This Week in Gotham #29

Hey, guys, sorry about last week. I had problems with the post office and got last week’s comics this week. Also, initially I was going to include this week’s Teen Titans in this blog post but the part that tied into Robin War was only a couple of pages. This week we are reviewing We Are Robin #7, Robin, Son of Batman #7, Batgirl #46, Gotham By Midnight #12, and Batman and Robin Eternal #11 and #12.

In part 4 of Robin War we have to read We Are Robin #7, since this is the fourth part of a story I am not doing any recap for you guys. While this issue was necessary to set up the future events of Robin War most of this issue was just a single scene. The writers could have made this scene a lot shorter and put in a lot more character development. Overall this issue is mandatory to understand the story of Robin War but it could have been written a lot better.

In Robin Son of Batman, however, we have a lot more character development for all of the main characters. Part 5 of Robin War felt well written and gave the reader a reason to continue on to the last part of the story which continues next month in Robin War #2. The only problem I have with this book is they have reintroduced a character last seen being buried alive by the Court of Owls.

Meanwhile in Batgirl #46, Batgirl decides to try to convince a young man who is part of a gang to leave the gang and go back home. The great part of this issue was the sub-plot continuing the story of Spoiler from a previous issue of Catwoman. In my opinion, Spoiler’s story is going to be continued with being told through sub-plots for a while. This is a great issue for Batgirl fans and I highly recommend picking this up.

In Gotham’s final hour Jim Corrigan has to admit the sins of humanity in this last issue of Gotham By Midnight. Overall, this was a great finale to the story but it had a few problems. In previous issues this series had no problem killing off characters. With hordes of demons trying to get into Gotham, you would think someone would die or at least sacrifice themselves. I just feel that there was a set-up for someone to sacrifice themselves but didn’t happen. While this was a good finale, the writers wrote an artificial happy ending.

Last week’s issue of Batman and Robin Eternal #11’s late arrival worked out well since I can now review Batman and Robin Eternal #12 also. These two issues provided a partial origin story for the villain, Mother. In issue #11, we see why Cassandra Cain acts the way she does, while in issue #12, we get to learn how Batman was involved with Mother. Batman and Robin Eternal is painting Batman a bad guy for reasons I don’t understand although I am going to still give Batman the benefit of the doubt until the final issue.

 

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This Week in Gotham #28

Tags

Batman, Jim Gordon

This week is the second part of the Robin War Event but there is so much more going on in Gotham than the Robin War. This week we have eight comics to review. These eight comics are: Batman #47, Catwoman #47, Batman/Superman #27, Grayson #15, Detective Comics #47, Gotham Academy #12, Red Hood/Arsenal #7, and Batman and Robin Eternal #10.

We begin with Batman #47, where Jim Gordon fights and captures Mr. Bloom to only find out that there are many Mr. Blooms. Also in this issue we see Bruce Wayne just beginning to get his memories of being Batman back. Overall a great chapter in the Jim Gordon/Batman story arc. I know this story is going to go one until at least March but I don’t see Bruce Wayne becoming Batman again until much later but I could be wrong.

After retiring from the crime boss profession, Selina Kyle gets hired to go on the ultimate heist in Catwoman #47. This issue begins a new story for Catwoman with her being back in the role of a thief rather than a head of a crime organization. A lot of people would like this issue due to the fact that it is a classic way of telling a Catwoman story. This issue is all set up for a bigger story and usually I would complain about it but the first issue of a story is the best time to make a set-up issue.

Next month will begin the Superman storyline Savage Dawn. While this issue acts as a prologue to the event, future issues of Batman/Superman will not be part of Savage Dawn. Batman/Superman #27 focuses on two things, one being the first battle against Vandal Savage and two, Superman comparing Jim Gordon to Bruce Wayne. This issue is very interesting and gives us glimpses of how Superman really feels about Jim Gordon being Batman.

The second chapter of Robin War is all about the official people who are Robin training the street kids that want to be Robin in Grayson #15. This issue was very interesting as it shows how badly the situation in Gotham is with the police arresting every kid between the ages of 11 and 17. As we move into Detective Comics #47, we learn that Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock are trying to figure out why the police are bringing in a lot of kids. Detective Comics #47 is also when one of the Bat Family learns Jim Gordon’s secret. These two issues are great chapters in the Robin War story and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

Olivia and Maps investigate a strange creature while dealing with the fact that they have learned that one of their classmates is part of We Are Robin. Gotham Academy #12 is a tie-in to the Robin War Event but does not focus on Robin War at all. I wish this book was more focused on Robin War due to the fact that we were told that it was going to be a major part of the event and set the stage for future issues of Gotham Academy.

Next we have Arsenal and the Joker’s Daughter fighting a circus in Red Hood/Arsenal #7. This is another tie-in to the Robin War Event but unlike Gotham Academy the few pages that connect it to Robin War matter more. While the fight with the circus goes on we get to see how the Red Hood becomes involved with the events of Robin War. We also get some really good dialogue between Red Hood and Red Robin.

Lastly, in Batman and Robin Eternal #10, Red Hood and Red Robin have to fight Azrael and try to escape the Order of Saint Durmas. Most of this issue is just one fight scene with Azrael. We also get flashbacks that reinforce the ideal that Batman was under the villain Mother’s control for a while. We also learn that the Order of Saint Durmas works with Mother as part of a larger organization. With every issue of Batman and Robin Eternal, it makes me eager to read the next issue and this issue is no exception.

This Week in Gotham #27

Tags

Batman

This month the epic crossover event Robin War begins. To start the story off DC has released a two comic series called Robin War. These two comics will act as the prologue and epilogue respectively. With that being said let’s list off the books that came out this week. These books that I will be reviewing are: Robin War #1, Batman Beyond #7, Gotham Academy #11, Gotham by Midnight #11, and Batman and Robin Eternal #9.

First in Robin War #1, after one of the Robins from We Are Robin goes trigger happy, the police of Gotham start to arrest any teenager that they suspect of being part of We Are Robin. This beginning issue was a great way to show where all the characters are and what they will bring to the story. The secret society of the Court of Owls is behind the chaos in Gotham and what you learn about their plans makes you want to read the next part. Next week we will have the next two chapters of Robin War.

After defeating Brother Eye, Tim Drake is stuck in the future and tries to bring justice back to Gotham in Batman Beyond #7. There is both good and bad in this issue. The good part of this issue is we get a reference to Derek Powers, who was the main antagonist in the original Batman Beyond cartoon in the late ‘90’s. The thing that annoyed the most, however, was the fact that the world that the characters are in does not feel like they have just had a massive war. Gotham felt like there was never any war and the people who are not part of the main cast acted the same.

Back in the present, Olivia and her friends explore Arkham Asylum in hopes of finding their werewolf friend in Gotham Academy #11. I don’t remember much about this issue because the writing wasn’t very good in my opinion and there wasn’t much story development. We do, however, get a cameo from Hugo Strange who is a Batman villain. Unfortunately since September 2011 Hugo Strange has only been in a few issues and has not really done anything super villainy. In my honest opinion, I think you can skip this issue and read it when it comes out in a trade paperback with other issues.

Ghosts, ghouls and demons all break out of hell and haunt Gotham in Gotham by Midnight #11. This issue is all about setting up for the final issue of this series. There is not much going on other than showing the reader how bad the infestation of evil is. One member of Jim Corrigan’s team died but he is one of the characters that barely had any development at all so you don’t care that he died.

For people who have read Batman in the ‘90’s, Batman and Robin Eternal #9 will bring up a lot of memories.  Red Hood and Red Robin team up with the villain, Bane, to infiltrate the Order of St. Dumas. This results in an old character returning to the Batman franchise after years of absence. Meanwhile we have a flash-back where Batman asks Mother to provide him with a wife. Instead of a wife, Mother offers Batman a new Robin. This may point to the Red Hood being the traitor as he was the second Robin but I’m thinking this is misdirection. This story gets more interesting every issue and I can’t wait for what the author’s do with this series.