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Batman & Robin Eternal #5 Review

“I’ll teach you not to make me relevant!”

Cass takes a limb, Dick angers Tim, and the artwork looks grim in this fifth issue of DC’s weekly Grayson adventure, Batman & Robin: Eternal. We see where Cassandra made her bones, get more of Batman and Robin’s pursuit of Scarecrow, Harper makes a quick and clever move, and Tim Drake has a much-needed personality infusion which I hope lasts. Poppy pops up again, Tim’s parents’ house is… something else, and for Bat’s sake, why are there so many different pencilers in this issue?! There’s a cop-out, but I won’t drop out, when we get a bit more of my favorite Robin’s personal life. read more

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Batman & Robin Eternal #4 Review

Axe me no more questions, tell me no more dies!

Someone’s in the kitchen with Grayson, someone’s in the kitchen I know-ow-ow, someone’s in the kitchen with Grayson, landing a lot of blows! Who isn’t in there, though? It’s a regular kitchen nightmare in the fourth episode of DC’s weekly Grayson extension, I mean Batman tale. Bruce is still addled, the Robin group battles, and an angry Steph taddles! It looks like Tim Drake has a secret allegience, Dick doesn’t mind walking around in public with the Hypnos implant, Harper prefers Cass’s company to Spoiler’s (who wouldn’t?), and Duke Thomas is now a somewhat relevant character! So activate your sleeper agent, it’s time for me to snark about this issue. read more

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Batman & Robin Eternal #3 Review

Baby we were born to ruuuuun!

 

Jason’s a knave, Harper  bleeds in the cave, and Bruce needs to be saved in this third issue in DC’s new weekly Batman lackey party. I don’t know what I have more difficulty believing, that the loser Jason Todd can even keep up with Cassandra Cain for a second or that Tim Drake can continue to be portrayed as the world’s dumbest genius. But hey, in a world when you can’t trust a cannibalistic spy, who can you trust? Steph coins the term “Batler”, Cassie gets offered peanuts for info, Helena expositions, and Beacon Tower is just the worst place in Gotham for Bruce Wayne to be. read more

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Batman & Robin Eternal #2 Review

In hindsight, Batman decided the LSD experiments were premature.

 

Cassandra attacks, The Orphan gets smacked, and Dick flashes back in this second issue of Batman’s weekly Batman event book. Our Agent 37, fresh off an encounter with deadly children, a betrayal by a cannibal (can’t trust anyone these days), and a possibly life-changing revelation, is scrambling to protect all the people on the list of names on the thumb drive he was given. He doesn’t arrive in time to help Harper from receive a beating, but fortunately our mysterious ninja Cassie is a match for the new threat. But what does all this have to do with Jonathan Crane, Scarecrow, and can Tim send me some of those videos of the Row residence? (Sure, you’re no Peeping Tom…) read more

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Batman& Robin Eternal #1 Review

Not pictured: The actual current Robin

It’s time to review Eternal 2, where Cassie debuts, does some badass kung-fu, and when things come unglued, shocking things ensue! It’s DC’s new weekly Batman saga, hot on the heels of Jim Gordon becoming Batman and Dick Grayson’s spy career’s growing complications. With Bruce Wayne out of action, Gotham’s streets are defended by a group of costumed teens and young adults that the new Caped Crusader has no patience for, and the first Robin uncovers a startling secret his mentor had kept for him for years. read more

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Some Quick Thoughts on Batman #40 (Endgame Finale) (SPOILERS)

He took the time to put lipstick on the T-Rex. That is commitment.

– The Bat Family & rogues gallery vs Joker was great. Loved the chaos of it all.

– Joker quips, makes dark jokes, etc. People are always bitching about Joker being too dark, never being funny anymore, and I guess it all depends on how "funny" you want the clown to be, or in what way, but I think we see that Mistah J isn’t just some horror beast

Batman is just doing what you want, Joker. He gave you the Dick. read more

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Batman v Superman Trailer #1 (Short)

I really like how they captured the skepticism and mixed reactions the world would have should somebody like Superman turn up in the world. And of course the nod to The Dark Knight Returns. But please refrain from the shallow "IT’S TOO GRIMDARK" blanket criticism. You know the two heroes are going to end up friends, they just don’t want to give away what that looks like in the FIRST TRAILER, FFS.

 

I’m still seeing bullshit about Man of Steel being too dreary and hopeless. What the fuck movie were you watchingSure, you can argue it was a Superman movie seen through a somewhat dirty lens, but not through a dark one. read more

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Batman vs Robin Review

****SPOILER-FREE SYNOPSIS*****

Synopsis: Batman is having a little trouble with his new Robin. Namely, it’s his son, and he was raised by his assassin mother to use deadly force at any threat. Robin’s had to rein himself in, but now finds himself tempted by the arrival of a mysterious assassin garbed in the guise of an owl, who wants to take the young boy as his own partner. Batman finds that the owl man is one of many working for a secret society in Gotham who want Bruce Wayne as a member, and have a hard time saying no. Can the Dark Knight keep both his son and his city from slipping away into the darkness the owls dwell in? read more

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Batman Eternal #52 (FINALE) Review

 

Here comes the sun, doodoodoodoo,

Here comes the sun,

And I say,

It’s Dark Knight…

 

At long last, a villain from the past and our hero are cast into one final blast, to complete this black mass, and allies amass in this conclusion quite vast. It’s the final issue of DC’s weekly Batman celebration, Batman Eternal. One more villain revelation. One more race to the finish. One last bout with a rival. Last stands, surrenders, defenders, sneers, cheers, and a new status quo, all this this fifty-second, and ending chapter. As revealed last issue, as I had surmised for some time, Lincoln March steered this plan from the start, even if it didn’t originate from him. Though some of my assumptions proved slightly off, generally I was correct in my deductions, and any differences are quite amusing directions that I’m satisfied with. The issue plays off at once the conclusion of this story and a great coda for the Snyder Batman, even if the actual scripting was done by another. read more

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Grids of Gotham: My Reviews of Grant Morrison’s Bat-Epic – Part I: Batman and Son

Sibling rivalry.

Look, I love Batman. I’m 31 years old and I’ve been reading Batman comics most of my life, and I’ve read a great deal of them, decades worth, just within the past few years. I have a pretty respectable collection of Batman collected editions, from trade collections to original graphic novels. I’ve seen all the movies, watched most of the TV shows, and I’ve reviewed 51 issues of Batman Eternal (with the final issue to come next week) for my blog. Aside from Japanese animation, and maybe James Bond, my big fictional preoccupation is the Caped Crusader, the Dark Knight, the World’s Greatest Detective. I know my Batman. read more