There are far more individuals that watch comic movies than those who read comic books, and this is a statistic that I would like to see change. With that in mind, “This Week in Comics” is getting an overhaul to cater to the movie-going audience, encouraging anyone who has never opened a comic in their life to give the weekly adventures of The Dark Knight a chance.
I don’t often leave comments on the main page, but I read a lot of what you guys have to say. I’ve seen plenty of times where people lament the fact that they have to wait “X” number of years till a certain movie comes out. Well, comics come out every single Wednesday. The typical turnover from one issue to the next is but a single month. And some comics come out twice a month (Batman being one of them). With comics, you don’t have to wait 2 years to see what happens next, you only have to wait 2 weeks. And what if you hate the movie when it finally comes out? Now you have to wait 2 or 3 more years and hope the next one speaks to you. Since the turnover rate with comics is so much higher, your ultimate enjoyment doesn’t hinge on the success or failure of a single story. There are literal hundreds of new comics that come out every single month. With numbers like that, you are guaranteed to find something you’ll like.
I’m also fairly certain that if movie-goers gave comics a chance they’d really like them. Many of the plot points you’re already so keen on originated in the comics. Hence, if you liked it on the screen, you’re probably apt to like it on the page. Even when scenes aren’t being ripped directly from the comics, pretty much everything you see on screen was inspired in one way or another from something someone saw in the comics. Sitting in a theatre and recognizing a line from one comic or a scene from another is a surreal experience. You’d be surprised how many movies are made from stitching together various elements from dozens of completely different comics and storylines. The Nolan Trilogy alone has stuff from Year One, The Cult, Knightfall, No Man’s Land, and The Dark Knight Returns. And that’s just the half of it.
And picture this, a comic being published today might end up being a movie for tomorrow. You see, there’s a reason these characters are popular, and it’s because of the good storytelling that originated in the comics. So…
Let’s read some comics together!
Detective Comics #967
Future BatTim is kind of a cocky jerk
A future version of Tim Drake, that’s the third Robin, becomes Batman. Unhappy with his life as Batman, he’s decides to change his future by altering the past. And, to do it, he needs to KILL Batwoman! (cue dun-dun-duuuuun music)
Teen Titans #13
There’s a vacancy in the Teen Titans. Damian (the current Robin and Bruce Wayne’s son) wants to recruit Red Arrow but the rest of the team wants to bring back former member Kid Flash.
Nightwing: The New Order #3
This is a what-if story that takes place outside of continuity. In the future, Dick Grayson (the first Robin) is part of a group that helps outlaw and eliminate super-powered individuals from our world. But when it turns out that Dick’s own son has super powers, he is forced to fight against the very organization he once helped. This issue features some wonderful fugitive on the run storytelling.
Batgirl #16
I know. It’s cheap of me to use this image to draw you into reading this story. But who doesn’t love a little young romance shared between Dick Grayson (the first Robin) and Barbara Gordon (Batgirl). This story takes place in the present and in the past (through flashbacks) and involves this young Dynamic Duo working together to resolve a drug related caper.
The Flash #33
EvilCyborgBruce brings the trash talk
In this year’s major DC event METAL, Evil Bruce Waynes from the Dark Multiverse have invaded our dimension. Each one has taken on the guise of a Justice League member or villain. In this issue, EvilCyborgBruce and EvilDoomsdayBruce invade The Fortress of Solitude to take on Steel and The Flash. But that’s not all! Turns out that the rest of the Justice League members have been captured by their EvilBruce counterparts and are being forced to engage in combat in Batcaves designed to take advantage of each heroes weaknesses. (cue the dun-dun-duuuun music again)
Suicide Squad #28
Well….some of the squad is in space planning to do battle with a giant red…thing. And…the rest is being attacked by zombie robots. That’s some pretty serious b-movie level plot going on right there.
Batman: The Merciless #1
This is another METAL tie-in and features the origin story for Merciless.
See that line^^^. That line indicates whether the review team has decided a comic is below or above average. The higher it is, the better. The lower, the worse. Since this post is all about getting people pumped for comics, I don’t really want to spend too much time criticizing anything. We’ll leave that up to the reviews. I just don’t want you to get the impression that everything in the “This Week in Comics” post is certifiably awesome. Some of it’s junk. However, just because we didn’t like something doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to hate it. Likewise, you might find a comic we applauded to be downright abysmal. This post is primarily just to let you know what is out there and not really intended to make the decision for you on what to read.
In any case, the lemons are down here.
Batman Beyond #13
Kinda looks like a freeze-frame of someone slipping in the shower.
I’d like to tell you what this story is about, but it has so many simultaneous plot lines playing out at the same time that it’s too much to explain in a quick sentence or two. If you really want to know what’s up in this issue, it would be far simpler for you to just read Josh Mcdonald’s full review. He does a great job of breaking it all down for you.
DC House of Horror #1
It’s an anthology book with a slathering of spooky stories from the mind of Keith Giffen. The stories feature DC favorites like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Shazam, Harley Quinn, and Two-Face and are brought to the page by rookie graduates of the New Talent DC group taking Giffen’s ideas and turning them into ridiculously violent, incredibly cynical pieces of pseudo-psychological nonsense. Happy Halloween!
It’s also 10 bucks. And I’d imagine that price point is scarier than anything you’re bound to find in the book.
Justice League of America #17
Oh oh oh, I know. It was Reverend Henry Kane.
It’s The Atom and The Atom versus The Null. Yeah. This one isn’t a very Batman-centric kind of story. Maybe give this one a pass.
At this point you may be asking yourself how you’re supposed to know whether or not you’re going to like a story before you buy it. Here at Batman-News.com we have an entire team of people that do nothing but read and review comics. (It’s that tab at the top of the page just to the right of movies.) We’re a very friendly group of people, and if you leave a question or comment in one of our reviews, we’ll probably answer you. So…
If you are interested in seeing what the review team had to say about these stories and others, you can find all comic reviews here: Batman-News.com Comic Homepage!
