Thanks for the thorough list of material and your opinion of them, I’ll get to searching next week with my various sources and see what I can come up with and post my opinion on here. I appreciate the help as always man, you do good by me. =D
Batman related purchases this week: Batman Begins (Last of the live action films I needed, disregarding the 1960’s film and racist like serials), and Batman: TAS seasons 2 and 3. One more and I got them all along with Batman Beyond, from there it’s Superman collection and finally Justice League.
DC COMICS PRESENTS: BATMAN – GOTHAM NOIR #1
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Art by SEAN PHILLIPS and SCOTT MCDANIEL
Cover by SEAN PHILLIPS
Don’t miss this Elseworlds set in a stylish Gotham City straight out of classic mystery films, starring a down-on-his luck cop called Jim Gordon and the mysterious Bat! Plus, from BATMAN #604, The Dark Knight returns to Crime Alley for an encounter with Catwoman!
On sale JULY 13
96 pg, FC, $7.99 US
Jim Gordon as a hardboiled detective in 1949 Gotham? I’m fucking sold.
Batman, Inc. #7
Flashpoint: Batman Knight of Vengeance #1
Flashpoint #2 (Batman is in it).
Batman 100 Page one shot collecting Peter Milligan’s “Dark Knight: Dark City” story arc that Zephy was telling me about, very grateful it was collected and look forward to digging in.
Finally got around to reading and finishing this Zephy, along with another tale by Milligan about a Bruce Wayne who isn’t Batman (Which I believe was ripped off in a Batman: TAS episode I saw recently, or at least REALLY inspired by it).
I read it in full, sat down and mused about it. After a moment or two I considered it the greatest Riddler story I have ever read, and more to the point probably one of th best Batman tales I’ve ever laid my eyes upon. It was dark, it was uncomfortable, it was symbolic and best of all, it was a fantastic ride. Milligan’s handle on the Dark Knight is something I see few people accomplish, all at once he was sympathetic and menacing, a tortured soul and a guardian angel. It was really a surreal experience if that makes sense.
Riddler…Jesus Christ, you ever get that moment in a comic about someone you’ve read/seen a lot about before but there is those few instances where the character can really terrify you? That was like this whole comic, he was so out of character…yet still in character and for once I thought Riddler was a real competitor to Batman, a REAL threat to his life. It was great that one story took a villain I enjoyed but never found to be nothing more than amusing, and made him this beast that put a fair few Joker tales to shame.
In conclusion I can do nothing but recommend it, I found it finally as a collected 100-page One shit (As listed above) for $7.99.
I also finally got caught up on Batman, Inc. and it’s funny how Morrison reminds me so much of the Neal Adams Batman and Brave and the Bold run. Taking Batman out of his usual haunts and bringing some color into his world. As usual all these little characters Morrison came up with are very interesting, I was really taken by Cross, El Gaucho and Man of Bats. Fun stuff, I still think Bruce is acting a little…weird, and some of the stuff Morrison cherry picks from the past could have been left where it was (You know what Bat and Woman thing I am talking about).
Wow, nice. You finally read Dark Knight, Dark City. Yeah, it’s great that DC reprinted that arc in their DC Comics Presents format.
Milligan’s 'Tec issues from the early '90s are all pretty much similar quality to the Bruce Wayne issue that was tossed in there. Most of them are done-in-one stories that are satisfying single issues. One of my favorites was this issue: http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/detective-comics/643-1.jpg
Look for that one in particular if you get a chance, but most of his issues are great reads.
I know it’s crazy. Ordered that issue along with his Batman annual telling of Rhas Al Ghul’s origins, if you can think of any other Milligan Batman stories to check out let me know.
The Bat and the Beast is a good, fun story that’s definitely bolstered by Andy Clarke’s artwork. (His work reminds me of Travis Charest’s.) I don’t think it’s a comic that will blow you away or anything, but it’s crafted well and Milligan puts Batman in a new locale with new people to punch. Personally, I find this comic more fascinating and worthwhile when examining it in terms of Milligan’s entire body of works.
Cool, think I will get that and search around thanks. I just enjoyed his interpretation of Batman a lot, it’s a shame he didn’t spend more time or have as lengthy a run as some people on the title. Here’s hoping he returns at some point…doubt it, but you never know.
Anyone here reading Gates of Gotham mini-series? So far I am enjoying it, the character of The Architect has a very nice look and his M.O. so far is interesting, although I don’t think they are going to the extremes I believe should have been done. Also despite it’s five issues it feels rushed to me, maybe when Snyder is on his Bat title this September he’ll continue off of it. The art is ho-hum, but you guys should check it out.
Other than that catching up on my last stuff, just finished off the Sensei arc on Batman, about to read the Azreal filler arc followed by the return of Two-Face. I am sort of glad now that Dick is going back, all the writers do is make him QQ about not being like Bruce or that Tim and Damien were better Robins than him, it’s like reading Spider-Man in the bat tights.
This reboot still pisses me off, I might trim down my pull list for it even more with what I keep reading about. Also fuck Gail and Batgirl, don’t bring them in here.
Yeah I saw, wonder who he’ll kill off when it all goes down. I expect most Inc. members and one surprise death just so no one can tarnish his characters. Still need to catch up on Morrison bat. Batman and son, RIP, time travel Batman, all stuff I haven’t really touched.
I havent been paying a lot of attention to the Bat books outside of Inc. for the last year, so Id never even heard of Scott Snyder til about a month ago. I really enjoyed Batman #1 and it makes me want to track down his Detective run.
You should, it’s fantastic and instantly gave Batman a new modern age villain that can rightfully hang with the classics.
How is everyone enjoying the new 52 Batman/Gotham titles? For clarity this is them:
Detective Comics #1.
The Dark Knight #1. (releasing next week)
Batman #1.
Batman and Robin #1.
Batwoman #1. (Edited because of NAP)
Batgirl #1.
Nightwing #1.
Red Hood and the Outlaws #1.
Catwoman #1.
Birds of Prey #1.
All-Star Western #1. (releasing next week, involves Gotham in the early days for this arc)
Don’t think I missed anything, not really counting the Titans.
In other Bat News Morrison is releasing a special issue of Batman, Inc. this December that clarifies what Leviathan is and their end goal. I’m excited for it as a hold over until the series restarts.
I think Benski said he’d pick it up, maybe I can get him to come in here to post up his thoughts on the issue. Personally, I’m not a fan of the character but I wish the comic good luck after a rocky start.
