New 52! Batman and Robin #1 Review

Writen by: Peter J. Tomasi
Art by: Patrick Gleason


School work is absolutely killing me!  As CFO, the amount of work  needed for this business simulation is insane.  The part that makes me upset is that the business policy game manual continues to reference pro-forma spreadsheets that were never supplied to us!


Anyway off to the review...


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This is another title that never really got completely rebooted, based on my little knowledge of Batman and Robin.  I say this because Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne's son, plays Robin.  Obvious reasons being that if they completely rebooted Batman and Robin, there would be no Nightwing, right?


Anyway, there is nothing very revealing about this first issue except for a creepy bad guy that has his sights on Bruce Wayne.  Batman "celebrates" his parents death, giving the reader a little back story on Bruce Wayne and how his parents were murdered in front of him; thus, eventually spawning Batman.  Batman takes his son to spot in which they were killed (via sewers?  not sure why) and vows a new outlook on life: to celebrate their life (not their death).


My reaction?  Batman is a little bit of a sissy and Robin is a total jackass to his father.  Robin doesn't seem to have any respect for his father and Batman turned into an over-protective father.  For a 10 year old kid, he's given a very rebellious attitude that a teenager would have... He wants to do things his way and bum-rush bad guys with brute force -- usually not a good idea.


I suppose this comic was really to lay the ground work for the type of relationship Batman and Robin (father and son) have with each other.  It's not pretty.


I've read different perspectives on this comic... Some people felt Batman was a total douche to Robin...  Me?  I think Robin is an over confident little punk that probably should listen to his father a little more.


Writing: 9/10
Art: 10/10 (I love Patrick Gleason!  I'm a little biased because he drew a sketch of Kyle Rayner for me at Comic Con 2010)
Storytelling: 8/10


Overall: 9/10


I'm pretty sure that I will be picking up the next issue!

Operation Bag and Board

I picked up 100 bags and boards from the local comic book store, COMICKAZE Comics Books and More, located on Clairemont Mesa Blvd.

And so...

Operation Bag and Board is in effect.  With the help of my co-worker Mike, I organized my current collection of comic books.  All the older Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps comics were given to me as a gift by my good friend, Ray.

Before

After

Anniversary Green Lantern #200.  My most precious comic

New 52! Justice League #1 Review

Justice League #1

** Caution: minor spoilers **

Right away, we are pulled into a world where the term super hero doesn't exist.  JL #1 starts off in Gotham city, where Batman is chasing a cloaked figure and the police after, not the cloaked figure but, Batman!  Geoff Johns doesn't completely come out and say it, but the world is afraid of "super humans" or, at least, have a dubious opinion towards them.

Just before Batman was going to get pummeled, Green Lantern (squee!!) enters the scene.  Geoff Johns does a really good job describing how powerful Green Lantern really is to new readers.  The majority of this issue is dialogue between Batman and Green Lantern.  None of the super heroes know each other (that we know), in fact, Batman and Green Lantern refer to Superman as an alien.  They don't even mention his name until they display the title of the next issue:  Superman vs. Batman.

I can already tell that Green Lantern is going to be a source of comedy relief.  Hal Jordan is arrogant and makes fun of Batman for just being a guy in a bat costume.  The creative team at DC comics make an interesting choice to introduce us to Green Lantern and Batman first.  Two, almost, completely different personalities.  One fights with the light and the other prefers the darkness.  One is a loud mouth and the other grunts his words.  Id est, Christian Bale *grunt* "WHERE IS SHE?!"

One moment in this issue that really made me laugh was a line from Green Lantern where he says something to the effect of, "... how else are we going to get there?  A deep voice?" Hilarious!!

While trying to find the alien in Metropolis, we are introduced to our third super hero, Superman!  He's not going to be an easy person to talk to using force.  He smashes right through Green Lantern's constructs which are supposed to be impenetrable...

Overall, I am REALLY excited for the new 52 and can't wait for more!  Jim Lee's art is amazing!  I would love a sketch (hint hint Michael).  The ink and color are masterfully done.  The new grittier and darker perspective of the DC Universe has a lot of potential.  My friend, Michael, describes it as the Deep Space 9 world of Star Trek.  If that's the case, I'm all in!  Slow to start but AWESOME in the end.

Rating: 9/10

***

As you probably noticed, all the heros have new costumes!  DC's creative team believed that a new perspective on the new 52 should also mean a new set of costumes.  Because of that... I may have to invest in Action Comics because that's where they'll explain the origins of Superman's costume.

That's all!  Off to class...