Heath Ledger Wins Oscar For Dark Knight!

Heath Ledger has won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in The Dark Knight. Sadly his untimely death kept him fromever seeing how his work would be received. He can never be replaced...

Batman 686 Review

Batman is dead...

RIP is ended, Final Crisis is over. Batman is dead. Or is he? You will be left with so many questions, your head just may pop off. Similar in style of some of the Last Rites comics, this issue has a very strange story brewing, hopefully with satisfactory answers next month. Here Gaiman crafts an unusual take of the funeral of Batman, and all are invited. Batman's enemies, friends, people off the street, even you. Gaiman does here what I believe Morrison has been trying to do with Batman for months. As fragmented and confusing as this story is, it is extremely entertaining! It is jumbled, yet it flows seamlessly with a style and grace that Morrison ultimately failed to achieve. I think if Gaiman wrote RIP there wouldn't have been as much controversy. Everyone would have loved it, at least I would have.

The art by Kubert is wonderfully done, capturing the spirit of the different eras of the Batman. The inks by Scott Williams add much to the book, it my opinion. In the end, if you want an amazing read, that will fill you with wonder and questions, pick this one up. You won't regret it.

BW4E

Story: 9/10 Art: 8/10 Quick Verdict: Grab It

Bat Signals Squidoo Lens Up

The Bat Signals Squidoo Lens is now up and running. Be sure to stop by and check it out!

http://www.squidoo.com/batman-batsignals

RIP: Tragedy or Travesty

A lot of hype surrounded the RIP story line before it was even released. Was this truly the end of Bruce Wayne as Batman? Who is the Black Glove? And the like. Yes, expectations were very high, and with acclaimed scribe Grant Morrison as the writer, these expectations increased. So, was this to be the Dark Knight's greatest tragedy or a travesty? Well, now that all six issues have been released, we can look at the series as a hole. The fragmented panels and storytelling were interesting at first, but got old quick. The story quickly became hard to follow. This, too, can make a good story a great story if everything comes together and makes sense at the end. Resulting in the proverbial "Aha" moment. But, alas, no substantial questions were answered, no true ending was given to this set of events. The "Aha" moment came from DC when they said 'This sure is a great way to increase issue sales'. Many professional critics praised Morrison for his "work of genius", and that the answers are there if you look hard enough. Well, evidently I'm missing something big! I looked and looked and looked, and was more confused after my time of contemplating. Complicated, well thought out stories are a welcome change from some of the "we have to meet a deadline" stories. But, the idea is not to write so far above your readers heads that they have no idea what the heck is going on. If that was how Morrison was writing at all. Referencing back to the professional critics who said if you look hard enough, you'll find it; they never gave one shred of evidence that they actually found something, and that they weren't just trying to seem smarter than every one else. How hard can it be to say "I found it....but I'm not telling." COME ON PEOPLE! That is not how this game works! This story does have one redeming quality: Batman's comeback at the end was awesome, but nothing we haven't seen before. I thought I was paying, not only for a great story, but a great (lead up to the) conclusion of my favorite hero's legacy. It doesn't take a genius to see that this story isn't it.

BW4E

Final Verdict: Drop It

Batman has been my favorite comic book hero for a long time. The reason for his popularity is not just the recent movies, but his relatablity. He is a man with no powers, just a man. His world is a startling reminder of the one we live in. At the end of the day there is no happily ever after for Batman. He gives up what he loves and wants and needs for the good of (sometimes unthankful) innocents. Does the sacrifice define the hero? If so, then Batman must be the greatest comic hero of all time. This blog is dedicated to all things Batman. Comic reviews, off the wall stuff, mythos, ect. Check back soon, because the Batman is coming...