Family Time

Batman and Robin #20
Written by Peter Tomasi
Art by Patrick Gleason

 

Okay Tomasi already did the whole “Bat-family watches a movie together” thing when he was writing Nightwing and I thought it was corny then – doing it again here made it cornier. Maybe I am just pissed that he didn’t include Cassandra I don’t know but it’s just not what I want to see in Batman comic. The rest of the book was pretty good as a guy dressed like an Angel falls to his death and Batman and Robin tried to figure out why. Man-Bat shows up and everything. Not a bad start to Tomasi’s run on the book, but not really spectacular either.

New Mentors

Batgirl (Volume 3) #11
Written by Bryan Q. Miller
Art by Lee Garbett and Pere Perez

 

I feel like despite being action-packed, not much happened in this issue. Calculator has gotten inside Barbara’s head but she is holding her own and Wendy is helping out Batgirl. It has some cool visuals but still no mention of Cassandra so I really don’t care. With Babs running the Birds of Prey again, Cassandra along with Wendy should be Steph’s new mentors.

Techno-Zombies

Batgirl (Volume 3) #10
Written by Bryan Q. Miller
Art by Lee Garbett and Pere Perez

 

Still no mention of Cassandra Cain and this was one of the weaker issues of the book…nothing really memorable occurred and the techno-zombie thing doesn’t do it for me. I guess I am just too sick of Calculator versus Oracle plots to enjoy this.

The Missing Daughter Saga Continues

Red Robin #12
Written by Christopher Yost
Art by Marcus To

 

Okay if Ra’s took the time to track down people like fucking Julie Madison, then why the fuck would he not go after Cassandra Cain – Bruce’s adopted daughter daughter and the former Batgirl! Is it because DC’s editors are asshats?! I think so. But anyways, this was a great way to end Yost’s run on the title and bring Tim full circle. This began as the story of Tim going in a direction too dark for the character but Yost has brought him back to Gotham and back to his old self. Hell they even made the costume more his. Yost’s run was great. I am certainly glad To is sticking around but I will miss Christopher Yost on this book.

Masks

Batman #697
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Daniel

 

The person behind the Black Mask is revealed and all-in-all it is not that shocking. I still loved the issue. Daniel’s artworks has been great since he started on this book and so has his writing. Battle for the Cowl was a total fluke. I was sad to see the splash page of the Network considering this was an organization began by Cassandra Cain – and she has been gone since August and no one seems to care to look for her (In other words DC’s editors are douchebags) The debut of Catgirl was unexpected – I hate the costume it looks really ridiculous but that doesn’t mean I hate the concept. I wonder what Holly Robinson will think? Will this be reflected in Gotham City Sirens? Time will tell.

Killing Time

Titans (Volume 2) #22
Written by J.T. Krul
Art by Angel Unzueta

 

Hmmm…Krul continues his great characterization of the Titans. He certainly gets these characters but I am not sure we needed another issue of Starfire pondering whether she should join the Justice League. And what’s with Beast Boy saying he is the leader of the Teen Titans, when it’s pretty clear Wonder Girl is leader. Maybe he is just saying that? Or this is before Cassie fully takes charge? Anyways, they are just killing time for Wallace to take over the book. Why is it taking so long?

Monsters

Superman/Batman #67
Written by Scott Kolins
Art by Kolins

Hmm…this was rather confusing maybe I read it too fast as I am not sure what exactly occurred. Did Bizarro send Grundy into the sun? What is going on with Man-Bat and his wife? I don’t know if it was actually confusing or I just don’t care enough. Kolins is a good artist for these monsters though.

Quick Read

Superman/Batman #66
Written by Scott Kolins
Art by Kolins

As it turns out, Bizarro is much more interesting in Black Lantern emotional spectrum vision then he is without it. Haha. I like that he said he was full of rage when the Black Lantern saw love. Nice use of the opposite speech and twisting it to fit Blackest Night perfectly. It was also great to see Frankenstein and the Bride. This was good but a little rushed. It was a quick read.

Batman and Manhunter Kissing In A Tree?

Batman: Streets of Gotham #6
Written by Christopher Yost
Art by Dustin Nguyen
Co-Feature by Marc Andreyko
Art by Jeremy Haun

This was a decent issue. I don’t really have much to say about it. Yost toned down the blood-thirstiness of the Huntress which was good. I like Man-Bat’s mentioning of being in Louisiana – acknowledging how he was in the Outsiders and this. Nice use of continuity and it shows how strong of an editor Marts is with the Batman line. The Manhunter Co-Feature wasn’t as fun as last issue and I don’t really like Dylan as a character so I am not excited to see him come back in Kate’s life. But I am interested to see how this Dick Grayson – Kate Spencer dating thing will pan out.

Her Name is Gabrielle!

Outsiders (Volume 4) #23
Written by Peter Tomasi
Art by Fernando Pasarin

Pasarin is such a good artist why doesn’t DC ever use him as a regular artist? Although his Creeper is a little more normal looking then the Creeper usually is. But at the same time Tomasi writes him as more “normal” then he usually does too. It was great to see Katana and Halo’s relationship acknowledged, even if it is annoying that they keep calling Halo Violet instead of Gabrielle. This is going to be Tomasi’s last arc on this book before Didio takes over. I guess we shall see if Tomasi’s run is considered a sucessful one or not.

Blood Thirsty Huntress

Batman: Streets of Gotham #5
Written by Christopher Yost
Art by Dustin Nguyen
Co-Feature by Marc Andreyko
Art by Jeremy Haun

During Gail Simone’s run on Birds of Prey, if I remember correctly, Huntress grew as a character and now rarely goes for lethal force on villains. So why in this issue is she unnecessarily blood thirsty? I get that she is more willing to kill then any of the other Gotham heroes but she seems to want to kill Man-Bat in this issue. It is just over the top. That being said I did like the story and the idea of the crazy priest. The Manhunter co-feature was pretty damn awesome as we look at Dylan’s histoy and Two-Face being up to no good. I did enjoy the issue although the Huntress was written strangely.

Best Use Of Clayface Ever

Outsiders (Volume 4) #22
Written by Peter Tomasi
Art by Fernando Pasarin

Pasarin’s art is much better then Garbett’s for this book. And I have to say I am enjoying this rounding up the Gotham villains arc so far. It is much simpler then the last arc and less confusing. Not to mention that this issue contained the best use of Clayface I have EVER read in a comic. Clayface is usually used as a a throw away character disguised as someone else or a background character, but this issue shows how dangerous and powerful he can be. Especially when he shows up and absorbs a whole family into his body so they can mine him! Kudos to Tomasi for making great use of a character and showing me his worth.

She’s Back In The Family!

Batman and the Outsiders (Volume 2) #13
Written by Frank Tieri
Art by Fernando Dagnino

The Outsiders don’t actually appear in this issue (having disbanded last issue) and neither does Batman (having dissapeared after R.I.P) but damnit I am happy, I got a Batgirl issue! Cassandra is being her usual bad ass self kicking ass and taking names! Alfred referring to her as part of the family made me soooo happy, as she really has been ignored as a member of the bat family ever since fucking Loeb didn’t include her in Hush. (Fuck you, Loeb) and especially since Beechen turned her evil for a bit. I hope Nightwing and Batgirl don’t actually fight next issue as that would just be stupid, I have seen enough of that shit for a lifetime. I hope they work out their differences as Alfred suggested. It is cool to check in on Gotham’s underworld of crime and to see all of the villains again. Tieri needs to write a Batgirl ongoing because I really like how he characterizes her. He gets her a lot more then Beechen does (Beechen doesn’t get her at all). But DC, she doesn’t need to be in her own book, but she does need to be a member of the Bat family and to be a constant guest star in Batman and Detective Comics because ignoring her is stupid. She is a great character. It looks like from the solicitations she will be leaving this book, so she better be showing up in Battle for the Cowl so I can get my Batgirl-Fix. Oh and kudos to Tieri for featuring the Spoiler in this as well. And Dagnino’s art was superb.

As I Have Said Before, Batgirl Rules

Batman and the Outsiders #12
Written by Frank Tieri
Art by Ryan Benjamin

Yes, Cassandra Cain is awesome! Didio respect her you big porn-mustached Jackass! I thought Tieri was leaning toward Batgirl betraying the team but no, she makes a mistake and the Outsiders disband but she demands that the team be brought back together. I like how Robin is worried about Batgirl in this issue because in the main bat-books it seems like they don’t give a shit about her. This book is actually tying into RIP more then most of the tie-ins. In fact, the Black Glove appears in this issue threatening the Outsiders. I don’t think Thunder will stay in the coma and I like how Grace speaks to God about it. And Remac’s death doesn’t bother me a bit, visually he was cool, but Salah was just annoying as hell. Tieri picked the right Outsider to kill off. I really liked this issue.

BATO 8 – 11

Batman and the Outsiders (Volume 2) #8
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by Julian Lopez

God I love this series….Lopez’s art is just plain gorgeous in this issue and I am actually really liking Remac….not the stupid annoying guy that controls him, but he is a cool looking hero himself.

Batman and the Outsiders (Volume 2) #9
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by Julian Lopez

Julian Lopez’s work is extremely underrated. This is some great work. I especially liked the detail put into Looker’s mansion…and I am not even an art person. Anyways, it was fun to see Looker again, she is a lot less annoying then when she was with the Outsiders.

Batman and the Outsiders (Volume 2) #10
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by Ryan Benjamin

Sadly this is Dixon’s last issue on this series and he doesn’t even get to finish off his whole arc with the thing on the moon. The idea of a parasite that gives metahuman powers is an interesting one. The opening page was particularly terrifying for an opening page….but I miss having Lopez on this title. I look forward to seeing how the crossover with Batman RIP goes.

Batman and the Outsiders (Volume 2) #11
Written by Frank Tieri
Art by Ryan Benjamin

Well I am happy to say that this wasn’t a bad issue. I liked how all the villains ar Arkham are singing “Ding Dong the Witch is dead” because Batman is missing haha. I also like how out of all the RIP tie-ins, this one was the most tied in…even referencing more events then just the Black Glove’s existence. I just wish the other Outsiders would stop picking on Batgirl….cause they SHOULD listen to her she is Cassandra Cain and she is kick-ass.

Death of a Bat-Son

Batman #658
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Andy Kubert and Jesse Delperdang

So it looks like Batman’s son is dead. We never see a body so in a comic book, that means he could easily still be alive. I am not sure why Talia would set herself up for death, so I am going to assume that they are still alive. But he’s dead for now. I doubt Batman is going to grieve much, since Damien was a brat from the day he met him. An evil brat at that. I find it hard to believe that Damien would end up as anything else besides a Jason Todd clone. In the end, I have to ask. Was this storyline needed? Or was it just a ruse to sell some comic books. I am leading to the second choice, it accomplished nothing in the development of Batman in the cover and if we erase this storyline from happening, it would change nothing. At least I believe so, I have been wrong before. I just do not think that this was one of Morrison’s better works. I am excited for next month with the return of the Joker. Everyone loves the Joker!

Batman 655 – 657

Batman #655
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and Cover by Andy Kubert

Grant Morrison begins what will hopefully be an excellent run this issue. He starts a story that may change Batman’s world forever. The idea that Batman had a son with Talia has been around since the son of the demon graphic novel from years ago. DC never stated if it was continuity or not, but now it for sure is. Talia makes sure that Batman knows of his son by sending an army of man-bats after him. Very cool. The only problem I have with the plot is why wouldn’t Talia mention this to Batman before? I hope they explain that. Besides that minor problem, I love this issue. The art is great. There are so many great moments inlcuding the “There goes my vacation” line by Batman and Commisioner Gordon going all joker crazy. I would also like to see what will come of the Joker after being shot point blank in the head.

Batman #656
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and Cover by Andy Kubert

The battle with the man-bats continues this issue and in the end, Talia leaves Batman with his son. I am starting to wonder if this is a good idea or not, is this truly Bruce’s son? If it is, a lot of things are going to change for Batman. The art continues to impress and I could not wait for the next issue after reading this.

Batman #657
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and Cover by Andy Kubert

We finally get to meet the son of Batman this issue, and he is…well…a real bastard. I really hate this kid. He is just a total dickwad. He murders criminals, incapacitates Robin, and most of all treats Alfred like crap. On top of that, his name is Damian; the most evil name ever. This spoiled little brat steals Jason Todd’s old Robin costume and decides he is going to be the new Robin. This is ironic considering how much Damien reminds me so much of Jason…and I think this was intentional. The art is great once again and this storyline is exciting and suspenceful. Morrison make sure Damien is unlikeable as he could be. Can’t wait for next issue!