When writing my Batman Incorporated #8 review this morning, I kept thinking about this clip. I couldn’t find a way to work in a link, but I’ve been watching it over and over again. So watch it with me, will you?
I absolutely adore Andrew Scott’s Moriarty. Every bit as much as Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock. (Maybe even a little more.)
The second printing variant cover to Deadpool Killustrated #1
I’m not sure I can even communicate how much I love this.
via Moms Read Comics
My gut tells me that what you have to do, all you have to do, is find the core of each character and give them interesting and original stories. New readers can be brought up to date quickly this way and longtime readers will appreciate a classic and familiar approach. You don’t need to info-dump for the sake of new readers, they’re smart enough to hit the ground running.
Brian Wood on his upcoming X-Men relaunch. (From my interview with him at Comicosity.)
I swear, just last week I was thinking, “The Joker’s face was cut off, and then he pulled it out of refrigeration and started wearing it. Wouldn’t it be rotting by now?”
Today, Batman artist Greg Capullo in effect said, “Yes. Yes, it would be.”
And this is the panel without the flies.
I’m assuming that if you read this blog, you’re familiar with The Hawkeye Initiative — an effort to critique hypersexualized (and often anatomically impossible) representations of female characters in comic books by replacing them with Hawkeye. (Of course, the Hawkeye Initiative isn’t the first effort to do something like this — when the Avengers film came out, there was a particularly on-point re-posing of the poster.) As with any project that goes viral, some of the entries in the Hawkeye Initiative are more convincing than others, and I’d like to suggest that at this point, it needs a supplement.
It may be a more challenging demand, but let’s find some genuine examples of (hyper?)sexualized presentations of men in comics — NOT as some effort to demonstrate similar or equal objectification (because that’s a proposition absurd on its face), but as the beginning, perhaps, of a discussion of what sexuality should look like in comics. Which is not to say that all sexualization of male characters in comics is unproblematic, but rather that sexuality is a topic that belongs in comics, and deserves to be discussed and portrayed in ways that reflect the variety of human experience, support good storytelling, and treat characters as interested and interesting individuals, not just as objects for fan service — particularly when that service panders almost exclusively to a stunted, adolescent, heterosexual male idea of sexuality.
As an initial entry, let me share Jae Lee’s version of Namor the Sub-Mariner from the 2001 Fantastic Four: 1234 mini-series. The narrative context is still deeply heterosexual, and we’ll leave aside for the moment whether the story’s portrayal of female sexuality and possible marital infidelity escapes heteronormative tropes (and the fact that Namor’s rear end is entirely in shadow) to appreciate the fact that in this drawing at least, Namor is unquestionably a sexual object. The posture, the miles of exposed flesh, the way that the rain dances off his shoulder. And no dislocated joints. It can totally be done, people. We should demand nothing less.
Enjoy.
Check out this fan-designed set of character models for a Spoiler Animated Series. (Which doesn’t actually exist, of course.)
For me, one of the strengths of the Tim Drake-era Batman was the way that a set of young characters (Tim, Stephanie Brown, and Cassandra Cain) with strong relationships to each other developed and created the potential for stories involving a generation of the Bat family growing up together. While aspects of something like this were touched on a decade before in Dick Grayson’s transition from Robin to Nightwing and his relationships in the Teen Titans1, the inclusion of Cassandra and Steph added a specifically female element that was often lacking in the immediate Bat family2. It was fascinating to watch the tension between Bruce Wayne and the daughter he wanted (Cassandra) and the daughter/daughter-in-law he didn’t want (Steph)3 as well as the strength of the friendship between Cass and Steph in spite of Bruce’s disapproval.
Cartoon Network’s (apparently soon-to-be-cancelled?) Young Justice series has dealt specifically with these sorts of themes, and by dealing (more-or-less successfully) with the histories of the various Robins in the new timeline, DC’s recent zero month comics even hinted at what they might look like in the New 52. There have been amazing comics in the past that have taken advantage of the fact that Batman’s mythology is so strong that he’s just as good as a background character as in a lead role. DC’s “Young Justice” group of main-universe young superhero titles is soon to be down to a paltry three. (Teen Titans, Ravagers, and the future timeline Legion of Superheroes) Maybe it’s time for something new?
I really don’t actually want to get into an argument over whether Stephanie Brown and/or Cass Cain are the victims of some editorial conspiracy at DC to erase the characters from existence (I don’t think so, but I can understand why some people feel that way) or whether the characters do or don’t belong in the New 52 (if there’s a good pitch and a market for them, I can’t believe they’ll stay out forever, but I’m willing to give it time), but I’ll admit to having a weakness for Stephanie Brown/Spoiler fan art. I love seeing creative expressions of fan fondness for the character, and I’ll readily admit that I would watch a Spoiler Animated Series.
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1. And so maybe it’s more that Tim/Steph/Cass were telling the story for what felt like my generation than that what they were doing was so different than what Teen Titans did in the early 80s.
2. Let us not discount either the original Batwoman and Batgirl (Kathy and Betty Kane) or, of course, the Barbara Gordon Batgirl, but the dynamics in those relationships were entirely different, and less immediately familial. The Kanes served as wanted or unwanted love interests for Batman and Robin, and Barbara Gordon, while unquestionably a member of the Bat family, has usually been written as a more independent character (with, importantly, a strong father figure of her own in Jim Gordon) rather than as a surrogate daughter to Bruce Wayne. For a great analysis of Babs, read Matt Santori-Griffith’s “The Girl Most Likely To”
3. Although Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress could fit easily into the “daughter Bruce Wayne didn’t want” category as well. Batman in the 90s just didn’t like women.
Well, have you read Batman #14 yet? I have to admit that I’m still freaking out a bit.
Don’t tell anybody, but I think that writer Scott Snyder might actually BE the Joker.
A redesigned version of Batman: Arkham City — dubbed the “Armored Edition” — will be one of the launch titles for Nintendo’s Wii U console this month. While the trailer above highlights the game’s new features, I’d initially missed another aspect that has been redesigned: Catwoman’s costume.
(In fairness, while Catwoman’s new costume is briefly shown at the beginning of the trailer, when they flash a shot of Catwoman’s character profile at 1:18, she’s wearing the racier PS3/XBox 360 version of her costume.)
While part of me wants to snark about how Nintendo seems to have enforced a more family-friendly look for Selina Kyle, I have to admit that I like the new costume, and it’s a bit ridiculous (not to mention impractical) for Catwoman to climb and slink around Gotham with her top half-zipped. (The unzipped look has also been carried to fairly absurd extremes in the comics as well. See, for example, the promo image for the upcoming Justice League of America title. Or the originally planned cover for Catwoman #0.)
So, kudos, Nintendo and Rocksteady! Thank you for toning the fanboy pandering down just a little. (In, you know, what is still a rather violent and not-at-all-kid-friendly game.)
Idler and Comicosity writer Matt Santori-Giffith and I have a conversation about the New 52′s impact on the Batman titles up over on The Idler today. I had to do a fair amount of editing for space, but some stuff was too good to leave on the cutting room floor, so Matt agreed to let me post one of those edited sections here.
Clockwise, from top: Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Red Hood (Jason Todd), Red Robin (Tim Drake), Robin (Damian Wayne)
Gavin: I know you and I don’t always agree on Tim, and he’s always been a wildly different character than Damian, in ways both good and bad. I think we’re starting to get some really interesting tracing of the differences between the various Robins, and Bruce’s different successes and failures with each. (Particularly in Red Hood and the Outlaws, which gives us a glorious couple of pages of insight into Jason Todd’s relationships with the Bat-family every few issues. I can largely live without that series, but I wish I could just photocopy and compile those moments.)
Matt: And I don’t know if Jay was ever written as a teen so much as just an asshole.
Gavin: I think that’s right, until Tim Drake, most of the Robins weren’t really meant to be written as individual teen characters. And writers have been wildly inconsistent on how old-ish Tim is supposed to be.
Matt: Tim always did feel less like Batman’s sidekick, or even “partner” as we are now wont to say in the New 52, than the others. He had his own priorities, his own mission. . . ultimately, his own father. None of the others did. Critical difference.
Gavin: Yes! Totally. In fact, we’re getting to the point where each of the Robins have their own really unique history and role. Until now, Dick was the one who was most Bruce’s son. He was really young when he was taken in. Jason was a rescue case, and one that Bruce failed, but who also had problems that Bruce didn’t entirely see as his fault. Tim came in of his own initiative, he’s the one who wanted to be a Robin. Damian is as troubled as Jason was, but younger, and Bruce sees more of himself in Damian, in ways that he doesn’t know how to deal with, and is afraid of.
Matt: I wonder now too how much of Bruce’s desire to become a father to the fatherless came from losing Thomas (the elder) rather than from what Alfred did for him as child. I’ve never thought about it in those terms, but clearly the latter is even more formative, however unconsciously, than the former. And I will argue this to the day I die, but Tim always wanted to be Robin, but never Batman. Dick, Jay, and Damian are much more their father’s sons, even when the first two try to deny it.
Gavin: You might not be wrong, but my take would be that’s exactly why Tim would end up as Batman.
Matt: Well, there’s another huge difference. Jay had a father who was an asshole who abandoned him/got killed (frankly can’t remember — and may not need to in the New 52). Damian either always had an absent father or just never had one. Big developmental difference. Jay’s need for a father figure is about replacing something bad to the core. Damian’s core is empty. It can be filled with positivity or negativity. Nobody certainly was banking on that. Personally, I’m firmly in the Morrison camp. Damian is the Batman of the future. No question.
Gavin: I think it’s no accident that Tim is the one Damian feels the most hostility toward. Tim’s the one who was closest to a full partner, Tim knows how to run the store, and Tim (assuming this is still the case) is the only one who was adopted — the only one previously who took the name Wayne (or decided to not take it). That’s why Damian closes his fight with Tim by insisting on recognition as Robin and a Wayne. I think it’s hard to pull Damian out of consideration as the next Batman now that he’s there. Tim does have to find his own place, and the sooner the better. (Me, I don’t think it’s the Teen Titans, but obviously DC disagrees.)
Matt: Absolutely. Tim is also the one who had a father and wanted a second one, when Damian never even got a chance at one until now. I can see how to a ten-year-old, that might seem greedy. And that’s what I think so many people who deride Damian are missing. He’s not a jerk for no reason. He’s a fucked up little kid with a crazy mother, a grandfather who wanted to steal his body, and a missing dad who dies the minute they meet. Duh.
Gavin: Indeed. Me, I think that Batman and Robin is actually carrying a lot of weight on its own. I really want a Robins title — not Robin, not Red Robin, Robins — where a bit more of this can play out. I want to see more of Jason and Tim’s somewhat unexpected affinity. I want more of the Dick/Jason, Tim/Damian rivalries. There’s a lot that can be done, especially if making Bruce a bit more peripheral gives everyone a bit more room.
Matt: I’d buy that. But its necessity will always be questioned by those who feel there are too many Batbooks already. I always think the argument of a comic book not being “necessary” is the most riotous. Um, how are any of them “necessary”?
Gavin: Hell, I’d trade Detective Comics and Dark Knight for Robins. Right now.
Matt: Ah, but sir, Detective is getting indie pop star John Layman to write it, and Dark Knight has definitely improved since Hurwitz took over. It’s still the lesser of the books, but the drop is not nearly as far.
Gavin: It’s going to piss me off having to go back and buy the issues of Detective I skipped. I’m just not going to be able to tolerate a three-issue gap. I think Detective has been out-and-out terrible, so I’m really happy to see Layman come on board, but even beyond the specific quality, we have three Batman solo titles, I’d trade one for a bit more Bat-family.
Matt: Ha! You’d hate my collection. I dumped every issue of Batman that was fill-in for Morrison pre-New 52, because I just didn’t feel like it belonged in the same box.
Gavin: Yes, yes I would.
via Pop Chart Lab, which calls it “The evolution of the Batman symbol.”
Actually, “variations on the Batman symbol” would be more accurate. There’s really no chronological or developmental pattern. But it’s beautiful, and like the Bat-suit, instantly recognizable in all of its forms.
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