H&R Block discusses Batman & Spider-Man

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Superhero Economics: Bruce Wayne vs. Peter Parker via H&R Block

The Internet’s foremost Batmanologist appears on John Stewart

I generally avoid link blogging, but this clip from The Daily Show is hilarious.  It features the Internet’s foremost Batmanologist Chris Sims (who blogs at The ISB and is a staff writer at Comics Alliance) talking about Nightrunner.

For those of you who are not keeping up with Batman at the moment, Bruce Wayne has recently begun recruiting other superheroes to act as regional Batmen throughout the world.  In Paris, he chose Nightrunner to be “Le Batman of France”.

This would not have been controversial if it wasn’t for the fact that in addition to being a citizen of France, Nightrunner is a Sunni Muslim.  Of course, this caused the Internet to explode.

So check out the clip!

Random Reviews: Batman: The Black Casebook

One of Grant Morrison’s themes while writing Batman was that everything in Batman’s 70 year publishing history actually happened in some manner or another.  This included the Batman stories of the 1950’s, where stories like Batman being transported to an alien planet where he has powers like Superman were common place.

Grant Morrison decided to bring these stories back into the fold by introducing the concept of Batman’s “Black Casebook”.  Sort of like Batman’s personal X-Files, this is where he cataloged all of his experiences that didn’t make any sense.

The events of the Black Casebook came up many times during Grant Morrison’s run.  They proved to be the major driving force behind Batman: R.I.P.  The only problem was that many of these old stories were somewhat obscure and difficult to find.

Well, not anymore.  Batman: The Black Casebook compiles these Batman stories from the 1950’s in one easy to read volume.  Since these stories are only connected by virtue of having been referenced during Morrison’s run (especially during Batman: The Black Glove and in Batman: R.I.P. ) I will be looking at each separately.

A Partner for Batman

This basically is a story about Robin’s insecurities.  While Robin is laid up with a broken leg, Batman takes to training another superhero named Wingman.  Robin becomes increasingly convinced that Batman intends to make Wingman a permanent replacement for him.

During Morrison’s run on Batman, Wingman pops up during the Batman: The Black Glove storyline as a member of the Club of Heroes.

Story: 3 out of 5 bats (You never truly believe Robin will be replaced)

Relevance to Batman R.I.P.: 3 out of 5 bats (Nice to know who Wingman is, but not essential)

Batman – Indian Chief

This story introduces Man-of-Bats and Little Raven, two Sioux Indians named Great Eagle and Little Eagle, who have taken Batman and Robin as inspiration.   Great Eagle is injured by his enemy Black Elk and Batman and Robin decide to impersonate the duo so that Black Elk will not be able to confirm his belief that Great Eagle and Man-of-Bats are the same person.

During Morrison’s run on Batman, Man-of-Bats and Little Raven, now know as Red Raven, are also members of the Club of Heroes.

Story: 2 out of 5 bats (mostly due to the casual racism)

Relevance to Black Glove/R.I.P.: 3 out of 5 bats (Nice to know who Man-of-Bats is, but not essential)

The Batmen of All Nations…

Apparently there are Batman wannabes all around the world.  Knight & Squire from England, the Musketeer from France, the Legionary from Rome, The Gaucho from South America, and the Ranger from Australia all travel to Gotham City to learn from the legendary Batman.  Once there, the criminal “Knots” Cardine runs circles around Batman, even with all of the extra help.  What could be Caradine’s secret?

Story: 4 out of 5 bats (I liked that the other “Batmen” weren’t straight clones)

Relevance to Black Glove/R.I.P.: 4 out of 5 bats (This is nearly the entire cast of the Club of Heroes)

The First Batman…

Batman finds a Batman costume hidden in his father’s desk.  After a little research, Batman determines that his father had a brief (one time) career as Batman.  He also learns that his father’s death might not have been a result of random street crime after all.

Story: 2 out of 5 bats (I really hate it when they mess with the origin story)

Relevance to Black Glove/R.I.P.: 4 out of 5 bats (The costume plays a prominent role in the story)

The Club of Heroes

Batman nominates Superman for the chairman position in the Club of Heroes.  However, John Mayhew wants it to go to the most heroic member of the club, and a new superhero in Metropolis named Lightning-Man begins upstaging Superman.

Story: 2 out of 5 bats (This had a lot of silver age elements that I liked the least)

Relevance to Black Glove/R.I.P.: 2 out of 5 bats (While this had both the Club of Heroes and John Mayhew in it, the story was really a Superman story.  Also, Superman’s presence in the club really detracts from the Batman: The Black Glove storyline)

The Man Who Ended Batman’s Career

Professor Milo manages to give Batman a phobia of bats, to the extent that he can’t hold a batarang or look at his own shadow.  Batman briefly takes on the identity of Starman, but realizes that it won’t be long until the criminals realize who he is and begin using bats against him.  It looks like Batman’s career will be over for good.

Story: 4 out of 5 bats (I like that Robin saves the day on this one)

Relevance to Black Glove/R.I.P.:  4 out of 5 bats (The concept of taking down Batman psychologically is key to the Batman: R.I.P. storyline.  Plus in Grant Morrison’s mind, it ties in to the Batman - The Superman of Planet X story)

Am I Really Batman?

Batman wakes up in an insane asylum where he finds out that “the real Batman” has dumped him.  He escapes and makes his way to stately Wayne Manor, only to find Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson both their already!  Can Batman unravel what is going on?

Story: 3 out of 5 bats (I felt the resolution did not match the build up.  It does feature Professor Milo again though, even if he looks completely different)

Relevance to Black Glove/R.I.P.: 2 out of 5 bats (This story could be skipped)

Batman – The Superman of Planet X!

While flying around in his Bat-Plane, he is transported to the Planet Zur-En-Arrh by the Batman of that world.  There is an alien invasion coming, and he needs our Batman’s help to repel it.  Luckily, Batman has Superman’s powers on Zur-En-Arrh.

Story: 3 out of 5 bats (A very strange Batman story)

Relevance to Black Glove/R.I.P.: 5 out of 5 bats (Batman spends a decent portion of RIP running around proclaiming himself to be “The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh” and talking about “The Bat-Radia”.)

Batman Meets Bat-Mite

This story introduces the Bat-Mite, a fourth dimensional imp like the Superman foe Mr. Myxyzptlk.  Bat-Mite tries to be helpful, but his help might be more than Batman and Robin can survive.

Story: 3 out of 5 bats (this follows the template of almost any Bat-Mite story)

Relevance to Black Glove/R.I.P.: 3 out of 5 bats (While Bat-Mite plays a major role in the Batman R.I.P. story, he is better known than most of the characters in these stories)

The Rainbow Creature

While visiting a “South American Republic”, Batman and Robin encounter a Rainbow Colored Creature which has various Gygaxian powers tied to its colors.

Story: 1 out of 5 bats (Seriously?)

Relevance to Black Glove/R.I.P.: 1 out of 5 bats (Batman mentions this in passing while flipping through the Black Casebook)

Robin Dies At Dawn

Batman wakes up on an alien planet with no knowledge of how he got there.  Robin appears to help him out, but is killed by a four-armed alien at the break of dawn.  It is then revealed that Batman had volunteered for a military experiment on the effects of sensory deprivation on the human mind.  He leaves the facility, but his problems with hallucinations are far from over.

Story: 5 out of 5 bats (This story was a lot of fun.  The way the hallucinations are resolved seemed more like a modern Batman story)

Relevance to Black Glove/R.I.P.: 5 out of 5 bats (Without this story, there is no Batman R.I.P.)

The Batman Creature!

Batman is turned into a bestial version of himself.  So horrible in fact, that he makes Batwoman cry!  He is eventually returned to normal.

Story: 0 out of 5 bats (It didn’t even have the Gygaxian fun of the Rainbow Creature)

Relevance to Black Glove/R.I.P.: 0 out of 5 bats (Reading this does nothing for the Batman R.I.P. experience)

Final Thoughts

So, what do I think of Batman: The Black Casebook overall?  It is a great companion piece to Batman: R.I.P.  I would definitely recommend picking it up to read first if you are picking up Batman: R.I.P. in the trades.  In fact, my biggest complaint is that they didn’t release this while the actual Batman: R.I.P. storyline was going on in the comics!

Random Reviews: Batman and Robin

If you haven’t been following Batman comics recently, you may not be aware that Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman, is currently dead.

OK, fine.  Bruce Wayne may not be technically dead, just trapped in the prehistoric past.  Nevertheless, he is not around to be Batman.  Could anyone take his place? This premise launched the Battle for the Cowl series, which basically acted as filler until they were ready to relaunch the core Batman titles as Batman, Batman and Robin, and Red Robin. 

The only title I am interested in is Batman and Robin.

Why only that one?  Entirely because of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.  This is the same team that gave us the amazing All Star Superman.  I mean, they made me enjoy Superman!  It was the first title I would read when I picked up my comic book order.  That is some high-powered talent!

Not surprisingly, I wasn’t disappointed.  The book starts mid-chase scene, and uses a few lines of dialogue to make the entire Battle for the Cowl series irrelevant.  Mostly by having the new Batman state the obvious: that he never wanted the responsibility of being Batman, but really there was no one else who can do the job.

So, with Bruce Wayne out of the picture, you may be wondering who are the new dynamic duo?  The simple answer: Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne.

Dick Grayson was the original Robin.  While he may have ditched his old duds for the batsuit, he has not undergone a personality transplant.  As a result his Batman is a little more light-hearted than the original.  He will tell the occasional joke and crack the occasional smile.

Damian Wayne is a different story.  The son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, he was raised in secret with the intention of him one day leading the League of Assassins.  Damian is driven, grim, brooding, and a genius.

In other words, he is a lot like his father.

All and all this works well as an inversion of the classic dynamic duo formula.  Damian is shown to be so incredibly smart, continuously tinkering with and even improving, his father’s designs.  This is important, since it helps you understand why Dick Grayson is willing to mentor the kid.  As opposed to strangling him or something. 

For Damian’s part, he still sees Dick Grayson as an usurper of his rightful destiny to succeed his father.  If Damian thought he could get away with it, he would be happy enough to assume the mantle of Batman right now, despite being thirteen or so.

So enough about the characters.  What do I think of the storyline so far?  Well, it is very conventional for a Grant Morrison story.  There is a flying Batmobile in it, but that works much better than you might think.  The first part of the story involves the dynamic duo chasing down Mr. Toad and his gang after a heist, cutting short his “wild ride”.  The second part of the issue introduces the creepy Mr. Pyg and his “doll people”.  The ending of the book, which shows Mr. Pyg creating more “doll people”, definitely gives you the willies.

Hmmm… written out in three sentences like that, it does sound like a typically odd Morrison plotline.  Trust me, it makes more sense told over 22 pages.

In any case, I recommend this storyline to anyone who is a fan of Batman comics.  It may be a little bit of a different take on the legend, but Grant Morrison simply writes Batman very well.  When you combined with Frank Quitely’s beautiful art, Batman and Robin is a truly amazing read.