Cats and Bats
We’re exiting the X-Men/Avengers universe momentarily to check out recent and classic titles from DC Comics.
As you will no doubt remind us, DC rebooted its entire line of superhero comics, calling them The New 52. Among the relaunched titles is Catwoman, and we don’t know if Selina Kyle has always been this way but in issues #1-6 (The Game) she seems to be auditioning to become a lingerie model. Okay, she has no fear of heights, but who sleeps dangling upside down from a cornice, the better to show off her cleavage?
A few pages in she’s having rough sex with Batman, and shortly after that she’s sashaying into the men’s room wearing a bra. She does have a lot of bras—will there be a Victoria’s Secret marketing tie-in? We get it: the target market is teenage boys. The Catwoman we remember is clever, resourceful, funny and a rebel—we hope she comes back.
Wonder Woman #1-6 goes back to Greek mythology to recount the origins of Diana, princess of the Amazons. The mostly-divine cast includes Hera, still the jealous virago hunting down her husband’s lovers, Hermes the messenger, Eris a.k.a. Discord, Ares the god of war, Hades lord of the underworld, Poseidon god of the seas, and Apollo, who’s making a play for the throne in Zeus’s absence. It’s an action-packed opener with a rather thin plot but there’s room for many interesting developments.
Then there’s Batman, lots and lots of Batman.
Knightfall introduces the villain known as Bane. As in the movie he is born and grows up in a terrible prison, but the escape from Plato’s Cave drama is a cinematic contrivance. Which we appreciated because we found this series a little tedious.
Batman: The Black Glove Deluxe Edition puts the Dark Knight in a truly terrifying situation: fatherhood! Actually we’re shocked that there haven’t been more children because isn’t Bruce Wayne supposed to be a playboy? Or are all those women just for show? Hmmm.
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison. Yes, we’re not that familiar with Batman comics so we just picked a name we recognize.
In Batman Incorporated, also by Grant Morrison, Batman goes global and opens crime-fighting franchises in Japan, Argentina and other countries. Ah, the free market. Don’t forget that Bruce Wayne has always been a capitalist.
Two classic Batman series: Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison and The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller with the distinctive Lynn Varley illustrations. In the latter Batman is 55 and a creaky, cranky right-wing nut. Well what did you expect?
These graphic novels are available at National Bookstores.
Catwoman: The Game volume 1, by Judd Winick (Writer) and Guillem March (Artist), Php609
Wonder Woman: Blood vol.1 by Brian Azzarello (W) and Cliff Chiang (A), hardcover Php925
Batman: Knightfall vol. 1 by Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon, Alan Grant, Php1215
Batman: The Black Glove Deluxe Edition by Grant Morrison (W), Andy Kubert (A), J.H. Williams III (A) and Tony S. Daniel (A), hardcover (price to follow)
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne Deluxe Edition by Grant Morrison (W), Yannick Paquette (A) et al, hardcover (price to follow)
Batman Incorporated Deluxe Edition by Grant Morrison (W), Yannick Paquette (A) et al, hardcover Php1215
Batman: Arkham Asylum 15th Anniversary Edition by Grant Morrison (W) and Dave McKean (A), Php755
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller (W), Klaus Janson (A) and Lynn Varley (A), Php839
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
July 23rd, 2012 at 14:53
I dropped DC (and thus, comics in general because I’ve mostly collected DC with the exception of Thor and Spidey in the late 80s/90s) a few months into the New 52 for one simple reason: it sucked. Most of them have awful writing.
New 52 Catwoman has indeed been controversial with all the sex and smut. A recent solicit for an upcoming cover also came under criticism due to its impossible anatomy – even more impossible than usual in this medium. You are correct; Catwoman, my second favorite female comic character, has been relegated to sexpot, losing much of her clever resourcefulness, etc.
New 52 WW is just as bad – and this is coming from a WW fanatic (she got me into comics in the first place). The new writer has zero idea of the core of WW. One primary example, among many, is giving WW a father in Zeus – which is either a deliberate slap or an ignorant affront to one of WW’s key feminist aspects (in that she did not need a man in her parentage). There are many others, including her peaceful warrior dichotomy, etc.
So sadly, after about 25 years of comic book collecting, I dropped DC. The only thing I’ll maintain in comics as a whole is Buffy Season 9 as well as trade paperbacks of pre-New 52 DC stories.
Batman: Arkham Asylum is definitely one of the best. Ever.
As for Batman’s fatherhood, he actually has several across different realities: Helena Wayne (Earth 2, daughter of Batman and Catwoman), Damian (not sure if he still exists in New 52, but he is his son with Talia in the mainstream continuity pre-New 52, and Damian has been working as the new Robin to Dick Grayson’s Batman), and Ib’n (his son by Talia in the “Kingdom Come” timeline). There may be a few others I can’t recall right now.
Also, I believe pre-New 52, he already adopted Dick Grayson officially… or maybe it was Tim Drake. One of them.
Speaking of “Kingdom Come,” that is one graphic novel I highly recommend.
July 24th, 2012 at 00:35
To allancarreon, to put the New 52 into context, DC wanted to create new stories and other angles that were originally failed to be included in the pre-52 canons. Wonder Woman is such the case. Sales then were horrendous and there’s a controversy on whether WW should sport a new look (pants) or retain the Golden Age image (panty). Fans got divided, but in the end, the latter got the better of it. I actually find the new 52 WW interesting. WW challenging Hera and other Olympian gods and goddesses with golden guns! Brian Azzarello knows his WW, so to speak. It is just DC gave him the reins to give WW a new breather. Reviews on the new 52 WW are generally good (IGN, Newsarama, Comicvine, CBG, etc.). I believe you should read it first with an open mind and re-evaluate it afterwards. And please, even Greek mythologies vary from one version to another, so goes to comics. As in 52 Catwoman, just check the writer’s name and we can surmise that he’s a product of the 90s excess (the so-called height of the Dark Age comics that characterized of excessive and exaggerated anatomical sizes, brutal violence illustrations, over-the-top and convoluting plots, and art over story). I admit that the 52 Catwoman is way too horrible in terms of plot alone, but the numbers speak volumes, she stays for a time being. As of 52 Damian, he exists in the new 52 Batman Incorporated. Bruce Wayne adopted Timothy Drake, in Batman 654, before Grant Morrison came aboard an issue later. Overall, the new 52 is another universe in the 52 multiverse. Don’t worry, I also know the criticisms behind, just go to Newsarama where it lists the cracks of the new phenomena.
July 24th, 2012 at 04:58
I sort of lost interest with the DCU after finishing up Green Lantern’s Brightest Day arc a couple of years ago. I was intrigued by the Flashpoint arc but got disheartened after finding out that it was going to be the final storyline before the New 52 reboot. It also sucks that Jim Lee continues to give Rob Liefeld titles to ruin with his horrible art.
The only storyline I’ve followed post-52 reboot was Batman’s Court of Owls. It’s only on trades for this one for me though. If Batman needs a return for the film franchise, this would be a great source to draw from.
Now that Marvel is also following suit with their realignment in their Marvel Now campaign, I may end up abandoning a lot of their titles as well.
Thank goodness for other imprints like IDW and Image that continue to churn out more quality stuff. I highly recommend picking up The Unwritten and Morning Glories these days.
July 24th, 2012 at 07:15
I like the New 52 Bat-family in that it gets rid of some of the Batman RIP/Dick Grayson-as-Batman/Batman Incorporated excesses. It tries to restore the status quo. While I like seeing Barbara Gordon back as Batgirl, she is still treated as fragile. I also miss her as Oracle and wonder where Wendy Harris (Proxy) and Stephanie Brown (Batgirl Mach III) are in this new continuity.
As for Catwoman, I haven’t read her 52 series, but it doesn’t sound too impressive. Granted, Selina Kyle has been consistently falling out of her costume even more in recent years. But she’s still been presented as Batman’s intellectual equal, which is saying a lot when you consider Batman’s crazy-preparedness. See her characterisation in No Man’s Land, for instance. Even in Batman: Hush, where she is mind-controlled for part of it and drawn like a teen boy’s wet dream (the art was by the excellent Jim Lee, so even Batman looks that way), she’s a powerful, self-reliant character. If they are dumbing her down, that’s annoying. Mind you, her portrayals in The Dark Knight Rises and Batman: Arkham City are pretty strong and she’s clearly her own woman.