February 12th, 2010
THE RED HOOD by D.R.

Today, during my nightly internet searching I stumbled upon an announcement that DC’s next Batman animated movie will be an adaptation of Judd Winick’s “Under The Hood”, with Winick handling the screenwriting! This is the story arc in which the second Robin, Jason Todd, dons the identity of The Red Hood to become the scourge of Gotham’s underworld and confront Bruce for not avenging his death at the hands of the Joker in 1989’s “A Death In The Family”. Of all the celebrated Batman stories of the past ten years I would easily rank “Under The Hood” second only to “Hush”. As I have reconnected to the Batman universe this past year I have found myself drawn to the character of Jason Todd and how contemporary writers have turned a once hated second rate Robin into one of the strongest personalities in the Batman canon.

Aside from Bruce’s guilt-ridden trips down memory lane and various visual hallucinations, Jason Todd has been represented to readers as the ultimate anti-hero in several tales of woeful identity appropriation. In 2003’s “Hush” Jason plays a supporting role, joining an ensemble of villains to help Tommy Elliot and the Riddler break Batman’s resolve. Jason appears in a hybrid Robin / Hush costume and causes Bruce to revisit the death of his partner and question his involvement in the lives of the young boys he recruits. Writer Jeph Loeb thrills readers with chapter after chapter of interlocking puzzle pieces weaving a year long story of intense investigation and introspection for the Batman.

Next comes 2006’s “Under The Hood” where Jason takes on the identity of The Red Hood (an early guise used by the Joker) as he begins his career as a Gotham vigilante willing to cross the one line that Bruce cannot, acting as judge, jury and executioner of evil-doers. He later confronts Bruce for not avenging his death and sends Bruce into an obsessed quest for the truth regarding Jason’s resurrection. Judd Winick writes Jason as a brash young man driven by his inability to cope with his own murder. Jason comes full circle, liberating himself of the ideals Bruce indoctrinated him with as he returns to the core of his being, a street savvy punk prepared to do whatever it takes. Later in 2006 Jason spends time running around New York City as a Nightwing doppelganger while continuing with his righteous murder of villainy and scum in “Brothers In Blood”. This is an overly complicated, but still enjoyable, story of two former Robins wrestling with two very different takes of what it means to be Batman’s protégé. I feel this story overdoes it a bit as Bruce Jones writes Jason as a mischievous egocentric media-whore who seems to get a thrill out of ruining Nightwing’s life and public image.

In 2009 all three principle former Robins vie for a chance to take up the mantle of the bat in Tony Daniel’s “Battle For The Cowl”. Here we see a vengeful Jason Todd dressed as Batman wielding two automatic handguns, a perfect anti-Batman. Daniel writes Jason as a maniacal cold-blooded vigilante pushing the envelope of what needs to be done to truly accomplish Bruce’s vision of ridding Gotham of crime. This version of Jason sets the stage for Grant Morrison’s Jason Todd in “Revenge Of The Red Hood”. Morrison writes Jason masterfully, portraying him yet again as the The Red Hood in a new dynamic duo with his own Robin, a victimized young girl he names Scarlet. Here we see Jason rooted firmly in his own dogma, publicly establishing himself as a savior of Gotham willing to fight crime with relentless resolve and automatic weapons. He uses television and the internet to aid himself in his quest for mass appeal. In the end we see the Red Hood both triumphant and defeated as he crosses the line to defeat his and Batman’s common foe The Flamingo. Batman (now the first Robin and former Nightwing, Dick Grayson) and Jason Todd end the story arc with yet another clash of ideals regarding the amount of force necessary to fight the evils of men.

Batman will always have the Joker to represent the complete opposite of his archetype, chaos versus order, impulse versus reason. But Jason Todd is Batman pushed over the line, he still fights for good but he employs the tactics of the villains he fights, he is a true vigilante above the law. I sincerely hope that DC continues to prominently use and develop Jason in the Batman monthly comics. I would like to second the notion that I have read in various Batman blogs and forums that Batman readers are ready, more importantly Jason Todd is ready, for a monthly Red Hood title.

>> Link to the "Batman: Under The Red Hood" animated movie news <<

February 7th, 2010
SKETCH VARIANTS by D.R.

There's one current trend in comics that wasn't there when I was reading as a teen, the sketch variant cover and the availablity of pencil and pen art pages via on-line blogs. It's fascinating to me to see comic art deconstructed in this manner giving us a glimpse into the raw drawing styles of various artists. You can really get a sense of what each member of the creative team (penciller / inker / colorist) brings to the final product. It reminds me a lot of the countless hours I spent in Life Drawing class at the Cleveland Institute of Art in the 1990's. I currently find myself attracted to pencilers whose art is grounded in a realistic style. Allow me to share a few recent favorites of mine, most of them courtesy of Tony Daniel.

February 6th, 2010
CURRENT BATMAN TITLES by D.R.

I figured I'd start the blog off with a short forum response I wrote about which current Bat titles are worth regular reading.
Alex and I are working on new material to post here, should be up in a few days.

I started collecting Batman comics in February 2009 after a 16 break when I discovered that Grant Morrison was steering the Bat into new territory (I previously started reading Batman comics in 1989 and jumped ship during 1993’s Knightfall). I was very pleased to see the new direction Morrison had taken Bruce and company. I immediately procured all of the Morrison back issues and some choice 52, Countdown and Final Crisis issues. I find Morrison’s attempt to take seventy plus years of publishing and cohesively turn it into fifteen years of character story a commendable feat of artistry. Coming in on the tail end of R.I.P. I tried out each of the Bat titles including the now deceased Nightwing and Robin titles. The publishing break in spring of 2009 allowed me to catch up on my reading and offered me a great opportunity to jump back into the Batman universe with the Reborn campaign. I initially tried out all of the current Batman titles and settled on these as my monthly subscriptions:

BATMAN - The obvious first choice. As long as there is a Bat-man this title will provide readers with his definitive linear adventures. I am thoroughly enjoying Daniel’s current arc, it’s a compelling detective story that utilizes many of the great characters in the Bat universe without feeling too forced. I will always follow Batman regardless of it’s creative team.

DETECTIVE COMICS - How can you read Batman without collecting both Batman and Detective Comics? Currently Detective finds itself the home of Batwoman, executed flawlessly by Rucka and Williams III. Williams III is providing readers with some of the best comic book art ever seen, he is on a whole other level. I will definitely follow Rucka, Williams III and Miss Kane into her forthcoming solo title and continue to follow Bruce in Detective, again, regardless of it’s creative team.

BATMAN & ROBIN - Hands down the most progressive writing of an archetypal superhero in decades. This title serves to forward Morrison’s Batman epic making it the current flagship Batman title. I, unlike most, am pleased to see a different artist with each story arc, it strongly reinforces each arc as it’s own unique chapter. Quitely’s cover duty for the Morrison run of this title reinforces the continuity of  Morrison’s run. I am also thoroughly enjoying the variant covers and more than willing to pay up handsomely on eBay to procure them.

BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM - As a huge fan of Batman: The Animated Series how could I not follow Dini’s writing? Nguyen’s animation-esque art perfectly suits Dini’s stories, they make for a classic creative team. I am not sure if I will continue to regularly follow this title once Dini leaves, perhaps I will come and go with choice writers.
  
So, why follow one Dini title and not Gotham City Sirens? Well, I picked up the first story arc and found it to be more indulgent and less substance, plus I do not particularly like March’s art. I also followed Red Robin for the first story arc and, like many others, found it to feel a bit too forced and complicated, pushing too far out of the Batman cannon. Perhaps Red Robin will become more appealing once Yost’s run is over, I have always felt very strongly about Tim Drake’s character and would love to follow his adventures under a different pen. I have no interest in the new Batgirl or her monthly title and Batman Confidential has very little appeal as it feels like a weak substitute for the long deceased Legends Of The Dark Knight title. However, one of my guilty pleasures is picking up the occasional Superman/Batman story arc, but nothing will compare to Leob’s run on the series. Finally, I have never been compelled to collect team oriented titles such as Outsiders, but I am eagerly anticipating Didio’s forthcoming helm of the title.

LINKS:

www.dccomics.com/dcu
tonydaniel.blogspot.com
www.jhwilliams3.com
gothamknightsonline.blogspot.com

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This is a non-porfit fan blog. All contents are the opinions of Alex Dyer & David Russell and not those of DC Comics.
The use of copy written material is for informational use only.
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The Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in 1939.