All Star Batman and Robin, Tim Sale Batman

All Star Batman and Robin 1-10

This is so freaking fun.  I totally get the hate directed at it, this is really like no Batman I’ve ever read before; This is the Goddamn Batman.  This is Sin City starring Bruce Wayne, as melodramatic, vicious, and toxically masculine as any of Frank Miller’s other black and white protagonists.  

I’m all on board.  I’m all in for the verbose, hard boiled inner monologues, the sexually objectified women, the Caped Crusader who has no problem killing bad guys.  It’s so far from what’s acceptable today, but Miller is so unapologetic about it, and so good at it, that I’m happy to sit back and enjoy the ride.  

Plus, this may be Jim Lee’s DC apex.  It’s stunning, even by his standards.  Prepare to see a lot of art.

The Graysons getting shot is the one change I totally disagree with.

Jim Lee draws excellent cheesecake.

And there it is.  Two words side-by-side that became a phenomenon.

Nice character analysis.

Cheesecake part two.  I'm not even including Lee's Diana.

Completely reminded me of...

...this.

If you're going to have Jim Lee draw a 6-page splash, why waste it on this???

Love the idea of Batman piping music into the cave.

Sin City monologue example number one.

Alfred got jacked.

Yet another awesome Batgirl design.

Miller's totally leaning into it by now.

Breathtaking cityscape.  Gorgeous colors by Alex Sinclair.

Nazi Boob Lady is back!

Sin City monologue example number two.

The release schedule for this was downright embarrassing (10 issues in 4 years), but after reading it all in one go, with no waiting in between, I just want more.  I want more of this dysfunctional, fucked up world where the Batman is a bully and a total dick to...Dick.  Where Alfred is ripped and Black Canary has an Irish accent.  I want more, and I’m sad that I’m not going to get it.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Saw this in a house ad. Wraithborn by Joe Benitez. It looks so generically Image, but I still totally dig the character design.

Showcase ‘94 3-4

Batman: Shadow of the Bat 7-9

These stories are part of the Tales of the Batman trade collecting Tim Sale’s not-Halloween Batman issues.  (The other issues I’ve already reviewed in other places.)  Coincidentally, both of these arcs are written by Alan Grant.  Not as coincidentally, neither is good enough to merit keeping, and as I already own the excellent Blades story and Sale’s Solo issues, I can cut this with no hesitation.  (Though it’s a bit of a shame, as this is a really nice hardcover.  Got it for half price as Rasputin’s.)

A few more details.  In the first story, the Arkham inmates play baseball against the Blackgate prisoners.  It’s lame, and Jeremiah Arkham is an idiot.  In the second, Batman fights some D-list villains.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Didn’t Suck, Fine for the second arc.

Batman: No Man's Land, Sins of Youth, Robin

Batman: No Man’s Land 1

Batman 563

Batman: Shadow of the Bat 83

Detective Comics 730

The start of No Man’s Land.  Apparently past me didn’t want to buy anything between Cataclysm and now.  This is a great start.  Once you get past the unbelievable stretch that the US government’s not only cut off, but completely sealed Gotham away from the rest of the world, Bob Gale’s gripping story of a city’s descent into feudalistic survival feels entirely possible and realistic.  Alex Maleev’s art is perfect for this grim, depressing situation.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Batman: Shadow of the Bat 86

Past me only bought sporadic issues of No Man’s Land until the last few arcs.  This one’s basically the ultimate old guy “You kids get off of my lawn!” story.  It’s a little ray of sunshine in the darkness, it’s also hard to believe that anyone could last as long as this guy.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Detective Comics 733

It’s hard to believe that the Bob Gale who wrote the excellent opening arc also wrote this piece of dreck.  Batman literally plays Solomon, and it’s as lame as it sounds.  

Regret buying: Yes

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Disliked (Cutting)

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 125

Batman and Jim Gordon reconcile after being at odds for most of the year.  A nice conversation issue, with an amazing gesture by Bruce:

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Batman: Shadow of the Bat 93

Batman 573

Detective Comics 740

The end is in sight as Lex Luthor shows up to rebuild Gotham (and fraudulently buy it on the cheap at the same time).  

I'd forgotten Azrael had this ass ugly costume for a while.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 126

Batman 574

Detective Comics 741

Batman: Shadow of the Bat 94

It always comes down to the Joker, doesn’t it?  Greg Rucka writes some amazing stuff here.  Pettit’s fall is as predictable as it is horrifying.  Huntress’s “you shall not pass” moment is thrilling and brutal, the end reminiscent of Murphy’s death in Robocop or Boromir’s demise in Fellowship.  

Great Alex Maleev cover.  Can feel the determination.

A gut wrenching sequence.

So hard to watch.

The Joker stuff is great, but a lot of the impact is ruined by Damion Scott’s cartoony art.  Completely ill suited to the story.  If only Dale Eaglesham could have drawn the whole thing.

This could be so much more effective.

I can't take this scene seriously.

At the end of it all, things return to the status quo except for Sarah Gordon (nee Essen).  It’d be sadder if I’d read more stories with her; outside of NML, I think Year One is the only story I own with her in it.  Still, Jim Gordon’s sadness hits all the right chords, as does Batman’s continued resolve as his city returns to ‘normal.’

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Sins of Youth: Batboy and Robin 1

A random issue where Tim Drake and Bruce Wayne swap bodies.  It’s decently amusing.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Robin 85

No idea why I have this random issue where Joker rants about how he hates Robin.  Easy cut.

Regret buying: Yes

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Stupid

Batman: Cataclysm, New comics

New comics!

Alice in Leatherland.1

Got this on the recommendation of the amazing Stjepan Sejic, as something that’s similar to his stellar Sunstone.  Alas, even accounting for the high bar Sejic sets, it’s not quite good enough for me to try the second issue.  Iolanda Zanfardino and Elisa Romboli have created a decent first issue about a young lady who’s moved to San Francisco and finds herself far out of her comfort zone in just about every aspect of her life.  In a story like this, everything relies on the characters and how much I want to keep reading about them.  It’s close, but I couldn’t get myself to care enough for this fish out of water.  

Sunstone: Mercy vol 7

Speaking of Sejic, here he is with the continuation of Sunstone.  My god, he is a phenomenal writer/artist.  Talk about caring for the characters.  He writes flawed but sympathetic men and women in this series, and I care immensely about their well-being and happiness.  I can’t wait to find out what happens next, even though as a flashback, I already know the broad strokes of the outcome.  There’s no doubt this is going to Pure Joy on the re-read.

Nightwing 80

Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo.  What an amazing team.  

I love their relationship, whatever it is.

Great troll.

Nightwing 19-20

Catwoman 56

Batman 553-554

Detective Comics 719-721

Batman: Shadow of the Bat 73-74

Robin 53

Batman Chronicles 12

Blackgate: Isle of Men 1

Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma 1

The Cataclysm arc, which will lead to the very long, very epic No Man’s Land.  The writers do a better job here than they did in Contagion in terms of portraying how a conceivable natural disaster would affect Gotham.  It feels more realistic, once you get past the people in costumes, because even they’re pretty useless in a situation like this, outside of search and rescue.  There’s a bit with the Quakemaster at the end, and it’s predictably the weakest part.  

But there’s some really strong stuff at the beginning, as we see how Nightwing, Oracle, and Catwoman react to the crisis.  Their instant responses, “How can I help,” feel like true heroism, not comic book superheroism.  It’s neat to read.

I like the inner monologue and very human reactions from Selina.

A very 'basic' bystander rescue...

...but Dixon and McDaniel really sell the tension and heroism.

Bruce and Jim have a great bromance.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes (No for Blackgate and Blunt Trauma)

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good for Nightwing and Catwoman.  Fine for Blackgate and Blunt Trauma.  Nice for the rest.

Batman: Contagion, New comics

New comics!

Suicide Squad 1-11

Another Tom Taylor title!  Picked up the hardcover collection after hearing some good stuff about this.  Super fun, with a mostly-original (Harley Quinn and Deadshot also show up) cast of characters that I hope Taylor is able to revisit someday.  

Azrael 15-16

Batman 529

Batman: Shadow of the Bat 48-49

Batman Chronicles 4

Catwoman 31-32

Detective Comics 695-696

Robin 27-28

The Contagion event.  Ebola is set loose in Gotham, and the race is on to find a cure.  Turns out the search was a MacGuffin the whole time and none of it matters, while the actual antidote is discovered and distributed in the span of one issue when Azrael’s team discovers that they had the formula in one of their books (and one of the few people in the world who can translate it) all along.  

Here Chuck Dixon falls in one of all time my biggest fiction pet peeves: The magical cure that brings a victim back from the brink of death to perfect health in absolutely no time at all.  You can’t get cured from Ebola when your body’s that far gone!  Tim Drake’s jumping around performing heroics literally hours after experiencing these symptoms:

I.  Don't.  Buy.  It.

The first couple of issues are pretty well done.  Especially with COVID going on IRL, watching the spread of another virus from Patient Zero is unsettling.  There’s a feeling of dread and inevitability that permeates the story that’s all too real before the more comic book-y aspects kick in.

Overall, better in concept than execution.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Knightsend

Robin 7-8

Batman 509-510

Batman: Shadow of the Bat 29-30

Detective Comics 676-677

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 62-63

Catwoman 12

Not nearly as good as I remember.  It starts off with a great premise: Batman needs to get back into fighting shape in order to take the mantle of the Bat back from Azrael.  He enlists Lady Shiva to do so, setting up a very Hong Kong martial arts movie plot where he has to fight his way through the seven disciples of a murdered master.  

I know it's a classic pose, but this Jim Balent work...

...looks a lot like the one Jim Lee would do seven years later.

That part’s super fun, but the Jean Paul side of things is an absolute snoozefest.  Issue after issue of him tracking down arms dealers and ranting at visions of St Dumas.  The five-issue fight between Azrael and Batman, Robin, Nightwing, and Catwoman is sadly meh, just a bunch of people whaling on each other over and over.  

The finale is even worse, as Jean Paul is, after all that trouble, felled by a blinding beam of light like Paul on the road to Damascus.  It’s really sad.   

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good for Robin 7, drops down to Fine immediately after, then deteriorates to Didn’t Suck around Part 7.  

Robin 9

Things get back to normal as Tim Drake and Bruce Wayne pick things up where they left off as partners.  It’s a nice return to normalcy with the usual excellent art from Tom Grummett.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Batman 526

A random issue I picked up, not sure why.  The JH Williams III art?  It’s certainly not as good as his later stuff, but it’s not bad.  And the story about Batman barely staving off burnout is decent, if not reminiscent of Knightfall.  (Which Alfred is good enough to call out.)

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

That’s it for Batman Box 1!  At least two more to go.  

Box summary

Time spent reading: 20 hours 11 minutes

Issues read: 185

Issues cut: 19

Highlights (Good or better): Batgirl: Year One, Flashpoint: Batman: Knight of Vengeance, Batman: Killing Joke, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 16-20 (Venom), Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 32-34 (Blades), Batman: Sword of Azrael

Project Summary:

Time spent reading: 37 days, 6 hours, 27 minutes

Issues read: 7777

Issues cut: 908