Here we go for DC!

1. Black Canary: Kicking and Screaming.   I didn't buy some of this, like how no one knew Dinah was Black Canary.   Even with its faults, though, it's a fun read and a little bit of a girl group/girl power read.   Fun times, with Dinah as the lead singer in a  girl band.   Surprise Hero, Grrrl Power, and Newsworthy would all fit this series. 

2. Deadshot: Bulletproof.   Fascinating look at one of the Suicide Squad members in a solo jaunt.   Awful things happen to children, though, so if that makes you squeamish...  Family Ties, Surprise Hero, Parental Issues, Dead Parents, and Not Dead Anymore would all work for this volume. 

3. Batgirl: The Batgirl of Burnside.   Fun, fun take on Batgirl, despite her hipster costume that could be so much more effective if it was more armored.   Complications with school life and balancing that with Batgirl become issues in Babs' life.   Grrrl Power, School, City Boy, Diversity and and Family Ties are all appropriate squares here. 

4. Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals.  Nuanced reboot of Wonder Woman.  I couldn't stop reading this volume, and I was cheering Diana on as she adjusted to Man's World.   Grrl Power, School, Newsworthy, Parental Issues, and Not Dead Anymore would all be appropriate squares for this volume.   You could argue Kink with her, y'know, tying people up and forcing them to tell her the truth...

5. Justice League of America: The Tornado's Path.   A focus on one of my favorite characters, the JLA's resident android.   Family Ties, Not Dead Anymore, and even Kink would work here. If you're me.   Human/robot relationships are my thing, although I take them more seriously than Kink.

6. Batman: Hush.   An epic mindfuck of a story.   I don't want to give too much away, but, yes, this?  You should read it if you can get your hands on it.   Glasses Confuse Everyone, City Boy or Evil Genius are the squares I'd use for this volume. 

7. Batman: A Death in the Family.   Epic tale of how everyone voted for Robin to die, and then they killed him off in the most brutal way possible.   Teens, Insanity, City Boy and Family Ties would all work for this square.    And of course, Batman is always Dead Parents.   

8. Suicide Squad: Trial By Fire.   Villains do good to get less prison time, and so they don't get parts blown off.   it's pretty epic watching them get corralled into this and having to try to figure out how to work together.   Surprise Hero, Insanity, and Romance Gone Wrong would all work, since there is not only therapy but also a therapist falling for her patient.   And all before Harley Quinn, I believe!

9. Batman: Killing Joke.   The Joker tries to prove one bad day can send anyone to the nuthouse.   Insanity, Evil Genius and Family Ties would work here.   

10. Batman: Under the Red Hood.  Is Jason Todd really dead?  (Joker killed him in Death in the Family.)  Or is it more mindfuckery?  Family Ties, Parental Issues, and Not Dead Anymore could be used for this volume.   And of course, Batman still has Dead Parents.  

I'm hitting the beach.   I'll do general comics later tonight or even tomorrow.      

I am a huge fan of this single issue stand alone story for Batman.

I mean whats not to be in awe of, the art is timeless, and we are given an origin story, out right , for the single most enduring and iconic villain in comicdom.

So when DC announced that they were doing an animated version of the story featuring the voice talents of Kevin Conroy, Tara Strong, and Mark Hamill I was over the fucking moon.

This was going to be the greatest Batman animation ever made, and the last 45 minutes of it are…. but damn, that opening half hour… It starts with Barbara Gordon’s last case as Batgirl. Which isn’t my issue, it shows her in a strong capable light for some of it, but my issue comes with how they changed her relationship with Batman.

This is a relationship that has been largely paternal in its portrayal, so much so that Batgirl’s usual beau is one of the Robins. But here they have a scene with Batgirl and batman making out and a later scene confirming they knocked boots.

This coming in the prologue reduces the Batgirl character to being stuffed in a refrigerator to propel Batman into his encounter with the Joker. I get that her being paralysed is a turning point for the character and that you needed to do something for a prologue, but you could’ve left out the sex and made it more powerful in my opinion.

Beyond that  though this animation is about the most faithful adaptation of any comic material that I have ever seen. The artists have recreated iconic panels from the one shot comic.

The brutality of Jim Gordon’s torture and descent to the very edge of madness is disturbing and harrowing in a way that is never seen in animated adaptations of western comics.

Batman looms larger than life and the stoicism and pain in his persona really come through, especially through his detachment from others and hatred of the Joker. And the Joker, my god the Joker… I’m not going to beat around the bush, Mark Hamill is the star of this. He just is. He delivers the dialogue with such ferocity that the Joker was scarier than he has ever been on screen.

The origin tale still makes you feel for the poor shlub that becomes The Clown Prince of Crime in Gotham City, but that sympathy is juxtaposed with the cold sadism of the man who crippled a woman just to torture her father. It was the same in the book but hearing Hamill but emotion and insanity into that dialogue made it all the more chilling to realise that in the end, the Joker actually has a point…

“All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That’s how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day.”

 

It’s scary and it’s harrowing because it’s true.

Watch it, ignore the prologue and just watch the adaptation. It will give you chills if you know the story. It will make you think if you don’t…

Happy Viewing

I found a clip of the Batman/Batgirl scene from Killing Joke and added it to the review, so feel free to check it out.

Review: Batman- The Killing Joke