Happy anniversary, Batman.

I could write about how no fictional character has so quickly and irrevocably changed my life like Batman has. I could write that it's only been about six years since I read my first Batman comic and since then, I've started my own comic book blog, worked in the comic book industry, got paid to go to San Diego Comic-Con, and met my own personal heroes and icons of the industry. I could even write about the fact that it's because of Batman that I truly became a gamer, that I learned to love comic books, animated series, and to find inspiration in characters as varied as Oracle, Huntress, Supergirl, Nightwing, and more.

I could talk about how thoroughly important this man is to me and how his Rogues Gallery is a safe source of excitement and suspense for me. I could even talk about the Joker and how he has fired my creativity and imagination more than any other fictional characters has in ages.

But all of this would take far too long.

Instead, I just want to take a moment to celebrate the character who changed my life, who opened my eyes to an entirely new culture, and who makes me laugh, angry, and inspires me to keep going.

I love Batman.

And today, on his 75th birthday, I want to say thank you to a character who has given me and countless others so much since 1939.

The Gender Trouble and “Homophobic Nightmare” of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Source: Wikipedia

It's been entirely too long that I've neglected my personal blog. Forgive me, little blog. I still love you.

In order to celebrate my return to Fangirling Daily, I wanted to show that yes, you can actually write about comic books, fandom, and Batman in a scholarly setting. Comic books aren't just for recreation but academia, too!

To prove it, I wanted to share a selection of a paper I wrote back when I was a graduate student studying English. The course I was taking was called "Gender Trouble" so of course, being a feminist, I enjoyed researching and writing this paper. Being a Batman fan, I loved it even more.

I don't want to post all of it because a) it's entirely too long b) that would be self-indulgent of me and c) as someone who hopes to be a professor someday, I am always nervous about and against plagiarism. Nonetheless, I felt it was too good to hoard to myself, so enjoy my self-important and critical look at Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

The Gender Trouble and “Homophobic Nightmare” of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Working in Hollywood recently I’ve come to realize how many prohibitions there really are against even touching one group or another, to a point where the villain can’t be female, can’t be gay, can’t be black. …Anyway, yeah, the homophobic nightmare is very much part of the Batman/Joker mythos. It’s always been there, I just spelled it out a little more plainly.

Frank Miller, 1987 (Sharrett 37)

Batman: Detective Comics #879

Cover by Francesco Francavilla

Batman: Detective Comics #879 (July 13, 2011)

Writer: Scott Snyder

Penciller: Frencesco Francavilla

Colorist: Francesco Francavilla

Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher

I knew I shouldn’t pick up this random issue without having any of the others. But my profound love for Scott Snyder’s work colored my reason. And now I have to run out and pick up the rest of his run on Detective Comics. Let me just add that to my growing to-read list.

Anyway, Snyder does not disappoint: he wrote an eerie, compelling and dark story that was fully articulated. Standing alone, this comic book had a very strong narrative with plenty of suspense and dynamic characters.

Detective Comics #1

Cover by Tony Salvador Daniel

Detective Comics #1 (September 7, 2011)

Writer: Tony Salvador Daniel

Penciller: Tony Salvador Daniel

Inker: Ryan Winn

Colorist: Tomeu Morey

Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher

Damn.

That’s really all I’ve got to say about this comic. It probably didn’t help that I read this at 5:00 in the morning after waking up from a nightmare. I had thought, Oh, let me read my new Batman comic, it’ll calm me down; good old trusty, reliable Batman.

I was wrong.

These comics flipped me out and now, after waking up after a few more hours of DAMN-BATMAN sleep, I have to say that Detective Comics #1 was pretty incredible.

Arkham City #5

Cover by Carlos D'Anda

Arkham City #5 (August 24, 2011)

Writer: Paul Dini

Penciller: Carlos D’Anda

Colorist: Gabe Eltaeb

Letterer: Travis Lanham

As we approach the release of the new video game, Batman: Arkham City, it’s time to wrap up all the prequels and DC-approved speculation of the bridge between the original, Arkham Asylum. Having completed that game this summer, I am obviously excited about the sequel and extremely curious to see how it expands upon the first game (also how I feel about the inclusion of Robin and Catwoman). Damn, now I really want to play it again.

Anyway, Arkham City #5 wraps up the prequel series pretty neatly and without any major shockers or clues towards the game that I didn’t already know from trailers and fan boards. In fact, this comic felt incredibly different from the previous ones in the series simply because of how self-aware it was that must fade into the video game. All of the build-up has already happened and now it’s time to simply wait until the release date.

Superman/Batman: Big Noise

Cover by Ardian Syaf

Superman/Batman: Big Noise (2009)

Writer: Joe Kelly, Joshua Williamson, Joe Casey

Penciller: Ardian Syaf, Jason Fabok, Scott Kolins

Inker: Derek Fridolfs, Rebecca Buchman, Walden Wong, Vincente Cifuentes, Prentis Rollins, Norm Rapmund, Marlo Alquiza

Colorist: Michael Atiyeh, Peter Pantazis, Ulises Arreola,

Letterer: Rob Leigh

This was, hands down, one of the silliest comics I’ve ever read.

The plot reminded me of something I would’ve dreamed up in my hardcore science fiction nerd days when I was 10. As a 10 year old, I didn’t exactly have the concept of conflict, character development and narrative structure down so I just made things up as I went along (I was an avid fiction writer back then and with all the naïve confidence of a type A personality first-born, thought I was quite good at it). But, I was wise enough to not let too many people see my work, which obviously did not happen with this graphic novel.

Gotham City Sirens #25

Cover by Guillem March

Gotham City Sirens #25

Writer: Peter Calloway

Penciller: Andres Guinaldo

Inker: Lorenzo Ruggiero

Colorist: J.D. Smith

Letterer: Travis Lanham

“How can you read something so sexist?”

My mom posed this accusatory question to me after she overheard me describe the title and plot of today’s comic book to a friend.

 I blurted out (even after looking at the cover and Catwoman's ridiculous outfit again) rather lamely, “It wasn’t that sexist.”

“But even the title. ‘Sirens.’ Come on.”

My mom had a point.

Batman Incorporated #7

Cover by Chris
Burnham, Nathan
Fairbairn

Writer: Grant Morrison

Batman Incorporated #7 (June 29, 2011)

Penciller: Chris Burnham

Colorist: Nathan Fairbairn

Letterer: Patrick Brosseau

I have been debating whether or not to read this comic book mostly because I was always drawn to and put off by the cover. It seemed so insane to me. Batman riding a Bat-pod, as red cowl wearing kid rides a horse and another Batmanish-looking guy wearing a cowl and an American Indian headdress rides a buffalo (can you even ride a buffalo?) in the American desert. My brain couldn’t handle this cover for a very long time.

I’m going to be honest and admit that I also avoided this issue because it was written by Grant Morrison, whom I love to dislike. But my curiosity and belief that I should give the guy another chance won out, so I finally read Batman Incorporated #7.

First of all, this series is all about the franchising of the Batman symbol by Bruce Wayne, which is sort of depressing in a hipster way. Batman’s sold out, man! But it’s also sort of cool that the Batman symbol and ideals can go global and mean something to people all over the world. Truth be told, however, I inherently dislike any Batman comics that feature Batman outside of Gotham City. It seems wrong to me. They belong together. But, Bruce Wayne has decided to recruit his own network of vigilantes and leave Dick Grayson in charge of Gotham as he travels the world. I don’t know, none of these aspects about this series excited or interested me but I read the comic anyway.

Batman: Arkham City #4

Cover by Carlos D'Anda

Batman: Arkham City #4 (August 3, 2011)

Writer: Paul Dini

Penciller: Carlos D’Anda

Inker: Carlos D’Anda

Colorist: Gabe Eltaeb

Letterer: Travis Lanham

As this series winds to an end to prepare for both the DC re-launch and the release of the upcoming video game, crucial plot elements are finally being revealed. The importance of Hugo Strange is now apparent, along with the sheer amount of danger Batman now finds himself in after his cover is blown  and he’s trapped in Arkham City.

Furthermore, the dangerous tensions between rival gang bosses the Joker and Penguin have intensified along with Quincy Sharp’s security. Therefore, this was an extremely action-packed issue with plenty of fight scenes, drawn, no doubt, to remind the reader of the brawl scenes in the Arkham Asylum videogame. Along with ordinary hand-to-hand combat, there were also plenty of trucks driving through walls, explosions and a surprise appearance by Catwoman. Quite a lot of excitement for a single issue.

Batman: Arkham City #3

Cover by Carlos D'Anda

Batman: Arkham City #3 (June 29, 2011)

Writer: Paul Dini

Penciller: Carlos D’Anda

Inker: Carlos D’Anda

Colorist: Gabe Eltaeb

Letterer: Travis Lanham

I’ve been avoiding the Batman: Arkham City comics mostly because I found the idea of reading comics about the upcoming video game abhorrent. I felt that I would be reading a commercial and it would be a giant gimmick trying to get me to buy this video game as soon as it comes out (which let’s face it, I totally am).

So on general principle, I refused to read any of the Arkham City comics. Then with a spur of the moment decision, I went what the hell? and read Batman: Arkham City #3. It’s out of five issues so it was probably a poor decision on my part but my overwhelming love for the Arkham Asylum video game blurred my faculties for a moment.

And while I went into this comic fully expecting to be cringing at the overt product placement, I was actually taken by surprise. It wasn’t half bad. Of course I missed the first two issues so I’m not exactly sure how the Joker managed to escape Arkham Asylum AGAIN (especially after being all toxin-ed up at the end of the first video game) or just why and how the Penguin is involved but nonetheless, it featured a fun look into both of these characters’ plans and strategies.

 

Gotham City Sirens #24

Cover by Guillem March

Gotham City Sirens #24 (June 29, 2011)

Writer: Peter Calloway

Penciller: Andres Guinaldo

Inker: Lorenzo Ruggiero

Colorist: JD Smith

Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual

The thing with Harley Quinn is that she’s an awesome character in theory but she is almost always annoying to read. Her voice (even her literal one in Batman: The Animated Series or Arkham Asylum) can just be so grating and her doormat personality so disappointing, that I have to admit that I am a somewhat reluctant fan. She kind of goes against everything I love and look for in a female comic book character and yet, I can’t turn away.

Therefore, I wasn’t really expecting much when I picked up Gotham City Sirens #24. I am completely unfamiliar with this particular series and since there are about 8,000 different Batman story arcs going on at once, I figured the chances were pretty good that this would just be mediocre. And you know what? In some ways it was (the storyline didn’t really grip me and the conclusion was incredibly anti-climatic) but this issue has these moments that really took me by surprise and made me take notice.

Batman: The Man Who Laughs

Cover by Doug Mahnke

Batman: The Man Who Laughs (2005)

Writer: Ed Brubaker

Penciller: Doug Mahnke

Inker: Doug Mahnke

Colorist: David Baron

Letterer: Rob Leigh

Batman: The Man Who Laughs was another comic  I had heard a great deal about and was very anxious to read for a while now. Written as a contemporary retelling of Batman #1 (1940), Batman has his first encounter with the clown-faced killer dubbed by the police as the Joker.

As I’ve said before, Joker origin stories are usually hit or miss (more often miss) with me but since this is a retelling of the very first time comic book readers ever met the Joker, I suppose this one holds a bit more stock than other ones. It also contained many time-honored elements of origin stories, such as Red Hood, Joker toxin, smoke bombs, and poison in the Gotham water supply. Batman villains seem very keen on poisoning the water supply for some reason, and it never works.

While it contained all of these things, or maybe because it did, this comic didn’t feel like anything new. I was never really excited or intrigued by what was going to happen next because, quite frankly, I knew what was going to happen. Joker was going to threaten to kill some millionaires, he manages to kill a couple, Bruce Wayne survives, Batman and the Joker have a final confrontation, and Batman refuses to kill the Joker. The end.

Batman: Close Before Striking

Cover by Scott McDaniel

Close Before Striking (2001)

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan

Penciller: Scott McDaniel
Inker: Karl Story

Colorist: Roberta Tewes

Letterer: John Costanza

I know, I know. Another Batman post. I really need to return this pile of books to the library.

I’ve been pretty used to being disappointed with Batman comics lately, so it was pleasant surprise to actually enjoy one for once. This was another comic written by Brian K. Vaughan and, unlike the really silly one I read earlier, Close Before Striking had a solid story, strong characterization and a decent enough mystery. While it definitely didn’t have anything jaw-dropping, it was at least well-written and actually suspenseful at points.

Batman versus Predator: The Collected Edition

Cover by Dave Gibbons
Batman's teeth are so
distracting on this cover.

Batman versus Predator: The Collected Edition (1993)

Writer: Dave Gibbons

Penciller: Andy Kubert

Inker: Adam Kubert

Colorist: Sherilyn va Valkenburgh

Letterer: Adam Kubert

When I first got a hold of this comic (also lent to me by a co-worker), I was completely torn.

I love Batman but I also really love Predator. The original Predator film is one my favorites and I actively enjoy watching Alien vs. Predator, I don’t even care (seriously, I don’t even consider it a guilty pleasure; I just love it that much). So when I was given Batman versus Predator, I really didn’t know who to root for.

Then I actually read it and I realized that DC and Dark Horse kind of didn’t really try with this one.

 

Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?

Cover by Andy Kubert 

Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (2009)

Writer: Neil Gaiman

Penciller: Andy Kubert

Inker: Scott Williams

Colorist: Alex Sinclair

Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher

When I took out a dozen Batman comics from my local library, I kept the bag of books in my room. My sister, unbeknownst to me, came in and raided this bag and one day began talking about one particular graphic novel, assuming I had read it first. When I stared at her dumbfounded, she realized she had actually read more Batman comics than me and seemed quite pleased with this fact.

“Well, I read one that was really confusing,” she said. “Batman was dead but he was also still alive watching his funeral and everyone was telling different stories and then he reborn as a baby or something.”

I guessed she was talking about Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? by Neil Gaiman, as it is also a pretty famous comic and one I had heard of before (though I can’t believe it’s only from 2009; I could’ve sworn it was older than that).

“Yeah, that was it,” she said when I repeated the title to her. “Read it because I’m still confused by it.”

So I read it.

Batman: Gothic

Cover by Klaus Janson

Batman: Gothic (1990)

Writer: Grant Morrison

Penciller: Klaus Janson

Colorist: Steve Buccellato

Letterer: John Costanza

In my blind desire to read as much Batman as humanly possible in as short a time as possible, I got my hands on Batman: Gothic, a relatively famous story arc written by the ultra famous Grant Morrison. In the comic book world, he’s kind of a big deal (he has many leather-bound books and his apartment smells of rich mahogany [citation needed]), though I have only read one other his works, the very influential and extremely pretentious Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. Seriously, it’s so pretentious that I wanted to punch it in the face repeatedly.

But, as I was fully aware of Morrison’s influence as a comic book writer, I knew I wanted to give Batman: Gothic a chance. I figured with a title like that and with Morrison as a writer, it would just be an extremely dark story that would try very hard to be deep and smart. Well, it was dark… so dark that Satan was an actual character; and it did try hard to be very deep but in doing so, the story was buried under ill-fitting supernatural elements and a profound suspension of disbelief.

Batman: Arkham Reborn

Batman: Arkham Reborn (2009)

Writer: David Hine

Penciller: Jeremy Haun

Inker: Jack Purcell, John Lucas

Colorist: John Kalisz, Richard and Tanya Horie, David Baron

Letterer: Pat Brosseau, Sal Cipriano

I have to neglect my quest to expand my comic book knowledge and return to the Batman… simply because I took out nearly a dozen Batman graphic novels from my local library and they’ve just been sitting in my room for a while now.

Also, having been playing a LOT of Arkham Asylum on my Xbox, I’ve become more and more interested in the story of the Asylum. I’ve read a good number of comics that focused on Arkham’s history and its inmates and I have always enjoyed the idea of Arkham Asylum, though there have been plenty of times where I’ve read comics and wondered how it could possibly get funding as there seems to be no social workers or real sense of rehabilitation.

Anyway, I picked up Arkham Reborn without any big expectations. I was surprised, however, and a little embarrassed, by how sad it made me.

 

Batman: Lovers & Madmen

Batman: Lovers & Madmen (2008)

Writer: Michael Green

Peciller: Denys Cowan

Inker: John Floyd

Colorist: I.L.L.

Letterer: Travis Lanham, Ken Lopez

My instinct is to automatically dismiss Joker origin stories. There is something cheapening about attempting to explore who the Joker was before he fell into that vat of acid or the whys and hows he became the ultimate villain of Gotham. For me, what has always made the Joker so perfect, so universal was that we didn’t know where he came from: he just is.

So, I was completely thrown for a surprise when I read “Batman: Lovers & Madmen” and genuinely loved the origin of both the Joker and his relationship with Batman. I do have some issues with this story, but as someone who is always looking for new explorations of the dynamic between Batman and the Joker, I really favored this comic.