batman

The main reason I scanned this panel was to get it large enough for me to make sure they were actually shaking hands.

filed under Categories batman, the thing 2 Comments

So I received for Christmas the slipcased oversized-hardcover edition of JLA/Avengers by Kurt Busiek and George Perez, giving me a change to revisit this fun intercompany crossover series and enjoy the crazily-overstuffed pages of art. And while there are lots of momentous events in the story that get the most attention, like Superman wielding Thor’s hammer, or the Avengers fighting Starro…I think one of my favorite moments is this brief meeting between Batman and the ever-lovin’, blue-eyed Thing:


Batman’s “uh…okay, sure” look makes it for me.

To see this panel in context, Bully the Little Stuffed Bull has the full page, presented as part of his 2009 365 Days with Ben Grimm series.

This post is about Batman and Superman.

filed under Categories batman, superman 6 Comments

From the “Daily Planet” news page in January 1980 DC Comics comes this story with a headline that’s hard to beat:


It’s been a while since Superman’s been described as the “Krypton Comet,” hasn’t it? Though apparently it is the name of some amusement park rides.

I’m going to have to check the back issue shelves at the shop and see if we have a copy of this, even if the actual comic has a lot to live up to. So sucking Kryptonian blood would make Dracula “invulnerable to wooden stakes?” Aim high, Drac! Though admittedly, that would be a priority for Dracula, I suppose.

• • •

Meanwhile, at Yahoo Answers:


The “best answer” is supposedly

“read the killing joke,it will explain why there are so much alike in different aspects.”

But I think we all agree the real best answer is

“What do you mean? Batman defeated the Joker. Jack was splat in the first one…”
Source(s):
=) ‘Wait ’till they get a load of me.’-Joker”

And the Joker was never seen again. The end. (Well, except for that other Batman movie. And the cartoon. And the video games….oh, and the comics, too, but surely those don’t hold the influence over the franchise the way the Tim Burton adaptation does.)

And that’s how Mike found out from Green Arrow fans just how many villains the character really has.

filed under Categories batman, cartoons 19 Comments

So in the animated DC Comics logo attached to their films, you see…

A close-up of a woman’s eye:


A grimacing face:


And someone totally getting clocked:


Comics!


The animated logo attached to Superman Returns is slightly different, and it seems to me that the flashing images changed according to the movie the logo is attached to, but the few DC DVDs I have either use the first logo above, don’t have any flashing images, or (like in the Watchmen film) display the logo in a fashion more fitting to the film’s design. If there are other variations on the images used, feel free to let me know.

Anyway, this just came to mind as I was watching the Superman/Shazam! – The Return of Captain Marvel DVD (or Blu-ray), which wasn’t too bad considering the main feature was mostly just flying dudes punching each other, but it was flying dudes punching each other and presented reasonably well, and sometimes that’s all you’re in the mood for. It is a shame that the only animated versions of Captain Marvel we’ll likely ever see in the future will be “like Superman, only with the brain of a kid,” and very little of the whimsy and humor of the original C.C. Beck stories. I did appreciate the emphasis on Billy Batson’s own unwavering good spirits in the face of continuing adversity…and the reveal of one of Captain Marvel’s most beloved supporting characters near the end of the story.

The other short DC Showcase features from previous DC animated releases are included on the disc, which allowed me to finally see that Green Arrow short that wasn’t included on the Netflix version of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. That was a fun little adventure, too, though it reminds you that Green Arrow has two whole arch-nemeses, and they’re both here. Also, at one point Green Arrow introduces himself as “Green Arrow, Justice League of America,” which amused me for some reason (but fitting, considering the political situation he finds himself in).

Special features are episodes from DC’s various TV series, focusing on characters from the other straight-to-DVD shorts on the disc (like the Captain Marvel episode of Justice League Unlimited). Of particular note is the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode “Chill of the Night,” which should totally put lie to the criticisms that this version of Batman is “just for kiddies.” It’s a damned brutal episode, focusing on Batman’s origin which, there’s no getting around it, involves the shooting murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents:


You see the gun fire, twice, and you see Thomas Wayne collapse, in silhouette:


I don’t think the ’90s Batman: The Animated Series was even this explicit…if I recall correctly, the most you got there was a distant aerial view of the alley and the flash of gunshots. (And then there was also a dream sequence image of the alley rising up and turning into a giant gun, with a river of blood pouring out of the barrel, which was…something else, admittedly. Might have been the same episode, come to think of it. …You know where to correct me.)

Anyway, the Brave and the Bold episode involves the Phantom Stranger and the Spectre:


…and their respective beliefs that Batman is either going to seek justice or vengeance in his quest to uncover the killer of his parents. And even though you know how it’s going to turn out, the journey Batman undergoes through the episode is a fairly intense one.

Nice touches: Adam “Batman” West and Julie “Catwoman” Newmar doing voice work as Bruce Wayne’s parents. And this genuinely touching and fantastic sequence of a mystically time-transported Batman fighting crime side-by-side with his dad:


How awesome is that? “Very” is the correct answer.

Also, a quick Googling shows that this is old news, but I didn’t notice this in the DC Showcase intro sequence until this particular viewing:


Hello there, Bruce Timm, DC animation producer/writer/animator/etc.!

I don’t often wear my Tom Servo “I’M HUGE!” t-shirt for the same reason.

filed under Categories batman, sluggo, the eBay, this week's comics 5 Comments

Another recently arrived purchase from the eBay: a companion Sluggo magnet for the one I received a few days ago:


This Sluggo is kinda sorta posed the same way as the Sluggo in the last Sluggo Saturday, only sans moustache.

• • •

Arrived at the store this week is an assortment of buttons called “DC Superheroes Have Issues,” and some of the buttons feature pics of superheroes and villains with captions identifying their particular problem and, perhaps, intended to comment on the wearer of said button. Like, Batman’s says “Needs Anger Management,” Flash’s is “Speed Freak” (er…), Dr. Fate’s is “Painfully Shy” (because of the full facemask, you see), and Joker’s is “Just Crazy,” which is pretty funny, actually.

The best one is probably this one:


And while this may be a problem of the Penguin’s (though perhaps overstating it a bit):


…that’s…um, well, what can you say, really. Apparently, expected demand for this button was low, as this was the only one in the box. Or maybe it’s a Rare Chase Retailer Incentive Embossed Foil Die Cut Cover – Death and Return of Captain America and Superman Autographed by Alex Ross and Buck Rogers and Silver Spoons Star Erin Gray Button! Starting Bid $129.99! L@@K! H@T! We Take PayPal!

…Er, sorry about that.

For some reason, I Googled “morbidly obese Penguin” and up came this page, and apparently the phrase is some kind of internet thing. Maybe. I guess. Who can tell?

• • •

Finally got around to reading some of this week’s comics, and regarding Grant Morrison’s Batman and Robin #16…without getting into spoilers, let’s just say that they weren’t kidding about it being a “game-changer.” I mean, we knew where it was going, given the premise of Batman, Inc., but how it got from here to there is something else. Of course, my first reaction to reading it is “I wonder what they’re going to have to do when they eventually change everything back to the way it was” since, like any comic book character with this long an existence and with this much tie-in merchandise and other media translations, the inertia of its own history and reader/general public expectations always tends toward reverting these kinds of temporary fiddlings with the formulas. But, given the kind of change made, and the relative significance of the character, I suspect the transition back to the old status quo may be as traumatic as the change over to the new one…and I also suspect Morrison has said transition already built into place for when the time comes.

Oh, the comic was good, too.

Aparo Vs. Sienkiewicz.

filed under Categories batman 18 Comments

So I posted that pic from a Batman comic featuring Bill Sienkiewicz’s inks over Jim Aparo’s pencils, which resulted, as some of you noted, in a seeming mismatch of artistic styles. Aparo’s clean lines (some samples of which you can look at here) are fairly well overwhelmed by Sienkiewicz’s much looser and scratchier style, but not always to poor effect. I thought I’d run a handful of panels and sequences from the book to present more examples of this particular collaboration. I’m no art critic, so my comments are mostly limited to “DUH, HERE ART, YOU LOOK,” so please excuse my lack of informative presentation.

While the faces from the previously posted panel looked a bit…off, to those of us used to Aparo’s usual illustrations of those characters, I like this portrait of the Penguin:


That almost looks like a caricature of an actual person, which makes the Penguin appear actually somewhat menacing.

The action sequences in the book come across okay, like this one:


In general, the Aparo layouts come through fine, it’s just the details, particularly on the overrendered faces, that the discordance sets in.

Batman looks a little awkward in this panel, but I don’t know if that’s a layout problem or a finishing issue:


That’s fully an Aparo eyebrow on Robin in the first panel, there.


There are several pages in this story colored with a limited palette, like the above panels, and that seems to work to the art’s advantage, adding to the moodiness of the proceedings already enhanced by Sienkiewicz’s sketchy style.

This last panel from the story is quite moody and effective, I think…Nightwing’s a little on the wrinkly side, but crimefighting ages you, man:


Overall…an interesting experiment, but I think I prefer Aparo on his own. Or Sienkiewicz on his own. I’d totally read a regular Batman series drawn by Sienkiewicz, come to think of it.

images from Batman #533 (August 1996) by Doug Moench, Jim Aparo & Bill Sienkiewicz

A clever title for a post about fan-designed Robin costumes goes here.

filed under Categories batman, moustache 11 Comments

So anyway, I was looking through a copy of Batman #259 (Nov-Dec 1974) when I saw a special feature wherein readers submitted their own new costume ideas for Robin.

This one, frankly, isn’t too different from the standard model:


…but seems to be given just that little bit of extra…somethin’-somethin’ to push Robin over into “exotic dancer” territory. Perhaps this redesign should be kept in mind if the Batman burlesque stage show ever comes to pass.

Now this costume (by a noted fandom figure and author) is pure awesome:


Not so much for the costume, which is pretty much just giving Robin some limb coverage, but for this fantastic power ‘stache:


I am certain it is within Grant Morrison’s power to somehow squeeze this version of Robin into the forthcoming Batman, Inc. series. WE KNOW YOU CAN DO IT, GRANT.

The Complete Frank Miller Batman (Longmeadow Press, 1989).

filed under Categories batman, from the vast Mikester comic archives 1 Comment


This hardcover book (with a leatherish-style cover) was assembled by Longmeadow Press, a publishing imprint for a U.S. bookstore chain that, among other projects, created “bargain books” for sale in those stores. To quote a former Longmeadow employee from this interesting discussion I found, the goal was to make “high-end bargain books (i.e., they looked classy, not schlocky).” And this Complete Frank Miller Batman book ain’t bad-looking. It has a leatherish-bound hardcover with silver lettering on the spine (along with a dark blue Batsymbol), the metallic blue and silver image on the front cover (as seen above), a bound-in blue fabric bookmark, and clean white pages with a shiny silver trim at the edges. It should look garish, but it all seems to work together nicely, somehow. Or maybe I’m just used to it.

This book includes the entirety of The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One, as well as the 1980 story “Wanted: Santa Claus – Dead or Alive” written by Denny O’Neil. Reproduction is strong, the coloring is good and faithful to the original (aside from the Santa Claus story, where the coloring is a bit slapdash, and too dark). Text pieces/forewords by Alan Moore, Richard Bruning and Miller himself are included. Of course, it’s no longer the “Complete” Frank Miller Batman, as we’ve had The Dark Knight Strikes Again and All Star Batman since then, but if anyone says this makes it the “Complete Good Frank Miller Batman,” I a’gonna punch you in the nose.

I remember the bookstore I bought this from had piles of these stacked by the entrance, and I always figured these were common as dirt. However, I hardly ever see these turn up in collections at the shop. My own copy has been a faithful companion, becoming my own definitive edition of these particular stories, which allowed me to sell off the originals. I even used it in college, during that one class where the Modern Narrative professor was cool enough to assign Dark Knight along with Don DeLillo’s White Noise. And given I was dragging it to class, the Batman book looks like it’s still brand new. That’s either a testament to the book’s durability or to my comic-fan obsessive-compulsive need to maintain that Near Mint condition.

Anyway, here’s another Amazon thing. There are plenty to be had of Complete Frank Miller Batman, apparently, starting at about eighteen bucks, and going all the way up to a dizzying $192:

(EDIT: SORRY, AMAZON LINK DEAD)

Yeah, I threw in a banner for White Noise, too. That was a pretty good book, as I recall.

ADDENDUM to the Superman Spectacular 1982 book I discussed a couple of days ago: the cowriter of the funnybook in question, Paul Kupperberg, popped up in the comments for that post (EDIT: link dead, sadly!) to briefly discuss his involvement in producing Superman stories for the overseas market. Bonus: Vinnie Colletta inking story! Thanks for stopping by, Mr. Kupperberg!