG502y6lEy3VBlCi-pje-_kgoND08i1NlIrXtDCPJQAW0B_jeM1tU_csc5mee/s320/batmanbravebold_ep23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<div>
<b>OMAC </b><b>(Voiced by Jeff Bennet)</b></div>
</div>
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> OMAC #1 </i>(October, 1974)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <i>Season One, Episode Twenty-Three- When OMAC Attacks!</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
In the not too distant future, Buddy Blank was a nobody who was taken into the employ of the Global Peace Agency and whose identity was subsumed by the GPA's perfect soldier: OMAC. OMAC was a perfect weapon who would fight for peace, and in a world where large armies were considered too dangerous and too public, it was up to OMAC to keep the peace. OMAC's series would only last eight issues, but he would pop up in other short series and backups by the likes of Jim Starlin and John Byrne. Years later, in a non-Kirby written back-up story, Buddy Blank would take his young grandson into the Command D bunker to protect him from a coming cataclysm, and that young boy would take his name from the location when he emerged, becoming Kamandi. Buddy was rarely used within the DC Universe, but was one of the aspects of Kirby creations that appeared in <i>Countdown to Final Crisis</i>. OMAC's powers come from the satellite Brother Eye, and include super strength and speed, density control, and energy projection.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b>Brother Eye </b><b>(Voiced by Dee Bradley Baker)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> OMAC #1 </i>(October, 1974)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <i>Season One, Episode Twenty-Three- When OMAC Attacks!</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
When introduced in <i>OMAC</i>, Brother Eye was the sentient satellite that provided OMAC with his powers. But Brother Eye has had a larger and more sinister role in the DC Universe at large. Created by Batman to spy on metahumans, the Brother MK1 satellite developed artificial intelligence and was corrupted my Maxwell Lord, the Black King of Checkmate, in his plan to destroy all superhumans. Even after Lord's death, the satellite, dubbing itself Brother Eye, would continue his plan until it was eventually destroyed by a group of superheroes during Infinite Crisis. In the post-Flashpoint universe, Brother Eye was destined to conquer the Earth and transform it's populace into mindless cybernetic soldiers, but this timeline was prevented by a time travelling Terry McGinnis. The current fate of Brother Eye remains unknown. An artificial intelligence of vast intellect and tremendous computing power that can easily overtake most other computer systems. It also controls a vast army of OMACs, cybernetic soldiers that do its bidding.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<div>
<b>Kafka </b><b>(Voiced by Jonny Rees)</b></div>
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> OMAC #3 </i>(February, 1975)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <i>Season One, Episode Twenty-Three- When OMAC Attacks!</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Kafka was an Eastern European dictator and recurring nemesis of OMAC<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<div>
<b>Shrapnel </b><b>(Voiced by Jonny Rees)</b></div>
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> Doom Patrol Vol.2 #7 </i>(April, 1988)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <i>Season One, Episode Twenty-Three- When OMAC Attacks!</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Much of Shrapnel''s background is unknown. It is know he was a man named Mark Scheffer, who was somehow transformed into the walking pile of metal shards, who went insane and decided to kill anyone who saw him. He would go on to fight the Doom Patrol, and would go on to be a member of the Secret Society and the Suicide Squad. Shrapnel has super strength, but his main power is the fact that he is made of small metal shards that he can fire to devastating effect, and that regenerate over time.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Equinox (voiced by Oded Fehr)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>First comic book appearance: <i>Justice League of America #111 (June 1974)</i><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<b>First Brave and the Bold appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_15.html">Season 1, Episode 14- <i>Mystery in Space!</i></a></b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<div>
<b>Hawk </b><b>(Voiced by Jonny Rees) & </b><b>Dove </b><b>(Voiced by Dee Bradley Baker)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> Showcase #75 </i>(June, 1968)</b></div>
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <i>Season One, Episode Twenty-Three- When OMAC Attacks!</i></b><br />
<br />
Hank and Don Hall were brothers who could not have been more different. Created by legendary creator Steve Ditko in the late '60s, the two were typical of different philosophies of the time: Hank was belligerent and quick to anger, while Don was passive and always seeking to talk out problems. They were granted powers by a mysterious source (later determined to be members of the cosmic entities known as the Lords of Order and Chaos). They would fight crime together, and usually combat each other verbally, due to their very different points of view on how best to deal with criminals. The two would remain partners until Don's death during <i>Crisis on Infinite Earths</i>, shortly after which a new Dove was called, a young woman named Dawn Granger, who is still Dove today. When danger is present, Hank and Don could call out their respective superhero names to magically change into their costumes. Hawk's powers include heightened strength and stamina; Dove's powers include a heightened senses and agility.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Continuity, Comics Connections, and Notes</u></b><br />
<br />
This episode ends the unconnected trilogy of Kirby greatness. Jack Kirby the King of Comics, created OMAC towards the end of his tenure with DC Comics, the same period that gave us Kamandi, who appeared last episode, and the New Gods, who include Mr. Miracle, who was featured in last episode's teaser, and the Female Furies and Steppenwolf, who appeared two episodes ago.<br />
<br />
There have been numerous versions of the Hawk & Dove team throughout DC Comics history. The best known are the Hank and Don Hall versions, as they are the ones that have appeared not just in <i>Brave and the Bold</i> but <i>Justice League Unlimited</i>, and the Hank Hall and Dawn Granger versions, which has been the longest lasting version, with Hank teamed up with a female Dove after the death of his brother. There was a completely unrelated version that appeared very briefly. I'm going to avoid giving the background on what happened in the '90s and early 2000s to Hawk and Dove, because they both died and Hawk became a villain for a while, but Dawn briefly teamed with her theretofore unknown sister, Holly Granger, as Hawk before Holly died and Hank was resurrected in the <i>Blackest Night</i> event, and they have been Hawk and Dove again since.<br />
<br />
The Shrapnel character has two entries in this week's Who's Who section because the Brave and the Bold version is a conflation of two completely different comic book characters. It is not uncommon in media adaptations of comics for a new character gets an established super hero/villain identity, but this kind of conflation, while not unheard of, is rarer, and I like it here. Kafka isn't a physical threat for OMAC, and Shrapnel is a fairly generic thug in the comics, personality-wise, so merging them creates a fascinating new character.<br />
<br />
The Global Peace Agency were created for the <i>OMAC</i> series, which didn't appear to be part of the DC Universe, Grant Morrison, master of bringing in elements from all over the history of comics, brought them into the DCU in Final Crisis, cleverly tying them in with the Question, who is similarly faceless. They would appear in the trippy and criminally under-rated <i>Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape </i>and <i>Nemesis: The Imposter</i> mini-series before disappearing after <i>Flashpoint</i>.<br />
<br />
The name OMAC has a very different connotation in modern DC Comics. OMACs were mindless servants of Checkmate and Brother Eye, who had been injected with nano-bots to transform them into super strong metahuman hunters, in the mini-series <i>The OMAC Project </i>and <i>Infinite Crisis</i>. These events would spawn a mini-series featuring a self aware OMAC as part of the aftermath of those crossovers. One of the New 52 series was another new OMAC, more similar to Buddy Blank in that it was a sole protagonist, in this case a young man named Kevin Kho, although this title was short lived, being one of the first to be cancelled in DC's new universe.<br />
<br />
Although not named, the two races fighting at the beginning of this episode are the Warlords of Okaara and the Controllers. The Okaarans were known for training beings in the art of combat, including Starfire and her sister, Blackfire, while the Controllers were an offshoot of the Guardians of the Universe, who once created a competing galactic police force, the Darkstars.<br />
<br />
This episode is the second part of the Equinox trilogy. The first episode, where Equinox appeared just in the trailer, was <i><a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_15.html">Mystery in Space</a>! </i>In this episode he appears as the secondary villain, manipulating the main events of the episode. He will appear again, as the main antagonist, in the season finale, <i>The Fate of Equinox!</i>The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-61987168332666080992016-09-12T17:10:00.001-04:002016-09-12T19:00:31.418-04:00Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 9/7<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGS85Uf3KDMNClZOOADTjNvnqIjFPI43kGNCQXv2rsT_ya4eiw5ixvmdAnAbsKQ0ONHWK3AplkFpmJFFXMlAjwsrrc7y0GTalbxmAA3P4wNaqaU7rUzPfSiaMbH5SkCUo2C66sm99vTH0h/s1600/A_A_The_Adventures_of_Archer_Armstrong_007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGS85Uf3KDMNClZOOADTjNvnqIjFPI43kGNCQXv2rsT_ya4eiw5ixvmdAnAbsKQ0ONHWK3AplkFpmJFFXMlAjwsrrc7y0GTalbxmAA3P4wNaqaU7rUzPfSiaMbH5SkCUo2C66sm99vTH0h/s320/A_A_The_Adventures_of_Archer_Armstrong_007.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>A+A: The Adventures of Archer and Armstrong #7</b><br />
<b>Story: Rafer Roberts</b><br />
<b>Art: Mike Norton, David Lafuente, Brian Reber, & Allen Passalaqua</b><br />
<br />
I find that there are a lot more comics that are just plane fun now then there were back in the 90s when I started reading comics, and I'm glad for it. But there are few comics that are not only fun, but completely embraces the mad absurdity of comics than <i>A+A</i>, the current series that stars one of Valiant's classic odd couples, Archer and Armstrong. On a quest to find Armstrong's long forgotten wife (he got drunk and forgot he got married), the mismatched pair of Archer, the young man trained to be an assassin and can summon up any physical skill, and Armstrong, the drunken immortal, have instead stumbled across a Russian circus where everyone who performs bears and odd resemblance to Armstrong. That was last issue, but this issue, now that the scientists who created the circus are attacking, we get an entire issue of crazy escapades. Archer and Armstrong fight Soviet scientists, Archer and Armstrong meet the members of the freak show, the failed experiments, learn exactly what the nature of the circus people who resemble Armstrong are (and it is neither his illegitimate descendants or clones, as Archer theorized), perform in the circus in disguise, fight clowns, and meet the scientists behind the project, one of whom is a talking bear. It's a delightfully off kilter story, but while it is utterly bizarre, it is grounded in the reactions and the well established characters of the leads. Archer is curious an wants to get answers, and his recent time with his new girlfriend, Valiant's breakout heroine Faith, has him trying to solve problems by talking rather than punching, which doesn't sit well with the more bull in a china shop style of his partner. The issue is simply a delight to read. And if all that doesn't sound like enough story, well Archer's step-sister, Mary-Maria, is dealing with a coup within the order of assassin nuns she's the head of. And in a back-up, Davey the Mackerel, an anthropomorphic fish man who escaped the confines of Armstrong's bottomless bag (and shout out to all my fellow D&D players who look at it and think of Bags of Holding), is dealing with his time as the assistant and guide to a dark god who escaped the bag without his powers and who used to work making bags, satchels, and purses. The dynamic there is just killer; picture Doctor Doom, down to the ranting, if he made purses. I know that this review contained a little more plot than I usually put in a review, but the issue is so packed with stuff that I felt like calling that out; Valiant does a great job of making their comics dense with story, and <i>A+A</i> is one of the titles that really takes a bit of time to read in the best possible way.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXgl8qsM2dPNIptFx2nLMiHSKCqWx-qtjZvBPHs1ElBe21bGWUfpsnDVvh8O1uTUPixVLJQxnCY0ymIV6weQqq7jzdaezZI_A1tNKpBdPaQ6xrnxEJSpRM1zXWaq5Cy61OlgXRCEIvNAD/s1600/EVERAFTER-Cv1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXgl8qsM2dPNIptFx2nLMiHSKCqWx-qtjZvBPHs1ElBe21bGWUfpsnDVvh8O1uTUPixVLJQxnCY0ymIV6weQqq7jzdaezZI_A1tNKpBdPaQ6xrnxEJSpRM1zXWaq5Cy61OlgXRCEIvNAD/s320/EVERAFTER-Cv1.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #1</b><br />
<b>Story: Dave Justus & Matthew Sturges</b><br />
<b>Art: Travis Moore & Michael Wiggam</b><br />
<br />
Vertigo has a long history of spin-offs from its best known titles. Some, like <i>The Dreaming</i>, are mostly forgotten. Some, like <i>Lucifer</i>, have spawned spin-offs of their own.<i> Everafter</i> is the first spin-off from Fables since that series, a personal favorite, wrapped up at issue 150, and is a good start to this series. At the end of <i>Fables</i>, magic came to the Mundane world, meaning Earth as we know it, and now things there are all sorts of screwy, and the Fables are trying to help keep things straight. Two plotlines run through this first issue, introducing, or reintroducing in some cases, the characters I assume will be the principal cast. One plot features Connor Wolf, one of the cubs of Bigby Wolf and Snow White, two of the principles of the original series, being recruited into the covert ops organization of Fables that polices magic in the now not-so-Mundy world. Connor was one of the least developed of the cubs in the original series, so there's a lot of wiggle room the creators have to work with on his personality. He's a great entry character, because he's dashing but headstrong, and looking to find his place in the world. You get an idea of what this operation is, who the key players are, and what they're doing through Conner's eyes. The second, more action oriented plot, features three of the agents on a mission in St. Louis. Bo Peep and Peter Piper, former thieves and assassins who starred in the<i> Fables</i> novel <i>Peter and Max</i>, and Hansel, the former Adversary's chief Witchfinder, are hunting down something that is causing a terrifying outbreak of monsters. The art from Travis Moore is spectacular, showing all sorts of great creatures, and the character action is exciting and clear. It's not unexpected that Hansel, someone who hunts and kills witches for a living, is not exactly the most pleasant of characters, and doesn't get along with the husband and wife team of Bo Peep and Peter, but as they near the goal, Hansel's motives are more clear and not unexpected. Dave Justus and Matthew Sturges have a history with <i>Fables</i>, having co-written the adaptation of the video game <i>Fables: The Wolf Among Us</i>, and Sturges co-wrote the original <i>Fables</i> spin-off, <i>Jack of Fables</i>, and they show a deft hand with both the characters we already know and the new ones. It's really exciting and interesting first issue, and even if you don't have any knowledge of <i>Fables</i>, you should be able to pick it up.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPU3rCNW0xWfn6justVg9HnxETduadVLkVJut2nOB5ZO2m1zz9Zl06QSPOtrc_ix0c-WkEFov7cUtDnnFkTEVdBhFoSXzhLmK0R5DCvXM01PqeRUKXvLGtSgOYvXgsSYTwazbANSIySFk/s1600/kill+or+be+killed+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPU3rCNW0xWfn6justVg9HnxETduadVLkVJut2nOB5ZO2m1zz9Zl06QSPOtrc_ix0c-WkEFov7cUtDnnFkTEVdBhFoSXzhLmK0R5DCvXM01PqeRUKXvLGtSgOYvXgsSYTwazbANSIySFk/s1600/kill+or+be+killed+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Kill or be Killed #2</b><br />
<b>Story: Ed Brubaker</b><br />
<b>Art: Sean Phillips and Elizabeth Breitweiser</b><br />
<br />
I was on vacation when the first issue of <i>Kill or be Killed </i>was released, and so I didn't write it up, which I regret, because it was one of the best debuts in recent memory, but I will try to make up for that with a glowing recommendation of issue two. This isn't surprising, since the team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have been pretty much flawless in everything they have ever done together. <i>Kill or be Killed</i> exists in a the gritty world of a Brubaker and Phillips comic, a place that exists almost entirely in shades of moral grey to black, and explores the idea of vigilantism and how it effects people in a real world setting. This issue follows our lead, Dylan, on his first kill. If you didn't read the first issue and don't know the set up, Dylan survived what should have been a lethal fall only to be visited by a demon that says he is living on borrowed time and must commit an evil soul to Hell each month to keep on living. While I think we're supposed to take on faith that the demon is real, there's enough ambiguity to leave us questioning whether this is real or not, especially as the demon doesn't appear in this second issue; it's just Dylan systematically looking for a gun and a person who deserves to die. The issue is narrated by Dylan and is the usual tremendous character work that Brubaker does; it's hard not to sympathize with Dylan as you see that he doesn't want to die himself, and after all, he's only killing bad people. And Brubaker gives us the worst of the worst here, as Dylan tracks down the elder brother of a childhood friend of his that Dylan only realized too late was molesting his friend, who eventually died from drugs and depression. This is a person (and I use that term loosely) that no one would have sympathy for, and you feel yourself cheering for Dylan when he puts him down. But should you really? Is it right? These are the questions I think Brubaker wants us to contemplate. I'm just scratching the surface of the issue, a comic that explores Dylan's childhood and his father's life, and continues to lay out his present. Sean Phllips is at the top of his game, not just in the sequences in the past and present, but in a beautiful slash that shows the art that Dylan's father made for *ahem* gentlemen's pulp magazines. It's the kind of piece, painted by Phillips himself, that might be a little too good for those trashy porno mags, a really beautiful piece of art, which is just right for the art of a man who felt his dreams being crushed by doing art for a place that is beneath him. You don't buy a comic by Brubaker and Phillips for a happy trip; you read it to be entertained, certainly, but it will also make you think, be challenged, and to watch the idea of genres be broken, as nothing is off limits. Kill or be Killed is another gem in Image Comics crown, and in the constantly evolving and breathtaking work of these two amazing creators.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>And after that more bleak review, something lighter and more fun from Dan Grote...</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjEWTnjxcY5NDsdodgwnvrYyVTnvJdoX_m6EKDdP4Qj-GaF_-demaESy0pjh2iibsEg24btvPDMSykQELtcRe78pDY-HHo3Rb7dCv6aGHabCweNF9oYD9WvIY_bJM8xVG7shgSHGZxHPM/s1600/Jughead9Mokvar-666x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjEWTnjxcY5NDsdodgwnvrYyVTnvJdoX_m6EKDdP4Qj-GaF_-demaESy0pjh2iibsEg24btvPDMSykQELtcRe78pDY-HHo3Rb7dCv6aGHabCweNF9oYD9WvIY_bJM8xVG7shgSHGZxHPM/s320/Jughead9Mokvar-666x1024.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Jughead #9<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Story by Ryan Q. North<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Art by Derek Charm</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s be clear: Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson’s run on
Jughead was a ton of fun and used some of the sillier aspects of Archie history
(Jughead’s Time Police, anyone?) to its advantage. They will be missed on this
book.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But Forsythe Pendleton Jones III has been passed on to the
best possible hands.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Writer Ryan Q. North (Henderson’s partner on Marvel’s
<i>Unbeatable Squirrel Girl</i>) and artist Derek Charm roll fast and heavy with the
comedy in Jughead’s solo series, right from the opening splash page featuring a
sculpture of our hero composed of burgers, hot dogs and pizza, which he made to
win an art contest. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Zdarsky’s Jughead was canonically asexual, but North has him
questioning that identity after a girl takes the form of his favorite thing: a
burger. Pop’s Diner has employed a mascot who stands outside and hands out
coupons and menu advice to passing prospective customers, her costume changing
based on the day’s special (that’s a hefty budget to be pouring into wardrobe,
Pop Tate).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jughead discovers he has feelings for this walking, talking
all-beef Patty, and so he turns to his friends for advice on love, all of which
is naturally terrible (Reggie: “Love is possession. It’s seeing something
really cool that someone else has, and knowing if you had it, you’d be just as
great as they are, and then they’d be worse, because they wouldn’t have it
anymore.”).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Except for Betty’s. Betty’s advice about how to approach a
woman is mandatory reading for every teen and adult male alive and takes into
account things like consent and how to properly compliment someone while
acknowledging that romance is complicated. Be like Betty. Don’t be like Reggie.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If we lived in an age where covers and solicitation text
didn’t instantly spoil endings, it’d be spoiling things to say Jughead’s burger
babe turns out to be none other than Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but c’est la
vie. It will be fun to watch them interact more next issue.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And kudos to North for giving us even more comedy between
the panels. Additional narration boxes accompany the bottom of half the pages
in the book, rightly pointing out that Zdarsky was ripping off the reader by
not providing the same, touting the importance of self-care and poking fun at
Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours theory.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
A new creative team on a book can often be a cause for
concern, but at least for me, “Jughead” retains its Most Favored Comic status.<o:p></o:p></div>
The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-89092305910871131752016-09-09T13:01:00.000-04:002017-06-12T15:37:12.854-04:00A History of Batman Vs. Deathstroke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2Fjf1wmBfdU05diScFNquRtzXAXQDAZC9VEedjIxqi1ekgQbPLB1lcgnqrpDKTGAP5pfNeDi2IEHz3SrPUZZv6eHdlHFXyueJ1UN_BH8KCO_j6aPeKUFqhVYtHEvePrsTxySRQfZEQ3d/s1600/New_Teen_Titans_Vol_2_72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2Fjf1wmBfdU05diScFNquRtzXAXQDAZC9VEedjIxqi1ekgQbPLB1lcgnqrpDKTGAP5pfNeDi2IEHz3SrPUZZv6eHdlHFXyueJ1UN_BH8KCO_j6aPeKUFqhVYtHEvePrsTxySRQfZEQ3d/s320/New_Teen_Titans_Vol_2_72.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
<br />
So, Deathstroke the Terminator is going to be the villain in the upcoming solo Batman movie. I am of mixed feelings about this, as I find Deathstroke to often be written in odd and confounding ways, ways that put him way stronger than his weight class. But the more I considered it, the more I realized I have the same problem with Deathstroke that a lot of readers have with Batman, and so with a shrug of my shoulders I decided that it was a pretty cool idea, and decided that I wanted to write about Deathstroke.<br />
<br />
But how to do that? There have already been plenty of articles on sites with way bigger readership than mine about who Deathstroke is. So I decided to come at it from the angle I'm best qualified for: the specific relationship between Batman and Deathstroke, and their confrontations, as well as a little about my history with Deathstroke. So what you're going to find is a little personal history, followed by a brief bio, and then a spotlight on the comic book and associated media battle between Batman and Deathstroke.<br />
<br />
So I first encountered Deathstroke as a reader in <i>New Titans #72</i> (well, a cameo at the end of #71 technically, but that was one panel), the issue at the top of this post, which was the second part of the famous (or infamous depending on who you ask) "Titans Hunt" story, the one that drastically altered the Titans line-up and began Deathstroke's trip from villain to anti-hero. It was the '90s, after all, and the only thing the big publishers liked more than a hero was an anti-hero. So I got to know Deathstroke as this tortured sort of good guy who still killed. And that was his status quo for a quite a while at DC. He had an ongoing, he guest starred in the various Titans titles a lot, and he never did much for me.<br />
<br />
I actually started liking Deathstroke more when he returned to flat out villainy in the first volume of <i>Titans </i>and the Geoff Johns written <i>Teen Titans </i>series. By that point, I had read "The Judas Contract," which remains the definitive Deathstroke story, and other earlier appearances, and there, while he had a code of honor, he was still a hardcore villain. And he's sort of waffled from that over time, sometimes returning to being an almost anti-hero, but usually now being portrayed as a homicidal maniac for the highest bidder. When you factor in the infamous <i>Identity Crisis #3</i>, where he takes out the entire Justice League single handedly by counting on such plot improbabilities as Kyle Rayner, the Green Lantern who is not a scrapper, deciding to come at him by punching him instead of, oh I don't know, trapping him in a bubble, and you get a character who is sort of all over the place, often portrayed as a deus ex machina sort of character.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBZ3-3yg2YsPRjKO6znEGJRbygVnCULaeJ-9hfKoia93bmcYnHM6XO0MAl_1bvu3GFlB7l-TstkXGbwPUWvrI8OfIvebF7O4goDH4HeUej9hf_6-WWhnng69VokOzxHDBZFpe2reOzyJf/s1600/Deathstroke+first+app.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBZ3-3yg2YsPRjKO6znEGJRbygVnCULaeJ-9hfKoia93bmcYnHM6XO0MAl_1bvu3GFlB7l-TstkXGbwPUWvrI8OfIvebF7O4goDH4HeUej9hf_6-WWhnng69VokOzxHDBZFpe2reOzyJf/s1600/Deathstroke+first+app.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Deathstroke made his first appearance in <i>New Teen Titans #2</i>, created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, where he accepted a contract on the Titans after the Ravager, his son Grant, died in battle with the Titans. Over time it was revealed that Deathstroke was Slade Wilson, a former soldier who had agreed to go through an experimental process that did not work as planned: it was supposed to make him more resistant to chemical interrogation, but instead granted him access to the 90% of his brain a normal human doesn't, which increased his tactical skills and reflexes, as well as enhanced strength, speed, and durability. When he left the army, he became a mercenary and assassin for hire. When fellow assassins kidnapped one of his sons, Deathstroke was not fast enough to save the boy from having his throat slit. While the child, Joe Wilson, survived, this drove a wedge between Deathstroke and his wife, Adeline, that was furthered when, enraged, Adeline tried to kill him, but Slade used his enhanced reflexes to dodge the bullet, just losing his eye and earning his trademark eyepatch; the two split up.<br />
<br />
Deathstroke's earliest appearances were all in relation to the Titans, trying to complete the contract that his elder son, Ravager, had accepted from the HIVE to take them down. Eventually, Deathstroke employed Terra, a young metahuman, to go undercover and get him all the secrets of the Titans; which she did, giving him the information he needed to defeat the team. Fortunately, Robin had recently left the team, and returned, with the new identity of Nightwing, with help from Deathstroke's younger son, Joe, who was the mute hero Jericho, to save the Titans and capture Deathstroke. Deathstroke was found not guilty, and returned to his mercenary ways, but had a newfound respect for the Titans.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTlcu7mLVk-m0L6u1evSC2oJc-AhArgKajKfJar0pcpk-FRznZZgK58BuGhCmgSSPczfwdHhKyjsyM6UXvIEpsk0zmE9Fra0odZreq4sHClaT_MlkBRqt0WyW5aaofp1gvHUHdz8poNNqs/s1600/judas+contract.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTlcu7mLVk-m0L6u1evSC2oJc-AhArgKajKfJar0pcpk-FRznZZgK58BuGhCmgSSPczfwdHhKyjsyM6UXvIEpsk0zmE9Fra0odZreq4sHClaT_MlkBRqt0WyW5aaofp1gvHUHdz8poNNqs/s1600/judas+contract.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
As I said above, this led to a period of cooperation between the Titans and Deathstroke, a period that included Deathstroke having to kill Jericho, who had been possessed by the Trigon corrupted spirits of the people of Azarath (ah, there's a statement you could only make in comics). As the '90s waned, so did Deathstroke's popularity, and with the loss of his ongoing series, he returned to his status first as a Titans supporting cast member, and then adversary.<br />
<br />
Since the return of Jericho, who as it turned out wasn't dead but had used his power to possess people to enter Deathstroke's body and had lain in wait, dormant, until he was strong enough to exert control, Deathstroke has been more of a full-on villain than he ever was before. He has worked with Alexander Luthor's Secret Society, bombed Bludhaven with a nuclear Chemo, and tried to kill the Titans on numerous occasions. The Deathstroke of the New 52 has no real ties to the Titans anymore, and is just the world's greatest assassin.<br />
<br />
That was a really elementary rundown of who Deathstroke is, and there's a whole lot more to it, especially when you start to bring in more about Jericho, Grant, and Slade's daughter, Rose, who is the on-again-off-again Titan who took the name Ravager. All of these children have also appeared in the new DC continuity, although none with a real Titans connection (Rose worked for Harvest, the evil being who hunted teen heroes, but that's about it). Also, in recent years, Deathstroke became a regular nemesis of Green Arrow, something made even more a part of the character as he has been a recurring threat on <i>Arrow</i>.<br />
<br />
So, with all that laid out, what exactly does Deathstroke have to do with Batman? For a pair of characters with such similar backgrounds (highly trained fighters with massive extended families that are Shakespearean in their trauma), they have actually met face-to-face relatively few times. Mostly, Deathstroke is thought of as one of the main nemeses of Nightwing, as the two have a long history. Deathstroke also had more than his share of run-ins with Tim Drake in his days as Robin with the Titans, and Deathstroke manipulated Cassandra Cain, then Batgirl, with a drug to make her one of his puppets in his vendetta against the Titans. So, what are the notable battles between Batman and Deathstroke, and who came out ahead in each?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMkp27GYYsOIzkHAPpEzoHvmYeJmX1Do-eKSJC8pQ2IlIPjOa1e7hD0BPkOXa1HM-qbeLtkINPg9eNSwwKRwpxhyukGbQQzHd5yW_4i87BwIKAvInjRnHUx5tssWSQMxMAVbbOFQ-KZ5F/s1600/399px-Deathstroke_the_Terminator_Vol_1_8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMkp27GYYsOIzkHAPpEzoHvmYeJmX1Do-eKSJC8pQ2IlIPjOa1e7hD0BPkOXa1HM-qbeLtkINPg9eNSwwKRwpxhyukGbQQzHd5yW_4i87BwIKAvInjRnHUx5tssWSQMxMAVbbOFQ-KZ5F/s320/399px-Deathstroke_the_Terminator_Vol_1_8.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>City of Assassins (Deathstroke the Termination V.1 #6-9)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
The first on page meeting of the two characters, this storyline sees the two initially fighting, and then teaming up, to save the life of a mob hitman who has escaped witness protection. It is an exciting four part story, Marv Wolfman at his best on <i>Deathstroke</i>. It does feature a scene of Deathstroke pretty savagely beating Batman down, which establishes which side of the debate on who would win in a fight Deathstroke's co-creator falls on.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO3yBM8Q6GuyG9FZQhZr1Hsy6_9yfui248NK7tiEpnbSoYc62XU_V7dpoDGeuvHjmqVMu5qY7dp6D4eKnEtRqtLhphUBdjv2aflMobF7Yj24jKE7a00E9uK4aUwZHHymx-eQnTsRMmW_Ed/s1600/Detective_Comics_708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO3yBM8Q6GuyG9FZQhZr1Hsy6_9yfui248NK7tiEpnbSoYc62XU_V7dpoDGeuvHjmqVMu5qY7dp6D4eKnEtRqtLhphUBdjv2aflMobF7Yj24jKE7a00E9uK4aUwZHHymx-eQnTsRMmW_Ed/s320/Detective_Comics_708.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>The Death Lottery (Detective Comics #708-710)</b><br />
<br />
When a dying man decides his last wish is to see the wealthy of Gotham die as well, a contract is put out on the wealthiest men in Gotham, bringing assassins to the city for around the world, including low level Batman rogue Gunhawk. Deathstoke, who had previous encounters with Gunhawk, has also come to Gotham to get revenge against the assassin. Batman and Deathstroke fight twice in this arc, the first time with a clear win by Dethastroke, and once with Batman victorious, although he did attack by surprise. This story is from Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan's nearly 100 issue run on <i>Detective</i>, a vastly under-rated run of solid stories, and features a notable instance of Batman using firearms.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrVQcJHfwKNcsZ3enEqvReQox1e_OOCjOrDtxGFOZKXVUllEBx9RJ-6hSUYaKBjMdECG06XBPRo_gZ6FVJAKlClOTLTFhVfdsLPwZRqNIdYWzdfclEKnsM6KbTMNb7nYLqQZRX6bakauH/s1600/2263281-batfamvslade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrVQcJHfwKNcsZ3enEqvReQox1e_OOCjOrDtxGFOZKXVUllEBx9RJ-6hSUYaKBjMdECG06XBPRo_gZ6FVJAKlClOTLTFhVfdsLPwZRqNIdYWzdfclEKnsM6KbTMNb7nYLqQZRX6bakauH/s320/2263281-batfamvslade.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Infinite Crisis (Infinite Crisis TPB)</b><br />
<br />
When DC released it's crossover event <i>Infinite Crisis</i> in collection, it made certain strategic art and dialogue changes, as well as adding a few pages of new content. One of those pages was a confrontation between Batman, Robin, Nightwing and Deathstroke. This time, it's Batman who pretty clearly wins, although this is Deathstroke at one of his lowest points, driven pretty crazy by the loss of his family, so you have to take mental stress into account.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjN-tABlyt3cyYYxweEE5kQx5aV9-VWQX4VSxpPZQQIz62ibF4SPKPYc4axj6q8K7iRZnNqF4c-C0kDX_R7793gS3_o0ltjpx5Y8qtIw6pwQ2wT3BNWJnqHB2Q75cYdJMtLrSvIYZN92W/s1600/Superman_Batman_Annual_Vol_1_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjN-tABlyt3cyYYxweEE5kQx5aV9-VWQX4VSxpPZQQIz62ibF4SPKPYc4axj6q8K7iRZnNqF4c-C0kDX_R7793gS3_o0ltjpx5Y8qtIw6pwQ2wT3BNWJnqHB2Q75cYdJMtLrSvIYZN92W/s320/Superman_Batman_Annual_Vol_1_1.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Stop Me If You've Heard This One... (Superman Batman Annual #1)</b><br />
<br />
So, Batman doesn't really fight Deathstroke in this issue, but they both appear, as Slade has been hire to kill Bruce Wayne. Needless to say it is not successful. This is a tremendous comic, one that I am always surprised that more people don't know. Written by Joe Kelly, with principle pencils by Ed McGuinness (with various others throughout), it retells a Golden Age story of how Batman and Superman learned each other's identities, while also tossing in counterparts from the morality reversed Earth-3. And not just Owlman and Ultraman, but an unnamed Deathstroke doppelganger, who is obviously Deadpool. And it's written by Joe Kelly, master of the Deadpool quip. Oh, and no matter what some people might want to believe, Slade Wilson/Wade Wilson? Come on, there's clearly a connection.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQbt6atz3-2eiux1B94EkiEpcgyOiaISRcyQgFU1UDqOhpYkDTqxyP2jd73O7FSqaQbLuCCo-syJr8WN375vhE1h9p4TPaIVT-ilcFwBagDUX_FTbTZsfFy9QG8TQ2uqcJoCM33yiq2yiY/s1600/deathstroke5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQbt6atz3-2eiux1B94EkiEpcgyOiaISRcyQgFU1UDqOhpYkDTqxyP2jd73O7FSqaQbLuCCo-syJr8WN375vhE1h9p4TPaIVT-ilcFwBagDUX_FTbTZsfFy9QG8TQ2uqcJoCM33yiq2yiY/s1600/deathstroke5.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Battle Royale (Deathstroke Vol.2 #5)</b><br />
<br />
Deathstroke comes to Gotham. Batman fights Deathstroke. They both get in some good punches. Deathstroke escapes. That's pretty much it. It's some of Tony Daniel's most action packed art, really well drawn, but is pretty much an issue long fight sequence.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanGB-6dvvvKerURVd5XzdvJ_RCUIgf8cw43WUrUsmfbHXAQu5wPg85zxjR9IGlldef-d7rWFcC0SHzU5NjIYBR9ItiNoBwP-1hskkQwpjFmfyiaabFn_wmVqBMiMbUU0MqQ7BT6Rdefuq/s1600/Batman%2526Son.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanGB-6dvvvKerURVd5XzdvJ_RCUIgf8cw43WUrUsmfbHXAQu5wPg85zxjR9IGlldef-d7rWFcC0SHzU5NjIYBR9ItiNoBwP-1hskkQwpjFmfyiaabFn_wmVqBMiMbUU0MqQ7BT6Rdefuq/s320/Batman%2526Son.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Son of Batman</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Again, not really much Deathstroke Vs. Batman in here, mostly Damian vs. Deathstroke. This was the first Batman movie in the new DC Direct-to-DVD universe, and introduced Damian in a story VERY loosely based on Grant Morrison's "Batman and Son." And by based on, I mean it introduces Damian and has a similar name. In the story, Slade kills Ra's al Ghul to take over the League of Assassins, and when Damian comes to get revenge on Slade for the death of his grandfather, we get a sort of war of philosophies between Slade's merciless assassin thinking and Batman's value of life. Damian spares Slade,so you can chalk this up a a win for Batman.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX70bZMaHhaXxPXL7lzNN_XIs3UuKRiC6JAVg9RBPJWESrkosY13IKgnuUp2C6hSOxgOxF3AUpARqlwQSBPsKmu-Iv8TRiX_CjTZ-5p8twdVaqvBVN8XbLwQTw-JEJYMrKs6tq0Isc0Uix/s1600/arkham+origins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX70bZMaHhaXxPXL7lzNN_XIs3UuKRiC6JAVg9RBPJWESrkosY13IKgnuUp2C6hSOxgOxF3AUpARqlwQSBPsKmu-Iv8TRiX_CjTZ-5p8twdVaqvBVN8XbLwQTw-JEJYMrKs6tq0Isc0Uix/s1600/arkham+origins.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<b>Batman: Arkham Origins</b><br />
<br />
On Christmas Eve, Black Mask has hired some of the world's best assassins to kill Batman. And when you're hiring the world's best assassins, you have to get Deathstroke in there. But since the game has Batman in the name, and you're playing as Batman, take a guess who wins this fight? Although I will say Deathstroke puts up one of the best fights of any of the big bads in the game. From what I gather, Deathstroke also appears in the final game in the Arkham series, Arkham Knight, but I don't have a PS4 yet so I don't know how that one turns out, but the game isn't called <i>Deathstroke: Arkham Knight</i>, so I've got to give the edge to Bats there again.<br />
<br />
<br />
So, what has past experience taught us about who will win in the movie fight between Batman and Deathstroke? Well, it's going to be a big fight, that's for sure, but I have to give the edge to Batman, since it's his movie. Still. it's rare to see Batman fight a character on the big screen who is his physical equal, so I'm excited to see the fight choreography on it, and I like Joe Manganiello, announced yesterday to be playing Deathstroke (and returning to comic book movie acting, as he played Flash Thompson in <i>Spider-Man</i>), so I remain cautiously optimistic on this one.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-22875940872607401442016-09-07T17:48:00.001-04:002016-09-07T17:48:40.615-04:00The Great Batman: Brave and the Bold Rewatch: Last Bat on Earth!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpjXRCDgVmoVyr_NAz4e-3uFLEFIODO_uGqd8gSjjWGdokzO9ypEs7HeeKULrbxTkC6yShgcEhGAzGWyFV4tSzUrEIYE5K2Jx7NmWQ0D3usqL3qfvP4ZmYPvpN4zAV1YE_4P6AYC55vdo/s1600/The_Last_Bat_On_Earth%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpjXRCDgVmoVyr_NAz4e-3uFLEFIODO_uGqd8gSjjWGdokzO9ypEs7HeeKULrbxTkC6yShgcEhGAzGWyFV4tSzUrEIYE5K2Jx7NmWQ0D3usqL3qfvP4ZmYPvpN4zAV1YE_4P6AYC55vdo/s320/The_Last_Bat_On_Earth%2521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Season One, Episode Twenty-Two: Last Bat on Earth!</b><br />
<b>Written by Steven Melching</b><br />
<b>Directed by Ben Jones</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b><u>Plot Synopsis</u></b><br />
<b><br />Teaser: </b>Batman and Mr. Miracle are chained to a roller coaster car passing through a booby trap littered roller coaster. They progressively escape from such death traps as blades, hammers, and fire, all while undoing the chains that hold them. At the last minute, before they are about to crash into a spiked wall, they break free and land on stage; this has been a charity stunt to raise money for orphans, and Miracle's wife, Big Barda, and manager, Oberon, are waiting.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Episode: </b>In a post-apocalyptic future, a tribe of tiger men in armor march to meet a similar army of gorillas. Watching from a distance is Kamandi, the last boy on Earth, and his friend and mentor, the dog-man Dr. Canus. They are waiting for the battle to begin so they can liberate the humans who both sides keep as slaves. The battle is joined, and the tiger king, Great Caesar, urges his son, Tuftan, friend of Kamandi, into battle. The battle is brutal, and when Tuftan is lassoed, Kamandi jumps into battle to save his friend, and the two ride off on horseback together.<br />
<br />
The tigers win the day, driving off the gorillas, but Caesar is disappointed that his son has abandoned him. Meanwhile, at the gorilla camp, the gorilla general is berating his soldiers, when a cloaked figure appears and says the loss is the general's fault. The figure removes his cowl and reveals his identity: Gorilla Grodd.<br />
<br />
Back in the present, Batman finds himself in the lab of Professor Nichols, a scientist working on time travel. Batman finds Nichols tied up and gagged, and when Batman removes the gag, Nichols tells him that Grodd coerced Nichols into sending him to the future. Batman asks Nichols to send him after Grodd, and after receiving a beacon that will allow him to return, Batman goes after Grodd.<br />
<br />
Back in the future, Grodd challenges the general to a battle to determine the leader of the gorillas and bests him, taking over the gorilla army. In the tiger encampment, we see tiger warriors gathering more human slaves as Kamandi and Tuftan attack. While they distract the guards, Canus tries to free the humans, but is captured in a net as is Kamandi, but before a tiger guard can smash Kamandi with a club, a batarang disarms him and Batman appears to aid Kamandi and his friends. Batman and Kamandi begin to defeat the tigers, but are forced to surrender when the guards threaten to kill the humans, Tuftan, and Canus unless they do.<br />
<br />
In the city of the tigers, Batman, Kamandi, Canus, and Tuftan are imprisoned. Great Caesar comes down to tell them that Tuftan will be left imprisoned and the others will be executed. Batman tries to warn Caesar of the coming on Grodd, but Caesar scoffs until he hears the war chant of the gorillas: Grodd has arrived outside the citadel with his army. Grodd has come to the future with technology, including a power gauntlet for himself and other weapons, and after Caesar insults Grodd by calling him a monkey. Grodd has his soldiers fire a sonic cannon, which has an even stronger effect on the sensitive hearing of the cats. Grodd then has a huge ape named Tiny smash the tigers' gates and the gorillas attack.<br />
<br />
In the jail, Batman uses acid to melt through the bars and escape with Kamandi and friends. Tuftan uses his knowledge of the city to lead them through the streets, but Grodd smells Batman and sends his soldiers after him, but Batman and company slip into the sewers and escape. Batman takes Kamandi and Canus to prepare his plan to stop Grodd, while he sends Tuftan on another mission.<br />
<br />
Batman takes Kamandi and Canus to the Batcave, which has fallen into disrepair over the centuries, and is now populated by man-bats, who attack Batman for mocking them with his costume. Batman and Kamandi fight the man-bats, and when they defeat the leader, the man-bats leave. Batmanreveaks his plan, and begins preparing technology of his own to stand against Grodd's.<br />
<br />
Grodd and his army march out of the city, only ot be met by an army of tigers, snakes, rats and other animals, led by Tuftan. Tuftan again goads Grodd by calling him a chimp, and Grodd unleashes the sonic cannon, but as Grodd orders the charge, Batman appears with the Batplane, which fires missles that destroy the sonic cannons, helping to level the playing field. <br />
<br />
As the armies meet, Batman, Kamandi, and Canus escape the Batplane with an ejector seat, and the plane crashes into the mountain, raining rubble down on the gorillas. As they drift to the ground, the man-bats return, swearing allegiance to Batman, and joining the battle against the gorillas, stealing their clubs from them. The armies are warring when Grodd sends Tiny into combat. Kamandi takes some rope from Batman and goes to deal with Tiny while Batman goes to deal with Grodd.<br />
<br />
Kamandi and Tuftan are able to die Tiny's feet together, and when he falls the assembled armies easily defeat him. Grodd is caught in the flight of his gorilla army, as they flee after their strongest member and their weapons are destroyed, leaving him for Batman to retrieve. With the battle over, Great Caesar thanks Batman and Kamandi, finding that humans are more than he thought, and after congratulating his son as well, he frees the human slaves. Kamandi says goodbye to Batman, who returns to his own time with Grodd, leaving Kamandi excited at the idea of maybe visiting Batman in his time someday.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Who's Who</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmrAACRx0eF6vuTvLGbLPLNpIz-x8WMPsiocVXTj2taR9XgrhlAgx-Gmu5gsIL45MzOMNio7f7dX7m1YM6OD0hauyT5jV4JsT5bokqMMjm3E3NhuooDJ1RjPCW9YRINwWi2CX20sbptpK0/s1600/NA_090617_LastBat-FF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmrAACRx0eF6vuTvLGbLPLNpIz-x8WMPsiocVXTj2taR9XgrhlAgx-Gmu5gsIL45MzOMNio7f7dX7m1YM6OD0hauyT5jV4JsT5bokqMMjm3E3NhuooDJ1RjPCW9YRINwWi2CX20sbptpK0/s320/NA_090617_LastBat-FF.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<div>
<b>Kamandi (Voiced by Mikey Kelley)</b></div>
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth </i>(October, 1972)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b><a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_27.html">Season One, Episode Seven- <i>Dawn of the Deadman!</i></a></b><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<b>Gorilla Grodd (Voice by John DiMaggio)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>The Flash #106 </i>(May, 1959)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_23.html">Season One, Episode Two- <i>Terror on Dinosaur Island!</i></a></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Mr. Miracle </b><b>(Voiced by Yuri Lowenthal)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> Mister Miracle #1 </i>(April, 1971)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <i>Season One, Episode Twenty-Two- Last Bat on Earth!</i></b><br />
<br />
One of the New Gods of New Genesis, Scott Free is the son of the leader of that world, Highfather. But as a part of the pact that brought about the cease fire between New Genesis and its opposite number, evil Apokolips, Scott was given over to Darkseid to raise as a hostage, while Darkseid's son was given to Highfather, Not surprisingly, Darkseid was not a loving father, and dumped Scott into one of his orphanages, to be raised at the not so tender mercies of Granny Goodness. But Scott never gave in, and eventually did what no one ever had: he escaped. He came to Earth, where he would take up the name of Mr. Miracle and be both a superhero and the world's greatest escape artist. He would be a member of the Justice League. He would make friends and marry Big Barda, another escapee from Apokolips. But above all else, he would be free. Mr. Miracle has many of the standard powers of a New God, including immortality and enhanced durability, but its his mind that is truly impressive. A master inventor, he builds his own traps to escape. He is the world's greatest escape artist, and emplyes otherworldly tech including the sentient computer Mother Box.<br />
<br />
<b>Big Barda </b><b>(Voiced by Diane Delano)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> </i></b><b><i>Mister Miracle #4 </i>(October, 1971)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <i>Season One, Episode Twenty-Two- Last Bat on Earth!</i></b><br />
<br />
Big Barda was raised by Granny Goodness to be the leader of her Female Furies, the elite female warriors trained to, "Die for Darkseid." But a meeting with a young Scott Free changed all that, and after helping him and other rebels against the despotic ruler of Apokolips, Barda fled Apokolips for Earth. There she found Scott, and the two were married. Barda would travel with her husband, and would join the Justice League, both at his side and on her own. Barda is a powerful presence with a personality equal to her huge stature, but is at heart someone who loves life as much as she loves Scott. Barda is physically powerful, even by the standards of the New Gods, exceedingly strong and nearly indestructible.<br />
<br />
<b>Oberon </b><b>(Voiced by Dee Bradley Baker)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> </i></b><b><i>Mister Miracle #1 </i>(April, 1971)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <i>Season One, Episode Twenty-Two- Last Bat on Earth!</i></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<br />
Oberon was the manager and assistant to the original Mr. Miracle, the human escape artist Thaddeus Brown, and when Scott Free came to Earth and inherited the mantle, Oberon stayed with him in those capacities, but also as friend and mentor here on Earth. Oberon is most often seen with Scott, although he did spend some time with Maxwell Lord as his assistant when Lord was leading the Justice League, but returned to working with Scott when that incarnation of the League folded. Oberon is a normal human, although he has an excellent knowledge of business and escapology.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Continuity, Comics Connections, and Notes</u></b><br />
<br />
The creations of Jack Kirby, the King of Comics, feature heavily in this episode. Both Mr. Miracle and his supporting cast, and the world of Kamandi are Kirby creations. Last episode also featured Kirby creations, in that case Steppenwolf and members of the Female Furies. And next episode also guest stars Kirby creations, but we'll get to that next week,<br />
<br />
Professor Nichols, the scientist who sends Batman and Grodd into the future, was a Silver Age character, who would appear in those stories to use "time travel hypnosis" to send Batman and Robin through time. Grant Morrison would revisit the character, as he did with many Silver Age concepts, during his extended run on the Batman titles.<br />
<br />
Tiny has some King Kong-inspired moments in this episode, and it would be easy to assume a giant ape is just a generic concept. But Tiny is a character right out of the Kamandi comics, specifically issue seven of Kamandi's original series. There he could talk, though, so that version has some advantages.<br />
<br />
Yuri Lowenthal makes his <i>Brave and the Bold </i>debut in this episode, voicing Mr. Miracle, but as another voice actor with a long list of credits, this is far from his only DC animated credit. He voiced Lagoon Boy and Icicle Jr. in <i>Young Justice</i>, and has voiced Red Robin in the direct to video <i>Batman Unlimited</i> features.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-2168426402673938552016-09-05T18:19:00.004-04:002016-09-05T18:19:48.177-04:00Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 8/31<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTleuJx6rlfldKunxdj9U5jBq83a0c4iXMTib7-a-72odgrHWBo9v6ksXxX1fD1gpW8UQEYuIXQ87vUEmslrfSEPylzVb7D-QlDzcVTAYTH2FKv_otli2-og07-3rsZx8o6M6Gny1bB1n/s1600/Deadpool_v_Gambit_Vol_1_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTleuJx6rlfldKunxdj9U5jBq83a0c4iXMTib7-a-72odgrHWBo9v6ksXxX1fD1gpW8UQEYuIXQ87vUEmslrfSEPylzVb7D-QlDzcVTAYTH2FKv_otli2-og07-3rsZx8o6M6Gny1bB1n/s320/Deadpool_v_Gambit_Vol_1_4.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Deadpool V Gambit #4</b><br />
<b>Story: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker</b><br />
<b>Art: Danilo Beyruth & Cris Peter</b><br />
<br />
There have been a lot of groups of mutant villain henchmen over the years (if you want to learn more about them, check out Dan Grote's posts <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2014/06/better-know-henchman-mutant-henchmen.html">here</a> and <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2014/06/better-know-henchman-part-2-will-hench.html">here</a>). And when there are that many members of a team whose main purpose is to hench for some big bad, there's a good chance that those characters are one note characters. So it's interesting when writers Ben Acker and Ben Blacker pull back from the comedic caper that has been the first three issues of <i>Deadpool V Gambit</i> to spend pretty much the entire fourth issue not focusing on either of their leads, but instead telling the story of Scrambler. Scrambler is a member of the Marauders, the group that works for Mr. Sinister, but that isn't even important to know for this issue. Acker & Blacker start the story off by establishing the basics, that Scramber was a bad guy who fought the X-Men and who has tried to go straight. Acker and Blacker make us care about Kim Il Sung, a villain who has had very little development before this. Not only do they logically update his power set, which is trickier than you'd think, but they also give him a love interest, a family, and a logical desire to be a better person for them. I encountered Acker & Blacker through <i>The Thrilling Adventure Hour</i>, which is one of the funniest things, well, ever, and the earlier issues of this series have been lighter in tone. Even their <i>Thunderbolts</i> work, which had something of a darker tone, had a large portion of humor to it. And while this issue isn't grim (the reason Scrambler has it in for Gambit and Deadpool spins out of a scene that is actually pretty darn funny), this issue is much more a character study. We see Scrambler at his lowest, then his best, ans then dragged down back to the lowest by situations beyond his control. It's a really solid single issue in the middle of a mini-series, and while the series' two leads are pretty much incidental, it doesn't feel like something completely outside the scope of the series. There's a big reveal at the end of the issue, actually, that casts the events of the series in a completely different light. If you've been suffering from Gambit withdrawal since he hasn't been a regular in a series in a while, you just need some more Deadpool, or you like to see the other side of villains, you should really check out <i>Deadpool V Gambit</i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4Fn2rWXLDoKdMFR4A7E216ZoWZPwLoCg68lExtUrPfTfSpHwrLiYqenfvxUw5anToppZFXecqLFq6GU3fh1W_mDYU3YkPf22qwPzD7qDQS9gGd-gCB3ZvKKpAN2vo4g_Z8RX_eBU-5n8/s1600/GOTH_AC_ANNUAL_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4Fn2rWXLDoKdMFR4A7E216ZoWZPwLoCg68lExtUrPfTfSpHwrLiYqenfvxUw5anToppZFXecqLFq6GU3fh1W_mDYU3YkPf22qwPzD7qDQS9gGd-gCB3ZvKKpAN2vo4g_Z8RX_eBU-5n8/s1600/GOTH_AC_ANNUAL_1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Gotham Academy Annual #1</b><br />
<b>Story: Brenden Fletcher & Becky Cloonan</b><br />
<b>Art: Adam Archer, Msassyk, Michael Dialynas, Chris Wildgoose, Sandra Hope, Serge Lapointe, & Rob Haynes</b><br />
<br />
We've been away from <i>Gotham Academy</i> for a few months now (unless you've been checking out the very fun <i>Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy</i>, which you all should be), so the choice to do a one off annual to refresh current readers and introduce new ones before the new<i> Gotham Academy: Second Semester </i>starts was a good one, and this issue is a great jumping on point for new readers. A mysterious ailment is sweeping Gotham Academy, and our leads, the members of Detective Club, are split down the middle on what they think is responsible: Pomeline, always looking for a magical explanation, thinks it's a vampire, while Colton believes visiting professor Derek Powers is behind this. So Colton takes Kyle, and Pomeline takes Tristan, and Maps is left trapped in the middle. We get to see Olive, who is usually in the center of everything, on the sidelines in this issue, which allows the other characters to really stand out. What this issue does, which is a great example of what Gotham Academy does best, is balance the character work with the mystery and the macabre, while also tying into the deep mythology of Batman as a character. Note I didn't say the history of Batman, as what this issue ties into is actually the future of Batman. If you're at all familiar with <i>Batman Beyond</i>, either the animated series or the comics that have been released to tie into it, you know the name Derek Powers and know that no good will come of it. Also returning this issue is Warren McGinnis, introduced back in issue four of the series, who also has ties to the <i>Batman Beyond </i>universe. There's ealso an appearance from a supernatural one-off Bat villain, a character I never thought would pop up again, which is something that just fills me with joy; no other series from either of the Big Two embraces the crazy history of comics like <i>Gotham Academy </i>does. But what's even better is that if you're unfamiliar with any and all of that, nothing of the issue is lost on you. Instead you get two interlocking mysteries featuring two sets of likable protagonists. Pomeline is at her most demanding, and Colton at his most slick, but we get hints that there's more to Colton than we've seen before; of all the regular cast, he's the one who's gotten the least development so far, more or less being the campus ne'er-do-well, so it's nice that we're beginning to see more of his personality and his backstory come out. There are multiples artists across this issue, but fortunately Rob Haynes did breakdowns across the whole issue so the art has a consistent feel, but each plotline has a distinct look. <i>Gotham Academy Annual #1</i> is an exciting romp across the grounds of the titular Academy and a treat for Batman fans of all ages and knowledge.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYr9BEl5ggeWJdB5OUVI-4a2mTdSCMwJNCuZRCUnivcRegJMVOJc3XdrO7tX9hQcxcBMpqqgu2g471aE1Cy1-2cEEX5SbP4a4CJBgydFX2IRLQNczLGJvd-KewSyfqKiDrw5CaeknqHeiu/s1600/Suicide-Squad-War-Crimes-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYr9BEl5ggeWJdB5OUVI-4a2mTdSCMwJNCuZRCUnivcRegJMVOJc3XdrO7tX9hQcxcBMpqqgu2g471aE1Cy1-2cEEX5SbP4a4CJBgydFX2IRLQNczLGJvd-KewSyfqKiDrw5CaeknqHeiu/s1600/Suicide-Squad-War-Crimes-01.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Suicide Squad: War Crimes Special</b><br />
<b>Story John Ostrander</b><br />
<b>Art: Gus Vazquez, Carlos Rodriguez, & Gabe Eltaeb</b><br />
<br />
Now THIS is the Suicide Squad. I haven't written as much about the Suicide Squad as I feel like is deserved for how much I love the concept and the characters on this blog, mostly because the series as it's been running since I started writing here has rarely been a book I really loved. But this one-shot, written by the man who redefined the Squad in the '80s and a writer I have written a lot about, John Ostrander, hits every note that makes a good Suicide Squad story. Let's count them down, shall we?<br />
<br />
1) It has great characters and character moments: The Squad in this issue is mostly made up of staples of the Squad: Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and Rick Flag from the original series; Harley Quinn and El Diable from the New 52 era; and a new member, Mad Dog, who you know is not long for the team right out front. Flag and Deadshot have a great rapport in the issue, working together, and Ostrander writes one truly funny Harley moment. But it's Boomerang who Ostrander really captures. The arrogant, smarmy, easy to anger, quick to seek revenge Boomerang of those classic books is on display here, to the point that he is responsible for Mag Dog's death just because the bounty hunter rubbed him the wrong way. Boomerang is often played as comic relief or the team punching bag, but Ostrander remembers that he is a nasty piece of work at heart.<br />
<br />
2) Interesting foes: Ostrander gave the Suicide Squad some really interesting enemies in his original run. The international mercenaries known as the Jihad (changed to Onslaught after their first appearance) were a great collection of characters with interesting powers and looks. The Loa was another fascinating nemesis. This story introduces Strikeforce Europa, a team of European mercenaries. And while they don't exactly walk out of this unscathed, they don't feel like characters who were created simply to be disposed of; they have a backstory and work as characters who have potential.<br />
<br />
3) Real world events effect comic book stories: There was an interview I read somewhere once that I wasn't able to find to get the exact quote where Ostrander said he stopped writing stories for <i>Suicide Squad </i>set in real places because it seemed like every time he did it seemed that place popped up on the news. And while recent Suicide Squad stories have taken place in real countries, they are often just using those places as a setting and not discussing the political realities. This issue takes something very real and while changing the names to protect the innocent (or to protect the publisher from libel suits), there is a reality to this story. The Secretary of Defense from the "previous administration" has been kidnapped by Strikeforce Europa to stand trial for war crimes, for starting the last "Gulf action" to benefit "Black Mountain" the private military security contractor he has worked for an with. If you have any notion of modern American politics, none of this is particularly veiled commentary on politics, and it creates an interesting mission, as the Squad must rescue him.<br />
<br />
4) Action action and more action: Much of this issue is an elaborate heist type story, only with what the team is trying to take is a human being. We get the Squad in battle with Strikeforce Europa, with the assassin Shado, who was sent by Black Mountain to silence the Secretary of Defense before he spilled their secrets at the World Court, not to mention your standard issue security forces. You get car chases, super powered fights, and a really cool scene with Deadshot on a motorcycle. It has an excellent balance of action and character, which was the hallmark of the best Suicide Squad stories.<br /><br />
5) The Wall: John Ostrander created Amanda Waller, and there are very few, if any, writers who get her better than Ostrander. Whether it's giving the team a briefing with her patented hardass attitude and biting humor, or debriefing when the team gets back, and all her contact in between, this is the Waller I hear in my head when I think of best Waller moments.And I've seen people of two minds on how coldly homicidal Waller was in the recent Suicide Squad movie, but anyone with any familiarity with the character would see that her actions at the end of this issue, and the reasoning behind them, are so perfectly logical that it's one of my favorite Waller moments of all time.<br />
<br />
Seriously folks, whether you miss the old Squad stories or are a fan of the new ones, this is a perfect gem of a Suicide Squad story that everyone should check out.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>And look! Dan Grote is back, with a review featuring two of his great fan passions: the X-Men and '90s music...</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimOuKq_1j7KWCJ3h4wblKk8_ufpD3g6VtMHOQCa4GPZH0u-s3oXN7F717AVCg4y849QHpDTVLexoWi4DuMQf9-i-KtBxUjnj61GroJ-F4jqQUHNEhaUzBC0XiacvY4EG16GCyw8KgRfSJT/s1600/x-men-92-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimOuKq_1j7KWCJ3h4wblKk8_ufpD3g6VtMHOQCa4GPZH0u-s3oXN7F717AVCg4y849QHpDTVLexoWi4DuMQf9-i-KtBxUjnj61GroJ-F4jqQUHNEhaUzBC0XiacvY4EG16GCyw8KgRfSJT/s320/x-men-92-6.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>X-Men ’92 #6<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Story by
Chris Sims & Chad Bowers<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Art by Alti
Firmansyah & Matt Milla</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Matt often
writes about how sometimes a book is so consistently good, he sometimes passes
on reviewing it because there are only so many ways to say “This book is consistently
good” month after month.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The same can
be said for Marvel’s <i>X-Men ’92</i>, which is if nothing else a love letter to the
1990s animated series and the comics of the time period.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Except this
issue ups the ante considerably by working in the music of the Extreme Era as
well. Coming of age in the ’90s as I did, I spent my teen years a) devouring
X-Men comics and b) listening to alternative radio. So to read a comic in which
the X-Men work as bodyguards for Lila Cheney at a music festival that includes
the Flaming Lips and the Toadies is to relive those years in their purest, most
crystalized form. The only thing missing is all those Sunday afternoons I
killed playing <i>The Sims</i> and <i>Final Fantasy VI</i> on the Super Nintendo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
After a
prologue that brings Joss Whedon creation SWORD into the ’92-niverse, the comic
opens with intergalactic rockstar Cheney joining the Lips on stage for “Race
for the Prize,” complete with lettered lyrics that sent me combing through my
CDs to see if I still had a copy of “The Soft Bulletin.” Even Beast is singing
along, and let’s face it, he would like an up-tempo song about two scientists
competing to save a dying sun.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
And
seriously, the Toadies? The Toadies?! Raise your hand if you’ve thought about
the Toadies at any point after 1996. They’re about as ’90s as Adam X the
X-Treme.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Anyway, it
turns out Lila’s on Earth because there’s a bounty on her head, and she’s being
hunted down by British-import robot space bounty hunter Death’s Head. Hence her
asking the X-Men to act as security.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Also lurking
around disguised as a be-ponytailed roadie is none other than
Acolyte-slash-Upstart Fabian Cortez, whom a narration box accurately describes
as having “the power to make mutants mutant harder.” Cortez amps up Cheney’s
already-considerable teleportation powers amid the fight with Death’s Head,
transporting herself, the X-Men, Death’s Head and SWORD’s Abigail Brand to an
alienated planet populated by [spoilers].<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I can’t say
enough how much of this book is sold on the strength of Alti Firmansyah’s art.
Chris Sims and Chad Bowers get the cheesiness of the era and what characters
will make fans wistful, but Firmansyah nails the fashion, the facial expressions
and the fun of what, at its worst, was a melodramatically angsty time. It doesn’t
mimic the animation style of the cartoon – if anything, she seems to take her
cues from “Voltron” and the Joe Madureira style of manga-light art that took
hold mid-decade – but you can see that she’s having fun, and I’d love to read
more of her work.<o:p></o:p></div>
The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-47397300068526447182016-08-31T13:48:00.000-04:002016-08-31T13:53:23.673-04:00The Great Batman: Brave and the Bold Rewatch: Duel of the Double Crossers!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSHGg8tg9XUtTghzMhWyWTHDoWQdUCQwjeZSxa-LAFO8Jzp9EW_Bbuv3sODLfCYtNaxJ79EKBiHDpHBCZL5SHJw71JTQiP5gP9CFvxsKslvwoFyHTSQ3U0v_-TGfSRNCHaZiZxvD1CxQoz/s1600/dotdc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSHGg8tg9XUtTghzMhWyWTHDoWQdUCQwjeZSxa-LAFO8Jzp9EW_Bbuv3sODLfCYtNaxJ79EKBiHDpHBCZL5SHJw71JTQiP5gP9CFvxsKslvwoFyHTSQ3U0v_-TGfSRNCHaZiZxvD1CxQoz/s1600/dotdc.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Season One, Episode Twenty-One: Duel of the Double Crossers!</b><br />
<b>Written by Todd Casey</b><br />
<b>Directed by Michael Chang</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b><u>Plot Synopsis</u></b><br />
<b><br />Teaser: </b>Despero stands on a rooftop, preparing to throw a giant globe down on to bystanders. Batman communicates to the Outsiders(Black Lightning, Katana, and Metamorpho) telling them what to do to stop the villain. The Outsiders, though, are doing things their own way, which mostly involves lots of property damage and not much stopping of Despero. Only when they listen to Batman, working as a team, do they stop the alien conqueror, although the damage to the city is severe. It turns out it was all a simulation, and Batman tells them they'll keep doing it until they get it right, restarting the simulation.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Episode: </b>In front of a large sunset, the bounty hunter Jonah Hex rides, heading towards a saloon. Only when we get inside, and see the saloon is full of aliens and not old west ne'er do wells, do we realize Hex is not in his native time or world. Hex sits down at a card table with an alien named Arges, and proceeds to attempt to take him, but Arges blasts him with an eye beam. Hex, with some help from his robot horse, captures Arges, and is teleported away to Warworld.<br />
<br />
Upon arriving on Warworld, Hex confronts its master, Mongul, who welcomes Hex back, pleased with his new captive. Hex is less pleased, and demands Mongul send him back to his own time. Mongul says he will, but only if Hex delivers one more bounty to him, a warrior who will stand up too his sisters gladiators: Batman.<br />
<br />
On Earth, Batman easily takes out the villain Zebra Man just before Hex arrives. Batman knows about Warworld, and knows why Hex is there, and the two men prepare to face off. Batman throws a Batarang, which Hex shoots out of the air, and the two face off, but Hex is able to lasso Batman.<br />
<br />
On Warworld, Batman is led away by Mongul's guards, and Hex again tells Mongul to send him home. Mongul again refuses, saying that Hex is too valuable, and when Hex threatens to shoot Mongul, the alien warlord reminds Hex that killing him will leave Hex stranded in the present forever. Hex contemplates doing it anyway, but they are interrupted by Mongal, Mongul's sister and competitor, along with two of her guards, Lashina and Stompa, members of the Female Furies. Hex decides to stand down rather than fight the Furies, flirting briefly with Lashina, and threatens Mongul that he will help in Mongul's fall. Mongal scoffs at the idea that Batman could beat her champion, Steppenwolf, but Mongul seems more confident in the Dark Knight.<br />
<br />
In the arena, we see Batman led out into the center, along with Arges, a Gordanian, and another alien. Mongul pronounces this to be Battle Arena Warworld, a combat entertainment with no rules and with only one victor. Batman tries to convince the others to work together against Steppenwolf, and they refuse, as the Apokoliptan general, Steppenwolf appears. Steppenwolf attacks, starting to easily take out his foes. Flash away from the arena to an irritated Hex, who shoots the screen showing the battle, as Mongal approaches him. She offers to send Hex home simply to screw with Mongul, and gives him a map to the time machine and the deliverance to send him home. He tips his hat and heads off.<br />
<br />
Back in the arena, Steppenwolf has made short work of most of his opponents, leaving only Batman and Arges. Batman gets Arges to agree to help him, only for Arges to use Batman's distraction to escape. Batman now stands seemingly alone against Steppenwolf, but Hex arrives on robot horseback. Hex joins in the fight, and although he shoots his way through Steppenwolf's shield and disarms him of his axe, he is downed. Batman, adding techno-brass knuckles to his fists (which he refers to yet again as the Hammers of Justice), engages Steppenwolf in a fist fight. They trade blows, but Batman's superior fighting skills win the day, leaving Steppenwolf defeated. Hex rises, and the two head off.<br />
<br />
Hex leads Batman to free the prisoners of Warworld before he heads home, They are confronted by Mongal and her Furies, and Batman and Hex engage the Furies in combat, Lashina calling Hex out. Batman and Stompa fight, but Hex and Lashina are continuing to flirt as they fight hand-to-hand. Eventually, the Furies are defeated, but that leaves them with Mongal. Hex is able to lasso her and tie her to Hex's robot horse before heading off again. Mongul sees his sister and laughs, but she tells him where Batman and Hex are going as she is dragged away.<br />
<br />
At the cells, Batman and Hex arrive. The prisoners are overjoyed to see Batman, but angered by Hex. Hex tells them he's going to spring them and then head to settle his score with Mongul as Mongul teleports in. Mongul is able to sucker punch the heroes, but even after he no longer has the element of surprise, he still has the upper hand. Batman prepares to free the prisoners to join the battle against Mongul, but is told is he does he will destroy the time tunnel platform as well, stranding Hex. Hex agrees to it, knowing the consequences, and with the cells open, the gathered alien warriors attack Mongul and Mongal, who has conveniently ust been dropped off the the robo horse.<br />
<br />
With the battle done, Hex prepares to send Batman home. Batman offers to have Hex come with him, and see if Batman can find another way to return Hex to his own time. Hex decides to stay behind, though, and see what's to do. Batman returns home, and Hex finds Lashina waiting by his horse, and the two ride off together.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Who's Who</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKx6Q9YwctpbOuflIwa3Jnj-bWC10ErBVQ23KB_AuU-3X2F3Y3kUl5jt7KBnr2KclWx2uuFojDSyDL7Errua-d86f7_eS_WL4lNNGXCp-lR8IvGwThEWin-UTjg25w2Pl0eIutbtYbv4p/s1600/Batmanbravebold_ep21a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKx6Q9YwctpbOuflIwa3Jnj-bWC10ErBVQ23KB_AuU-3X2F3Y3kUl5jt7KBnr2KclWx2uuFojDSyDL7Errua-d86f7_eS_WL4lNNGXCp-lR8IvGwThEWin-UTjg25w2Pl0eIutbtYbv4p/s320/Batmanbravebold_ep21a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Jonah Hex </b><b>(Voiced by Phil Morris)</b></div>
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>All-Star Western #10 </i>(February-March, 1972)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b><a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_25.html">Season One, Episode Eleven- <i>Return of the Fearsome Fangs!</i></a></b><br />
<br />
<b>Mongul (Voiced by Gary Anthony Williams)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> DC Comics Presents #27 </i>(November, 1980)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <i>Season One, Episode Twenty-One- Duel of the Double Crossers!</i></b><br />
<br />
Mongul is one of the great galactic conqueror villains of the DC Universe. While his origins have changed substantially depending on which timeline in the DC Universe you are following, his story is always tied to that of Warworld, a mobile planetoid battlestation, and the Black Mercy, the plant that attaches itself to a host and gives them a fantasy of their greatest desire. Mongul's best known origin has him as master of Warworld when Superman, travelling the galaxy, finds himself on the planet and forced into the arena to fight. Superman eventually defeated him, leaving him no fallen in the eyes of the citizens of Warworld. Mongul would go on to serve as a lackey to the villainous Cyborg Superman, and took part on the destruction of Coast City, Green Lantern's home town. The original Mongul would go on to be killed and replaced by his son, also named Mongul, who looked identitcal to his father, but more on that below in the notes. Mongul II would continue to be a nemesis of Superman and various Green Lanterns, and would briefly go on to lead the Sinestro Corps. Mongul has most of the traditional big galaxy conquering bad powers, like super strength, invulnerability, and the ability to fire energy.<br />
<br />
<b>Mongal </b><b>(Voiced by Gary Anthony Williams)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> Superman Vol.2 #170 </i>(July, 2001)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <i>Season One, Episode Twenty-One- Duel of the Double Crossers!</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Mongal was the sister of Mongul II, and worked with her brother on various occasions. She eventually became ruler of the planet Almerac, but eventually went back to work with her brother, who in a fit of pique, murdered her because family was a weakness. She had powers identical to those of her brother.<br />
<br />
<b>Lashina </b><b>(Voiced by Nika Futterman)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> Mister Miracle #6 </i>(January, 1972)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <i>Season One, Episode Twenty-One- Duel of the Double Crossers!</i></b><br />
<br />
<b>Stompa</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> </i></b><b><i>Mister Miracle #6 </i>(January, 1972)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <i>Season One, Episode Twenty-One- Duel of the Double Crossers!</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
The Female Furies are members of the elite guard of Apokolips, the world of the evil gods ruled by Darkseid. Selected by Granny Goodness, the master of Darkseid's orphanage, for their ruthlessness and power, the Furies include Bernadeth, sister of Desaad, Lashina, of the metal whips, the superstrong Stompa, and the claw wielding Mad Harriet, among many others. Lashina is probably the most developed Fury, storywise as she became a member of the Suicide Squad under the pseudonym "Duchess" for some time.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Steppenwolf </b><b>(Voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> New Gods #7 </i>(February, 1972)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <i>Season One, Episode Twenty-One- Duel of the Double Crossers!</i></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Uncle to Darkseid, Steppenwolf is one of the generals of Apokolips and its master's chief military adviser. He was one of the members of Darkseid's retinue when Darkseid personally attacked New Genesis, home of the New Gods, and slew the wife of Highfather. He has been one of the evil gods most prominently appearing since the new post-Flashpoint continuity, as one of the chief antagonists on Earth 2, and has appeared in other New Gods related stories. Steppenwolf will also be one of, if not the main, antagonists in DC's upcoming Justice League film. Steppenwolf has all the base powers of a New God, meaning he is immortal and has physical strength, stamina, and durability far beyond those of a mortal. He is also a master hunter, hand-to-hand combatant, weaponsmaster, and military tactician.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Zebra-Man</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> Detective Comics #275 </i>(January, 1960)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <i>Season One, Episode Twenty-One- Duel of the Double Crossers!</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
The original Zebra-Man was a one off villain who appeared in one issue of Detective Comics, and is a classic Silver Age science villain, whose own science experiment backfired on him, giving him powers, in his case based on magnetism. Various other Zebra-Mans have appeared over the years, but they are all at best D-list villains who mostly appear in the background as parts of supervillain crowds.<br />
<br />
<div>
<b>Black Lightning (Voiced by Bumper Robinson)</b></div>
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> Black Lightning #1 </i>(April, 1977)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_20.html">Season One, Episode Six- <i>Enter the Outsiders!</i></a></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<div>
<b>Katana (Voiced by Vyvan Pham)</b></div>
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> The Brave and the Bold #200 </i>(July, 1983)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance:<a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_20.html"> Season One, Episode Six- <i>Enter the Outsiders!</i></a></b></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Metamorpho (Voiced by Scott Menville)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> </i></b><b><i>The Brave and the Bold #57 </i>(January, 1965)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_20.html">Season One, Episode Six- <i>Enter the Outsiders!</i></a></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Despero (Voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>Justice League of America #1 </i>(October, 1960)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b><a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_18.html">Season One, Episode Ten- <i>The Eyes of Despero!</i></a></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<br />
<b><u>Continuity, Comics Connections, and Notes</u></b><br />
<br />
While Jonah Hex is best known for his gritty or occult themed adventures in the Old West, time travel isn't completely unheard of for Hex. Not onyl did the last arc of his most recent series, <i>All-Star Western</i>, have Hex come to the present DC Universe, but his first post-Crisis series, simply called <i>Hex</i>, have Jonah in a <i>Mad Max</i>-esque dystopian future. And in his <i>Justice League Unlimited</i> appearance in "The Once and Future Thing," where he encounters a time travelling Batman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman, he identifies them as time travelers, and when Batman asks him what makes him think that, he simply replies, "I've had an interesting life."<br />
<br />
The origins I gave for Mongul and Mongal above gloss over the somewhat strange connection between the two characters. The original Mongul died during the DC crossover event, <i>Underworld Unleashed</i>, in a way that was clearly set up to show what a threat the big bad of that series, Neron, was. And he stayed dead. When Mongul II appeared, it was convenient that he had the same name and an identical appearance to his father, to the point that the fact that he is technically the son of the original character stopped being mentioned, as if there had always been one Mongul. This is reminiscent to me of the season fifteen episode of<i> The Simpsons</i>, "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot," where the Simpson cat, Snowball II, dies, and after many attempts to get a new cat, they find an identical one and keep the name, which is played for comic effect. I feel <i>Brave and the Bold</i> made the right decision in simply avoiding that whole mess and combining the two characters into one.<br />
<br />
Two of<i> The Brave and the Bold</i> regulars return this episode, with Kevin Michael Richardson, who previously voiced Black Manta and Despero, voicing Steppenwolf, and James Arnold Taylor, who voices Green Arrow, voicing one-off character Arges.<br />
<br />
While I list this episode as Zebra-Man's first appearance, he did technically appear before in the dream sequence in episode nineteen, "Legend of the Dark Mite!"The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-53640871050593584612016-08-29T15:51:00.006-04:002016-08-29T15:51:57.564-04:00Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 8/24<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCbe0PpuhPS9ij9882v3sAXrXtSBwicfjVM_U8Rc1dlU8Dj0MjvWpnzWVJt3xV8QIOX0xm9R6CzSYpggH_9bopHmSMHdXNYaFfTSLF41tjiFotP3ISfa-t_F2LJFMycgvV0s2LoKEgMdq/s1600/templeofod_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCbe0PpuhPS9ij9882v3sAXrXtSBwicfjVM_U8Rc1dlU8Dj0MjvWpnzWVJt3xV8QIOX0xm9R6CzSYpggH_9bopHmSMHdXNYaFfTSLF41tjiFotP3ISfa-t_F2LJFMycgvV0s2LoKEgMdq/s1600/templeofod_1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Atomic Robo & The Temple of Od #1</b><br />
<b>Story: Brian Clevinger</b><br />
<b>Art: Scott Wegener & Anthony Clark</b><br />
<br />
Atomic Robo is back! The pattern of Robo mini-series one set in the present and then one set in the past, and so this new series is a flashback to the late 1930s. Robo is tasked by the US military to go to Shanghai, which at this point was under Japanese control, and retrieve a Chinese scientist who has been taken by the Japanese and is developing a weapon using zero point energy, a source of power that is limitless and could destroy the world if used improperly. So, jet-setting adventurer Atomic Robo (that's his cover story, because really, how can you hide him) is off to Shanghai, and before the issue is over we have raids by Japanese soldiers, a motorcycle chase, Robo wising off at a dangerous time, and the return of a character from Robo's past. Now that we're into the eleventh volume of <i>Atomic Robo</i>, and that's not counting all the ancillary stories from <i>Real Science Adventures</i>, creators Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener have built a large and elaborate universe, with so many different characters from different eras in Robo's long life that it makes sense that a character like Helen McAllister, Robo's first love from the early 30s, would show up again during his World War II era adventures. And as with any Atomic Robo series, it's fun to look for the Easter Eggs the creators have placed throughout, as these are two guys who love their pop culture. Robo's arrival in Shanghai holds more than its fair share of nods to <i>Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom</i>, with a shoeshine boy who resembles Indy's sidekick Short Round, and a nightspot called Anything Goes. The best thing about <i>Atomic Robo </i>for me, though, is that even though the settings are new and the plot is filled with twists and turns you can't expect, if you're a fan of Robo it's like coming home; Robo as a character has a very specific voice, and his stories do as well. And if you're a new reader, even if you've never touched the character before it has such a welcoming, pulp feel to it that you can't help but be drawn in.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGW0pzWUZF8XunFHeNG-pE_U3xy6BCbTuVr6jnaZNp87OTWBbRp1bZBDd390hdNuAIZ5bwfDm0T-UGDcQsvWjUZgwiFbQ9myQhbKlM6FU7VYCyWSh1KUwZSXg84iKRlfdCoSfmIutA7xPq/s1600/tec939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGW0pzWUZF8XunFHeNG-pE_U3xy6BCbTuVr6jnaZNp87OTWBbRp1bZBDd390hdNuAIZ5bwfDm0T-UGDcQsvWjUZgwiFbQ9myQhbKlM6FU7VYCyWSh1KUwZSXg84iKRlfdCoSfmIutA7xPq/s1600/tec939.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Detective Comics #939</b><br />
<b>Story: James Tynion IV</b><br />
<b>Art: Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, & Adriano Lucas</b><br />
<br />
Tim Drake is my favorite Robin. I started reading Batman comics regularly right after Tim was introduced, and I grew up with him. And I have felt like the post-Flashpoint DC Universe has done the character a huge disservice, shuffling him off to the sidelines. That is until this current run on <i>Detective Comics</i>, which has brought Tim right back into the fold of the Bat universe. After escaping the Colony last issue, Batman, Batwoman, and their squad are trying to figure out what to do next. The issue starts out with some great character moments between Batman and Batwoman, as they discuss what Bruce may and may not have known about Batwoman's father's involvement with the Colony, and Tim coming to a decision about his future and discussing it with Spoiler. It would be easy, in the middle of an arc so packed with intrigue and action to forget about the characters and focus on the story, but Tynion takes time to give us a look inside the inner lives of the characters. But the action picks up as the team learns the Colony is sending armed drones to wipe out every possible member of the League of Shadows, the urban legend ultra secret offshoot of the League of Assassins, and damned be the collateral damage. And as ever, we see that Batman, and by proxy his allies, honor life above everything else, as they jump into action to try to save the innocent. In these scenes, we actually get one of the smaller, but one of the best, character moments in the issue, where Clayface has to scare a group of people out of their apartment to get them to safety, and he feels sad that his best way to act is still as a monster. Clayface has gotten the least page time of any of the characters in the series so far, but this little beat sets up his character arc, and possible hero's quest, better than any long speech could.And in Orphan's scene, we get a hint of something to come, something that might mean Colonel Kane isn't quite as off center about the League of Shadows as Batman believes. But I started this review talking about Time Drake, Red Robin, and I'm going back there for the end.Tim spends this issue showing first his tech chops, an aspect of the character that has always been present but has been played up a lot in the new continuity. I especially like that fact that Tynion is playing with the idea of what a guy in his late teens would do with an unlimited budget and a penchant for crime fighting. But more than that, the issue ends on an amazing cliffhanger, with Tim using his brain to put himself in a position where he'll have to use all his other skills next issue to survive. I don't want to give anything away, but it's an amazing ending, and one that sums up Tim Drake perfectly; he's a good kid with a big heart, who is willing to put himself in harm's way to protect others. I've said this with each review of this new run on <i>Detective Comics</i>, and I'll say it again: this book gets better with every issue, and if you're a Batman fan, you should absolutely be reading it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYGESiqy4UaNOesd1rE9YPY5sLV0sA8bOfGNKJKZTNcHTd4_eK-pfI1WaqO0PF_w-0xHfI1vPHz9QJ8mXCQk5UZgzmLT4xPxVg7aNa9y-Mh1UEXk6r455syzQcVro2Cm9RuXEvpAhCwCFo/s1600/kingswaywest1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYGESiqy4UaNOesd1rE9YPY5sLV0sA8bOfGNKJKZTNcHTd4_eK-pfI1WaqO0PF_w-0xHfI1vPHz9QJ8mXCQk5UZgzmLT4xPxVg7aNa9y-Mh1UEXk6r455syzQcVro2Cm9RuXEvpAhCwCFo/s1600/kingswaywest1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Kingsway West #1</b><br />
<b>Story: Greg Pak</b><br />
<b>Art: Mirko Colak & Wil Quintana</b><br />
<br />
I love alternate history mixed with science fiction or fantasy. And I love the comics of Greg Pak. So when you combine them, you get a comic I'm pretty much guaranteed to like. <i>Kingsway West</i> takes place in an alternate old west, one where the discovery of Red Gold, an ore that channels mystical energy, led to war between two factions in California: the Chinese Queen of the Golden City and the Mexican Republica de los Californios. But this isn't a story of that war. Taking place in its aftermath, we meet Kingsway Law, a renegade gunslinger and soldier from the Chinese side of the war. The story starts with him meeting Sonia, a Mexican woman who is also fleeing her life from the war. And it's not unexpected that when the comic flashes forward five years, they're married. It's a classic Western set-up, the gunslinger trying to escape his past with the love of a good woman. And Kingsway seems genuinely like he wants to be a better man. But when a woman from the Golden Empire arrives looking for Kingsway, with word of whole new vein of Red Gold, he hopes he can just avoid her, but things don't work out like that, and soon Kingsway has had to take up his guns again to save the woman from the Golden City Guard and to find Sonia, who has disappeared. This first issue does a solid job of establishing the world that Pak is creating, the personalities of his leads, and the driving force of the plot. But I will say alternate history comics are only as good as the artist who is crafting the vision of this different world, and fortunately Pak is working with one who has some serious chops. I was unfamiliar with Mirko Colak before this issue, so I came in with no preconceptions, but the art is absolutely stellar. The characters are all solid and distinct, and the animals that populate the world, these hybrids of real animals, as well as fantastic creatures like dragons, have great designs. And the fight scenes are very well choreographed, not just easy to follow, and exciting; but brutal in a way that does not glorify the violence in the least, which works perfectly in the tale of a man who was trying to escape his violent past and is now being pulled back into it. If you enjoy classic Westerns like <i>Unforgiven</i>, or the strange sci-fi Western world of Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta's <i>East of West</i>, you should really try out <i>Kingsway West</i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2dqBFVkyZ7wq5gvD8GOVHJxvrcDVImwUDWZvH-KfJhH5RP_VpVFHhQJ5-vmDMaZRTZObh4m_xcxNgCQzc2bYHndtPmB2meICLrCNj5WIbltOmk3lCw2T9PcBwwtbS9hZcgXk0Andp45Vp/s1600/WW_Cv5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2dqBFVkyZ7wq5gvD8GOVHJxvrcDVImwUDWZvH-KfJhH5RP_VpVFHhQJ5-vmDMaZRTZObh4m_xcxNgCQzc2bYHndtPmB2meICLrCNj5WIbltOmk3lCw2T9PcBwwtbS9hZcgXk0Andp45Vp/s1600/WW_Cv5.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Wonder Woman #5</b><br />
<b>Story: Greg Rucka </b><br />
<b>Art: Liam Sharp & Laura Martin</b><br />
<br />
Greg Rucka has a lot going on in <i>Wonder Woman</i>. Not only are there two A plots, stuff set in the present in the odd numbered issues and a Year One story in the even numbered ones, but the plot in the stories set in the present, like this week's issue, are packed with all sorts of threads and characters, making it a dense and rewarding read. There are three interconnected plots running through this issue, one featuring Wonder Woman, one featuring Steve Trevor, and one featuring Etta Candy and a surprise guest star who I'll talk about at the end. Wonder Woman and Cheetah continue their quest to free Cheetah from Urzkartaga, the god that granted her the powers of the cheetah, and who now seeks her death for betraying him. Cheetah's origins have always tied her to Wonder Woman as a former friend who went to the dark side, but as a reader, I've always known the two as nemeses only. Here, seeing the two of them having to work together, it deepens the relationship, gives us insight into their shared history, and makes the aspect of that history as former friends matter more. The deepening mystery of Wonder Woman's own history and the changes that have occurred in it, and what has happened to Olympus and Themyscira, remains front and center for Diana, and the slow trickle of clues and revelations keeps the reader guessing. Meanwhile, Steve Trevor has been captured by a warlord named Cadulo who happens to be a worshipper of Urzkartaga, and who is preparing sacrifices to the god to grant him power. Steve and Cadulo are cast as polar opposites, not just because one is the heroic type and the other villainous, but because they have very different definitions of masculinity. Rucka has never shied away from discussing his own views on society in his work, and with so many recent examples in fandom of toxic masculinity, it's not surprising for Rucka to call it out, going so far as to have Trevor actually use those words. Cadulo is the kind of guy who expects women to worship him, and Trevor is, to say the least, not. Trevor banters, even when captured, and I like how Rucka is giving this character more of a personality than he's been given in the last two decades. Finally, the third plotline sees Etta Candy, Wonder Woman and Trevor's friend and Trevor's current boss, going to seek advice in what to do with the captured Trevor, and the person she goes to? Sasha Bordeaux! If you don't know her, Sasha was a character created by Rucka during his run on <i>Detective Comics</i>, where she served first as Bruce Wayne's Wayne Enterprises assigned bodyguard and later one of Batman's partners, and became Black Queen of Checkmate when Rucka wrote the DC Universe spy title. And while Sasha seems helpful, there's far more to what's going on than meets the Eye (and yes, that capitalization is intentional if you know Sasha's history). I'm really excited to see Sasha back, and no one writes her like her creator. I also want to call out Liam Sharp's astounding art on this issue; he's an artist I always picture drawing monsters and horror comics, and that skill plays out well in Cadulo's den, but he also draws a beautiful Wonder Woman and a sleek Cheetah. This is Greg Rucka at his superhero best, and I haven't been this excited by <i>Wonder Woman </i>in a long time.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-82449147964508923492016-08-05T12:55:00.000-04:002016-08-05T12:55:18.905-04:00Five Comic Book Members of the Suicide Squad for the Inevitable Sequel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9qDxGbc9klhyphenhyphennn8DXH4yQd0dGOqF-b8_MtA_Fc6cGdPrDF1NalvXcxUhHOv58GtK4C_NhNHMrlNBr-xpblLH6cXASf9lxt0jfY-IGkK6YUWTj4xq-5ezSIsnDIYcDfR384Sr2URDiZ0I/s1600/squad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9qDxGbc9klhyphenhyphennn8DXH4yQd0dGOqF-b8_MtA_Fc6cGdPrDF1NalvXcxUhHOv58GtK4C_NhNHMrlNBr-xpblLH6cXASf9lxt0jfY-IGkK6YUWTj4xq-5ezSIsnDIYcDfR384Sr2URDiZ0I/s320/squad.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
DC's next major motion picture opens today: <i>Suicide Squad</i>. One of my favorite properties from the 80s, the Suicide Squad is a team of villains forced to do covert ops for the US government. I haven't seen the movie yet, so I'm not here to comment on it, but instead to talk about the comics, and casting. You see, the reason why the team is called the Suicide Squad is because there's a good chance that team members aren't going to make it back from these missions, which means high team turnover. So that means there are plenty of other options for team members, and I'm hear to talk about five possible characters who could join the Squad ion the sequel that will probably be coming.<br />
<br />
It's important to note that, while the Suicide Squad has had many incarnations, both before and after, I'm drawing all of my choices from what I view as THE Suicide Squad comic, the 1980s series written by John Ostrander and Kim Yale. It is easily one of the best series DC published at a point of high creativity, filled with topical politics, all out action, and tremendous character depth.<br />
<br />
Before I start, I just want to call out three squad members who didn't make it on this list not because they're not awesome and I would love to see them on the big screen, but because of some of the weird silos that DC has on many of its character, these three feature prominently as heroes or villains on the CW DC TV series, and so will be featured there: Vixen, who has been added to the cast of <i>Legends of Tomorrow </i>for next season, Count Vertigo, who is one of Green Arrow's principal foes and has appeared in various iterations on <i>Arrow</i>, and the one non-Ostrander/Yale character I considered, King Shark, who first joined the team in the pages of <i>Superboy</i> and became a regular in the New 52, who has been a featured villain on <i>Flash</i>. I'd be thrilled to see any of those characters make the movies though, DC, so keep them in mind!<br />
<br />
Now without further ado, five members of the Suicide Squad I'd like to see in the sequel, in mostly alphabetical order:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TdQ5h3CRFNIR6yB4dTjxG0dRXr8fa4zYYHuggx7bJgtkreBET5M1lOW_uSwR4IMHFgvxvCbGGKgkQ9OWfqIYFdY6JZXJcmA4S5-JA4c_g752AHKIcGiXfdkeNASiL9_9YPryZZc7a4tq/s1600/bronze+tiger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TdQ5h3CRFNIR6yB4dTjxG0dRXr8fa4zYYHuggx7bJgtkreBET5M1lOW_uSwR4IMHFgvxvCbGGKgkQ9OWfqIYFdY6JZXJcmA4S5-JA4c_g752AHKIcGiXfdkeNASiL9_9YPryZZc7a4tq/s1600/bronze+tiger.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><u>Bronze Tiger</u></b><br />
Ben Turner was a skilled martial artist who was taken and brain washed to serve as a member of the League of Assassins. After the conditioning was broken, he willingly joined the Suicide Squad to atone for all the deaths he caused as a member of the League. He did appear on <i>Arrow </i>as a member of the Squad, but disappeared around the same time the fiat came from on high from Warners to remove the team, so I don't see any problem in him being used here. I'm picking Bronze Tiger for a couple reasons. He was one of the staples of the original '80s Squad, along with Deadshot, Boomerang, and Amanda Waller. He's got a great backstory, and his nobility makes him stand apart from the more sociopathic members of the team, while he still struggles with rage and doubt caused by years of mind control. Also, while I have to give the movie credit for having more diversity than a lot of superhero teams, it never hurts to add another actor of color to your roster. I also like the connection to the League of Assassins. Again, while used on <i>Arrow</i>, the League is primarily a Batman related property, and I think it would be interesting to do a Suicide Squad vs. ninjas movie, with a more comic book traditional Ra's al Ghul as the big bad, and adding in Bronze Tiger gives a connection to the League.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEishuacN3zFtDDogNlQlrm2UJCC7jzxxmM4MnI2JamEuUXbJgDWOF4WzhCwooyMIw8lGEB2KZJWA8Y0r-hl_m1vu8vuDSgJCJcd-u6kH5PTgdsfWB-J2zl-WkTnGD-Sv1T7g-uwjVsKZzhS/s1600/Lashina_Duchess_01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEishuacN3zFtDDogNlQlrm2UJCC7jzxxmM4MnI2JamEuUXbJgDWOF4WzhCwooyMIw8lGEB2KZJWA8Y0r-hl_m1vu8vuDSgJCJcd-u6kH5PTgdsfWB-J2zl-WkTnGD-Sv1T7g-uwjVsKZzhS/s320/Lashina_Duchess_01.png" width="149" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><u>Duchess</u></b><br />
We already known that Darkseid and his minions are the big bad in this first phase of DC Universe movies, and it would make sense to have someone tied to that become a member of the Suicide Squad. Duchess was in reality Lashina, a member of Granny Goodness's Female Furies, who was betrayed by another Fury, Bernadeth, and left behind on a mission. She joined the Suicide Squad, claiming amnesia, but secretly spent her time on the Squad looking for a way back to Apokolips, and when it arrived she took it, bringing most of the Squad along with her and costing the lives of more than one member. I like the idea of adding to the cohesive nature of the shared universe in a less forced way then it seems DC has been doing, by naturally working a survivor from what I assume is the Apokoliptian invasion coming in the Justice League films into the roster. It would also be cool to get another physically imposing female figure in movies in general, and her particularly, since it would give the Squad a character who could go toe-to-toe with the Justice League's heavy hitters.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpUVBQ8TwMihWKnWPaFiqkvSCKxmLBnnBYnMfO6Xx241dV2MBYhPpoZrcJYb3mDjYe4lnn7K9xgnodleqmTZYyEYSK1jBKH8kl1l6U9BgUYbP5-vDwH6Y-BzD564L-BnddgJI9okL0lQh/s1600/nemesis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpUVBQ8TwMihWKnWPaFiqkvSCKxmLBnnBYnMfO6Xx241dV2MBYhPpoZrcJYb3mDjYe4lnn7K9xgnodleqmTZYyEYSK1jBKH8kl1l6U9BgUYbP5-vDwH6Y-BzD564L-BnddgJI9okL0lQh/s320/nemesis.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Nemesis</u></b><br />
I have a soft spot for Tom Tresser, the spy code named Nemesis, first from his tme on the Suicide Squad, then his appearances in Gail Simone's run on <i>Wonder Woman</i>, and the two really trppy mini-series he starred in that spun out of<i> Final Crisis</i>. Nemesis worked with the Squad not as a convict but because he owed Amanda Waller and Rick Flag for saving his life. Since the Squad is theoretically a covert ops team, having a master of disguise on the roster always made sense to me. It's also interesting to have him on the team because, even though Rick Flag and Bronze Tiger are mostly good guys, they both are men who know how to make hard choices. Nemesis was a softer touch, and had more problems with the ruthless way the Squad was run; he provided a different angle on the Squad missions.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6a-K5BENLCZ9mLOYn17MkIrMcurlYW3elASjXnbISZ8CDR6VfuiGNRoQdKKD8QTWUhT_Gn5QyoWHcEsfQJyp54U2C_yajbW2GtS1A_xU8dvxw_hGVLckptTgyai1Y2_0ydZxbQHnO46d/s1600/ivy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6a-K5BENLCZ9mLOYn17MkIrMcurlYW3elASjXnbISZ8CDR6VfuiGNRoQdKKD8QTWUhT_Gn5QyoWHcEsfQJyp54U2C_yajbW2GtS1A_xU8dvxw_hGVLckptTgyai1Y2_0ydZxbQHnO46d/s1600/ivy.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Poison Ivy</u></b><br />
While Harley Quinn has become a staple of the Suicide Squad in recent years, her BFF/girlfriend Poison Ivy was a long standing member in the original series. Back when the series was written, Ivy had not been remade into the eco-terrorist/sympathetic villain she is now, but was instead mostly a master manipulator of men; she spent a good part of the run with Count Vertigo held in her thrall. I would expect a Suicide Squad movie to use the current, more well regarded version of Ivy. It would be fun to see the Harley and Ivy dynamic played out in live action and on screen, helping to bring some levity to things.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvajIC58d8DfIJ2n4ddnAmbzTVSX9S2WpfW7eZ_etSn4zxuRGb2bjvSKyAjP3clSXtabLoGIqSHy8VNKmnuaejgG3mbyMxwuAidWPBub8urxjjvfGt3Z3Ml5Kk8jGTKfgvAj6cPqFM5pw/s1600/oracle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvajIC58d8DfIJ2n4ddnAmbzTVSX9S2WpfW7eZ_etSn4zxuRGb2bjvSKyAjP3clSXtabLoGIqSHy8VNKmnuaejgG3mbyMxwuAidWPBub8urxjjvfGt3Z3Ml5Kk8jGTKfgvAj6cPqFM5pw/s320/oracle.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
<br />
<u><b>Oracle</b></u><br />
I went back and forth on this as a choice. One of John Ostrander and Kim Yale's principal achievements on<i> Suicide Squad </i>was taking the mess that was <i>The Killing Joke</i> and crafting Oracle, the Barbara Gordon who I grew up reading. I know that, now that Barbara is back being Batgirl again, many readers sort of want to move completely beyond Oracle since it brings up the somewhat ugly spectre that <i>Killing Joke </i>casts on the character, but I love Oracle. I love the concept that even when the use of her legs are taken away, Barbara Gordon is such a hero that she finds a way to still do good. I love the perseverance and strength of character that this demonstrates for Barbara. And I think it gives an opportunity for all sorts of stories and a different sort of representation, once we see even less of in movies. And there are ways to create Oracle that aren't as ugly as Joker's sadistic attack on her; there are enough differences between the DCEU and the DCU that the filmmakers could come up with a new story that still has the same effect. And after all the teasing of a possible Barbara Gordon in the <i>BvS</i> extended cut, wouldn't it be nice to get a real appearance in the DCEU?<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>The Supporting Cast</u></b><br />
OK, so this takes me beyond the five I said I'd pick, but this is something that was really important in the original Suicide Squad series that has been missing in pretty much all the versions since. Ostrander and Yale built a sizable network of character who operated around the main Squad as support staff, and spent time making them all fully realized characters. I know this would be hard to do in a movie, or even a series of movies, but it would be great to try, or at least to give some nods to them. Characters like Flow Crawley, the daughter of Amanda Waller's cousin who worked in the administration of Belle Reve, and who gave Waller of less cold, more human side. Or Father Craemer, the prison chaplain, who Ostrander would go on to do amazing things with in <i>The Spectre</i>. Doctors Simon LaGrieve and Marnie Herrs could be put to excellent use, who would often try to convince Waller that members of the team weren't ready for these missions to no effect, giving a voice of compassion in a series filled with characters who are not compassionate at all. And finally there was Mitch Sekofsky, the mechanic for the Squad's transports, who was one of the first openly gay characters in DC history. The Marvel franchises have proven that you can build these kind of networks of supporting characters so we can hope that DC can move forward with a wide array of background characters.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-47452631779074480072016-08-03T15:00:00.000-04:002016-09-21T14:14:41.383-04:00The Great Batman: Brave and the Bold Rewatch: Hail the Tornado Tyrant!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicY2GzuEs1lJ7NjHUUvgrdICGyW0Y08XzVo3XNLgYSsnVCgBLqO87PLPPIonSsFTOQqzjrtYG7eBZXlUXtLtaNFGevbf3JXz2yPS887YDX7DyF-7cVAm_ssoWiAEfp2aCxqWWSYEgfEZ8L/s1600/Hail_the_Tornado_Tyrant%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicY2GzuEs1lJ7NjHUUvgrdICGyW0Y08XzVo3XNLgYSsnVCgBLqO87PLPPIonSsFTOQqzjrtYG7eBZXlUXtLtaNFGevbf3JXz2yPS887YDX7DyF-7cVAm_ssoWiAEfp2aCxqWWSYEgfEZ8L/s320/Hail_the_Tornado_Tyrant%2521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Season One, Episode Twenty: Hail the Tornado Tyrant!</b><br />
<b>Written by J.M. DeMatteis</b><br />
<b>Directed by Brandon Vietti</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b><u>Plot Synopsis</u></b><br />
<b><br />Teaser:</b> Batman, driving the Batmobile, gives chase to Joker in his Joker Mobile. Green Arrow catches up in his Arrowmobile, and the two heroes usual competetive streak comes out as they both try to catch the arch-criminal and see who has the cooler car. With Joker taken care of, they see Catwoman esacpe Gotham museum in her Catplane, and the two cars transform into planes as they give chase, still bantering.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Episode: </b>Batman arrives at a laboratory, and finds a body under a sheet, only to be surprised by Red Tornado. Removing the sheet, Tornado reveals another robot. Tornado tells Batman he is about to activate the other robot, and Batman takes it to mean he wants to share the moment with a friend. Tornado says he has created an imporved version of himself, and Batman wonders about the creation of life, and what might go wrong. Tornado says he has installed a fail-safe of "my son" goes wrong, and Batman is shocked at the choice of words.<br />
<br />
A blast of energy permeates the smaller robot, and Tornado Champion stands up, but does not seem to demonstrate the emotions that Tornado's improvements, the things he does not have, should have bestowed on him. Tornado wants to work together and fight crime to see if that might stir Champion, and finds that the villain Major Disaster is nearby.<br />
<br />
Major Disaster is threatening the city with a hurricane as the heroes arrive. As they fight near a rollercoaster, Champion is able to direct Disaster's lightning back at him so batman can punch him out. But as the heroes are distracted after the fight, the still not entirely unconscious Disaster is able to blast Champion. Tornado holds his son, who seems fatally damaged, but a flash of light explodes from his face, and suddenly the previously emotionless Champion, smiles and calls Tornado, "Father!"<br />
<br />
Back at the lab, Tornado analyzes Champion, and the younger robot is excited and filled with emotions. Batman looks on, seemingly doubtful. The two robots travel the world, stopping disasters and criminals talking about life and the meaning of it and emotions, all while Batman watches from the distance. Champion seems impatient and a little doubtful about some of Tornado's philosophical answers.<br />
<br />
At a fire, Champion saves two children, but they are afraid of him and the crowd turns on him, calling him a robot, though Champion views himself as a person. He and Tornado fly off, and they talk about emotions, and Champion's not understanding why he is not accepted. When Tornado tells Champion he will be accepted someday, he scoffs and flies off, leaving Tornado alone. Batman approaches him, and Tornado reveals he knows Batman has been watching him, but remains sure that Champion is doing fine. Tornado detects Major Disaster attempting to escape jail, and the heroes head off to stop him.<br />
<br />
Batman and Tornado confront Disaster in the prison yard, and while Disaster has the upper hand, Champion's arrival turns the tide. But this time it' Tornado who is wounded, and Champion turns on Disaster seeking revenge, beating Disaster with whirlwinds. Batman stops Champion from delivering a deathblow, and the two argue about the morality of revenge, before he strike Batman. Tornado steps in the way, and tells Champion to stop, but Champion says humans are evil and a disease. Batman is able to strike Champion with a Batarang, shutting him down.<br />
<br />
Batman and Tornado are back in the lab, Tornado wanting to save his son, Batman telling him that Champion is too dangerous and must be shut off using the fail-safe. Despite Champion's pleas, Tornado decides the fail-safe is the logical solution, and Champion shuts down. The two heroes walk away from the still robot, only for his eyes to glow green as they exit, revealing he removed the fail-safe. He uses Tornado's equipment to upgrade himself, redesigning himself into the more sinister Tornado Tyrant.<br />
<br />
On the beach at Coast City, where the boardwalk Major Disaster initially attacked rests, a tidal wave blasts ashore, devastating the area. Two survivors see Tyrant, who follows his handiwork, and says he plans to wipe humanity from the globe. Batman and Tornado head toward Tyrant, preparing to do what must be done to stop him. They confront Tyrant with a device Tornado is sure will scramble Tyrant's programming, but Tyrant puts up a considerable fight, knocking Batman and the scrambler away.<br />
<br />
Tornado and his son face each other is a duel of the winds, but Tyrant proves stronger. Tornado begs his son to stop, saying humans deserve better, but Tyrant will hear none of it, and savagely attacks Tornado, crushing him between two cars. Tornado again tries to reason with Tyrant, telling him of humanity's good side, their quest to connect and love, but Tyrant is unmoved.<br />
<br />
As Tyrant is about to destroy his father, Batman is able to snag Tyrant with a grapnel, pull himself up to the robot, and plant the scrambler in Tyrant's head. Tornado uses the opportunity to charge Tyrant, plants his hands inside the other robot, and use his wind powers to destroy the rogue robot, although he averts his eyes, unable to see what he's doing to his son. Tornado collapses to his knees as Batman walks up to him.<br />
<br />
One final time at the lab, Tornado mourns his attempts to create a son, saying he should never have done it and he does not understand human emotion. Batman assures him, having heard what Tornado said about human life and love, that Tornado may have found his own humanity. Tornado says that he just parroted what he has seen and read, and has no insight into it, and uses his machines to destroy what is left of Tyrant's parts. He assures Batman he is ok, and as he stands alone, a single tear falls from his eye. Tornado observes it and says he must run a diagnostic, not knowing that it is a most human act.<br />
<b><br /></b><b><u>Who's Who</u></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN90erJ0wYwrFaIrcbSzML3i4GPciDF0pNRxLcx0qoN1tgPPsISzkwizxK_5z3xH253CaucG-V1PJjDJNyLRx48Iwrl3ApfMSIKsrrFZEVhTpCPTT8jcey880-YqflQpABl942rcjF3z4h/s1600/batman22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN90erJ0wYwrFaIrcbSzML3i4GPciDF0pNRxLcx0qoN1tgPPsISzkwizxK_5z3xH253CaucG-V1PJjDJNyLRx48Iwrl3ApfMSIKsrrFZEVhTpCPTT8jcey880-YqflQpABl942rcjF3z4h/s320/batman22.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b><br /></b><b>Red Tornado (Voiced by Corey Burton)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i> Justice League of America #64 </i>(August, 1968)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_6.html">Season One, Episode Four- <i>Invasion of the Secret Santas!</i></a></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Major Disaster (Voiced by James Arnold Taylor)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>Green Lantern #43 </i>(March, 1966)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b>Season One, Episode Twenty: Hail the Tornado Tyrant!</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Paul Booker has an origin that is similar to those of a lot of Silver Age villains. He was a petty crook who got his hands on advanced technology and decided to use it to become a super criminal. Starting out as a Green Lantern foe (Part of his origin story had him discovering Hal Jordan's secret identity), he would go on to fight Superman, John Stewart, and the Outsiders before becoming a member of the comical Injustice League during the Giffen/DeMatteis era, which reformed and became the Justice League Antarctica. After briefly returning to villainy (and getting his powers made a part of him by the demon Neron), Booker reformed thanks to the faith of Superman, he was recruited by Batman as a member of the substitute Justice League when the main team went missing. When the Justice League returned, he became a member of the Justice League Elite, a covert ops League. He would eventually be killed during the <i>Infinite Crisis</i> crossover, and has yet to appear in DC's new timeline. Major Disaster's power allowed him to create natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes. After his deal with Neron, his power became one that effected causality, making bad fortune happen to people from still large events to smaller ones like tripping and falling.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>The Joker (Voiced by Jeff Bennett)</b><br />
<div>
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>Batman #1 </i>(April 1940)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b><a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch.html">Season One, Episode Thirteen- <i>Game Over for Owlman!</i></a></b></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Green Arrow (Voiced by James Arnold Taylor)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>More Fun Comics #73 </i>(November, 1941)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch.html">Season One, Episode One- <i>Rise of the Blue Beetle</i></a></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<br />
<b><u>Continuity, Comics Connections, and Notes</u></b><br />
<br />
Comic book writer J.M. DeMatteis returns for his third episode as writer. It's cool that DeMatteis focuses on a different hero in each of these episodes, as opposed to tracking one hero. His first episode was a Green Arrow one, followed by a Green Lantern one, and now Red Tornado in his third.<br />
<br />
The origins of Red Tornado from before the DC Comics defining event, Crisis on Infinite Earths, is as complex and knotty as those of Hawkman after the Crisis, but suffice it to say, he used both the identities of Tornado Champion and Tornado Tyrant at different points in his existence. I do my best to sum up this kind of thing here, but it's all so messy that I just have to refer you to Wikipedia to try to read it all. It's... really something.<br />
<br />
Tornado Champion's initial design, with the purple cape and briefs, is actually one of Red Tornado's earlier designs before creators settled on his current, more well known, one.<br />
<br />
Carl Lumbly, who voices Tornado Champion/Tyrant, is best known in DC Animation circles as the voice of J'onn J'onzz,the Martian Manhunter, on <i>Justice League</i> & <i>Justice League Unlimited</i>.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-21011383686452934062016-08-01T18:24:00.003-04:002016-08-01T18:24:59.707-04:00Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 7/27<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDcrJHab7EAXYXwK8f4Lf6o30aIoC_hTHQNqrOCPBVwlYNmtLTm1yCgniwAm_2Mrr_UuMJiStRDQ-1MTr4WRoUzHkmVkFopovgxluo7v0wZvNw-XMEC7nMapoHJnnOWlLWCf7tTU5AaRz/s1600/atc1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDcrJHab7EAXYXwK8f4Lf6o30aIoC_hTHQNqrOCPBVwlYNmtLTm1yCgniwAm_2Mrr_UuMJiStRDQ-1MTr4WRoUzHkmVkFopovgxluo7v0wZvNw-XMEC7nMapoHJnnOWlLWCf7tTU5AaRz/s1600/atc1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Adventure Time Comics #1</b><br />
<b>Story & Art: Various</b><br />
<br />
Boom! launches a new <i>Adventure Time</i> series this week, and it's totally mathematical! Featuring some of comics best cartoonists, this first issue features some of my personal favorites as well. This issue has four short stories, which vary from very light in both subject and continuity, to some deep dives into more obscure <i>Adventure Time</i> characters.<br />
<br />
"Toothpaste Fairy" by Art Baltazar- Art Baltazar, co-creator of <i>Tiny Titans</i> and <i>Patrick the Wolf Boy</i>, brings us a story of Finn going on a quest for toothpaste! You have to imagine in the post-apocalyptic future of the Land of Ooo, toothpaste isn't exactly easy to come by, but fortunately there's a Toothpaste Fairy! It's a light, fluffy story (an apt description when you see all the clouds) and perfect if you've enjoyed Art's <i>Tiny Titans</i> stories.<br />
<br />
"Stand Next to Me" by Katie Cook- Katie Cook, of <i>Gronk </i>fame, tells a story featuring some of Ooo's lesser known princesses. Breakfast Princess is the main character of the story, and I am reminded how awful she is; she's the Mean Girl of the princess set. She leads Pastry Princess and a cupcake person into the woods to retrieve a skeleton that is near Lump Space Princess's campsite because being near LSP is a fate "worse than death." The story shows that LSP, for all her usual craziness and narcissism, does have a good heart, and puts Breakfast Princess sort of in her place. I love Cook's art (I have a tiny commission of her's framed on my mantle), and I love her takes on the princesses and Ooo in general.<br />
<br />
"Goliad Gets a Break" by Tony Millionaire- Taking one of <i>Adventure Time</i>'s odder characters, the powerful psychic candy beast Goliad out for a romp is none other than Tony Millionaire, whose <i>Sock Monkey</i> and <i>Maakies</i> bear a similarity to the odder and darker corners of the <i>Adventure Time</i> mythos. Millionaire clearly knows his <i>Adventure Time</i>, cramming in cameos by such minor characters as Choose Goose, Ricardio, and the Orgalorg. Millionaire's style is no less cartoony than the rest, but has more of an edge, which fits the darker nature of the story, although it is still lighter than many of the recent episodes of the animated series.<br />
<br />
"Good Shelf" by Kate Leyh- Kate Leyh has done some<i> Adventure Time </i>shorts before, and is a co-writer on <i>Lumberjanes</i>, so she knows how to write friendship, so it's nice to have her round out this inaugural issue with a tale of Finn and Jake, with Finn building things out of wood he found. Being this is Ooo, though, boards you just happen to find aren't usually just boards, and Finn's good nature and naivete lead to a bit of an issue. It's a fun short story, and like the best really short stories (only three pages), it has plenty packed into it without seeming cramped or rushed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhr1p-qUJNyNlJyXbgozDP8pWClFBCAnKZSXK0ssz5yw4tABkHgNd7gy_UEm_F9-nh3FFZi4zPpUHkVf54F8dZzqIRhI36CSh1NZMb2nz1XBppNuW7tBFmgshyphenhyphenqbrYE0pbtuOjV_WBcZV/s1600/bg12016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhr1p-qUJNyNlJyXbgozDP8pWClFBCAnKZSXK0ssz5yw4tABkHgNd7gy_UEm_F9-nh3FFZi4zPpUHkVf54F8dZzqIRhI36CSh1NZMb2nz1XBppNuW7tBFmgshyphenhyphenqbrYE0pbtuOjV_WBcZV/s1600/bg12016.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Batgirl #1</b><br />
<b>Story: Hope Larson</b><br />
<b>Art: Rafael Albuquerque & Dave McCaig</b><br />
<br />
Batgirl enters the "Rebirth" era with a solid new status quo and a fun opening issue. After the trauma of the end of the previous volume of her series, Barbara Gordon is taking a trip "Beyond Burnside" (the title of the arc) to do some soul searching. Starting her travels in Japan, Babs is there to investigate the story of one of the world's first superheroines, the Fruit Bat, who fought crime in 1939 Japan, and who is now a one hundred and four year old woman. But Barbara starts off at a hostel where her roommate is a guy named Kai, who coincidentally was a friend of hers when the Gordons lived in Chicago. Barbara seems to take this at face value initially. Hope Larson gets Barbara right from the get go; Babs can't stop calling her friend Frankie back in Burnside to check in on things, even thought she's been gone for less than a day. Babs is fascinated with the history of superheroes. Babs is a good friend. Larson absolutely gets all the aspects of Babs as a character. But Larson doesn't hold back on the action, which is part of what makes this a great first issue. She finds a nice balance between establishing Barbara's new situation with a great action scene as sailor suited clown make-up wearing girl attacks Kai; Babs immediately knows that Kai, who was a kid with a past, is not saying everything about his innocent trip to tour Asia. And the mysteries of the series are deepened when we see that, despite being a centenarian, the Fruit Bat still has some moves, and sets Babs on the next leg of her journey. And I'm glad Rafael Albuquerque is the guy drawing it, because it looks amazing. It's been so long since he regularly did superhero work, except for a short run on <i>Animal Man</i>, that I forgot how great a superhero artist he is; I think of him as a horror artist thanks to <i>American Vampire</i>, forgetting how much I adored his <i>Blue Beetle </i>run. His style has so much energy, so much flare, that Batgirl practically jumps off the page. There's a bit with a thrown knife that flashes from panel to panel on a grid and another of Barbara thinking of how to take down the clown girl with a thrown ball that are absolutely stunning. If this first issue is any indication, the new volume of <i>Batgirl</i> picks up from the last one and maintains the air of fun and adventure while setting its own direction.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5uTmIuDQ3HvbGygj3qiol1QrD4ifl0Wu_xbjZNIaHuIRNb46zBf1VRZEXx4qWgvgq_3ZEppstGRvhplWx_-gVgF2UuzSK3fqEFgI9lrDgrlnkVlQ8Cm46JHFSqUcEfE1WjRY4FTKyN0yO/s1600/tec937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5uTmIuDQ3HvbGygj3qiol1QrD4ifl0Wu_xbjZNIaHuIRNb46zBf1VRZEXx4qWgvgq_3ZEppstGRvhplWx_-gVgF2UuzSK3fqEFgI9lrDgrlnkVlQ8Cm46JHFSqUcEfE1WjRY4FTKyN0yO/s1600/tec937.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Detective Comics #937</b><br />
<b>Story: James Tynion IV</b><br />
<b>Art: Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez, & Brad Anderson</b><br />
<br />
When will I stop reviewing the Rebirth <i>Detective Comics</i>? When it stops being the best Bat book on the shelves and a love letter to Batman fans! Each issue, writer James Tynion IV packs in more references to classic Batman stories and continuity while still making a series completely accessible to new fans and fans of the characters on Batman's team who might not be mired in years of Batman minutiae. While last issue focused entirely on the team, this issue starts off with and focuses mostly on Batman himself. Imprisoned by the Colony, the military organization using Batman's tactics, we watch as Batman breaks his way out of their imprisonment and gets an idea of what the military is doing using his name. We see the base, the toys, and the man designing it all: Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong, better known as The General. A creation of Chuck Dixon, the general was a villain who moved on to be one of Tim Drake's arch-foes, a teenager with a brilliant military mind, and Tynion has him working for the military, designing Batman type weapons for the Colony. It's a great turn, and a great use of a character I love. There's one panel in particular, as Batman watches a video of the Colony do a wetwork mission, where The General offers to see a more gory video in delight, and Batman's one panel, shadowed, "No." radiates rage at the perversion of what he does. As things continue, we get the confrontation between Batman and his uncle, Jake Kane, the man behind the Colony, and again we see why they call Batman the world's greatest detective, as we learn how much Batman already knew before even recruiting his team. Speaking of the team, they have their own pages here, as we get to see the strengths of two of their members: Batwoman's indomitable will as she prepares to stand up to her father, and Red Robin's brain. As a life-long Tim Drake fan (his life, I suppose, as I was nine when he was created, but still he and I go way back), it's cool to see what Tim has been up to and designed in Gotham's underground, and how it also features another nod to one of Chuck Dixon's creations, the Bat-Rocket, the subway vehicle Azrael-Batman drove around. There's another bit of Batman continuity that gets a call out, but it's a mystery for now, a nod to other media Batman and to things to come that I don't want to discuss yet as it would be a spoiler of sorts, but I like that Tynion is building a whole long form narrative; I can't wait to see how it pays off. Seriously, if you're a fan of Batman in general and you're not trying out <i>Detective</i>, do yourself a favor and pick up the series now, because you're in for a treat.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-10320051252155067272016-07-29T15:20:00.002-04:002016-07-29T15:20:06.775-04:00Recommended Reading for 7/29: Dark Night: A True Batman Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWdw1Pook7QWnNFNk6UEE1pJ8vnivYOGKhxlxJBNOjQSg9C8Joul0acTnEw-sNTevGz7zGs30Xst7cWLvGDCnyUnyHWd7gvOSTR6VU-GtJXLVZmXe01f-gSbQF4U8ZDRP6BBL0v9OkYjrJ/s1600/DarkNight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWdw1Pook7QWnNFNk6UEE1pJ8vnivYOGKhxlxJBNOjQSg9C8Joul0acTnEw-sNTevGz7zGs30Xst7cWLvGDCnyUnyHWd7gvOSTR6VU-GtJXLVZmXe01f-gSbQF4U8ZDRP6BBL0v9OkYjrJ/s320/DarkNight.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>
<a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/search/label/paul%20dini"><br /></a>
<a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/search/label/paul%20dini">Paul Dini</a> is a creator I've written about often. This guy writes exciting super hero stories for comics and TV, funny stories of wacky animals and equally funny fantastical people. And as he points out right at the top of his graphic memoir, <i>Dark Night: A True Batman Story</i>, this is none of those. Dini's graphic memoir centers around a brutal mugging he suffered in 1993, and the physical and emotional aftermath of the event. It's an uncompromising and sometimes harsh look at where Dini's life was at the time and where it has gone since. But in the end, there's hope, hope inspired by a vigilante who stands in Gotham City.<br />
<br />
Throughout the prologue of sorts, the story of Dini's life until the main events of the main plot kick off, and as it continues, Dini talks to the characters he loves, be they Beanie and Cecil when he is at his youngest, to Batman and his rogues in the main story and into the present. I think any of us who grew up as lonely, weird kids, "invisible kids" as Dini calls them,can relate to these kind of imaginary friends, being easier to talk to and interact with than real people. It's an understanding of my own youth that drew me in and immediately got me to empathize with Dini<br />
<br />
Narrated by a present Dini, the main story flashes back to Dini around Christmas time in 1993, He's living a good life, working on a hit show and preparing for a feature (the much loved <i>Batman: Mask of the Phantasm</i>), but a lonely one. It feels like most of his friends are people he's just sort of passing by, and his love life is full of would-be starlets that he's using as arm candy, and who are using him for possible connections in Hollywood. He works, he leaves a geeky life that many of us would envy, and he goes to therapy. This is his life.<br />
<br />
The mugging scene is the center of the story, and is a singularly bleak and brutal sequence. Eduardo Risso, best known for his work with Brian Azzarello on <i>100 Bullets</i> and <i>Spaceman</i>, whose art I'll discuss more later on, draws this scene with a brutality that may make some readers uncomfortable. And that's good, because it should. It's an act of violence without conscience, the kind of thing that we are often desensitized to in media, but here it's so stark that you wince when you see what's being done, and Dini's own thoughts, the thoughts of if he's going to survive, of the people he'll be leaving behind,make it all the more painful.<br />
<br />
After the mugging, much of the story deals with Dini thinking about what it means to write Batman when he feels like the character doesn't matter. Where was Batman when he was being beaten? Where is Batman now that the police can't find the men who beat and mugged him. I appreciate a memoir that doesn't try to apologize for the person's behavior. Dini not only looks at the dark moments that happened after, the drinking, the thoughts about buying a gun so he can feel safe, the inability to work, with self-harm he had already perpetrated even before these events. It's painful to watch someone do these things to themselves.<br />
<br />
It's through the classic Batman characters that Dini deals with what is going on in his mind. The Joker is. not surprisingly, the voice of a nihilistic sort of self destruction. Poison Ivy asks uncomfortable questions. The Scarecrow is the voice of fear. Penguin encourages a wanton self destruction through alcohol. Two-Face is what Dini sees in the mirror in his own broken face. They are a greek chorus of bad thoughts.<br />
<br />
Now, all of this sounds pretty bleak. And a lot of it is. But there's hope in it too, and that hope is the voice of Batman, always encouraging Dini to get up and move on. I have always found Batman to be a hopeful character, no matter what dark trappings he is wrapped in. Because Batman took one of the greatest tragedies that any person could face, and he stood up. That image, that wording, that you have to stand up, is Dini's message. "We can accept being a victim or choose to be the <b>hero</b> of our own stories. And we make that choice by standing up." And watching Dini come around to that statement, one he makes at the very end of the book, by realizing that his cartoons matter to people, and why Batman matters to him and to others, it's what makes this book more than just an exercise in casting out personal demons: it makes it a statement of hope.<br />
<br />
I've always liked Eduardo Risso's noir tinged pencils, between <i>100 Bullets </i>and his work on Batman, both in <i><a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2015/01/recommended-reading-for-130-wednesday.html">Wednesday Comics</a>, Flahspoint: Batman,</i> and <i>Broken City</i>. His work here is slightly different. It runs a gamut of tones from more realistic to gritty street to surreal supervillains, all while maintaining Risso's trademark style. The colors soften and harden based on how deeply you are inside Dini's frequently damaged thoughts. I love how Risso draws the different Bat villains, from a very traditional Joker, to an <i>Arkham Asylum </i>inspired Scarecrow with the finger needles, to a Penguin halfway between the classic and the vision from <i>Batman Returns</i>. But it's his illustrations of Dini himself, the facial work and body language, that really jumped out at me. There are plenty of heavy shadows and sharp angles, stuff Risso is known for, but it's in the faces and the character work that he really shines in this book, and where Risso shows himself to have whole different layers than the crime artist he is best known to be.<br />
<br />
There's a lot more that I could say about this book, but much of it is details that I'd like for you to discover yourself as you read it. I loved seeing Dini interact with his fellow writer and artists on <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i>, and his comment that the story of the produciton of that series deserves its own graphic novel is something I'd love for him to swing back to at some point. It's interesting to see that one particular character, the one Dini is most associated with, Harley Quinn, only makes her first appearance at the very end of the book, but it feels right, as it's only when Dini sort of comes back to himself that Harley, who is so filled with joy and zeal, can talk to him again (although Haroley's voice actress, Arleen Sorkin, appears as one of Dini's few close friends repeatedly in the book).<br />
<br />
Also, as a fanboy, I have to point out there are some wonderful nuggets for the Batman fan, despite this not being a book about Batman in the fictional story sense. There's a tidbit about an initial thought on Joker's fate in the world of<i> Batman Beyond </i>that is chilling. And there's a three page scene that reveals a treatment for an episode of <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i> that never was, one featuring characters from <i>The Sandman</i>, that I don't want to spoil any more about it, but wow, I would love to have seen this animated, and if not, Mr. Dini, if you're reading this, that would make a heck of a one-shot, I'm just saying.<br />
<br />
Batman means a lot to me, personally. He's been my friend, my confidant, and my inspiration for many, many years. And it makes me feel a kinship to Paul Dini that he has done the same thing. <i>Dark Night</i> is a book about finding hope and standing up. It's one of the best graphic memoirs I've read in a long time, a mix of fact and fantasy that takes full advantage of the medium, and a worthy addition to anyone's Batman library.<br />
<br />
<i>Dark Knight: A True Batman Story</i> is available in hardcover at comic shops and wherever books are sold.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-6214919184929479952016-07-27T14:45:00.000-04:002016-07-28T13:54:26.247-04:00The Great Batman: Brave and the Bold Rewatch: Legends of the Dark Mite!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_uUOBkw4A4L0bIdcfEo5J2cdzPgLOoe_aXw5xGRYXJvZfGALvj53K5mfD-7zbgx7_64QXDl2iJoe1pj8ZFanHOxt2AehbKqJqE583Y5Hr1HliNhupXX7UnPuVjVJmC3TfLnvu0d0EfJc2/s1600/Legends_of_the_Dark_Mite%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_uUOBkw4A4L0bIdcfEo5J2cdzPgLOoe_aXw5xGRYXJvZfGALvj53K5mfD-7zbgx7_64QXDl2iJoe1pj8ZFanHOxt2AehbKqJqE583Y5Hr1HliNhupXX7UnPuVjVJmC3TfLnvu0d0EfJc2/s320/Legends_of_the_Dark_Mite%2521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Season One, Episode Nineteen: Legends of the Dark Mite!</b><br />
<b>Written by Paul Dini</b><br />
<b>Directed by Ben Jones</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b><u>Plot Synopsis</u></b><br />
<b><br />Teaser: </b>Catman is holding an auction for an endangered tiger when batmn interrupts the auction. He fights off the various people bidding on the tiger, and when Catman frees the jungle cat to attack him, Batman whistles for the aid of Ace the Bat Hound, who defeats tiger, sending it scurrying away, before running Catman up a tree and getting a Bat shaped dog treat.<br />
<br />
<b>Episode: </b>A bomb goes off in a Gotham bank, as two mobsters go in to steal the money, only to see Batman's silhouette pop up in the door along with strange narration. The thugs immediately surrender, only to have the narrator sound his disappointment and order the mobsters to attack, and they seemingly do against their volition. They surrender quickly again, when suddenly more thugs appear, now all armed with tommy guns. Batman avoids them, and then they turn into ninjas, attacking again.<br />
<br />
Batman demands the narrator show himself, and Batman is quickly teleported outside as Bat-Mite, an imp from the fifth dimension wearing a Batman inspired costume appears, declaring himself Batman's number one fan. Batman tries to swing away on his grapnel, only to find Bat-Mite following him. Bat-Mite explains his powers and purpose: to make Batman the greatest hero ever. He starts by changing his costume (into various ones recognizable from the characters history).<br />
<br />
When Batman shakes this off and tells Bat- Mite he does this to fight villains too dangerous for police, Bat-Mite decides to summon the greatest villain of all for Batman to fight so the world can see how great Batman is. Batman dodges various heavy hitter before tricking Bat-Mite into summoning Calendar Man, Batman tells him to "take a dive," and he falls over. Batman tells Bat-Mite he won and Bat-Mite should go home.<br />
<br />
But Bat-Mite isn't satisfied and turns Calendar Man into Calendar King, whi can summon holiday icons to aid him. He summons jack o'lantern men, biker Santas, and buff Uncle Sams to fight Batman, and while they are tougher than the mobsters and ninjas were, Batman defeats them, only to have giant mutant Easter bunnies attack him.<br />
<br />
Bat-Mite wonders if this is too over the top and freezes things, heading to the Fifth Dimension's comic con to hear what the Batman fanboys have to say about it. On stage are animated versions of the crew of <i>Brave and the Bold</i>, and when a fan says that this version of Batman isn't the grim urban avenger and is, "not my Batman," they reply with a wonderful speech about the history of Batman and how this is a valid version. Appeased, Bat-Mite starts the fight again, before Batman knocks out the bunnies with a gas grenade and Batman decks Calendar King.<br />
<br />
As Bat-Mite prepares to summon another villain, Batman convinces him to depart so he can fight real crime (and bribes him with a signed Batarang). Bat-Mite disappears, and Batman reappears in the bank vault with the mobsters from the beginning of the episode, who he makes short work of before returning to the Batcave.<br />
<br />
Dropping down into the chair in front of the Batcomputer, Batman begins to talk about his night to Ace, commenting on the "weird little creep" he spent the night dealing with only to see a second Ace walking up to him. The first Ace, Bat-Mite in disguise, furiously teleports Batman to an alien world, where fling saucers and monsters attempt to kill him. A giant Bat-Mite tells Batman that the Dark Knight will be his toy, and he'll play with him until he breaks.<br />
<br />
Batman figts his way through the aliens and monsters, stealing a flying saucer and using it for his benefit, untilhe realizes what's going on and Batman calls Bat-Mite's bluff, not fighting anymore, letting the monsters come... but none deliver a killing blow. Batman says he'd rather let himself be destroyed then be the imp's plaything, and then goads Bat-Mite into using his powers to turn himself into Batman.<br />
<br />
Bat-Mite, his tiny head on an over-muscled Bat-body, is now in Gotham, with Batman narrating. Bat-Mite heads to the science museum to stop Gorilla Grodd, but is knocked down by Grodd who runs off with a device he stole. Batman tells Bat-Mite he needs to out-think Grodd, and Bat-Mite uses a banana to trip up the great ape, but the device explodes, sending Bat-Mite tumbling into an abyss of darkness, where many of Batman's foes are waiting.<br />
<br />
They dogpile on him, and Bat-Mite runs away in fear. Batman appears, telling him to confront his foes and out-think them, but Bat-Mite says his imagination is running away with him and he continues to flee, only to have Kite-Man grab him and drop him from a height. He runs through traps laid out by Polka Dot Man, portals that summon villains, is frozen by Mr. Zero and smashed by the Tweedles, and is trapped by the Riddler.<br />
<br />
Bat-Mite calls for Batman's help, who drops down and uses a combination of brains and brawn to begin defeating the villains. Inspired, Bat-Mite breaks out of his cage and defeats the last few. He zaps himself and Batman out of the hallucinatory world he created, feeling sorry for himself, but Batman tells him he should be proud of himself and his powers, and not blindly follow someone else. Bat-Mite thanks Batman, and returns him to the Batcave, where he tests to make sure Ace is really Ace before relaxing.<br />
<br />
At a jewelry store, the villainous Copperhead is stealing handfuls of jewels before being knocked out by a boxing glove arrow. Green Arrow steps unto the light, only to hear a voice and turn around to see Bat-Mite, hovering in a Green Arrow costume, telling the archer that he's his number one fan. We fade to black and then pop back up as Bat-Mite breaks through a drum and delivers the classic Warner Bros. sign off, "That's all, folks," ala Porky Pig.<br />
<b><br /></b><b><u>Who's Who</u></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUOUCdHqS4JMqu9pg1gOTbXIjlYq7eEt3CIhZcvt5zShoTDTkkRt9e-sj0MRtIES3FLmj1_oLzL7qEUPjZdRw-RTrH6sLC8RFf4nnFPLn8KIs_MaMcYSZzo0NLD8ETRtJm8ConDc2Sw8v/s1600/batmiteandbatman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUOUCdHqS4JMqu9pg1gOTbXIjlYq7eEt3CIhZcvt5zShoTDTkkRt9e-sj0MRtIES3FLmj1_oLzL7qEUPjZdRw-RTrH6sLC8RFf4nnFPLn8KIs_MaMcYSZzo0NLD8ETRtJm8ConDc2Sw8v/s320/batmiteandbatman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b>Bat-Mite (Voiced by Paul Reubens)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>Detective Comics #267 </i>(May, 1959)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b>Season One, Episode Nineteen- <i>Legends of the Dark Mite!</i></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Bat-Mite's origins and motivations are pretty much straight our of this episode: fifth dimensional Batman super-fan. He was introduced in the sci-fi heavy era of Batman stories from the late 50s and early 60s, and would often appear as a nuisance in Batman stories. While he disappeared, he never fully went away, appearing in occasional stories throughout the years, resurrected in <i>Legends of the Dark Knight</i> stories, in Grant Morrison's run on <i>Batman</i>, and in places like <i>Brave and the Bold</i>. If you want to learn more about Bat-Mite, you can check out <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-greatest-bat-mite-stories-ever-told.html">the post I wrote</a> before his recent mini-series.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Ace the Bat Hound </b><b>(Voiced by Dee Bradley Baker)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>Batman #92 </i>(June, 1955)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b>Season One, Episode Nineteen- <i>Legends of the Dark Mite!</i></b><br />
<br />
Batman's trusty dog, Ace the Bat Hound, has appeared in many different incarnations over the hiostory of Batman. Originally appearing in the '50s, Ace was a German Shepherd who Batman and Robin encountered on a case and took in. He would help them on cases, and would even wear a mask and a cape. Ace would appear throughout the 50s and early 60s, and disappear around the time Julie Schwartz took over editing the Bat titles in the mid-60s; this is the version that inspired the <i>Brave and the Bold</i> take on the character. A new, post-Crisis Ace was introduced in the 90s, a puggle who Batman took in after his owner passed away. This Ace rarely joined in cases and never wore the mask and cape. He also disappeared, this time after "No Man's Land." Currently, Batman has a dog in the comics, one he bought for his son, Damian, a Great Dane named Titus. A version of Ace also appeared in Batman Beyond, who was also a Great Dane, and served as the elder Bruce Wayne's guard dog. The traditional Ace was resurrected as one of the regular supporting castmembers/guest stars in the <i>Krypto the Superdog</i> animated series, where he wore the mask and cape and acted like a canine version of his famous owner, serious, intelligent, and stern.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b>Catman (Voiced by Thomas F. Wilson)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>Detective Comics #311 </i>(January, 1963)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b>Season One, Episode Nineteen- <i>Legends of the Dark Mite!</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Thomas Blake was a big game hunter who had grown bored with hunting, and decided instead to take up crime to pay off his gambling debts Fashioning a costume from the cloth that had wrapped an ancient idol that was said to grant the nine lives of a cat, Blake became the criminal known as Catman. A minor Batman foe at best, Blake would be defeated regularly by Batman, as well as other heroes and his sometime rival, Catwoman. Blake would eventually retire and become the lowest of the low in the supervillain world. But hitting rock bottom made Blake look up again, and he would return to Africa, train again, and become a decidedly more deadly threat. Recruited as a member of the <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2012/12/recommended-reading-for-1214-secret-six.html">Secret Six</a>, Catman was now a force to be reckoned with, a deadly hand to hand combatant and tracker. In the New 52 continuity, Blake is again a member of the Secret Six, although much of his backstory as a nemesis of Batman has been erased, with him simply being a mercenary and hunter.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b>Calendar Man (Voiced by Jim Piddock)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>Detective Comics #259 </i>(September, 1958)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b>Season One, Episode Nineteen- <i>Legends of the Dark Mite!</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Julian Day was a man obsessed with holidays and calendars, and like many villains of the 50s and 60s, used his obsession to create a criminal persona. Calendar Man would commit crimes centered on and around holidays. He would probably have faded into obscurity with the likes of Kite Man if not for the redesign by Tim Sale for his and Jeph Loeb's seminal <i>Batman: The Long Halloween</i>, where he became a far more frightening foe.<br />
<br />
<b>Gorilla Grodd (Voice by John DiMaggio)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>The Flash #106 </i>(May, 1959)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_23.html">Season One, Episode Two- <i>Terror on Dinosaur Island!</i></a></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Copperhead</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>Brave and the Bold #78 </i>(June, 1968)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b>Season One, Episode Nineteen- <i>Legends of the Dark Mite!</i></b><br />
<br />
Copperhead was a thief and killer who wore a snake costume and would use it to commit murders and other crimes. His real identity was never revealed. He was a master contortionist with or without his costume, but the costume allowed for greater abilities to pass through tight spaces and to deliver poison through the fangs.<br />
<br />
<b>Green Arrow (Voiced by James Arnold Taylor)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>More Fun Comics #73 </i>(November, 1941)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch.html">Season One, Episode One- <i>Rise of the Blue Beetle</i></a></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<br />
<b><u>Continuity, Comics Connections, and Notes</u></b><br />
<br />
The title of this episode is shared with <i>Batman:Legends of the Dark Knight #38</i>, a story by Alan Grant and Kevin O'Neill, that resurrected Bat-MIte in Post-Crisis continuity,<br />
<br />
This episode is the <i>Brave and the Bold</i> debut of writer Paul Dini, one of the best Batman writers of the past twenty years. starting out on <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i>, before doing long runs on <i>Detective Comics</i> and <i>Batman: Streets of Gotham</i>. He might be best known as the creator of Harley Quinn, and he and <i>B:TAS</i> producer and artist Bruce Timm won an Eisner award for their one-shit <i>Batman: Mad Love</i>, Harley's origin. He recently released a graphic memoir through Vertigo, <i>Dark Night: A True Batman Story</i>, and appeared on last week's <a href="http://nerdist.com/nerdist-podcast-paul-dini/">Nerdist Podcast</a>, which is well worth a listen.<br />
<br />
Batman's line, "A friend of mine in Metropolis told me about menaces like you,"is of course a reference to Superman and his own Fifth Dimensional enemy, Mr. Mxyzptlk.<br />
<br />
The costume transformations Bat-Mite puts Batman through include:Vampire Batman from the <i>Batman/Dracula Red Rain</i> trilogy, Bat-Hombre from <i>Batman #56</i>, Adam West's Batman from the classic TV series, the costume from Joel Scumacher's <i>Batman and Robin</i>, Zebra Batman from <i>Detective Comics #275</i>, and Frank Miller's Batman from <i>The Dark Knight Returns</i>.<br />
<br />
Before Bat-Mite summons Calendar Man, he summons three other villains: returning foes Solomon Grundy and Gorilla Grodd, and first timer Shaggy Man.<br />
<br />
At the comic convention scene, the <i>Brave and the Bold </i>cast and crew on stage include Diedrich Bader, Michael Chang, Michael Jelenic, Ben Jones, Sam Register, Andrea Romano, James Tucker, and Brandon Vietti. In the audience, while most fans are dressed as Batman, two are dressed as Joker and Harley Quinn. Thes two are Bruce Timm (Joker) and Paul Dini (Harley).<br />
<br />
As Bat-Mite takes on Batman's identity and enters Gotham, the city has red skies and as bat-Mite lands on a building top and is silhouetted before being brought into the light by lightning, which is a direct lift from the opening of <i>Batman:The Animated Series</i>.<br />
<br />
The shot and sequence as Bat-Mite confronts the mob of villains is an homage to "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery," a classic Daffy Duck short where he takes on the roll of Duck Twacy, a Dick Tracy parody. This sequence includes many of Batman's most famous (and infamous) villains, many amking their first Brave and the Bold appearance, and includes the Penguin Catwoman, Killer Moth, Kite-Man, Riddler, Polka-Dot Man, Tiger Shark, Zebra Man, Joker, Catman, Mr. Zero (Mr. Freeze), and Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum. Later in the sequence, the Mad Hatter appears as well.<br />
<br />
Bat-Mite's flight from the villains featured two very clear callbacks to two classic Batman covers, one is"The House that Joker Built," from <i>Detective Comics #365</i>, and the Riddler's first appearance cover in <i>Detective Comics #140</i>.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-30485880515051441322016-07-20T14:00:00.000-04:002016-07-20T14:00:03.542-04:00The Great Batman: Brave and the Bold Rewatch: The Color of Revenge!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghoGBkmJIFLTzh3aY4d8EHMJsBVILnNLNESps6wR_QixNiJfD1FfezT4xzBoimBPSf1yXRmxl6UWURfxNwgzx6aySAniW5xg3UuG7HDm4mRaYguGldlKBNzDLOW1DI8sSCCrW0__V3LpHN/s1600/Color-title.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghoGBkmJIFLTzh3aY4d8EHMJsBVILnNLNESps6wR_QixNiJfD1FfezT4xzBoimBPSf1yXRmxl6UWURfxNwgzx6aySAniW5xg3UuG7HDm4mRaYguGldlKBNzDLOW1DI8sSCCrW0__V3LpHN/s320/Color-title.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Season One, Episode Eighteen: The Color of Revenge!</b><br />
<b>Written by Tod Casey</b><br />
<b>Directed by Michael Chang</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b><u>Plot Synopsis</u></b><br />
<b><br />Teaser: </b>The Bat Signal shines in the Gotham skies in the not too distant past, as we see Batman and his young ward, Robin, head into Gotham. Robin looks at a painting that is a clue from Crazy Quilt, which Batman knows is leading them to an experimental Stimulated Emission Light Amplifier (SELA), a powerful laser. Batman and Robin arrive and intercept Quilt and his men, and when Quilt uses the SELA against them, firing blasts of energy, Robin reflects them back at him, seemingly blinding him.<br />
<br />
<b>Episode: </b>Solomon Grundy is robbing the Bank of Bl<span class="Latn headword" lang="tr" style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;" xml:lang="tr"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ü</span></span>dhaven, Gotham'e neighboring city, and an "R" Signal calls out to the now adult Robin. Robin defeats Grundy using a combination of acrobatics and intelligence, and the police thank him, making him feel confident, although he harbors some resentment clearly directed at Batman.<br />
<br />
As he rides off on his motorcycle, he looks up at the sky and sees a large blinking eye projected into the clouds. He begins to deduce what the eye is, but Batman pulls up on his motorcycle, telling Robin the eye is blinking an address in Morse code. Batman tells Robin that Crazy Quilt has escaped and is gunning for Robin. The two bicker as they ride towards the address, Robin bitter that Batman is acting like he's in charge despite this being Robin's city.<br />
<br />
The address is that of a closed club, and Batman continues to act like he's in charge, while Robin continues to act bitter. In the club, the lights flash on, and cut paper fish begin to fall from the air, a double clue from Crazy Quilt, whose voice begins to pipe in from the club speakers. Batman and Robin fight Quilt's color themed stooges, Red, Blue, and Green, but after their defeat, Robin dives at Quilt, only to find it's a dummy, set to lead them into a trap, a spinning room that will flatten the Dynamic Duo into two dimensional "art."<br />
<br />
Robin thinks that he can use a Batarang, combining his strnegth and the force of the spinning to cut through the wall, but Batman believes they will be crushed first, thinking to use his bat laser to blast the spinning lights, thinking blowing them out will short the power. Robin doesn't listen and begins his plan, but it's Batman's that works, and Robin angrily says his way would have worked. They head out to stop Quilt, only to find the villain has trashed Robin's bike, leaving the former sidekick to ride on the Batcycle's sidecar, to his chagrin.<br />
<br />
The two heroes continue to not connect, as Robin provides Batman a clue, and the Dark Knight doesn't even listen as his former sidekick makes the same deduction he did first, heading to S.T.A.R. Labs. The guard at S.T.A.R. runs up to Batman, not Robin (heightening Rabin's annoyance), and tells batman that Quilt is after the SELA again. Quilt is inside, again using scissors and paper to make art, but sees Batman and Robin as blobs, but sees well enough to duck Robin's thrown bolo. Again, Batman and Robin fight Quilt's henchmen, but this time Quilt is prepared, wielding the SELA. Robin plans to go after Quilt, but Batman orders him to pursue Red, who has run off. Robin does so, finding Red waiting with a gattling gun.<br />
<br />
Quilt fires at Batman, but his very limited vision keeps him from hitting Batman. He brags that he plans to wire the SELA into his optic nerves and use it to make art by carving things with his new vision. He is finally able to connect with the SELA, knocking Batman unconscious, and escapes with Batman in the tank he's mounted the SELA on, but not before gloating at Robin about weaving Batman into a rug he will walk all over and blasting the lab walls, crumbling them on top of Robin.<br />
<br />
At the Bl<span class="Latn headword" lang="tr" style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;" xml:lang="tr"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ü</span></span>dhaven textile mill, Quilt has Batman tied up on a loom, and monologues about destroying the city and blaming Robin. Back at S.T.A.R., Robin pulls himself from the rubble, broken but unbowed, and takes the Batcycle. Remembering Quilt's brag, he deduces that Quilt is at the textile mill. He infiltrates the mill and takes out the henchmen, and finds a series of paintings all featuring Robin, showing the depths of Quilt's obsession.<br />
<br />
Batman calls out to Robin, and begins to give him orders on how to free him from the loom. But with a captive audience, Robin begins to enumerate his grievances at Batman, telling him he's not a kid anymore and that he needs to be treated as an adult in his city. By the time he turns around Batman has freed himself, and thanks Robin for taking out the henchmen. Quilt reappears, now with the SELA hooked into his helmet, and begins to attack the heroes.<br />
<br />
Quilt fires blasts from the SELA, destroying the mill, and corners Batman and Robin. When Robin asks Batman for a plan, Batman tells him, "Your villain. Your call." Robin smiles, draws a small laser torch, and says he has this. Batman jumps out to distract Quilt, while Robin gets above him, cutting a girder which falls on top of the SELA breaking it. Quilt fires blasts from his helmet, but Robin acrobatically dodges them, before landing in front of Quilt and decks him.<br />
<br />
In the aftermath of the battle, Quilt is carted back off to Arkham, Robin thanks Batman and says he's glad Batman finally has faith he can handle things on his own. Batman says he's always had faith in Robin's abilities, and Robin thanks Batman. Commissioner Gordon gets in touch, saying Killer Moth has hijacked a train, and the two heroes head out together to stop him, although Robin still has to ride in the sidecar.<br />
<b><br /></b><b><br /></b><b><u>Who's Who</u></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQIadtpXXa5pHigTCWCI5YvSeu4sBeXdMWZxehoEOIY_DAcohppU8tTBEjEVoyYojLN2U15XQZnLFgpp5sdc2eFTuZTtEFUpabAYmBcPFeFyIi8tDtyRLdpWSHgu64U1g3cwv17DB_432Y/s1600/tbatb_batmanandrobin3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQIadtpXXa5pHigTCWCI5YvSeu4sBeXdMWZxehoEOIY_DAcohppU8tTBEjEVoyYojLN2U15XQZnLFgpp5sdc2eFTuZTtEFUpabAYmBcPFeFyIi8tDtyRLdpWSHgu64U1g3cwv17DB_432Y/s320/tbatb_batmanandrobin3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b>Robin (Voiced by Crawford Wilson; Young Robin voiced by Jeremy Shada)</b><br />
<div>
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>Detective Comics #38 </i>(April, 1940)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b>Season One, Episode Eighteen- <i>The Color of Revenge!</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Dick Grayson was a circus kid, the son of John and Mary Grayson, the aerialists known as the Flying Graysons. But when Haley's Circus stopped in Gotham City, Boss Tony Zucco, on of Gotham's local mobsters, tried to extort money from Mr. Haley, and when he refused, Zucco decided to show Haley he meant business. He tampered with the Grayson's ropes, and Richard and Mary fell to their deaths. But two other things happened that night that changed Dick's life: he witnessed Zucco threatening Mr. Haley, and Bruce Wayne was in the audience. Bruce Wayne took in the young circus performer, and began to train him to be Batman's partner in crime fighting, Robin the Boy Wonder. Robin became the first of the kid sidekicks, leader of the Teen Titans, and a great hero. The two would work together until Dick grew to adulthood, when he would strike out on his own, taking on the identity of Nightwing. Dick has been a fixture of the DC Universe since its earliest days, has led the Titans and the Justice League, and has been a stand in for Batman when Bruce was lost in time. He has been a hero, a spy, a ladies man, and a friend. Dick Grayson is one of the most talented acrobats in the world, a talented martial artist, and a well trained detective.<br />
<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b>Crazy Quilt (Voiced by Jeffrey Tambor)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>Boy Commandos #15 </i>(June, 1946)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b><a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_22.html">Season One, Episode Fifteen- <i>Trials of the Demon!</i></a></b></div>
<div>
<br />
<b>Solomon Grundy (Voiced by Diedrich Bader)</b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>All-American Comics #61 </i>(October, 1944)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: </b><b><a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_29.html">Season One, Episode Sixteen- <i>Night of the Huntress!</i></a></b><br />
<br /></div>
<b>S.T.A.R. Labs </b><br />
<b>First Comic Book Appearance: <i>Superman #246 </i>(December, 1971)</b><br />
<b>First Brave and the Bold Appearance: <a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-great-batman-brave-and-bold-rewatch_6.html">Season One, Episode Four- <i>Invasion of the Secret Santas!</i></a></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<br />
<b><u>Continuity, Comics Connections, and Notes</u></b><br />
<br />
This entire episode is filled with references to the classic <i>Batman</i> TV series from the '60s. The teaser features many direct pulls, including the bust of Shakespeare used to trigger the Batpole entrance to the Batcave and the moment where Batman and Robin climb up the wall at the villain's target. Crazy Quilt, while not a villain from the show, has the same broad personality, obsession with his motif, and clue riddled speechifying. The deathtraps are also very broad and feel like something from the old TV show, especially Batman being turned into a rug on a loom.<br />
<br />
Bl<span class="Latn headword" lang="tr" style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;" xml:lang="tr"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ü</span></span>dhaven, the city that Robin patrols, was the city that Nightwing lived in and guarded when he was given his own ongoing. Created by Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel, the city was considered Gotham's uglier sister, a city that had gone downhill and didn't have a Batman to protect it. It was often considered Newark to Gotham's New York City.<br />
<br />
The eye blinking signal that draws Batman and Robin into Crazy Quilt's trap sends them to the, "Corner of Haney and Aparo." Bob Haney, writer, and Jim Aparo, penciller, were two of the creators on the classic<i> Brave and the Bold </i>comic series from the 60s, 70s, and 80s that inspired the animated series,<br />
<br />
The club where Crazy Quil laid his trap is Club 38. 38 is the issue number of Robin's first appearance, <i>Detective Comics #38</i>.<br />
<br />
While fighting, Robin uses a bo staff, the weapon that has been often associated with Robin in recent years thanks to it being used by the version of the character in the <i>Teen Titans</i> animated series. However, this is not a weapon usually used by Dick Grayson in the comics; he uses escrima fighting sticks. The bo is the weapon of Tim Drake, the third Robin, that he adapted as his own in his first solo mini-series.<br />
<br />
The paintings that Robin finds in Crazy Quilt's lair of him include onces ispired by Munch's "The Scream," as well as works by Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Picasso.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-11528960874011895152016-07-19T15:52:00.001-04:002016-07-19T15:52:21.560-04:00Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 7/13<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhb19Eb27uomyKhVrMnQo6LoFBKw8AvmrAzlppuBhzsQX3ZFgbyvMDQyizI8zALcmJF9cMxLqYzXVVhHBRRFpB8k84QXOOB6vM_OANF5Qi5j_1W9x9lEDLu1okDEPsCmzHvUGGlg3AKFl/s1600/DD92016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhb19Eb27uomyKhVrMnQo6LoFBKw8AvmrAzlppuBhzsQX3ZFgbyvMDQyizI8zALcmJF9cMxLqYzXVVhHBRRFpB8k84QXOOB6vM_OANF5Qi5j_1W9x9lEDLu1okDEPsCmzHvUGGlg3AKFl/s1600/DD92016.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Daredevil #9</b><br />
<b>Story: Charles Soule</b><br />
<b>Art: Goran Suduka & Matt Milla</b><br />
<br />
Daredevil is probably my favorite non-cosmic or mutant Marvel character. I've read his book regularly since the Marvel Knights relaunch, and have picked up plenty of back issues and trades along the way. And I was absolutely in love with Mark Waid's run on the series, with it's lighter tone. And I was excited when Charles Soule, an actual lawyer whose legal-centric run on <i>She-Hulk</i> is one of my favorite Marvel series in the past decade. The tone of his first arc was darker, as was his Daredevil, more akin to Bendis then Waid, and it took me a little while to adjust to the darker tone. But this two part story, of Daredevil in Macau playing poker and fighting the Triads, finds a nice balance between the dark Daredevil and the light one, helped by the guest-star: Spider-Man. Soule writes a great Spidey, quipping away constantly, and the less quippy Daredevil is a great straight man for him, and brings out the sense of humor in Daredevil, who makes his own share of quips. The majority of the issue is a chase, as Daredevil and Spidey chase a briefcase, the reason that Daredevil came to Macau to begin with. Artist Goran Sudzuka draws some amazing fight scenes, full of acrobatic action and flying billy clubs. But it's the character moments between Daredevil and Spider-Man that really makes the issue sing. The two of them, riding a hydrofoil from Macau to Hong Kong while basically parasailing using web-lines and billy-club lines, and Daredevil enjoying it. And the end of the issue, as Daredevil explains to Spider-Man why Spidey suddenly has holes in his memory involving Daredevil and what the briefcase is continues to show that Daredevil didn't fully think out whatever plan he had to remove the knowledge of his identity from the world. With all that going down, Soule gives Spidey one of the best last lines I've read in a long time, " Watch out for those black-costume phases. They can really do a number on you." It's a smart callback to one of Spidey's legendary stories and an acknowledgment of exactly where Daredevil seems to be now. This issue has me excited to see where exactly Soule plans to take Daredevil.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-oysh2Qg5o077uAusql-FI4ReYENByunZuAleHUSz5WdkqLnj_R7uNh0y9q-WezJvPMHj486q2KhjzBnvRYq_c_gNR3zxzt7aJ4hL6aUsuDeyISERB2F7N7WSkKa2OQ8fNWnAOU1ieTb/s1600/tec936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-oysh2Qg5o077uAusql-FI4ReYENByunZuAleHUSz5WdkqLnj_R7uNh0y9q-WezJvPMHj486q2KhjzBnvRYq_c_gNR3zxzt7aJ4hL6aUsuDeyISERB2F7N7WSkKa2OQ8fNWnAOU1ieTb/s1600/tec936.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Detective Comics #936</b><br />
<b>Story: James Tynion IV</b><br />
<b>Art: Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez, & Brad Anderson</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Detective Comics</i> just might be my favorite book out of the DC: Rebirth relaunch. After last issue's finale, with Batman taken out by the group of armored Bat soldier called The Colony, this issue opens with a much quieter moment: Kate Kane, Batwoman, out at a bar with her ex, GCPD detective Renee Montoya, talking about Kate's time in the military and her role as a leader. There's clearly still strain in their relationship, but I have to say, it's great to see Renee again. A call from Red Robin gets Batwoman to the belfry to watch the video of the assault on Batman, and they quickly call in the rest of the team, as well as Kate's father, Colonel Jake Kane. And as the others, including Kane, gather, Oprhan, Cassandra Cain, is attacked by the Colony. And it's only once Kane is in the Belfry that the other shoe falls: The Colony is a military project that Kane is in charge of, and he's here to recruit Batman's team, as well as get access to the Bat computer for the mission he has for The Colony. And even as the team makes their escape, Kane is sure that his plan will still work. The whole scene with Kane talking to the team, and to Kate specifically, is brilliantly tense. All the problems that Kate and her father have been having since Greg Rucka's original run on <i>Detective</i>, all the secrets and lies that have been pushing them apart, come to a head here. The idea, that the government would use Batman's example to create a black ops force, is a cool one, and the fact that it's being used against Batman and his allies is all the more intense. And placing Batwoman's father, Batman's uncle, at the head of it? I love it. All of this while working in strong character development and interactions between the cast, especially Batwoman and Red Robin, makes it an exciting and thoughtful read. The art from Alvaro Martinez is excellent, especially in the hints of the fight between The Colony and Orphan; most of it takes place off panel, but you see the set-up, as the soldiers surround her against a rainy and lightning filled Gotham sky, and the end, as she finishes off one of the soldiers, crashing to the floor of the Belfry through the skylight. It's beautiful, and shows the strength and speed of Orphan, and is stylishly done. Each issue of <i>Detective</i> has been better than the last, and as the fight with The Colony amps up, I can't wait to see where it goes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSNlUz31Ay9irPuDdqVMM0W_RLSJijXkIdl81EKyUU4JogYZzJo-5TX_AcaUprDCYB2e9vHrmQpcrbF9ZeMqzbDQeODoVcNM5z3m5z5gnkMe-ewOG9rQitmHZM1wCI6-aCnrG9a8wVKNe/s1600/stumptown10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSNlUz31Ay9irPuDdqVMM0W_RLSJijXkIdl81EKyUU4JogYZzJo-5TX_AcaUprDCYB2e9vHrmQpcrbF9ZeMqzbDQeODoVcNM5z3m5z5gnkMe-ewOG9rQitmHZM1wCI6-aCnrG9a8wVKNe/s320/stumptown10.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Stumptown #10</b><br />
<b>Story: Greg Rucka</b><br />
<b>Art: Justin Greenwood & Ryan Hill</b><br />
<br />
Each case private investigator Dex Parios has been involved in since the beginning of <i>Stumptown </i>have been byzantine affairs no matter how simple they seem on paper. But this issue, "The Case of the Night That Wouldn't End" is a one off story that has a couple of twists to it,because what good PI story doesn't, but is at its heart fairly simple: Dex is hired to find out if a man's wife is cheating on him, and she follows the wife to a motel. The issue actually features two of my favorite types of comics: a great one off issue, and a great mostly silent issue, both of which are few and far between in comics nowadays (and don't I sound like an old fogey?). Justin Greenwood tells the story with his art as ex silently watches her suspect and a younger man meet at the motel, but not everything is as it seems. There are little details about their interactions, plus what's going on with a courier skateboarding out in the rain that are hints to things going on deeper with all these characters. PI and mystery shorts are some of the trickiest to write, since you have to establish everything and have it pay off not only for the reader the first time, but also on a second reading if they already know the solution, and this story succeeds. Rucka doesn't forget about Dex's personal life, or lack thereof, as we get hints of exactly how bad Dex is at dealing with personal relationships through a series of texts. It's a really solid introduction to the world of Stumptown, so if you're looking for a good crime comic, and want to get in and try it before the new volume starts in January, this is a great place to start.The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598957876892744578.post-31873888538304926232016-07-08T17:39:00.000-04:002016-07-08T17:39:08.972-04:00A Peak Inside My StechbookIt's been kind of a hectic few days, and what was supposed to be a more relaxed day turned out to be... not so much one. So as I'm preparing to head up to Morristown, NJ for <a href="http://www.gardenstatecomicfest.com/">Garden State Comic Fest</a> tomorrow to hopefully add a sketch to my sketchbook from one of my all time favorite comic artists, I thought I'd put up a handful today.<br />
<br />
I started this sketchbook on Free Comic Book Day back in 2011, and have constantly added new sketches at each FCBD and con I've gone to since. I've got over 50 sketches based around the theme of Batman, his allies, and his enemies (I know, what a surprise from me), and here are some of my favorites.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHmQXy5e9f0U5dXmB0gI-nPLcc4id2NRW3tFtMNMaQfz_e18kNT0DLtU1vf24GK5INc2UQZotRDUBo6P-3Af2m_y-EvQ03FC3FNftn120Re0aKMJ34DvpU7dzrrOLCB8kaHVYXUioCKKg/s1600/IMG_20160708_134531003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHmQXy5e9f0U5dXmB0gI-nPLcc4id2NRW3tFtMNMaQfz_e18kNT0DLtU1vf24GK5INc2UQZotRDUBo6P-3Af2m_y-EvQ03FC3FNftn120Re0aKMJ34DvpU7dzrrOLCB8kaHVYXUioCKKg/s320/IMG_20160708_134531003.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Here's the very first sketch I got, a classic Batman from Fernando Ruiz, best known for his work on </i>Archie<i>, </i>Archie Vs. Predator<i>, and his creator owned</i> Die, Kitty, Die!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzUYHi1a_5gZTvIlOL13L7WCiwrK_LisLg-6KUB15b7ALl7YFWcxLF9DORa0IFj0jvhMItbSYYQAYfc85Dp_OQzrjNelJwjSXFy710iQbNXCodoLAoggDdRzqKcfVOc5-ybSkRctueDP7/s1600/IMG_20160708_134602081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzUYHi1a_5gZTvIlOL13L7WCiwrK_LisLg-6KUB15b7ALl7YFWcxLF9DORa0IFj0jvhMItbSYYQAYfc85Dp_OQzrjNelJwjSXFy710iQbNXCodoLAoggDdRzqKcfVOc5-ybSkRctueDP7/s320/IMG_20160708_134602081.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>Art Baltazar, co-creator of </i>Tiny Titans<i>, does great crayon sketches, and back at NYCC, I got him to draw the three Robins, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake, as well as his creator owned character Patrick the Wolf Boy dressed up like Robin. Some day, I'm going to dig up my Patrick singles and write up a recommendation on it, 'cause it's awesome.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-02BKiC1sb3IU5nXfO15K5T6FLRwiHd3d67bNGfAudG8vuJiCTafYX619vL0ZasmZSRIUcvu-H-Ag-4utArkZF-zAnGQ3nBMWNCp08fZqiENs5gfP8q2-KOeLPRALGE-tJEMkBJqHDR-/s1600/IMG_20160708_134624396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-02BKiC1sb3IU5nXfO15K5T6FLRwiHd3d67bNGfAudG8vuJiCTafYX619vL0ZasmZSRIUcvu-H-Ag-4utArkZF-zAnGQ3nBMWNCp08fZqiENs5gfP8q2-KOeLPRALGE-tJEMkBJqHDR-/s320/IMG_20160708_134624396.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>Ryan Dunlavey, who's worked with Fred Vane Lente on </i>Action Philosophers <i>and </i>Comic Book Comics<i>, as well as the upcoming <b>Action Presidents</b>, did an appearance at Dewey's, and he gave me my first Mr. Freeze in his classic </i>Batman: The Animated Series<i> armor.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCApUD2usQ07vN9fTG_LsGwLj26MfBBdPYrdhYGEi5ACJKxp30x1JHHl63qnnYTALazCeAplQv2a-DNCybzlNue16wAmj0_mcD4sQRuCghjeqfZFGIja0XTLIOdSl2hRQN6qQM5N0RvAW/s1600/IMG_20160708_134633315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCApUD2usQ07vN9fTG_LsGwLj26MfBBdPYrdhYGEi5ACJKxp30x1JHHl63qnnYTALazCeAplQv2a-DNCybzlNue16wAmj0_mcD4sQRuCghjeqfZFGIja0XTLIOdSl2hRQN6qQM5N0RvAW/s320/IMG_20160708_134633315.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>I've loved Jim Calafiore's art from the time he worked with Peter David on </i>Aquaman<i>, and have followed his work in </i>Exiles<i>, </i>Leaving Megalopolis<i>, and plenty of other comics. But my favorite work of his has to be </i>Secret Six <i>with Gail Simone, so I asked him to do Deadshot for me, and not only did he do it, but he rolled up the mask so we could see Deadshot's signature 'stache.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtMgzRjvF7CkKSxx4kcBpsRVkqmmS2kputwItQKcFGheRj28ZqvJvyD4W8K65SgUTDOWOagg_y733vkbV5tTzwNqYhVbuIXgrgGcqGaOHOILNd1-hZ1Db_VvmntY9DggqT6A1a0HwK7Mi/s1600/IMG_20160708_134643427.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtMgzRjvF7CkKSxx4kcBpsRVkqmmS2kputwItQKcFGheRj28ZqvJvyD4W8K65SgUTDOWOagg_y733vkbV5tTzwNqYhVbuIXgrgGcqGaOHOILNd1-hZ1Db_VvmntY9DggqT6A1a0HwK7Mi/s320/IMG_20160708_134643427.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>Tim Sale. Tim freakin' Sale. He has drawn some of my favorite Batman stories of all time, from "Blades" in </i>Legends of the Dark Knight<i>, to the </i>Haunted Knight <i>Halloween specials</i>, Long Halloween<i>, and </i>Dark Victory<i>. And when I got the opportunity to get a Sale, I was completely torn on who to choose, so I went with Scarecrow. With a little ink and a few brushstrokes, he was able to evoke his signature Scarecrow.</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoTy6ycGPLLlrE84ZDeG9sO_ePYblHG-fx40fLhVVusIJF97ATCofd29YnugUM5hZm7R83i4HbokYz6TqGkwFUxaPGrTY2dqFuTFEZDPpS-iuns-JrFc51b-QYxT4gAVWJaZ3PVD03OFbB/s1600/IMG_20160708_134717090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoTy6ycGPLLlrE84ZDeG9sO_ePYblHG-fx40fLhVVusIJF97ATCofd29YnugUM5hZm7R83i4HbokYz6TqGkwFUxaPGrTY2dqFuTFEZDPpS-iuns-JrFc51b-QYxT4gAVWJaZ3PVD03OFbB/s320/IMG_20160708_134717090.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<i>Joe Staton is a living legend, having worked with Paul Levitz on the '70s revival of the JSA, where he also co-created the original Huntress. But he also drew one of the stories from T</i>he Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told<i>, </i>Brave and the Bold #197<i>, "The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne," the story of how the Batman of Earth-2 and the Catwoman of that world finally got together, so his piece is Catwoman of Earth-2</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkKq6CQNeb9UUZsWir6Q3_iSANVnIOjc74TtRSZ0znnvW5wpvMbipgc26h_0lBL4AvZduiP5PvuKYK_sGGc6AxIwwv08kFvUS9kmrLf-MLdL2d8gNGH_CBB7CsvXNRKdzWW_tI3rnnGit/s1600/IMG_20160708_134730096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkKq6CQNeb9UUZsWir6Q3_iSANVnIOjc74TtRSZ0znnvW5wpvMbipgc26h_0lBL4AvZduiP5PvuKYK_sGGc6AxIwwv08kFvUS9kmrLf-MLdL2d8gNGH_CBB7CsvXNRKdzWW_tI3rnnGit/s320/IMG_20160708_134730096.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>And the final piece for today is a recent addition, from Diane Leto, who co-created </i><a href="http://mattsignal.blogspot.com/2015/10/recommended-reading-for-109-halloween.html">The Halloween Legion</a><i>, as well a plenty of other work. I was really pleased to finally get my first classic Harley Quinn, here with her signature mallet and everything.</i>The Matt Signalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335388382653905003noreply@blogger.com0