Haven’t read it for one, I usually just talk about what I like and am currently interested in. So what’s going on in Detective Comics?
Batman Black Lantern special is now on my must read list, when it comes out. Grayson should have a better relationship with DC’s heroes in trust than Bruce did, as people admired and respected him as Nightwing and in general he is just an easy to like person, whereas Bruce had his conspiracies and stuff, despite doing everything for the greater good.
Just be weird, I wonder who will fill the old Batman’s role as DC’s cool super smart asshole, Hal seems to be doing a good job of being the JLA rebel right now.
Has anyone touched on Joker’s reaction yet? Or is DC keeping him away from the “New” Batman for the time being?
Detective Comics currently stars Batwoman, the Jewish, Lesbian Bat-person (ex-flame of Renee Montoya) who is currently hunting down the Church of Crime and its new leader. It’s written by Greg Rucka and the art is by J.H. Williams. It’s well written, and it’s the best looking comic on the market.
Batman & Robin and Detective Comics are easily the two best Batbooks. My only complaint which really isn’t a big deal is that I feel like Batwoman got stuck in Detective instead of her own book for sales reasons, making Streets of Gotham the new “Detective Comics”
All in all, other than Batman I’m enjoying all the Bat-books, I feel like Morrison is writing Dick Grayson in such a way that when he complains its reasonable, but Winnick seems to just echo the same complaints Morrison writes, especially if you read BandR#2 and Batman 688, it makes DG sound like a whiner, which is my complaint about Winnick in general, why is he always making DG look bad?
Hmm, don’t think I will pick up Detective Comics. not knocking the writing or art, just Batwoman as a character hardly interested me in the first place.
Streets of Gotham like the GPD doing there own thing? Wanted to read through the old GPD comic, heard nothing but good things from it.
I haven’t read the Batman series yet to see what you mean, but going into it I have a bad feeling, I dislike seeing DG portrayed in a whiny manner. Morrison does it good because, well, he’s fucking Morrison.
Only thing better would be the Bru writing for Batman and doing a long, great run (If he hasn’t already). I could die happy at that point.
Well the thing that makes DG’s complaints reasonable in B&R is that he only says it once and then Alfred gives him a good talking to, DG takes the advice and its all good
Winnick has the same complaints in Batman so it basically took what made Morrison’s DG’s complaints reasonable and makes it negative, though this I suppose is due to the order of the books’ releases
Despite that though I feel like if Winnick knows Batman is getting released after why wouldn’t he work with Morrison to make sure there isn’t any repeated material.
True, seems recently a lot of writer’s have errors within their respective comics due to not talking about it. Spidey was a recent victim, just if three-four different people are writing the same character some continuity between them would be nice.
Brubaker has had a run on Batman/Detective Comics. Most of it isn’t really his finest work, to be honest… He was hired during an era when DC was going batshit with the Batshit. All those crossovers (Bruce Wayne: Murderer? and Fugitive, War Games, etc.) made it almost impossible for Brubaker’s Batman stuff to have any real sense of cohesiveness. The one crossover I believe he came up with himself (Officer Down, which he collaborated with Rucka) was marred by a bunch of subpar artists whose styles did not mesh with the tone of the story.
Brubaker’s proudest Batman work is probably the stuff in The Man Who Laughs TRADE, BABY. The Man Who Laughs was a prestige format one-shot with Doug Mahnke art. The TRADE, BABY also includes what is probably his finest Batman arc, “Made of Wood” from Detective #s 784-786. Made of Wood has Batman actually using his detective skills to solve one of the original Green Lantern’s unsolved cases. (The original GL and JSA used to operate out of Gotham back in the day.)
He also wrote Batman #603 which, despite being a random chapter in the Fugitive crossover, remains a highlight of his time at DC. It’s probably one of my all-time favorite single issues in general. Sean Phillips drew it so it’s got the SLEEEEEEEEEPER!!!1 connection, baby. In the story, the crossover garbage is basically just a backdrop and not really important. It’s about a dying old detective’s last request for Batman to take over his last unsolved case: the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Pretty powerful stuff in just 22 pages. It’s got everything you need in a Batman comic. Pathos, top tier art, a foreboding sense of depression constantly threatening to eclipse an underlying sense of hope… It basically sums up everything there is to know about the Batman. Oh yeah, and Batman beats up ninjas! You can’t top that, bub. Look for this in the quarter bins, everyone! http://www.comicvine.com/batman-the-turning-point/37-83268/
Brubaker and Phillips (obligatory SLEEEEEEEEEEEPER!!!11! and CRIMINAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!1 exclamations) also teamed up to do an Elseworlds called Batman: Gotham Noir. I think that might actually be their very first collaboration together. It’s really good, too. Takes place in like the late 1940s or 1950s and is about Gordon being the patsy for a murder. It’s a hard-boiled crime noir story about a down-on-his-luck private dick, but with Batman. And the guys who made SLEEEEEEEEEEEEPER!!!111!! HAHAHA
Anyway, most importantly, read Gotham Central and Catwoman. Then you can die happy.
I know of the Gotham operation, why Solomon Grundy (A GL original villain) pops up in Batman from time to time, being murdered in Gotham “Back in the day”. At least someone remembered that and made a story out of it, might have to hunt that Bru work down.
Gotham Central I must read, if it’s the GPD thing. Catwoman meh, I dunno, not a big fan of her, though I’d like to read the Black Mask arc where she owns him.
Zephy since my departure what has caused you to become so manic and depressive? You have no optimism, I fear for you…that and the CAPZ kinda scare me. Also kick my ass in SFIV sometime soon, I need to get some Abel practice in, mainly patience and jump-in work.
After my Udon comics binge I’ll look up these various Bat stories and get caught up.
I didn’t even know Catwoman was good, I guess I’ll look into it, I’ve actually been trying to get a list of must have Bat-related stories so Nightwing, Robin etc. all count too if anyone’s willing to help me out.
Yeah, it’s in The Man Who Laughs TRADE, BABY. Or hardcover. Definitely a good buy.
Yeah, that’s the one about the Gotham City cops. Rucka cowrote it with Brubaker, and the art’s by Michael Lark, Kano, and Stefano Gaudiano. Pretty much as perfect as any DC Universe comic can get. I feel like Gotham Central might be Rucka’s best work, too; either this, or Whiteout.
The Brubaker run would probably make anyone a fan of her, but even if you don’t have any predilection for the character, the stories stand up well on their own.
Brubaker was responsible for bring Black Mask to prominence in his run, but I don’t think Catwoman ever “owned” him. (I don’t think this spoils what is a fantastic story, by the way.)
If you’re thinking about the arc where Catwoman shoots him in the brain, that was written by someone else (Will Pffeifer, I think). This came right around that One Year Later shit… Total garbage. Not worth reading.
Brubaker’s run actually ended kind of ignominiously around issue 30 or so, during some stupid War Games crossover or something. The artist he had for some of the issues in the back end of his run, Paul Gulacy, killed a lot of the momentum. Gulacy’s inconsistent art just didn’t mesh at all with the pulpy crime elements of Brubaker’s scripts. This has bothered me for years and dredging up these horrible memories right now, I don’t know how I’m gonna sleep tonight.
Lol, you have a knack for cracking me up with your comic drama Zephy. But you possess vast knowledge, so thank you for that and I will start looking immediately.
Going for Gotham Central first, always curious to see how the GPD handles the lunatics and get their side of the story. Oh yeah! You read that Joker trade yet Zephy? We gotta nerdgasm over it.
Gotham Central is the most boring comic ever. It’s even more boring than PMS’ Thor and that is a boring comic. I should have known it’d be overrated since it was **Eisner ** nominated and all.
The opening two-parter in Gotham Central is the most fearsome and sinister Mr. Freeze ever portrayed. You’ll like it, stunty-mercy.
I like what Paul Dini’s been doing lately, too, but it’s a different type of comic from Gotham Central… Heart of Hush was all pure superheroics interspersed with wild, questionable science (Catwoman’s heart was removed, only Batman kept her alive with some New Gods technology or something until he could retrieve and reinstall her heart). Dini does his best to rescue a Jeph Loeb character, and I have no qualms with enjoying his work.
Also, 'trixy, Gotham Central won the Eisner. A Batman comic can’t get much more pretentious than that. Other than Nascar Heroes #5 getting nominated for the Harveys.
Dini is alright, and I like Hush despite Loeb having a way of creating crap, so I’ll look it up.
Yeah the Hush returns thing was…weird, I didn’t like the Hush/Ivy angle, and the Catwoman heart was odd. But the action was good, and I just loved the artwork. Prometheus being used like a bitch pissed me off though, I’m a big fan of him.
Yeah, it’s pretty weak how Prometheus has been a jobber in the last decade or so since Morrison created him. You’d think a guy whose sole purpose in life was to be the Anti-Batman would actually be as effective as that sounds. The guy who single-handedly took down the JLA (in its prime) would never get mortally wounded by Green Arrow and subsequently become Hush’s sidekick/lapdog. That’s just wrong. All of a sudden Prometheus became the Wrecking Crew of the DCU. No respect.
I heard that some other writer didn’t like what had happened to Prometheus and basically came up with a story recently that explains all those dumb stories. I think he basically used the IMPOSTER (haha, where you at, Clinty?!) excuse, with the funny caveat that the real Prometheus is snickering beneath his helmet because he knows the world thinks he’s a joke now; therefore he can strike out with some impunity before they realize he’s back. I can live with that, but Prometheus better be brought back to prominence or it’ll all be for naught.