Dripping with blood, Bard’s relationship’s a dud, and his plans landed with a thud, even though Batman’s name’s still mud. All this and more in the thirty-sixth issue of DC’s weekly Batman series. It’s gratifying, satisfying, illuminating, and aggravating! Harper and Cullen! Red Robin! Red Hood! Babs’ new threads! And speaking of threads, what super villain burns at both ends, and counts Joker, Two-Face, and Scarecrow amongst friends? It’s our hipster-fashioned Sphinx as crafty as any lynx, Edward Nygma!
Batman Eternal #35 Review
Jason Bard becomes a destroyer, Lucius Fox has a new employer, the Batmobile plows through a foyer, and Bruce Wayne could use a good lawyer in this thirty-fifth episode of DC’s weekly Batman serial. Things are crashing down badly for the Caped Crusader, who, despite help from Julia, is having a hard time keeping his head above water. Hush might be defeated, but his Bard is worse than his blight. They do a little Batman Returns retread and the Batmobile is remote controlled for chaos leaving Batman going fast and furious into oblivion.
M3 Model’s 1/60 Red Frame Tactical Arms Review
This beast happens to be a 1/60 scale Tactical Arms by M3 Models. If you weren’t aware the giant sword you see above what’s known as the Tactical Arms. The world, of Astray Red Frame fame, is scaled up from the Master Grade’s 1/100 scale to work with the Perfect Grade Red Frame. Like my Seraph Hobby Banshee Bust I picked this up from Samuel Decal who has all of M3’s press photos (which aren’t much different than what I’ve got here now that I look at them).
Once again the moral implications of this unofficial release are blurry. Sure, Bandai was never going to release one of these, but it is essentially a direct copy of the MG equivalent. M3 also used the same instructional build steps in their guide as Bandai did with the MG Tactical Arms. At the very least, that last part makes me feel a bit dirty.
Batman Eternal #34 Review
Batman and Hush clash, Julia gets a trashed, and Bruce Wayne loses his cash, all in this thirty-fourth issue of DC’s weekly Batman hootnanny. This seemingly ends the Hush portion of the story, with the bandaged baddie’s defeat after several issues of encounters. However, things are only going to get worse for Batman because Hush’s plan to cut him off from his resources has been a resounding effect. The city has taken control of Wayne’s assets, Julia is down after being injured by Hush, Alfred grows ever wearier, and there’s an even more startling revelation.
Seraph Hobby 1/35 Banshee Gundam Bust – A Quick Review
I wanted to take some time to review my first non-Bandai Gunpla release, the 1/35 scale Banshee Bust from Seraph Hobby. I’ve got a few option pieces here and there but never a full blown kit so it has been a pretty interesting experience. I picked this up via the always great decal resource, Samuel Decal. If you follow the link you’ll see Seraph Hobby’s press photos for the kit.
Perhaps I should start by saying that I in no way condone Bandai knockoffs. If you have the choice between a Bandai made kit, and a reprint from TT Hongli, go Bandai every time. Every review I’ve ever seen has easily placed the Bandai product as the superior release. Sure, Bandai’s releases generally cost more but it’s worth it. Plus you should really support the folks who took the time to develop, design, and manufacture the original product. However, when you start talking about kits that Bandai doesn’t make, it’s a massive gray area. Awhile back I started getting these PG sized action bases which are just reprints of the one included with the PG 00 Gundam plus some extra pieces to support every PG kit. The one included with my 00 broke, so what to do, wait years to get a replacement? Buy another PG just for a base? Or get a clear one which Bandai doesn’t even offer.
Batman Eternal #33 Review
An arsenal up in smoke, Wayne Enterprises might go broke, and Julia might croak in this thirty-second episode of DC’s weekly Batman free-for-all (but you have to buy it). This does seem a little padded out since it only concentrates on one branch of the story, but everything in here is pretty solid material, and it’s good to see that Batman is actually a character in the book with his name. in the title. Though it seems like the real star here is one Julia Pennyworth, even if she may have bitten off more than she can chew.