Red Robin #1 did something important - it finally revealed (somewhat) why Tim Drake/Wayne (a distinction that was actually emphasized in this issue) is no longer Robin. That part made some sense - given that Damian wasn't going anywhere (why exactly isn't clear), Dick felt he had to watch him at all times, and the only way he could do that was to make him Robin.
Tim's rationales for his behavior didn't wash as well, though, either for his adoption of the Red Robin persona, or his pursuit of Bruce. He said he chose the Red Robin identity so none of his actions would reflect on Dick or Bruce (but rather on Jason--as if anyone on New Earth remembers his short stint as RR on his wacky travels through the multiverse in That Weekly Series That Shall Not Be Named). Uh, Tim - if you wanted to distance your actions from your brother and father, why not pick a completely different name? "Oh, he's Red Robin - for a minute I thought he had something to do with Robin from 'Batman and Robin' - silly me." Please. Hell, become the new Ravager (piss Deathstroke off!).
Sadly, his reasoning for Bruce's being alive was even weaker (though more emotional): he has no one left, so he has to believe Bruce is still alive. OK, I get that, very tragic and sweet at the same time. (Psst, Tim - Bart's back! And so is Conner! Check your Twitter, dude.) I would rather he believed--as Morrison emphasized so well in "R.I.P."--that Bruce is ready for anything, and if anyone can cheat death/Omega Sanction/Oprah, it's Bruce.
One minor quibble about the art - please decide what body size Tim has, because he looks like a 25-year-old in costume and a 15-year-old out of it. Otherwise, the art was very good, stylistic enough to give the book a unique look.
BONUS: Booster Gold #21 gets points for being the first appearance of Dick/Batman is a non-Bat-title, and very well done too - the costume was accurate to Quitely's redesign, and Jurgens even drew Dick's face and body movements so as to leave no doubt who was beneath the cowl. I wish more had been shown of Dick's reaction to finding out that Booster had gotten his ass kicked over and over trying to save Barbara from getting shot--I think that was underplayed, but maybe Dick's trying to adopt Brucian stoicism already (especially after trying to play tough with Booster initially). (And there was even a nice mention of Blue Beetle, to link the main feature with the back-up - which was great, BTW.)
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Winick's new Batman - now this is more like it!
I just finished Batman #687, Judd Winick's first issue with Dick Grayson as Batman, and it was absolutely magnificent (includng Ed Benes' pencils, which captured the mood of the characters perfectly). I'll probably have more to say later, maybe after I read this week's Red Robin #1 and later Dini's Batman: Streets of Gotham, and if Winick is planning on continuing to explore Dick's inner conflict throughout his run as he did so well in this issue, then I don't mind Morrison's book so much--that will provide the straightforward Batman and Robin adventures (with the Morrison twist, of course), and Winick will give us the emotional story underneath (which I'm more interested in).
One more thing: if you don't feel a tear starting at Alfred's response to Superman's asking him "are you alright?", then you ain't human. Damn.
One more thing: if you don't feel a tear starting at Alfred's response to Superman's asking him "are you alright?", then you ain't human. Damn.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Dini's Batman: Streets of Gotham #1 looks great!
Now this looks good: just like before Final Crisis and Battle for the Cowl, it looks like Paul Dini will be a nice counterpoint to Morrison when it comes to writing the new Batman and Robin. Rather than creating a entirely new Bat-verse in which they can operate, Dini is putting them in the Gotham we know and love, and seeing how Gordon and the rest react to them. This I can get excited about.
Now let's see what Winick brings to the table...
Now let's see what Winick brings to the table...
Friday, June 5, 2009
Thoughts on Batman and Robin #1
OK, the adulation for Morrison & Quitely's Batman and Robin #1 is getting a little much (this is just one example), so I'll put two cents in... It was OK. I was a little disappointed the first time I read it, and my impression improved on the second reading a couple days later. But I still thought it was just OK.
Here's one issue I had: What was the point all of the "Dick, you're turning into him" that we saw in the run-up to "R.I.P." and Battle for the Cowl? Apparently, the way Grant's planning to write him (based on numerous interviews), Dick is going to be a kinder, gentler Batman (like we were supposed to get from Bruce after Final Crisis and the 52-week cruise) as opposed to the grim and gritty new Robin. But what happened to the darker, more determined Dick we saw up until through Battle for the Cowl? Maybe facing an over-the-edge Jason Todd for the umpteenth time at the end of that series showed him the error of that way--let's hope Judd Winick fleshes some of that out. (I may be the only person who's looking forward more to his stories about Dick/Batman than Grant's--Judd always had Dick's voice, whether in Batman or Outsiders. Now, about his plotting...)
Don't get me wrong--I didn't like when Dick was turning into Bruce, although it made sense given the context. Dick is decidedly not Bruce, a persistent theme through Nightwing's tales over the last 10 years. But it was appropriate that, as his fate as the next Batman became more solidified, he became more like Bruce. That would have made for an interesting story--and who knows, maybe that's the story Judd Winick is planning to tell. Perhaps he'll show the darker side of the new Batman, perhaps a side he purposefully hides from Damian--I guess we'll see soon.
No matter if Dick becomes more like Bruce, or keeps his traditional lighter personality, I hope the next year of stories shows him (and the readers) that he will never be Batman, no matter how hard he tries. He won't be willing to go to the same extremes, and therefore he won't inspire the same fear and awe. And he shouldn't expect to be Batman--he is doing this out of duty, after all, not because he wanted to--because only Bruce is Batman. It's not about the cape, the cowl, or the name--it's the man underneath it all. (I thought this was the point Grant was making in "R.I.P.," and I could have sworn he reiterated this in a recent interview with respect to the current run, but I can't be certain.) Anybody with willpower can be a Green Lantern; anyone who can tap into the speed force can be a Flash. But wearing pointy ears doth not a Batman make--that takes living the life and making the choices that only Bruce Wayne has. There's only one Bruce Wayne--the Multiverse aside--and therefore only one Batman.
I think this is depicted beautifully when artists show Bruce Wayne casting a shadow in the shape of Batman--he is Batman, whether in or out of costume. It's part of who Bruce Wayne is, as demonstrated by the number of stories in which he struggled with "who is the real me--Bruce or Batman?" We don't have to choose--they are the same person. (Frankly, in general I think this applies to Steve Rogers/Captain America too--sorry, Bucky--but that will have to wait for another day.)
Let me sum up by saying that I'm looking forward to this year without Bruce (though I wouldn't have chosen it). I hope good stories will be told, but I also hope that the end result is Dick realizing who he is--and is not--and Bruce coming back in a way that reaffirms who the only real Batman is.
Here's one issue I had: What was the point all of the "Dick, you're turning into him" that we saw in the run-up to "R.I.P." and Battle for the Cowl? Apparently, the way Grant's planning to write him (based on numerous interviews), Dick is going to be a kinder, gentler Batman (like we were supposed to get from Bruce after Final Crisis and the 52-week cruise) as opposed to the grim and gritty new Robin. But what happened to the darker, more determined Dick we saw up until through Battle for the Cowl? Maybe facing an over-the-edge Jason Todd for the umpteenth time at the end of that series showed him the error of that way--let's hope Judd Winick fleshes some of that out. (I may be the only person who's looking forward more to his stories about Dick/Batman than Grant's--Judd always had Dick's voice, whether in Batman or Outsiders. Now, about his plotting...)
Don't get me wrong--I didn't like when Dick was turning into Bruce, although it made sense given the context. Dick is decidedly not Bruce, a persistent theme through Nightwing's tales over the last 10 years. But it was appropriate that, as his fate as the next Batman became more solidified, he became more like Bruce. That would have made for an interesting story--and who knows, maybe that's the story Judd Winick is planning to tell. Perhaps he'll show the darker side of the new Batman, perhaps a side he purposefully hides from Damian--I guess we'll see soon.
No matter if Dick becomes more like Bruce, or keeps his traditional lighter personality, I hope the next year of stories shows him (and the readers) that he will never be Batman, no matter how hard he tries. He won't be willing to go to the same extremes, and therefore he won't inspire the same fear and awe. And he shouldn't expect to be Batman--he is doing this out of duty, after all, not because he wanted to--because only Bruce is Batman. It's not about the cape, the cowl, or the name--it's the man underneath it all. (I thought this was the point Grant was making in "R.I.P.," and I could have sworn he reiterated this in a recent interview with respect to the current run, but I can't be certain.) Anybody with willpower can be a Green Lantern; anyone who can tap into the speed force can be a Flash. But wearing pointy ears doth not a Batman make--that takes living the life and making the choices that only Bruce Wayne has. There's only one Bruce Wayne--the Multiverse aside--and therefore only one Batman.
I think this is depicted beautifully when artists show Bruce Wayne casting a shadow in the shape of Batman--he is Batman, whether in or out of costume. It's part of who Bruce Wayne is, as demonstrated by the number of stories in which he struggled with "who is the real me--Bruce or Batman?" We don't have to choose--they are the same person. (Frankly, in general I think this applies to Steve Rogers/Captain America too--sorry, Bucky--but that will have to wait for another day.)
Let me sum up by saying that I'm looking forward to this year without Bruce (though I wouldn't have chosen it). I hope good stories will be told, but I also hope that the end result is Dick realizing who he is--and is not--and Bruce coming back in a way that reaffirms who the only real Batman is.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Reborn - gee, I wonder...
Marvel has a five-issue mini-series solicited for July with the simple title Reborn, written by Ed Brubaker and drawn by Bryan Hitch. No details given...
It's pretty obvious who will be "reborn," right? I just wonder how they're going to do it - with Brubaker writing it, though, I'm sure it will be good...
It's pretty obvious who will be "reborn," right? I just wonder how they're going to do it - with Brubaker writing it, though, I'm sure it will be good...
Spider-Man and Philosophy - call for abstracts
I'm not editing it, but here's another comics-related book announcement:
Call for Abstracts
Spider-Man and Philosophy
Edited by Jonathan J. Sanford
The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series
Please circulate and post widely.
To propose ideas for future volumes in the Blackwell series please contact the Series Editor,
William Irwin, at wtirwin@kings.edu.
Abstracts and subsequent essays should be philosophically substantial but accessible, written to engage the intelligent lay reader. Contributors of accepted essays will receive an honorarium.
Possible themes and topics might include, but are not limited to, the following:
Is Peter Parker a philosopher?; Is there room for God in the universe of Spider-Man?; Peter Parker, Spider-Man, and the problem of personal identity; Does Peter Parker, post spider-bite, become something other than human?; The Amazing Spider-Man and genetic therapy; Peter Parker, Ben Reilly, and the Clone Wars: flesh of my flesh?; Just how does Spidey-sense work?; Does Peter really have a choice?; Aunt May and moral wisdom; Do Peter’s book smarts have anything to do with moral wisdom?; The scope of responsibility: should Peter feel guilt over the death of Uncle Ben?; Great power, responsibility, and the foundations of obligation; Is Peter virtuous, or just continent?; Is Mary Jane morally superior to Peter?; Doctor Octopus and the passions; Peter Parker, adolescence, and moral maturity: why is Peter so insecure?; What makes a hero?; Is Spider-Man a deontologist, a virtue ethicist, or neither?; Character and responsibility for one’s character: the case of Harry Osborn; Character and moral transformation: the case of Harry Osborn; The Spider-Man villains and consequentialism; Pride and the anti-hero; Spider-Man and the problem of evil: where does the Venom Symbiote really come from?; Spider-Man, the Venom Symbiote, and moral purification; Spider-Man, Sandman, and forgiveness; Is Mary Jane a feminist?; Peter Parker, equality, and friendship: can a superhero have non-superhero friends?; Gwen Stacy: superheroes and death; J. Jonah Jameson and obsession; The Daily Bugle, media, and manipulation; Uncle Ben, Aunt May, and what makes a family; Fathers and sons: what happened to the Osborns?; Superheroes and the limits of community; Superheroes, exceptional types, and the common good: the Green Goblin vs. Spiderman; and the unmasking of Spider-Man; Peter Parker and life as narrative.
Submission Guidelines:
1. Submission deadline for abstracts (100-500 words) and CV(s): June 1, 2009
2. Submission deadline for first drafts of accepted papers: September 1,2009.
3. Submission deadline for finals drafts accepted papers: November 2, 2009
Kindly submit by e-mail (with or without Word attachment) to:
J.J. Sanford: jsanford@gwia.franciscan.edu
Call for Abstracts
Spider-Man and Philosophy
Edited by Jonathan J. Sanford
The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series
Please circulate and post widely.
To propose ideas for future volumes in the Blackwell series please contact the Series Editor,
William Irwin, at wtirwin@kings.edu.
Abstracts and subsequent essays should be philosophically substantial but accessible, written to engage the intelligent lay reader. Contributors of accepted essays will receive an honorarium.
Possible themes and topics might include, but are not limited to, the following:
Is Peter Parker a philosopher?; Is there room for God in the universe of Spider-Man?; Peter Parker, Spider-Man, and the problem of personal identity; Does Peter Parker, post spider-bite, become something other than human?; The Amazing Spider-Man and genetic therapy; Peter Parker, Ben Reilly, and the Clone Wars: flesh of my flesh?; Just how does Spidey-sense work?; Does Peter really have a choice?; Aunt May and moral wisdom; Do Peter’s book smarts have anything to do with moral wisdom?; The scope of responsibility: should Peter feel guilt over the death of Uncle Ben?; Great power, responsibility, and the foundations of obligation; Is Peter virtuous, or just continent?; Is Mary Jane morally superior to Peter?; Doctor Octopus and the passions; Peter Parker, adolescence, and moral maturity: why is Peter so insecure?; What makes a hero?; Is Spider-Man a deontologist, a virtue ethicist, or neither?; Character and responsibility for one’s character: the case of Harry Osborn; Character and moral transformation: the case of Harry Osborn; The Spider-Man villains and consequentialism; Pride and the anti-hero; Spider-Man and the problem of evil: where does the Venom Symbiote really come from?; Spider-Man, the Venom Symbiote, and moral purification; Spider-Man, Sandman, and forgiveness; Is Mary Jane a feminist?; Peter Parker, equality, and friendship: can a superhero have non-superhero friends?; Gwen Stacy: superheroes and death; J. Jonah Jameson and obsession; The Daily Bugle, media, and manipulation; Uncle Ben, Aunt May, and what makes a family; Fathers and sons: what happened to the Osborns?; Superheroes and the limits of community; Superheroes, exceptional types, and the common good: the Green Goblin vs. Spiderman; and the unmasking of Spider-Man; Peter Parker and life as narrative.
Submission Guidelines:
1. Submission deadline for abstracts (100-500 words) and CV(s): June 1, 2009
2. Submission deadline for first drafts of accepted papers: September 1,2009.
3. Submission deadline for finals drafts accepted papers: November 2, 2009
Kindly submit by e-mail (with or without Word attachment) to:
J.J. Sanford: jsanford@gwia.franciscan.edu
Green Lantern and Philosophy - call for abstracts
Here's the announcement for my latest project:
Call for Abstracts
Green Lantern and Philosophy
Edited by Jane Dryden and Mark D. White
The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series
Please circulate and post widely.
To propose ideas for future volumes in the Blackwell series please contact the Series Editor,
William Irwin, at wtirwin@kings.edu.
Abstracts and subsequent essays should be philosophically substantial but accessible, written to engage the intelligent lay reader. Contributors of accepted essays will receive an honorarium.
Possible themes and topics might include, but are not limited to, the following:
Willpower and the emotional spectrum: what’s the relationship?; The Yellow Impurity: The nature of fear; Parallax and moral responsibility; Sympathy for Sinestro: Can good be accomplished through fear?; Green Lantern, Space Cop: What is Green Lantern’s authority on Earth?; Hal Jordan or Guy Gardner: The role of moral luck; Helping orange skins and purple skins, but not black skins? Noble Lies: Telling the truth about the Book of Oa; Green Lanterns and social responsibility; John Stewart and the philosophy of architecture; “Snowbirds Don’t Fly”: Anti-drug messages in comics; The responsibility of gods: Ion and absolute power; Terry Berg and the treatment of hate crimes; Guardians and Zamarons: Gender and Emotion; Magic versus Science: Alan Scott and the Starheart; Was Jade really a Green Lantern—or was she more?; Green Lantern and Green Arrow: Superheroes and friendships; Go, Mogo, Go: Can a planet be alive?; Rebel with a Cause: Hal Jordan and authority; “Women in Refrigerators”: The portrayal of female victimhood in comics; Green boxing gloves: Does Green Lantern use his power in the best way?; Hal Jordan, the Spectre: Green Lanterns, the Guardians, and God; Alpha Lanterns: Do Green Lanterns need “internal affairs”?; Do Heroes Kill? Green Lanterns and the Use of Lethal Force; Love among the Lanterns: Right or Wrong?; Soranik Natu: Can a doctor be a Green Lantern?; The Mosaic, xenophobia, and integrationism; Power relations between Green Lanterns and Guardians; Ring of Gyges, ring of Green Lantern: The temptations of power; Kingdom of Ends: What constitutes a moral community like the Green Lantern Corps across species?; Using the ring for universal law, not particular goods: is this principle always worth upholding?; “I’m still the pretty one”: The meaning of Green Lantern costumes; Living up to legacy: The role of Alan Scott; Rewriting the Book of Oa: The role of tradition and law; Green Lanterns behaving badly: Do heroes need to be morally unblemished?; The chaos of life and the order of death: Guardians, Lanterns and Manhunters; The role of myth in Green Lantern identity
Submission Guidelines:
1. Submission deadline for abstracts (100-500 words) and CV(s): June 15, 2009
2. Submission deadline for first drafts of accepted papers: September 8,2009.
3. Submission deadline for finals drafts accepted papers: November 15, 2009
Kindly submit abstract (with or without Word attachment) and CV by email to:
Jane Dryden (janedryden@gmail.com)
Call for Abstracts
Green Lantern and Philosophy
Edited by Jane Dryden and Mark D. White
The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series
Please circulate and post widely.
To propose ideas for future volumes in the Blackwell series please contact the Series Editor,
William Irwin, at wtirwin@kings.edu.
Abstracts and subsequent essays should be philosophically substantial but accessible, written to engage the intelligent lay reader. Contributors of accepted essays will receive an honorarium.
Possible themes and topics might include, but are not limited to, the following:
Willpower and the emotional spectrum: what’s the relationship?; The Yellow Impurity: The nature of fear; Parallax and moral responsibility; Sympathy for Sinestro: Can good be accomplished through fear?; Green Lantern, Space Cop: What is Green Lantern’s authority on Earth?; Hal Jordan or Guy Gardner: The role of moral luck; Helping orange skins and purple skins, but not black skins? Noble Lies: Telling the truth about the Book of Oa; Green Lanterns and social responsibility; John Stewart and the philosophy of architecture; “Snowbirds Don’t Fly”: Anti-drug messages in comics; The responsibility of gods: Ion and absolute power; Terry Berg and the treatment of hate crimes; Guardians and Zamarons: Gender and Emotion; Magic versus Science: Alan Scott and the Starheart; Was Jade really a Green Lantern—or was she more?; Green Lantern and Green Arrow: Superheroes and friendships; Go, Mogo, Go: Can a planet be alive?; Rebel with a Cause: Hal Jordan and authority; “Women in Refrigerators”: The portrayal of female victimhood in comics; Green boxing gloves: Does Green Lantern use his power in the best way?; Hal Jordan, the Spectre: Green Lanterns, the Guardians, and God; Alpha Lanterns: Do Green Lanterns need “internal affairs”?; Do Heroes Kill? Green Lanterns and the Use of Lethal Force; Love among the Lanterns: Right or Wrong?; Soranik Natu: Can a doctor be a Green Lantern?; The Mosaic, xenophobia, and integrationism; Power relations between Green Lanterns and Guardians; Ring of Gyges, ring of Green Lantern: The temptations of power; Kingdom of Ends: What constitutes a moral community like the Green Lantern Corps across species?; Using the ring for universal law, not particular goods: is this principle always worth upholding?; “I’m still the pretty one”: The meaning of Green Lantern costumes; Living up to legacy: The role of Alan Scott; Rewriting the Book of Oa: The role of tradition and law; Green Lanterns behaving badly: Do heroes need to be morally unblemished?; The chaos of life and the order of death: Guardians, Lanterns and Manhunters; The role of myth in Green Lantern identity
Submission Guidelines:
1. Submission deadline for abstracts (100-500 words) and CV(s): June 15, 2009
2. Submission deadline for first drafts of accepted papers: September 8,2009.
3. Submission deadline for finals drafts accepted papers: November 15, 2009
Kindly submit abstract (with or without Word attachment) and CV by email to:
Jane Dryden (janedryden@gmail.com)
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