Batman and Robin #14

          I thought my subscriptions had ended for this series, but then this arrived in the mail. I absolutely hated the previous issue, It was one of the worst things I've ever had the misfortune of reading. I hated the plot, the art the writing, I vented to one of my friends about it for an hour straight. I didn't like that Pyg was in it, I didn't like defacing Thomas Wayne, and even suggesting that Joker wants to repent and become a hero was just distasteful.
          In this issue, you find out that "Thomas Wayne" is actually the "Black Glove" (whoever that is) and he tortures Pyg into joining his side, against Batman the Joker kidnaps and beats Robin. Joker puts Robin up for ransom, so that he can have Batman stop Pyg and the Black Glove. Pyg and BG capture commissioner Gordon and are giving him a contagious narcotic when Batman comes in and joker gas' some people.
          I hated the last issue, but I loved this one, and I now understand the last one. Morrison and Irving are doing something really good. They are showing Gotham in as realistic a way as possible. It's villains, and the heroes. This has been tried before, several times. It has never worked out perfectly, Frank Millar's Daredevil did it pretty well, you can argue that Batman the Dark Knight Returns, and Strikes again did it well to, but this is done particularly well. I didn't like his work with Arkham Asylum, it looked like he was trying too hard, but he's doing a much better job with this one.
         He did a great job with the Joker in this issue, especially when he said he liked a Robin that brought his own crowbar. That and Morrison of course made him more realistic. So now that I understand what Morrison is doing with this arc, I like it a lot. This arc is a must buy.




Grade: 9/10
Buy at: www.mycomicshop.com

Batman and Robin #13

                 13 is an unlucky number, even for Batman and Robin. All right, I know I usually have an introduction about the series right here, but I have a lot of angry venting to do so I'm going to dive right into the synopsis. Joker reviled himself to be Osborne Sexton. That is what happened in issue 12 that is very important to know. This issue started off with Thomas Wayne coming back, apparently he hired someone to kill his wife and then he disappeared and then came back and killed Dick Grayson. The comic then flashes back to three days earlier. Commissioner Gordon and Batman apprehend the Joker after through a monologue about how careless he was in leaving his clues, which he apparently likes to do. Okay clues are Riddlers thing. Turns out that Joker killed Osborne Sexton and took his identity so that he could help Batman, and be a good guy? You can't do that to the Joker it just doesn't work, unless you have some devious plot for later on. Then there is something with Professor Pyg doing something with addictions. But back to Joker, he asked to see Robin. Robin is not convinced that Joker is on the straight and narrow, so he tries to beat the truth out of him with a crow bar.
               I like the crow bar thing, beating Joker just like Joker beat Jason Todd, but that was the only good thing about this issue. If Morrison makes Thomas Wayne come back, he would have killed off the real Batman (Bruce Wayne) and ruined what Batman worked for. (avenging his parents) So if you put those things together: No more Batman. Grant Morrison would be responsible for finally killing Batman. My main problem with this book is the art. I do not like Frazer Irving. I think he should draw horror comics, not Batman. I had the same major problem with Bruce Wayne Returns #2 and guess what, it was also drawn by Frazer Irving. I liked the old artist Andy Clark, he made this series different, but his art was still good. I also like Frank Quitely, If it weren't for his cover I doubt this issue would have sold more than a hundred copies (an exaggeration I know). If I were buying this series at a comic store this would be my jumping off point, unfortunately I have to wait for my subscription to end, which will be soon.  I have read other reviews of the same comic, and I know I'm in the very small minority (if it even exists beyond me) but I stand by what I said. At IGN they loved the art and said it made it creepy and powerful, I thought it looked like it was being forced to be creepy. If it is over done, it looks fake, and it did. There were a couple pannles that I thought were really good, but the rest of it was contrived.

Grade: 1/10
Do Not Buy at: www.mycomicshop.com

Bruce Wayne Returns #'s 1&2

              Popular consensus was that this series wasn't any good. I really thought they were wrong, I thought this series was going to be really good, Bruce Wayne returning, Grant Morrison, how could this go wrong. It already started with an advantage (at least for me) because I really want Bruce Wayne to come back. But these comics were really disappointing.
The first issue is set in the time of the cavemen , for some reason there is a rocket stuck in the ground with Superman's cape in it. Eventually someone throws a rock in a cave, this makes Bruce Wayne come out. None of the Cavemen can speak well, except one named Boy. Batman can't speak at all. Eventually a tribe who is lead by Vandal Savage comes out and starts to attack the tribe that is looking after Batman. The "Savage tribe" defeats the Batman tribe and takes Batman prisoner. Boy dresses in a mask and goes to rescue Batman, once rescued Bruce Wayne and the Bat tribe defat the "Savage tribe." When running away Boy and Batman have to jump in a lake, after doing so Batman winds up in the same spot, just around the time of the Salem Witch Trails. It also happens that Booster Gold, Superman, Green Lantern, and Rip Hunter are all looking for Wayne, and they arrived just after Bruce left.
           When Bruce Wayne came out of the cave, I was so happy. As you may know I've been waiting for this ever since Bruce Wayne "died." However the rest of this comic was a let down. I was disappointed that nobody could speak, not even Batman, and the scene with the cavemen introducing themselves went on for way to long. This is one of the only comics I struggled to get through. I love the Idea but the comic its self was really bad.
           In the second issue the time period is during the Salem Witch Trials. Superman, Green Lantern, Booster Gold and Rip Hunter are still looking for Wayne and they go to this sort of... Library of time thing, that is supposed to blow up the time stream, it's very confusing I had no Idea of what was going on. Down on earth Wayne woke up in the same spot just with like Kraken like thing attacking him, after Batman goes unconscious, he wakes up in a small house which belongs to a girl who has necklaces with Wonder woman's and Superman's logos on them. Batman is going by the name Mordecai (he still has no idea of who he is) who was apparently in this town from Boston to help "root out witches." Then the story goes back to the Logo Girl, who is apparently a friend of nature. I did like the next part. Batman is standing to have his portrait done, it is the same picture that Dick Grayson will investigate later. But some angry town people come and show him the Kraken which they keep calling a dragon. Back at the Time Library the evil librarian turns out to be Bruce Wayne and if he goes back to his own time period he will "kill every one." On earth  Wayne is going to the lake to fight the Kraken when the girl tells him that he is not Mordecai but just some other guy that appeared, then Batman gets sucked in to the lake and he wakes up on Black Beard's ship.
           Confusing right? So was the comic. The only thing that was good about this comic (besides the picture) was the fact that I'm one issue closer to having Bruce Wayne back. The plot was so confusing and all of the characters look the same, I counted to see how many pages were left in this book, this is slightly worse than Justice League #45, and I didn't think that was possible.

Grade #1: 5.5/10
Grade #2: 0.2/10
Average of #1and2: 2.85/10
Don't wast your money at: www.mycomicshop.com

Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin issue 7 (and others)

I subscribed to this series thinking it would be about either: Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, or Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake. This made me very exited, I really wanted (and still want) a return of Bruce Wayne. I did not look to see who the author was. If I had seen Grant Morrison's name written I would have immediately have known it was going to be Dick Grayson and someone else, and I would have not subscribed. I have been putting these comics aside to collect dust until today. I picked up issue 7, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed it. It was a story about the potential resurrection of Bruce Wayne, and it featured the Knight and the Squire. (see Grant Morrison's The Black Case Book to be as exited as I am) I will give any readers a fair warning: I was a little confused, but the comic explains the plot later on.

After reading this issue, I went back to my comic collection, and pulled out others in the series. These were also very good, some were even better than number 7. I do hope that Bruce Wayne returns to a full series, but this is a good space filler. (for the time being)

Before issue 7, the stories were about Jason Todd. (Aka: the Red Hood) His returns are

always dramatic, but never as serious as this. He took the name as the "Red Hand of Justice" and the motto "Let the punishment fit the crime." With his guns and knives he runs around the streets killing all major, and minor criminals.

These early issues go into: Jason Todd's resentment toward Batman, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson and even him self. He toys with the new Batman and the new Robin, until he goes [even a little more] insane [that he already is]. I thoroughly enjoyed every issue of this series [that I read], and do recommend buying it at a comic store. I do not recommend subscribing, I do not think these are the best comics I've ever read, and will probably get board with them relatively quickly.

Issue Grade: B

Series Grade: C+ (issues 1 through 3 lowered the grade)

Buy at: www.mycomicshop.com