When Everybody Loves You
You Can Never Be Lonely
-
New comics for today. I’m really digging this Punisher series. Most of all, though, I was excited about the new TMNT series written by co-creator Kevin Eastman. This was also the last batch of DC Comics before the relaunch begins next week.
-
I had to get my new comics a day late this week. I haven’t gotten a chance to read them yet, but this is what I got.
-
It’s Wednesday! You know what that means!
I haven’t gotten the chance to read all of these, but I can say that Batman and TMNT are awesome. Nightwing is pretty good. It sets up a new arc pretty well. Red Hood is actually surprisingly good. I didn’t expect much from it, but I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I left my comics at work tonight, so I won’t get to read any until tomorrow. -
New comics from Wednesday that I forgot to post about last week. All of them are very solid, with Justice League stepping up its game from last issue. Wonder Woman is also very, very awesome. Brian Azzarello has yet to write something I didn’t like. Scott Snyder is
probablythe best Batman writer in the past 10 years. Seriously. That guy is going to be heralded as one of the greats someday. -
Batman: The Black Mirror was my favorite comic story of 2011.
I won’t lie; I was kind of mad at DC Comics for taking Bruce out of the Batman suit and replacing him with Dick Grayson. But I understood why they did it, and I enjoyed Grant Morrisson’s Return of Bruce Wayne, Batman and Robin, and Batman, Incorporated. But if you had told me that a Dick Grayson-as-Batman story was going to be not just the best Batman comic, but the best superhero comic all year, I’d have probably thought you were crazy. But Scott Snyder, Jock, and Francesco Francavilla all delivered.
This book is marvelous. Snyder took everything that made Batman a good character—the detective work, the action, the intrigue, and even Gotham’s history—and added a bit of horror to the mix. Then, he cranked the entire concoction to 11. I loved this arc so much, when I went to C2E2 in March, I waited and waited for Scott Snyder to sign my comics just so I could compliment him on how great his story was, and tell him how I couldn’t wait for the next issues to be released.
I could gush about the writing for hours, but the art is just as attributable to the success as anything else. In what ended up being a happy accident, two different artists alternated penciling duties on this book, with Jock beginning the arc, then Francavilla taking over when the spotlight shifted from Batman to Jim Gordon. The two artists’ styles were so different, but they worked so well together. Just look at these different pages:
and
If you’re a fan of Batman, comics, superheroes, horror, detectives, or really just a fan of good reads, pick up this book in hardcover, or track down the individual issues. It’s fantastic.
-
Every now and then, I read a comic series that isn’t quite like anything else that I’ve read, and it stands out as being so completely unique, it practically re-sparks my interest in the medium as a whole. Currently, that book has been Severed. I picked up this book originally because it was co-written by Scott Snyder, an author who, if you haven’t read his stuff yet, you’re doing yourself a grave injustice. Mark my words: he could very well be the greatest comics author of his time.
As for the story, I’m not going to summarize it at all. Just read it. It’s horrifying in the best way possible. I’m not frightened by comics, but the things you see in this comic are disturbing—the kind of plot lines a mad genius would envision. If you like violence, cannibalism, creepy old men, and the 1920s (or if you hate all of those, because that may make the experience more entertaining), you have to read this.
Pick up issues 1-7 (pictured above) or the trade paperback when it comes out in April. -
I can’t be the only one who thinks the similarities between this panel in Batman #20 & Star Wars is intentional.
St. Louis. Geek. Straight Edge.
