Deemar Out

Last Pic by me had fun I’m out.

CCW 3.101: When is Batman no longer Batman?

CCW 3.52: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1 & Birds of Prey #1 REVIEWED

Odds and Ends

-Yesterday there was quite the snow storm in this part of the country which made driving quite hellish and tomorrow it is expected that we will have a high temperature of around 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Because I don’t have to work tomorrow and don’t plan on leaving my house in that weather I will probably have time to be posting a few things over the next couple of days. Sounds like fun, huh?

-Following this post I will being putting one up pertaining to the top comic sales of November. I know it’s a little late but you know. Look for it later tonight and we can talk about the good and the bad of it then.

-I’ve had a few people ask me what my opinions are concerning DC’s announced Earth One original graphic novels which will begin being released in 2010. It really does feel like it is DC’s attempt at doing an “Ultimate” universe and I don’t think I am the target demographic for these books. I am not interested in reading yet another origin story for Batman and Superman or investing time and money into yet another iteration of those characters. I do like that DC is releasing them as OGNs though. That way there won’t be even more Bats and Supes comics clogging up the racks.

All that aside, I do like that Earth One will be easily accessible to new readers who do want to get into Batman and Superman but feel overwhelmed by the continuity of the regular monthlies. We’ll see how it goes but these books don’t really interest me as a fan. What I am actually more interested in is knowing whether the Adam Hughes’ All Star Wonder Woman story will instead be released as part of the Earth One books now that the All Star line is pretty much dead.

-Looks like (the real) Bruce Wayne will be returning to the DCU in the quite cleverly titled six issue miniseries Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne which begins shipping in April. I don’t know about you guys but I’m thinking too soon.

-And speaking of too soon, Steve Rogers popped up in the last page of the Dark Avengers Annual last week and guess what? He also pops up in the New Avengers Annual AND Invincible Iron Man this week. Unbelievable. Rogers is back in the normal Marvel U and Reborn still has 3 issues to ship. Nice cockup Marvel. Just for the hell of it I am going to go ahead and blame this on Bendis.

-You guys are aware we have a contest going on, right? You know, this one.

J.

A Thought About Batman #692

So, I read this “thing” earlier today. I really, really, really don’t want to review it. Hell, I don’t even want to write about it. You guys know I am all about punishing myself for the greater good by reading, then reviewing, utter shit so you don’t have to…but not this time. I have instead found a video that sums up what I thought about this comic. After you watch it you will all know exactly how I felt after I finished reading Batman #692.

J.

The (Winick > Daniel) Batman #690 Review

Title: Batman #690
Writer: Judd Winick
Art: Mark Bagley and Rob Hunter w/Jack Purcell
Publisher: DC
Price: $2.99

I realized that I haven’t reviewed an issue of Batman yet on the blog and I really feel the need to now before Tony Daniel show’s up to fuck shit up.

Judd Winick seems to have a polarizing effect on people. Elliott doesn’t really care for most of Judd’s work (though he admits he’s enjoying this current run on Bats) while I on the other hand liked Winick’s run on Green Arrow and his previous stint on Batman. Regardless of what you may think of him, Judd Winick is really doing some good work on Batman right now. The past couple of issues have had some great character moments between Dick, Damian and Alfred.

Winick trades in those shared alter-ego moments for full on Batman action this issue (or for more than half of it at least). The entire time that Dick is fighting both Clayface and Lyle Blanco we are treated to Batman’s interior monologue/train of thought. Batman’s thought process is quite analytical, interesting, fluid, and most importantly it just makes sense. I also kind of like the fact that Dick smile’s most of the time when he is fighting. It does a lot to separate him from how Bruce was when he was wearing the cowl. One other aspect of Dick’s personality that separates him from Bruce is that Grayson never hesitates to ask Alfred for help when he needs it. Plain and simple Winick not only gets what the Batman character is about but more importantly what the Dick Grayson as Batman character is all about. That’s way more than I can say for the “writer” who will be replacing him shortly.

While all that hullabaloo is going on there are two side stories running concurrently. One deals with Two Face hiring a woman with teleportation powers to help him find the origin of an important item he has come across. The woman can “tap into the source” of an item and uses that to help guide her while she teleports. This item which she will be using is in fact a throwing star in the shape of a bat and guess who it belongs to? I can’t I say remember a villain actually using this method to track down the Bat Cave but then again I have only been reading Batman for a few years. I think it’s actually quite ingenious on Two Face’s (Winick’s) part to come up with this idea. The second side story involves showing the reader how the Black Mask successfully makes the Penguin his lapdog/bitch and is over within a couple of pages.

As for the surprise ending to this issue…well, it really wasn’t a surprise. If you ever saw the ghastly “Future of Batman” 2 page ad’s drawn by Tony Daniel a few months ago that were in every damn DC comic you already knew that this was coming. Without spoiling anything I think that the end is the natural progression of the Two Face character considering what he was doing in Gotham throughout the entire 52 series.

I’ll be sticking around on this title for a least one more issue because after that things are going to get quite terrible on the book.

J.

What Are Critics Saying About Batman: Arkham Asylum?

A few of you have asked me to do a review of the new Batman video game but unfortunately funds are tight right now. So to make up for my lack of review I am posting a link to my favorite video game blog Kotaku. They put up a post today combining what a handful of reviewers had to say about the game.

At some point I will be buying Batman : AA but it may not be anytime soon. I have played the demo though and thought it was quite cool.

J.

Hit the link to see what people are saying about Batman: AA

Batman: AA Demo Dropping Soon?

Word around town is that a the demo for Batman: Arkham Asylum will be ready for download on Friday for both the PS3 and Xbox 360. Hope it’s true.

J.

Ivy Does Her Best O-Ren Ishii Impression

The fact that Infamous is the best superhero video game ever tells you that for whatever reason DC and Marvel have yet to get their shit together. That is not a slight on Infamous at all, just an observation. I loved Infamous. I wish every superhero game could be as awesome as Infamous. Things just haven’t worked out that way. Need I say more than “Superman 64”? Didn’t think so. Can Batman: Arkham Asylum finally be the video game that comic geeks have been waiting for?

I, for one, really hope so and am pretty psyched for this game. Not only is Mark Hamill reprising his role as the Joker but everything about this game screams “Bad Ass”. Add the fact that PS3 owners (hey, that’s me!) will be able to download The Joker as a playable character and you have a formula for win. Let’s just hope it all works out that way.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is scheduled to ship on August 25th. If you buy the collector’s edition ($99.99 SRP) you get a sweet 14″ Batarang, a 48 page Arkham journal filled with notes on the inmates and some other goodies.

Anyone else as excited as I am for this?

As a side note: how amazing would it be if Sucker Punch, developers of Infamous, did a Spider-Man game?

J.