I just couldn't help it anymore... I had to post this pic. I mean, COME ON, whether you love or hate "All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder", the Goddamn Batman's line here is now a part of comic book history. By not posting this, I'd have been doing this blog a grave injustice!
Showing posts with label All-Star Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label All-Star Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The Goddamn Batman!!!
I just couldn't help it anymore... I had to post this pic. I mean, COME ON, whether you love or hate "All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder", the Goddamn Batman's line here is now a part of comic book history. By not posting this, I'd have been doing this blog a grave injustice!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Goddamn Batmobile!
I don't think I've ever seen any character use the word "Goddamn" that many times over the course of 2 sentences! Goddamn it Frank Miller, how much longer do I have to wait for the next issue of "The Goddamn Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder"? That comic series is definitely one of my guilty pleasures.Sunday, February 15, 2009
Valentine's Day, it's not pretty...
So, lately, I've been filling this blog with pictures of some of my favorite comic book characters in nice, tender moments. Well, now that Valentine's Day has come and gone, here are a few of my favorite less than tender moments... Enjoy.
First up is Green Arrow and Black Canary. Yeah, I have to agree Dinah, you must be out of your f###ing mind to marry Oliver "I've never met a woman I didn't like" Queen!
Next up is Hal Jordan and the Goddamn Batman. Where's the love Hal, where's the love???
Finally, we have my favorite dysfunctional comic book marriage, Hawkeye and Mockingbird... What more do I need to say? These two were CRAZY!
First up is Green Arrow and Black Canary. Yeah, I have to agree Dinah, you must be out of your f###ing mind to marry Oliver "I've never met a woman I didn't like" Queen!
Next up is Hal Jordan and the Goddamn Batman. Where's the love Hal, where's the love???Finally, we have my favorite dysfunctional comic book marriage, Hawkeye and Mockingbird... What more do I need to say? These two were CRAZY!
And for the record, the scene with Hal Jordan and the Goddamn Batman is one of my favorite comic book scenes EVER! Hal's temper tantrum was just legendary, and the fact that the Goddamn Batman was painted from head to toe in yellow paint just made the whole scene that much more surreal. I really love "All-Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder"...
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
I've gone Bat-Crazy!
Since it seems like every other post I've put up lately has some connection to Batman, I figured I'd keep with my current Bat-centric theme and show Batman indulging in some child abuse. Just for the record, this picture shows that there is NO crying allowed in the Batmobile, as young Dick Grayson finds out here. All-Star Batman, you're one sick puppy!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
All-Star Batman. What more need I say?
Ah yes, behold the glory that is All-Star Batman... All hail All-Star Batman, one of my all-time favorite comic books!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
All-Star Batman & Robin The Boy Wonder #10
Yeah! A new copy of what may just be my favorite ongoing comic book series(move over JSA, Captain America, Daredevil, LoSH and Nova!).
Overall- This issue focused on the family of Gotham City Police Captain, Jim Gordon. There actually isn't much of the Goddamn Batman in this comic at all. We open with Capt. Gordon tactfully dropping evidence(a piece of cardboard with bloody writing)a Gotham Police Officer received from a beaten and heavily bleeding Catwoman to the Goddamn Batman. The Goddamn Batman, upon receiving the cardboard rushes to a pre-arraigned spot both he and Catwoman knew about. The Goddamn Batman arrives, with Robin in tow, and discovers Catwoman, near death, barely able to state that it was the Joker who put her in this condition. Unfortunately, that's about all we see from Robin and the Goddamn Batman.
From here, we find Capt. Gordon's daughter, Barbara, dressing up as Batgirl, and attacking some drug dealers near a local arcade. After she knocks down the dealers, an angry mob attacks the dealers and begins to really lay into them. Batgirl, realizing that the mob would likely kill the dealers, tries to convince the mob to stop, but she receives a punch to the jaw that knocks her out cold. She awakens to see that the police had been called to the scene and that she was being handcuffed and brought to jail.
While this was occurring, Capt. Gordon arrives at the scene of a single vehicle car accident involving his wife, who he had spoken to on the phone earlier in the evening. During the course of the phone call, Capt. Gordon realized his wife was very drunk. Capt. Gordon has his wife sent to the hospital, and after investigating the scene, he goes to her bedside. The doctor there explains to Capt. Gordon that his wife, who is also named Barbara, would ultimately recover from her injuries, but that she should admit herself to a detox center, due to the large amount of alcohol(and who knows what else)in her bloodstream. While Capt. Gordon is dealing with this, one of his officers walks in and tells him that his daughter had been arrested for inciting a riot, while dressed as Batgirl.
Capt. Gordon meets Batgirl/Barbara in an interrogation room, and Barbara tells him that she would plead guilty to all the charges against her for her role in the riot at the arcade. She tells her father not to do anything to sully his reputation and she also states that she wouldn't blame Batman for her actions(even though she was obviously inspired by him). Capt. Gordon tells Barbara about what happened with her mother's car accident, and Barbara doesn't seem surprised. Barbara tells her father he should call Sara(Capt. Gordon's mistress?), since speaking with Sara always makes him feel better. Capt. Gordon returns to the hospital and does indeed call Sara, speaking to her while waiting for his wife to wake up.
The main purpose behind this issue seemed to be to show us the stoic attitude of Capt. Gordon. On the surface, Capt. Gordon's demeanor never changed, whether he was dealing with his daughter in jail, investigating his wife's accident, visiting his wife in the hospital or speaking to what I presume is his mistress. Throughout the whole issue Capt. Gordon remained calm, almost eerily so. Nothing phased him at all. Regardless of what was going on, Capt. Gordon rolled with it, and never broke stride.
Although I could appreciate looking into the life of one of the important characters in this comic, I was kind of disappointed by the lack of the Goddamn Batman and Robin in these pages. Robin nearly killing Hal Jordan in the prior issue is hardly mentioned, nor is the fact that Robin now knows that Batman and Bruce Wayne are one and the same. I would have much rather had these occurrences examined as opposed to the focus on Capt. Gordon. That's not to say that this wasn't a good comic book, because it sure as hell was, but it just wasn't exactly what I wanted to read about. Oh well, hopefully next issue we'll see more from Robin and the Goddamn Batman.
Yes, from now on, every time I write Batman's name, I am going to put Goddamn in front of it, since every single character in this comic book series calls him the Goddamn Batman. I figure I should follow suit. Hell, I wish DC would change the title of this series to "The Goddamn Batman & Robin The Boy Wonder". Unfortunately, I doubt DC could get away with that! For this issue, I'll give it a score of 9 out of 10. Like I said, I'm hoping the next issue puts the focus of this comic back where it belongs, on Robin and the Goddamn Batman.
Overall- This issue focused on the family of Gotham City Police Captain, Jim Gordon. There actually isn't much of the Goddamn Batman in this comic at all. We open with Capt. Gordon tactfully dropping evidence(a piece of cardboard with bloody writing)a Gotham Police Officer received from a beaten and heavily bleeding Catwoman to the Goddamn Batman. The Goddamn Batman, upon receiving the cardboard rushes to a pre-arraigned spot both he and Catwoman knew about. The Goddamn Batman arrives, with Robin in tow, and discovers Catwoman, near death, barely able to state that it was the Joker who put her in this condition. Unfortunately, that's about all we see from Robin and the Goddamn Batman.
From here, we find Capt. Gordon's daughter, Barbara, dressing up as Batgirl, and attacking some drug dealers near a local arcade. After she knocks down the dealers, an angry mob attacks the dealers and begins to really lay into them. Batgirl, realizing that the mob would likely kill the dealers, tries to convince the mob to stop, but she receives a punch to the jaw that knocks her out cold. She awakens to see that the police had been called to the scene and that she was being handcuffed and brought to jail.
While this was occurring, Capt. Gordon arrives at the scene of a single vehicle car accident involving his wife, who he had spoken to on the phone earlier in the evening. During the course of the phone call, Capt. Gordon realized his wife was very drunk. Capt. Gordon has his wife sent to the hospital, and after investigating the scene, he goes to her bedside. The doctor there explains to Capt. Gordon that his wife, who is also named Barbara, would ultimately recover from her injuries, but that she should admit herself to a detox center, due to the large amount of alcohol(and who knows what else)in her bloodstream. While Capt. Gordon is dealing with this, one of his officers walks in and tells him that his daughter had been arrested for inciting a riot, while dressed as Batgirl.
Capt. Gordon meets Batgirl/Barbara in an interrogation room, and Barbara tells him that she would plead guilty to all the charges against her for her role in the riot at the arcade. She tells her father not to do anything to sully his reputation and she also states that she wouldn't blame Batman for her actions(even though she was obviously inspired by him). Capt. Gordon tells Barbara about what happened with her mother's car accident, and Barbara doesn't seem surprised. Barbara tells her father he should call Sara(Capt. Gordon's mistress?), since speaking with Sara always makes him feel better. Capt. Gordon returns to the hospital and does indeed call Sara, speaking to her while waiting for his wife to wake up.
The main purpose behind this issue seemed to be to show us the stoic attitude of Capt. Gordon. On the surface, Capt. Gordon's demeanor never changed, whether he was dealing with his daughter in jail, investigating his wife's accident, visiting his wife in the hospital or speaking to what I presume is his mistress. Throughout the whole issue Capt. Gordon remained calm, almost eerily so. Nothing phased him at all. Regardless of what was going on, Capt. Gordon rolled with it, and never broke stride.
Although I could appreciate looking into the life of one of the important characters in this comic, I was kind of disappointed by the lack of the Goddamn Batman and Robin in these pages. Robin nearly killing Hal Jordan in the prior issue is hardly mentioned, nor is the fact that Robin now knows that Batman and Bruce Wayne are one and the same. I would have much rather had these occurrences examined as opposed to the focus on Capt. Gordon. That's not to say that this wasn't a good comic book, because it sure as hell was, but it just wasn't exactly what I wanted to read about. Oh well, hopefully next issue we'll see more from Robin and the Goddamn Batman.
Yes, from now on, every time I write Batman's name, I am going to put Goddamn in front of it, since every single character in this comic book series calls him the Goddamn Batman. I figure I should follow suit. Hell, I wish DC would change the title of this series to "The Goddamn Batman & Robin The Boy Wonder". Unfortunately, I doubt DC could get away with that! For this issue, I'll give it a score of 9 out of 10. Like I said, I'm hoping the next issue puts the focus of this comic back where it belongs, on Robin and the Goddamn Batman.
Monday, December 15, 2008
All-Star Batman & Robin The Boy Wonder: Volume 1
Just for the record, this hardcover contains All-Star Batman & Robin The Boy Wonder issues 1-9.
Overall- Um, wow, so I guess like Frank Miller is a genius and Jim Lee is still one of the greatest comic book artists out there today. I'm going to be blatantly honest here, I can barely contain myself from gushing like a little school girl about how much I enjoyed this hardcover... Oh, what the hell, I think I am going to gush. This series was F###ING AMAZING!!!!!!
I don't know if I've EVER enjoyed a comic book series as much as I enjoyed reading this one... If I was stuck on an island with no hopes of ever getting off of it, and could only bring one thing with me, I'd bring this frigging hardcover! Now, I've been reading comic books for practically my entire life. I can remember sitting in the barbershop with my father, reading G.I. Joe and Thundercats(!) back when I was 6 years old. Now, 21 years later, I can proudly say that I've probably read well over 10,000 comic books, with my own personal collection numbering somewhere in the 7,000's(and that's not counting the hundreds of Conan comic books my father gave me, along with an additional few hundred comics from lesser known publishers that I wound up buying in grab bags at my old comic book shop when I was in my early teens). With that being said, and looking back at everything I've ever read, I think this series, these 9 issues that I've just read, are the greatest comic books that I have ever read.
I am really straining my brain to find some other comic book(s) I've liked as much or more than these, and I really can't. I thought the "Kingdom Come: Superman special" was one hell of a well written and drawn comic book, but it doesn't come close to touching these issues of All-Star Batman. The "Kingdom Come" mini-series was spectacular, but it can't touch All-Star Batman. I loved "The Age of Apocalypse" crossover, and collected every single issue connected to it, and the "Fatal Attraction" event was also a personal favorite, but neither one comes anywhere near All-Star Batman.
EVERYTHING about these 9 issues was just perfect. I wouldn't want to change a thing. Batman was a Goddamn maniac. He was totally and completely insane. Of course, he didn't see it that way, Batman considered himself only "half-crazy". No, the Goddamn Batman was out of his mind, bat-sh## crazy. The stuff he did to Dick Grayson was absolutely horrible. He basically took this poor kid, who had just watched his parents get gunned down right in front of him, and tortured the kid both psychologically and at times physically. In Batman's sick, warped mind, he HAD to torture this poor kid in order to help him get over the death of his parents.
Even still, Batman would often doubt what he was doing to Dick in his mind, before deciding that he was doing what had to be done to further his "mission". There were just so many layers to every character who appeared in these issues. There were NO one dimensional characters here. Every single major character was so multi-faceted that I really cared about what they were thinking and how they would end up. The Goddamn Batman(as he repeatedly referred to himself)truly wanted to help Gotham City and Dick Grayson in his own twisted way. Although his actions were at times terribly abusive, I couldn't hate him for them... Realizing that Batman never truly recovered from watching his parents die slowly in front of him as a six year old causes me to pity him more than hate him.
As for Dick Grayson, I can't even express how terribly I felt for him. He goes from witnessing his parents getting their brains blown out, to being kidnapped and tortured by the Goddamn Batman. The poor kid was still in his tights, which were stained by his parents brain matter for the first 5 issues of this series! I can honestly say that by the 9th issue of the series, Dick had completely succumbed to the Stockholm syndrome, you know, when the captive of somebody begins to relate and want to stay with his kidnapper. Dick had been mentally broken to the point where he wanted to work with Batman, and was hellbent on pleasing his psychotic mentor.
Along the way we meet other familiar faces from the DCU, including Black Canary, who, inspired by the violent actions of Batman, decides to emulate him. Eventually they meet up, and after Batman torches some criminals Black Canary was fighting, the two wind up having sex on the docks, with their masks on of course, not that far away from the burnt crooks. We also meet the Joker, who was the man responsible for arranging the killing of Dick Grayson's parents. By the end of this hardcover, we still don't know why the Joker orchestrated the deaths. The Joker is as sick as ever, drugging a prominent attorney, raping her, and then strangling her to death.
Needless to say this comic book is in no way, shape or form for children. The Gotham City Frank Miller creates here is a dirty, sick place, full of the worst types of people inhabiting the world. Jim Lee does a truly marvelous job of bringing this sick, twisted city and it's citizens to life with his magical artwork. In all of my comic book collection, I only have a very small handful of work from Frank Miller, not really enough for me to really have had a strong feeling about his work, one way or the other. I had always heard great things about Frank's work, but for some reason, he managed to remain under my notice. I can guarantee you right now, I will go out of my way to pick up as much of Frank's work on Batman that I can possibly lay my hands on.
I've enjoyed comic books before, but never like this. I want to climb to the rooftops and expound the greatness of these comic books. I still haven't even mentioned the Justice League yet! Wonder Woman was freaking hilarious! She behaved in the exact way I would have expected a new arrival from her Amazon island to act. She just plain hated men! Her lines would often have me laughing out loud at several points. Hal Jordan was in classic form as well, and the scene where Hal meets with Batman in a room Batman had painted completely yellow was just classic. Not only was the room painted yellow from top to bottom, but so were Batman and Robin, all to f### with Hal's mind.
I could literally go on and write about this hardcover, page by page, because it was just that Goddamn good. Now, I can totally understand how long time fans of Batman must HATE this comic, due to the way it depicts their long time hero. For me though, I've only just begun to read about Batman, and can separate the regular DCU Batman from his All-Star Batman counterpart, the same way I can separate the Marvel Universe Spider-Man from his Ultimate Universe counterpart. All-Star Batman is definitely not your father's Batman and shouldn't/can't be compared to the regular DCU Batman. The way I see All-Star Batman is as a fractured mirror version of the DCU Batman, if he would have allowed his grief over his parents death to have driven him totally over the deep end.
Frank Miller(writer), Jim Lee(artist), Scott Williams(inker), Alex Sinclair(colorist)and anybody else at DC comics involved with the creation of this comic series should all be congratulated on creating one of the greatest comic book stories ever written. Whew... I think I'm all worn out now... If you care anything about comic books, you SHOULD own these 9 comic books. I was able to purchase this Hardcover for $20, and after reading it, I would have been happy to have purchased it for $120.
I can see how the actions of All-Star Batman may be too dark for some people's taste, but I would still recommend anyone over the age of 14 to give this series a try. This series is a masterpiece in comic books, nay, literature, that should be experienced by practically everyone. I can tell you right now, I will be pestering the comic book readers in my family to read this hardcover as soon as possible. Hell, I'll be telling the non comic book readers in my family to read this book as well. There is no score I could possibly give this comic book that would do it justice. I know I've said that before, but I've never meant it more. If I had to score this comic on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 1,000 out of 10. Buy this hardcover. Read this series. Trust me, you'll thank me for the recommendation in the end.
Overall- Um, wow, so I guess like Frank Miller is a genius and Jim Lee is still one of the greatest comic book artists out there today. I'm going to be blatantly honest here, I can barely contain myself from gushing like a little school girl about how much I enjoyed this hardcover... Oh, what the hell, I think I am going to gush. This series was F###ING AMAZING!!!!!!
I don't know if I've EVER enjoyed a comic book series as much as I enjoyed reading this one... If I was stuck on an island with no hopes of ever getting off of it, and could only bring one thing with me, I'd bring this frigging hardcover! Now, I've been reading comic books for practically my entire life. I can remember sitting in the barbershop with my father, reading G.I. Joe and Thundercats(!) back when I was 6 years old. Now, 21 years later, I can proudly say that I've probably read well over 10,000 comic books, with my own personal collection numbering somewhere in the 7,000's(and that's not counting the hundreds of Conan comic books my father gave me, along with an additional few hundred comics from lesser known publishers that I wound up buying in grab bags at my old comic book shop when I was in my early teens). With that being said, and looking back at everything I've ever read, I think this series, these 9 issues that I've just read, are the greatest comic books that I have ever read.
I am really straining my brain to find some other comic book(s) I've liked as much or more than these, and I really can't. I thought the "Kingdom Come: Superman special" was one hell of a well written and drawn comic book, but it doesn't come close to touching these issues of All-Star Batman. The "Kingdom Come" mini-series was spectacular, but it can't touch All-Star Batman. I loved "The Age of Apocalypse" crossover, and collected every single issue connected to it, and the "Fatal Attraction" event was also a personal favorite, but neither one comes anywhere near All-Star Batman.
EVERYTHING about these 9 issues was just perfect. I wouldn't want to change a thing. Batman was a Goddamn maniac. He was totally and completely insane. Of course, he didn't see it that way, Batman considered himself only "half-crazy". No, the Goddamn Batman was out of his mind, bat-sh## crazy. The stuff he did to Dick Grayson was absolutely horrible. He basically took this poor kid, who had just watched his parents get gunned down right in front of him, and tortured the kid both psychologically and at times physically. In Batman's sick, warped mind, he HAD to torture this poor kid in order to help him get over the death of his parents.
Even still, Batman would often doubt what he was doing to Dick in his mind, before deciding that he was doing what had to be done to further his "mission". There were just so many layers to every character who appeared in these issues. There were NO one dimensional characters here. Every single major character was so multi-faceted that I really cared about what they were thinking and how they would end up. The Goddamn Batman(as he repeatedly referred to himself)truly wanted to help Gotham City and Dick Grayson in his own twisted way. Although his actions were at times terribly abusive, I couldn't hate him for them... Realizing that Batman never truly recovered from watching his parents die slowly in front of him as a six year old causes me to pity him more than hate him.
As for Dick Grayson, I can't even express how terribly I felt for him. He goes from witnessing his parents getting their brains blown out, to being kidnapped and tortured by the Goddamn Batman. The poor kid was still in his tights, which were stained by his parents brain matter for the first 5 issues of this series! I can honestly say that by the 9th issue of the series, Dick had completely succumbed to the Stockholm syndrome, you know, when the captive of somebody begins to relate and want to stay with his kidnapper. Dick had been mentally broken to the point where he wanted to work with Batman, and was hellbent on pleasing his psychotic mentor.
Along the way we meet other familiar faces from the DCU, including Black Canary, who, inspired by the violent actions of Batman, decides to emulate him. Eventually they meet up, and after Batman torches some criminals Black Canary was fighting, the two wind up having sex on the docks, with their masks on of course, not that far away from the burnt crooks. We also meet the Joker, who was the man responsible for arranging the killing of Dick Grayson's parents. By the end of this hardcover, we still don't know why the Joker orchestrated the deaths. The Joker is as sick as ever, drugging a prominent attorney, raping her, and then strangling her to death.
Needless to say this comic book is in no way, shape or form for children. The Gotham City Frank Miller creates here is a dirty, sick place, full of the worst types of people inhabiting the world. Jim Lee does a truly marvelous job of bringing this sick, twisted city and it's citizens to life with his magical artwork. In all of my comic book collection, I only have a very small handful of work from Frank Miller, not really enough for me to really have had a strong feeling about his work, one way or the other. I had always heard great things about Frank's work, but for some reason, he managed to remain under my notice. I can guarantee you right now, I will go out of my way to pick up as much of Frank's work on Batman that I can possibly lay my hands on.
I've enjoyed comic books before, but never like this. I want to climb to the rooftops and expound the greatness of these comic books. I still haven't even mentioned the Justice League yet! Wonder Woman was freaking hilarious! She behaved in the exact way I would have expected a new arrival from her Amazon island to act. She just plain hated men! Her lines would often have me laughing out loud at several points. Hal Jordan was in classic form as well, and the scene where Hal meets with Batman in a room Batman had painted completely yellow was just classic. Not only was the room painted yellow from top to bottom, but so were Batman and Robin, all to f### with Hal's mind.
I could literally go on and write about this hardcover, page by page, because it was just that Goddamn good. Now, I can totally understand how long time fans of Batman must HATE this comic, due to the way it depicts their long time hero. For me though, I've only just begun to read about Batman, and can separate the regular DCU Batman from his All-Star Batman counterpart, the same way I can separate the Marvel Universe Spider-Man from his Ultimate Universe counterpart. All-Star Batman is definitely not your father's Batman and shouldn't/can't be compared to the regular DCU Batman. The way I see All-Star Batman is as a fractured mirror version of the DCU Batman, if he would have allowed his grief over his parents death to have driven him totally over the deep end.
Frank Miller(writer), Jim Lee(artist), Scott Williams(inker), Alex Sinclair(colorist)and anybody else at DC comics involved with the creation of this comic series should all be congratulated on creating one of the greatest comic book stories ever written. Whew... I think I'm all worn out now... If you care anything about comic books, you SHOULD own these 9 comic books. I was able to purchase this Hardcover for $20, and after reading it, I would have been happy to have purchased it for $120.
I can see how the actions of All-Star Batman may be too dark for some people's taste, but I would still recommend anyone over the age of 14 to give this series a try. This series is a masterpiece in comic books, nay, literature, that should be experienced by practically everyone. I can tell you right now, I will be pestering the comic book readers in my family to read this hardcover as soon as possible. Hell, I'll be telling the non comic book readers in my family to read this book as well. There is no score I could possibly give this comic book that would do it justice. I know I've said that before, but I've never meant it more. If I had to score this comic on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 1,000 out of 10. Buy this hardcover. Read this series. Trust me, you'll thank me for the recommendation in the end.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Simply Awesome!
I'm just about finished with the "All-Star Batman & Robin The Boy Wonder" hardcover I've been reading, and quite frankly, I think it's one of the single greatest things I've EVER read. I just figured I'd post that before turning in for the night. By tomorrow, I'll probably have finished it up and should have a review about it on this blog.
I'd always heard that Frank Miller was a great/legendary comic book writer, but I think this might be one of the first things I've ever read that was penned him. I may have caught some of his work on Daredevil, but not enough to really form an opinion on his writing. I'll tell you this much, after reading most of this book, I'll be ravenously hunting down his past comic book work.
I'd always heard that Frank Miller was a great/legendary comic book writer, but I think this might be one of the first things I've ever read that was penned him. I may have caught some of his work on Daredevil, but not enough to really form an opinion on his writing. I'll tell you this much, after reading most of this book, I'll be ravenously hunting down his past comic book work.
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