News from WonderCon

I won't mention it in this post for anyone wanting to avoid spoilers. But yes I heard where he'll appear but I'm not sure if I'll get it yet since I never read the series. Still I liked their last meeting.

Adding and Subtracting to the Pull List

I tried a lot of titles from the new 52. Some of them I only read for one issue, a couple I stayed with for an arc. A few I dropped because I couldn't go to my LCS on certain weeks and they were sold out half the time I was able to get there. I'm not sure if I will get back into them now that I can get things online but maybe at some later point. I lost two of my series, JLI and now Sword of Sorcery.

DC Presents #18

The second Outlaw related issue in a row, this time the story focuses on Kori.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Sword of Sorcery #6

The beginning of the end for this series last arc.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Red Hood and the Outlaws #18

Jason Todd: Everyone should have an Alfred...

Since this is Lobdells' last issue he pulls out all the stops on this one. This is the kind of issue that really restores your hope in comics.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Batman and Robin #18

This is the only series I'm going to follow, at least for a little while, to see the fallout of Damians' death. So let's see how Tomasi and Gleason do a story of Bruce grieving the loss of a son--again.

Short review.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The plans for Supergirl that never saw print

Sounds like a great idea for a new Young Justice team. I would have liked to have read it.

Batman and Robin #10 before editing

I didn't like the Robin arc in Batman and Robin vol. 2. from 10-12. It had everything I hated about the 52 version of Damian and the plot didn't work for a lot of reasons. One of the things that bugged me was Damian getting all high and mighty when he suggested Tim and him weren't so different. All because Tim considered killing an enemy in the heat of battle after witnessing someone die. That kind of fell flat to me because that was a fleeting feeling Tim never went through with. Hardly the same as Damian taking more than one life. But I found a page of artwork that shows how the story originally went that makes more sense.

See this verison shows Tim in his pre-52 Red Robin costume. The scene in the second panel is from the last issue of his RR series. In it Tim spent the entire issue plotting for a way to kill off his fathers' murderer Captain Boomerang. He tried to make excuses for his actions thinking that whether Boomerang died or not depended on the villains' own choices. If he chose the wrong path (like fleeing) Tim would let him die. At the last moment Tim saved his life but it was implied that he might try again. Dick and Damian saw him save Boomerang, while Dick assumed he just did his job as a hero Damian was oddly quiet. Bruce showed up once they left to tell Tim he saw through the whole thing. Having Damian call him on that would have made sense since Tim had planned out a murder and could have gone back to make more attempts. Of course this would mean IC was still canon and I'm glad it's not. (Not just because I prefer Tim with parents but it means the Dr. Light crap didn't happen.)

I still don't think it would have improved the story that much but at least Damians' point made more sense in this version.

Improving books I love: Booster Gold

I've been thinking of doing this for awhile, I know I gush about my favorite books but I wanted to talk about the things I dislike too. This isn't so much a rant as a look at things that could have been improved. I've talked at length about the second volume of Booster Gold and the various writers strengths and weaknesses in that run. This is a look at Boosters' first series.

Hated Character Danny Chase?

Since this Harper Row hate got started, not to mention some previous Robin hate, I've been thinking about characters that fans detest. This made me think of Danny Chase. I never read much of him so I can't say I feel one way or another about him. I mostly know him from what I've heard from readers, the few pages I've seen him in and wiki articles. He was supposed to be some highly trained super spy with lots of skills in the field and telekinesis.

Fans hated him because (and this is just what I've heard) he was a "whiny little know-it-all crybaby that always talked big but rarely delivered." His creator couldn't understand why people didn't like him and killed Danny off himself to let him die a hero. Despite all of that I think the reason he's hated for is his most memorable moment. Not anything heroic, not his death but his reaction to the news of another death. Yep, he's the one that ever-so-tactfully let's it slip that Jason died. Dick doesn't take it well.

Danny continues to be an unfeeling ass not getting why Dicks' upset since death happens in their line of work. Dick flips and points out that Danny is one to talk since he freaks out whenever he gets minor injuries. The scene does make Danny unlikable, someone who only makes Dick feel worse then can't understand why he's banned from missions just because he's young like Jason. Still if Vibe can be reimaged I don't see why Danny can't be. On a unrelated Danny note this is also the issue that had Bruce start his jerk phrase (well he acts like a bigger jerk) because he's grieving.

Yeah, I really didn't want to see that repeated with another kid. Wanna bet he hits at least one former Robin this time around? Or places blame on someone else?

Favorite Damian bits

Honorable mention to Lil' Gotham which takes place outside the main canon even if Damian is more childlike than he normally is.

 

Old SPOILERS AHEAD

Very Subtle Morrison

Way to make Dick a callous jackass that jokes about the other dead Robin(s) and give foreshadowing in one go.

DC Dolls (or action figures)

On a different note some more dolls for DC characters.

Another Bat-timeline that doesn't make sense

I was already confused enough when I read somethings James Tynion said and I'm more than a little confused with the timeline.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The meaning of The Case

I really hate the middle panel. It doesn't make any sense and is insulting to boot.

I'll admit that I think Tomasi did a better job with this book in the DOTF tie ins but I don't think he gets Tim and Jason or even how other people relate to them. Yes this page was supposed to act as foreshadowing and a means to have Damian bond with Bruce but look what Bruce is saying. That the case is only there as a reminder that he could lose someone at any time. No, that's not what it's suppose to mean, that's not why it was created at any rate. Ever since it was first introduced in DKR it was a way to honor Jason, hell Bruce even said Jason honored him in that book. So Damian should be correct here otherwise why was the Bat family always freaking out whenever it broke?

"Oh no! The reminder that Bruce shouldn't be a dick that gets us killed is broken!"

No. They freaked out because the case meant something, JASON meant something. So if/when Damian gets a case don't tell me his will act as another reminder that they could all die or that his matters more because he's the child by blood. Because that's not true, it was called Death in the Family for a reason.

And yes I'm still annoyed with DC.

Why I need Anchor Books

I've been thinking about this for awhile. This has to do with how I personally feel about DC right now.

No Stephanie Brown reaction

I heard Morrison wanted to use Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown in Inc. If they were we would have actually got their reactions. Needless to say I feel cheated for not getting at least a page of Stephanie hearing the news. Her run as Batgirl provided some of my favorite bits with Damian. Plus she had her own experience with these matters even if it was retconned.

The Ethics and Responsibilities of Raising Robins

I think Wally West put it best before the relaunch back when Stephanie Brown was Robin.

 

SPOILERS AHEAD but I think everyone knows by now.