Official Batman Titles thread 2.0 - Part 9

[Cain]

I wish Scott Snyder would use some of the more traditional rogues, Riddler or Two-face or something.Maybe have them team up and try and steal the intellect of all the people of Gotham

 

[Mystirious]

Mr Freeze will be getting some love soon

And I think that Snyder has said that he'll be using some of the classic rogues after the Court of Owls story

 

[CConn]

I'm finding the Court of Owls really refreshing, personally. Batman's got one of the greatest rogues galleries in comics, but they're also one of the most overused rogues galleries in comics. It's nice to see someone branching out and creating new villains. I think that's part of why Morrison's run has been so good as well. Professor Pyg, Scarlet, etc. All cool new additions to the rogues gallery rather than retreads of half the Killer Croc or Joker stories you've already read.

I definitely agree with that.

Both Sydner and Morrison have done phenomenal jobs not only introducing new villains, but introducing ones that are legitimately threatening - even moreso than most of Batman's traditional rogues gallery.

I mean, after some time passes, I could definitely see both Dr. Hurt and the Court of Owls ranking only behind The Joker and Ra's as Batman's most formidable villains.

 

[Saint]

I definitely agree with that.

Both Sydner and Morrison have done phenomenal jobs not only introducing new villains, but introducing ones that are legitimately threatening - even moreso than most of Batman's traditional rogues gallery.

I mean, after some time passes, I could definitely see both Dr. Hurt and the Court of Owls ranking only behind The Joker and Ra's as Batman's most formidable villains.

I just hope that when someone inevitably brings Hurt back, it's someone smart. I think Hurt is a killer villain and I absolutely want him to resurface, but not in the hands of mediocre talent (see: the recent return of Bane).

Urgh, I just realized that since Batman probably never put down Darkseid in post-Flashpoint continuity (which already infuriates me because it ****s up my favourite parts of Morrison's run), Hurt's history would have to be completely rewritten, undoubtedly making him lamer.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

What'd they do with Bane?

 

[Roose Bolton]

Bane is basically Arkham City Bane now, it's incredibly lame.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Oh. Hurray reboot.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Hell if Gail Simone could even find a way to incorporate a Bane appearance into Batgirl then perhaps she could follow up with a little of the stuff she set up at the end of Secret Six.....I can dream

 

[Drz]

Snyder's doing as good a job as Morrison ever did on Batman, as far as I'm concerned. Maybe not as high-concept, but you don't necessarily need high concepts to make good comics.

Yeah, but Snyder has that ugly habbit of bringing his Grim Dark love:

Thats really the downside with Snyder, it's a minor but important detail, because things like these are exactly what people complain about from Tony Daniel and David Finch.

 

[Cain]

Yeah I liked all of Snyder's Batman work (Black Mirror, Gates of Gotham and now Batman) but I can't place him anywhere near Morrison or even a Steve Englehart or Alan Grant. It's not as balanced. It tips way too much towards let's make this a grim tale with hard boiled characters in a grim city as opposed to Batman is the shinning symbol of hope in a city filled with hopeless people.

Also has way too many unnecessary anecdotes and contrivances for me to hail this as ingenius. Then again that's a fault of all of his stories (American Vampire & Swamp Thing suffer from it too) and not just Batman. You can still tell he's new at comic book writing and still finding his groove. It's entertaining but that's where the buck stops.

He tries too hard sometimes in trying to create atmosphere to the point that it makes me laugh. Like that page Drz posted. I'm supposed to go "oh ****? where'd that come from? is Dick really a bad guy?" instead I just laughed and went "Damn Grayson must've had some poor dental hygine for his molar to just pop out like that on a whim".

Batman, D.D.S.: Taking your roots straight to hell.

 

[CConn]

I don't fully agree. I don't think the grim darkness is that big of a flaw - especially in AV and ST which are both very suited for the macabre - but I do agree that a lighter, more 70s-esque Batman is definitely something that's missing from his run.

Maybe I'm just a younger version of Kuro, but I'm still eagerly anticipating the day when Batman isn't continuously characterized as the dark, semi-psychotic patriarchal figure that he's been since Frank Miller got involved. Pre-DCnU, that characterization at least made a little sense - given Batman had been Batman for over a decade, had seen a lot of loss and pain and maturation - but now that we're dealing with a much younger, more inexperienced Batman, I would so love to see an interpretation closer to his more outgoing and scientific detective demeanor.

Morrison, at very least, did a decent job of kinda bringing a little of that version of Batman back.

 

[Assassin]

Batman and Green Lantern are the only books I look forward to now. When those two books come out, I read them right away. All the rest, I wait until whatever.

 

[CConn]

You should buy better books then.

I get excited to read like 90% of what I buy.

 

[Assassin]

Like what? All of the DCnU are garbage except for a handful

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

I've never put Morrison on that high a pedastal... His Batman run was a great high-concept thing, but something was lacking about it.

His Action Comics right now is incredibly average.

 

[Cain]

I'm still eagerly anticipating the day when Batman isn't continuously characterized as the dark, semi-psychotic patriarchal figure that he's been since Frank Miller got involved.

You're definitely not the only one. The best writing after that happened came from people who actually deviated from just sticking to that characterization like Alan Grant and Dough Moench.

You should buy better books then.

I get excited to read like 90% of what I buy.

Same.

Like what? All of the DCnU are garbage except for a handful

It's a lot more than a handful. Just because you're not into them doesn't mean they're garbage. Personally I buy the 2 books you mentioned kind of out of habit really. I enjoy them but I'm not going out of my way to be at the store first thing in the morning to buy them either. There are many other books that take precedent over those two on my pull list in that regard.

 

[Assassin]

It's a lot more than a handful. Just because you're not into them doesn't mean they're garbage. Personally I buy the 2 books you mentioned kind of out of habit really. I enjoy them but I'm not going out of my way to be at the store first thing in the morning to buy them either. There are many other books that take precedent over those two on my pull list in that regard.

BTW I was only talking about DC books, I get excited about some indys.

 

[Cain]

BTW I was only talking about DC books, I get excited about some indys.

I know and so was I.

 

[The Batman]

Yeah I liked all of Snyder's Batman work (Black Mirror, Gates of Gotham and now Batman) but I can't place him anywhere near Morrison or even a Steve Englehart or Alan Grant. It's not as balanced. It tips way too much towards let's make this a grim tale with hard boiled characters in a grim city as opposed to Batman is the shinning symbol of hope in a city filled with hopeless people.

Also has way too many unnecessary anecdotes and contrivances for me to hail this as ingenius. Then again that's a fault of all of his stories (American Vampire & Swamp Thing suffer from it too) and not just Batman. You can still tell he's new at comic book writing and still finding his groove. It's entertaining but that's where the buck stops.

He tries too hard sometimes in trying to create atmosphere to the point that it makes me laugh. Like that page Drz posted. I'm supposed to go "oh ****? where'd that come from? is Dick really a bad guy?" instead I just laughed and went "Damn Grayson must've had some poor dental hygine for his molar to just pop out like that on a whim".

Batman, D.D.S.: Taking your roots straight to hell.

This. All Day. Snyder and Morrison definetely arent on the same level...hell, if all Morrison did Batman-wise was Arkham Asylum and Gothic, hed STILL be above Snyder.

 

[Mystirious]

Lots of DC titles are really good right now

Batwoman is absolutely amazing, best thing DC is publishing right now without a doubt

Resurrection Man is lots of fun right now and Demon Knights has been really good too Vandal Savage beats up a dinosaur with a dinosaur

Birds of Prey has been fun Starling has been my favourite new character created after Flashpoint

Animal Man and Swamp Thing are both pretty neat

And I'm digging Batgirl, Teen Titans and Legion of Superheroes

 

[CConn]

Like what? All of the DCnU are garbage except for a handful

Action Comics, Animal Man, Batman and Robin, Batwoman, The Flash, I, Vampire, Supergirl, Swamp Thing.

At least that's what I eagerly look forward to every month. Batman and GL included, of course.

 

[Cain]

I don't fully agree. I don't think the grim darkness is that big of a flaw - especially in AV and ST which are both very suited for the macabre.

Forgot to say; with these 2 I meant the anecdotes and story contrivances. I agree that a somber tone is perfect for them as they're supposed to be horror comics.

But it doesn't mean we always have to have the narrator telling us heavy handed stories in every single issue either. I don't think you'd find more caption boxes in any other mainstream book than what you'd find in a Snyder comic. Nor should we have convenient resolutions to narrative threads that kill the tension so suddenly. Snyder's still finding his groove as a writer though so it doesn't bother me all that much even if it is a bit obnoxious.

 

[Cain]

This. All Day. Snyder and Morrison definetely arent on the same level...hell, if all Morrison did Batman-wise was Arkham Asylum and Gothic, hed STILL be above Snyder.

The former especially. It's still blows my mind how many different layers I find to AA with every re-read. That's some tight and very rich writing right there.

 

[CConn]

You're definitely not the only one. The best writing after that happened came from people who actually deviated from just sticking to that characterization like Alan Grant and Dough Moench.

We should form a public interest group.

 

[Cain]

Lots of DC titles are really good right now

Batwoman is absolutely amazing, best thing DC is publishing right now without a doubt

Resurrection Man is lots of fun right now and Demon Knights has been really good too Vandal Savage beats up a dinosaur with a dinosaur

Birds of Prey has been fun Starling has been my favourite new character created after Flashpoint

Animal Man and Swamp Thing are both pretty neat

And I'm digging Batgirl, Teen Titans and Legion of Superheroes

I agree with the bold. Those are all very solid reads as are the other ones that CConn mentioned and I also feel Batwing, Capt Atom, Frankenstein and Voodoo have a good writing/art combination. Superman also did a great turn around with #7 it easily stomps all over the stuff Perez wrote.

TBH the only reason I'm not buying more than what I buy now is cause those books are MUST reads for me every month and I'm unemployed since I went back to school full time therefore I'm also on a budget. Doesn't mean I won't trade wait a lot of the books that I had to drop though. Honestly at least 1/2 of the New 52 are worth the time. That's a lot more than a handful.