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.

Catwoman #18 Requiem

Catwoman #18 Requiem deals with Batman mourning for Robin yet that part of the story feels crammed into the main story line.  So Batman and Catwoman have a chase and then they fight.  Catwoman then goes to try and find her fence that had been taken in by the police.  But the friend it turns out did not need her help and was out of the police station before Catwoman could help.  Then Catwoman robs the guy whom paid her to steal some artwork that she then returns to the Gotham Museum.  This comic was crammed with all kinds of stuff but felt a bit flat because so much information presented that nothing really gets done.  Oh well DC got to slap Requiem on another comic to make money off the death of Robin.

Nightwing #18 Requiem

Nightwing #18 Requiem was good as far as the Death of Robin stories go.  Nightwing mourns the death of his friend and sort of bonds a bit with Batman.  Nightwing then using information from Batman, Nightwing goes after a villain the Dealer who is a guy whom sells items associated with supers.  The Dealer is selling a costume that was once worn by Dick Grayson’s father and used by the Joker in the Death of the Family story.  There is a short fight and we move on to the other story that could be interested.  The guy who killed Grayson’s parents is still alive! Either that or someone is going to be sorry for picking that old alias as a cover once Nightwing gets to him.

Batman!! #18

Batman #18!!!  Was slow but still managed to be interesting.  This is another Requiem issue with the aftermath of the death of Robin (Damian Wayne).  We get the return of Harper and Cullen Row with Harper trying to help Batman get over the death or at least get some sleep before some punk manages to kill Batman.  It is all kinds of wordy yet interesting.  I liked this issue.

Batgirl #18 Requiem / Death of the Family

Batgirl #18 Requiem was horrible.  First off the story really has nothing to do with the death of Robin beyond Batgirl getting a phone call.  This issue is really a continuation of the Death of the Family Story line where Barbra Gordon is fighting against her brother.  But the story is told in a bad noir style from the evil brother’s point of view.  It has bad stilted writing as show in blocky block text that might be trying to be dramatic.  But in reality it is bad crappy writing pretending to put a woman in an imaginary abusive situation of some kind of “I hate all women” fantasy.  You the reader and I should get better for our money but when Spider-Man beats his wife/girlfriend and is still considered a hero there is not much hope for the art form since abuse is abuse weather it is in a comic book or real life.

Batman Detective Comics #18 Requiem Review!

Batman Detective Comics #18 Requiem – was an interesting story as we continue to follow the fall of the Penguin from his position of power.  Though there seems to be a lot of history and criminality this story forgets what has happened since the new 52 began.  There was little here to merit a Requiem or Death of the Family tie in the title page claims.  In the end the Emperor Penguin owns all that once belonged to Cobblepot.  At least the backup story had the Joker show up and that must be the actual Death tie in.  Anyway it was a good main story and the backup story could and should have been part of the main story.  I am getting tired of paying for a full sized issue and instead getting several short stories that could not really support a full book.  In some cases the main story is awkwardly cut up to extend the story ark and sometimes not.  This is deceptive on the publisher’s part and needs to stop unless the two or more stories are mentioned on the cover.  Maybe if there are not enough Batman stories it is time to retire one of the many many many Batman comic books that are published each month.