Why I Love Tim Drake

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.

I started reading comic officially (or as official as you can get) with Batman #445. Tim Drake made his first appearance in costume in Batman #442 (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.

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?

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 Robin #10, a Zero Hour 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.

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 Nightwing, 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,

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 Final Crisis, 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.

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 Red Robin 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.

Alas, this was not to be. The Tim Drake of the Teen Titans 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.

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 Batman: The Animated Series 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 Batman: Arkham games is a little better, but is still more of a roughneck than Tim is.  Young Justice 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.

So where did that leave Tim? Well, in the past year and change, thing have gotten better for him. Batman and Robin Eternal, 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 Detective Comics 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.

The Great Batman: Brave and the Bold Rewatch: The Color of Revenge!

Season One, Episode Eighteen: The Color of Revenge!
Written by Tod Casey
Directed by Michael Chang

Plot Synopsis

Teaser: 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.

Episode: Solomon Grundy is robbing the Bank of Blüdhaven, 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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

At the Blüdhaven 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.

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.

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.

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.


Who's Who

Robin (Voiced by Crawford Wilson; Young Robin voiced by Jeremy Shada)

First Comic Book Appearance: Detective Comics #38 (April, 1940)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Eighteen- The Color of Revenge!

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.


Crazy Quilt (Voiced by Jeffrey Tambor)
First Comic Book Appearance: Boy Commandos #15 (June, 1946)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Fifteen- Trials of the Demon!

Solomon Grundy  (Voiced by Diedrich Bader)
First Comic Book Appearance: All-American Comics #61 (October, 1944)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Sixteen- Night of the Huntress!

S.T.A.R. Labs 
First Comic Book Appearance: Superman #246 (December, 1971)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Four- Invasion of the Secret Santas!

Continuity, Comics Connections, and Notes

This entire episode is filled with references to the classic Batman 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.

Blüdhaven, 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.

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 Brave and the Bold comic series from the 60s, 70s, and 80s that inspired the animated series,

The club where Crazy Quil laid his trap is Club 38. 38 is the issue number of Robin's first appearance, Detective Comics #38.

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 Teen Titans 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.

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.

Hope in Crime Alley: The Importance of Leslie Thompkins

Superhero comics have a language of violence in them that is implicit, if not explicit. Heroes fight villains. There's punching, kicking, shooting, bataranging, webbing, and blasting. It's been part of the lexicon since the formation of the genre. And I've been thinking a lot about violence this past week. Gun violence in particular, but also the fictional worlds I love, the violence in them, and their relationship to the real world. And of course there are no easy answers to any of the questions I've read or I've posed to myself, and I would feel strange writing some paean to better fiction worlds in the face of reality. But when I was thinking about a world that could be a better one, and how that interacts with reality and fiction, I thought about a character from the Batman mythos. Leslie Thompkins isn't exactly an obscure character, but she isn't a top billed one either; she's never been in a movie, and the incarnation of the character on television right now is about as far removed from the actual character in the comics as possible. But I wanted to write about Leslie today, about her history, and about why she's such an important character not just for Batman, but for superhero comics in general.

Leslie Thompkins made her first appearance in Detective Comics #457 from 1975, in a story entitled, "There is No Hope in Crime Alley!" Written by Denny O'Neil, one of the greatest of all Batman writers, and with art by Dick Giordano, this story establishes a bit of continuity that has been played on many times since, that Batman visits the alley where his parents were killed on the anniversary of their death. It also added another wrinkle. After his parents' death, a social worker came to the crime scene and talked to Bruce, and held him, and did her best to comfort him. This little bit of light in that darkest of days for Bruce came from Leslie Thompkins, who appears in that story as a little old lady. one who comes to the alley herself every year to remember the tragedy she witnessed, the one she spent her life working to help make sure never happened again.

Right from the start, Leslie takes the violence she witnessed and went in the complete opposite direction as Bruce did. She does her best to help people to prevent tragedies. And when Batman finds her being mugged in Crime Alley, and begins to savagely beat the mugger, Leslie tells him to stop, and condemns his rage. It's a ten page story, beautiful and perfect. It appeared in the excellently curated collection, The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, that came out in 1988, which is where I first encountered it. At the time, Leslie was a footnote in Batman history, but the story impacted me enough that Leslie being at the Wayne's murder became part of my personal head canon, and my affection for the character was not alone, as I soon discovered.

Leslie only appeared twice more in the course of the next twelve years, once in another O'Neil penned story about Batman returning to Crime Alley on the anniversary of his parents' death, "The Curse of Crime Alley," which also introduced C-List Bat-villain Maxie Zeus, and once in "The Player on the Other Side," Batman Special #1, Mike W. Barr's introduction of The Wrath, one of the earliest anti-Bats. And while O'Neil introduced Leslie, and established the baseline of her personality, it's Barr who would take the character in new directions.

I've written a feature about Mike W, Barr and Alan Davis's run on Detective Comics, one of the most underrated runs on any Bat-title, and the final full issue of that run is the one that introduced the post-Crisis version of Leslie Thompkins (there's weirdness in the continuity of this issue, but I won't focus on that right here). This issue, Detective Comics #574, "My Beginning... And My Probable End..." (which is a quote from "There is No Hope in Crime Alley") features Batman bringing a severely wounded Jason Todd to Leslie Thompkins clinic to save his life.

The changes to the character are notable. Leslie is no longer a social worker, but is instead a medical doctor who runs a clinic in Crime Alley. She is also noticeably younger, not an octogenarian, but probably in her fifties or sixties. This is the story that introduces the idea that Leslie was Bruce's foster-mother for a time, taking an active part in raising the boy. It also establishes that Leslie is well aware of Bruce's identity as Batman, and that she disapproves. She does not consider Batman a heroic knight, but a tool that continues to forward the problems of violence in society; while sometimes Batman is necessary, she feels like Bruce would be better without being Batman. And more than that, she feels responsible for Bruce being Batman, that it was partly her failing that put him on the path. But for all the negativity and confrontation, Leslie cares for Bruce deeply, and is concerned that his crusade will lead to his death, and still wants to protect him.

Barr would use Leslie in his next arc on Detective Comics, "Batman: Year Two," which builds off the relationship established in the previous issue, but the next truly notable Leslie story would be another Barr story, "Faith," from Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #21-23. "Faith" is set prior to "Year Two" but after the events of Frank Miller's "Year One." The story deals with Batman's first encounter with the idea that people may want to follow in his footsteps; in this case a young former addict who he saved starts up the Batmen, a group clearly inspired by the Guardian Angels civilian patrol organization, down to the red berets, but are considerably more violent. Meanwhile, Leslie is furious at Batman and what he's doing to the city, and it's after Batman is shot by the man who he once inspired for being a disappointment, that Batman comes to Leslie and reveals his identity. Barr does interesting things with the idea of faith, Leslie's faith in non-violence and peace and the Batmen and their faith in Batman.

While Leslie would continue to pop up occasionally in the Batman titles for the next few years, usually when Batman or one of his allies needed medical attention beyond what Alfred could provide, and was further incorporated into Batman's origin in Batman #0, the post-Zero Hour origin of Batman, the thing that I feel helped cement her in the minds of Batman fans as an essential part of Batman's origin and life is her appearance on Batman: The Animated Series. Voiced by venerable actress Diana Muldaur (best known in geek circles as the argumentative Dr. Pulaski from the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and remembered fondly by me as the hardass Rosalind Shays on L.A. Law, who met with an unusual downfall), B:TAS captured everything that Barr and O'Neil had established and distilled it. Leslie was tough but loving, always willing to tell Bruce what she thinks and to try to convince him that Batman, and the violence he represents, is something that he can leave behind. While only in a handful of episodes, Leslie was woven into the tapestry of Batman's origins so seamlessly that she would be a part of it moving forward. There was one notable change to Leslie's backstory made in B:TAS, which established her as a co-worker and longtime friend of Thomas Wayne, Bruce's father. While I can see some problems with this, as it stops her from just being a good Samaritan as Joe Chill is just a random criminal, it explains how she was able to be such a big part of Bruce's life, and does not interfere with her as a strong and loving influence; this change would eventually be adopted by the comics as well.

Leslie became a more steady fixture in the Batman comics starting with the 1999 massive event, "No Man's Land." Leslie decided to stay behind when Gotham was shut off from the rest of the world, and kept her clinic running as a neutral space among the city's warring crimelords, where anyone could come to receive medical treatment or to find a safe haven. Alfred spent much time there with her, and she was befriended by both Azrael and a young woman who Barbara Gordon used as a runner through the wastes of Gotham, Cassandra Cain, Leslie had her own spotlight issue, Batman Chronicles #18, "Spiritual Currency," showing how, even in the darkest hours of Gotham, Leslie kept her hope alive and her pledge of non-violence, even when faced with more violence around her than ever before. It's a great issue, and one of the best spotlights on Leslie.

After "No Man's Land," Leslie would continue to appear regularly in the Batman titles. She befriended Selina Kyle in the early issues of Ed Brubaker's excellent Catwoman series, helping Selina and her protege, Holly Robinson, get their lives in Gotham's East End together. She remained a recurring character in the Denny O'Neil written Azrael series until that character's death. It was even established by Devin Grayson in an early issue of Gotham Knights that she and Alfred had flirted with having a romantic relationship for years, but their duties had kept them apart.

This next paragraph is going to be tricky for me to write, partially because it violates the blog rule about only writing about comics I like, and partially because it takes a good character and drags her through the mud. "War Games" was a Batman event that was released in 2004-2005 and featured a massive gang war in Gotham started by Spoiler, one of Gotham's younger vigilantes, who took an exercise Batman had run in the Bat Computer about how to get control of Gotham's mobs and tried to implement it without thinking of the consequences. It's a messy story for many many reasons, and in the end features the death of Spoiler at the Thompkins clinic after being tortured by Black Mask. After Spoiler's death, Batman discovers that Leslie, who had left Gotham for Africa, let the girl die, not treating her, to give Bruce an object lesson and hope to stop his endless crusade and save further children from dying in it. It's an ugly, out of character twist, and completely violates everything Leslie had stood for over the past thirty years. I'll be honest: I mentioned head canon earlier, that trove of stories you keep that "count" for you, and while I try to stick close to canon, this was a story I hated from day one and never counted.

Fortunately, Chuck Dixon took over as writer on Robin again in 2008 after a six year or so absence from the book and character he defined, and immediately set about making things right. He revealed that Spoiler, Stephanie Brown, was in fact alive, having asked Leslie to help fake her death so she could escape Gotham and the life she had lived. In one fell swoop, Dixon had returned Leslie to the good, noble woman she had always been. Leslie would return to Gotham and appear briefly in those Dixon issues of Robin, and would get a spotlight in the Gotham Gazette mini-series that took place around the "Battle for the Cowl." Her final pre-Flashpoint appearances would be in Batgirl, when Stephanie was the title heroine.

Since Flashpoint, Leslie's backstory has actually returned to closer to what it originally was, as she seems to now be a social worker for Gotham's child protection services working with children and adolescents. She has only made brief appearances, once in a flashback as Jason Todd's case worker after his parents died but before Bruce took him in, and a few times in We Are Robin, where she is working with Duke Thomas after his parents disappeared in the wake of Joker's assault on Gotham. Her one appearance with Batman in this context was in Batman #52, a flashback to her working with a young Bruce, but it could be taken either way that she's his case worker or a family friend. There is one odd appearance in an issue of Grayson, where Leslie is seen working in a refugee camp in Africa as a doctor, which doesn't seem to fit this persona, but we'll see if that gets folded in. In a recent Twitter interaction I had with him, new Detective Comics writer James Tynion IV said Leslie will be appearing in Detective Comics #935, coming out this Wednesday.

Just as a brief aside, There is a  Leslie Thompkins in Fox's Gotham, played ably by Morena Baccarin, however the character is Leslie in name only. In the series she is a former Arkham doctor turned medical examiner who has little to no relationship with Bruce Wayne and is one of the romantic partners of Jim Gordon. She has no problem with violence. So basically she's about as close to her comics counterpart as anyone is on Gotham.

But earlier I said I wanted to not just talk about who Leslie Thompkins is, but why she's important to Batman and comics. To start with, Leslie is a smart, driven, female character who takes no guff from anyone, even if it's Batman, which puts her in a league with character like Wonder Woman and Amanda Waller, which is worth noting. But more importantly, Leslie represents to me the path not taken. In a world where flashy people in flashy costumes fight and destroy everything around them, she is the calm blue ocean, the voice that says there has to be another way. She reminds Batman every time they talk that he could stop, that he could use the Wayne fortune not to fight the results of crime as Batman, but confront its roots in poverty and pain. And while she judges and will never go easy on Bruce or any of his allies, she also always has a kind word and an embrace. In a world where violence is on every corner, whether it's on the pages of a comic book or a newspaper, a person who holds out hope that people really can be better, that peace and non-violence is an option is a rare thing. And because of the laws of comic book plot, Batman can never take up the path Leslie offers, her mere existence assures that the option remains open, and hope for a better, more peaceful world is always available. And that hope is important to have in the dark days of Gotham, and anywhere else.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 11/25

The Fade Out #11
Story: Ed Brubaker
Art: Sean Phillips & Elizabeth Breitweiser

The penultimate issue of Ed Brubaker's serialized novel about corruption and decadence in old time Hollywood, The Fade Out, shows off everything great that this combination of creators can do. The issue is a mix of action and character, and fills in one of the last holes in the web of characters, giving us some details about the relationship between our block screenwriter protagonist, Charlie Parish, and the murdered movie star Valeria Sommers. The issue opens with the story of what happened between Charlie and Valeria, and in a book that can be so sordid, the scene of tenderness, of two people who are both so lost connecting and simply being there with and for each other, stands out all the more starkly in its beauty and tragedy. From the end of that scene, of Charlie standing in the surf as the sun rises, we cut to night at a diner, where Charlie is talking to his writing partner (or recently the blacklisted writer he's been fronting for), Gil Mason, who he tells his theory of exactly what is going on, a tale of FBI blackmail, molestation, and murder. But the two writers have no proof, so they head out to the ranch of Al Kamp, the figurehead of Victory Studios, hoping to use his dementia to get him to confess to the horrors he did to Val and other child stars. But these guys are writers; they're not cops, P.I.s or any other kind of professional, so when they sneak onto Kamp's ranch through a dark forest beautifully drawn by Phillips and colored ominously by Elizabeth Breitweiser, they find a mostly empty house, a corpse, and one last guard, leading to a chase through the woods, a gunshot, and a gutpunch of a last panel. One issue left, and I can't wait to see the ending of what has become my favorite work by the tremendous Brubaker/Phillips team.

Ghostbusters Annual 2015
Main Story: Erik Burnham
Art: Dan Schoening & Luis Antonio Delgado

After a couple crossover mini-series, one with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and one with their own animated counterparts, the Ghostbusters go back to doing what they do best: busting ghosts. The opening tease has one of the creepiest moments I've seen in a Ghostbusters comic, with a woman waking up with... well, that would be telling, and horror so depends on the surprise of it, I don't want to ruin it. The Ghostbusters, still repairing the firehouse after their confrntation with the god Proteus, are called in by the NYPD detective equivalent of Harvey Bullock to look into the woman's case, and find a specter in her house dressed in a tall hat and cape carrying an hourglass. They blast the ghost, which explodes, and things seem normal for a few pages. But if you looked at the cover, you know that the threat is the Sandman, so it doesn't take long for Ray to realize something is wrong with his friends, and when his spirit guide, the Blues Brothers clad John Belushi, reappears (every time this happens, it's great!), he confirms that he's in a dream, so it's up to Ray to travel through the dreams of his friends and free them. Peter's dream in a memory of a scene from the original Ghostbusters movie, made considerably weirder by Ray taking Dana Barrett's place, and Peter is happily sprung from this. Winston, though, is aware he's in a dream, dreaming of his wedding to Tiyah from the previous ongoing, the wedding that was wiped from reality to stop Tiamat from destroying the world, and we see an anger in Winston that he hasn't vented in the real world, a weariness of how being a Ghostbuster has affected his life, and I wonder if this is going to payoff in the future. Egon is also aware that he's in a dream, remembering the time he traveled into Janine's subconscious to save her and knowing this feels the same, and it turns out his refusal to sleep is what called the Sandman to the team. The guys are able to save Egon at the last minute from a horrible fate, naturally, and everything works out. There are also a series of short strips at the back of the issue, little one pagers that give a spotlight on different characters, not just the Ghostbusters, but Janine, Louis Tully, Slimer, and a couple others. They're all a lot of fun, but the highlight is the final one, a four pager that explains why Peter gave up the talk show he had during Ghostbusters 2. This is a great, continuity light story that sets up some future stories and will let those who haven't been reading all of IDW's Ghostbusters comics know what they're missing.

Groot #6
Story: Jeff Loveness
Art: Brian Kesinger

After their long and winding path, Groot and his buddy Rocket finally arrive on Earth in the final issue of this mini-series, which I frankly had forgotten had been their goal the entire time after all the space hijinks. And getting their, they check off the things the different Guardians gave them on a checklist of stuff to do on Earth. And as you might imagine, it's not like your average tourist to-do list, although they do check out a rock concert and watch a movie. I also have to give creators Jeff Loveness and Brian Kesigner credit: the battle between Groot and Rocket and a bunch of C- and D-List villains is great. Rocket's, "Well, I just shot a Dinosaur-Man in a loincloth. I'm having a great time," is definitely quote of the week for me. And Kesinger's X-Men from when Kitty told the boys to go party with the X-Men are great. Teen Scott and Jean's awkward chat is charming, and Kesinger's style has a very cartoon sensibility; it reminds me of the character style from certain Disney films (which makes sense, since a little bit of research shows he worked for Disney for years). His Groot and Rocket are wonderfully expressive, with charming facial expressions that tell stories all their own; it's important to have an expressive lead when all he says is one sentence over and over. That does change when Groot gets into a telepathic conversation with Jean Grey, and relays his origin to her. We've known a bit about Groot and why he's no longer welcome on Planet X, but as far as I know, this is the first time we've heard this whole story, and it ends with a heart-tugging scene as Groot goes and does exactly what he came to Earth to do, and meets an old friend for the first time in years. The Groot mini-series has been a delightful all-ages adventure across the galaxy that winds up reinforcing its themes about friendship and loyalty in a perfect way.

Itty Bitty Hellboy: The Search for the Were-Jaguar #1
Story & Art: Art Baltazar & Franco

It's always a good day when Art and Franco are back with another fun all ages book. This time around Itty Bitty Hellboy and Liz Sherman are heading out to the island of the Rogers with a bag of underpants, since there's only one pair of those metal underpants on the island. It's a strange and hilarious set up for a story, and it works perfectly in the absurdly adorable universe that I feel all of Art and Franco's comics are set in. All the rest of the gang are there, with Rasputin and Kroenen looking to photograph the mythic were-jaguar, Lobster Johnson and his lobster partner, Smitty chasing the villains, and Abe and his little sister Eve out swimming. And we get the first appearance of Itty Bitty Kate Corrigan, who looks to be a slightly older kid. There's stuff with Roger (the original Roger) and his brothers getting underwear, the villains and the Lobster getting caught up in trees, and the were-jaguar popping in and out of panels. It's just an absolutely fun comic, and I'm looking forward to seeing where Hellboy and his friends go after this issue.

Rick and Morty #8
Story: Zac Gorman
Art: Zac Gorman & Ryan Hill 
Back-up Art: Marc Ellerby & Ryan Hill

Nothing is EVER as it seems in the multiverse of Rick and Morty. What looks like a simple Christmas story is going to be anything but. We've never gotten a Rick and Morty Christmas episode since the show has aired its two seasons in the summer, so the comic is filling in that gap with this, the weirdest Christmas story I've ever read. And that, friends, is a compliment. Off an alternate Earth where Christmas is Blumbus, where Santa is instead Mr. Chimney, and there;s an extra tradition called the Blumberflarg, and if you've ever seen or read Rick and Morty, anything they run across in these alternate worlds is going to end poorly for one or the other, and probably the one is Morty.In this case, after arguing about whether Blumbus is nice or creepy, Rick goes off to drink and Morty literally bumps into melody, a pretty girl who feels bad Morty has no one on Blumbus and invites him back to her place. While Rick runs eventually finds an open bar, and starts drinking with a morose holiday drunk, Morty goes back to Melody's house and seems to be in the middle of a Mlumbus miracle, as her family thought she was dead and Melody has come home. Things get progressively weirder for Morty, with everyone being extra nice, and as Rick finds out that a Blumberfarg is a teen boy who is brought home, mated with and then eaten by the family, Melody puts the moves on Morty, which her family has no problem with. It's the hilarious reaction of Morty, as he begins to piece together exactly what is happening, that's the highlight of the comic. Only the timely intervention of Rick and a new friend keeps Morty from being eaten with a nice ghost pepper sauce, and as is often the case, that safety doesn't last. The final page of the main story sees a happy ending for the lonely drunk from the bar, undercut by the fact that he'll be having nice Blumberfarg leftovers with his family. The backup sees Rick thrust into the plot of A Christmas Carol and learning absolutely nothing, which makes perfect sense if you know Rick. So Merry Blumbus to all, and all a good night,

Robin Son of Batman #6
Story: Patrick Gleason
Art: Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, Tom Nguyen, & John Kalisz

Before heading back to Gotham for next month's "Robin War" crossover, Damian Wayne has one final stop on his tour to seek redemption for all the things he did during the Year of Blood, the trials he went through to prove himself a worthy al Ghul. The opening flashback shows his trip to Bialya, where he took the Scepter of Kings, and found a little red bat creature. After killing its family and not seeing any anger in the creature, we see a crack in Damian's harsh facade, and he takes the creature that will become Goliath home with him. In the present, Talia makes easy work of Bialya's current ruler and with the Scepter sets herself up as the country's new ruler. When Damian awakens from the abuse he took the previous issue, he and Talia talk, and he asks her the question readers (well at least me) have been waiting for him to ask: "Why did you kill me, mother?" Talia's answer isn't exactly satisfactory to Damian, as Talia herself is unsure since her resurrection removed the madness from her and put it into a marble that she gives to Damian, offering him the option to return it to her and slay her in revenge for his own death. But after a conversation with Nobody, the daughter of the villain that Damian killed who bore the name before her, about exactly what he's been doing, and that the R he bears now stands for redemption, a beautiful sentiment that shows exactly how far Damian has come. He isn't the child assassin he was in his first appearance, or even the brat he was at the beginning of Batman and Robin. He has earned the name Robin, has earned the Wayne name. And the final pages see him be forgiven by Nobody, who through her time with Damian no longer thinks of herself that way, reclaiming for herself her own name, Maya, and then he removes the chains that have held Goliath, freeing his loyal monster. It's fascinating to have read Damian from his first appearance and see exactly where creators have gone with the character. And as he sets off , having forgiven his mother, it's a new beginning for Damian. This first six months of his title have taken Damian away from home, so now it's time for him to head back to Gotham, and we'll see if he is ready for the city, or vice versa, next issue.

Animated Discussions: Batman Vs. Robin

In July of 2013, Warner Bros. Animation made a change to the way they were handling the DC Comics direct to DVD movie program. Instead of a series of one off stories, they were going to start making most of the animated features fit into a cohesive universe based loosely on the New 52. You haven't seen me talking about this new program thus far because I felt it met with mixed results. There was a feeling to me that they were pushing the boundaries of blood and violence simply because they could. But each none has gotten progressively better, and I would have written up the previous entry, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, if not for want of time. But last week, Batman Vs. Robin was released, and I enjoyed it so much that I felt I had to write it up, despite being a bit behind the curve, putting the review up a week after release.

The plot revolves around two conflicts, one external to Batman's family, and one internal, that come together in the end. The external conflict is Batman dealing with the appearance of the Court of Owls, a secret society that has shaped Gotham City's history for centuries. The internal conflict is Batman dealing with his son, Damian, who came to live with him in an earlier film, Son of Batman, and who, having been trained by his maternal grandfather, Ra's al Ghul, to be a master assassin, is having a hard time fitting in with Batman's more strict morality. As the Court makes its play to not only destroy Batman and win Brcue Wayne to its side, Damian is wooed by Talon, the Court's assassin, to become his apprentice and abandon Batman.

This story isn't a direct adaption of any one story, but actually draws it's main inspirations from two, and neither of those is the Grant Morrison story, "Batman Vs. Robin." The first story is obviously Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's "Court of Owls," the very popular inaugural arc of the current volume of Batman. The Court and their Talon are the main antagonists of the film. The second story is the first arc of the second volume of Batman and Robin, "Born to Kill," by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. The stories are blended together well, having the Talon take the place of Nobody, the villain of the latter story, who was trying to win Robin away from Batman.

With a screenplay from comic book writer J.M. DeMatteis (who also wrote a handful of episodes of Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold), this is one of the best written of the DC animated movies. DeMatteis gets to the heart of Batman and Robin's relationship, and establishes the conflict between them well; it's not just that Damian is a brat with a chip on his shoulder, it's that Bruce doesn't know how to be a father. Nightwing and Alfred both appear, giving their own opinions on how Batman should be dealing with this, but they are used sparingly, allowing the conflict between father and son to keep the central place in the narrative.

By removing Lincoln March, the central villain of the initial Court of Owls story, the movie allows the Talon to take center stage as the villain. That Talon remains unnamed throughout the story, but his background is revealed, and he is not one of the Talons that we've met in the comics. His background is not a direct parallel for Batman's, making him another anti-Bat, but with his training and his being raised by a criminal father he betrays to the police, it's clear that he is meant to understand Damian and what it's like to have a father who doesn't understand and love you, allowing for a logical conflict between Batman and Talon for Damian's loyalty.

The new animated style is also starting to grow on me. While it's not as clean as the classic Bruce Timm style, it has a great sense of fluidity and lends itself to more detail. The designs for the Talons, and the creepy way they move and heal, was a highlight of the movie. The characters in costume look great, but the one place I feel still needs a little work is some of the more sedate moments. This style is very action oriented, so the faces when not masked or in motion can occasionally look a bit off model, with oddly flat faces.

Jason O'Mara, now in his fourth outing voicing Batman, has grown well into the role. It's always hard to hear a new Batman, since Kevin Conroy has inhabited the role for so long, both in screen and in my head, but O'Mara is finding a nice balance, making his voice gruff but understandable. Stuart Allan also does a good job as Damian; it's not often that an actual kid voices a kid in an animated feature, but Allan is a professional, and his Damian can sound both haughty and tragically young at the appropriate times. Jeremy Sisto, who once voiced Batman in the Justice League: The New Frontier feature, voices Talon, and is well suited for the villain. Because it's a Batman project, do keep your ears open for the requisite Kevin Conroy cameo, this time as Bruce's father, Thomas, who gets to read the Court of Owls nursery rhyme. And listen for a brief appearance by an almost unrecognizable Weird Al Yankovic as this world's version of the Dollmaker, who combines the version from the pre-Flashpoint continuity with the current version, giving him an interesting and creepy tie to classic Superman villain, Toyman

I know there has been some grumbling from various internet corners about Warner adapting these new stories when there are so many classics to still be adapted. But for the reason that they're new and can be changed, versus something like Killing Joke that is etched in stone after twenty plus years of being regarded as a classic, it makes sense to me. While I too would love to see Kingdom Come on my TV, this is anew bit of universe building. And if Batman Vs. Robin is any indication, this new program is moving in the right direction.

Animated Discussions: Teen Titans Go! Appetite for Disruption (Season 2, Part 1)

More than 30 years ago, Marv Wolfman and George Perez gave The New Teen Titans, a mix of sidekicks and new characters that were essentially a younger version of DC’s Justice League. Many of the original Titans grew up over the years, joining the League (Cyborg), changing codenames and patrolling their own city (Robin/Nightwing) or inheriting the mantle of their mentor (Kid Flash/Flash).

But on Cartoon Network, they’ll always just be a pack of goofy kids having Meat Parties and watching Pretty Pretty Pegasus while being all goth.

On a network of quality shows (Adventure Time, Steven Universe, etc.), Teen Titans Go! is easily one of the most watchable, both by my 3-year-old and by his 34-year-old father.

Each of the Titans is a clearly distinct character. Robin, the team’s self-appointed leader, is uptight, tactical and obsessed with Starfire. Cyborg is excitable, afraid of the dark and obsessed with meat. Raven is sarcastic, loves a My Little Pony-like show and rebels against her demon-lord father. Starfire is a sweet, naïve alien with a pet prawn who inserts “the” in front of more nouns than is needed. Beast Boy is a lazy vegetarian and best bros with Cyborg.

The cartoon isn’t so much about how they fight supervillains as what they do in their downtime, like throw a dinner party or practice going on stakeouts or help Starfire learn about popular idioms. So it’s not heavy on violence, but maybe a little heavy on bathroom humor. And food humor. We also learn lessons like if you eat too many vegetables, you get abs of steel but turn green. Or that if your friends are all turned into old people and die, if you go to the underworld to try to resurrect them, they will come back as zombies. OK, maybe these are mixed messages.

And sometimes things happen that are never intended to be resolved or explained, such as the time Robin eats Beast Boy after BB transforms into an insect, or how when Cyborg is aged he suddenly has three grandchildren.

TTG has a respectable pedigree in co-creator Michael Jelenic, who previously worked on Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the official second-best Batman cartoon ever created, in which the Dark Knight teams up with random DC heroes to fight villains from the Joker to Gorilla Grodd to space pirate Kanjar Ro. Titans also occasionally features other DC characters, such as Flash villain Dr. Light, classic Titans baddie Brother Blood, and the Brain, a brain attached to a robot body whom the Titans keep calling Brian. Raven’s father, Trigon, also shows up regularly, less so as a scary demon as a father struggling to bond with a daughter who is embarrassed by him.

Batman also shows up, but very, very sparingly and without dialogue, which is great because he has a tendency to pull focus from other characters, intentionally or otherwise, and it’s not his show.

The Appetite for Disruption set is more than four hours long and contains 26 episodes over two discs, which translates to a lot to watch for about $20.

Favorite episodes include “Salty Codgers,” about the team being turned into old people, with the exception of Raven, who finds the aged Titans endlessly adorable; “Vegetables,” in which the team first battles “meat gut” from eating too much meat, then gets addicted to vegetables, gets rock-hard abs and turns green; and “I See You,” in which they practice going on stakeouts and Starfire dons a mask that turns her into a middle-aged man called The Jeff.

Teen Titans Go! Appetite for Disruption comes out this Tuesday, April 14th.

Dan Grote’s new novel, Magic Pier, is available however you get your books online. He has been writing for The Matt Signal since 2014. He and Matt have been friends since the days when making it to issue 25 guaranteed you a foil cover.

DC Comics New Series Announcements Make for Some Good News on a Friday.

So, I go onto the internet this morning, and what do I see? A whole slew of new DC titles announced! I'm going to put on hold what I normally would do on Friday so I can gather the list here and comment on the books I'm excited for, which look like quite a few of them. The list has been confirmed over a couple sites, so I feel safe running with it.

Bat-Mite by writer Dan Jurgens and artist Corin Howell

I love Bat-Mite. That might be an unpopular opinion, but when you look at Alan Grant's amusing Dark Mite stories from the 90s, Grant Morrison's darker take from his run on Batman, and Paul Reubens's bonkers portrayal of the character on Batman: The Brave and the Bold, you can see there's potential for something fun in Batman's universe.

Batman Beyond by writer Dan Jurgens and artist Bernard Chang

New 52: Futures End has turned out to be a far better series than I had anticipated, and part of that has been its use of Terry McGinnis. I'm not entirely sold on him interacting with the DCU, but that series has made me curious to see what could happen. I don't know exactly how this series will spin out of Futures End, whether Terry will arrive in the present, still be five years in the future, or back to his own time, and what that will look like, but I'm curious enough to check it out.

Bizzaro by writer Heath Corson and artist Gustavo Duarte

Black Canary by writer Brenden Fletcher and artist Annie Wu

The new run on Batgirl has been very well received, and I've enjoyed it for the most part. Barbara as a modern 20-something wasn't on my list of things to expect, and I was already acting like I was in my 30s in my 20s, so her experience doesn't speak to me as much, but it's smart and well written. The main surprise for me was the surly, grouchy Black Canary as supporting cast member, and how much I like Fletcher and Cloonan's take on her. The idea of Black Canary as the singer in a band is so natural an idea, I'm shocked no one has done it before, and making Black Canary an on the road, rock n roll action superhero comic is brilliant. Annie Wu's art on the Kate Bishop Hawkeye issues were gorgeous and gritty, so I think she's a perfect fit for the title.

Constantine: The Hellblazer by Ming Doyle and Riley Rossmo

I never felt like Constantine worked in DC's house art style, so Riley Rossmo, one of the kings of modern horror/monster/action comics (Proof, Green Wake, Bedlam, Rasputin) drawing Constantine? Sign me up.

Cyborg by writer David L. Walker and artists Ivan Reis and Joe Prado

This one is a long time coming. A Cyborg monthly has felt like a gimme since his addition to the Justice League in the post-Flashpoint world. It feels like DC is really giving this a push, by putting one of it's A-List artists on the book. And getting an African American writer for the title will help with DC's creator diversity issues. I'm not familiar with Walker's work, but I'm willing to see what he'll do with Vic.

Dark Universe by writer James Tynion IV and artist Ming Doyle

Doomed by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Javier Fernandez

Dr. Fate by writer Paul Levitz and artist Sonny Liew

Earth 2: Society by writer Daniel H. Wilson and artist Jorge Jimenez

Green Lantern: Lost Army by Cullen Bunn, Jesus Saiz & Javi Pina

Harley Quinn/Power Girl by writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, with artist Stephane Roux

After the recent team-up arc in Harley's ongoing, this combo is going to be one to watch for sheer madcap joy. They fought supervillains, alien warlords, and each other, as well as performing a burlesque act. What more can they do? Plenty, if Palmiotti and Conner's past stories are any indication.

Justice League 3001 with the same creative team of Keith Giffen and Howard Porter

Justice League of America by writer/artist Brian Hitch

Martian Manhunter by writer Rob Williams and artists Ben Oliver and Paulo Siqueira

I love the Martian Manhunter, I've never hidden that. But I've not warmed to the dark, manipulative Manhunter of the post-Flashpoint world. It seems that, since Superman has been doing the Stranger in a Strange Land thing that was always part of J'onn's character, J'onn has gone darker. There have been some light spots, particularly his relationship with Stargirl (once more proving J'onn is DC's Wolverine, mentoring young heroines), but mostly he's been a mind-wiping mastermind type of character. I don't know if this title will change that, or will simply flesh it out more, but either option is the least a great character like J'onn deserves.

Midnighter by writer Steve Orlando and artist ACO

 Mystic U by writer Alisa Kwitney and artist Mauricet

Omega Men by writer Tom King and artist Barnaby Bagenda

Prez by writer Mark Russell and artist Ben Caldwell 

Thanks to Neil Gaiman's use of the original Prez, a character from a 70s comic about the first teenage president of the USA, in The Sandman, the character is not completely forgotten, and well, it's just so weird an idea I can't resist seeing what the concept will look like so many years after it's initial conception.

Red Hood/Arsenal by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Denis Medri

Robin, Son of Batman by writer/artist Pat Gleason

Taking the place of Batman and Robin, it looks like Damian is getting his own title, along with a giant Bat demon looking thing, and they're in snowy mountains. That sounds good on its own, but when you think about the fact that Talia is out there somewhere near Nanda Parbat, which is in snowy mountains, I expect we'll be seeing some of the threads from the current title followed up and a continued evolution of Damian as a character.

Section Eight by writer Garth Ennis and artist John McCrea

Oh, good lord, I never thought I'd see this! Ennis and McCrea created Section 8 for their run on Hiitman, a team of homeless and insane super heroes, including, but not limited to, Six Pack, who was the world's greatest hero in his own dreams, Dogwelder, who welds dog to his enemies, Defenestrator, who throws people out of windows, and Bueno Excellente, who fights evil with the power of perversion. are some of Ennis's most bizarre creations. Only one things I can say about it... Bueno.

Starfire by writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, with artist Emanuela Lupacchino

Starfire has been a problem character since the dawn of the pre-Flashpoint world, but I think breaking her off from her current Outlaws teammates and letting her have her own adventures in Miami (or somewhere in Florida. Palm trees and old folks make me think Florida) seems like a good chance to let her grow back into a more balanced character. Factor in the funny Harley Quinn writing team of Conner and Palmiotti and Emanuela Lupacchino, whose work on X-Factor I remember fondly, and you have a winning creative team. Also, the new costume is a vast improvement, closer to her animated Teen Titans look. I would have included the little skirt too, but it's more practical than her gravity defying current costume, so I'll take it.

We Are Robin by writer Lee Bermejo and artists Rob Haynes and Khary Randolph

Another brand new title with very little information, I can assume from the image that we're dealing with a group of kids inspired by Robin working together. I'm wondering if this might become the home for Duke Thomas, the future Robin who has appeared as a teenager in the current Batman story. It's interesting to see Rob Haynes return to mainstream comics. 

Of the creative changes to current books, three artist changes and one writer change jumped out at me. Juan Ferreyra, whose art of Colder has been astounding, will be taking over Gotham by Midnight, a perfect fit. Dale Eaglesham, who introduced Gail Simone's Secret Six in the Villains United mini-series, will be taking over as artist on that title, which is great to see, as I feel like he should be a superstar and never quite reaches that point. And Carlos D'Anda, another vastly underrated artist, will be the new artist on New Suicide Squad, a book that has suffered under multiple artists per issue, so hopefully D'Anda can add a nice unified feel to future issues.

The most exciting change is Gene Luen Yang on Superman. Sure, I would have liked more Geoff Johns Superman, but he did his part of setting up a new status quo for Superman in the current DCU. I recently read Yang's Shadow Hero, the origin of the first Chinese super hero, the Green Turtle, and it was such a brilliant mix of action, humor, and myth that I was blown away. I'd been waiting for the right week to do a recommended reading for it, and now it looks like June will be the time, to line up with the release of this new project. I hope he brings out the humanity in the Man of Steel, and does it with as deft a touch as he did in his other work.

So that's what's coming up from DC. I love my DC Comics, always will, and I hope that this breathes a new life into the line. If the creators and titles are any indication, it's going to be an interesting summer.

Animated Discussions: Young Justice

In the 90s, Bruce Timm and his collaborators redefined not just DC animation, but superhero animation in general with the work they did in Batman: The Animated Series and its successors, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited. There have been some other great superhero cartoons since, both from DC and Marvel, but nothing that ever approached both the complexity of plot and character and the outstanding animation. That is until Young Justice debuted on Cartoon Network on Thanksgiving two years ago. With the series finale this weekend, I thought I'd look back at this series, and talk about what made it so great.

To start with, let's talk about the comic that loosely inspired the series. By 1998, the New Teen Titans (or New Titans at that juncture) comic that had once been DC's number one seller had seen better days. After its cancellation, DC decided they needed a teen superteam book, but the Titans name was toxic, so they took three of their teen heroes, each who were headlining their own comics, Robin (Tim Drake), Superboy, and Impluse, and put them together with the recently introduced new Wonder Girl and a new character, Secret, to for a new team, unofficially called Young Justice. Over the run of the book, new characters joined, including Arrowette, a young female archer, and Empress, a mystical character, as well as mentors including Red Tornado, Snapper Carr, and The Ray. The series ran fifty five issues, along with various one shots, tie ins, and a really fun fifth week event called "Sins of Youth" where the teen heroes were aged to adults, and their mentors were de-aged to teens. The majority of the issues were written by Peter David, who brought his usual sense of zany humor and strong characterization, and had great art from Todd Nauck. After five years and a relaunch of the classic book as just Titans featuring the original team as grow-ups, DC decided it was time to go back to the original name, cancelled both Young Justice and Titans, and launched the new Teen Titans series by then up and comer Geoff Johns.

The series premiere of the animated series was designed to draw clear parallels with the first appearance of the comic team, which took place in the one shot Young Justice: The Secret. In the comic, Robin, Superboy, and Impulse liberate a mysterious young woman with powers called only Secret from a government lab. The debut of the animated series saw the sidekicks, wanting to prove themselves to their mentors, invading Cadmus Labs and freeing Superboy, the clone of Superman, from his creators.

These sidekicks, though, are not the same characters from the comic. The Robin of the animated series is Dick Grayson, the original Robin, the youngest but most experienced member of the team, who has something of a chip on his shoulder about this at the beginning. Kid Flash, Wally West, replaces his cousin Impulse as team speedster; Waly has the patience of a speedster, always running off at the mouth and into danger. And the initial team is rounded out by Aqualad, but not Garth, the original sidekick of Aquaman. This Aqualad is a new character, Kaldur'ahm, with powers similar to Aquaman's wife, Mera, who controls water density. Versus the impetuous Kid Flash, and the overconfident Robin, Aqualad provides a voice of reason, and is a natural leader, taking command of The Team (as they are addressed by members of the Justice League). Superboy is recruited after he is freed from Cadmus, but has a hard time adjusting. He's spent his whole life being indoctrinated, doesn't trust anyone, and is prone to fits of rage.

Over the course of the first season of Young Justice, two additional characters were added to The Team. Miss Martian was introduced as Martian Manhunter's niece. She is friendly, warm, but not quite versed in human interactions. Artemis is introduced as Green Arrow's new sidekick after Speedy, his previous one, stormed off in the premiere, feeling he should be granted Justice League membership and not shuffled off to second string status. Artemis is quick witted and immediately begins shooting verbal barbs at Wally as accurate as her arrows. While other young heroes Zatanna, Red Arrow, and Rocket joined in the first season, these six were the principal cast, and the ones most fully developed by the creators.

The Team was assigned by Batman to be the covert ops arm of the Justice League, doing reconnaissance missions and attempting to ferret out a mysterious group that seemed to be manipulating various events to their benefit, and to do it in a way the more powerful and flashier Justice League cannot. But these secret missions reflected one of the core themes of the series: secrets, and the cost that they take on someone.

Throughout the first season, three of the principals each wrestled with a secret, ones that were used by The Light, the coalition of villains that were attempting to take control of Earth's destiny, to control the young heroes: Miss Martian is secretly a White Martian, Artemis is the daughter of supervillain Sportsmaster, and Superboy has been using chemical patches given to him by Lex Luthor to activate his full Kryptonian potential. Each of the heroes wrestles with how to reconcile these things, things that are true about them on a deep level, with who they want to be. This takes the typical issues teenagers have and writes them on a grand scale. In the end, only by trusting each other with their secrets, are the young heroes able to finally best The Light and save their mentors.

The creators of the show took a considerable gamble with the show's second season by jumping forward in time five years, and redubbing the show Young Justice: Invasion. Half of the original team are gone, and new members including Young Justice comic alums Wonder Girl and Tim Drake (now as Robin, since Dick Grayson has become Nightwing) have joined, along with other young heroes like Blue Beetle, Lagoon Boy, and Beast Boy. By the middle of the season, Impulse has appeared as well, and he's a great addition, proving just how patient Kid Flash was in comparison to the even more hyperactive speedster.

The second season dealt with the Light's alliance with a mysterious alien race. It starts out looking like they are at war with another race, the Kroloteans, for control of Earth, but the Krolotean subplot is resolved quickly, leaving The Team to deal with The Light and their allies, The Reach. The Reach, for those of you in the know, are the race that created the Blue Beetle scarab, so Blue Beetle becomes a central figure to this season's arc. The writers do an excellent job of writing Beetle, with Jaime Reyes being the newcomer/everyman figure who is still somewhat flabbergasted by the superhero world, and letting him be surprised by the same things the viewers are.

I don't want to give away too much about the second season, since it's really a big mystery story with tons of twists (heck, talking about The Reach was a pretty major spoiler), but the great pleasure of Young Justice is that I can talk about the characters, ones who are very well wrought, without spoiling too much plot. Another major arc of the season has to do with Miss Martian's expanding powers, and her use (and abuse) of them. This has driven a wedge in between her and Superboy, who were a couple in the first season. The abuse of power is a common theme in superhero comics, and it's explored really well in Miss Martian's story, as she has to learn that the ends don't always justify the means.

I also have to say that one of the great things about this show, and something that neither Justice League or Teen Titans were able to do due to licences, is to have The Team interact regularly with the Justice League, and even with members of the Justice Society a couple times. This not only gives the universe of the show a much more lived in feel, but it opens up avenues of plot that wouldn't be available otherwise. Seeing Robin interact with Batman, and how different that is than how he interacts with his teammates, makes him a more well rounded character. With Aquaman around, you can really open Atlantis up for plotlines. And Superboy's issues with being a clone of Superman are made more interesting by allowing him to interact with Superman.

This also means that a full slate of DC Universe villains are available. Not only is Deathstroke, enemy of Titans and pretty much all young heroes, able to appear, but The Light can include The Brain (Teen Titans), Lex Luthor (Superman), Ra's al Ghul (Batman), Vandal Savage (Flash), Queen Bee (Justice League), Black Manta (Aquaman), and Klarion (Etrigan the Demon). There can be an Injustice League with the Joker (voiced creepily by Brent Spiner) and hints of Intergang and the New Gods. Part of me would have loved a Justice League series set in the same world with the same sort of interconnectivity.

The thing that has made Young Justice as good a show as it is, aside from its stellar animation, is its strong writing. The plots never spoke down to their audience, and were intricate. Events that happened at the beginning of a season would pay off at the end. Some episodes were written by Peter David, including an intense Halloween episode featuring Secret and her evil brother, Harm, and the episode that introduced Impulse. I chalk a lot of this up to the fact that one of the show runners was Greg Weisman. Weisman is probably best known as creator of Gargoyles, probably my second favorite cartoon series of all time, right behind Batman: The Animated Series. Someday, I'll probably write something up on Gargoyles, as there have been a couple tie-in comics. Weisman's work is known for its intellect and its maturity, and, in my opinion, the fact that it ends prematurely. He's like the Bryan Fuller of the animated world (he was also exec producer on the under appreciated Spectacular Spider-Man series, also cancelled prematurely after two seasons).

And this weekend, it comes to an end. I know there's been a lot of fan uproar, with petitions and letter writing campaigns, and that's great, and it shows how many people loved the show, but the reason the show ended wasn't because no one liked it: it was because of money. The toy line for the series, the bread and butter for animation targeted at younger audiences, as a failure, and that is the death knell for shows like this. So, I plan on buying the most recent DVD set this Saturday on Amazon during the series finale. If anyone out there who is reading this loves Young Justice too, think about doing that. If the news of the past day or so about Veronica Mars (another show I loved) proves anything, it's that studios listen when there's money involved. And believe me, if you like DC Comics, teen heroes, or good animation, this is a show well worth trying out.

The entirety of the first season of Young Justice is available on DVD in two sets: Young Justice: Season One Volumes 1,2,& 3 (these were originally released as three single disks, now collected), and Young Justice: Dangerous Secrets. The first half of season two is also available as Young Justice: Invasion- Destiny Calling. There was also a tie-in comic, which I have reviewed in the past, written mostly by writers connected with the show. Currently there are three volumes available, with a fourth and final one due out later this year.