Tag Archives: Gotham
So Many Comics, So Little Time
In 1993 my dad gave me three copies of Superman #75. Two of these were the “black bag” variant that contained assorted goodies and a variant cover all encased in a black poly bag with a bleeding Superman logo on the front. The third copy was the widely available basic newsstand version. In addition to the individual issues, he also gave me The Death of Superman trade paperback which contained the 11 comics detailing the entire Death of Superman storyline. Growing up, I was always been a fan of comic books but I hadn’t read them with any sort of regularity since I was in grade school so I was a bit surprised by this present but I was still grateful and excited nonetheless. Little did my dad know that his seemingly simple gift would send me down the long path to becoming a comic book geek.
After reading The Death of Superman, I couldn’t seem to get enough. Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding had me hooked on Superman. I kept reading the storyline knowing that nobody in comics stays dead (except for Bucky but he’s back now too) and I wanted to see what was going to happen next. I started a weekly hold at the local comic book store and was soon deeply immersed in the world of Superman.
About the same time as Superman was being killed off, Gotham City was facing a new villain named Bane who would eventually break Batman’s back in the Knightfall storyline. The guy at the comic book store gave me a synopsis of what had been happening and I immediately fell in love with the idea of yet another hero facing a force greater than he. I was also fascinated by the idea of a normal person with no superpowers whatsoever fighting crime. Batman was a character that I could relate with – he was smart and had cool toys. While nobody could be Superman, anybody could be Batman given the proper training and resources. I decided that I needed to follow the adventures of Superman and Batman so I added the various Batman titles to my weekly hold.
I believe that there were four Superman titles and four Batman titles being published at the time. The comic shop would get their shipment on Friday afternoons so every Friday night after work I’d stop by and pick up my comics for the week and then spend the evening in my room reading them. Since I was only reading eight titles regularly, my haul would usually be limited to two issues but, on occasion, there would be a special one-shot or variant cover that I would also pick up. It wasn’t long before I realized that there was a enormous universe of superheroes that I was missing out on. Apparently Superman was my gateway comic. I was soon picking up more than 10 titles per week. The artwork was so amazing and the storylines were so compelling that I couldn’t get enough. Add the fact that the comic book guy would tell me about titles that I might like and I was never short on reading material.
In February of 1995 I left on a two year mission to South Africa for the LDS Church. Before I left, Comic Book Guy offered to keep my hold going so that I would be able to catch up on things when I got home but I knew that two years worth of comic books was a lot so I declined his offer. While I was in Africa, I would occasionally see a rack of comics in a bookstore but, knowing that I was out of the loop, I would resist the urge to pick up a few issues. I figured that when I got home, I’d be able to start collecting again and that I could pick up the back issues over time. I was wrong.
Shortly after arriving back in the States, I met my wife and realized that there was no way that I could support my comic book habit and keep her happy so something had to go. It obviously wasn’t her. Over the past few years, I’ve started getting back into collecting comics but nothing like before. She has decided that it’s OK for me to start a hold again but only if I limit myself to one title per month. I’ve chosen Star Wars Legacy as my monthly fix but I’ve also started getting digital copies of older issues that I read on my computer.
I decided a few weeks ago that I needed to get caught up on all of my comic reading for the last 14 years so I’ve been acquiring various back issues from the DC Universe so that I know what’s been happening to my favorite heroes. The fact that my sister is also a comic geek has helped me too because she also gets the trade paperbacks and lets me borrow them as needed.
Right now I’m reading Crisis on Infinite Earths from 1985 and will soon start reading old issues of The Flash dating back to 1987 and Green Lantern from who knows when. I’ll eventually pick up where I intended to, which is just after Zero Hour, but I just can’t seem to focus on just one hero or storyline. It’s funny because I figured that I would just read the collections but it’s turning out to be entire comic runs. I dare say that I’ll be spending hours and hours trying to get caught up. Maybe I should have never canceled my hold…
Really?
The next Catwoman?
From the Batman III, aka The Caped Crusader, casting rumors department: According to Telegraph.co.uk, Angelina Jolie may not be Christopher Nolan’s first choice to play Catwoman in the next installment of the Batman franchise. His first choice is none other than Cher. What? Really? Was Bea Arthur not available? Somebody is obviously very, very high.
A studio executive said: “Cher is Nolan’s first choice to play Catwoman. He wants to her to portray her like a vamp in her twilight years.”
I have no idea how the 62 year old drag queen idol is on the short list for this part. Catwoman personifies sexuality and athleticism. Apparently Angelina Jolie falls short in these categories when compared to Cher. Obviously Nolan is living in 1972 when Cher had mass commercial appeal. And wasn’t 62 years old. Oh right, they’re going for a “twilight years” effect.
“The new Catwoman will be the absolute opposite of Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry’s purring creations.”
Well, I guess if that’s what they’re going for, Cher certainly fits the bill. When I think of Michelle Pfeiffer’s opposite, I suppose that Cher would come to mind. Honestly though, I try really hard to not think of Michelle Pfeiffer’s opposite because cave trolls and midgets tend to fill my imagination.
Seriously though, can you imagine Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne hooking up with Cher in a Catwoman outfit? Maybe in Bizarro World but this is Gotham, not Metropolis. Crap like that just doesn’t happen. Wouldn’t she be at high risk for breaking a hip or something? Imagine Catwoman jumping from rooftop to rooftop at 3.5 miles per hour in a Jazzy. Instead of a whip, she can use the tubes from her oxygen tanks.
I’m going on the record now and saying that this had better be a joke. Yes. This is all a cruel joke worthy of the Joker. Let’s pretend that these “talks” haven’t happened and that Kate Beckinsale will be donning the Catwoman outfit. That way we can all sleep at night.
The Dark Knight Reviewed
Ever since I saw the ending of Batman Begins where we are shown a playing card with a joker on it, I have been highly anticipating this sequel in the Batman franchise. I am a huge fan of the Batman comics and have always thought that the Joker was one of the best villains. Now we have a movie that pits the madness of the Joker against the madness of the Batman. What’s not to get excited about? (Yes, I know that Tim Burton did the Batman vs. Joker thing back in 1989. I was excited for it back then too.)
The Dark Knight is probably the best movie based on a comic book that I have ever seen. There was so much that was good about it that what was bad is inconsequential. Here are a few of my thoughts on the movie. Warning! Minor spoilers ahead!
- The thing that I love about Batman is that he’s just a regular guy. He doesn’t have any super powers; just a bunch of money and an affinity for technology. Plus, he’s an extremely adept detective. He’s not indestructible or infallible. He can be broken just like the next guy. He’s good at avoiding such occurrences though. I like that. He’s also got to have some serious mental illnesses to do what he does. That adds to his mystique in my mind. He’s not perfect, he’s just trying to do a job.
- I’m not a Heath Ledger fan. I have to say though that he did an amazing job as the Joker. When I first saw him in an early trailer, his performance scared the crap out of me. It’s mentioned in the movie that some people just want to see the world burn. Ledger’s Joker was one of those people. He was extremely disturbing yet very fascinating at the same time. This is how I want my Joker in the comics. This Joker made the Joker from The Killing Joke look like an pansy. I loved it!
- Aaron Eckhardt was amazing as Harvey Dent. I’m not familiar with any of his previous roles but he sure nailed this one. I thought that he was great as the crusading DA trying to clean up Gotham. I also thought it was completely tragic how the most evil man in Gotham turned one of the best men in Gotham into the evil Two-Face.
- Speaking of Two-Face, he looked awesome; just exactly as I would expect him to look if I met him on the street. He looked much more realistic than Tommy Lee Jones did in Batman Forever. This is the best Two-Face to ever be captured on film.
- I love Christian Bale as Batman. He is actually one of the few men to wear the suit that can fill it out. He is also a convincing Bruce Wayne. In past Batman movies, I have either liked the lead actor as one character or the other but never as both. Bale does a great job as both Batman and Bruce Wayne.
- Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon was brilliant casting in Batman Begins and it was brilliant casting in The Dark Knight. He is good in every role I’ve ever seen him in. I can’t wait to see how they treat his character in the inevitable third installment.
- What’s with casting Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes? Is it just me or does she look like Droopy? I guess she’s better than stroke victim lookalike Katie Holmes from Batman Begins but I would have cast a different actress. However, I was pleased to see what they did with the character.
Well, there are a few of my thoughts. My wife, didn’t like it as much as I did because it was a very dark, very disturbing movie. I felt that it was a great portrayal of Gotham’s denizens and would like to see the comics follow this direction for a few years. In fact, I have no doubt that they will.
This is an all-around great movie that you should go see. Even if you don’t like “comic book movies” you should go see this. Well, what are you doing? Go see it!
Where Have All The Special Features Gone?
Next Tuesday, the biggest blockbuster of the year will make it’s triumphant DVD debut. This film also happens to be a geek-friendly movie based on one of the coolest super heroes in history. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m talking about The Dark Knight. This is one DVD that will be making it’s way into my collection.
I have a major gripe over the way that movie studios have been screwing people that buy DVDs over the past few years. When DVDs first started hitting the market, they were advertised as having super cool bonus features including deleted scenes, commentaries, trailers, bloopers, featuretes, etc. DVDs were a gold mine for the movie lover that enjoys useless information in documentary form. Those days are now gone, and I don’t even blame the introduction of Blu-Ray discs. I blame greedy movie stuidos that know that movie geeks will pay extra for this stuff.
The Dark Knight DVD release is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. Warner Brothers decided that there will be single-DVD releases in both widescreen and full-screen. These will have the movie. Um… OK. It wasn’t that long ago that the single-disc version would be a veritable cornucopia of extras. If you want any of those, you’ll have to upgrade to the twice as expensive two-disc DVD. This will include:
That may seem like a lot but guess what? Regular DVD player owners are getting screwed. The Blu-Ray version comes with all of the above plus the following:
My question is this: what does everyone think of how movie studios enticed us into the DVD market by offering all manner of sweetness only to move said sweetness to multi-disc versions of the film? I can understand it but I hate it. And for those of us who hate Sony and refuse to buy their products, what about giving us über versions of regular DVDs a la The Lord of the Rings? Is that really too much to ask? We used to get these things for the price of a DVD and now we don’t and that just pisses me off.