Batman Incorporated #8 Requiem

Batman Incorporated #8 Requiem was really bad.  Considering this was the first story after Robin (Damian) died I was hoping for something better.  Instead we see Gotham City cave to terrorists’ demands, failing to bring in any of the other super groups or heroes to help defend the city.  They do not even consider bringing in the National Guard or the Army.  They do not ask for help from any of the super groups under government control and none of those groups show up.  Gotham City just gives up to terrorists and not just terrorists but an unknown group with only one act of terror to their name.  Not just that but instead of fighting back Batman and Batman Incorporated stop doing anything they take time for a funeral.  Really? In the middle of a war - a massive terrorist attack they all stop fighting and in some cases go home to other countries and have time to come back to Gotham that is how much time they waste.  Just recently there was another story called Death of the Family and during the multi-day terror inflicted by the Joker not one character took time off.  They all kept fighting the good fight until the Joker was gone.  Not just kept up the good fight but brought in other supers to help out.  The only redeeming bit to the story is we get to see how the surviving heroes escape the building – well except for Batman’s exit from the building.  There was one last insult to the reader hidden in this story and spoiler! there are still active Lazarus Pits around ready for use – I believe that counts for a “I told you so” meaning Robin might be back even faster than I originally thought.

Teen Titans #18 Requiem

Teen Titans #18 Requiem was a good story.  Red Robin had some issues to work through with imaginary dead Robin (Damian Wayne) this was a good little story with a nice pep talk from Alfred.  But then we move onto the main Teen Titan story or as I call it “Let’s see how many supers we can cram onto a page.” Seriously Superboy flies to the Titan yacht and by the pool are Bunker, Kid Flash, Solstice, Wonder Girl and Red Robin.  Then Red Robin takes the team on a mission to save a young lady from evil.  This entails attacking Belle Reve Prison home of the Suicide Squad Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Killer Shark commanded by Amanda Waller.  There ensues a quick fight with some clever dialog, but all this is just a distraction so that Red Robin can cut a deal with Waller which is kept a secret for the moment from both the reader and the two super teams.  We then cut to New York and Trigon!  I might have to hunt down the next issue afterall.

Batman Inc #8 R.I.P.

Batman Inc #8 where I seemed to have missed issue #7 and considering what happened in this issue it might be hard to find a copy.  The story starts out mid something riot like possibly related to the events in Death of the Family.  Robin and Nightwing are working to help Batman out of a jam.  There is a long and eventful fight with some banter between Robin and Nighwing I am not really sure why Robin took off the battle suit helmet but oh well.  I figure that since the end of the comic made the news this is not really a spoiler but just in case: Spoiler! Alert!  But for some plot based reason Robin dies he is killed by someone claiming to be his brother but that Robin called Father.  Considering that children trained as the Robin’s replacement have died and come back to life in the past the death of Robin (Damian Wayne Al ghul) is bound to be short lived.  At the very least Robins’ death is valid until the next plot point and a handy Lazarus Pit.  Do not get my sarcasm wrong this was a good climatic story.

Batman!!

Batman #17 Death of the Family and the big climax which to this old reviewer  is just another letdown as there was nothing really new in the end.  While the characters might or might not change really this Super Mega Story was just another piece of good publicity.  The story could have been grand and it would have been amazing if the Family had actually been harmed.  I thought maybe Batman’s solution to the Joker problem was going to work.  But it was a bluff at least when we see the aftermath.  This was the chance for the New52 the Batman writers to do something new and special and instead they just reset the story which is just a typical copout that chased me away from comic books in the first place.  I am very disappointed in this story, very disappointed. 

Batman & Robin Annual!

Batman and Robin Annual #1 – A New Dark Knight Rises!  Well that was an interesting story where Damain leads Bruce Wayne on a scavenger hunt across Europe.  The story starts out typical Batman fighting someone who was not really a bad guy despite a bit of Gotham City being set on fire.  Then Bruce heads out of country and Damian takes over the family business on his own so to speak.  The little Batman manages to solve the crime and save the day from a crazy man in fiery armor.  The adventure of Bruce Wayne finding his parents past was really well done.  I was impressed with the short little stories being so well done.  It was downright cute.   This issue also managed to show how much alike the two Wayne men have turned out. 

Batman and Robin!

Batman and Robin #16 (Death of the Family) well that was interesting, but seriously how long are they going to stretch out the Robin Ah Ghul VS. Batman dynamic.  The Joker did talk just a little too much but unlike what is happening in other Death of the Family stories this ending was actually clever.

Comcis! DC Comics!

I am finally getting to some of last week’s comic books.  DC Comics Earth 2 started out great, but the current issue (number seven) had a noticeable lack of super heroes or action.  If the comic continues this slide in to X-men like whiny talking between the Hero and Villain (we know he is the villain from issue zero) I am going to drop this book.  It is a shame because I have so far really liked the different “wonders” and how different they are from what the Heroes are like in the main line DC Universe.

Worlds’ Finest Huntress / Power Girl number seven is entertaining.  This series has been good from issue one (even if a bit disjointed).  I really like the current story with the Robin (Damian Wayne) the interaction with the Huntress’s other world family could have been sappier and I am glad it was not.  It will be interesting to see if our worlds Batman has noticed or figured all this out yet.  I am kind of interested how Batman and Huntress meeting would be handled by the writer.