Pads & Panels

Title: Wayne of Gotham

Author: Tracy Hickman

Publisher: It Books, HarperCollins Publishers

Rating:

Review by: Jon DePaolis

How much do we really know about our past?

The very set of memories that are supposed to define and determine our present and future selves tend to be the set of memories that are least reliable. How much can we truly remember about our lives after years have gone by — distancing us from those memories to the point where it is as if those memories were actually scenes from a movie instead of vignettes of reality?

Tracy Hickman’s Wayne of Gotham attempts to answer the question of how fragile and disconnected our own memories are. In order to achieve that end, Hickman crafts two stories. The first has a son trying to piece together shattered memories of his parents after a villain puts in motion a complicated maze of crime. The second, set approximately 50 years earlier, sees a young adult rebelling against his abusive father, in turn making questionable decisions in the name of morality. (more…)

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Title: Batman: Year One

Format: Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy

MPAA: PG-13

Directed by: Sam Liu & Lauren Montgomery

Written by: Tab Murphy, based on a comic by Frank Miller

Starring: Benjamin McKenzie, Bryan Cranston, Eliza Dushku, Katee Sackhoff, Alex Rocco, Jon Polito

Produced by: Lauren Montgomery, Alan Burnett

Studio: Warner Premiere, Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment, Warner Home Video

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

The Film

Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One was a groundbreaking comic for the Dark Knight for a number of reasons. First off, it helped to definitively usher in a new age for Batman, one that eschewed the flavor-of-the-week enemies and cartoonish nature that the Adam West television series had imparted onto the comics. And secondly, it brought a grittier, darker tone to a comic book series that badly needed a resurrection.

The fact that the book practically serves as a storyboard for DC Entertainment’s animated adaptation only shows how great the source material was in the first place. Telling the story of how both Bruce Wayne and good cop Jim Gordon have arrived in the crime-ridden Gotham City, it’s a great starting point for those not familiar with the story behind the cowl. (more…)

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#2 Batman: Arkham City (PS3, 360, PC)

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment — Developer: Rocksteady Studios

Our Review

Batman Simulator 2.0 doesn’t disappoint, as it hits all the high spots gamers loved in Arkham Asylum and scatters them across an entire sandbox of a city to find. Rocksteady Studios is to be commended for continually getting what makes Batman fun. The double-edged sword here is – even though Arkham City is more robust than Asylum, gamers won’t get that stunning moment again where they realize that finally someone finally got a Batman game right. But the overall quality of the game is vastly improved, making it one of the year’s best. (more…)

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Product: Batman Money Clip

Company: ThinkGeek

Price: $39.99

Review by: Bill Jones

Batman has always been a man of gadgets. With the seemingly infinite wealth of Wayne Enterprises behind his nighttime crimefighting, Batman has a gadget for nearly every situation. So it stands to reason that with all of the money, the man probably uses heavy duty clip to keep it all together.

ThinkGeek and DC Comics present their version of the Batman Money Clip, a miniature batarang that bends in half to hold the money, with the aid of two powerful magnets. It’s the metal of the batarang itself, though, that makes it so cool. It’s a heavy die-cast metal that’s coated in a black rubberized finish. So the money clip has a hefty weight to it, but feels relatively smooth and soft to the touch. (more…)

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Title: All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder: Volume 1

Publisher: DC Comics

Writer: Frank Miller

Artist: Jim Lee

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

It’s hard to imagine with this being the first series published under DC Comics’ All-Star banner that the imprint lasted long enough for Grant Morrison to produce the fantastic All-Star Superman. All-Star allows the writers and artists to tell stories with key DC characters outside the general continuity of the DC Universe (or any other continuity DC has going, for that matter). And with creators of the likes of 300, Sin City and Batman: Hush, one would think this would be met with promising results. Jim Lee’s art gets the job done, for sure, but it’s hard to believe Volume 1 of All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder was written by the same Frank Miller who produced The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One. (more…)

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By John Gustafson

Editorial note: For the original Pads & Panels review, please check Bill’s article . This is not the definitive interpretation but rather a second perspective of this particular story arc, which has been divisive in the comic book community.

Oh Batman my Batman! Our fearful trip is done.

My what a trip this story arc has been for all parties involved. Grant Morrison, with the completion of Batman R.I.P. and his years on the Batman title, has cemented himself as one of the most inventive and counter-culture storytellers to grace the pages of the comic book medium. (more…)

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Title: Batman R.I.P.

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artist: Tony S. Daniel

Publisher: DC Comics

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

In the deluxe edition collection of Batman R.I.P., Grant Morrison’s greatest strengths also prove to be his weaknesses. Morrison, who has had runs with Doom Patrol, Superman and numerous other DC mega-titles over the last 20 years, brings a long run with the Batman series to a somewhat strange and ambiguous close with these six issues leading into his hyped, multi-character extravaganza, Final Crisis. (more…)

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