With newest Batman film just around the corner I've been doing my best to down all Batman-related material to appease my anxiety for upcoming movie (even though I bought my tickets a month ago, the earliest IMAX screening I could get my hands on was for Saturday morning... bah!). Well this is it. The last post I'm going to make about the Dark Knight... at least for a while - I'm still trying to track down The Dark Knight Strikes Again. As I've been reading through nothing but comics these past two months, I've concluded one thing: comics are way too damn convoluted. I don't mean that the stories are too dense and hard to follow. Far from it. They're simple, exciting, and a blast to read - plus there are pictures! What I mean is that the setup of the comic industry just makes my head spin. Let me begin by stating that I just finished the first year's worth of issues for the rebooted Batman comics of DC's The New 52. Heard of this? Basically, DC Comics took 52 of their most popular comic brands and rebooted them for the new age readers. (Makes sense considering the recently growth in comic popularity over the past decade.) Now let me pose a scenario to you. You're interested in reading up on some Batman - like me - and you walk into the store or go online to purchase some new issues only to find out one bewildering fact: There are at least 12 different comics that relate to Batman. Twelve! Not only is there the classic Batman, but then we've got Detective Comics, Batman: The Dark Knight, Batman and Robin, Batgirl, Batwoman, Batwing, Nightwing, Catwoman, Justice League... and the list goes on. Then you think to yourself, "Who cares? I'll just read about the character I care about and leave it at that." Wrong. Both brilliant and frustrating, the writers are great and making the main story arc (at least in these new reboots) cross-over to multiple different comics. So, if you're really getting into the story - which I was - you'll be encouraged to continue buying up new comics, starting down completely new, yet still tangential, story arcs. In retrospect, it does seem like I'm just bitching about something being too good - it's clear I am - but at the same time respect that I don't have all day to continue reading through every story nor do I have the money to drop $2 - $3 on every issue - I'm a foodie and need that money to afford my $45 Ruth's Chris steak and lobster habit! Whew... Now that I've got that out of my system, let's jump into the first Batman story arc of The New 52: The Court of the Owls.
Shit was bomb! I don't think I ever been disappoint by any Batman comics I've read so far - although I have been focusing on only those that are recommended by fans as the best. A Death in the Family was probably the worst/campiest; then again it did show Batman and Robin punching Middle-Eastern terrorists in the face. Priceless, but I digress. As to this story, it's starts off in present day with Batman and all of his cronies already being establish (no origin stories to this reboot). Bruce Wayne is having a talk with a candidate for Mayor of Gotham, Lincoln March, when all-of-a-sudden an assassin leaps out from the shadows trying to kill Bruce and the Mayor. Luckily both survive, but Bruce and the assassin topple through a plate-glass window in one of Gotham's high rises. Bruce grabs on to the ledge, saving himself, while the assassin plummets to his presumed death, smashing into a parked car. When Bruce looks back to check on the body, the assassin is mysteriously gone.
This all leads into a mystery that has consumed Gotham folklore for centuries. The mystery of the Court of Owls. Presumably, it's suppose to be a secret society that watches over everyone in the city with the intention of wiping out anyone that poses a threat to Gotham's prosperity. Supposedly, they're responsible for the murder of Bruce's great grandfather. Dragging him down into Gotham's sewers and murdering him someplace discret and hidden. However, it's only suppose to be a legend. So begins Bruce/Batman's hunt to uncover this secret society and stop the individual(s) that are behind it.
It's really a great story. Batman is almost constantly being pushed to his limit. Then whenever he is, whenever he reaches that point where he looks as though he'll finally die... BAM! He just releases rage upon his foes and kicks some serious ass.
Don't fuck with the Batman!
Along with Batman's conflict against the Owls, there are two other parallel story lines. One focuses on Bruce's parents before they passed away; the other on Alfred's father. Both of which allude to struggles they've had with the Court of Owls as well proposing the theory that Bruce might not be the only heir to the Wayne fortune. It's really a well designed story and has a very entertaining ending. And, like I mentioned earlier, it does keep you wanting to explore other DC comics in order to expose more of this mysterious story arc.
That's it! Done with comics for now. While about to go on vacation to Hawaii in a week, I'm going to try and catch up on my Vonnegut library. The Sirens of Titan is calling me.
The convolution in comics that you speak of - rebooting, crossovers, questionably inconsistent canonicity - is the primary reason I just can't bring myself to jump in. Some people try to "defend" comic books to me when I tell them this, but their counterpoints are moot; it's not that I don't respect and have appreciation for the medium, it's simply that I know I'd be driven crazy by the availability of so many backstories and diverging paths through different series.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't want to create unnecessary hype or anything, but Sirens of Titan was just incredible, and probably my favorite book I read last year. You will enjoy it.