This Week in Gotham #17

With Gotham Season 2 already started, we look to the comic books for more Batman oriented stories. It’s the final two week before Batman and Robin Eternal and all the books are preparing for this six months event. The four books we are looking at today are:   Grayson #12, Batgirl #44, Gotham by Midnight #9, and We Are Robin #4.

In Grayson #12, Dick Grayson reunites with the Bat Family after pretending to be dead for a year. With Bruce Wayne suffering from amnesia, Dick Grayson cannot tell Bruce what he learned from Spiral. This issue serves as an analogy for when your family learns a secret that you have been hiding for a while. The reason I say this is when the other member of the Bat Family find out that Dick is alive they are furious that he didn’t tell them sooner.

It’s Batgirl vs the Tigress in Batgirl #44. This issue tries to do two things: 1) give new readers an introduction to the Tigress, and 2) sets up a romantic relationship between Barbara Gordon and Luke Fox. I don’t know how well established a villain Tigress is. This is one of the few times I have seen her in the comics. The only other time was last month. As for the relationship between Barbara and Luke, I’m sitting here shaking my head and asking why on earth are they doing this and for what purpose? If this love interest goes the same way as Barbara’s last three boyfriends then Luke will be either dead or hospitalized within six issues.

When Jim Corrigan is investigated by the GCPD, the Midnight Watch is at risk of being disbanded. This issue is one big interrogation scene. There are some breaks where you see something other than an interrogation scene but not many at all. What the writer tried to do, in my opinion, was a copy of a CSI show. In all honesty the dialogue in the interrogation was great. It was well thought out and made a lot of sense. The big issue I had was the amount of time the writer spends on the interrogation scene and it drag on a bit too much.

After a great third issue We Are Robin goes back to being a poorly written story. We are introduced to a female Robin whose name I can’t remember because I don’t care. I’m not interested in her character development. The only good scenes in this comic book were the scenes with Batgirl talking to this little girl. The scene that totally outrages me was the panel depicting a possible rape scene of the thirteen year old Robin. This is due to the artists positioning of the characters. This comic has teen readers that are looking to escape reality. Whether the writer and artist intended this to be a potential rape is irrelevant. I am infuriated that this series would do this.

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This Week in Gotham #16

This week we get a fight between Robin and Deathstroke and we also get a look at what would happen if a person like Brittany Spears turns to a super villain. The two issues that we are looking at are: Robin, Son of Batman #4 and Black Canary #4.

Let me start out by saying I only have seen Robin and Deathstroke in the cartoon movie Son of Batman so I don’t know a lot about their rivalry. Robin, Son of Batman #4 continues Damion Wayne’s quest for redemption. Unlike the last 3 issues this issue doesn’t feel like the artist was on drugs. This issue had great dialogue with a lot of character development and a well paced story. The one bad part about this story is we don’t see the fight between Robin and Deathstroke until the last half of the book. You may think what’s the big deal? The thing is the cover of this issue promised the read the fight between two trained assassins and delivered it half way through the story.

In Black Canary #4 we see how crazy a celebrity can get when they’re wronged. Trust me it’s not pretty. Black Canary is on a mission to find the little girl that she is supposed to be protecting but turns out the little girl is missing. This issue focuses a lot on the new villain’s, Bo Maeve, origin. The origin that the writers made up for this new villain is forgettable to say the least. Although I think this villain could be written well in the future and does show potential.

This Week in Gotham #15

Tags

Batman, Jim Gordon

With kids going back to school most people don’t even think about comics but I do. This week we have five books on the docket. These are Batman #44, Batman/Superman #24, Catwoman #44, Gotham Acadamy # 10, and Red Hood/Arsenal #4.

Batman #44 deals with Mr. Bloom’s origin while having a flashback around five years before the previous issues. The major problem with this issue is it is obviously politically motivated. The focus of this issue is police brutality against African Americans but the message is going to the wrong audience. It is a great message, don’t get me wrong, but a comic book is the worst place to show political views. To put this in perspective, one comic book may only reach 100,000 people in the U.S. There are millions of people in the U.S. and a not even 1% will get this message. The plot is over-shadowed by this message.

We get the fight of the year in Batman/Superman #24 where Batman and Superman have to fight Aquaman? Let’s be honest. No one wanted to see this fight. Is it entertaining? Yes, it is. The story is about two sides fighting for what they believe is right and misunderstanding that everyone is on the same team. While this has been done before, we have never seen this done with Jim Gordon as Batman. Jim Gordon reacts vastly different than Bruce Wayne. This issue shows character growth in Batman and Superman while setting up for the next story line.

After Selina Kyle’s apprentice almost gets killed, Selina has to rethink her position in Gotham. Catwoman #44 is another chapter in the long story line of crime boss Selina Kyle. The thing is ever since issue #35 we haven’t really gotten any other story line except this one. While this story line gets better with each issue, I’m waiting for a new story line for Selina Kyle.

The Gotham Acadamy turns Scooby Doo like in Gotham Acadamy #10. In this issue the gang is tackling the MacBeth curse. For those who don’t know what the MacBeth curse is to never mention the name “MacBeth” while on stage except if you are actively rehearsing or performing that play. This issue is packed with fun and very much like an episode of Scooby Doo. This series has something completely different in every issue. If you like that in a book, pick up Gotham Acadamy.

In the fourth issue of Red Hood and Arsenal the duo has to fight against the new Batman and super powered female blob. This issue dials down the comedy just a bit to provide some character development for both Jason Todd and Roy Harper. I don’t mind a serious issue now and again but at least they kept some of the humour.

This Week in Gotham #14

Tags

Batman, Jim Gordon

From the future to the present we explore Gotham this week in four different perspectives. We will review the following comics this week: Detective Comics #44, Batman Beyond #4, Gotham by Midnight #9, and Bat-Mite #4.

We begin in Detective Comics #44 where Harvey Bullock’s story ends with a giant Joker robot and an assassination attempt at the circus. For the past three issues Harvey Bullock has been dealing with a corrupted partner. In this issue we learn that his partner sees the error in her ways and informs Harvey about the assassination attempt at the circus. While this issue was a good conclusion to this story I don’t know if these four issues will be remembered for anything. I don’t know if there is anything in these four issues that will be referenced in future stories.

In the future Brother Eye’s army attacks Gotham while Batman Beyond and other heroes try to defend the city. We are four issues into this series and it’s just now getting good. This issue was written very well and no one said anything stupid for once. On the other hand, we now learn that there was a cloak protecting Gotham from detection. That would have been handy to learn when the robots kidnapped Batman for directions.   Still, if a city is cloaked by technology that does not mean the location has changed. Google maps would still work in this situation.

Televised news broadcasts are one of mankind’s greatest inventions but no one thought about what if evil spirits take over the newscast. In Gotham by Midnight #9, Jim Corrigan has to deal with a newscast that turns people violent on the street. They must be watching Fox news. This issue displays a lot of back-stabbing within the Midnight Watch with Jim Corrigan being the target. This series keeps getting better and better. At the beginning of this series I was bored and confused but now I am excited for the next issue.

The fourth of issue of Bat-Mite has him teaming up the time-travelling hero, Booster Gold. The pair has to deal with a villain called Gridlock and by dealing with him I mean breaking into his house. The whole story is filled with jokes but I did not laugh as hard as I did with the previous issues. Since Booster Gold is in this issue, I’m going to share my thought on his status in the DC universe. After Just League International, Booster Gold has only appeared in special effects comics. We get the next chapter of his story once or twice a year. I’m sick of it. Either end his story or give him his own series. I don’t to wait a year for the next chapter of his story.