The General Comic Discussion Thread - Part 2

[Milk Tray Guy]

Of those three, I put them same order. But…(and this is where I’m probably going to sound crazy)…I put Haunted Knight just below When in Rome and above Dark Victory.

Interesting...

 

[blueharvest]

 

[CrimsonMist]

The more I read about Aaron's Absolute Superman, the more interested I become. Not necessarily to the point of checking the book out Day 1, but enough to maybe give it a shot in the DC Universe App. Aaron seems to imply that the journey that this Superman goes on will eventually bring him to a place similar to the regular Superman and I'm interested in seeing this Kal-El try to find that moral compass as an adult instead of having it ingrained in him since birth.

Every time Snyder talks about Batman though, it comes off as insecure desperation to appear cool. On paper I'm fascinated by the interpretation (the Darren Aronofsky "Year One" script does Poor Batman brilliantly) but Absolute Batman just feels like another one of Scott Snyder's Try Hard attempts at being cool.

I'm significantly behind on my comics. I moved August 1st. Scouted a few comic shops in my area before settling in one with a pull list but by then, I had already missed a few books because all the stores carried very few copies. Hopefully I get most of them this week.

 

[Mani-Man]

Every time Snyder talks about Batman though, it comes off as insecure desperation to appear cool. On paper I'm fascinated by the interpretation (the Darren Aronofsky "Year One" script does Poor Batman brilliantly) but Absolute Batman just feels like another one of Scott Snyder's Try Hard attempts at being cool.

Ever since ending his Batman run, it does feel like Snyder wants to make "Cool Batman" which i dont get since he had that with his Batman run more natural.
Metal and now this, does feel like he tries so very hard and i dont get why.
I mean "Batmans symbol is a axe head because this Buff batman carries a axe around" is such a weird thing.

 

[blueharvest]

How Absolute Batman Reinvents the Dark Knight for the 21st Century

Exclusive: Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta tell Den of Geek about the joys of their big, brutal Absolute Batman and what he represents for the next era of Dark Knight stories.

www.denofgeek.com

 

[Babillygunn]

I’m curious, who is everyone’s favorite Batman writer?

I have a clear top two: Mike W. Barr and Steve Englehart (although admittedly, Englehart is a relatively small sample size, it’s amazing quality)

 

[flickchick85]

I’m curious, who is everyone’s favorite Batman writer?

I have a clear top two: Mike W. Barr and Steve Englehart (although admittedly, Englehart is a relatively small sample size, it’s amazing quality)

Depends on what kind of Batman I’m in the mood for, I guess. On one end of the spectrum, I’m a Brubaker/Rucka girl. On the other, Grant Morrison.

 

[Lobo]

I’m curious, who is everyone’s favorite Batman writer?

I have a clear top two: Mike W. Barr and Steve Englehart (although admittedly, Englehart is a relatively small sample size, it’s amazing quality)

I was a big Alan Grant guy. I remember really enjoying Shadow of the Bat series.

 

[Babillygunn]

I was a big Alan Grant guy. I remember really enjoying Shadow of the Bat series.

I really like the first arc in that series, The Last Arkham.

Alan Grant is great.

And @flickchick85, despite the fact that we diverge on the topic of Grant Morrison, I agree on Rucka.

In fact, I’d say that Greg Rucka is an acceptable response to “best writer” when it comes to just about any character that he has written. He and Peter Tomasi may be the most consistent writers in DC when it comes to quality.

 

[Mani-Man]

I’m curious, who is everyone’s favorite Batman writer?

I have a clear top two: Mike W. Barr and Steve Englehart (although admittedly, Englehart is a relatively small sample size, it’s amazing quality)

As with everything in comic, i cant pinpoint one specific person.
For me the beauty in comics is that so many writers tackle these characters in different ways.

I find myself often reading Scott Snyders Batman run, but its not exclusive.
Greg Rucka is one i find is still often underrated, Doug Moench too, just like Englehart.
Then you got the more known names, Loeb, Morrison, Tomasi, Tynion, I liked Mariko Tamakis Detective Comics run a lot etc.
There are so many names, some of the best tackled the character and his world...gave us some of the best comic stories.

 

[Babillygunn]

Did anyone read DC vs Vampires?

I’m 7 issues in and I find it wildly entertaining. It’s total junk food. But sometimes I like to eat a candy bar for lunch.

 

[blueharvest]

Did anyone read DC vs Vampires?

I’m 7 issues in and I find it wildly entertaining. It’s total junk food. But sometimes I like to eat a candy bar for lunch.

I've read the first two issues of DC vs. Vampires: World War V that came out last month. I should probably go back and read the other stories that proceeded it, though.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

I was a big Alan Grant guy. I remember really enjoying Shadow of the Bat series.

Alan Grant was the best!

 

[Babillygunn]

I've read the first two issues of DC vs. Vampires: World War V that came out last month. I should probably go back and read the other stories that proceeded it, though.

Yeah, the cover to World War V, coupled with the Halloween season being upon us, for some reason got me wanting to read it. But I decided to read the first run. I had been told that it was awful, so my expectations were really low. But I have really enjoyed it. My son loved Deceased and hated Vampires because he said that it lacked the emotional beats of Deceased. But I never read Deceased, and I went into Vampires not really looking for emotional beats, but instead looking for entertainment, and I am definitely being entertained. And I actually have found some emotional beats in it. There’s a definite Injustice vibe involved in it.

 

[CrimsonMist]

I’m curious, who is everyone’s favorite Batman writer?

I have a clear top two: Mike W. Barr and Steve Englehart (although admittedly, Englehart is a relatively small sample size, it’s amazing quality)

Maybe it's because I did a massive re-read recently, but the Brubaker/Rucka duo (New Gotham, Officer Down, Murderer/Fugitive, Gotham Central, Catwoman) is probably my favorite. The level of synergy between the two major Bat-titles is something the line has been sorely missing since. It does the best exploration of "Is Bruce or Batman The Real Mask?" better than anyone before or since. There's a lot of great humanizing going on there, too. I don't think the world of Gotham has ever been that fully explored either, atleast by a consistent creative team.

I'd definitely put Tom King up there, too. Since I began collecting comics on a weekly basis, King's run on BATMAN has been the only run I've picked up beginning to end. Dropped Morrison. Dropped Snyder. Dropped Tynion. Dropped Williamson. Dropped Zdarsky. Dropped everyone in between. King's run held me from beginning to end. Part of it has to do with King's formalist approach to comic books as medium. His exploration of form, as well as the insanely talented artists he brought onto the title was a definite eye-catcher for me. The other part had to do with King's reconciliation between humanist drama and the inherent absurdity of the superheroes. He managed to peel away the thick and heavy UberGod layers that Batman has accumulated over the years and make Bruce, certainly more fallible, but also more human and relatable. The run as a whole didn't land 100%, but his failures were infinitely better, if not interesting, than anything, good or bad that came after. And his short stories, Pway For Me (Batman/Elmer Fudd), The Unjust Judge (from Black & White #2) and Riddler: One Bad Bay are all incredibly great comics, comics that are faraway some of the best this corner of the medium has produced in DECADES, that no one is going to talk about either because it's too intellectual and lacks stupid punching, or people can't get past their bizarre prejudice about the Catwoman marriage (or lack thereof). If anything, Tom King's run on Batman also helped me realize how much I can't stand fandom and that this fandom will never allow the medium to evolve and progress in any meaningful way.

I have a soft spot for the Alan Grant/Breyfogle stuff too. I think that team definitely gave Batman stable legs to stand on Post-Crisis. Batman felt pretty unmemorable and Barr's run after Alan Davis left felt pretty neutered. I also don't much care for Jim Starlin. Regardless of the historical importance, I found his approach and reasoning for wanting to kill Jason Todd pretty tasteless. It's not until Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle (with John Wagner) were given Detective Comics that the line began to feel stable again. There's something very special about their time with the character that transcends simple nostalgia.

Mike W. Barr has written several bangers that don't get enough credit. His two-part Joker story with Alan Davis (and in fact, his whole brief run with Alan Davis) are some of the best superhero comics of the 80's. His Batman Annual #8 with Trevor Von Eeden is one of the greatest Batman stories no one talks about.

 

[blueharvest]

‘Batman: Dark Patterns’ 12-issue series set to launch December

'Batman: Dark Patterns' will be told as a series of four self-contained, street level, evergreen Batman mysteries...

aiptcomics.com

 

[Mani-Man]

Did anyone read DC vs Vampires?

I’m 7 issues in and I find it wildly entertaining. It’s total junk food. But sometimes I like to eat a candy bar for lunch.

I found myself buying a few issues, but it feels a bit weird at times.
At times it feels like something like this or DCeased only exist so DC can justify killing off characters without a care.
And why is it always Batman who dies as one of the first?
DC builds up Batman as one of the smartest characters in their Universe, yet somehow he is one of the first who bites the dust when you have vampires or zombies?
I guess its the fun of it, killing off the main players so you can focus on other characters.

I havent found out how to tackle such stories the best, they feel very alien to me.
Which is a shame since the overall idea is dumb fun entertaining.

 

[blueharvest]

I found myself buying a few issues, but it feels a bit weird at times.
At times it feels like something like this or DCeased only exist so DC can justify killing off characters without a care.
And why is it always Batman who dies as one of the first?
DC builds up Batman as one of the smartest characters in their Universe, yet somehow he is one of the first who bites the dust when you have vampires or zombies?
I guess its the fun of it, killing off the main players so you can focus on other characters.

I guess in all his years of preparing for every eventuality, vampires never crossed his mind.

 

[Karelia]

 

[Babillygunn]

Happy Batman Day everyone!

 

[blueharvest]

 

[Mani-Man]

Its crazy how much hype has been around Absolute Batman.
I did not expect that at first.

Happy Batman Day everyone!

Hope you all did fun Batman things yesterday to celebrate the greatest of all time.
Unfortunately here in Germany there isnt a lot to do.
Was hoping to get some good Amazon sales or so at least, but nope.
Just me sitting at home, reading comics, watching batman movies and finishing up by playing Arkham Origins.

Batman fans dont want Fantastical stuff? Since when?
Okay, i get people are a bit tired of multiverse etc...but im always in for a good large scale batman story.
But i will say, going ground level, solving murders etc is a neat thing too, so i take it.

 

[Karelia]

Its crazy how much hype has been around Absolute Batman.
I did not expect that at first.

You would have never guessed it if you looked at some areas of the internet. Especially the trashing of the logo lol. Scott Snyder has been promoting the heck out of this comic though. I'm pretty amped to read it personally.

 

[blueharvest]

You would have never guessed it if you looked at some areas of the internet. Especially the trashing of the logo lol. Scott Snyder has been promoting the heck out of this comic though. I'm pretty amped to read it personally.

I'm cautiously optimistic about it. I hope it does really well and judging by the tweet above, where the first issue of Absolute Batman already has 200,000 orders, it seems like it's already off to a great start.

 

[Mani-Man]

You would have never guessed it if you looked at some areas of the internet. Especially the trashing of the logo lol. Scott Snyder has been promoting the heck out of this comic though. I'm pretty amped to read it personally.

Its such a wild ride because you See many Kind of make fun of the design etc, but then also such an insane amount of incredible cool Fanart and so on.