Jason Todd

Earthlings!!

Right.  So moving on...

Were you alive to remember Jason Todd's original run?  The two origins?  The 900 number?  I WAS THERE!!!  #whippersnappers

First off, the picture is just more brilliance from Jim Aparo.  He and Neal Adams are two of the first people I think of when it comes to Batman artists.  Their ability to bring emotion to the page was, and is, unparalleled. 

Fourthly, I thought the right decision was handed down at the time.  Kill off the little punk.  Since then, I have become less radical/emotional in my desire to see fictional characters put down.  In this case I am glad it happened.

If Jason Todd would have lived and continued on as Robin, two things would not have happened...

1.) Tim Drake (the best Robin there was).
2.) We would not have the Jason Todd we know today.

His character as the Red Hood has been amazing.  One of the brighter spots in the Bat-verse in the last 11 years.  That's right, he has been back for 11 years.  Crazy, huh?  His first appearance was in 1983, and was killed off in 1988.  He has more than doubled his life span this second go-around.

DC's Rebirth has reverted back to the origin of him being a kid that stole the tires off of the Batmobile, fixing the New 52's origin. He has new "outlaws" with him for Rebirth, Artemis, and Bizarro.  Cray cray, I know.  #sorryaboutthecraycray

Jason has been no angel since coming back, there's no question about it.  His presence adds depth to the Bat-family, and I am glad that he is out there.  It's one of those cases where the death of a character worked, in hindsight.  Of course, when he died back in '88, the death of comic characters weren't so ridiculously overdone. 

I have not done the math, but I would imagine that there are more DC/Marvel heroes that have died than haven't (A and B-listers, anyway).

Check out Rebirth's Red Hood and the Outlaws.  It's worth a read!

#hashtag

Dumpster Diving: Batman & Robin

My friends and I at Field of Geeks (click on the link to the side) recently did some movie commentary on the 1997 disaster, Batman & Robin.  As you can imagine, we had an amazing time being able to review a movie that shows us that life just is not fair.  It showed us that Satan had a strong grip on Hollywood.  It also showed us that Alicia Silverstone's mole was there one second, and gone the next. 

If you are like me, and pray that you aren't, you love comic book movies.  As a comic book fan, it stands to reason that I am part of the target audience, right?



Proof that we are not deserving of nice things.

Not with Batman & Robin.  My sources tell me that the target audience for this film was the Ik'Scctey, and evil alien race who is hell-bent on destroying planets for their natural resources.  Below is an excerpt of my interview with said source.

Steve: I understand that the film was actually commissioned by the government, is that correct?

Source: Right you are, Steve.  You have to understand, we, as a nation, were at the height of the Spice Girls' popularity, and we were all just tired after the Lewinsky thing.  Batman & Robin was our way to commit planetary suicide.

Steve: So then why are we still here?  What happened?

Source: The Ik'Scctey warlords thought Alicia Silverstone was cute.

So there it is, ladies and gentlemen.  Straight from my fictional source's mouth.

If you have NOT seen this film, save yourself.  If you have, you'll recall the therapy you have gone through to try and quiet the night terrors.  You might also recall Uma Thurman breathing on people a lot.

George Clooney actually takes the blame for this.  While that is gracious, it is not his fault.  There is so much blame to go around, from Warner Brothers straight down to the caterer.

As a serious film-reviewer (of which I am not, I like some pretty terrible movies), I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the good with the bad.  So without further delay, the best part of the movie?

We did not have to endure the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne for the 400th time.  That is absolutely one thing the movie got right.  We know all about it.  Same with Spider-Man.  We know he was bitten by a radioactive spider.  I was bitten by a radioactive spider once, and all I got out of it was 6 months of chemotherapy.

Rating: One out of five George Clooney head bobs.

The Killing Joke

Let's start here...

The Killing Joke is a heavily anticipated animated movie brought to us from our friends at DC Comics.  If you are not familiar with the source material, let me introduce you to Barbara Gordon.  Barbara is the daughter of Gotham City police Commissioner Jim Gordon.

In real years, she is 48 years old, having her debut in 1967.  She was created for both the comics and the Adam West Batman series simultaneously, and has been a fan favorite ever since.  In March of 1988, as depicted in the beautiful Brian Bolland artwork above, Ms. Gordon was shot by the Joker, to be left paralyzed.  In the following panels, the Joker starts to undress her so he can photograph her.

Pretty gruesome stuff, right?

In the years that followed, Barbara Gordon would become an integral part of the DC Universe as Oracle.  Her prowess behind a keyboard assisted more than just the Bat-family over the years.  And yes, in true comics fashion, she eventually regained the use of her legs, becoming Batgirl, once again.

The movie, set to debut later this year, is either going to knock it out of the park, or it is going to inspire Batman v Superman levels of critique.  Obviously I hope it does well.  It is the iconic Joker story.  Ask any comic fan to name one story that comes to mind when they think of the Joker and The Killing Joke will top the list.  A Death in the Family would probably be second (Joker, less than a year later, kills the Jason Todd version of Robin).

How could this movie fail?  Well, the voice acting will not, as Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprise their roles as Batman and Joker, respectively.  See?  We are off to a great start!  If they deviate from, or dumb down the source material, then a lot of die hard comic fans will be up in arms.  If they do not deviate, the armchair activists are going to get upset all over again over the treatment of Barbara Gordon.

This is a controversial story to animate, and I look forward to it.

Steve's prediction: too early to tell.  I'm not predisposed to hate things (like critics and DC movies).  :)

Red Hood and the Outlaws

After issue #1 of this series, especially if  you are a fan of these characters before the "new 52", you might want to stop reading this series altogether.  My problem is I let books stack up so I can enjoy them all at once, or in the case with novels, to make them last longer.  Reading, to me, is like episodic television.  It is not uncommon for me to be reading 3 or 4 books at once.  I am currently reading Extinction Agenda by Marcus Pelegrimas, Sandstorm by James Rollins, and Star Wars: Survivor's Quest by Timothy Zahn.  It's like turning the channel.  AND IT'S HOW I ROLL.

So it goes with comics.  I let Red Hood and the Outlaws stack up, and I am glad I did.

Jason Todd's Most Precious Memory

Jason Todd is the Red Hood.  Todd, you might recall, was the 2nd Robin to be under Batman's tutelage.  Back in the day, there was a storyline where readers could call into a 900# (not that kind of 900#...so disappointing) and determine whether or not Jason Todd would live or die.  The readers decided Jason needed to go.

The character was becoming a loose cannon, and as a result, Robin got to die at the hands of the Joker, via explosives.  The story was quite sad, and really shaped the Batman character for years and years to come.  Anyway, he's back.

Roy Harper, the former sidekick to Green Arrow, is also in the book.  Roy Harper, formerly known as Speedy had a name switch to Arsenal when DC finally realized the name Speedy was inherently stupid.  The character gained some fame in the 70's as the sidekick who turned to heroin in the infamous Green Lantern/Green Arrow series.  Social relevance and all that.  Dated stories, but man were they great. To this day I will still break them out.

The last Outlaw is Starfire.  She was a Teen Titan regular, former girlfriend to original Robin, Dick Grayson, and current slut with a selective memory.  This was the character that made me want to throw the first issue into the fireplace to use as kindling.  It became clear to me that I do not have a fireplace, so I had to scrap the idea.  

After finishing the 1st five issues, I suggest you go out and buy it.  Some minor dialogue annoyances and predictable formulas aside, I am interested in the story, and I am interested mostly in what happens to Jason Todd.  A very fun book. 

4 out of 5 Red Hoods.