On Comics, Their Adaptations and Giving some credit

Comics in Pop Culture

Influential Quotes without the Source

I am sorry, even I can't make sense of what that title is. 

What I am trying to tell you is, is about the emotions that run through me as a comic book fan. 

Recently on Facebook I read a quote from a friend, that quote was said by the Joker...from the Dark Knight movie, of course.

 It got me thinking once again about a very vital and terrific influence comic books have left on pop culture history and the masses who consume it.

I thought long and hard about how important the Dark Knight as a film was in showing the serious sides that comics have and are presumed to not have. I've gone back and again in the years to watch the film and see the reviews, with many a critic and movie goers exclaim how this iteration of Batman is what comics should be. 

In fact, I vividly remember an argument with my class mate on why he should watch comic book 

movies. He in turn told me how childish I am to like such stuff, and how the only comic book based movie he could stand was Dark Knight because it apparently took itself seriously. 

This brings me back to the quote (that I saw on Facebook). 

Even if cbm's are popular now, comic books aren't, at least not in the part of world I come from or I lived in (although it is catching up here in India). 

It's not like every person or most people who loved the movie, statistically picked up the book and continued onwards for a lengthy period. You can't blame them though, even with a reboot; DC has a convoluted universe of stories and mythologies to its characters. Heck I myself, had seriously began reading Batman a year prior to The Dark Knight and only because I knew the movie was coming. 

The thing is, I don't think when it comes to CBM's that their sources get their due as much as they should. This maybe because, of lengthy decades long worth of material to pick from; the comic book movies tend to not follow one particular storyline. 

This is much more seen true to everybody for The Dark Knight Trilogy, where everyone thinks and knows that the theme of those films is a realistic world with a vigilante in it. No superpowers, just a guy with gadgets but in a bat suit. As such they believe that the comic books had no major influence on Nolan's work.

Yet from the smallest of ticks in performances, to the larger writing and certain scenes and dialogues; Christopher Nolan actually adapts a lot from the history of the Caped Crusader. I just wish sometimes that apart from the really invested nerds, the wide world would know that. 

Of course, I do want to make an apology. I'm not venting my frustrations here at anybody, heck I'm just typing and typing without having a concrete point.

Still let me just do what I was initially going to do, give a bit of Joker quotes from the comics and you might also see the influences they had on Dark Knight and any other adaptations; 

Some Mad Quotes

'All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy'-The Joker, Killing Joke by Alan Moore

'You had a bad day once, am I right? I know I am. I can tell. You had a bad day and everything changed. Why else would you dress up as a flying rat? You had a bad day, and it drove you as crazy as everybody else... Only you won't admit it! You have to keep pretending that life makes sense, that there's some point to all this struggling! God, you make me want to puke. I mean, what is it with you? What made you what you are? Girlfriend killed by the mob, maybe? Brother carved up by some mugger? Something like that, I bet. Something like that... Something like that happened to me, you know. I... I'm not exactly sure what it was. Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another...'-The Joker, Killing Joke by Alan Moore

'If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!'-The Joker, Killing Joke by Alan Moore

'It's all a joke! Everything anybody ever valued or struggled for...A monstrous demented gag! So why can't you see the funny side! Why aren't you laughing?'-The Joker, Killing Joke by Alan Moore

A whole conversation that you need to read just to see how brilliantly comics can be written, and with the right dose of subtext that not even movies can get; 

 

'Parting is such a sweet sorrow dearest. Still, you can't say we didn't show you a good time. Enjoy yourself out there... in the asylum. Just don't forget -- if it ever gets too tough... there's always a place for you here.'-The Joker, to Batman who he brought to the Asylum, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth

'Flattery will get you nowhere. You're in the real world now and the lunatics have taken over the Asylum. April sweet is coming...'-The Joker, to Batman when he insults him, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth

'Look at me; I'm a bird, I'm a plane...I'm a Bat!'-The Joker, Justice by Alex Ross

'Why be a disfigured outcast when I can be a notorious Crime God? Why be an orphaned boy when you can be a superhero?'-The Joker, Batman 663 by Grant Morrison

'I'm not mad at all. I'm just differently sane'-The Joker, Joker painting the idea that he isn't insane but rather he is super-sane AKA ahead of the curve, Batman and Robin by Grant Morrison

'You'll never be sad, and you'll never be lonely. You'll always have me to dance with'-The Joker, Batman Confidential

Granted this was a quote from 2008 when the movie released, but it was just to reinforce the decades idea of no Batman without Joker. 

There's a lot more and better ones as well, but the gist of it is that a lot of Joker's famous quotes formed the dialogues of the films and elements of other adaptations. His most famous story is from Killing Joke, which is why it takes prominence here.

Not trying to offend anyone here, I just wish I can get someone to pick up the books once in a while. Hopefully more such articles will reinforce that. 

If not, I always have the opportunity to do that through the comics I write myself.

PS: There's a lot more than just these quotes that influenced the Dark Knight Trilogy, watch out for a post on that titled 'The Dark Knight Trilogy: The Influences it took and the ones it left'   

'Nuff Said

Aneesh Raikundalia 

Dark Knight through the Decades: A Prelude

Memories of the Dark Knight...

...and understanding every interpretation

 

 

The first and fondest memory I have of the Caped Crusader is getting up early Saturday morning and waiting impatiently to catch the half an hour episode of Batman: The Animated Series. 

Among the countless other superhero cartoons playing re-runs back in the late 90's and early 00's, it's Batman: TAS that got me hooked on becoming what I want to be and doing what I love; Comics, specifically drawing and writing them.

Now for decades on end, Batman has held the idea of being the brooding vigilante. Yet through these 75 years, the character not only outside of his source medium but within it; has been interpreted in many a wildly different form and tone. 

The original Batman was a crusader based upon the likes of Zorro, the comics during the early inception had a certain goth vibe to them. 

In the 60's to 70's he became a lighter character, one who took on wildly out of this world concepts head on. His flamboyance and kitschy sensibilities ringing far and wide.

But then by early 1970's Dennis O'Neil, Neal Adams and Steve Englehart brought the character to his now known form; The Detective. In true form, Batman became a superhero mixture of Goth and Realistic vigilante taking on the criminals of Gotham like a modern day Sherlock Holmes.

80's then saw much more darkness shroud Bruce Wayne. The ideas of reals masks was established, as Frank Miller painted the definitive tragic origin of Batman. He emphasized image of Batman as a vigilante on a crusade. In turn this darker Batman became a symbol for everything worth fighting for, and a champion for the oppressed against the crumbling politics of real life in Dark Knight Returns. Year One was just the cherry on that cake.

But like with many things in pop culture, the 90's took these ideas on a superficial level and to the extreme at that. Batman. Early 90's saw a new Batman (Jean Paul Valley) take over after the iconic breaking the bat segment involving Bane. All those once considered 'cool' ideas of Batman with spikes and more violent took shape, but luckily Batman's 90's plight didn't last as long as other characters.

Mid to late 90's spurred the growth of Batman and his family. While things were so and so in the adaptation front, as the Bat-Movies became too glow-y while Batman: TAS rocked the world.

Batman began a resurrection with the 00's. His status as dark brooding vigilante and often jerk was turned around by Grant Morrison to alternative hero. He became the epitome of hero, simply because unlike his counterparts; this was a man taking his early suffering and loss, and turning it into an emotion he could use to save the world. This is such that

Morrison's run (spoken at length here) took the idea of each Batman interpretation and made it canon in a form that kept in line with his most acceptable form yet honoring the legacy left by other writers. He even made Batman that much more vital, by marking Bruce Wayne's legacy through history when he was sent back in time.

Then the biggest point was the blurring lines between the faces of Batman and Bruce Wayne. With Bruce Wayne opening up the Batman INC. he became a financial backer for the Caped Crusader and a hero for Gotham in his own right.

While on the sides, Gotham City had become a bigger part of Batman's life through the decades, it now gained historical depth and fleshed out the cities character. Thus leading into the DC New 52 reboot.

Where everything was being analyzed, picked and retconned for each character; DC kept everything about Batman intact. Yet going into the 2010's Scott Snyder has added much to the Batman legend including what seems to be a terrific yet honoring and honest origin of the Batman.

Batman in Live action through the years, Ben Affleck is missing; or is he?!

As you may notice much of the latter portions are extensive, this is because these are the Batman stories I am familiar with. Beyond the cartoon, it wasn't until 2007 that I began to take a real interest in the Dark Knight.

The death of , creator of the 60's Adam West Batman show, spurred something in me. I decided to
take a gander at the campy live action fiesta and have started really enjoying the hokey plots and terrible acting. 

So much so that just after 3 episodes, I was set to write about it. Instead I decided to give a history lesson, to give context for you and a reminder for me. Going forward I will write extensively about the Adam West Batman and the high on cheese style from that era, how the show opened avenues for the Batman and how it nearly killed everything the 'real' (in my eyes; Detective Bat) stood for.

For Goth Batman, I will have to find the books or I might need to succumb to my former Pirating ways.

For the others, well in the 7 years of my Batman reading I have collected an extensive knowledge on the best parts and even some worse of the character. But I will hopefully continue to explore this, I'm not promising anything (we know what happened last time)


Holy Bye bye Batman! (Sorry I'm still trying to find my inner Burt Ward)

Aneesh Raikundalia

Batfleck: A Future Batman Franchise Fan Cast

Batman Fan Cast

A lot has been said and tried about the casting of Ben Affleck as Batman. I'm intrigued about it, and not in any form opposed against it.

Why?

While I don't care much for Affleck's acting skills, the way I guess it goes is that Ben has possibly been contracted for multiple movies. This means a new Batman franchise. Then who would helm this franchise but Affleck himself, over the course of three films and half a decade Ben Affleck has proven to be a masterful director and more competent at that job then at performing. 

Look through his directorial work, and if you know Batman well enough; think about each aspect of his prior directorial films, and you see a pattern, a sort of path of destiny that leads right into why Affleck was the best choice at least as a director.

Do note Affleck has mentioned that if he is directing any films down the line, he will be the leading man. With fan at his throats and him being Batman, he has a chance to prove his worth if he decides to lead the franchise in front and behind the camera.

I know, I know he hasn't yet said anything about directing but neither have Warner Bros. and DC about future Batman films yet you know it's in the back of their minds. A 2 time Oscar Winner and popular director taking on a superhero, they can already imagine the Benjamins rolling in if Affleck picks off from the sequel to Man of Steel. There's a reason why I had Affleck pegged as director even back when I wanted Ryan Gosling as Batman. 

The big roadblock though is Man of Steel 2, AKA Batman vs. Superman. Too many characters, odd casting choices and Zack Snyder. Every little thing plagues the nerd masses about this film, but there's no denying the grandeur of the occasion. Even with the MCU and Marvel coming to the fore, there's no denying that this event rivals the coming of The Avengers simply because it is the two most iconic superheroes together for the first time on screen. It's an unparalleled move in modern pop culture history. It's long overdue, it has the pressure on it but I'm sure it will deliver. 

A few facts or ideas to take in as well;

-If Batman vs. Superman does bomb in any aspect, critically or financially then it's over for DC and WB's prospects. Marvel is at it's pinnacle and breaking them requires some serious muscle

-Between now till the release date of the film, there's a line up of these superhero films; Captain America 2, X-Men 7, Amazing Spider-Man 2 (overall 5), Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers 2, Ant-Man and on the same date as BVS; Captain America 3. That's 7 films, not to mention other unannounced features, non-superhero cbm's and nerd movies. By that time the fad could get to an all time low, and fans might just get tired of all the superhero nonsense. The movie versions can't all be serialized like comics, to keep you entertained for a number of years. Mind you fatigue will set in, and BVS could ring as just too little too late of a hollow event. 

-Affleck's films in question have aspects of Detective Work (Gone Baby Gone), hints of intense dramatic crime noir (GBG and The Town), he has a visually well versed intuition (action scenes from Town and Argo) and more that just fit the Batman mold perfectly.

-The casting of Affleck lends another visionary helping hand to Zack Snyder along with Christopher Nolan, it gives a chance for DC/WB to move fresh as Nolan can move on and Affleck if game can take over as the godfather for the franchises. After all Batman is the leader. With the likely departures of A-Listers Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe, Affleck can add a lot of casual butts in the seat. 

-Fun Fact: In A Way Affleck becomes the first man to play both Superman and Batman on screen. He portrayed George Reeves (the actor to don the Superman mantle in the 1950's TV show Adventures of Superman) in Hollywoodland. Now he gets to tackle the Bat.

So I'm not pissed with the Batman casting, heck the BVS casting as a whole. I am a bit skeptical of whether Affleck can give a stellar performance, but with a character as complex backing him I don't see why not. Even Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman worries me a bit, not to mention the Rock playing Green Lantern rumors. 

This post however is for something else, it looks towards a future Batman franchise built around the Argo director. From his family to his enemies. 

But first a few rules...

-Jason Todd as Robin will be older than Dick Grayson, but he will have come second hence fuelling a bit of his anger being a junior to a man he is older to. 

-The BVS movie states that this is an older and wiser Batman, he is most likely estranged with Grayson (who's possibly Nightwing) and the arrival of Superman most likely pushes him back to full time action

-We have no news on whether the quickly building DC TV Universe is linked to the movies, Arrow has failed to mention anything regarding Metropolis and 2013's Man of Steel events. I'm hoping though that it is part of the universe as both Grant Gustin but especially Stephen Amell deserves to be a part of the Justice League film

-As such, in my fan cast here; the Arrow and the whole CW side of the TV universe is applicable. That includes The Flash, Hour Man and iZombie (which obviously will be in a separate universe) shows but excludes Gotham and Constantine with Preacher being another like iZombie that would never meld in the first place

So let's get on with the fan cast...

Breaking Bats and Killing Hope: DC Comics circa 1993

Breaking Bats and Killing Hope

In an effort to write a character not conceived by yourself and with prior decades worth of history, it's very important to have a look through the main stories they develop from. In comics this means going through literally a hundred or more books (or floppies), unless the character has warranted such a status that everything they indulged in has been collected in trades.

For a man or you can say a boy who is so into comics (that for the next 50 odd years, it will be a major driving force of his life), it's odd that I never got into the habit of writing fan fiction/comics on characters I had read myself, until last year. As I might have mentioned before, it stems from the fact that I fear I wont do justice to the characters I have come to know and love. 

But ultimately a re-introduction to DC's animated library seemed to instill a new-found ambition in me to try my hand at writing a plethora of superhero characters mostly just Batman. It was the Batman animated series that first got me into comics, and it was that which introduced me to the character of Bane. 

Now you possibly know this, that I'm not a particularly big DC lover. I was always and still am a Marvel fanboy. My first taste of DC comics came in the form of Green Lantern around 2006. So while I did have an affinity to Batman, I didn't know or care much about the (back then) B-Listers of his rogues gallery. 

Bane then so by 2009 took on a mythic role for me, when I read (through those infamous nefarious means) Batman: Knightfall. 

A bit of context, Batman: Knightfall released in 1993. It was a comic in which Batman must face a new and dangerous threat; a muscle bound juiced freak, who is as cunning and smart as he is strong. Bane was both brawn and brain, he was basically a sort of Batman just on the wrong side of the tracks. But above all else, Bane was the man that broke the bat. 

He literally took Batman and cracked Bruce's spine on his knee. It's a defining moment for both characters, and one of the most iconic pages and covers in comic book lore. 

That moment has defined Bane as a character for decades, and for everything that has since then been written about him. It has basically become a trait for the character, such that it followed suit onto celluloid when Bane appeared in Dark Knight Rises.

It's a hard point to pass by when I'm writing the character in my graphic novel titled; Batman: Bane's Reckoning (yup, I lifted that from the movie). Obviously it's one that needs mention, as Bane and Batman try to work together for their mutual benefit.

What's more, is that as a whole; Knightfall basically forms the basis around this comic I'm writing, simply because as a reader beyond this Bane has never been interesting to that level. His anti-hero turn in Secret Six was wonderful, especially when he decides to stop using venom (the aforementioned juicing drug) to fuel his body. Beyond that nothing much, even the whole Bane and Talia Al Ghul thing in Bane of the Demon was a letdown, although used effectively by Christopher Nolan for his film. 

Writing such a character who in some way peaked early is a difficult task, it basically informs everything I have to do. Not to mention the fact that the story I'm writing is vaguely similar to the first time Batman and Bane teamed up. 

Why am I writing this post? I have no idea, I'm just bored and I've forgotten why I started. 

Anyways.

Knightfall itself was an interesting time for DC Comics. A few months prior to the event, there was another event. A comic book that holds a special place in my heart. 

My copy of The Death of Superman trade paperback

It was the iconic Death of Superman story, where Superman fights against the beastly Doomsday and manages to save Metropolis at the cost of his own life. The death of the most iconic superhero began with issue 18 of Superman: Man of Steel. 

While I don't particularly like the comic, or Superman heck I didn't read it until last year. The story holds a special place simply because of its iconography and the fact that the first issue released in the same month that I was born.  I knew of this by 2003, and looked at it in a mythical way like I never had Superman.

For something like that to happen, an iconic and definitive moment in the history of the first superhero to occur on my birth month and year, it gives me the giddy sense of destiny and weird fanboy pride.

But back to topic (not that there is one). 

So Superman died and Batman retired forcibly. Beyond the point that their returns were marred by shoddy storytelling, these iconic moments define DC comics in 1993. While they may not define my comics history with DC, I do look at each with a sense of wonder and love. 

Death of Superman informs my own blind skewed sense of destiny, destiny that brings me to love, cherish and above all else want to be a part of comics. 

Where as Knightfall can hopefully become a story that defines my first taste of mainstream comics success. What I mean by this is, is that Knightfall is the major influence on Bane's Reckoning, and hopefully Bane's Reckoning if written and drawn well enough can become my first successful superhero comic (not originally created by me).

Thanks for indulging me. 

'Nuff Said

Aneesh Raikundalia  

Injustice: Gods Among Us...When two egos collide!

Injustice: Gods Among Us

A Look back at the Comic

There's no denying that the video game Injustice: Gods Among us has a pretty interesting premise behind it, and an alternate reality that matches up well to DC's Elseworlds standards. The game engine might not be everyone's cup of tea, but the world building and the story behind it holds much intrigue. 

After all Superman going berserk and becomes a dictator after killing his wife and unborn child sounds exciting and with many possibilities. He does so while poisoned by The Joker using Scarecrow's toxins, in an elaborate plan that not only wipe out the woman Superman loves, but the city he has come to care for and his own moral code. 

Unfortunately for us, the game jumps a few years ahead to a crime free society with Superman at the helm, it's a wonderful option to have but at what cost? 

We do get a lot of political subtext, a much more wider understanding of the situations and the players involved (pun intended) but at the end of the day, this is a video game. Modeled by the creators of Mortal Kombat, it presents a fighting style vaguely familiar and a heavy focus on action rather than details of the world. 

That's where Tom Taylor's (Writer: Earth 2) Injustice prequel comes into play. A digital comic series, that explores the grey areas of it's alternate reality characters and establishes the core event that drives Superman to do what he does, and the subsequent aftermath from there onwards. 

The game gives us as is with it's run time (if you can call it that) and major plot-line, tidbits on what occurred. Things such as Aquaman's crumbling resentment towards Superman's regime to Green Arrow being the first casualty of the Man of Steel's anger are mentioned but unexplored. From one angle it can be seen that things just blew over, and that Batman is white as Superman is black. Yet things aren't as cut and dry as they seem. 

A lot of this comes down to Tom Taylor's lens as a writer, he steeps himself in this alternate world yet has roots embellished in DC lore. There's mentions to Superman's constant trust placed on Batman to take him down when necessary, something I'm hoping Zack Snyder materializes by the end of his Man of Steel sequel in 2016. 

It's a gesture that always intrigued me, does the fact that Superman knows Batman can defeat him, keep him in check? Knowing he has given Batman a way, is it a sort of placement for Superman to consciously remember to stay good? Does Superman not trust himself, and if so why wouldn't he work on his own issues rather than turning evil? 

The last one of all really intrigues me, it notes that Superman is as fallible as any of us. In a way his realization that he is suspect and above all has the ability to see his faults, humanizes him. Just like Taylor tries to do with the book. 

There were parts where I really questioned the writing, the issues personally for me were uneven pacing and characterization. There wasn't enough reason given to the other heroes earlier motives to help Superman in his slowly peaking dictatorial state, besides Flash and Shazam struggling to question their actions everyone else seemed fine and dandy albeit a bit hesitant but not enough. 

Once again it's the question of where the game comes in, with an end road in sight it feels like Taylor is left with a narrowed path to work on. He can bring in moments of shock, or methods in which way canon from the game is established but he cannot break away on his own. 

It's something I see only because, I myself struggle as a writer with a determined ending. The original superheroes or stories I've created, I tend to establish everything from the start and even map out at least some sort of vague ending for things to come. It shackles me, and I'm trying not to make it a habit and change. 

When better ideas crop up, and mostly from outside sources I think of them but instantly dismiss them cause I'm too blindly arrogant to look beyond my chosen objective no matter how many better ideas I can get. It's the same reason why when I write already conceived superheroes such as Batman, I do so out of continuity so I can pick and choose what counts in this universe and my vision/end game isn't diminished once I leave the book. 

Tom Taylor has an end game here that isn't his, neither is the vision fully. So it's commendable that he crafts a compelling path from it, the only issue is that sometimes his writing is detrimental to the characters. You can see Taylor trying to point out the hypocrisies and rather grey areas that the hero of the book Batman places himself in. 

Yet all that is debunked by the actions he has to create for Superman to become who we know him as, once the video game begins. 

What I do like is how these two form a central conflict that reiterates ideas we have seen before, yet examines them as a point of their back stories together. This is something I don't remember any Batman/Superman comic doing that well or in this angle. 

Examples of great character studies and reflections of both are more than a dozen. Kingdom Come comes to mind, which Injustice seems to be influenced from. There's the whole idea of policing the world versus letting the world play it's own course. 

Yet the conflict in Injustice doesn't go against heroes doing damage, but rather not doing enough damage to the wrong people. In Kingdom Come, Superman questioned the ethics of a new breed of heroes and their killing spree, with Injustice it's the opposite as he questions Batman's methods of letting one life live in favor of millions.  Yet in both the ideas of Superman's grasp over the worlds and it's people destiny and choices is questioned.

Joker's personal actions towards Superman spur him to kill the mad man and in turn go onto a path he has no return from. The game obviously painted Batman in the right light, and the book has to do so too. But Taylor doesn't shy away from justifying Superman's actions long enough for us to start questioning the rights and wrongs, although towards the end of the first year in this reality we do come closer to the clear picture and divide between the two heroes.

At the core of this it all comes down to one man and his unshakeable morality and another man's descent into madness simply because he cannot but blame everything around him, rather than himself. Once again it presents the Superman we want, the Superman we can relate to, the Superman whose human. 

It's an interesting angle, it always has been. But even if I'm not an age old Superman fan, seeing his morality break on every corner just so a new world accepts him is something I don't agree with. DC's need to make Superman approachable by making him gritty, goes well beyond the whole dark is success formula. He's a god made a man and yet still elevated as a god, just an angrier one. 

I'm not asking for a Superman whose all sunshine and roses, far from it. But what makes Superman, Superman, are the values instilled upon him by Jonathan Kent. Painting him a villain always has only one motive, to make a hero out of Batman. To let humanity know that Batman is the best, simply because he's human and for DC because he makes more money is bordering on annoying these days. 

Batman is a hero, there's no doubting it. I don't want him to go back to the asshole of Pre-Grant Morrison days. What I want is a realization that at the end of the day, that if there are gods among us then there's a human among them. He can be super smart, he can have all the contingencies planned. But what he can't have is the last laugh (pun intended), at one point Batman needs to lose to Superman. Heck he needs to lose to his companions, it just adds fire to the fuel that Batman truly is a condescending, blind man. 

His morals never need to break, their strong because of what happened to him. His origins instill in him something that makes him so heroic when he dons the cowl. Yet the same should apply to Superman, he doesn't deserve to fall to wayside like a child simply because he loses someone. His origins to becoming a hero are as vital, his upbringing like with Bruce's (or lack thereof) has given him a moral code that should only break at a point like at the end of Man of Steel. 

A serialized comic can do that, but the way Taylor rushes or is forced to rush into things just seems to much. 

His use of plot devices don't help either. 

While I've always liked the idea of the DC Trinity, what I cannot stand is the placement of Wonder Woman as Superman's love interest/rock. It's not a thing related to gender issues. But whenever WW has been paired up with Superman (mostly in elseworlds), she has ended becoming the Lady Macbeth to his Macbeth. 

She is made out to be the cause for a lot of his destruction, in Kingdom Come, in Red Son and now in Injustice. The novel idea of the two being the biggest power couple is intriguing, but not when all Wonder Woman is, is a bitch who falters from her own mission statement just to push Superman to doing something that neither makes sense and seems far fetched for even Diana. 

It's why I always floated towards the Justice League cartoon version where Wonder Woman and Batman have a hinted relationship. While I would rather she not mingle with any of the other two romantically, the idea of her and Batman was much more intriguing. Wonder Woman isn't afraid to do things that Batman can't, their moral clashes their are interesting but never border on grand hysteria on each of their parts. 

In the cartoons we were presented to a Wonder Woman who at times was never shy of making her affection for Batman known, she could also defeat him in a fight. While nothing really came to fruition, there were hints that Batman felt obliged not to let it happen. For me it stemmed with the idea that his ego wouldn't allow it, making Wonder Woman that much more Wonderful in my eyes. 

At the end of the day I do realize this is an alternate reality, and the subject of Superman's wavering morals make an interesting topic. Not to mention Taylor does supremely well to make us question our own moral centers as to what we would do in Superman's shoes. Yet I would love to see nalternate storyline where Batman falters instead, there has to be a breaking point to him beyond his own spine (pun intended). 

Nonetheless for now we have this comic, where Batman's staunch code is far greater than the loss of everyone else. It sort of comes down to how both he and Superman are still the two children that lost everything they did. The two heroes are born of a tragedy and as such there's no denying that there suspect to a case of arrested development. 

Batman can never escape the tragedy that made him who he is, and it is why he holds on to his ideals simply because they are the last piece of his innocence and the only way he can justify his crusade to his dead parent as a sign of 'respect' to their deaths. It's a deep idea to ponder upon. 

Then there's Superman, who lost his whole world and when he kills Lois he loses his unborn child. He loses the only Kryptonian that could have assembled his long gone heritage and ancestry, his legacy is abolished. In a way he comes full circle from the last survivor, to the killer of the future of his race. That justifies a lot and makes for a depressing truth. 

And this is where Taylor excels (which I might have mentioned, I'm sorry I'm so passionately writing I'm not even sure if it's coherent). As mentioned, he dissects these two characters and draws parallels in a fashion like not other yet easier to comprehend. 

I'm going to continue reading now, onto year two to see where these characters are headed...well what path they take to where their headed anyways. I suggest you check the books out, you can either buy the first trade and wait for the others or get them online from Comixology or use my old stealing card (wink wink). 

'Nuff Said 

Aneesh Raikundalia

My Batty Collection!

My Batty Collection

For those not in the know, the year 2014 is the 75th Anniversary of; 

 

Yes Indeed the Dark Knight!

Now I'm going to make any false promises I can't live up to like I did last year with the X-Men and Avengers. 

What I'm going to do is whenever I'm in the mood (like today). I will give you a Batman related post. 

So what's todays post?

I'm glad you asked!

My Batman Collection

So I think I've made it clear before that I have past history of getting comics through some nefarious means (read illegalish), I haven't? or Have I? 

So I've obviously decided that collection would eventually be bought in real life so that I can pay for the free comics I've read. 

This specifically applies to my favorite character Batman. Whose current trades I've collected upto 14. I hope to review all of these by the end of the year, but once again this time round I'm not making any promises. 

This post is just for views, It's pictures of my Batman collection and each time I review one of the comics from my collection I'll add a link here on the picture. Enjoy

Batman: The Legacy left by Grant Morrison

Batman

 Grant Morrison's Legacy

 

 

Last year saw another lengthy comic book run come to a close. Grant Morrison finished off his lengthy writing stint on Batman with the completion of the second volume of Batman Incorporated. 

Morrison began his work on the continuous Batman comic in 2006, bringing his quintessential style of incorporating (pun intended) vast ideologies and history to a character. 

With Batman he entertained the notion of past history and continuity applying to the oft gritty Dark Knight, while also adding his own bits and pieces to the Bat-Legacy. 

To be honest, I found his initial starting to be a bit intimidating. 

As mentioned Green Lantern by Geoff Johns was my first foray into DC territory. Batman to me was advertised as a character full of flashy camp (thank you Warner Bros. and Joel Schumacher) and some questionable relationships with his 'ward' (thanks to friends all around). Mind you I didn't have internet then, and neither did I know of the low-key release (in Kenya) of the rebooted Batman movie with Batman Begins.

I picked up Morrison's Batman in curiosity after having read the writers much more meta Animal Man run online (lets face it, there aren't many places to find comics in Kenya so most of my reading has been done for free, a topic for another day). 

Warning! 

To anyone wanting to begin Batman, don't pick up Morrison's run first!

Going through his work is a daunting task, and confusion is abundant as I realized. While Morrison's work may be the first worthy lengthy run of Batman I would suggest, it is rife with a lot of historical call backs to the caped crusaders continuity and requires a lot of prior knowledge to understand. 

But more so, it is confusing because of the themes and ideas the writer explores. Till this day I have no proper idea about...

...What the Fuck Zur-En-Arrh is????

Still as aforementioned, his work is the first lengthy run I would suggest readers wanting a taste of Batman the comic to explore. Although I would suggest a lot more Batman before you get into Morrison's work.

Till then let us examine and celebrate the legacy this wacky writer leaves on the...

Shadow of the Bat: The True Tragic Origin of The Batman

Shadow of the Bat

The True Tragic Origin of The Batman

If your reading this then I'm assuming in one way or another no matter how small, your life is filled with the essence of Pop Culture. With the world of Pop and beyond falling into palms of the nerds (mostly the comic book type). 

Then you know Batman, and most importantly you know Batman's tragic origins and some of you also know Batman's credited creator. No not DC (that's the company) but rather Bob Kane.

His name appears on anything related to Batman. It's the marquee at the top. 

So let me take you down memory lane, to the history of Batman and as a whole the comics industry. But above all else let me make you understand the tragedy that not only haunts Batman as a character but as a creation as well.