Dixon is blacklisted on account of his views towards LGBT. Simone doesn't have the gas left in her tank , imo.

I talked about the parallel structure of the events in my previous post. It's possible that SOTB is being published quickly to make way for SW . There are connective threads between what Williamson is doing and what the editorial (in conjunction with Rosenberg) is doing. The Lazarus Resin, Psycho Pirate and Jason Todd are overlapping factors here.

DC doesn't really have much of a street level these days. It's all pretty much Batman when it comes to street level DC. The Arrow characters used to have their own space but they too have been divided and tossed in to different books. There's just Suicide Squad now assuming you consider that street level.

Truth be told, I'm not feeling SOTB either but I don't think Dr Wear is supposed to be the main villain. I'm 90% sure that Bane was responsible for A-Day. Whether we'll find this out in Task Force Z, The Joker or Tec is the only thing I'm not sure about. It's possible that he had assistance from the Court of Owls or League of Shadows.

Villains special was OK. I really liked Danny's Penguin /Catwoman story. It's a bizzare pairing but it 'felt' right if that makes sense. Their world vaccination plan was also well thought out. I wouldn't mind more from this elseworld in the future. They seemed happier and healthier than Bat/Cat has been in years.

As a Batman Forever/Joel Schumacher fan, I'm over the moon Chase Meridian is comic canon, even if they've given her a Deb Whitman look. Hope we get to see her as the babe she is in future.

@zariusii: Prime Nicole was a babe.

Imposter managed to not bottle up and the depiction of the all characters were done pretty decently, especially Blair was really good. Probably the best Batman book of this year.

@vishop_: Yeah, it's my favorite Bat book in quite a while.

Some solicits are out:

• Shadow War will involve just Batman, Robin and Deathstroke INC from March through May. There will be 3 one shots to accompany the event. They will be titled Shadow Warzone, Shadow War: Alpha, Shadow War: Omega. DC really showing their creative bankruptcy with the names, lol. It's Deathstroke vs Talia basically. Slade kills someone that pisses her off.
• Batman/Superman: Worlds Finest ongoing series by Mark Waid. It will be set in the past or at least free from current continuity.
• Batman: Beyond The White Knight by Sean Murphy. It will introduce Batman Beyond and there will be a 2 issue Red Hood spin off series coming out later in the year. The series will consist of 8 issues. The book is set in the future and involves its own version of the Magistrate. I have no idea why DC has such a crush on private police. Catwoman: Lonely City has a similar premise. However, these 2 books have Harvey Dent and Derek Powers so there's reason to give a damn unlike with Simon Saint. They also have much better designs compared to the fugly Peacekeepers.
• Batman: Killing Time by...TOM KING. It's a 6 issue mini featuring Batman against Catwoman, Riddler and Penguin. It's obviously designed to be a movie tie inn of sorts. King is swearing on twitter that it's not going to be anything like his Batman run, LMAO. You have to wonder why they even got rid of him in the first place. He's outlasted his successor by now. It is also set in the past.
• There's also a crossover between Teen Titans Academy and Suicide Squad that may have Talon going up against Owlman. Thought I should mention that.

@entropy_aegis: Was kinda of suprised to see Scarface by the end of the issue, trying to get help that he needs was quite unexpected

Its ironic how King keeps getting good artists in all of his substandard books. Marquez's art is good. I really like his rendering. This book might just imply how comic are going parallel themselves with movie upcoming. Hope to see another book by Tomlin.

@vishop_: I was surprised by how lore heavy it was myself. The writing certainly gives me faith about The Batman's screenplay.

I was wondering recently about the nature of the status quo recently and it seems that it is somewhat broken. A lot of Batman writers just do not seem to be interested in the main titles. Waid and Zdarsky are focusing on Batman's early years while King is focusing on both his past and future. Murphy has created his own universe to play in. Tomlin did the same with his recently concluded book and I have a feeling that Jock will follow a similar approach for his mini. The main books have become vehicles for events and and editorial shenanigans. The upcoming arc in Tec in entirely an editorial pet project from what Williamson and Tamaki have been saying. DC will soon have a hard time attracting talent for their flagship Bat books.

After carefully watching the new trailer it seems like this film is going to adapt a plotline from telltale games. Here in instead of Oswald it's the Riddler. It's definitely a long shot of me guessing this.

Yeah I heard just today Zdarsky's Batman Knight is coming next week. Zdarsky's Batman during Last Ride was pretty good. I also heard that his Spider-Man Life Story was pretty good. So it will be interesting what he has in place.

Really enjoyed King's Batman/Catwoman special. It's a lengthy book due to all the tributes to John Paul Leon, but the core story really is done justice by both his own art and the other contributors

It's largely more a Catwoman story than a Bruce story, it follows her perspectives on growing up, raising children and married life in general. It's not all bells and whistles. There's arguments, anxiety etc, sandwiched in between really tender and sweet moments, especially when Helena is born. The bit where Selina's at Bruce's grave conveys so much emotion, Selina realizing that Bruce's philosophy on grief just makes her angrier at his passing

As for the ending, It's something I'm sure some will disagree on as a 'definitive fate' for Selina, but it's quite appropriate at least for the way the story began

It's been a while since I posted but I gotta say that King's Batman/Catwoman is atrocious. It's legit one of the worst Batman stories I've ever read. I would put it right up there with Kevin Smiths work. Heck, Smith at least had a cool villain in Onomatopoeia. King has completely wasted Andrea and is now suggesting that Helena is Joker's daughter. King looks set to burn his bridges with the last group of fans who're with him.

Joker 12 spoilers

DC's got a new event called Dark Crisis coming in May. It's going to focus on legacy as the JL will be "killed". It really seems like they're just going ahead with their 5G plans but there are problems:

• Jackson's mini has bombed spectacularly
• Teen Titans Academy is getting panned
• Jace has been rebooted, relaunched and revamped more times than I can count. Now he's running around in NYC without his face plate and without his facial hair. They can't be bothered to even have him LOOK consistent. Sales have also been subpar.
• Williamson's books leading to this event have also registered mediocre sales.
• Yara Flor's book's sales also tanked and her book got cancelled. Jones has been accused of tracing art and misrepresenting Brazilian myths and culture.
• Jon's doing better but he'll always be controversial due to the age up. Taylor's gimmicks are keeping him afloat for now.
• The YJ generation is nowhere to be seen

The very foundations of this event are flawed. DC's older legacy characters are in doldrums whereas the new kids have not really gotten a good response.

For the first time in my life as a reader I legitimately fear that DC is going to collapse. They just can't sell anything beyond properties affiliated with Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman JL and Suicide Squad . Then there's Flash, Aquaman and GL. That's pretty much all DC is offering. Green Arrow, JSA, Hawkman, New Gods, Legion and various other properties are virtually dead in the water. I can see Titans and GL joining them in the future.

Damn! Did they really do that?

@vishop_: Not yet.

Hello guys, I just got into a debate with a friend on whether the Batcomputer AI can still remotely control Bruce's arsenal like batmobiles, planes, etc when Alfred or Bats are busy themselves. He said that the Batcomputer could do it in older comics but not anymore. Can you guys confirm it? And if the Batcomputer still has those features in Rebirth comics, would any of you mind providing just the issue numbers? That's all I need. Any help would be much appreciated🙏😊.

@thedevil98: Batman activated the vehicles remotely during Snyder's Superman Unchained. Batman Eternal 48-51 had Hush hack the Bat family's weapons using the Bat computer. These 2 examples are from the New 52 era.

@entropy_aegis: Thanks a lot dude!

Chip Zdarsky is taking over Batman. Jorge Jiminez will be joining him.

Zdarsky (Daredevil, Spider-Man: Life Story) will be taking over as the writer of the mainBatmantitle beginning in July, with art from one of the title's most recent artists, Jorge Jiménez (Justice League, Super Sons). The duo's collaboration on the title will begin with "Failsafe", a six-issue story arc that kicks off with July 5th's oversized Batman#125.

"When DC approached me to write Batman, I immediately thought about things that could really challenge the character mentally, physically, and in terms of his relationships," Zdarsky told ComicBook.comvia email. "Failsafe is his Doomsday. When I started mapping out the story I got really excited about where it could take the title."

Failsafe" arc will follow Bruce Wayne as he is having nightmares of a future he can't stop. There's a chance he might not make it to that future, as a startling enemy from Batman's past has one relentless goal: to end Batman, no matter what it takes. While Zdarsky won't reveal whether that "startling enemy" is a new or established character, the threat the arc poses will put Bruce to the test.

Uh...Bane? I would be surprised if Bane somehow becomes the main villain of 3 books though. Joker, maybe Task Force Z and maybe this.

As the covers for Batman #125 — including a main wraparound cover from Jiménez — reveal, the Tim Drake version of Robin will be factoring into the "challenge" that "Failsafe" poses.

"The past few years have had a lot of Batman on his own, with so many (SO MANY) Robins, etc. in his orbit," Zdarsky explained. "But I wanted to really highlight the "Batman & Robin" aspect of the characters while still maintaining the darker feel we're going for. Tim Drake is a favourite of mine and being able to highlight him here has been a lot of fun."

Let us hope that Tim Drake finally gets a new identity.

Full interview

@entropy_aegis: Better than the last two writers who took Batman and smashed it into the ground. I hope his run is entirely different. I think his run run will pretty much reflect the character from movies. I hope he continues doing more Justice League books with Universal.

@vishop_: Abernathy gives me pause. He's forcing writers to use Ghost-Maker. Ram V is using the character in his Wight Witch arc in Urban Legends. Williamson is using him in his Shadow War and Zdarsky is using him Batman: The Knight . Why are they insisting on pushing this character is beyond me. His opening arc was sub par and the back ups featuring him leading to the previous Annual including the Annual were terrible. Now they're wasting another Annual on him. I don't get it especially since they're trying equally as hard to set up Slade as Bruce's rival.

New Williamson interview:

Joshua Williamson: In Shadow War: Alpha, Talia says she's going after everyone associated with Deathstroke, which includes the Secret Society. There's a hit on all of them. Batman and Damian are trying to figure out what's really going on, find Deathstroke, and figure out the crazy mystery behind "Shadow War." During "Shadow War," Batman needs help and someone to basically protect the villains. That's where Batman, Inc. comes into play. A big piece of the story is how Batman utilizes the new Batman, Inc., which is now run by Ghost-Maker. You'll [see] how that plays into it.

There's the Batman Annual coming out in May. Ed Brisson's writing that, and it actually takes place in between Batman #121 and Shadow War: Alpha. It'll come out with the last part of "Shadow War" but it takes place in between. You'll see Batman and how Batman has been changed by all of this. I think he just really wants his son back and now there's this other hurdle in the way of that. "Shadow War" is the first time they see each other in over a year. The moment they finally see each other, they can finally talk but there's this whole other problem when "Shadow War" happens.

Ugh...

Batman and Robin have gone through a lot since the last time they saw each other. Batman had "Fear State" and Robin grew closer to Talia and his newfound friends. How will they react to these changes when they inevitably reunite?

I think Batman is surprised by it! He obviously thinks about his son but he didn't know that Damian was with his mom and he also saw another side of Ra's al Ghul. He saw who Ra's was before, this human side of Ra's nearly nobody has ever seen before. When Ra's finally makes the decision to pay for his actions and do something different -- which is so much of what "Shadow War" is about... People have the ability to change but they still have to deal with the repercussions of their actions. Ra's accepts that and believes he can be a better person but knows that that's not going to be easy with everyone that he's done.

When he makes a speech about that and gets killed by Deathstroke, Damian has essentially lost another grandparent. He lost Alfred and now he's lost Ra's. In Robin #12, when Damian is speaking with Connor Hawke, he says that it's [his] father that needs to do all the talking. Damian recognizes that he's done a lot of talking and made his speeches to Bruce in that Teen Titans Annual and Detective Comics. Damian is open to talking to his father, desperate to talk to him, but wants his dad to talk and say "I'm sorry" first.

When "Shadow War" happens, it's another source of conflict between them. They're at odds again. You'll see throughout "Shadow War" that they have a case together and [are] able to come together. Batman is skeptical of all this. He doesn't really know this version of Ra's. To him, Ra's is just a villain. Even when he's there listening to Ra's, he doesn't believe it. He thinks it's always a scam. For Damian, the idea that Bruce could never accept that Ra's was capable of more and moving on from his past, that means something because of some of the things Damian has done. If he can never accept Ra's can move on, does that mean he can never accept that Damian can move on? That's something they have to work through. Damian has gone through a lot, so he has to decide how much he wants to tell Batman and if his father will judge him. That's stuff we explore over the course of the book.

This is more interesting but it's still incredibly repetitive. They already killed Ra's back in Death and the Maidens and they need to do something else with Damian and Bruce at this point.

Talia has played a more prominent role in the DCU since the start of Infinite Frontier, including mixing it up with Leviathan. What's her mindset like after watching her father get killed?

She's pissed! There's a lot going on there, with a bit of "I was right. The world will never accept the al Ghuls because of what they've done and what their potential could be." The funny thing is, the way "Shadow War" rolls out, Talia is not a villain. Her argument, and part of my original pitch, is that she [maintains that] Deathstroke and the Secret Society are bad and she's going to take them out. Does that make her a villain? She's out for revenge which is what a lot of characters do and it's something we explore. She still thinks she's doing the right thing and saving the world. Her father has always been about saving the world at all costs, and here's Talia's turn to take out Deathstroke and the Secret Society.

That was part of my thought process on her, looking at Leviathan and Checkmate. It might surprise people but the stuff that happened with Checkmate and Leviathan are important for "Shadow War." It all comes together in the story. The adventure that she has gone through has always been leading to this moment. She's in charge of the League of Shadows. What does that mean and how does that impact her relationship with Damian and Bruce? Those are all elements we play with in "Shadow War." There's also big surprises and reveals.

I don't really buy this new Deathstroke vs Talia enmity. She's no match for him and her League is nothing next to the Society. Using Bendis's mediocrity doesn't inspire confidence either.

Another wild card is Black Canary, who had been partnered with Deathstroke. How is she going to react to him embracing just how twisted he really is?

She's pissed off, too, because she always knew he was bad but there was a moment when she trusted him to watch her back, and then she gets blindsided. In Deathstroke Inc. #6, she tells him to stop and walk away from being a villain but he says "No, this is who I am." She feels responsible that she let things go as long as they did and [for] some unresolved stuff. We're introducing a new character in Shadow War: Alpha, Angel-Breaker. She plays a major role in "Shadow War" and has a run-in with Black Canary. One of the short stories in Shadow War Zone #1 is Black Canary versus Angel-Breaker because Oracles tell Canary that if [Talia is] killing anyone that's worked with Deathstroke, she's on the list.

That's what brings Black Canary into it, but she also kind of feels responsible for it. Once she figured out what was going on it all happens so fast. Deathstroke Inc. #3-6 is all literally one night of their life. The moment she could tell the Justice League what was going on she did, but there's part of her that thinks she should've thrown Deathstroke off that cliff. She's going to have her own guilt and that's going to get pulled into "Shadow War" and the Dark Crisis stuff that we're planning.

Yawn, another new character that no one asked for. Bruce, Slade, Damian and the al Ghuls are some of my favorite characters but I have NO excitement whatsoever for this event. It's crazy cause I would have been all over such a concept few years ago. Fully ready for Zdarsky to take over.

More from the interview here:

Source

New Zdarsky interview:

You’re calling this upcoming Batman arc “Failsafe” the Dark Knight’s own “Doomsday,” referring I guess to Superman’s own infamous brush with death in 1993. What other inspirations are going to be felt here? And should I be stocking on up on the issues in the hopes they become Death of Superman rare (or, rather, in the hopes it becomes worth substantially more than DOS ended up being worth)?

Yeah, I mean, back in the day the Batman equivalent of Doomsday was Bane, who infamously broke his back in the comics. And then Tom Hardy broke Christian Bale’s back in the movies. Classic Tom Hardy! Here I wanted to design a villain with our artist Jorge that could challenge Batman in a bigger way. Look, I’m not discounting broken backs, but Christian Bale just healed his by chilling out in a pit and hanging by a rope, really stretching that puppy out. It’ll take more than that for what we’re doing in the comic. And hey, I’m in no position to be giving advice on how to balance your financial portfolio. And don’t look to Batman for advice either. Bruce Wayne got rich by paying that guy to off his billionaire parents in an alley.

Not sure how seriously I should take this. He was fooling around in this whole interview. I wouldn't mind another character becoming Batman's "Doomsday". I never saw Bane as being that and it's unnecessary baggage that hurts Bane. Comparisons to a one note character like Doomsday are not flattering at all. Yet I'm not convinced that this is a new villain at all.

This year, audiences will get three on-screen Batmen: Pattinson, Affleck and even Keaton. How will your on-the-page Bruce Wayne will stand apart?

Mine is surrounded by Robins. Surrounded! In the comics Batman has a very large supporting cast. A lot of what I’m doing in the book is having him deal with that fact. Is it a good thing to have an army of proteges? What’s his responsibility to the ones willing to follow him into this vigilante life? Also, thanks to our amazing artist, Jorge Jiménez, our Batman is way more handsome than those other chumps.

If this means trimming the bloated supporting cast and giving Tim a new identity then I'm all for it.

More here

To be honest, I am really excited about Zdrasky's Batman. I think it will be a great ride and we will be offered a lot of great stuff along the way.

@tdk_1997: As am I . Hell, I don't give a f*ck about Shadow War at this point. July can't come soon enough.

Guys how many of are meaning to watch Batman this weekend? I will be watching today after classes.

@vishop_: Not sure. I really wanna watch it with a friend of mine but I am not sure if he will be free this weekend, so maybe next weekend it is going to be it for me.

@entropy_aegis:Same here. However, at the same time I really want to see what Williamson has in store for this crossover.

@tdk_1997: I just watched the whole film couple of hours ago. I was meaning to watch the film with someone but he had an accident so he wasn't available for the time being. I think this film had great work with Bruce Wayne and his his personality and character being different then usual iterations. Him as Batman was already cool as expected. Riddler was really great. He overcame my expectations with intimidation against Batman/Bruce Wayne but his endgame wasn't really grabbing. Still the action was pretty good throughout.

@vishop_: I will check it out tomorrow evening as well. My friend won't be able to make it but I really can't wait any longer, so I will go and watch it with my girlfriend.

Glad that you liked it. How would you compare it to other Batman movies?

Below TDK perhaps. Paul Dano was great as Riddler. Him as adversary of Batman was handled greatly but his motivations or endgame doesn't land as much as I hoped for. So I didn't like him as much as Ledger. Although this new take on Batman/Bruce Wayne was definitely more interesting than any of the previous live action films.

Yeah, last night I really saw what you are talking about. I thought the movie was great. I literally had chills going through my body almost for the entire length of the movie, but at the end Riddler's game plan felt a little flat.

Overall, I'd say it is one of the best CBM's ever done; Pattinson's Batman is probably the best that we've ever seen and just the overall way of directing and producing this movie is literally top notch.

Saw the movie. Here's my thoughts:

Can someone say the name of this batsuit and what it's feats are?

https://images.app.goo.gl/SFacKZdTvMxjW5oQ7

https://pin.it/2TVqBKc

@entropy_aegis: Nice thoughts, mate. Really agree with you on most of your takes. While I do agree that Riddler was the most probkematic part about the movie, at the same time it was good that we got a different version of the character. He was a really big mixed bag for me.

What I really, really agree on is the fact that the final Arkham seen was way too cringey and unnecessary.

@tdk_1997: Thanks man.

Rucka and Brubaker are writing for the Caped Crusader show, UGH. Their tenure on the Batman was literally the worst in the post Crisis era. Their Batman was extremely unlikable and their villains have already been forgotten. Rucka also needs everything to be about Renee Montoya and I don't care about their copaganda. Hope they only get an episode or two.

@entropy_aegis: I haven't read Rucka's 'Tec tenure. Brubaker's Batman was one of the worst periods of the character imo. Really didn't feel like Batman; very forgettable stories and villains and the overall 'development' of the character was pretty much non-existent.

From their run together I've only read Gotham Central, but I don't really consider it a Batman story. So, I don't really mind them writing a few episodes, but I hope they don't stick for the entirety of the show.

@tdk_1997: They've done good work on Batwoman, Catwoman and Gotham Central but their Batman stuff is extremely mediocre. They seem like a good fit due to their background in crime fiction yet their work expresses a level of disdain for Batman as a character. They're better off with their cops and robbers. Rucka in particular has his head stuck up his favorites asses.

Ben Abernathy is now Executive Editor at DC. On one hand, he has more power but on the other hand, he is no longer directly involved with the Bat titles. Now I can only hope that the awful OCs he and Tynion came up with will fade away. Ghost-Maker in particular shluld be buried alive by Joker. I'm slighly optimistic now. His departure and Zdarsky taking over really heralds a new beginning for Bat books. No Snyder, no Tynion and King will be done by August. This is arguably the first totally clean slate since the New-52.

Priest is writing a Black Adam ongoing series. Dare I hope for a Bat book? Ideally, he should get Tec because Tamaki's run is sucky.

The Knight is still holding its own ground. The third issue was fantastic. Bruce solved his first case against a serial killer. Although Ducard's character is a bit hacky so far.

Can someone state consistent feats of the batcomputer's hacking and resisting hacking? Not with Alfred or Bruce but just the computer's AI alone.

This definitely sounds intriguing. Priest's run with Black Panther was epic as hell so Black Adam definitely falls into his line of work. Also I am hyped for Kahndaq worldbuilding. This actual sounds more ideal to me than giving another good writer a Batman book instead of a non-Batman book tbh

"Rafa and I have our own unique vision for Kahndaq which will mirror Adam’s struggle between his past and his future. An ancient, tiny city-state reflective of Afro-Egyptian culture, but the landscape is dotted with all of these huge construction cranes. Black Adam wants to modernize a secular Kahndaq into his own Wakanda of sorts, but he’s running afoul of both traditionalists desiring more religious influence, and a growing democracy movement Adam has no intention of indulging."

Respawn's id got revealed in Deathstroke Inc 7 so spoilers ahead.

Trying to find something interesting from the Bat-line while looking at solicitations and I got to say nothing quite catches my eye so far. Maybe I am underrating a certain book?

I am, however, excited for Zdarsky's tenure. I confess his opening to Daredevil felt a bit too reminiscent of the Netflix show for my tastes, but a full read of that run convinced me of his love for the character - and culminated in a streak of excellent stories to match the wealth of Daredevil's universe. If he does something similar with Batman it's going to be a blast.

@morpheus_: Currently the Bat-line is quite bad imo, so it's gonna be hard to find sth good right now. However, there is a glimmer of hope with the start of Zdarsky's run which is going to start pretty soon.

@morpheus_: Honestly his Daredevil run while decent, feels flat with the current run of events from Devil's Reign. But i am loving what he is been doing with The Knight. The Imposter and The Last Ride was also great but i am not sure if you have read those books or not.

@morpheus_: Hey, welcome back, again.

There are some good minis such as One Dark Knight, Batman: The Knight (by Zdarsky) and Catwoman: Lonely City. Murphy's Beyond the White Knight also just got launched. The ongoing books are really meh right now. The Joker and Robin are the best of the bunch, imo. Though Nightwing seems to be popular among fans too. Zdarsky also wrote the lead feature of the first six issues of Batman: Urban Legends. Right now Williamson is writing Batman, Robin and Deathstroke Inc as part of Shadow War crossover. I enjoyed the fairly recently concluded Impostor and Robin and Batman minis. Arkham City: The Order of the World might be worth a look too.

I havent encountered worshipers of King's Batman until a couple of days ago when I stumbled across cbr's batman community comparing his run with having the depth and quality towards Morrison or even Miller for some reason.

@vishop_: You'll find people defending f***ing anything on CBR forums, LOL.

Preview and interview with the two creators forr #125

Pretty good art by Jimenez

https://www.gamesradar.com/batman-125-preview-bruce-wayne/

Batman #125 Preview

It seems like Ram V is joining Tec this July. I have liked what he has done so far with Venom. Certainly has a vibe of gothic design with his book despite being more sci fictional. So I am putting my money on this for now. Still it's good to see that DC is finally moving on with solid creative teams