June

He/they | 26 I Here's a blog for me to talk all about comic books

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DC Finest: Batgirl – Nobody Dies Tonight Review

I will preface that I have yet to read No Man's Land, but I know that's where Cass is more formally introduced. However, even without that context, I think her journey entering the world of superheroism and Gotham's crime life is done so well here.

Note: The book doesn't include the first 6 issues of the run, but I read them digitally just get the full experience. 

This book actually does so well showcasing her character. Even with how much it withholds about her backstory, it's who she currently is that's more important aspect of the story. Her current self and drive to save people is really the crux of the book. "Nobody Dies Tonight" is aptly titled and especially so in issue #19 (where the title comes from). 

The dynamic between Cass towards Barbara and Bruce really gives off divorce parents that have never been married. It's such a fun relationship to watch play out. Both of their conflicting styles of parenting/teaching clashing over how Cass should operate. What makes it even stronger is the fact that there's no clear right answer. It's just different approaches. Cass doesn't lean one way or the other, and the story doesn't say either's right or wrong. It's just people being themselves helping each other, even if their approaches are different. 

One of my favorite parts of the book is the episodic nature of the story. I think a lot of comics around this time might've followed this approach more (I know at least Dixon's Nightwing felt that way), but it's done especially well here. The story really gives up the vibe of watching a TV show play out. I think I really like the episodic approach to comics,  and this really scratched that itch perfectly. With this approach, as opposed to multi-issue long arcs, you get full meals in each issue. I really feel like each issue is completely crucial to understanding her character and journey. 

There's so much about this book to really enjoy. It's ripe with great character portrayals and story. I absolutely would highly recommend reading this even if you're a casual fan of these characters. It's so easy to jump straight into it and fully immerse yourself right into the eyes of Cassandra Cain as she learns communicate with her words for the first time. 

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My February TBR List

Here are all the comics I plan to read for February!!

I'm definitely more of a DC reader, but I'm encroaching on Marvel (or at least attempting to) starting this month. I've read plenty of Marvel in the past, but not so much recently.

And I'm finally getting my hands into the New 52 Nightwing run which I have been continually avoiding before now. I got the omnibus a few months ago, but just haven't had the chance to read it yet. I don't know anything about it, but I know I don't like the red suit 😔

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The Boy Wonder Review

I just recently bought and finished this trade and I have to say without a doubt it's one of the best character studies for any of the Robins. I would absolutely say it's required reading for Damian, not in the sense that you get a massive story arc that drastically affects the lore or greater universe. But solely because I think this is one of the best ways to really understand that character of Damian Wayne.

It very clearly lays out who Damian is and his struggles with that identity. We can see where he's coming from, being the son of Batman and Talia, and the weight that holds over him. He has this huge sense of pressure with such massive figures on both sides of family that it can really put a strain on the kid. Not only is he grappling with the fear of being a disappointment from either side of his family, but he also struggles to reconcile the idea that to please one side he'd have to disappoint the other. 

A big crux of the story is about how one of the first things Damian does when taken under Bruce's wing is kill a man. Not a huge threat either, but just a simple thief. And he was proud of it. Once he sees how much Bruce is completely shocked that's when he starts to waver in his resolve. He trained his entire childhood to not hold back. No mercy. But when he does the one thing he believes is right, his own father turns away. It's this sense of fear of disappointment that drives the story. His fear of rejection and not being good enough. He was destined for greatness, but what if he can't be great? This is what drives his journey in the story and it's beautiful. 

We also get mini-character studies for the other Robin boys as well. For Grayson, I would say it does a pretty good job understanding him. I'm personally super picky about him because he's my favorite of the Robins. Ba does a great job to showcase Dick's journey mirroring Bruce's own origin and going from bright-eyed kid to independent hero. Personally, I don't read enough Tim to know if it does a good job for him, but I did like him in this story. There's this cunning and charismatic vibe to him here that I really enjoyed. It almost feels lot like Bruce's confidence when he faces villains he already can tell he'll beat. But I think the best representation, outside of Damian, is Jason. Juni Ba does such a good job depicting Jason with even connecting his character and backstory to Damian, giving them this shared understanding between each other. Everything about Jason here is just amazing. He's sense of unworthiness and feeling of rejection is palpable through the panels. He can't help but feel like he himself is the failure of Bruce. That he failed and disappointed his dad just by being who he was. Even when recognizing that maybe the failure was on Bruce's part to not be able to "fix" Jason, he still blames himself. He essentially asks "if Bruce was able to help so many others, what's wrong with me that I couldn't be fixed?" and it's heartbreaking.

It's these kinds of understandings that I wish I could see in more comics, especially for these characters. If there was ever a chance Juni Ba could write dedicated stories for all the other Robins, or even the rest of the Batfamily, then I'll be first in line to read them. Just an overall amazing story with fantastic and visual distinct art style. Juni Ba does an amazing job bring to life one of the best Damian stories in both the writing and art. 

[chicaflash18]

Commission made by https://www.instagram.com/mr_greenm?igsh=MTR4bHc4d3ZxcTVzaw==

Open commissions

[susankofi]

bet you can't count how many crowbars here

also happy new year! sorry guys I just ragebait you 🧍

[fantastic-nonsense]

so I finally figured out what Dick's mysterious second degree is

for context, at the tail end of the Nightwing Rebirth run we were told that Dick has two degrees, one of which is a masters degree in forensics:

"I can have an advanced degree in forensics, but can't figure out the-" -Nightwing (2016) #43

You could argue that his other degree is his mysterious law degree, which is something he'd never had before and I assume Tom Taylor gifted to Dick because pre-reboot Earth-2 Dick was a lawyer:

"Really? Because I have a law degree." "Oh, yeah. So do I." -Nightwing (2016) #80

Though I suspect it's also probably Taylor following up on Humphries changing Dick's major at Hudson University from business (which he studied pre-Crisis) to what appears to be either pre-law or a dual degree program:

-"...and I wasn't Robin either. I was just regular Dick Grayson, Hudson University college student. Taking a semester at Bludhaven College Law School." -Nightwing (2016) #39

But the Rebirth panels were written years before Taylor's run and a JD is another graduate degree, leaving me ??? about what Dick got his bachelors in. Especially since he notably dropped out of Hudson University after one year (pre-Crisis) or one semester (post-Crisis), and you can't get into law school without an undergraduate degree in the modern era.

Well, I was browsing through old Who's Who profiles and guess what I found?

"This group disbanded when Dick began his college studies at Hudson University. While Dick soon dropped out of college, he later returned to complete his degree in psychology and criminology." -Who's Who in the DC Universe (1990) #14

Back in the 90s, Wolfman casually slid in that Dick went back to finish his degree program at some point after dropping out of Hudson. Which, to be fair, is something Dick would do. He canonically liked school just fine, he only dropped out because he consistently prioritized heroing over going to class and it killed his grades. In the age of correspondence courses and online degrees, Dick is someone who would realistically actually go back and finish his studies.

It's a bit out of left field, as I'm not sure anyone really picked up the plot thread dropped in this profile afterwards, but it does generally also match up with Dick going through the Police Academy later in Dixon's Nightwing run, since a lot of academies began favoring or requiring a college degree before admittance in the 90s. It also matches up with his academy instructor's final evaulation:

"Despite an overall display of boredom in the legal and forensics classes, his instructors gave him high marks for his finished work." -Nightwing Secret Files and Origins (1999)

Obviously, the boredom was because he'd been a vigilante for over a decade by that point and both his prior training by Batman and lived experience as a hero had well outstripped anything the academy could offer him, but it is a notable alignment with his stated degrees.

Also, I think it's fun that Dick completing a double major in psychology and criminology rather than his original business major adds a lot of background context to both of his post-Flashpoint graduate degrees (forensics and law) as well as what he clearly perceives to be his full-time career (heroing).

[littlefankingdom]

~ Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive?

Do y'all notice it? How Dick started with "you are an hypocrite because you don't follow the rules you made me follow" and shifted to "you are hypocritical because you get to protect me but you don't let me protect you"?

It started with "Why do you get to be Batman when I couldn't be Nightwing?" but becomes "Why don't you let me protect you?" because that's the thing Dick is mad about, not Bruce still being Batman when Dick had to make a new identity when he was suspected of murder.

Dick is like "I would fight the world for you! Let me do it! Let me fight the world for you! Let me protect you! Why are you not letting me fight for you?!"

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Nightwing: A Knight in Blüdhaven Review

I recently bought Compendium One and Two and just finished reading the second one. These huge 1000+ page books covers most of Chuck Dixon's 1996 Nightwing run. This is Nightwing's first solo run as he learns to take care of a city on his own for the first time in Bludhaven. (This is LENGTHY so you have been forewarned)

I will start off saying I did have high hopes for the run as I had heard it was really high regarded by a lot of people. Nightwing's first ever run had to be a big deal of course. With Dick being my favorite Robin I was really excited to get into it too (is it blasphemous to not have read it even with him being my favorite? who cares really).

And to briefly touch on Dennis O'Neil's 4 issues precursor story, it was a very weird mini-story that showed how older comics were kind of obsessed with foreign country threats with weird sci-fi military. Some elements of that story (mostly Miggy Webster, Dick's romantic interest in that story) do get brought up later in the Compendiums, but it's mostly only important for being the very first time Dick dons his more iconic black and blue suit (as well as this rad as hell polka dot outfit).

--Intro--

That being said, there was a lot I didn't like about The Knight In Bludhaven Compendiums. Not to say it was ALL bad. And it's hard to say if that negative bits were due to the 90s era or Chuck Dixon's writing (but it's safe to say it's both).

It had a such a promising start. The general vibe of the grungy Bludhaven, the characters of the city, and Dick's relentless battle as he struggles to balance his life to be a hero. But this really only lasted for the first half of Compendium One. At first I thought this got stalled by the constant events and crossovers that Dick was pulled into, but as I kept reading I found that this was actually just the nature of the book (to my disappointment). You would especially feel the drag of the story in Compendium Two, where the story almost never progresses.

I won't pretend there weren't things I did like. The spirit of the city felt alive and real for awhile. Blockbuster was definitely a formidable villain that loomed large (pun intended) over Bludhaven. Rival gang of Eddie Minh showed there were still some semblance of regular criminals too. Characters like Inspector Dudley Soames, Torque, Tad Ryerstad, Bridget Clancy, Barbara Gordon, The Original Tarantula, etc. Even the occasional visits from Huntress, Tim Drake, Batman, Superman can be fun. Dick is even given a plethora of villains that have a lot of potential to be a rich rogues gallery for him. Unfortunately, potential is the most that's given to Dick within these stories.

--Style and Pacing--

The 90s era really bleeds through in the story and you feel it for better or worse. The very serialized network TV style was probably strong for comics at this time. I imagine lots more people would grab a comic of their favorite hero/run and enjoy to read them as if they were turning on the TV to their favorite show. Lots of cable TV shows have very slow pacing to create a sense of familiarity for viewers who wouldn't tune in to every single episodes or would watch a lot of reruns. Sitcoms do this especially a lot. However, this approach makes it almost a chore to go through the story in a binge approach.

This Nightwing run really falls into this hole. Even though it starts off strong by setting the stage for everything, it completely loses that momentum. It's pacing is really strong at first with so much happening at a tense and dramatic rhythm. We get all the major players and dangers and the threat that weighs heavy over Bludhaven. Unfortunately a mix of being bombarded with crossovers/events and the stretched out pacing leads the story to drag very hard.

--Villains of the Underwhelming Nature--

I did list characters I really enjoyed, even the cameo visits, but unfortunately those characters hardly do much or get really done dirty.

Blockbuster is presented as this massive destructive villain. He's not just the brawn, but he's built his imposing criminal empire. How could Nightwing fight someone with so much more influence and raw power when he's the new boy in town? Oh of course! We'll give Roland a heart condition. A real debilitating one. Actually so devastating that he does NOTHING in Compendium Two because he's struggling to live. He spends most of his time searching for a fix for his heart and when it looks like he finally has a fix he still doesn't do anything. The most he does in Compendium Two when leaving his house is personally go look for Oracle, but even then all he does is walk around and task his underlings to actually go for her. It's almost disheartening to see a decent villain in this story when he's essentially not in the game at all.

So who else does Dick have to fight? Blockbuster still instructs his gang to terrorize the city, and he even has a grip on the police force, but who's actually giving Nightwing a run for his money out on the field? Well his potentially rich rogues gallery actually is all potential. For whatever reason 90% of his villains all work for Blockbuster. And they really don't do much besides be hired guns. Lady Vic and Shrike probably make the biggest impression of the bunch, but you rarely see them. It's hard to really understand why Lady Vic even works for him because she's presented as this no-nonsense independent character. Her character is not really explored as much as she could've been. And Shrike leaves as fast as he comes in. He has a mini-arc just for him to terrorize Dick, but Dick overcomes him pretty fast (with the help of Barbara and Black Canary).

The villains that seem to be more mainstay are Torque and Nite-Wing. Now you may have noticed I said Inspector Dudley Soames AND Torque in the intro. If you've read this story you'd know these are actually the same person. But I hate that. Vehemently so. Soames is presented as a very calculating corrupt cop that knows how to play the game of Bludhaven. He feels dangerous because he's on simultaneously on everyone's good and bad side. Everyone works with him, but are still constantly suspicious. And the cool aspect of it? He loves it. It's where he thrives. Unfortunately after the accident, he comes back into the story as Torque which completely ruins things. See now I like Torque. He's deranged and erratic. He's almost chaos personified, but he's methodical about his tactics (for the most part). But the knowledge that Soames IS Torque ruins it for me. Separately these work so well. It's almost not believable that they're the same person. And I think the story thinks so too because after Torque really gets his start in Bludhaven, the new Inspector that takes his place in the police force is almost just a Soames-lite.

Nite-Wing comes across very annoying as well. I get he's a dangerous loose canon, but he's also a lucky son of a bitch. An idiot with violent nature truly believing he's a hero. But I hate that he's "Nite-Wing." I'm not a fan of derivative "mirror" characters in that way. I would definitely be more appreciative of his character if he was some other persona. I get the idea, but I don't like the idea. But when he's just Tad is when I enjoy the exploration. I think he's definitely interesting and there's a lot to work with there, but he's just being used as a idiot with issues. And unfortunately no one else in the story seems to care enough to really do anything about it.

Eddie Minh is also presented as this mysterious organized crime leader. I thought it was cool to have a Vietnamese character presented almost immediately in the beginning (as a Viet person myself), but that hope was absolutely swept away. Eddie Minh was never shown at all (because, spoilers, he's been dead the entire time), and his gang was probably mentioned only 4 or 5 times. Not to mentioned the overt racist depictions glued to the Minhs with lots of Chinese imagery plastered all over them even though they're explicitly Vietnamese. And I'm sure Dixon probably didn't know or really even care about that.

I do wish they would've played a bigger part. There's definitely room for them to do so and a lot of set up with their gang. These Compendiums don't actually cover the entirety of Dixon's run, and there is a third one coming out May 2026. However if these books are anything to go by, I doubt the Minhs would really be used much later on.

--Romantic Tension--

Dick actually has 3 (technically 5) romantic interests in these Compendiums. That's definitely a lot to juggle, but it's clear the winner here is Barbara Gordon. Unfortunately that does come at the detriment to at least one who I actually really liked. She deserved a fairer shot, and she gave Dick way more leeway for him essentially really not caring about her.

To get two out of the way. Miggy Webster (from the 4 issue mini by Dennis O'Neil in the beginning) and Emily Washburn (a woman he married and grew to like). Both of these stories are pretty irrelevant to get into and they're only referenced mildly throughout the run. They also weren't hugely serious relationships, but they existed nonetheless. The marriage Dick had with Emily Washburn is kind of a surreal issue so you could check it out just for the fun facts that you get from it.

Miggy Webster appears in Nightwing #1-#4 (1995) by Dennis O'Neil

Emily Washburn appears in Nightwing Annual #1 (1997) by Devin Grayson

The 3 more prominent romances Dick has are Bridget Clancy, Huntress, and Barbara Gordon.

Huntress is more of a fling that he shuts down pretty hard pretty soon once he deems her tactics wrong, but they do bring up the fling a couple times.

However my major gripes are the treatment of Bridget Clancy and Barbara Gordon. He's clear flirting with both, but Clancy is more of someone he's stringing along than actually appreciating. She definitely likes him even if he pretty much treats her like trash which is a shame. I would've really enjoyed to see him have a more serious relationship with a civilian and try to juggle heroism and a normal life. It's the classic superhero love life. Unfortunately the run wants to have its cake and eat it too. Barbara is simultaneously Dick's romantic interest even though he's going on dates with Clancy. It's frustrating to see him go to both like this.

--Bridget Clancy--

He seems to just enjoy hanging out with Clancy because she's interesting and pretty. She's a Chinese woman who was actually adopted and raised Irish (thick accent included). She's also his landlady so they run into each other all the time. The way he (and the writing) treats her is pretty abhorrent. Constantly leaving her out to dry without any care of her and then just expecting her to be cool after she's gets just a tiny bit frustrated with him. Compendium One actually has him finally go on a date he's been promising her after such a long time only to literally leave her in the middle of it and then she NEVER shows up for the rest of that book. Mind you, there's 11 more issues after that for that book. When she shows up again in Compendium Two she's just completely chill with him again, in which he repays her by once again leaving her on what would've been a date. But sure, these are the tropes that plague comic book heroes. Maybe these kinds of things are just to be expected. However, something even more ridiculous happens. Something even the worst offenders of a love triangle could never dream up.

Let me first set the stage to say in Issue #43, he completely shuts Clancy down to say he's fully on the Barbara train. Which, I guess, is the classic Dick Grayson pairing, but they really feel too far removed from each other at this point in their lives so it feels almost like a regression that holds them back too much. I know realistically Clancy's relationship wouldn't be something that lasts, but I would've much preferred he give her a serious shot instead of just constantly stringing her along like this.

In Issue #54, Clancy tries to fix a lightbulb and gets electrocuted by a live wire. She falls and has absolutely no heartbeat. So in Issue #55 when Dick comes face-to-face to her what does he do? Panic like hell (as he well should).

That's sweet and maybe gives you some semblance of hope that he really DOES like her. Not just in a fun crush way, but something more serious. Especially since he even gives her the kiss of revival and they share a sweet moment. It almost seems like a step forward in their relationship. However, there's that looming plot thread of his more serious relationship with Barbara. So how exactly is that handled?

He IMMEDIATELY goes to visit Barbara to kiss HER because he's in such a good mood. DON'T PISS ME OFF.

His way of celebrating his crush coming back to life from by his own kiss is by going and kissing his now serious relationship. This CANNOT be real. This is actually the last time Clancy shows up in the Compendiums. I even checked and she actually doesn't even show up in the run until 36 more issues. THIRTY-SIX MORE ISSUES. It actually looks like she only have 7 more issues of appearances in this run entirely. That's just absolutely insane to me.

--Okay I Should End it Here--

This is definitely incredibly long, maybe too long for most people to read (or maybe just the right length?), and before I spend too much of my time shredding into this run I'll go ahead and end it here. Clearly there's some ideas and premises I like in this run (so far), but it's all potential rather than substance. The plot that is here lacks much depth. I will probably take a break from this run until Compendium Three comes out in May 2026. I believe that book has the rest of Dixon's run and some of Devin Grayson's run (something like that). Which I'm almost terrified to go into her run from what I've heard. I did hear Peter J Tomasi's run was pretty good, but that's all the way at the end of this series.

What I'll likely do is skip ahead to New 52 Nightwing since I have that Omnibus (I also fear for my life for that one, but I'll have to dive into it sooner or later).

There is much more I can definitely get into for these books (they are 1000+ pages long each), but I'm sure this gets the general gist of my thoughts on the run. A medal to those who made it to the bottom 🏅

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Nightwing #133 Review

The newest issue of Nightwing by Dan Watters is out today so let's talk more about it!

This is the 15th issue of Watters' run so we're still pretty fresh in this arc/era. It started in DC's All-In back last year and is still going strong.

New Artist??

This issue also marks a new artist for the run (only for 2 issues). Dexter Soy has been the premier artist for the run, but he takes a break for this issue and the next. He does return for #135! However, they did announce that he would be retiring from the series afterwards and would be replaced with an "industry legend" so we'll see who that ends up being (could be Dan Mora, but is it too early to cement him with that title?) Especially since it'll be a "new chapter." So possibly an end to the cosmic horror jester (aka The Zanni) terrorizing Dick and Bludhaven?? I guess we'll just have to see.

Review (BEWARE FOR SPOILERS)

Now let's get into issue 133's story!

RIP to Oliva Pearce aka Columbina. I actually really liked her character. At the end, we do kind of get a hint that she could still be around, but maybe just in spirit or 5th dimensional essence. I do hope that means she could come back in some way? It's unclear about her status since her body could've been dead this entire time, per her flashback. If that's the case is The Zanni using her like a meat puppet? Maybe that's what's being conveyed when she reveals her "true face." It's such a shame either way because she could've been a great recurring villain for Dick. Maybe not with the Red Nightwing suit, that's not my vibe. I appreciate the gesture, but I'd be fine with it as a one-time occurrence for her. But I tend to hate inverse villains that are derivative riffs on the hero (characters like Deathwing and Nite-wing really irk me because of that). However! Olivia Pearce being Columbina could be tons of fun. I like having that as her would-be villain persona (if she could be alive, that is). I think leaning into the Commedia dell'arte is such a fun and rich angle for Dick and they should do it more going forward.

We get to see more characters in his supporting cast for this run too. They all come to give him the quickest pep talks before leaving to brood and sulk (they have no choice when he is pretty unresponsive to him). I do like Maggie's description of him. The people see Superman as a "beacon of hope" and Batman as "the Boogeyman under the bed," but Nightwing "sits right between them" forever forced to be the "city's eternal scapegoat." He's Bludhaven shining light or most wanted man depending on how the people are feeling which is pretty apt.

I was pretty surprised Melinda is leaving. I get that she's from Tom Taylor's run, but it's funny seeing her get so sidelined in this arc and then written out of the city. I'm curious if she'll come back in a specific way or if this is Watters' way to move a character out that he doesn't know what to do with.

Barbara is here too of course (since they're currently dating), but she doesn't do much besides give him the simple "things will get better don't worry" talk. She also doesn't do much in this run and I wonder if Watters is more of a Dick/Kory fan (because I am).

((If you want to read a current run with a lot of really good Barbara Gordon then please go check out Birds of Prey by Kelly Thompson. Although "current" is a lie because it literally just got cancelled and ended a couple weeks ago unfortunately. It's still really good though! 28 issues of good writing and lots of fun! Please read it.))

This issue also marks the return of Martian Manhunter after his little visit with the Justice League! I'm a huge Martian Manhunter fan so that was really exciting. It doesn't seem like he's going to do a huge amount in this arc especially since it's about to end, I really liked how he and Dick communicated with each other here. Dick even calls J'onn "the planet's most powerful psychic." Is that true? I believe it honestly, but I can't even think of who else would be competition for him. What was even crazier was the reason J'onn was even there. Could he always make a portal into the 5th dimension like that? That almost seemed to come from nowhere. I definitely like it, but I couldn't wrap my head around how he was able to do it. By sheer will of his awesome and amazing psychic abilities perhaps? I'll take that.

It's gonna be exciting to see Dick's journey in the 5th dimension (maybe Nite-Mite was trying to say something instead of just "soop," maybe a warning perhaps?). It would be cool for him to manage to bring Olivia out, and she becomes a mainstay. And I hope he doesn't completely axe The Zanni. He's such a cool and interesting villain. Somehow someway they should remain as players in Dick's life. Maybe even recruit more Commedia dell'arte "performers" and call themselves the Harbingers... Or is that too much.

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My Last Two Weeks' Reads

Here's all the comics I read in the last two weeks!

Typically I would just do a weekly update, but I'm starting my blog journal here on Tumblr, and I only read one of these within the last week so we're combining.

I could do some mini-reviews of these as well if people would like that. I will try to do that going forward for the comics I read.

I made reviews for two of these that you can check out here:

Batman: The Demon Trilogy

Batman: The Court of Owls Saga

As you can tell, I'm making my way through my bookshelf of older comics as well as reading the newer issues that are currently releasing.

Let me know what you guys think!

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Batman: The Court of Owls Saga Review

New 52 Introduces us to an all-new Batman in a freshly rebooted universe. But what's new isn't always shiny and cool. Let's talk about the first arc of New 52's Batman run per the Compact Comics editions which contains the first 11 issues.

I would like to say that I didn't hate the story, but there were a lot of problems I had that made it feel more of a jumbled mess than cohesive. A lot of elements of the characterizations, the concept of the Court of Owls, and the general vibe of the story were a lot of fun. I enjoyed many of those aspects and things surrounding them. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately I felt this story a little underwhelming, but that could be an effect of hearing a lot of the hype about this story. 

I don't mind the concept of the Court of Owls, but they weren't even the main villains of their own story. Maybe because it's hard to make a group of people a target for Bruce especially since they don't even fight. It's not necessarily like other villains where there's a "head honcho" with a gang of subordinates, instead it's vice versa. I think the mystery of the Court in the first half of the story does a lot of heavy lifting for my engagement, but it wanes heavily once the veil gets lifted. The become such non-players in this story it felt baffling. 

Having their muscle, Talon, fight with no real substance rang hollow. I felt it unclear whether they were zombies on puppet strings or was just groomed/influenced to follow the Court's orders. It seemed almost like both was the case, but they rarely got enough attention for either of those scenarios to really be explored.

Not to mention some random weirdo (Lincoln March aka Thomas Wayne Jr aka Owlman??) be the surprise main villain was kind of annoying. New "allies" introduced with new villains is always an obvious red flag (as per Hush lol), but this reveal felt the most left field to me. His character feels so dumb, and I guess he's unpopular because I don't think he's ever really relevant even ~15 years later. I definitely much prefer the named "Lincoln March" over Thomas Wayne Jr. I think it would've felt more poetic for him to identify more with the streets he "died" on then a name that wasn't ever officially given to him (plus it sounds cooler). I definitely hate the whole "long lost sibling" trope used here. I think it can be good if used right, but it didn't feel like the case here.

A better reveal could have him be the real leader of the Court by either using the Talon technology to be effectively immortal or his family line was secretly the head throughout generations. Once he becomes head, he could've thought the Court's secretive nature was ridiculous which is what would make him decide to be more public now. He's whole "the enemy of my enemy is.... also my enemy" approach felt very random and chaotic too. At the end of the day he was just a kid throwing a fit, which even if that was the point it didn't felt satisfying. 

Side things:

Don't feel like this arc was interesting enough to start a rebooted universe run. Like this story didn't have a big shiny "wow" factor and felt more like a generic Batman story with some minor changes to adjust for New 52.

Felt weird to have 3 Robin boys show up, but only really as gratuitous cameos instead of actual supporting characters.

I liked Dick's moments in the story, but he felt like he was there just to give Bruce some pep talks every so often

[wingdingfan]

from what I heard, the court of owls stuff was originally going to be used by Scott Snyder when Dick was Batman, during what turned out to be the end of his time as Batman.

But then Bruce got brought back, so Scott was forced to make it centre around the other Batman.

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I had no idea that this was originally going to be Dick's story and now I'm so mad 😭 I can tell this definitely would have felt much better as his story too

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Batman: The Demon Trilogy

The League of Assassins, Talia al Ghul, Ra's al Ghul, and the great mysterious Lazarus Pit. The Demon Trilogy covers stories centering the iconic villains, but how exactly do these stories fair? What are they about and do they stand the test of time even decades later? Let's talk about these 3 stories here.

This was such an interesting read. I've been wanting to know more about the Al Ghuls for awhile so I thought this was a good buy. I've known about them in passing from every time they show up randomly and from Damian's comics (also from various tv/movie adaptations). So I have general knowledge of who they are how they operate, but I've just never read a lot that fully center them in the story.

That being said, these were definitely a product of their time with some misogynistic and racist bits sprinkled in, but that's comics for you lol.

---Son of the Demon---

This was a lot of fun, but it was almost surreal. Bruce was going along with everything the Al Ghuls were doing, with some stipulations of course (i.e. - no killing), but it felt so out of character. I would've thought he'd have more resistance in how much he aligned himself with them. Maybe mind control or a suggestive substance he ingested? Nope. Fully willing to integrate with them and they fully were going to give up killing people in return. So in that, I almost felt like his relationship with Talia wasn't fully earned because of how quickly it developed. Don't get me wrong, I actually really do like them together, but the story made it feel like they were smashed together instead of something organic

I was also incredibly surprised that this is retroactively Damian's canon conception? I'm actually not 100% sure on that since these stories, I believe, we're not initially intended to be canon. But from what I read online this was retroactively made to be his canon birth at one point. Now I'm sure that's all been erased with the whole New 52 and Rebirth and so forth and on. It's just crazy to think they pulled from this story like that. I definitely like the idea that Talia and Bruce genuinely loved each other and were fully on board with having a child together. I think the whole idea of even Ra's changing his ways for a man he respected is great too. Conceptually amazing stuff there. Definitely better Damian origin then uhhh other scenarios.

---Bride of the Demon---

This is probably the most irrelevant of the bunch, but there's still some interesting stuff to play with. I did want to note how ridiculous some of the outfits Talia and Ra's were wearing lol. It was kind of giving sexy 80s alien more than anything else.

I was definitely random for Ra's to not only long for a wife, but to specifically pick an older actor to make young. I get that it was a two-for-one (a beautiful wife and proof of the pit's powers), but it still felt very out of place (even if she is the "Bride" in question). She added very little to the plot, and it didn't seem like Ra's had picked her for any other reason than her just being beautiful (I will have to note it was a little off-putting to have her be seemingly the same age as Talia but what can you do).

I think the most shocking and interesting plot point of the story was the boy in the story. Brant quite literally dies and gets brought back, but not immediately. It takes him some time to cook in the Lazarus Pit, but it's also very unclear what exactly brought him back to life. Was it just needing all that time? Was it his dad seemingly dying in the pit (a life for a life)? Was it the tremors of everything exploding? It never really says, and the characters are equally surprised he made it out. What surprises me is the fact that he doesn't really matter to the plot. It's teased he's completely changed by the incident, but never hints how everything affected him. What does dying do to his psyche? Or seeing his father die and having to leave him? Not to mention this is a boy that died and was brought back by the Lazarus Pit. You'd think this character could at least be brought back or even reference when it comes to Jason Todd. But actually no. He's never mentioned outside this story at all. Never again. I'm honestly shocked something as big as a boy being revived like this isn't impossible when Jason is constantly being talked about. No whisper of "Remember that other boy that was revived by the Pit? Wonder what he's doing right now." As far as I'm concerned Brant is Patient Zero for "dead kids that take a swim in mysterious primordial ectoplasm."

---Birth of the Demon---

Speaking of mysterious primordial ectoplasm. Let's finally dive into where that came from!

This story was a Ra's origin story, which I actually did enjoy. Lot of nice things to know, even if they might not even be true. Talia and Bruce do make a point to say all the information could be partial true or complete false. I would submit to it being true "from a certain point of view."

We learn Ra's as a physician, came from a people and language that don't exist anymore (his fault), created the Lazarus Pit from visions in his dreams, had a wife that was killed by a royal, and took revenge by massacring everything and everyone. He also had an uncle that just kind of let him get away with everything even though he wasn't always fully on board.

I think the vision aspect was fun especially since he was constantly being tormenting by a Bat figure which makes it understandable why he's obsessed with Bruce. Him being a physician was interesting. I'm not sure what exactly I thought he would start out as, but it makes sense to be physician if he's constantly obsessed with the Lazarus Pit's healing properties. We also see his descent to villain status in his origin story. With how the royals treated him and his wife, it makes sense how a pretty empathetic and chill man could completely change his ways. Taking a plunge in the mysterious primordial ectoplasm probably makes him even more evil too.

I do think it's cool we got see Talia say she's not old/immortal like her father. She's "not yet thirty" which I just assumed to mean she's around whatever Bruce's age is at this point. And this might be the first mention of her mom's ethnicity? I'm not sure on that, but it's probably one of the earliest at least. Talia says her mom was part Arab and part Chinese, but also from New York. So Talia herself is a bit of mixing pot of ethnicities and nationalities. That does make it even weirder the Al Ghul's are depicted as white so often, but what can you do.

The final scene does confuse me a bit. Two sick men just duking it out because they disagree, but they're also just dying. Talia not really giving that much effort to stop her lover and father from fighting and then just kind of walks away. What was confusing to me was that Bruce was seemingly just fine with "to the death" being a part of the equation. And it didn't seem like a trick either. They actually just fight and then the desert sand just washes over and Bruce pulls himself out of the ground. Implying that he killed Ra's?? I guess?? Am I missing something here? I get that these stories are technically canon, but still kind of insane to have Bruce forgo his big rule for the sake of the ending seeming "raw as hell."

Other than that I did really vibe with the entire origin of Ra's. It's not something super spectacular, but I enjoyed know who he was and where he came from (figuratively, since he burned all that stuff).

[gothamexhibit]

Batman: The Court of Owls Saga Review

New 52 Introduces us to an all-new Batman in a freshly rebooted universe. But what's new isn't always shiny and cool. Let's talk about the first arc of New 52's Batman run per the Compact Comics editions which contains the first 11 issues.

I would like to say that I didn't hate the story, but there were a lot of problems I had that made it feel more of a jumbled mess than cohesive. A lot of elements of the characterizations, the concept of the Court of Owls, and the general vibe of the story were a lot of fun. I enjoyed many of those aspects and things surrounding them. 

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Unfortunately I felt this story a little underwhelming, but that could be an effect of hearing a lot of the hype about this story. 

I don't mind the concept of the Court of Owls, but they weren't even the main villains of their own story. Maybe because it's hard to make a group of people a target for Bruce especially since they don't even fight. It's not necessarily like other villains where there's a "head honcho" with a gang of subordinates, instead it's vice versa. I think the mystery of the Court in the first half of the story does a lot of heavy lifting for my engagement, but it wanes heavily once the veil gets lifted. The become such non-players in this story it felt baffling. 

Having their muscle, Talon, fight with no real substance rang hollow. I felt it unclear whether they were zombies on puppet strings or was just groomed/influenced to follow the Court's orders. It seemed almost like both was the case, but they rarely got enough attention for either of those scenarios to really be explored.

Not to mention some random weirdo (Lincoln March aka Thomas Wayne Jr aka Owlman??) be the surprise main villain was kind of annoying. New "allies" introduced with new villains is always an obvious red flag (as per Hush lol), but this reveal felt the most left field to me. His character feels so dumb, and I guess he's unpopular because I don't think he's ever really relevant even ~15 years later. I definitely much prefer the named "Lincoln March" over Thomas Wayne Jr. I think it would've felt more poetic for him to identify more with the streets he "died" on then a name that wasn't ever officially given to him (plus it sounds cooler). I definitely hate the whole "long lost sibling" trope used here. I think it can be good if used right, but it didn't feel like the case here.

A better reveal could have him be the real leader of the Court by either using the Talon technology to be effectively immortal or his family line was secretly the head throughout generations. Once he becomes head, he could've thought the Court's secretive nature was ridiculous which is what would make him decide to be more public now. He's whole "the enemy of my enemy is.... also my enemy" approach felt very random and chaotic too. At the end of the day he was just a kid throwing a fit, which even if that was the point it didn't felt satisfying. 

Side things:

Don't feel like this arc was interesting enough to start a rebooted universe run. Like this story didn't have a big shiny "wow" factor and felt more like a generic Batman story with some minor changes to adjust for New 52.

Felt weird to have 3 Robin boys show up, but only really as gratuitous cameos instead of actual supporting characters.

I liked Dick's moments in the story, but he felt like he was there just to give Bruce some pep talks every so often

[ashoss]

bruce and some little birds

[72stars]

I forget why I originally drew these but they still entertain me whenever I see the file so I finally got around to coloring them. Bruce ‘n’ Jay

[soranatus]

Justice League Vs. Godzilla Vs. Kong (2023) #6 variant cover by Daniel Warren Johnson

[soranatus]

The Gotham City Sirens By Vinicius Lopez