Ep. 35: Kinky Canadians

[Mr.Shaw]

Our intrepid heroes descend into goofy madness! Aside from discussing Batman comics old and new (Batman 266-7, 702; Detective Comics 451-2, 868; Batgirl 13, Birds of Prey 4, Streets of Gotham 15, and Gotham City Sirens 15), there is an inordinate amount of Star Wars talk. Batman takes care of the Borg, the employment rosters of Batman, Inc. are filled, sports teams are purchased, and Rob's childhood memories are tracked down.

The Band o' the Week is Jonathan's Oldies Mixtape:
1. The Trashmen, "Surfin' Bird"
2. The Righteous Brothers, "Unchained Melody"
3. The Isley Brothers, "Shout (Parts 1 and 2)"
4. The Champs, "Tequila"
5. Booker T and the MGs, "Green Onions"
6. Tommy James and the Shondells, "Crimson and Clover"
7. Steam, "Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye"

[mguy1977]

Yes Superman acts like a d-bag from Superman III just not as evil. JMS' run has a social commentary in the title -- for better or worse. Me I liked it but I can see how it can turn others off. For me it was Mon-El in Superman & Supermanless in Action Comics during WONK was very lackluster. So for me this is an improvement.

I gave Superman 702 a 4 out of 5 rating

As for the Batman books that I read:

Batman 702 -- a 3 out of 5 and I'm being kind as it is my last Batman issue for a long while
Sts. of Gotham 15 --a 5 out 5 a solid Batman book & worth very dang penny (I like showcasing villains or a detective story)
Batgirl 13 -- also a 5 showcasing Clayface & but I do agree she has I have to help that man syndrome should be used on Tim first
Birds of Prey 4 -- a 2 out of 5 nice cheesecake & that is about it for me, I dropped the book w/ this issue.
Team Ups of the Brave & The Bold HC -- JMS' first batch of issues I give it a 5 out of 5 especially the last issue of the collection of
B & B #33 --Batgirl, Wonder Woman & Zatanna was heartbreaking
Zatanna #4 2 out 5 great art & writing but I cant take the Zatanna backwards speak anymore -- It is as if Dini wants to give a reading comprehension problem from reading backwards so next issue is my last issue of the series for me.

Matthew

[Crazy Clees]

I read many of the Star Wars books. Mostly stuff involving the main characters from the movies. I did skip the series where Chewie died, but I did pick up the recent Nine books where Mara and a few others died. They were decent. They had three writers rotate. One lady LOVES Mandalorians (the Boba Fett people) waaaaay too much.

One of my cat's names is Isis. I did this in honor of the Egyptian stuff in Stargate, but now that you mention it, it does sound familiar that Catwoman's cat is named that as well.

I agree with Rob, that Wallmart drink sounds terrible!

TIE Fighter the game rocked. And TIE Interceptors are my favorite ships (A-Wing are second). Apparently I feel the need for speed with Star Wars ships.

[Anti-Robot Man]

[DarkKnightJared]

Congrats on the job, Jon.

That was an awesome reading of Rob's e-mail. It's probably for the best that the person who read it did it like that--I know if I did I would have done it in the stereotypical nerd screech, complete with snorts and slurrps.

"Is Dick really that popular as Batman?" Yes. Yes, he is. Really, you guys are the only ones I've seen who haven't been sold by it. And I'll have you know that I am a big fan of Bruce, but I'm also a fan of Dick (yeah, THAT'S not a quote that will be isolated and ridiculed at ALL...) and the Bat-Family in general. What I like is that they're not trying to make Dick into a Bruce clone--well, most of the time, anyway. They're doing it in a way that has Dick play the role of Batman, while still being true to who he is as a person. I think it was Rob that says later on in the episode that what he likes about those comics in the case-file is that the Batman there is lighter and more jokey--I think that's another reason why people like Dick in the cowl. People who like a grim, determined Batman and a jokey, daredevil Batman can have it both ways.

As for Superman...it's interesting, at the absolute least. I'm compelled to keep going. I also see that they're going to do more than just have Superman walking around--solicits clearly show there's going to be people trying to stop him, hinting at bigger mysteries, we're going to see him travel back in time as Superboy and one of the covers confirm he's going to encounter the new Wonder Woman. I also think that we're two issues into a twelve-part arc, and there's just bound to be twists and JMS is just writing with that length in mind, even though most comic fans are used to six-issue arcs.

I also don't get how Superman sounds like a douche, though. The only real strange moment like that I could concede would probably be the bit with the drug dealers, but even that had a larger point, I felt. I also don't remember him yelling at the aliens in the last issue. He kind-of mutters to himself that the media would have a field day if they were found, but considering what happened with New Krypton, that makes total sense. If anything, he says to them that if they want to live on this planet, they should do what he does, and use the powers, abilities, and technologies that they have to better their new home.

Gotham City Sirens #15 -- I'd give it a rating, but honestly, I couldn't even fucking remember what it was about until you guys recapped it, it was that bad. The last issue that came out, with a new writer (not Tony Bedard, but one really shouldn't believe the solicits when it comes to this title anymore), shows it might have some possibility, but yeah, this book really needs to get a fucking purpose REALLY soon, or no one is going to care even more then they don't now.

Streets of Gotham #15 -- From what I understand, there were two reasons for the fill-in:

1. They wanted to get the Two-Face story over with, so that they can start on a Ragman second feature in November.
2. Apparently at some point in Hush Money, Bruce is going to get into the picture, which means it got involved with the whole delay madness that's going on between the Return and the Road Home stuff.

I did think the actual Two-Face story is pretty lame. I don't even mind that it was an all-villain issue--from what I understand, having it be more about the side characters and the villains was what the book was about--I just thought this was a bad story: interesting premise, but not really told well.

Batgirl #13: Not as good as the last issue or the issue after, and the whole plot felt like an excuse to get what's kind of a stereotypical back-story on the cop that Steph is squeeing over, but still not a bad issue. 3 out of 5.

Batman #702. 4 1/2 out of 5--yeah, I LOVED the story, but Daniel's art did kill it a bit.

As for Daniel's style--as I recall, it was a mix of him inking his own work, and him being very sick and that style was the only way he could really get the pages done.

I don't see any inconsistancies with the story, though--Darkseid saw the damage Batman made in the lab, told his underlings to destroy all but one, and then encounters Batman in his lair.

As for using the Radion bullet on Darkseid--he knew that it was the only way to hurt Darkseid, and he also knew that everything the New Gods touch turns into myth, so it wasn't so much Batman wounding Darkseid (note that Barry and Wally using the Black Racer and Superman with the Miracle Machine was what really killed him), but more of humanity standing up against evil and dealing a powerful blow to turn the tide for the superhumans to save the multiverse once more.

As for the memory and the voice "inconsistancies"--I think he mentions in #702 during his recording (which yeah, his tech wouldn't last that long, but if I can buy that he can master EVERY FORM of martial arts, I can buy that) that he's going to start losing his memory, and I believe by the last page is when he forgets. As for the voice, he isn't the one that's speaking like a cave-man. Most of that story we see through the cave-men's perspective, and they say that he's speech flows fast like a river. Bruce is speaking regular English, but between the language barrier and the fact that they're slow and not fully evolved, they can't understand him.

As for Road Home "not mattering"--it's a series of one-shots, but they all have a developing story. It's about Bruce testing the people involved to see if they can play a part in his Batman Inc stuff, as well as finishing off the whole plot point in Red Robin (the writer of that is overseeing the whole thing) about Vikki Vale knowing the bat-family's identities. I'm also pretty sure that they are $3.

Birds of Prey #4: I gave it a four--yeah, a lot of the White Canary stuff is a bit continuity heavy that it took me a second to remember, but it was still a fairly solid climax of an issue.

I also don't get the "Simone is a wackjob feminist" thing. I mean, feminist more than likely, and back in the day she publicaly addressed something that was very prevelant in comics that was really cheap and stupid, but considering what I've seen of her on her Twittter, her interviews, and how she's conducted her message board, she seems like a pretty chilled lady with a sick sense of humor.

And yeah, Ed Benes isn't the greatest artist, but Adrian Syaf coming in December looks HELLA good.



Detective...I'm not reading, I don't really care. Waiting until Snyder/Jock to come on, which from everything I'm reading, sounds GLORIOUS. The fact that the villain looks like and is called Heath is kinda funny, though.

As for whether it's Dick or Bruce--I think Hine has said that he wrote it so that it could be either one--which is part of the reason why I'm not a fan of this arc. Like I said at the top, Bruce as Batman and Dick as Batman, while having a lot alike, are different enough that it should be clear who it is to the audience.

I think Bruce DOES know about Booster's mission. Dick does, at least.

I'm also enjoying the Wonder Woman stuff--and I read it more that by the end of the arc it's going to be a mix of the two.

Spider-Man teamed up with Batman? That's kinda my perfect comic.

...Batman in drag? Best issue ever, or BESTEST issue ever? I'm actually reminded of a recent comic where something similar is done, except that it's Tim in drag as a young nurse to get into a hospital.

And then he makes himself up to look like the villain? Man, that's some PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE there man.

...The bad guy in one of those issues is "LEFTY COLON?" Now, I get that "boner" used to mean something else back in the 50s, but I'm pretty sure colon meant the same thing in the 70s as it does today.

Yeah, the Crime Exchange sounds awesome--something that I could imagine Morrison having a field day with.

Favorite non-soda drinks...coffee. Definitely coffee. I tend to milk and sugar the hell out of them, but it's still delicious.

I'd like to meet Stan Lee--he was also at the Phoenix Comic-Con this year that I went to, but yeah, the price stopped me from it.

Star Wars stuff...I've seen the movies, played the Lego games, and that's it. I'm thinking of getting those Force Unleashed games once I get a next-gen console, but other than that, I don't feel a huge need to get into that lore.

Great episode, guys.

[Mr.Shaw]

I think Jared pays more attention to our show than we do.

Although, the latest issue of Detective proved me right about who Batman is in the story.

[Crazy Clees]

I think he does, too. Very detail oriented. It is good to have a fan like that. Since my only comments are on the last 10 minutes of the show

[DarkKnightJared]

Like I've said before--it's easy when you're listening to it on the computer and you have a tab in your browser open. That, and I'm just an opinionated bastard and I roll like that.