#(i haven’t read taylor’s nightwing run) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cairoscene · 2 years

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went like a not insignificant distance into your blog because I can feel the batfamily consuming me and eating my heart and so on. haven’t ever read or watched or played batman however. as I trust your opinions Where do you suggest I start

omg welcome. i have recently been afflicted with something similar so i do have recs!! in terms of canon — which i will say i have middling opinions about, and i'll admit that i haven't really read any comics older than the 90s — i'll recommend the comics that really got me In Trouble: Batman: The Knight (2021). 10 issues by Chip Zdarsky and Carmine Di Giandomenico. this remains my batman holy grail. it's about bruce's journey to becoming batman and focuses on pivotal experiences in his education. it also features my favorite hot sexy murderous ex husband, minhkhoa khan. also, and most importantly, has some of the best written bruce and alfred interactions that i've read.

Nightwing (2016) #78—. by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. idk this was one of the first ones i read and i just really enjoy the punchy art and the action and the dialogue. from my understanding from #78 onward, the issues are trying to maybe breathe more life and color into nightwing's stories, and for me it works. it's just super fun and cute and i love dick grayson.

Dark Knights of Steel (2021). another Tom Taylor, this time with Yasmin Putri. idk if you told me a year ago that i would be into reading a DC fantasy AU where superman is a prince and batman is his loyal guard i would have laughed in your face. but it's really very fun and the art is excellent. i have quibbles about the worldbuilding, but the robins make it worth it. the robins feature and they are delightful. excellent brainworm material overall. it's still ongoing and i'm not sure how many issues are planned.

Batman/Superman: World's Finest (2022). this one's by Mark Waid and !!! Dan Mora (whose art i cannot stress enough makes me cry) and it's set to be 10 issues, there's one more coming in december. it's got great sort of vintagey vibes and is just really really fun, featuring dick grayson robin who i would run into a burning building for.

for batman proper i'll say i've been kind of cherrypicking issues to read, but i read a good long run of Batman (2016) starting with #102 because, you guessed it, it's the introduction of minhkhoa khan, aka the ghost-maker. i also enjoyed the Fear State saga (#112-117), but most recently i've been very into the recent issues by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez starting with #125, which sets up a conflict between batman and failsafe—an AI bruce himself created in case he ever needed to be taken down. so far the failsafe saga has given me:

bruce badly beaten and bleeding <3

the whole family banding together to try to stop failsafe

batman zur-en-arrh, which is like, if batman fell into a bucket of colorful paint

so, so many tim drake feelings

just to name a few.

PHEW so for non-comic media, i recommend:

Batman: Wayne Family Adventures. a webcomic from Webtoon by CRC Payne and Starbite. new episodes every week and they're FREE and they focus on slice-of-life family stuff and some character-centric episodes, which is all i've ever wanted really. this was the first batman thing i read, which kicked me off into looking into canon more, resulting in this hilarious set of messages to my friend spanning probably no more than a few hours:

for movies, i don't tend to vibe with the characterization of bruce (and damian. and dick. and talia..) but i enjoyed Batman: Bad Blood (2016) and Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010). also Please Watch The Lego Batman Movie. seriously it's really good and fun

for video games, i've only played Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) out of the legendary series of games by Rocksteady. but man is it A Game (admiring). i also do have a lot of fun playing Gotham Knights (2022) because it's focused on the kids in the batfamily, but i will admit that it sure is A Game (derogatory).

jesus this is getting long. in terms of fic, i would probably have to make a separate post for all of the fic that's lit my brain on fire but you can check out my fic rec tag here on tumbo and my public bookmarks on AO3 for some of my favorites. i also highly endorse all of the fics in @vinelark 's batfam fic rec thread on twitter.

thanks for this opportunity to gush incoherently and i hope this helps <3

#i actually forgot what my ask tag is #asks answered #?#i think that's it #anyway thank you sorry and omg hi!#batman #long post

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roseworth · 1 year

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What don’t people like about Tom Taylor’s Nightwing run? (Genuinely asking.) I haven’t read any other Nightwing runs in full but I have read some old one-shots like Old Friends, New Enemies (alright) and The New Order (absolute garbage), as well as the entirety of New Teen Titans and the 2003 Titans run. I’m not that emotionally invested in Taylor’s run. Every time I see Babs as Batgirl I get so angry my vision blurs but besides that I just kinda read it every month like “that was kinda fun” and then I forget about it. Do people dislike it because of how frivolous it is or is it too two-dimensional a representation of his character or…? I’m just confused because I love being a hater but I see him bullied a lot more than other authors who deserve it more (like Scott Lobdell, who we should guillotine) and idk why (besides the obvious ableism problem with Babs, but that’s a company wide issue). I hope this ask isn’t annoying or unintentionally rude or anything. I’m genuinely just curious. I mean, hey, if we’re all lining up to attack Tom Taylor with hammers, I’ll get in line but I gotta know why, y’know?

idk why everyone else doesnt like him so i cant speak for anyone but myself (i also havent read any other full nightwing runs so maybe my opinion doesnt count hfsadkjhfsaj)

but personally my biggest problem with it is babs being batgirl :/ even batgirls is making half an attempt to put her in the wheelchair sometimes, but this run feels like its going out of its way to make babs be batgirl

other than that there arent like. Major Problems its just bad lmao, the writing feels so forced all the time and its like hes structuring the whole story around moments that he wants (like dick hugging bruce and calling him dad) but then all the moments seem unearned because he barely built up to it and it feels out of place. also theres like,,, no actual plot. he keeps pretending that theres actually a story but then nothing happens every issue

not to mention the way he writes dick is so. ugh. its like dick cant do anything with help which is really annoying bc hes getting knocked on his ass by random villains every month and then its like "oh but he has so many friends and the titans are here to help him <3!!!!" and then that happens 50 times

anyways. i think that a big reason he gets a lot of hate now rather than someone like lobdell is because lobdell isnt currently writing anything (afaik? hes not writing anything that i care about at least fhdjsahfk) so even though i want him to die hes not in my line of vision and i have no object permanence. TAYLOR on the other hand is writing multiple books rn and i see people hail him as one of dc's best writers and its sooo frustrating so i hate him. he also annoys me so i think he should die

most of what annoys me personally is that he writes the most bland stories with no actual characterization but there are still people acting like hes gods gift to earth in the form of a comic writer ://// like hes not a good writer, hes writing moments that are intended to be screenshotted and posted on twitter instead of writing stories

im not trying to convince you to hate tt or anything ofc, theres nothing wrong with his nightwing run (other than the ableism which like you said is prob more of a dc editorial thing than him specifically) so if you enjoy it thats great, godspeed 🫡

#i actually enjoyed his nightwing run when i was first reading it #i thought it was fun and i was like 'o im excited to see where this goes <3'#um. then it didnt go anywhere. then i realized that it sucks really bad #hes annoying on twitter too which is probably the worst thing anyone has ever done and is a crime worse than murder

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mangoisms · 10 months

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i am incredibly open to writing something for dick like i literally had a whole idea for a fic for him last year — outlined and everything! the oc was fleshed out! she had powers! i made up a city! it was fun to plan! — but after further thought i would really need to do way more reading for him. i don’t feel comfortable enough to go off what i have. i don’t mind featuring him briefly in current stuff (which i really haven’t bc in my beautiful mind hes living with roy and lian in new york far away from bruce <3) but obviously this would Center on him and. yeah.

especially because my first foray was the current nightwing run before i wised up about it because 1) tom taylor and atrocious treatment of babs and characterization and just. Anyway and 2) me cementing pre-flashpoint as my holy bible in terms of what canon i trust and am happy to take on because everything after flashpoint is A Mess and YEAH. you see my problem

#haven’t even read his origins!#i’ve read tim’s and jason’s #and like both of jason’s #like back when his parents were also performers like dick’s and he was a ginger #then the other one #cass’s too of course #but not dicks not the iconic moment #seen panels of it of course since tim leeches off his trauma as shown in a lonely place of dying #KIDDING about that. sort of. you know who else was there when dicks parents fell to their deaths?#batcow.#anyway. so. yeah!

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wallylinda · 2 years

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Dick and Wally are also super-generic under Tom Taylor. I want a Dick who can be a self-righteous prick at times, a Wally who sometimes wants to have fun even at grossly inappropriate times. And Bruno? At least put a George Perez memorial panel with Dick and a character associated with George; there are dozens who would fit.

I would not have as much of a problem as I do with Birdflash, both platonic and romantic, if any modern portrayal of it was actually in character. Pre-Flashpoint, Dick and Wally weren’t particularly close: while it’s true that they were childhood friends and still had the occasional teamup, both were integrated more into different spheres of DC and didn’t associate nearly enough to be called best friends. They co-existed, but didn’t really mingle.

This all changed in Rebirth, particularly in Titans (2016). This comic claims that Wally was an integral part of the team—where previously, he had just barely appeared under the Titans title post the dissolution of the Fab Five—and was Dick’s best friend. This is ignoring both of their actual best friends and slotting them together for no apparent reason other than the fact that, at the time, their BFF counterparts from Young Justice the animated TV show were really popular.

DC has since taken this narrative and run wild with it. Now, I haven’t actually read Nightwing (2016) or any of Dick’s other series, so I can’t claim to be an expert on him. However, according to what I’ve seen from his fans, Taylor’s characterization of Dick is absolute dogshit, and Wally is much the same. To put it simply, both appear very sanitized: there’s no arguing, no “bad” personality traits, nothing that actually makes them them. Birdflash is really just an over-exaggerated ship that’s been facelifted from a show that has no actual basis in canon.

#sorry but I’m right lmao #also i still hate the fact that dick was wally’s best man. were both hartley and kyle dead or smth???#asks #dc

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stxleslyds · 3 years

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You always seem down on the idea of the Batfam. I mean, it is hard to take seriously when writers make Bruce hostile or downright abusive towards his kids, or when Batfam members never interact. But do you think the concept itself is good, and it's just been the victim of bad writing? Or do you think the Batfam is a bad idea that can never work?

Hi there Anon! Thank you for the ask!

Hmm, this is a difficult question. Maybe I can answer this better if I do it in parts because the concept of “Batfamily” is used in different ways currently. A way to separate them can be, DC’s Batfamily, Fandom’s Batfamily and Fandom’s Batfamily lore being introduced in comics’ canon.

DC’s Batfamily:

My rejection of this version of Batfamily comes from all angles, it is not a good concept within comics lore anymore, it’s badly written and used to hide and move on from truly horrendous actions done by Bruce towards the rest of the family, and DC uses the concept of “Batfamily” that fandom has become so attached to, so they can profit off of it without writing anything of real essence with it.

Why did I say that the Batfamily isn’t a good concept anymore? Well, because the Batfamily that I first came across in comics included, Bruce, Dick, Alfred, Barbara, Tim and Cassandra. It was rather small and their books interconnected and had pretty solid relationships with one another. Dick and Tim got along and spent time together, Barbara mentored Cass so she could become Batgirl and so on and so forth. The family was smaller and more connected. But they still had problems and bad habits then. So, I liked them as a group of people that worked together and the name they received was “Batfamily” as a way for DC to profit from it.

Right now, the Batfamily is huge, I don’t know if you have seen those splash pages with all the members of it for Rebirth and Infinite Frontier, but those promotional pages were crazy big, characters like Harley and Clownhunter are now considered part of the “Batfamily” and all that. Then there is the kind of characters like Cass, Steph and Kate who are all connected to Batman but that haven’t been appearing in books for very long, so putting them on that page really feels like DC is trying to prove that their “Batfamily” actually has women on it, but it’s just for show.

And then there is Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian, the most recognizable faces of the Batfamily aside from Bruce and Alfred (but Alfred is dead now so he doesn’t really count), all of them have had issues with Bruce or are indifferent to the existence of one another. Yes, Tom Taylor has included Tim in Dick’s book but here is the thing, it feels like he put him there just to make fans shut up about the lack of content with both of them acting as they used to do. But its false and lazy, Taylor just brought Tim to the book but we don’t get to see Tim and Dick interact in ways that can explain why they drifted off, it kinda seems like all those years where Dick and Tim were pulled apart never happened to DC and that makes me think “cash grab”. I would have loved to see them interact again if it meant that we would have some solid story for them to develop their relationship once more.

At the end of Rebirth, Damian was pissed off at Bruce and they had a fight and Damian left the manor completely. Bruce beat up Jason, then gave him a hug but still told him that he was banned from Gotham and all that abuse and manipulation was swept under the rug when DC came out with Urban Legends: Cheer, all they did with that story is lie and made-up stories about Jason wanting Bruce to go on a killing spree so Gotham can finally be the home to his beloved family (lies, lies, lies).

On top of all that we have the neglect, abuse and manipulation that Bruce had going on with Dick, ever since Bruce manipulated Dick into joining Spyral his actions haven’t faced any consequences (the family still believes that Dick was the one who lied about dying). And as recently as the end of Rebirth, Dick suffered from a head injury that left him amnesiac and Bruce absolutely didn’t care enough to look after him when he was so vulnerable and alone. DC had the audacity of having Bruce say that he was looking after Dick while Dick went from one villain manipulating and hurting him to another, and if we look at Batman’s run, we can see that he spent some of that time in a weird pit or playing catch the pussy with Selina in a tropical island.

So, taking all those things into account, I honestly believe that the Batfamily is a concept that absolutely does not belong in comics. If it were to be taken seriously then DC should come up with (organic, not forced) stories that make these characters connect once again, but they have to be careful, just because they can connect it doesn’t mean that everyone gets along and they have group chats and eat dinner together of Fridays, that would be a blatant lie and just too out there for their kind of dynamic, so, they should take things slow, start re-building what once was an make it better (if they want to make it work and feel like less of a cash grab).

I heard that there is a book with Cass and Steph being mentored as Batgirls by Barbara coming out in December, that to me is a good thing, what was done in Robin #5 was awful, Jason didn’t have or want to be there, Tim, what the hell was Tim doing there? The only ones that have gotten along with Damian and have had a solid relationship with him were Dick and Steph. Dick had a very nice moment with Damian in that issue, but Steph didn’t, they preferred to have Jason wanting to hug Damian instead (what the actual hell was that?).

Fandom’s Batfamily:

Fandom is a place where people can take any concept from anywhere and transform it into whatever they please. This fandom is just like any other in that matter, but I have noticed that sometimes the Batfamily Fandom tends to blur the lines between what’s fanon and canon. Their lore is so deep and established among people that they sometimes (willingly or not) make new readers or other people believe that how things and perceived in fandom is how things actually are in comics, and that is a huge problem.

Things like “Dick sent Jason to Arkham when the Joker was just a cell away”, “Jason has pit madness and when he gets mad his eyes turn glowy green”, “Dick was a horrendous brother to Jason before Jason died”, “Jason would be good friends with Tim and Cass”, “Jason is the only one that sees the world differently from Bruce and the other robins because he is the only one that comes from a life with no luxury” and so on and on and on…

All of those things are sometimes treated as the absolute truth by fandom and no matter how many times people have debunked and explained that those things aren’t part of comics’ canon because they are simply not true, fandom stills treats those things as the basis of their Batfamily lore.

That lore would be actually fascinating if people didn’t lose sight so easily of the fact that at the end of the day none of that lore can be applied to comics’ canon.

When you enter this fandom things can be extremely confusing and the way some of the characters are characterized are completely different to their canon characterizations, I knew that the Dick fandom was writing about was not real, but I had no idea that Tim being a coffee addict that hasn’t slept in five months and is an absolute genius in everything and anything that he does was completely out of character for him, I just thought that was true to his character in comics too. Something like that happened to me when I took a peek at Jason’s side of fandom, by that time I had read Red Hood/Arsenal, UtRH and New 52 RHatO (yeah in that order, Red Hood/Arsenal wasn’t finished yet though), with the already conflicting characterizations of those books, the first look that I had at fandom’s Jason confused me even more. After considering all those I decided that the Jason that I wanted to see and actually looked appealing to me was UtRH Jason.

Not all people in fandom read comics and that is ABSOLUTELY VALID, I have zero problems with people not liking the comic characterizations of the “Batfamily” characters, but that in itself also creates a rift between fans themselves.

Fandom’s Batfamily lore being introduced in comics’ canon:

This is obviously the intersection of the other two points and this is the biggest problem that I have with the Batfamily concept. The fandom lore has been leaking into comic’s canon for a while now but right now we are kinda drowning in it. Decisions that have been made recently in DC like, Jason giving up his guns, the group chats in Nightwing issues, the family dinners that were hinted at in Cheer #6, and Bruce having had at the ready a Red Hood suit for Jason with a Batman logo in its chest, have been proof enough that DC is planning on skipping any kind of solid writing for these characters to actually get along. We are never going to see these people sit down and talk about their differences and respect each other’s work ethics.

We are never going to get stories of actual essence that prove that these characters understand and care for each other, we are just going to be told that “all is good” and now everyone loves one another and they will build from there.

That is a problem for me.

And it also takes away duality from Gotham’s vigilantes, I know I say this too much but it’s the truth, putting all these characters under the ruling of Batman makes them all bland. Jason shouldn’t be part of any sort of group that involves Bruce! My god, I don’t want to see them interact anymore! Bruce has been absolute trash to Jason ever since he came back from the dead and I am tired of DC trying to make them be on good terms!

Jason and Bruce not getting along can co-exist with the fact that Jason isn’t a villain to Batman’s legendary hero. Jason is his own character, with his own morals and he doesn’t need a bat symbol on his chest or book logo to be relevant. Same with Dick, Tim and Barbara, let them be characters that can stand on their own because they have already done that!

Barbara as Oracle worked WITH Batman if she wanted, she had her own logo and had passed on the mantle of Batgirl because he had grown out of it.

Dick is Nightwing and has become an even better hero than Batman could even aspire to become, he has contacts with everyone in the DC universe, has led countless teams, he doesn’t NEED a batman logo on his book or to be constantly dragged back to him just to make the Bat more compelling.

Jason, my sweet Jason, he had his own logo! It was gorgeous and then Lobdell had the audacity to stamp a Batman logo in the middle of the book name and in Jason’s chest! Have we gone absolutely mad? Why did they do that? Lobdell’s constant back and forth with Jason and his feelings for Bruce, he respects him and he doesn’t, he kills and he doesn’t… each issue felt like a new take on the character! It was crazy!

And that has happened with everyone in the “family”. I will end this by saying that Bruce/Batman being at the centre of this “Batfamily” dynamic is the most laughable thing in the DC Universe. Batman isn’t family to any of the people that they constantly surround him with, he is a piece of shit.

Anyway Anon, I hope this answer doesn’t ruin your day and that you understand that even though I really don’t like the “Batfamily” concept, you and everyone else are allowed and encouraged to think differently!

Hope you have a marvellous day Anon!

#jason todd #red hood #dick grayson #nightwing #tim drake #damian wayne #batfamily #batfam #dc comics #asksss

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hood-ex · 3 years

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So Nightwing 83 is out;

Pros and Cons of it?

I experienced so many emotions while reading that. I need to take a fucking walk holy shit. I'm buzzin'. But, okay, pros and cons. Let's gooo.

I'm still not sure if I'm really all that stoked about Melinda actually being Dick's sister, but I like that Dick still doesn't trust her. I want him to look for more evidence behind what she's saying before he really decides to partner with her though.

Dick's exchange with Audre about him breaking in was kinda funny. "Oh, yeah. I suppose I did."

The helicopter scene was cool even though it looked stupid for him to launch himself right into the line of fire where he could've easily been riddled with bullets (and somehow wasn't).

I don't like that Babs is still wearing that shirt. I actually forgot she was wearing that, so seeing it so suddenly when she was rushing to help Dick was like, "Oh, yeah. There's that thing I hate."

I thought it was weird how Babs casually told Dick that he had been asleep for two days. Like, hellur. Dick got kicked in the head so hard that he blacked out, and he was also hit in the head again prior to that. You're telling me Babs wasn't at all concerned about the reasoning behind him sleeping for two days being brain trauma related? If I knew someone who had been hit in the head so hard that they went unconscious, and if they showed no signs of waking up after a normal amount of sleeping time had passed after said event occurred, I would be freaking the fuck out and calling an ambulance. Just saying.

"Tim's been patrolling for you." You been reading fanfics, Taylor? Ha, I'm kidding.

Dick wearing Converse made me 😂.

I do like that we got to see Dick consulting people in his social circle. I like that he went to his friends for their opinions because that's what we all do irl. We ask our friends for advice and ideas. It also continues to show us that Dick will use his personal connections to help him achieve something.

I gotta admit, the Dick and Clark scene really fucking got me. I'm a sucker for scenes between them. This interaction reaffirmed that Dick did indeed get the Nightwing name from Clark, and it also reaffirmed that Dick is an extremely respected person in the cape community.

"You're a lot like him, you know?" Okay, thanks, Clark. I didn't need my heart today.

Tbh, the thing that really got me was Clark asking Dick to look out for Jon, and Clark thinking of Dick as the ultimate role model. That... speaks so much about Dick's character. Like just think about it. Superman thinks that Dick is the best possible person that Jon could grow up to be like. And it's not just Clark who thinks this either. Oh, no. Slade fucking Wilson thinks so too (at least to some extent) which is exactly why he wanted Rose to adopt Dick's values (via Rebirth Deathstroke #19).

This issue just proved that DC editors sure ain't working hard enough because there was a damn typo during Dick's speech. It should've read, "Too many good people have fallen in Bludhaven," instead of, "To many good people have fallen in Bludhaven." Like come onnn. I betcha they're using the same editor who approved the "Romani smile" line. Yeesh.

The things Dick wanted to do with The Alfred Pennyworth Foundation made me laugh because when Dick was talking about his plans with Clark, Dick was like, "I'm worried it's too small," and Clark was like, "It's not small, it's focused." Focused? It sounds like Dick is trying to tackle a pretty hefty amount of social, economical, and environmental issues. I mean, okay, so he's focusing on Bludhaven mostly. I'll give him that.

Tim's text to Dick made me laugh because, well, yeah. Yeah. Jason texting Dick is... interesting. I have mixed feelings about Jason's current place in the family dynamic, so part of me is like, "Cool," and the other part of me is like hmm... that's a little fanon-y.

Either way, I just think it's funny to imagine all the bats stopping what they're doing to watch Dick talk on TV. You do have to kind of think of them as the Kardashians in a way when stuff like this comes up. Because, yeah, they've seen each other on TV before so it's not like they'd all be rushing to the nearest TV while yelling, "Hurry up! Dick's on TV!" but he is important to them, and they do want to support him still (even though I am questioning said support a bit because writers haven't built up Steph and Cass's relationship with Dick enough so this whole thing feels a little too "perfect family" for my tastes).

Also! Damian texting Dick! We have to assume that Damian is tracking his family (or, at least, tracking Dick specifically) on the web. How else would he have known to watch Dick's speech? Unless someone texted him about it. But uh... that kinda doesn't make sense with Damian running away from his fam and everything.

Heartless referring to Dick as "my first." Hm. Okay. I feel like I need him to be more intimidating or something. His whole aesthetic reminds me of that kabuki mask-wearing dude from Big Hero 6. Yokai/Robert dude. But less ominous.

All in all, I definitely appreciate some of the relationships that were shown in this issue. I still just find the massive support Dick is suddenly getting from all of his friends and family to be a little... off-putting. Specifically, because this arc takes place after the amnesia arc where we got nearly none of that same support. It feels like two large, opposing extremes. The amnesia arc wasn't enough, and in comparison, Taylor's arc almost feels like overkill because of it. As if he's trying to compensate for the lack of support by being like Look At All The Support Over Here! And If You Look To Your Right, Guess What You'll See? More Support!!

I guess it's weird to complain about Dick getting loved on but, narratively, the degree to which it's occurring compared to the last arc just doesn't feel right. There's a lack of build to a satisfying balance.

#Dick Grayson #Nightwing 83 #tuesday spoilers #spoilers #anon

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our-happygirl500-fan · 3 years

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I’ve noticed that not many people not many people have been talking about the Batgirls sidestory from this weeks Batman comic. In fact I’ve been seeing more Batgirls panels from Cass & Steph’s cameos in this weeks issue of Nightwing than from the actual Batgirls story & I’ve been wondering why that is.

Most people have been saying that they weren’t aware that the Batgirls story was out, assuming the preview that was released was for the Batgirls comic coming in December not the Batgirls side story.

So I’ve been wondering why was their so little attention for or even knowledge about the Batgirls side story & the reason I’ve come up with is no one cares about Tynion’s Batman right now & the Batgirls side story is suffering from sharing a comic with it.

It feels weird saying ‘no one cares to pick up or check out the main Batman title’ but considering the state of things it makes sense. The main Batman Title is focusing on Tynion’s OC’s or another Bat event. And after going from City of Bane to Joker War to Fear State most people are ignoring the comic until the event is over.

When you’re sick of event after event why read about another one, especially when the characters it focuses on aren’t the ones you’re interested in. There is hardly a shortage of Batbooks right now & most of the Batfam who don’t have their own books right now such as Duke or Tim or Jason can be found in stories in some of the many other Batbooks going on right now such as Detective Comics or Urban Legends so why bother picking up the main Batbook?

I haven’t heard any one talk about the main Batman book in ages most people I know got sick of the magistrate plotline & Ghost maker side story back in like June or July. The only time I hear people talk about anymore is when they are waiting for Tynion’s run to be over.

So I think the reason no one is talking about the Batgirls side story is because its a side story in a book that no one reading.

And to go back to my earlier points of people paying more attention to a cameo than the side story I think the reason that the Nightwing panels are circulating more than the Batgirls panels is because a lot of people are paying attention to Nightwing right now either from still being excited to have Dick back after around two years of Ric or because they want to pay attention to the... choices Taylor is making when writing Babs.

#DC comics #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #barbara gordon #dc

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bigskydreaming · 3 years

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Tom is already rehashing some things, like too many homages to the nineties run, Zucco's daughter plot point, Beatrice had ideas for societal reform he's taking that and giving it to Dick. It'll probably be half hearted, but it stings that Beatrice left just a few issues ago and she's already completely forgotten for the sake of DickBabs or a love triangle.

Like the thing about the nineties runs is I mean, as much flack as we give various elements of them, there’s so much from that time period that was good? Great, even! Just....myself and the writers seem to have very different opinions on what the most interesting elements of the nineties comics were, oh well.

And omgggggg I’m still so mad about Bea, and its literally Shawn Tsang all over again. The writers keep introducing new, interesting characters, investing just enough time and focus into them to have us interested in them and wanting to see more.....and then they toss them aside to go back to drawing from the same well as always.

And the thing is, this isn’t even about me not really being a Dick/Babs shipper, because honestly, I’m not enjoying the Dick/Kory stuff in what I’ve seen of Titans Academy either, and for the exact same reason:

When they create new characters like Shawn and Bea, they KNOW they’re starting from scratch and need to build interest in those characters from the ground up. So they’re forced to put their best foot forward. There’s no short cut there, if you want people to care about a brand new character you have to give them REASONS to care. You have to make those characters likable, you have to make people WANT to root for them, you have to hook them with intriguing backstories that don’t feel formulaic and new angles that don’t feel just derivative of older characters, and that’s how we got stuff like Shawn’s history as a former sidekick to a villain and now running a support group for rogues trying to turn their lives around, and Bea’s work in societal reform.

But then the second they stop having the patience to build the new characters up enough that the interest in them can actually start to reach the levels that lets older characters last and grants longevity....they just toss them aside and move on....except they never really move on, just backwards. Because the problem with so MANY superhero couples, far from just Dick and Babs or Dick and Kory, is just....how lazy it seems to make so many canon writers. They just fall back on rehashing the same old tropes and just updating popular moments that resonated with fans in the past, now just recreated with a slightly more modern twist but without ever really being anything new.

Even with ships that I’ve never really been sold on in the past like Dick/Babs, I’ve always said, there’s usually nothing stopping me from GAINING interest in them.....its just....the writers have to GIVE ME A REASON TO. And so many of DC’s writers just aren’t even trying. They’re just moving parts around and pushing characters together in various arrangements like everyone’s just a puzzle piece that you can mix and match however you want......and then just basically expecting readers to be interested purely because of who the characters are, or because it hinges on a nice moment that they then milk the hell out of without ever expanding that into building actual STORY around these moments but rather just squeezing each one til they get everything they possibly can out of it and moving on to the next as though its all just about chasing the next soundbite...because it is! LOL.

And honestly, this problem extends far beyond just the Nightwing title or the Batfam or Taylor’s run or writing in particular.....its a company wide issue right now. In fact I would bet just about anything that its a matter of editorial edict, that even before Taylor started his run DC said okay here’s the approach we want everyone taking with their stories right now:

And that’s like.....its all about banking on nostalgia and the comfort of the familiar right now. I think Taylor is drawing all these elements straight from the 90s Nightwing comics, like Blockbuster and Dick having been a cop, etc, because these are the elements of past Nightwing stories that are so well known. Its the same reasoning behind why they put Tim back as Robin and so many of their new characters are just new spins on old faves like Punchline and Harley Quinn, and why they’re pushing all these older ships that haven’t been together in ages and why specific team lineups are reappearing....its because nostalgia is the name of the game for DC right now, and all their writers are just pulling together threads of classic stories that have stood the test of time, figuring anything that landed particularly well with fans in the past will sell with people here and now, and weaving these threads together and brushing over them with a modern social issues veneer.

As an approach, its basically all just about repackaging previously successful story moments and elements with just enough changes or in just new enough a configuration that readers aren’t likely to complain en masse that like “hey we literally already read all this. We’ve already BOUGHT these issues. When we were kids.” Its minimizing creative risk while maximizing monetary profit. Spend as little creative capital as possible outside of anything that’s already been successful in the past and as such is a relatively proven quantity, instead of testing new material that’s an unknown and runs the risk of falling flat and thus not being profitable.

And see, I’d almost guarantee that all THAT, that whole line-wide approach to DC’s storytelling, is because the powers that be looked at the last several years of stories and how many of THEM fell flat with readers, and decided that the problem was they’d BEEN trying too much new stuff and readers just didn’t like it. Because they WERE concentrating on presenting totally new stories and building up new ideas throughout their books.....but readers have been pretty vocal for years now about being disenchanted with most of DC’s major stories. And so DC I think looked at that and came to the conclusion that okay, people just don’t want new right now, they want the familiar.

But like.....DC’s problem IMO was never that they were trying new stuff? The reason so much of their new and original storylines weren’t gaining traction or bringing in readers and kept shedding old readers had absolutely NOTHING to do with them being new and previously unseen storylines, which makes falling back on nostalgia very much a non-solution to entirely the wrong problem.

No, DC’s problem for years has been that they’ve been all about spectacle instead of story. There’s ZERO emotional pay-off to any of their biggest plot twists or character beats, and emotion is LITERALLY what people read stories for. Its all about racing to the climactic action packed finish of every storyline and then immediately resetting everyone back to square one and jumping straight into the next big story, without ever giving the events of any of their stories time or reason to MATTER to the characters.....and if they don’t matter to the characters, our proxies that we’re viewing these stories through, then why should any of it matter to us? Why should any of it linger, dig in roots, resonate with us as moments that left an impact and that we accordingly want more of?

And again, like because I’m a Dick Grayson focused blog I’ve obviously largely been focused on how much I dislike the SPECIFIC reactions or non-reactions to so many of the major beats in his stories.....but it was spread throughout their entire line.

Bruce and Selina almost got married....but why should anyone care outside of Tom King’s title when nobody else seems to, no other characters feel anything about this, and Bruce in none of his other appearances seems the same as ever without any reminder that he just almost got married but then didn’t.....and if the characters don’t ever seem to be affected by or feeling a need to revisit or reflect on recent stories, why should we bother remembering them either?

Jason was dramatically and fucked-upily (yes its a word, I totally looked it up and everything) exiled from Gotham....and then all of that is undone in a single issue with one low-stakes awkward conversation between him and Bruce. Damian quits as Robin and goes off the map and everyone in his family is like “hey don’t we have a littler brother, I feel like we did maybe” for one panel per story arc, and that’s it. Roy’s back from the dead and everybody’s like oh hey cool instead of the kind of return we used to get like when Donna came back and everyone was like oh shit, this MATTERS, because we MISSED you....just like Dick’s death never mattered to anyone but fans of his character because much like I was just saying earlier with them not really giving me a reason TO emotionally invest in Dick and Babs’ relationship if I wasn’t already, same thing with the aftermath of Forever Evil. They didn’t give anyone else reason to emotionally invest in that as something that HAPPENED to Dick and that he was AFFECTED by....because the writers didn’t bother writing him as all that affected by it and it was just like oh he’s a spy now, all that was last year’s content, we’ve moved on, keep up.

And on and on it goes. Ric Grayson was the same problem all over again. Rinse and repeat down the line with everyone from Wally to Donna and etc etc etc.

THAT’S why DC’s stories have been falling flat. It has nothing to do with people not being interested in new ideas, characters or directions, its that’s ALL they were giving us, but it was like just reading wiki summaries of events just alongside pretty art, but no real emotional weight or substance to anything we were reading....and thus, literally nothing that we couldn’t get much the same outcome from if we just...stuck to reading wiki summaries after the stories were over, with no real need to follow along with them. For years most fans have basically just been about keeping up to date with changes in the characters’ lives, but without feeling any real need to watch those changes unfold and play out.

And so honestly I worry we’re just gonna be subjected to a company wide rehashing of old and familiar storylines, directions and character beats, but repackaged and delivered in the exact same way DC was delivering us their new stories and ideas these past years....and its basically going to have the same results, because its the same problem. They didn’t actually fix anything by switching gears, they just shuffled around the actual issue.

And DC’s just gonna be like well now wtf are we doing wrong, we were so sure this would work, everyone LOVES nostalgia right? Did we pick the wrong stories and character beats to bring back?

When really its like......it honestly doesn’t matter WHICH stories and beats they rehash, because its not about them picking the ‘right ones,’ the real keepers, the stories that everyone really WAS eager to see brought back or made new again.....

Its about like, the only reason any of those stories or beats or dynamics stood the test of time and are still familiar and well-known....is because the stories AROUND those moments and ideas gave us reason to emotionally invest in them and retain them as crucial to our view of the characters and things that would resonate and stay with us for a long time.

It was never that any of those ideas or stories were just so innately brilliant that they couldn’t help BUT linger in the overall reader consciousness...it was the fact that we CARED about what happened in those moments and stories.

*Shrugs* But I mean hey, what do I know? I’m just a dude on the internet lolol.

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northoftheroad · 3 years

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From me Part 1: I know it is not a popular opinion but I think I prefer to read the Ric Grayson runs more than the Leaping into the Light thing? I mean yeah, the Ric thing is not good and it doesn't have a good plot and the reason for Dick to be Ric is bad and "Nightwings" isn't so good but... I can't really explain but here let me give an example: we watch Ric earn his money and give it "wisely" but Dick just got money and so far I really don't think he spent the money well.

I honestly understand where you’re coming from! For all that Tom Taylor talks about how Dick is an A-lister, so far he seemed more competent during the “Ric” arc. (I still haven’t read all the issues from those two years because it’s not like I enjoyed it.) But Taylor and Redondo’s work at least have great art, nice character interaction, Dick feels like Dick when it comes to being a genuinely nice guy. All I’m waiting for is a hyper competent Nightwing who is the driving force in his own title.

I’m still hoping Taylor plays a long game and it will pay off in the end. His writing so far have only taken place during a few days. There are definitive drawbacks with writing a slow burn story in a monthly, regularly interrupted by events, book...

#nightwing #dick grayson #robin #tom taylor #ric grayson

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river-bottom-nightmare · 3 years

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So, since you’ve been reading the recent issues of Nightwing recently, has there been any mention of Damian at all, and either way, what are your thoughts on it?

Because let’s be real, Damian is His Kid. The Robin to his Batman. Damian is his baby. And since he’s regained his memories, from what I��ve gathered, there’s been 0 concern shown for Damian from Dick.

So I’m dying to know, has that been addressed at all? Because Dick and Damian and their relationship and dynamic are very much a comfort character for me, and I just have a lot of low level anxiety that Damian and Dicks close bond is going to be one of those things that’s never coming back. That it’ll never be acknowledged again in canon. And someday, the fact they would’ve literally died for and without each other will become a random irrelevant comic fact.

hiya babe!

there has not, as of yet, been any mention of damian. there has been allusions to a “family group chat” (and i didn’t like that scene so i’m not gonna get into it but it’s safe to assume that damian’s on it.)

but you’re absolutely correct about everything. dick and damian do have a close relationship that straddles the line between fraternal and paternal, and i really expected there to be some mention of him so far. we do know that tim’s going to be in the run, which i am excited about, because dick and tim’s traditionally very loving, affectionate, brotherly relationship has been washed away recently. but nope, no mention of damian so far.

it’s getting on my nerves too. and that’s definitely something i fear as well. dick’s run as batman had issues upon issues, but i did love the way dick and damian’s relationship evolved into something more loving and almost airtight in trust. if it stops being pushed and starts being something comic nerds only reference once in a while, like hey did you know tim doesn’t actually drink coffee? and hey did you know oracle isn’t as powerful and meaningful as an able-bodied superhero?, then i will legitimately have a breakdown.

dick was, briefly, in damian’s new robin run. i haven’t read that yet, i’ve only seen pictures on tumblr, so i can’t comment on how important his presence was and how much he did, but at least he’s in there.

here’s hoping tom taylor includes damian in his run sometime soon. also the titans, but that’s just me being needy.

#dick grayson #nightwing #damian wayne #robin #dc

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secretlystephaniebrown · 3 years

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which comic writers do you trust/like?

none of them.

(okay, just kidding, let’s go. to be clear most of these people have probably done at least one book I don’t like/one thing I disagree with, particularly when it comes to people who have been in the industry a while, but in GENERAL, this is true)

Okay so right now, top of my list is

Mariko Tamaki, who’s doing Wonder Woman right now. Lesbian, Japanese, Jewish, generally has written things I’ve enjoyed, best Wonder Woman I’ve read in a hot minute. She’s slated to do Batman for Future State and I’m all eyes emoji over here.

Greg Rucka - big fan. I love Gotham Central, Batwoman: Elegy, his parts of 52 are my favorites, his Wonder Woman is good too, and I love Old Guard, both the movie and the graphic novel.

Ed Brubaker - *chef kiss* his Catwoman... we stan.

Dwayne McDuffie - We have to love him, it’s literally mandatory.

Darwyn Cooke - yes he’s more of an artist but he has written, and I trust him with my life.

G. Willow Wilson - Mostly I’ve read her Ms. Marvel stuff, having not read her Wonder Woman just yet, but I really do like her work, and her early Ms. Marvel stuff in particular really stuck with me.

Dan Jurgens - I haven’t been enjoying his Nightwing and his current Batman Beyond is a bit hit-or-miss for me, but I adore what he’s done with Superman, and I love his Booster Gold. Generally I also have a world of respect for any writer who also does his own artwork, which he does a lot.

Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis - listen they’re two old white men and they write like it sometimes, but they really do vibe, the classic JLI fucking slaps and their run on Booster Gold is good shit.

Mark Waid - Love a Wally West man, also his Daredevil fucking slaps.

Tom Taylor - I realize some people haven’t liked all of his choices, but All-New Wolverine? Genius. Also Injustice is good despite itself and DCeased is way better than a zombie AU has any right to be.

Paul Dini - his Zatanna book fucking slaps. ‘nuff said

Kelly Sue DeConnick - her Aquaman is great, I really liked her Captain Marvel, and just generally I find her solid and enjoyable.

Matt Fraction - *chef kiss* Hawkeye. Jimmy Olsen. a comedic genius, a great writer, a poet.

Gene Luen Yang - Superman Smashes the Klan, New Super-Man? I can even forgive that he wrote that depowered Nu52 Clark bit because those two are so good.

Kelley Puckett - His run on Cass’s Batgirl is honestly some of the best damn comic books I’ve ever read.

Ta-Nehisi Coates - nearly put him in honorable mention and then I remembered he came back to do Captain America, meaning he’s officially a comic book industry person in my book. His Black Panther is beautiful, man.

Honorable mentions who aren’t listed because generally they’re industry outsiders who have usually written one good story and then went on with their lives: Sarah Kuhn, John Rogers, N.K. Jemisen, Tamora Pierce.

#Steph Reads Comics #Anonymous #anon #asks #Steph Replies

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davidmann95 · 3 years

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Got a 2020 Superman State of the Union assessment?

Not the most overtly monumental of years for big blue - a lot of the biggest news for Superman this year was about stuff we’ll see next year, which I’ll get into further below - but on the whole definitely a net positive!

Really, the only things I’d say counted ‘against’ this year were the back half of Rucka and Perkins’ Lois Lane and how badly that went off the rails - which for my money was more than counterbalanced by the conclusion to Fraction and Lieber’s Jimmy Olsen - and Romita Jr. turning in shoddy work on Action Comics. Otherwise? Bendis played out the consequences of Truth in fun ways and closed out his tenure on the main titles with a pair of artful final issues, we got Waid’s return to the character alongside Francis Manapul for a great short story, the last issue of the instantly iconic Superman Smashes The Klan, and several excellent installments in DC’s digital Man of Tomorrow series, while Commanders in Crisis introduced the Superman analogue to beat for the 2020s in Prizefighter. And in mass-media Routh’s Superman got a nice fly-by sendoff at the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths, there were two animated features in Red Son and Man of Tomorrow (the former of which I haven’t seen but the latter of which is probably the best official Superman movie, even if that says more about other Superman movies than anything else), and we naaaaarowly avoided the Superman logo being codified as fascist iconography for a generation. Oh and the comics industry did not in fact end due to Covid. So all-in-all a win.

Anonymous said: It’s almost New Year’s, what’s your predictions for Superman in 2021? (I guess you can do Batman too if you want)

So here’s what we do know officially for Superman in 2021:

* Superman & Lois will debut on the CW, the first Superman TV show (without substantial qualifiers) in 20+ years.

* Future State will feature Jon Kent taking on the mantle in Superman of Metropolis, Justice League, and Superman/Wonder Woman, while a now spacefaring Clark is in Worlds of War, Imperious Lex, Batman/Superman, and House of El. Meanwhile Kara graduates from Supergirl to Superwoman in her own two-parter as well as featuring in Superman of Metropolis, and Conner Kent appears to be acting as some kind of Superman in Suicide Squad.

* Phillip Kennedy Johnson takes over Action Comics and Superman in March, beginning with a two-part crossover The Golden Age illustrated by Phil Hester. After that Action Comics will be drawn by Daniel Sampere through around September, at which point Mikel Janin will be illustrating an event-scale arc for the book. Meanwhile Scott Godlewski will be the artist on Superman, but around the time of Janin’s arc on Action an entirely new, as yet unknown creative team will take over Superman while PKJ remains on Action. Both books will also have backup features spotlighting various Superman/Metropolis-adjacent characters as there’s little space for them in the cosmic direction the main story will be tilting towards for the time being.

* Superman: Red & Blue will debut in March as a counterpart to the various Batman: Black & White series over the years.

* Outside the main Superman books, Clark will star in Brian Bendis and David Marquez’s Justice League, as well as Gene Yang and Ivan Reis’s incredibly rad-looking dimension-hopping new take on Batman/Superman. Bendis is indicating we’ll be seeing the long-delayed Event Leviathan: Checkmate this year as well, which features Lois as one of the main characters.

* Not strictly Superman news, but apparently we’ll be seeing Netflix’s adaptation of Mark Millar and Frank Quitely’s Jupiter’s Legacy next year, which centers around the multi-generational drama of the family of Superman analogue Utopian.

* Zack Snyder’s Justice League, its hour come round at last, slouches towards HBO Max to be born.

As for predictions? Well for starters, pretty much everyone takes as a given that Mark Waid is putting together some long-form Superman project now that he’s working with DC again, and I expect to see something come of that next year; Tom King has also soft-announced he’s working on a Superman project since he’s done with scripting his three current DC minis, but I wouldn’t be surprised if nothing directly came of that until 2022. I’d also speculate that Scott Snyder has something in mind: he’s repeatedly said he’s planning on a major out-of-continuity project, and he’s made clear he’s done with Batman for the time being, I imagine he’s done whatever he wanted to for Wonder Woman with Death Metal, and anything he did with the JSA right now would be extremely in-continuity; I doubt he’s playing with anything less than the icons anytime soon and he definitely seems more engaged with Superman now than he was when he wrote Unchained (hell, the end of Last Knight on Earth can basically only be read as ‘I wanna write Superman now’). Again though, dunno that I’d put money on that being next year.

Outside the theoretical prestige stuff, everything we’re hearing about Future State, Infinite Frontier, and PKJ’s barely-veiled discussion of his run seems to suggest Jon will end up sharing the Superman name in the present and probably taking over that book alongside the new creative team. If Batman: Urban Legends takes off then I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a Superman anthology given DC’s apparent current priorities of consolidating, testing a new publishing model, and putting the biggest names first. And maybe something will finally come of the back-and-forth over whether or not Cavill’s sticking around in the movies - if he is my first guess would be an appearance in DuVernay and King’s New Gods (which is still in progress per DuVernay as of this month) - but we can all I think be pretty sure he’s still not getting a video game anytime soon.

As for what we know for certain of Batman’s 2021:

* Future State has a whole slate of Batman-related books, but Tim Fox takes over the cape and cowl to fight the police state that’s taken over Gotham in John Ridley and Nick Derington/Laura Braga’s The Next Batman, while a resourceless Bruce on the run stars in Mariko Takaki and Dan Mora’s Dark Detective.

* James Tynion and Jorge Jimenez are solidified as the creative team on the now-monthly Batman, while Tamaki and Mora take Detective Comics, with a Damian backup by Joshua Williamson and Gleb Melnikov running through the first issues of each and apparently leading to something, probably a Robin book. Elsewhere Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo take over Nightwing, Chip Zdarsky and Eddy Barrows spearhead the new anthology title Batman: Urban Legends, and Tynion and Gullem March launch a Joker ongoing, while Bruce also stars in the aforementioned Justice League and Batman/Superman.

* The Gotham Knights game is scheduled to drop next year.

Aside from the Infinite Frontier cover suggesting Tim Fox will take on a role in the present before long as (a) Batman same as Jon Kent as Superman, hopefully with Ridley and Derington coming back, it doesn’t feel like there’s a ton of big Batman stuff to speculate on? Aside from the inevitable unannounced Black Label stuff - including probably Scott Snyder’s Nightwing book - we know the basic shape of things. The Batman is inching closer, Tynion/Jimenez are probably on Batman through at least the end of the year, Mora I don’t think stays on Detective because he’s committed to Once & Future but Tamaki presumably does, Taylor/Redondo Nightwing is immediately going to be a fandom favorite, and Gotham Knights is probably gonna suck because boy that doesn’t look very good. We know the broad strokes of where he’s headed for the time being across all media. If I had to take a whack at a big guess, I’d say I’m a touch skeptical about that HBO GCPD show or the Batmobile cartoon reaching fruition, the former because that’s an incredibly charged premise that has to act perfectly in sync with another mass-media project in another medium AND we know there’s already been behind-the-scenes drama, and the latter because that sounds incredibly stupid.

EDIT: Forgot, Bendis said in 2019 he was working on a Black Label Batman book, so wouldn’t be surprised to see that too this year.

#Superman #Batman #Opinion

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thegeekerynj · 3 years

Text

Short Reviews, when the Big Mouth doesn’t have much to say… Or is trying to get caught up from COVID / Election Overload

An Occasional Attempt to Read, Discuss and Review the Wonders of Comics

By: John Rafferty, cranky old man, and Fan of All Things Comics

Short Takes

Short Reviews, when the Big Mouth doesn’t have much to say… Or is trying to get caught up from COVID / Election Overload

Legion of Super Heroes 6-10 (DC Comics)

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Pencils: Ryan Sook (#6 - 7, 10) Various (8 - 9) Inker: Wade Von Grawbadger (#6 - 7, 10) Various (8 - 9)

‘You want to be called Bouncing Boy?

Looking at the Memexes, we were considering “The Bullet”.

Bullet?

It’s a projectile that——

No, with me, it’s all about the BOUNCE.

———————————————————————————————————

Can Brian Bendis write everything?

Between story, and downright FUN, this is a great book. Team books are hard to do well, if for no other reason, because of the characterizations.

Multiple characters mean multiple personalities, and some of those will always get underdeveloped in relationship to the team, as the writer invariably has favorites Unless…

What we are seeing with LSH is development of characters from across the spectrum. Every book has development of some of the characters, even if they’re not directly involved in the story. This is a far cry from what you see in other books.

Add to this Ryan Sook’s breakdowns, and Wade von Grawbadger’s inks, and you get a pretty package, all tied up in a big bow. More importantly, this is a story with a legacy reaching back 60 years, and is being truly refreshed for a new audience.

This isn’t the Legion I read in 1967, but it’s damned good!

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶🌶.5

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Suicide Squad #9 - 10 (DC Comics)

Writer: Tom Taylor Artist: Bruno Redondo

I have Kord’s location.

Okay. Do you also have the Senator?

Oh, did you want him back for some reason? That spineless mouth-breather championed a law to dump more waste into the sea. Delusional, greedy @#$% thinks he owns the world.

I have some friends reminding him he does not.

———————————————————————————————————

Floyd Lawton, first appearance, Batman #59, June 1950, as the man who never misses.

Floyd Lawton, a man who feels no rereason to continue living, but has no wish to die: who puts his life on the line to save his teammates time and time again, to save his daughter and her mother, all with the wish of dying in a truly spectacular fashion.

Floyd Lawton, who finally finds a reason to live, in the eyes of his daughter, Zoe.

Floyd Lawton. Deadshot. Perennial member of Task Force X, finally earned his pardon.

Game Over.

By all that’s Unholy, Tom Taylor is a hateful SOB! But the man writes a great story!

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

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Marvel Zombies Resurrection # 1 - 4 (Marvel Comics)

Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson Artist: Leonard Kirk

‘Fine. I guess we came all this way.

Might as well do something really stupid.

———————————————————————————————————

This sums up exploring the World, any world, during a Zombie Apocalypse. Especially when those with Super Powers have been turned into Super Zombies.

So, we pick up with Peter Parker, Forge, Karla Sofen (Moonstone), Valeria and Franklin Richards, a Flerkin named Chewie, and the reprogrammed Sentinel lovingly called ‘Nana’, moving from defendable place to defensible area, seeking a ‘safe place’. Somewhere they can rest for more than one night… if that is possible.

Always realizing the next tree could be hiding a zombified Avenger, or Defender, or Loved one…

Johnson’s Miniseries is another version of the Marvel Zombiepocalypse, which begs the question, what happens when Zombie Galactus infects your world? Or, more importantly, when it CARRIES the infection to your world?

Leonard Kirk’s art style is perfect for this story, a very dark, visceral style which is a little hard on the eyes, making the reader work for every panel. Yes, it hurts to read, but IT SHOULD! It’s Zombies!

This is worth the read if you can get all 4 issues (the first issue came out in July).

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶🌶

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Rorschach #1 (DC Black Label)

Writer: Tom King Artist: Jorge Fornes

‘They won’t talk to me. Treating me like I’m a damn Kindergarten kid. I got twins in Kindergarten. Duane and Dwight. I’m not a Kindergarten kid.

Jesus Christ. What’d they say to you?

That you’re dying.

Shit.

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In 1985, Walter Kovacs died.

It went unnoticed, but for the few in attendance, for Kovacs died following the Alien Invasion of New York, which, in effect saved the world.

Yet, unnoticed, but for the few, Walter Kovacs became a red splash on the Antarctic permafrost.

And Rorschach, the Crime Hunter, died with him.

Or. did he?

In a world existing somewhere between Watchmen 1985 and Current Multiverses, Tom King and begun a noir-ish tale… Did Rorschsch come back, to foil an assassination attempt, and die in the process?

Did he come back, and fail at an attempt at assassination?

Or, Gentle Readers, is there a whole slew of balls in the air we just haven’t seen yet, that we are going to be expected to juggle deftly, as they drop just into sight?

I can’t wait for the answer!

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶🌶.5

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Justice League #54 - 57 (Death Metal Tie-In) (DC Comics)

Writer: Joshua Williamson Artists: Xermanico (54, 57), Pencils: Robson Rocha (55 - 56), Inks: Daniel Henriquez (55 - 56)

“Don’t you get it Cyborg? We’re not the Justice League!

We’re the Suicide Squad!

———————————————————————————————————

I have said before I am not a fan of Joshua Williamson’s writing.

Maybe I just don’t like him on the Flash.

Four issues, each of them a very good story, each building, with some action and humor, to a smash mouth endpoint, that brings us to Death Metal #5.

I have to say, I’m enjoying this run of Justice League, even with the switch of artist teams mid - tale Xermanico’s work os beautiful, right into the valley of the Starros (that gave me giggle fits!) Rocha and Henriquez’s work is very pretty, and a little darker than Xermanico’s, giving a more atmospheric touch to the Antenna of LOD.

I have to admit, they do a mean Kori, as well! Really FIERCE, with a Full Length mohawk!

Well worth the cost of admission, and a strong addition to the Metal storyline.

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶🌶.5

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Nightwing #75 - 76 (DC Comics)

Writer: Dan Jurgens Artists: Travis Moore and Ronan Cliquet (75), Ronan Cliquet (76)

‘We have to talk.’

———————————————————————————————————

Four words.

Four words that have ended more relationships than violence.

Dan Jurgens has done a masterful job of tying up the Ric Grayson / Amnesias storyline that seems to have run for nigh on ever… by bringing it full circle to Anatoli Knyazev, the KGBeast.

The artwork in these two issues was pretty, with obvious switches between that of Travis Moore (the Titans / Batgirl pages) and Ronan Cliquet’s Batman / KGBeast pages.

Nicely tied up, completing multiple storylines in two issues. Ready to move forward/

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶.5

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Young Justice #19 - 20 (DC Comics)

Writers: Brian Michael Bendis and David Walker Artist: Scott Godlewski

Red Tomato?

I think he said Tornado, and you know it.

Honestly, he talks so fast, I can’t understand him most of the time.

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Damian Wayne, Robin. Cassie Sandmark, Wonder Girl. Bart Allen, Impulse. Conner Kent, Superboy. Stephanie Brown, Spoiler. Keli Quintela, Teen Lantern. Zan and Jayna. the Wonder Twins. Jinny Hex, Naomi, Amethyst,

Twenty issues in, and the book is cancelled… or is planned to end. Either way, this is a suck way to do things, DC.

This is a great group of characters. Much better than the roster in the Young Justice cartoon, simply for the diversity. Some heroes just coming into their own, some who have existed for years, (the Wonder Twins have been around in MULTIPLE iterations since the 1970’s), all helping each other… This was a great jumping in book for pre-teens who weren’t up for all the violence / hyperkinetic action / storytelling of a true adult book.

And, it was FUN!

Bendis, Walker and Godlewski produced a fantastic product every month.

One which is ending too soon. Unless, of course, it is going to come back in a new package…

Hint, hint, hint…

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶🌶.5

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Amazing Spider-Man 50 - 53 ‘Last Remains’ (Marvel Comics (duh!))

Writer: Nick Spencer Artist: Patrick Gleason

‘You’re going to love it, Pete. There’s no better feeling in this life — Than being surrounded by those you love.

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So, what are the rules around DEAD Characters returning?

Do they have to be relevant after so many years? Shouldn’t they be, well, driven to do something? Not take more than 50 issues to finally get around to saying…”Bazinga!’, or it’s equivalent?

I must admit, issue 50 is the first issue of a Spider-Man book I picked up, and started to enjoy, until I realized I needed to pick up the LR issues also in order to get the whole story. Didn’t’t we get enough of this in the Shooter Years?

What about a year and a half ago, when Marvel vowed they would never pull this crap again??

I guess they forgot… (Insert comparison to jackass in office here).

Too much work, don’t really care.

Especially when the reveal of who Kindred is happens in issue 50, and Peter finds out in #53… Puh-Leez!

At least it’s not Professor Warren and his Gwen Stacy clone. **BRRRRR** Freakin’ Creepy Old Perv!

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶

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Batman 101 - 102 (DC Comics (bigger DUH!))

Writer: James Tynion IV Artist: Guillen March (101) Pencils: Carlo Pagulayan Inks: Danny Miki Artist: Carlos D’Anda (Pages 13 - 16)

‘DOUBLE RENT! And you don’t talk to the other tenants! They are good people.

Little Santa Prisca is a community. We live through BANE. We live through JOKER. Don’t blow it up with all your nonsense!

You got it Charlie, No Nonsense. Not Here.

Hey! What’s your policy on Hyenas?

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So, Lucius Fox is one of the richest men in the world.

Selina Kyle has put the Bat on a One Year Clock to get his stuff together, or she walks.

Clownkiller might be the Bernard Goetz of Superhero Vigilantism (look up the reference, I can’t do everything!), but he goes about proving you can’t keep a good vigilante killer down if he has Google.

Ghost Maker is more than we thought, and knows who Bruce Wayne keeps in the closet (or cave).

Is there anyone in Gotham who doesn’t know who Bruce Wayne is?

Tynion continues to pump out some great product, the stories and characters do not disappoint. Including Grifter as Fox’s ‘bodyguard’ was a nice touch, having him get the drop on Batman, a nicer one.

The art in both books, while vastly different, is simply gorgeous. I want to see more od the team of Pagulayan and Miki, I’m hoping to see their work grow with the storylines.

Next issue, BATTLE Sequences! Should be fun, not that it hasn’t been so far.

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶🌶.5

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Shang Chi #1 - 2 (Marvel Comics)

‘I have to save my Little Sister!

I have to kill my Big Brother!’

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Only meetings should have agendas.

-Me, just now

Once upon a time, Sax Rohmer wrote stories about the machinations of one Fu Manchu, and his oft overturned attempts to take over the world.

In 1973, Steve Engelhart and Jim Starlin brought Shang Chi, son of Fu Manchu into the Marvel Universe, where he and his MI-6 partners Clive Reston and Black Jack Tarr were responsible for being the monkey wrenches in the machinery of Fu Manchu’s Plans.

It seems that Shang Chi is back, without his prior father. He is still proficient in all forms of martial arts, but now, he is ‘Champion of House of the Deadly Hand’ (like that name isn’t going to come to but him in the butt like a Karmic werewolf), and since the passing of his ‘Father”, now the Commander of the Five Weapons Society.

The artwork is pretty, and the story, steeped in Asian Mysticism, is a little draggy so far. Is the story good? Yeah, it’s a nice reminder of a character I exjyed a long tome ago.

Will it get better? Time will tell.

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶.5

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The Rise of Ultraman #1 - 3 (Marvel Comics, by way of Tsuburaya Productions)

Writers: Kyle Higgins and Matt Groom Artist: Francesco Manna

Oh. You’re here to fight because you think we’re one of the species that can’t evolve.

No. I know you cannot evolve.

Fifty-Four of your years ago, my brother came to assist you. And you killed him.

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In the late 60’s, on certain New York television stations, the Saturday Afternoon hours were filled with Japanese imports, Kaiju - United Science Patrol, and of course the story of the death of Moroboshi, and the coming of Ultraman.

Ultraman, a human - alien symbiosis, who fought the Kaiju menace coming to take over the Earth.

Forward to 2020, a new Ultraman, with a new team of USP helpers / friends, and what looks at this point to be a corrupt system surrounding them.

This creative team has done a marvelous job with the material thus far, reviving this character for a modern reader.

It’s just a shame it’s only 5 issues…

It is definitely worth the read.

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

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American Vampire 1976 #1 - 2 (DC Comics)

Writer: Scott Snyder Artist: Artist: Rafael Albuquerque

‘DAMMIT! Before what happened with Gus, you were the best vampire tracker and killer around. I’m asking you to help me take down whoever this PEELING MAN is.

But if this shitty music and LASERS is your life now, then just say so, and I’ll leave you to it.

It’s not a laser, you goddamned idiot.

It’s a SOLAR LAMP. **klik**

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Ten years ago, Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque and Stephen King started a journey which has spanned 10 Years in real time, but 200 years, and 12 separate cycles in series time.

The current iteration has our favorite group of vamps and exterminators running around 1976, wrecking discos, trains, and graveyards, all in the name of bringing back Stoker’s primary villain.

Snyder proves again he is up to the task of creating a world of whimsy and horror, providing mayhem, madness, and the occasional snorting giggle. His droll wit, and ability to write a phenomenal action piece makes this cycle of the American Vampire story a must read.

Out of 5🌶 🌶🌶🌶🌶

#Legion of Superheroes #suicide squad #marvel zombies resurrection #rorschach #jusice league #Dark Nights Death Metal #nightwing #young justice #amazing spider-man #last remains #batman #Shang chi #the rise of ultraman #American vampire 1976

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nightwingism · 5 years

Text

NCBD 06.12.2019

So I went to bed at like 6am, to wake up at 9, to go to full day of work. Was finally able to sit down and read the words of spandex wearing weirdos. Woot! Today was a big day in terms of my pull list. Glad I got paid last Friday. Otherwise, I definitely would have missed out on a few of these hits. I restarted a few comics that I stopped picking up, so I’m definitely behind on some of these series. But hey, that’s always a thing when it comes to comics.

The Amazing Spider-Man #23 - So as I said last week, I love spidey. One of my favorites. And honestly, this issue was just oh so good. The epilogue to Hunted, and it went out with a bang. I don’t like a lot of what Nick Spencer has done in the past, but he’s definitely doing Spidey justice. He had that wonderful series about The Superior Foes of Spider-Man a couple years back, and I think Spencer just works within the frames of Spider-Man mythos. End of this had two huge set ups for later stories, and I’m excited to see where they go.

The Batman who Laughs #6 - I initially was very hesitant to pic up this series. I didn’t really care about that version of Batman and his involved throughout Metal. So a whole series dedicated to him being the main antagonist really didn’t tickle my fancy. But when I realized James Gordon Jr was in this series, I instantly picked it up. It’s a good story, and I’m glad it’s been pushed to be 7 issues long instead of 6. Gives it more time to breath and tell the story it needs to tell. Though it kind of puts itself into a never ending paradox of being the person who made you - you. But whatever. Comics man.

Detective Comics #1005 - As a man with simple taste, just having Tomasi and Walker on this series makes it good in my book. The villain was interesting - though I’m tired of it being a “child of x” type. But I liked her, and I’m glad her ending was inadvertently similar to that of the Joker’s. Kind of how like, you know they’ll come back somehow someway. It’s groovy man.

Event Leviathan #1 - Brian Michael Bendis’ first big crossover event at DC and I honestly think this first issue is just fantastic. It’s very BMB’s writing of dialogue on top of dialogue and witty remarks, but for the content of the comic, I think it works fairly well. The art by Alex Maleev is just. Man. If he could do more monthly comics, I’d pick them all up. Ever since his run on Daredevil, I’ve thought the world of him. Maleev, Lark and Jock all have this similar style of a sketchy realism that I just gravitate towards. If the story fails, the art really is able to pick it up in this. Team detective, Go.

The Flash #72 - Have I ever talked about the Flash before? Like Barry Allen? I’ve dipped in and out of The Flash throughout rebirth, only dropping maybe twice for some storylines I really didn’t care about, only to come back and resume the reading order. Year One was definitely a story arc I wasn’t going to miss. And I’m really glad I haven’t missed it, because this story is just so lovely. Everything I like about the Flash, wrapped up into a story about Barry and his love for Iris - in a way. Chapter 3 is great, and I just want these issues to come out FASTER. Get it? Because, Speed. Fast. Hah. I’ll see myself out.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #7 - Tom Taylor man. Fuck. FNSM is a series that I have been telling EVERYONE to pick up. And I mean everyone. This is Spider-Man in his best environment with stories that really help demonstrate why we all love Spider-Man, while also picking his brain apart and telling us things we may not have considered. I love it. I would go on for hours about how much I love THIS spidey, but I won't. If you would like to know, just message. I’ll happily write a dissertation about it for you.

Hawkman #13 - I read the entire first arc of this series, and then had to drop it due to funds. I’m so happy I’m finally able to pick it back up and slowly get back to what I was missing. Conrad is now in interiors instead of Hitch, and I’m completely okay with that. Conrad had a great couple issues in Nightwing, and he’s definitely able to capture movement through the characters. This is a stand alone issue - thankfully - so I wasn’t missing anything. It’s a cute story, kind of romeo and juliet at war type.

The Immortal Hulk #19 - Just like Hawkman, Immortal Hulk is a great series I was forced to drop. But I was gone for much longer on this title, and I missed a lot. So there’s a lot of things I was super confused on. But that’s fine, it’s comics. I filled in the blanks with my own ideas and made it make sense. This is the Hulk I wish was in the MCU, a kind of horror villain who does good. Al Ewing and Joe Bennett does the hulk justice, and I’m just thrilled to be loving the Hulk. Haven’t done that since reruns of the hulk animated series.

Marvelous X-Men #5 - remember last week when I picked up the previous issue and I was super confused and didn’t know anything and all that jazz. Yeah well I picked up the NEXT issue and man. I’m still lost and I refused to try and do anything about it because it’s actually enjoyable at this point. This issue kind of told me everything I needed to know though, and I was able to fill in the blanks. Don’t know how they’re gonna get out of this. No that's a lie, Nate is going to fix it. I could of told you that from issue 1 if I read it.

Silver Surfer Black #1 - okay so I 100% picked up this issue due to Donny Cates. He is, at the time of writing this, my favorite writer at Marvel (next to Taylor and Zdarsky) and this story seemed just weird enough to garner my attention. And guess what. This story walked into my classroom, cussed out my professor, grabbed me by the hair, dragged me outside as I kicked and screamed, and then forced me to watch two birds fly around. It was beautiful and cathartic. This story isn’t cathartic, but the art is astounding, and the story is eccentric in the best way possible.

Spider-Man Life Story #4 (The 90s) - Remember last paragraph where I said Zdarsky was one of my favorite writers at Marvel? well he’s the proof in the pudding. This else world title where we see a real-time-aging Spider-Man go throughout life in a kind of “modern-esque” style. And while certain liberties are being taking that I wouldn’t be a fan of in a canon story - I am more than ready to accept this to be an else world for this peter. I’m really easy grader with comics and maybe that’s a vice of mine. Who knows. Oh well. I just read them. Dude I literally read 3 Spider-Man books today. Am I like... a fan?

Superman #12 - It’s Superman dawg.

#Nightwingism irl #nightwingism reads comics #new comic book day #the amazing spider-man #the batman who laughs #detective comics #event leviathan #Flash #Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #Hawkman #The Immortal Hulk #Marvelous X-Men #Silver Surfer Black #Spider-Man Life Story #Superman

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