The Dark Knight Rises

  Okay, I'll put a more in depth review after I feel everyone has had adaquet time to see the Dark Knight Rises, but here is the short and long and long of it: I understand that most people will never think any Batman is better than The Dark Knight,and that's fine by me. I loved every aspect of it. I believe it's the best Batman AND best movie ever made. Blam.

Dark Kight Rises/Knightfall

   Growing up, I had all 19 parts of the main Knightquest arc. Along with most of my childhood collection, they were sold off by my mother for getting in a particularly  nasty fist fight in school. I've always wanted to get the first printings again, but never had the time to look around, or the money to pick them up. (For any collectors that know that none of those issues even in first-print mint condition aren't very expensive at all, let it be known I'm quite poor) Recently, I've been able to pick them all up cheaply at flea markets and a few comic book shops. Re-reading all these issues has got me to think about any parallels between the Knightfall story and the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises. Will Bane use Venom, even to a lesser extent? Will he break inmates out of Arkham Asylum? Will he break the Bat's bat?
    1.Will Bane use Venom? For those unfamiliar with Venom, it's the super-steroid Bane literally pumps into his body through tubes  that turn him from a large muscular genius into a monstrous hulking genius able to beat the you know what out of Killer Croc. With Christopher Nolan's more realistic take on Batman, I've been wondering if Venom has place in this version of Gotham. Until later this month, I can only speculate and make somewhat educated guesses. My guess is either it won't be appearing in TDKR, or, it might be toned down. In the comics it takes a very fit man and gives him an extra foot or so, and if I had to guess, an additional foot to his already broad chest. It makes Bane massive. If Christopher Nolan chooses to have Bane use Venom, I think it will be a more realistic drug that gives him an instant burst of energy, adrenaline, and maybe some additional bulk.
   2.Will Bane break inmates out of Arkham like he does in Knightfall? From the commercials and trailers for TDKR, he might break some inmates of either Arkham or Blackgate. A scene in one of the trailers has a large amount of men in orange jumpsuits running into battle with just as many of Gotham's finest on an otherwise empty street. So, this seems very possible. Will he break out some of the major rogues like Scarecrow or Zsasz, that's another question. With Heath Ledger's death, they might shirk away from showing some of the major bad guys previously featured in the Nolanverse out of restrictions on the Joker, and possibly ust out of respect for Ledger.
   3.Will Bane break the Bat? Bane. The Man That (Who) Broke the Bat. Will he hold this title by the end of TDKR? Possibly. I hear speculation (and have made some of my own) on Joseph Gordon Levitt being Robin/Nightwing/Batman's replacement, and while I'm not betting or assuming, I think it's a possibility regardless of Christopher Nolan's denial of a Robin or Nightwing character.
   There are a plethora of other questions I have about comic book parallels and a bunch of unrelated questions, but like the rest of the public, I'll have to wait until July, 22 to see for sure. Love, peace, and chicken grease.

Death of the Family

    I'm so excited for the upcoming Batman story "Death of the Family" in Batman #13. That's the most forward way to say that I'm estatic to see the return of the Joker after almost a year AND it's written by Scott Snyder. Thank Science.

Batman: Full Circle

     Just picked up an old copy of Batman: Full Circle by Mike W. Barr.  It built off of Batman: Year Two, but the art didn't involve Todd McFarlane, so I didn't hate it. It takes place some where between year 3 and 5 of Batman's career, but just like it's predecessor Year Two, Full Circle clashes with the continuity of comics before, and since. And now with the New 52 heroes being about 5years old, continuity has flown out the peaching window. (Maybe fruits aren't the best way to switch out expletives) I honestly like the story and how it brings more consequences from the twist conclusion of Year Two, but there might just be too many continuity issues to be able to fit into the canon, try as I may to make it fit properly. The continuity issue that ruins it for me is a conflict with Dark Victory when Batman states he still hasn't caught his parent's killer. Batman meeting Joe Chill is one of the central points of both Year Two and Full Circle. I like Full Circle, but it doesn't hold a candle to Dark Victory. 7.5/10

A Seriously Awesome Book on Serious Earth

    I decided the to review Batman: Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth written by Grant Morrison with art by Grant McKean. Although I've been a fan of Batman since I was a wee little lad, this is the book that started my obsession for him.
    This book is incredibly dark even for a late 80's Baman story. It starts with the inmates (led by Joker) of Arkham out of their cells holding staff members hostage. Joker offers to let staff go if Batman will surrender himself to the asylum. The book paralells Amadeus Arkham's descent to Batman's nightlong journey through the halls of the famed asylum to fight madness and the literal and figurative monsters within.
    The book shed a completely new light on the Dark Knight for me. It turned the mostly normal man I thought I knew as Batman into the possibly unstable obsessed demon that most inmates of Arkham see. That said, for me, the biggest draw in this book is Two-Face. Before this book, Harvey Dent's transformation was pretty cut and dry for me. Acid to the face, goes crazy, leaves his wife, takes to crime. Arkham Asylum: ASHoSE is a helpless Harvey Dent that cannot even go to the bathroom without his trademark coin. The doctors of Arkham in an attempt to ween Dent off of the black and white nature of his coin, convince him to use a die for choice making. After he got the hang of having six choices, they again weened him onto a deck of cards. This imediatly becomes a problem for him, having to go through 52 different decisions takes to much time leading to the afore mentioned potty training problems. Several twists at the ending (one of which involving Two-Face AND Harvey Dent....) wrap this story up nicely. My only complaint, the story seems to leave some confusing blanks in the middle of Batman's journey. I would personally contribute this to Grant Morrison's bad habit of assuming readers will know what's going on in his head without putting in words, art, or inferring anything at all. All said and done, 9.5/10

It's the Thought that Counts

     A man I know from work gave me his copy of Cowboys and Aliens the graphic novel for going out of my way to help him out. Though it was very generous, I almost wish he hadn't. (I'm joking, it was a very kind thing of him to do) I honestly am having a hard time finding something good to say about this book. The art is inconsistant, the story jumps around, I feel it was rushed, it feels like it's missing panels, I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy this book. I guess I could say it has an original concept, but it seems like Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley just threw two ideas together and decided to attempt at an allegory of America raping Native American land.
    No characterization. No logic. 3/10

Game of the Year Forever...Until the Sequel...Edition

   A bunch of things on the agenda for posts, though precedence goes to Harley Quinn's Revenge DLC for Batman: Arkham City. I am personally super excited for this download. I believe it's only $8 for a new two hour addition to the campaign of Arkham City in which both the Batman and Robin are playable characters.
  On a somewhat less important note, my fiance has been letting me pick up some back issues of my favorite comics in place of getting new ones. I shall still be getting Batman's new issues monthly (plus annuals) and the occasional graphic novel. I was at the flea market last weekend and got to pick up some pretty cool back issues.
   My review for this post will be for the first full appearance of Taskmaster in Avengers #196. Basically, it's just a fun early 80's Avengers comic. I liked the introduction of Taskmaster, short and to the point. It didn't over explain his photographic reflexes with fake science like Marvel decided to do in more recent years, which I personally liked. Certainly not a ground breaking comic, but it introduces one of my favorite villains in a fun story. 8/10