#zdarskys batman negative

[fancyfade]

never seen a zdarsky batman defense on Damian's portrayal compared to tim*, that claimed it was not terrible for damian or bad writing, that actually took into account any of damian's portrayal in his solo titles.

It's always like "oh it's believable tim knew failsafebot wasn't batman b/c (tim's feats)" and then complete ignorance of any of damian's. bonus points if the person actually is ignorant of the details of tim's accomplishment as well and misrepresents them.

Or "Oh well, it'd be in character for an average teenager to believe their dad" and interacting with just the idea of average teenager-ness rather than damian as an actual character.

like its ok. its ok just say you're a tim fan and you enjoyed tim in the comic you don't have to try to twist yourself into knots saying why the writing wasn't terrible with regards to damian when if you had read any of his past solo and duo titles you'd know it why it was.

*so i'm not saying there's no reason to enjoy the comic for other reasons, just talking about fan response to damian vs tim portrayal

[bitterrobin]

the thing that gets me, right? the thing is: Zdarsky isn't (usually) a bad writer, but I feel like he's trying too hard to replicate his past success. His Daredevil run wasn't the greatest run of the character ever (like I've seen some people say) but I could see that he was trying to do something with Matt. Matt was at his lowest, getting hunted by police and Fisk and getting put into jail, etc. It made sense for Matt, human disaster, to get a storyline echoing themes of man vs self, man and identity and all that. While I firmly believe Zdarsky's Matt isn't the definitive version and I have my issues with how the police are handled in the run, at least it could be rationalized. Zdarksy's Batman? No way in hell. Batman has had far better man vs self, man and identity, man vs family storylines in the past. Bruce has had better explorations of his psyche, his familial relationships better written and way more in character for everyone. Zdarsky's Batman is a derivative rehash of what Zdarksy likes to write, and while I concede that writers can repeat themes - it just doesn't work with his version of Bruce. His Bruce is just the worst of a lot of portrayals; constantly jerking off Batman’s greatness while putting other characters down and then wrapping it in a pretty bow of "family” and “change.” Hugs solve every interpersonal issue with the family. Jason just accepts Bruce’s tampering with his brain. Tim gets to save Bruce all over again because he’s the writer’s favorite and again, it’s not usually a problem, until every line is also jerking off Tim’s greatness as Robin. Until every other member of the family is dragged in for cheap drama and dialogue and then banished back into the aether when their use is spent. Until Damian gets flanderized to hell and back because simply, he’s not Tim. He’s not Zdarksy’s idea of Robin. That’s it. Zdarsky has very specific ideas on Batman and Robin, that Bruce and Tim specifically are good and the only ones able of change, of beating other people the “smart way”. And unfortunately we are left with his writing until someone else comes along and either fixes it or fucks it up more.

[sheepishmastectomy]

i saw a review saying batman 149 made WFA canon and... like. they aren't wrong. everyone is pretty much living in a manor together (except jason lmao)*. goddamn. i hate it here

*dick and babs don't live there either but they're in the issue and hanging around so

[meara-eldestofthemall]

Gee, thanks DC! You Just Turned Bruce Into An Irredeemable Ass.

So, at the end of Gotham War Bruce has officially lost everything. Alfred is still dead, Selina is "presumed dead" and Bruce is both financially and morally broke. Why, you may ask, is Bruce so much worse off this time? Let me count the ways.

He preformed a psychic lobotomy on Jason

The "it's for your own good" excuse only makes the mental rape undertaken by Jason's own father that much more heinous.

Just when you think Bruce can't sink any lower he does. When Dick recognizes that Bruce has lost it, he attempts to use a failsafe disconnect that Bruce himself built into the system. How does Nightwing get thanked for that? Well that brings us to number two on the list.

Batman attacks up his eldest son for doing what he's supposed to do when Batman has gone rouge.

Bruce beats him up because nothing proves you are in control of your sanity like hitting your children. While Dick is holding back, Bruce does no such thing. He hits Nightwing hard enough to send him flying. It could have gotten even worse if Tim hadn't shown up.

Tim arrives and attempts to talk some sense into Batman.

Tim tries to talk Bruce down. It doesn't go well. When Robin is trying to help, as he always does, Batman uses the attempt to reason with him to put the smack down on his son. Bruce could have killed Tim but apparently feels no remorse or guilt.

If there was any teeny tiny little doubt that Bruce will not win the Father of The Year award in 2023 it died a horrible screaming death when Batman abandons his children to potential arrest. Yes, he left a batarang for Dick and Tim but any glimer of possible hope associated with that action was instantly extinguished by Damian's reaction to Batman's callous betrayal.

Bruce abandons Damian.

Look at Dami; he's devastated. Since he came into Bruce's life, Damian has struggled with feelings that he can never earn his father's love and respect. Well, that negative self-image was reinforced in way that may never be repairable. Bruce just utterly destroyed a 13 year old child because of his inability to feel any kind of empathy.

And how does this all end? The best part is that Bruce takes all of his parental responsibilities and dumps them onto Dick.

Thank you Chip Zdarsky and Trini Howard. You've taken Batman from being an edgy anti-hero and made him into a callous monster. Part of me hopes that Bruce never comes back because he doesn't deserve his family.

The only positive aspect in this convoluted mess is that Damian and Tim will be far better off with Dick than with Bruce. Yes, Tim is mostly independent but he still needs guidance (particularly since Tim's first instinct is to try and save Bruce). Damian is essentially Dick's son emotionally anyway so this might help to sustain the positive character growth we've seen in him as of late.

The point of this rant is to wonder what on earth DC thinks they're doing. This story arc has been pure character destruction as far as Bruce is concerned. It's bad storytelling too; rushed, frenetic and massively disappointing.

Hasn't the popularity of Good Dad Bruce in Wayne Family Adventures proved that fans are tired of Bruce being a dark depressed and brooding edge lord? We all accept that Batman is a character with deeeeep issues who is in desperate need of therapy. I, however, draw the line at Bruce being an abusive a**hole.

In years to come when fans wonder when Batman jumped the shark, this is the plot line they'll point to.

[dailycass-cain]

2023 was another big stepping stone with Cass. The character was featured in A LOT of stuff this year amongst a few negative antics.

But unlike prior years the good really outweighed the bad. BY A LOT.

So let's take a look back one final time #CAINAISSANCE2023...

The year started STRONG with the release of Batgirls #14 aka the BEST solo story that involved the character this year.

I've gone in LENGTH on how AMAZING this tale was. If you haven't read it DO SO. You don't need any context but to just take in the masterpiece given.

Writers Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad gave artist Jonathan Case just this canvas of an issue to tell AN EPIC mostly silent issue.

If there's a tale Batgirls will be remembered for it'll BE THIS ISSUE.

I've lost count to just taking in the gorgeous art Case delivers here and just letting the actions and emotions tell the tale.

The only regret is well no full payoff to what is fully learned within this issue.

It just hits EVERY mark and is something any Cass fan CRAVED, but never got in Batgirl Vol. 1. Batgirls #14 was a worthy issue that should be talked about amongst fans of Cass for quite some time.

February gave us Cass's grand entrance to Ram V's Detective Comics run (#1069) and what an entrance it was! Literally, I can't let it go of how AMAZING it was.

And the run itself? It just keeps delivering as THE Batman book out currently.

It's a slow burn and when the run lays the payoffs IT HITS THOSE PAYOFFS. The series just ended an exceptional bi-weekly event that featured Cass and well, I'm extremely curious where this run goes with the character.

If anything, I just want MOAR from Ram V or a smaller secondary story involving Cass. But given the various characters he's been rotating and given next year is 2024 (more on that later) I'm keeping my fingers crossed for ALL OF THIS.

This run does work in trade but I digress you'd be missing the GORGEOUS covers this series has been shelling out. If anything BUY the single issues and read the run this way until you get to the present.

Or reread them like I've been doing. 😋

The early half of 2023 marked Cass's surprise return to an actual role in mega crossovers. She took part in the final issue of Batman vs. Robin being one of the random factors to stall the possessed Batman until ALL of DC's magical users came to cast it out of him.

The weakest of the crossovers the character was involved in I have to say was Gotham War. It was a nothing burger that made me swear off the Chip Zdarsky run of Batman completely.

Honestly, I feel more rewarded reading Tec more. Unless Chip pulls off a miracle turnaround in 2024.

But I digress Zdarsky was only half of the problems with the other being Tini Howard and yeah, if you were a Bat Family member who wasn't Jason Todd (how did that mini turn out to be more entertaining then the ENTIRE event?!)?

This story SUUUUUUUUCKED. Quite possibly the worst Batman event story since War Games/Crimes for me.

Sadly, the most disappointing stories I'd have to say are on equal ground in Beast World and Knight Terrors. As there was interesting concepts with Cass involving them, and both stories just go NOWHERE.

I feel more so robbed with Knight Terrors as the design for Cass within it went hard. It's just that you give us THIS design and tease us with this little nugget and give us NOTHING?

COME ON!

Beast World was a whole nothing burger as well, save the pretty art and a full confirmation that Cass's old NML is now canonically her defacto one again.

Even if we had it mentioned earlier last year and again in the best crossover event involving Cass...

WHICH WAS IN LAZARUS PLANET: DARK FATE #1. It gave us Alyssa Wong returning for a THIRD time to write Cass and they were joined by Haining on art which introduced us to the world of Xanthe.

That in itself led to a spinoff mini-series that had Cass in it with SPIRIT WORLD. It did more with the new character Xanthe and laid out their origins and powerset nicely while also laying some seeds for MAYBE future Cass stories.

Again, I feel like a repeating record on how GOOD this series was. Like, I can't wait for the trade next year to take it all in again. But besides the creative team delivering it gave us Dustin Nguyen AND Marcio Takara drawing Cass again OFFICIALLY AS BATGIRL!!

Even when this series ended, I STILL WANT MOAR!! Like what memories did Cass lose? What the heck happened with Spirit World twisting her memories of Batgirl Vol. 1 #72?! How will Xanthe be with the Jade Court?

SO MANY QUESTIONS!!

Something else that left me with MANY questions was DCeased universe as even though the story ended back in April.

I still crave more starring Cass, because let's face it STEPH/TALIA DESERVE CLOSURE!! Cass could be the gateway to that.

Doing so would tie up the final loose ends as well. Let's see how Rose is raising her kid with Jason. Silent Olsen. Harley/Ivy. Ollie/Dinah. Jim Gordon.

But I digress. It gives us more Cazzam. We need more Cazzam.

But an alternate universe Cass just didn't pop up there we had a Cass show up in various other comics. Knights of Steel which also had me hankering for MOAR and Harley Quinn & the Legion of Bats.

I know some didn't like it, but me? I think it was LEAPS and BOUNDS better than what we got in the actual season of HQ.

Let us never talk about that season again…

Now something we SHOULD talk about more is the first actual appearance of Cass in a DC ANIMATED MOVIE!! Yes, Kai Li Cain from Batman: The Doom that Came to Gotham.

I was blown away at the extended role they gave the character in the film (to the, "Oh right Tim is here and alive." role in the books).

Kai Li voiced perfectly by Tati Gabrielle gave a balance of innocence and reason with the batshit craziness this film throws at us.

Like, I really REALLY want a sequel. Just to see what she'd do now given full access to Bruce's fortune? Will she follow his path? I mean yeah we want steampunk Bat!

Speaking of which artists we need designs for this stat still!

It just adds that anchor where you want to see more of this universe and the characters that inhabit it. I mean that's the sign of a REALLY good Elseworlds. Where you want more and sometimes you get just that.

But with all this good came the sad, and that was the canceling of Batgirls. I know many were against the series (especially after #7-8), but the series found its footing with #9 and ran into something I hope more positively can be talked about it.

It's true failing wasn't the creators behind the series, more just elements outside that just slotted it's end (Batgirl movie getting canned making #7-8 more wasteful), Evil Oracle #4 aka the pitch, and just being something it couldn't be).

I'm grateful for each and every creator who worked on this book because it was a GIFT that I'll always be appreciative of.

I'll say it again, THANK YOU TO ALL! 🙏

And its spirit lived on in the Nightwing back up a few months ago. It was something that was TRULY needed after the garbage fire that was Gotham War. It gave us this Cass/Dick sibling stuff and GIVE ME MOAR!!!

Unlike the past where we'd be done, DC brought us back up giving us the current BIRDS OF PREY ongoing which has Cass in it.

Really the series is a revelation of giving us things I always wanted that I'd never thought we get. Cass with Dinah? CHECK.

Cass meeting Big Barda and the two having a bond? HELLS YEAH CHECK! Anytime that bond grows I squee even more.

Just give writer Kelly Thompson ALL the time and ideas she has to churn this out to the proper conclusion she has envisioned. Just give me fifty-plus issues of her, Leonardo Romero, and Jordie Bellaire.

Finally of course there was Batman: Wayne Family Adventures which gave us THREE banger Cass stories. One where she and Steph are a MENANCE (as they should), Cass scaring the crapbaskets out of EVERYONE and of course...

Season 2 gave us A LOT of things I wanted in general (her interacting with Damian) and just showing the world why I really really love this character. Why I talk about her daily.

Really as 2023 closes and 2024 is about to begin... Well, it's the character's TWENTIETH-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY. 25 years of kicking ass and ripping our hearts out.

It's been a journey for sure.

really REALLY hope DC honors this anniversary and continues to mend the bridges burned all those years ago.

Give us that Omnibus. Give us a mini or SOMETHING to celebrate this character. If not, I'll take whatever Ram V and Thompson give us.

#CAINAISSANCE2023 may be over, but #CAINAISSANCE2024 will be the most important year yet.

25 YEARS OF CASS!! LET THE CELEBRATION BEGIN ON JANUARY 1st!

[wesavegotham]

...please tell me Damian is simply super undercover and not just truly that braindead...

Was the last thing Zdarsky read with Damian in it Teen Titans (2016)? Otherwise I can't explain myself where Zdarsky would get the impression from that modern Damian still thinks like this. And even in that comic Damian knew that his father would be extremely against his methods, that was pretty much the point of the book.

I've talked about this...I think it was during Gotham War, but it really sucks how when it's about Tim Zdarsky (and other writers) portray being loyal to Batman as a positive thing, but when Damian is being used it's often portrayed as him being dumb and a terrible Robin. Like, fuck off Zdarksky, Damian knows his father. Only a few months ago he didn't hesitate to stab Insomnia in Bruce's form the second he noticed something was off:

And now Damian falls for Zur that easily? Usually this would be an undercover plot, but with how terrible and dumb everyone was in Gotham War I'm really not sure Zdarsky deserves that much trust.

His Damian might just be that dumb/bad and oh, wonderful, the solicitations for June make it sound like Bruce will have to give up on being Batman to get Damian out of Zur's clutches! How exciting! Of course for something negative like that we can't use Tim even though he was the Robin Zdarsky focused on pre-Gotham War, no, Tim can only be used when it's about something positive like saving Bruce😑

Do these writers think we readers don't pick up on their blatant favoritism?

[oifaaa]

YES IM NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT FEELS LIKE JASON IS GONNA DIE AGAIN

but fr the way bruce said "why shouldnt i kill you!" in battle lines toward jason, then ripped him off his bike in catwoman 57 (with jason stressing heavily that it could have killed him) and now bruce brainwashing jason (batman 138) into literally being afraid whenever his heart rate rises or he feels adrenaline - which isnt just vigilante stuff, you feel adrenaline when you get excited or fall in love o feel angry. also constantly being afraid causes high blood pressure, increased chances for a stroke or heart attack ect,,, honestly there is SOOO much to suggest bruce is gonna kill jason, or at least have some part in it, im terrified

Okay so firstly spoilers for batman 138 bc honestly only started thinking about this when I saw the previews / leaks from the newest issue but yeah we see later on in that issue Jason is now constantly afraid so obviously the toxin Bruce spiked him with is just working constantly and it's negatively impacting his mental state I also started thinking about this bc another character asks Jason if he'd be interested in immortality which to me is a bit of a red flag that someone's gonna die but also could just be bc vandal is around either way something is going to happen to Jason by the end and I cant say I have enough faith in zdarsky at this point that it's gonna be good

[distort-opia]

(1/2) So I read thru your Negativity tag, and if you have the spoons for it (no judgment if you don't): I think part of why so many Joker antis shit on Bruce's no-kill code is because he routinely forgets/loosens it for non-Joker villains/characters in general. KGBeast is the most infamous example, but there's just. Zillions of no-name henchmen and serial killers he's pulled the "Don't have to save you" routine on.

Hey! There's definitely some truth to this argument-- Joker's plot armor is infamous for a reason. However, I think there's a bunch of other factors to take into account when talking about Bruce's no-killing rule and his his flexibility around it, when it comes to Joker specifically.

I wouldn't agree that Bruce routinely forgets his no-killing code, or that he's done it for so many criminals. While it has happened more than once and it is a pattern, it's still more of an exception rather than the rule; most of the time, you see Batman desperately trying to save people, no matter who they are. It's actually something most villains use against him. It's why they constantly take hostages or throw someone off the roof of a building and then run the other way, knowing that Batman would always choose to save someone rather than chase. For a character with nearly a century of history, it's unavoidable he'd have a number of instances he's skirted the line regarding his no-killing rule... but also, for the same reason, you've got to keep in mind how many more cases offset these exceptions. Not to even mention the inherent inconsistencies that arise, when you've got thousands of writers handling one character over so long. The "I don't have to save you" thing is characterization more accurate to the Bruce Wayne present in Nolan's trilogy, which is where the line comes from. Also, there's a distinction to be made between Bruce directly attempting murder and Bruce allowing someone's death to take place indirectly. The KGBeast example is indeed one of the most famous, but to be fair, it was retconned very soon after-- with Bruce feeling guilty about leaving the villain to die and calling the police [Batman (1940) #439]. I've actually got a couple of posts talking about Bruce's patterns and his no-killing rule here, and here (with the latter being Joker-oriented).

To sum up a bit though, in the last post I make the point that Bruce has nearly killed Joker with his own hands twice (first time he got stopped by Jason, second time by Jim, and to be honest if I take Zdarsky's run into account, a couple times more). He also allowed for the possibility of Joker's death like three times just off the top of my head (letting him crash with the helicopter in DitF, letting Jim shoot Joker in NML after Sarah Essen-Gordon's murder, walking away from Joker while he had a bomb strapped to him at the end of Joker War). And thing is, Bruce has also canonically nearly stabbed Riddler, pretty much pushed Penguin out of a moving car even though he'd just gotten his throat slashed, left Scarecrow to die a potentially very gory death, and I could keep going... But then why is Joker special? Why do people still feel like he's the one getting special treatment, and find it so annoying that Bruce keeps saving his life? That he just won't die?

Well, it's two things: frequency and meaning, and they go together. Batman and Joker are one of the most famous hero-villain pairings in modern comic books, and the conflict at the centre of their dynamic defines their characters to the extent that writers can't help but come back to it, again and again... for the drama, the emotional stakes. See, it's much more engaging and it carries more weight to write Batman into situations in which his nemesis, the one person who's ruined his life most, is dying or facing death-- because then, the no-killing rule and his inner conflict over it is that much deeper and poignant. It's still interesting to see Bruce struggle with his treatment of more generic criminals, or even some of the famous Rogues, but Joker is special because he exists to challenge the no-killing rule. Joker makes it his goal to get Batman to cross the line and kill him. Joker literally wants Batman to kill him! But if Batman kills him and crosses the one line that he feels makes him who he is, then there's no story to tell anymore. You've got a monster like The Batman Who Laughs or the Bruce Jason encountered in Countdown, and a dead Joker.

In the end, complaining that Joker is in so many life-or-death situations and that he never dies because (more often than not) Batman saves him, is like complaining that a knife cuts your stake too well. Joker, as a character, is doing what he's designed to do. I will readily admit that DC has overdone this to death, and that many times it isn't written well. Joker's plot armor has gotten ridiculous, mostly because DC will never retire such a popular character that's making them so much money. But at the end of the day, if you argue that Bruce's no-killing rule (Batman's core tenet) has no meaning because it's being used to create drama for money... you could argue the exact same thing about many other traits and DC characters, unfortunately. Just pick a story and follow the thread. For example, something similar could be said about the recent Gotham War arc; maybe DC went "Oh, Batman cares about his Family and he struggles with his darker side? Smash those two together and rake in the cash! Let's make them all fight each other! Sure, we did this a bajillion times already, but this time..."

Anyway. I'll stop rambling, but you get my drift. Unfortunately, as comic fans (and not only), we live in a reality in which most of the time, money is the very real Doylist motivator. But we can't only be Doylists, it's impossible (and way too bleak); we've got to be Watsonian too. Take the story as it is, and create meaning. Even when there might be little intended, or perhaps especially then-- through the transformative power of our own interpretations. Or at least, that's how I see it.

[fractualized]

what's your thoughts on the final of tmwsl? 'i'm shaking with the final chapter mannn and and ugh but somehow I kind liked it. The way joker narrates it's just so good... I felt the same way with him narrating Batman: last knight on earth

Honestly, my feelings are mixed, leaning towards negative, particularly with the narration directed toward the audience at the end.

However, when I realized it was posted already, I did end up reading most of it squinting at my phone while on the treadmill. 😂 So I want to give it another pass for sure. Plus I still need to read what Zdarsky is doing with Joker in Batman.

I'm going to do a full post with my thoughts as usual, but today is busy as hell for me so it might not be until tomorrow.

[twistpixel]

Hello! Thoughts on Robin Jason? Personally love Barr's run and how he writes him :) and also what do you think should be done to his current character? How should he grow? It sucks that RH was written as a temporary mantle for him (and he'd briefly??? Lost it for a good few issues post countdown to final crisis) and now he's sort of in this limbo position in the narrative. Would love to hear ur thoughts! Thanks!

Hello! Yes, my thoughts are on robin Jason. I also like Barr’s robin! I don’t think he is the only good Jason writer, one of my fav robin Jason moments is a post death flashback where he’s wearing a robin suit with snow pants and throwing snowballs at his opponents. It’s so little boy charming.

I am not a starlin enjoyer. 100 wealthy republicans died and it never gets brought up again but that would be their 9/11. Even the cult, which is enjoyable, is goofy because of the death toll. Flocks of vultures would have their migratory flight paths forever altered to make a pit stop in Gotham because of the generational memory of the carrion created by starlin alone.

Wingman and the secret ID and why Bruce wanted him to join Batman inc and why Jason said yes and the memory of the dead alt Bruce who gave Jason the RR suit is something so chewable.

I really like red hood as a name for Jason and I don’t want him to leave it. I don’t live for the hoodie muzzle but over time I’ve accepted what I cannot change -_-

Zdarsky had jason out his guns up in Cheer and it was like okay DC does not want to be associated with making impressionable teens think gun violence is cool. And then he has them again.

I don’t think jasons’s drifting feeling is because of his moral conflict, because moral conflicts are interesting. They drive stories. He just doesn’t have a book. And because he doesn’t have a book he can be added to anyone who wants to add him and they can pretty much make him do whatever they want, so he’s inconsistent.

Task force Z was a way of Jason conflicting with Bruce ideologically without it being a revert. Idk it’s just been happening since brothers in blood, picking up winicks cool toy and making him stupid/crazy/have flimsy morals. I don’t wanna sound like I’m huffing winicks ink he has his problems, but winick written Jason just clearly has so much more Meat even when superficially what’s happening with him is similar. Im sorry I’m an old head and like older comics more than newer ones, winick is never going to write Jason again and I don’t want him to.

I think it’s a really big mistake to be like “Jason doesn’t fit anywhere he doesn’t have any niche”. His niche is that I like him, and even without being willing to kill his morals are different and he can be used to tell different stories, he just needs a writer that respects him (and I don’t mean agrees with uth Jason’s morals) to pick him up again. Tfz wasn’t only about Jason but like….

People parrot “Jason doesn’t have a niche other characters fill his role” point and it’s to me like a self-defeating argument because other characterS (emphasis plural) overlap with Jason and that overlap removes Jason’s raison d’être, why don’t the other multiple characters cancel eachother out, only Jason? It’s just a longer worse way of saying “idk I don’t like him”

Sorry this just became negative 😭 the only thing Jason needs to have a position in the narrative is to have a writer that respects him and takes him seriously and comes up with a plot he’s a pivotal part of. He has, since before he’s been robin, been a driving force for the plot like Jason leaves when he doesn’t like something and he goes toward things he thinks could be better.

My kingdom for anyone on screen trying to understand Jason, and meet him where he’s at instead of the other way around, and for it to blow up in their faces and not work out but come out of the other side changed. If that makes any sense.

[jonnjonz]

1) I love how at first Zur-En-Arrh is a towering presence over Bruce but then Bruce's love for his family literally makes him bigger and stronger than Zur-En-Arrh

2) This issue is a great example of why we shouldn't make hasty judgments about stories before they play out or assume what the characters say is what the writer thinks. I saw so many people angry thinking Zdarsky is writing batman who views his children as his soldiers, but by now it's very clear that's not the case and the family/soldier dichotomy and Bruce's relationship with his kids are actually a central part of the plot. Even before this the soldier references were clearly painted in negative light

[fancyfade]

so tim can only really be somewhat affectionate to damian when damian's written with practically a lobotomy.

like. I can see people enjoying the dynamic if it happened earlier when damian genuinely was insecure in his place in the batfam and still developing his new moral code.

but like. when that happened, tim wasn't affectionate or understanding. he called Damian a homonculus and put him on an enemies list and punched him in the face in anger.

very sick of the re-writing or re-telling around damian's early days (and regressing damian back to those early days) just to prop other characters up.

[ectonurites]

i hated the nightwing annual because there were some parts that made me go 'i want to unread it and never be able to see again' and then there were parts that i enjoyed, and that made me even more mad because I'm supposed to hate it because c a m e o n :( anyway you don't care but i wanted to give you a break from all those weird anons and made you read something that wasn't a senseless question, hope you're doing fine!!

Awh haha thank you my dude!

My overall opinion on the annual was that I liked the flashbacks- that was a fun way to portray baby Robin Jason + Dick’s interactions! If it was a whole issue of just a story of them back then I think I honestly might have loved it.

But when reading the modern day aspects… it didn’t feel like Jason. It wasn’t a terrible story in general, but it did not feel like Jason in the slightest, it just felt like ‘Dick 2: the slightly edgier edition’ vs how Jason should be more distinct than that. Like even though I don’t like the ultimate choice made at the end of Cheer, I think Zdarsky had a solid grasp on Jason’s personality. Even if the Task Force Z thing is under the conditions of what happened in Cheer, Rosenberg I also think has a solid grasp on him. It just felt like Taylor has no grasp on what Jason is like. It feels like he took the ‘oh okay Jason doesn’t kill anymore’ thing and made that effect him far more drastically, it feels like he didn’t understand/know the actual presented motivation behind that choice.

In Cheer, Jason makes it clear he still wants bad people to die, he just doesn’t want that responsibility to fall on him anymore. He doesn’t want innocent people (kids like Tyler) to be negatively effected by him making the choice to kill someone. It’s not that he had a turn of heart and decided killing was wrong and bad, just that he didn’t want to do it anymore.

(Batman: Urban Legends #6)

While I still don’t like it as a choice, that reasoning is at least something I think is believable for him.

Vs… this

(Nightwing 2021 Annual)

That bit he says even tho it builds into a joke about him still being pretty violent is just… ENTIRELY different reasoning. Even as a joke it just… Jason saying something like that rubs me so the wrong way.

The way Cheer presented the motivation, it wasn’t about a moral superiority ‘this is the better way of doing things’ kind of situation, it was Jason deciding he didn’t personally want a certain responsibility anymore. I think that distinction matters a lot in terms of going this direction but making Jason still feel like Jason.

the tldr:

Jason chosing to give up guns and killing because of his own traumas he’s processing and levels of responsibility associated with the actions = I don’t necessarily like it but I can accept it

Jason choosing to give it up because ‘maybe dealing out extreme violence just isn’t the answer’ = that’s not Jason

[stxleslyds]

It seems like you have a negative opinion on all non-Winick characterizations of Jason in the comics. But do you hate them all equally? Could you rank all non-Winick comic depictions of Jason from best to worst characterization? Or maybe give them a letter grade?

Hi friend! This is a bit funny to me because I really didn’t expect people to be so vocal about me being such an annoying person when it comes to Jason’s characterizations. I can’t promise that I won’t complain anymore but I will try to be kinder.

But I won’t start right now, because I really want to make this ranking, it will go from best to absolute worst! I bet you guys won’t know who is in the deepest circle in hell! Place your bets everyone!

This is the level that gives me joy! (Yup, I put a writer that only wrote ten pages of Jason content as the best, please don’t call me out on it).

Matthew Rosenberg: I love him and I love what he has done with Jason, I have only read ten pages of his work while writing Jason and he already has me hooked. Like I said in that one ask/post, I think he will make some amazing things with the Jason that we have now and I still believe that. Little shit and competent Jason Todd, I am glad you are here.

Peter Tomasi: This one is a little checky because his run is out of comics canon, but his Arkham Knight Jason Todd and the way he wrote his origin are absolutely stunning.

Marv Wolfman: His Robin Jason was really good and I am really glad that we had those comics in which we could see Jason in an environment that didn’t include Batman. I was like looking at what Jason could have been if he had stayed with the Titans’ instead of keep on being Robin in Gotham with Batman.

This is the level in which I can still like some things about the story even though in general I didn’t enjoy the book.

Joshua Williamson: Yeah, but he is only here because his story seemed interesting, my issue as I have said before is his subplot “romance” and the fact that he seems to be the kind of writer that wants to push the “Batfamily” dynamic. Otherwise, his Jason characterization when it came to him not liking working for the Magistrate was really good, sadly it was overshadowed by all the bad that I just really didn’t enjoy at all

Chip Zdarsky: Tyler (Blue Hood) and Jason working to rid Gotham of a drug really brought me back to the good old days. I also really liked seeing the parallels between Jason and his mom with Tyler and his own mother, it felt like a good way to start a connection and develop a Red Hood story. Sadly, the book as a whole was shit and it ended horribly but there were some interesting moments.

Now we are looking at the level where I just wonder: Why?

Paul Dini: Why? His Jason really did a 360, and I meant it, I really don’t know what the point of Jason taking the mantle of another dead Jason was. His Red Robin was just a Red Hood in a different suit and that was that. I understand that they wanted to kill him because he was an anomaly and all that but, he just really felt out of place in that event. This was the first warning: Jason Todd/Red Hood only works on a street-level, stop trying to make everyone dimension jump and all that DC.

Bruce Jones: Hey! I forgot about this guy in the last post! He sucks! And his arc in Nightwing is the epitome of the question: Why? I get it, DiDio wanted to kill Dick and then have Jason take over as Nightwing but Dick didn’t die at the end of Infinite Crisis, he was still alive there was no reason to have Jason dress up as Nightwing and going on a killing spree, also, the tentacles? Really? Annoying and weird.

Scott Snyder and Tim Seeley: I ask why but I know why. This was a desperate attempt to use Jason in stories because they couldn’t use Dick Grayson. It was also weird because being there only pushed him more towards the Bat-Clan even though he had his Outlaws team going on. It was just weird and they were also big on unnecessary “romances”.

This is the Skrull Jason level. Here I see, hear and feel no Jason Todd.

Grant Morrison: Grant needed a villain and all they could come up with was this weird as red-haired-pill-headed-Red Hood and DC said “sure, why not?”. There is no real way to find UtRH Jason in this version of Jason and that for me is a little bit better than still seeing the Jason that I loved in whatever this was.

Tony S. Daniel: This one sucks the most because it isn’t that Jason is unrecognizable its just that Jason is the exact opposite of who he would have become. Everything about this Jason seems to come from the Upside Down. Him saying that Gotham needs Batman so he will be Batman and he needs a Robin was the wildest take that I have seen about Jason. I have no other words for it.

Hell.

James Tynion IV: whoever invited this man to this party needs to understand that they made a big mistake. All Tynion did was overpower the living hell out of Jason for a fight that wasn’t big enough to become a Batman/Red Hood event. The fight was so lame and so stupid, if Jason had learned the ancient martial arts move in the All-Castle and the used that and the All-Blades to defeat Ra’s it would have been more than enough, but in New 52 writers really wanted to make Jason look like the most experienced and best at being a hero when Kory and Roy were standing next to him.

Scott Lobdell: He sucks, New 52 was just terrible, there was nothing that I liked from it, character assassination for everyone, nobody was treated well there. He wrote a self-insert version of Jason and it was noticeable because Jason was trash in New 52. Rebirth was better but that didn’t make things better for Jason because Lobdell started to fuel the “Jason was guilty for his own death” and “Jason was a reckless Robin” narratives and here we are today. Lobdell danced around his own stories, his characterization of Jason and he never gave a fulfilling ending to any of his arcs. Some characters we only saw once some others simply disappeared. Nothing ever truly started or ended when it came to his writing.

Ginnungagap.

Geoff Johns: to him all I will say is: comprate un bosque y perdete.

Thank you for the ask! I had fun doing this! I wish you have an excellent day!

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1292

Monday, December 16, 2019

 I sure got a heavy cardio workout yesterday scraping off the ice from both vehicles after the rain on Saturday froze under a layer of snow overnight into Sunday morning. That kind of temperature change will give you whiplash. The frozen blowing snow covered half of our birdfeeders too so I had to clear those off for our feathered friends. It's despairing when the temperature drops during the day instead of getting warmer. Stupid Arctic Air Mass.

 The Red Mother #1 - Jeremy Haun (writer) Danny Luckert (art) Ed Dukeshire (letters). The first page with the disintegrating skull will give you an idea of what this beautifully drawn new story is about. Daisy and her boyfriend Luke are walking home from dinner when they are attacked in a scary black space behind an iron gate. Luke is hauled into the blackness and Daisy has her right eye plucked out but survives. By the end of this issue she's seeing scary things through a haze of red. I loved the art in this and look forward to meeting Mother.

  Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy #4 - Jody Houser (writer) Adriana Melo (pencils) Mark Morales & Wade von Grawbadger (inks) Hi-Fi (colours) Gabriela Downie (letters). The Floronic Man attacks the girls again. This time in a roadside dinosaur theme park run by a crazy old lady. Poison Ivy figures out how the bad guy is tracking them and Harley fixes that problem with a machete. This is one crazy story.

 Punisher Soviet #2 - Garth Ennis (writer) Jacen Burrows (pencils) Guillermo Ortego (inks) Nolan Woodard (colours) Rob Steen (letters). Frank has reluctantly taken on a teammate in his fight with a Russian mobster. This issue starts that guy's origin story.

 Something is Killing the Children #4 - James Tynion IV (writer) Werther Dell'Edera (art) Miquel Muerto (colours) AndWorld Design (letters). Erica goes shopping for monster killing tools and into the woods we go. Time to meet the monster.

 X-Force #3 - Benjamin Percy (writer) Joshua Cassara (art) Guru-eFX (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The enemy is revealed and they are Xeno. Kind of reminds me of the Court of Owls from Batman. Wolverine and Kid Omega rescue Domino from their clutches while a new Charles Xavier is hatched with a rebuilt Cerebro to lead the war. I liked how Magneto made a sword for Charles from the broken Cerebro helmet.

 The Dollhouse Family #2 - M. R. Carey (writer) Peter Gross (layouts) Vince Locke (finishes) Cris Peter (colours) Todd Klein (letters). Maybe I'm wrong but I suspect that the M. in the writer credit stands for Mike. I loved Mike Carey's Vertigo books and this has a very familiar feel. I like how the house is a character too.

 The Immortal Hulk #28 - Al Ewing (writer) Tom Reilly & Matias Bergara (art) Chris O'Halloran (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The villain gets the spotlight this issue as Roxxon C.E.O. Dario Agger tries to find a way to fight the Hulk. He goes to find an ally on Monster Isle and I laughed when I saw who it was.

 Valkyrie #6 - Al Ewing & Jason Aaron (writers) Pere Perez (art) Jesus Aburtov (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). What a great read. This is an example of how two good writers can produce a highly enjoyable issue of a comic book. Add to that very nice art and you've got a "pick of the week". Part one of "Strange Aeons" starts a new story where Val needs to put together a team to save Death. Doctor Strange is her first recruit and Night Nurse, Cardiac, Doctor Faiza Hussain AKA Excalibur and Manikin make the journey to the valley of the shadow of death. Talk about D-list, but I trust that Al and Jason will make good use of these heroes.

 Detective Comics #1017 - Tom Taylor (writer) Fernando Blanco (art) John Kalisz (colours) Travis Lanham (letters). This is a great one issue story if you want to see why this comic book is on my "must read" list. Batman solves two crimes and I was happy to see Damian helping out. If Tom Taylor did a Robin book, I'd read that too.

 Fantastic Four #17 - Dan Slott (writer) Luciano Vecchio, Carlos Magno, Bob Quinn & Sean Izaakse (art) Erick Arciniega (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). I was wondering why this story was called "Point of Origin" and this issue explain why. We all know that the Fantastic Four were bombarded with cosmic rays when they took their maiden flight and that's what gave them their super powers. Little did we know it wasn't an accident. It's a subtle change and doesn't make a lot of difference in the grand scheme of things but it is kind of neat.

 Miles Morales: Spider-Man #13 - Saladin Ahmed (writer) Javier Garron (art pages 1-2, 16-20) Kevin Libranda (art pages 3-8) & Alitha Martinez (art pages 9-13) David Curiel & Protobunker (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I usually get annoyed when an issue is drawn by a bunch of different artists but Javier, Kevin and Alitha all did a splendid job and the story flowed seamlessly. The awesome colouring job helped too. Say hello to Billie Mariana Morales. Miles is now a big brother.

 Superman #18 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Ivan Reis (pencils) Joe Prado (inks) Alex Sinclair (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). As big a Brian Bendis fan that I am, I stopped reading this title because I wasn't interested in what was happening in the book. Now I'm interested again. Superman drops a bomb that's going to explode into all kinds of repercussions. I liked how Wonder Woman, Batman and Lex Luthor reacted to the news even though they don't utter a word. That's great art right there. The cover will give you a hint to what Superman's announcement is.

 Fallen Angels #3 - Bryan Hill (writer) Szymon Kudranski (art) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Cable, Psylocke and X-23's mission to save some children continues and one of the heroes is captured by the enemy. I hope their next story happens in the daytime because these issues have been very dark.

 Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child#1 - Frank Miller (writer) Rafael Grampa (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) John Workman & Deron Bennett (letters). No returning Dark Knight since this story features Lara, Jonathan and Carrie, the kids of the Big Two. They battle old man Joker and old man Darkseid. I loved the art. The writing was annoyingly repetitive. That seems to be Franks writing style now using lots of verbs and choppy little captions. I don't like it. The thing about comic books is that the art and writing go hand in hand and I just couldn't stop reading the words part way and just look at the pretty pictures. Seeing Greta Thunberg on the last page just made me love Rafael even more.

 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #14 - Tom Taylor (writer) Marguerite Sauvage (art flashback) Ken Lashley (art) Marguerite Sauvage & Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Crappydoodles! This is the last issue. I am sad. I enjoyed the entire 14-issue run. It was Juann Cabal's art that got me hooked but Tom's writing kept me reading. His stories were very Mister Rogers and I liked them a lot. He showed Peter committed to his sense of responsibility and ended this issue nicely. I'm going to miss this title.

 The Batman's Grave #3 - Warren Ellis (writer) Bryan Hitch (pencils) Kevin Nowlan (inks) Alex Sinclair (colours) Richard Starkings (letters). Batman is working on a case of murder disguised as a suicide. I like how this issue starts and ends with him working the case with Alfred in the Batcave that bookends 10 pages of wordless solo crime scene investigation and a fight with an intruder for a crucial clue.

 2099: Doom #1 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Marco Castiello (art) Chris Sotomayor (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This one-shot doesn't add much to the overall story but I like Chip's writing so I read it. Victor winds up in 2099 fighting his future self. The last page doesn't make a lot of sense so skipping this comic won't hurt much.

 2099: Spider-Man #1 - Nick Spencer (writer) Ze Carlos (art) Brian Reber & Andrew Crossley (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I was as confused as the Miguel in this story when I got to the end. We get a sense of what's happening in 2099 that's bad for everyone but there's no connection to the main story as far as I can make out. These 2099 one-shots have been a waste of time, which doesn't bode well for Marvel's next big event. I'll read 2099 Omega to see if there's a point to this story and I'll read The Amazing Spider-Man #36 that ties into this event because that book is on my "must read" list, but Nick Spencer is skating on thin ice with me.

 Annihilation - Scourge: Beta Ray Bill #1 - Michael Moreci (writer) Alberto Alburquerque (art) Jay David Ramos (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). This was a good single issue story. Beta Ray Bill goes up against the Sentry and saves our universe from the scourge of the Cancerverse. I liked that he's teamed up with Lockjaw.

 Annihilation - Scourge: Silver Surfer #1 - Dan Abnett (writer) Paul Davidson (art) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). I was asked recently if the Silver Surfer was good or evil after the Silver Surfer Black story and I didn't know the answer until now. This tie-in one-shot takes place right after Silver Surfer Black as Norrin Radd breaches the barrier between the positive universe and the Negative Zone to investigate what's causing the mass exodus from Annihilus's realm. Here he finds the means of defeating the Void controlled Sentry and thereby save two universes. He also discovers the ability to merge with another being sort of like DC's Deadman.

[carminestcomics]

Ahhh, #NewComicBookWednesday. Birds are chirping, #comics are... getting read. -Today is the big day. A day you’ve been waiting for. The arrival of “Detective Comics” #1000. Wow. The third comic-book title published in America, it is now the second in America to reach this milestone number of issues. Insane! -It’s also a fresh start for another #DCComics title: “Dial H for Hero” returns again with a new number one! -A entire coven of witches are released today because there is both a new issue of “Hex Wives” AND a whole new series for “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”! (The original fun, kid-friendly kind. Sorry, those of you waiting for a new issue of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”. Didn’t mean to get your hopes up...) -Latest rating on the Zdarsk-Factor is 8/10 because both “Daredevil” & “The Invaders” are out from @Marvel this week. Chip Zdarsky writes both of them. -Marvel also sends us another digital-only title into the wild of print. “Cloak & Dagger: Negative Exposure” was a pure-digital #comicbook that is now available as a physical #paperback collection. #sequentialart #DetectiveComics #WestVillage #superheroes #SabrinatheTeenageWitch #NCBD #excitment #Batman #thebigday #comicbookshop #Manhattan #Robin #indie #newcomicswednesday #Marvel #HexWives #comicstore #NewYorkCity #comedy #comicsforsale #NYC (at Carmine Street Comics) https://www.instagram.com/carminestcomics/p/BvhQYNjBQM0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ih9byzzy8t4h