The Week In Ink: August 26, 2009

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C’mon, c’mon, let’s get on with it!

 

 

All right, look: It’s Thursday night and that means it’s time for another round of the Internet’s Most Impatient Comics Reviews, but every minute I’m sitting here writing them is a minute that I’m not playing Batman: Arkham Asylum, which is a video game that is built almost entirely around Batman kicking people in the head in slow motion.

It’s a wonder I’ve bothered to write this much at all.

Suffice to say, t’were well t’were done quickly, so here’s what I bought this week…

 

 

…and here’s what I’ll tell you I thought about them while looking longingly at the 360!

 

 

ISB BEST OF THE WEEK

 

 

Batman and Robin #3: I’m not going to lie to you, folks: With as much good stuff as came out this week, I’ve had a hard time picking out which comic I liked best, which is not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. The more I thought about it, though, the more I had to go with this one, and not just because it features the rarely seen double-bat-kick to the face, as pictured above. Admittedly, you could argue that I might just be in a Batman kind of mood this week, but if there’s one thing you should’ve learned over the past four years, it’s that I’m in a Batman kind of mood every week, and it’s comics like this that put me there in the first place.

With this issue, Grant Morrison wraps up the first arc with Frank Quitely, and it is an incredible book from top to bottom. I’ve mentioned before how much I’ve been enjoying the way the title characters’ roles have been set up, with Dick as a (slightly) more lighthearted Batman and Damian as the unrepentant bastard spawn of Bruce Wayne’s scowling ruthlessness, and Morrison’s done wonders with that in this one. Damian’s casual escape from being tied up and subsequent sustained and brutal beating of his captors–wherein he backhands one of Pyg’s dollies with the blunt end of a power drill–is exactly the sort of thing his old man would’ve done, but when it’s intercut with Dick doing something as flashy as interrogating a suspect while ramping an ATV into a jump, it makes a nice contrast. Both things are pretty awesome in their own right, but together they really reaffirm the roles nicely. And that’s not even the best thing about this issue.

No, that goes to the scene with Le Bossu, about which I was freaking out. I’m just gonna lay this out: If you don’t think Batman: R.I.P. is awesome, then you’re wrong, and getting the callback to one of my favorite sequences in the past decade at the end of this issue was, for me anyway, pure comics joy. It’s great stuff, and while I’m a little nervous about what it’ll be like when Philip Tan steps in for Quitely on the next arc, there’s not a thing wrong with these first three.

 

Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #3: With Previews coming out this week, one of the biggest pieces of news is that Kieron Gillen wil. be taking over Thor, and I’m pretty excited about it.

We’ve known Gillen was a fantastic writer since Phonogram came out, but with Godhunter (and the “Green of Eden” one-shot that preceded it), he’s proven that he’s equally adept at writing thundering cosmic action, which I’ve got to admit came as a pretty pleasant surprise. In four issues with everyone’s favorite Space-Horse, he’s shown that he understands what makes Walt Simonson’s Thor–which might be my all-time favorite run on comics–so enjoyable without feeling the need to mimic its beats to make a good story. In other words, he gets it, and if we’ve got more of the fun he’s delievered with Beta Ray Bill to look forward to, I’m excited about Thor for the first time since Matt Fraction wrote down the words “blood colosusus.”

 

Fantastic Four #570: In pretty much any other week, this one would’ve easily been the best of the week, but my pretty-much-arbitrary rating system can be cruel. Suffice to say that this one is still pretty awesome.

This one marks the first issue for the new team of Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham, although it picks up where Hickman left off in the five-part Dark Reign: Fantastic Four. If you’re thinking of jumping on and you haven’t read that one, don’t worry: It’s not strictly necessary, but considering that it might end up being one of the best mini-series of the year purely based on its introduction of the alternate universe Chamberlain Grimm and his battle cry, “’tis the clobbering hour,” you should probably just go ahead and read it anyway.

I’ve been swept up in Hickmania ever since he made his debut with The Nightly News, and one of the most appealing things for me as a fan of his is seeing how he brings something new to every project he works on, whether it’s the distinctive visual style of his own stuff or the completely different take on badass espionage action in Secret Warriors. With FF though, it’s the first time I’ve really seen him work with established characters, and he’s able to combine that forward-thinking quality and still come away with, as Mark Waid, the guy who wrote maybe the best run on the title in the past two decades, put it, characters that I recognize for the first time in two years.

On the art side, I’ve got to admit that I’ve never been a huge fan of Dale Eaglesham, and when the first images came out when the book was solicited, I thought Reed especially looked pretty off. In practice, though, it works a lot better than I thought it would; Reed’s certainly built thicker than he’s usually played, but I can see where Eaglesham’s going with it, trying to give him a more Doc Savage-esque action scientist look, and while you could argue that Reed doesn’t need to look physically intimidating when he’s got the Thing standing right next to him, the effect isn’t bad at all. The one thing that does strike me, though, is that his Reed’s got a little stubble, and while I assume that’s there to reflect how Reed’s always busy with one thing or another, this is the guy who took time out for a shave when Galactus showed up to eat the planet. Dude doesn’t let a little thing like the end of the world keep him from looking crisp.

Other than that, the art’s great, except for a few panels where the background’s been replaced with what appear to be photographs run through a couple of PhotoShop filters. I’m not sure if that’s Eaglesham’s doing or a colorist filling space, but it jumped out at me as a reader, especially considering the detail Eaglesham puts into the backgrounds of other scenes, like the laboratory or the home of the Reedocracy. It’s the sort of thing that draws your attention once you notice it, and for me at least, it has the effect of pulling me right out of the story.

Overall, though, it’s highly enjoyable stuff. I’d never think to list FF as one of my favorite titles, but when there’s a good team behind it, it’s easily one of the best books on the stands, and I cant’ wait to see where this one goes.

 

Invincible Presents Atom Eve: Collected Edition: Every now and then, I’ll joke about how a creator put a kick to the face in a story just for me, but this is pretty much the only story where I know that’s actually true.

In any case, I’m not so much reviewing this one as putting it here to let everyone know they’ve got a second chance to catch Atom Eve’s origin by Benito Cereno and Nate Bellegarde, the Friends of the ISB who brought you Hector Plasm. It’s good stuff, and with the country gripped by Atom Eve Fever after the events of the last few issues of Invincible–who would’ve thought that comics fans would become so attached to a pretty girl character who’s in love with the main character, who also happens to read comics?–it’s a nice chance to jump on before Benito and Nate return for Atom Eve and Rex Splode later this year. It’s good stuff.

And speaking of good stuff from Benito, he’s going to be the writer of an all-new ongoing Tick series alongside Les McClaine (of Middleman fame) that kicks off with a Christmas special, and there’s nothing about that that doesn’t sound awesome. Believe it.

 

Ghost Rider: Trials and Tribulations: I’ve gone on and on about Jason Aaron’s run on Ghost Rider since I started reading it, but the facts of the matter are these: This is a paperback collection of stories that feature the return of a villain from US1 drawn by The Walking Dead‘s Tony Moore, the hilariously Sailor Moon-esque Skinbender, and–most importantly–GHOST RIDER SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT. If you like things that are awesome, you’re going to want this.

 

 

And that’s the week! As always, any questions or concerns can be left in the comments section below, so if you’re wondering if enough people are reading Marvel Adventures Spider-Man (no), whether Usagi Yojimbo is still awsome (yes) or if I think what happens in the second Jimmy Olsen special is going to stick (no, but I’m stoked to see Breach come back), feel free to ask. Otherwise… well, you know where I’ll be.

45 thoughts on “The Week In Ink: August 26, 2009”

  1. The difference betweeen Hickman on Dark Reign: FF and Millar on the main line was like night and day, or, to be more precise like Good and Crap. If anyone dropped FF (like I did) during the Millar run, I reckon now is a good time to jump back on.

  2. Have you read Wolverine: First Class? I think it would be right up your street, despite a distinct lack of kicks to the face. It’s Logan and Kitty Pryde in a sort-of-in-continuity-but-not-really-bothered-by-it 80s set up, usually played for laughs. Like Dr Doom & The Masters of Evil it’s Marvel Adventures in all but name, and is easily one of my favourite Marvel books coming out at the moment.

  3. Chris
    Is Morrison’s B & R supposed to be in ‘our’ DC continuity? One would think, from an editorial standpoint, that they’d want some consistency in the character (what, with the 17 gazillion revamps and reboots of the DCU).
    Point being: In Batman’s title, Two-Face is making a big to-do about it not being the real Batman because he’s smiling and having a good time in action, whereas Morrison has him with the constipated grimace and demeanor a la Bruce. Maybe it’s minutia, but it seems a bit contradictory.
    Then again, who tells Morrison how to write a book, yah?

  4. Have you heard anything about what they’re doing to the Marvel Adventures line? They’ve said something about “changes”, and as someone who thinks the line is just about freaking perfect as is, this worries me. :)

    (Every time I go into the comics store, I evangelize about Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man. Hell, the “Venom: Lethal Protector” story alone is worth buying the whole run of the series. Honestly, it might be the best Spider-Man story of the last decade. “Your broken bones and cries for mercy are no match for…Venom! Lethal Protector!”)

  5. If Reed forgot to shave, he can just deform his face to hide the stubble or something. This is why he looks different sometimes from comic to comic — it’s not that artists draw him differently, but that he’s covering up different things at different times (zits, eczema, stubble, that really rotten attempt at a soul patch he tried in the 90’s, hickeys, etc).

    Back in the day, this would have earned me a No-Prize, I think.

  6. I’m not really going to try and break your crush on all things Morrison/Batman related Sims. But Gage managed to make me care about the life and death of a washed up DAZZLER villain. And thats some good writing…

  7. Simonson’s Thor “might be” your favorite run ever? Given the number of times you’ve referred to it as objectively the greatest run any comics writer has ever had, I’m curious as to what it’s competing with now.

    purely based on its introduction of the alternate universe Chamberlain Grimm and his battle cry, “’tis the clobbering hour,”

    Please, for the love of God, tell me he has a monocle.

    Also, HOLY SHIT THERE’S GOING TO BE A NEW TICK ONGOING. Life is worth living once again.

  9. John Seavey, here you are:

    http://www.paultobin.net/?p=734
    http://www.paultobin.net/?p=592

    That oughta give you what you need to know. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.

    Marvel Adventures Spider-Man is freaking awesome. I haven’t read it before, but jumped on with #53, the start of the “New Direction” and it, along with the upcoming reboot of MA: Super Heroes will constitute all that I buy in singles. Well, until they go to $3.99.

  10. Well then. There are very few things that could get me into the Fantastic Four again, but Old-Timey Ben Grimm wearing a monocle and saying “’tis the clobbering hour”? That would be one of them.

  11. Chris,

    1)What did you think of Guardians this week? I thought the series was starting to get alittle tepid, but man, I thought this issue just knocked it out the park.

    2) Still reading Flash Rebirth? Loving the renovations Johns made to the flash mythos is this issue.

    3)Whats the best jumping on point for Aaron’s Ghost Rider run?

    and finally

    4) Can we agree that Kyle Baker’s Hawkman story in Wednesday Comics is seriously one of the best things to come out this year?

  12. David, Chamberlain Grimm does indeed have a monocle.

    God, I hope it isn’t a flesh-colored monocle.

    Let not FF stand for “Fantastic Fetish”.

  14. Batman: The Brave and the Bold isn’t even on the list? Word balloons on the cover (I didn’t think that happened anymore on a modern cover design), Batman fights a yeti, some Chinese superteam I’ve never heard of, and some real good uses of the best cape in comics.

    As for MA, they’re down to two Tobin-written titles, Spidey and Super Heroes, the latter about to write MA: Avengers out of continuity–no, wait, MA doesn’t have continuity. Anyway, there’s going to be a new Avengers. Also, “Chat” may be my favorite not-MJ dating match for Peter, and it’s only her second appearance in any comic ever. (Wait, does that mean MA Peter is already having more dates than BND Peter? I’ve pretty much avoided devil-created Spidey time along with the rest of 616.)

  15. I agree with Max, Guardians was astounding this week. But what on Earth will they do for an encore?

  16. I’m very sad that JMS is off Thor, but I think Gillen might just make a great follow-up

    also he writes a great Agent Brand, which makes me want to check out his SWORD ongoing (with Stephen Saunders on art)

  17. Have you read Wolverine: First Class?

    I really liked the issues by Fred Van Lente that started the series off, but I dropped it when Peter David came on as writer because I can only read about three comics in a row by that guy before he either grates on my nerves to an unbearable extreme or says the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever read.

    Is Morrison’s B & R supposed to be in ‘our’ DC continuity?

    Yes. Morrison partially addressed the issue you bring up with the idea of Dick playing a role, but as I don’t read Batman, I’m willing to take Morrison’s portrayal over Judd Winick’s any day of the week.

    Have you heard anything about what they’re doing to the Marvel Adventures line? They’ve said something about “changes”, and as someone who thinks the line is just about freaking perfect as is, this worries me

    No, but I have noticed that with MA Spider-Man, they’re letting plots carry over a little more from issue to issue. Each one is still a self-contained story (as it should be), but it feels like Paul Tobin’s building on plots. So if that’s the change, it’s certainly welcome.

    1)What did you think of Guardians this week? I thought the series was starting to get alittle tepid, but man, I thought this issue just knocked it out the park.

    I thought it was great! I feel about the same as you do: War of Kings may have pushed the limits of space-super-hero-adventure titles to its saturation point, but as they’re all really well-done, it just takes reading one to get me back in the mood for more.

    2) Still reading Flash Rebirth? Loving the renovations Johns made to the flash mythos is this issue.

    Still? I haven’t read it at all. I couldn’t care less about Barry Allen coming back, and unless his revision involves the reinstatement of Mopee (that one’s for you, Tom Katers), I’m not likely to start caring anytime soon.

    3)Whats the best jumping on point for Aaron’s Ghost Rider run?

    It’s all out in trade now except for what’s going on in Ghost Riders: Heaven’s on Fire (of which there’s only one issue so far), so I’d say jump on with his first trade. It builds on what Daniel Way did with the book, but it’s not necessary to read those. I sure didn’t.

    4) Can we agree that Kyle Baker’s Hawkman story in Wednesday Comics is seriously one of the best things to come out this year?

    Yes we can!

    Batman: The Brave and the Bold isn’t even on the list? Word balloons on the cover (I didn’t think that happened anymore on a modern cover design), Batman fights a yeti, some Chinese superteam I’ve never heard of, and some real good uses of the best cape in comics.

    Could’ve sworn I picked it up, but it’s not in my stack. Must’ve left it at work. The Chinese super-team you refer to is the Great Ten, which was created by Grant Morrison and introduced in 52. They have awesome names.

    I’m very sad that JMS is off Thor

    Aw, don’t worry young man! I’m sure there’ll be another comic out soon where people stand around not doing things!

  19. At the risk of being wrong, I have to mention that I couldn’t stand Batman: RIP. While I like Grant Morrison in general and dig what he’s doing with Damian and the whole “multiple Batmen” thing, I just couldn’t get into RIP.

    The tone was all over the place, there were several times when I couldn’t figure out what action was taking place and who was doing it, and this whole “Black Glove has apparently been messing with Bruce for years” or whatever thing? Wasn’t sold AT ALL. There’s just too much Batman history for that to be at all believable.

    I’m as big a fan of Silver Age Batman candy as there is, but the way it was just excitedly name-dropped in RIP was more of a fan-fic move than coherent story telling. I kept waiting for Morrison to do something interesting with the “historical” figures, but it never happened.

    Sorry to post this here, but Bat-fans seem to be in love with RIP, and I figure if I keep mentioning how I don’t get it, perhaps someone will point me in the right direction, if indeed I’m missing something.

  20. Isn’t JMS writing all those new attempts to make anyone care about characters like the Shield and what not?

    Also I’d thought David had said some stupid shit during the whole Scans_Daily flare up. Which had jumped to the top of the list of Dumb Ass Internet Flame Wars Involving Peter David. But that right there was some crazy stupid shit…

  22. This week, Deadpool kicked a pirate in the face while announcing, “Kick to the face!”. I am curious as to how you managed to miss this, Chris.

  23. You’re wrong.

    Well, I did risk it.

    Seriously, I think my REAL problem is that I just can’t stand the idea that the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh might not actually have been an actual super-powered alien who fought robots.

    I find contemporary Batman a lot less interesting without knowing that his past is chock-full of alien adventures, casual time traveling, and spanking women.

    Or was that all just Earth-1 Batman?

    Ugh. Oh well.

  24. MAn, I enjoyed your reviews as per usual and even some of the comments, as per usual, then I made the mistake of following the Peter David link. Ive actually enjoyed PADs snarkiness in some comment threads over the years (he’s knocked down some `fans’ with entitlement issues in stunning style) , but what the fug? Its like he thinks the default activity is to buy something.

    thebluesader; there’s nothing to `get’ if that’s not your thing, just read it as a really freakin straight forward ol’ fashioned tale of Batman awesomeness. Morrison’s best strength is that most of his stories work as complicated meta narratives and just straight up fun. If trying to read em the first way isnt working for you on any particular arc, just stop thinking about it and read it the other way.

  25. hmm timing issue. 23 lets me think u might need an example from RIP itself. In the arc Bat-mite is written to be both `real’ and imaginary (by defining the 5th dimension of the DCU is imagination) so the reader is granted the expressed right to read his appearances in the story as one or the other or both. This right to read a story as you chose always exists, of course, and the difference between Morrison’s style and other’s is that he openly acknowledges, and indeed invites, the possibility of that choice. And, with this attitude in place, because imagination becomes a facet of physical reality within the universe, albeit one outside the normal 4 dimensional perceptions of the bulk of the universe’s inhabitants (just like in our `real’ universe come to think of it), no event in Batman’s long existence has to be diminished to the inglorious state of `non canon’. Except for when he had Alfred bandage his hands and couldn’t open a doorknob because there’s no way the real Batman would ever be that stupid.

  26. no event in Batman’s long existence has to be diminished to the inglorious state of `non canon’. Except for when he had Alfred bandage his hands and couldn’t open a doorknob because there’s no way the real Batman would ever be that stupid.

    At the risk of going further with a debate I started that we probably shouldn’t be having in the ISB comments section in the first place, I appreciate what you’re saying.

    At the same time, that alone doesn’t warm me to RIP. As I said in my first post, my problems with that book are multitudinous.

    Also, I’m a bit perturbed by this idea that some people think the Silver Age stuff needs to be cordoned off, even slightly, from modern continuity because it’s “too stupid” or something. While it is certainly ridiculous, I think it really fills out a character’s history to know that while he may be dark and serious now, there was a time when he was a little wacky.

    I get that Morrison is saying just that in RIP, and like I said, that’s nice. But then he goes and decides to put Mite and Zur-En-Arrh in a “maybe not” file? My inner fan-boy no like. If it’s published, it should ALL be canon.

    Batman fought aliens. Spiderman was married and cloned. And Jimmy Olsen…did a whole lot of stuff.

  27. worse things have happened in the isb comments sections believe me. But, unless I get specific permission from sims to continue here hit my myspace (above) or earlleonard at hotmail dot com if u wana take it outside.

  28. Yo Chris..only if ya don’t mind mentioning it, but what exactly is it in that PAD link that you consider the dumbest thing you ever heard? I tried to read it and the comments, but honestly ended up just kinda skimming it because apparently he said lotsa stuff.

  29. Wow, I can’t believe I just wasted over an hour of my life reading that Peter David-populated thread. I know he has made some out-there statements in the past (as well as some I agree with, I hasten to add), but “If you choose not to financially support someone whose views you don’t agree with, you are basically destroying his right to free speech” just demonstrates that he doesn’t actually understand what free speech as defined in the U.S. Constitution actually is.

    ANYway, getting back to an actual relevent comment, I’m also in the “I just didn’t quite get it” camp on RIP. I’m wondering if it flows better being read all in one gulp? Chris? Anyone? Should I buy the trade/gather all of my issues together and give it another shot, or is this one of those “if you don’t get it, you won’t get it” kinds of things?

  31. Also, I’m a bit perturbed by this idea that some people think the Silver Age stuff needs to be cordoned off, even slightly, from modern continuity because it’s “too stupid” or something.

    Yes, but like it or not, that stuff has been cordoned off by Crisis and, for Batman specifically, the impact that stories like Year One had on the character. It’s not my favorite thing about RIP, but I really do like the idea that Morrison was trying to create a world in which Year One by Frank Miller happened, and then all the crazy super-hero stuff happened after.

    Uncle Phillip and Mrs. Chilton, however, are left out yet again.

  32. My problem with Morrison’s run with Batman isn’t the attempt to tie it all together, in terms of continuity: it’s the execution.

    If you’re sorta-kinda vaguely aware of the old stories, you’re fine, but if you actually try to tie the details of those stories with the epic Morrison’s telling, it all falls apart. Just one pre-R.I.P. example is Damian: there isn’t an actually tight connection between the plot in Batman & Son with Son of the Demon, which DC reprinted right when Morrison’s arc started. The two don’t actually go together.

    What’s more, the other Bat-titles haven’t been meshing well with Morrison’s work for a while. The pseudo-R.I.P. tie-ins *AND* the fallout made it obvious that none of the other writers actually knew what was going on in Morrison’s story, so they continued to keep things unsatisfyingly vague long afterwards.

    Dr. Ink! is right that, between Morrison and Winnick, it’s clear that the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. I don’t much care for Winnick, but I don’t think this is his fault.

    For whatever reason, the editors aren’t getting good info from Morrison about what he’s doing and relaying it to the writers who need to work with (or around) what it is he’s doing. This is biting DC and its readers in the ass over and over again.

    To wit, Countdown, the non-Morrison Final Crisis tie-ins, and now the other Bat-books.

    The only time this hasn’t happened was when Dini was doing his own thing in ‘Tec, ENTIRELY independently of Morrison.

    If that’s your thing — stories that make vague or inaccurate allusions to decades-old stories, while breaking continuity among what’s being currently published — have fun, but I CANNOT imagine that all these headaches are necessary just so we can see the rarely seen double-bat-kick to the face.

  34. “Aw, don’t worry young man! I’m sure there’ll be another comic out soon where people stand around not doing things!”

    how much of his run did you read? #600 was just Thor beating a guy to death with his hammer.

  35. also JMS wrote the best Loki I’ve read in years, plus he he did a good Warriors Three.

    but I can totally see how people could have been turned off, the Hammer to Face ratio was terribly skewed in the wrong direction.

  36. If that’s your thing — stories that make vague or inaccurate allusions to decades-old stories, while breaking continuity among what’s being currently published — have fun, but I CANNOT imagine that all these headaches are necessary just so we can see the rarely seen double-bat-kick to the face.

    It’s only a headache if you make it one. Bob Haney Batman, Batman ’66, Morrison Batman, Frank Miller Batman and Jim Starlin Batman (With Battery-Throwing Action) can all coexist perfectly fine in my head.

    I see your point–I mentioned myself that it’d be nice if Morrison and Dini hadn’t been doing two COMPLETELY different Joker stories at the same time that had absolutely nothing to do with each other–but that’s not Morrison’s fault (it’s DC’s), and if you’re not reading Judd Winick comics or tie-in books that you know are going to have nothing to do with anything else, the problem is solved.

  37. I’m actually personally surprised by how much Winick’s current run doesn’t suck. Sure it’s not in the same galaxy as B&R but I can read it to the end without any problems and it actually fits in reasonable well with B&R continuity wise.

  38. How was ‘Tec? Is the writing in the Question backup still better than the Batwoman main story? Because that’s what I’m getting out of it so far. (Although of course Williams’s art is peerless, but in terms of story as a whole I’m enjoying the backup more.)

  39. I’m liking all of ‘Tec, actually, but I was a big fan of Rucka’s otherwise-ignored original ‘Tec run that introduced Abbot and Whisper A’Daire.

    I’ve enjoyed the Question story, except that there’s nothing yet to make Renee distinct from Vic Sage; you could pretty much paste Vic into the panels and not change the story a bit. Not a bad thing, really, but it could stand a bit of characterization.

  41. Chris, the lack of coordination among current writers is DEFINITELY the fault of DC editorial and not Morrison’s. (If Morrison simply cannot provide enough info for the team, then it’s still editorial’s fault for repeatedly putting him in the position, first in Final Crisis and now in Batman & Robin.) I haven’t been head-over-heels about Morrison’s stuff for DC over the last few years — I actually preferred Dini’s ‘Tec run — but it’s definitely been enjoyable, and I can see why others adore it.

    It’s just that, if editorial isn’t going to coordinate among their titles (and it’s clear that they’re not) I’d almost prefer more separation among the titles, rather than botched jobs at tight continuity. It was easier for me to keep Morrison’s Batman and Dini’s Tec in separate “files” in my head, and the current approach of trying-but-failing-to-be-on-the-same-page is just frustrating.

    I frankly think the odds are better than 50-50 that however Morrison is going to handle Bruce Wayne’s return is going to seriously eff up Red Robin’s storyline, for whoever’s putting any stock in it.

  42. how the hell are people having trouble fitting Batman & Robin with the other batbooks? It fits in pretty well with Winick’s stuff and even Streets of Gotham.

    hell only major continuity error is Clayface appearing in two books at once, but that’s pretty much standard for comics at this point.

  43. I always just think about it as `we’re reading tellings of the current goings on in the real Batman’s life as filtered through the minds of the writers’ not `looking through a magic window into the universe directly’ when we read titles and any minor continuity glitches are just a result of the story-telling process. Like when two mates of mine tell me separately what they got up to last night, it doesn’t bother me that in one version they broke into the monkey cage at the zoo after they escaped from the yakuza gang but before they got kicked out of the strip club, and in the other version it happened the other way round, and it was triads, a brothel and a an chimpanzee instead. I just enjoy the telling and know that something mad happened (and that Batman and Robin totally double Bat-kicked some dude in the face).