posted
...okay. I dunno if you've seen these, but they're DC's answer to Marvel's "Ultimate Line".
They were advertised as being new-reader friendly, iconic versions of the classic DC characters...written and drawn by the best writers and artists in the business.
"All Star Superman" so far is a pretty fun comic. It's nothing revolutionary, but it's managed to make the Superman/Lois relationship seem fresh and alive...to make Superman's powers seem grand and exciting again.
Then...we have "All Star Batman With Robin the Boy Wonder".
So far it's given us an entire issue devoted to Vickie Vale standing around in her underwear.
(Not kidding)
An entire issue devoted to a maniacal, casually murderous Batman chewing a traumatized Dick Grayson out.
(Again, not kidding.)
And, and entire issue devoted to Black Canary beating the living crud out of a bunch of drunken bar patrons because...um...well, it has something to do with Batman. Really!
(Still not kidding.)
A sucky Batman comic. Big deal, right?
Only this comic is written by Frank Miller, the creator of "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Batman: Year One". Two of the most influential, coolest Batman comics of the last century.
posted
From what I've heard of them, I'm not even going to bother trying them. I'll stick with the increasingly insane Infinite Crisis blenderizing of the DCU.
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Frank Miller also did "The Dark Knight Strikes Back" or whatever that messy piece of self-indulgent storytelling was called. Ick.
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Frank Miller lost his mind a few years ago. *shrug* He, Dave Sim, and Alan Moore should collaborate on something. Five gets you ten it would be cynically incoherent. Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Alan Moore still writes great stuff sometimes -- at least, I liked The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and that just came out a few years ago... I know some of Moore's stuff gets pretty weird, but it seems like that, with Moore, at least SOME of the time a story that he's interested in telling will click with his readers. (Whereas, I haven't been interested in reading anything by Sim or Miller in, what, the last 10-15 years?)
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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LoEG was interesting enough, for an extended literary in-joke comic.
I get the feeling that the readers took it -far- more seriously than Moore himself does. Heck, the guy had the Invisible Man raping Pollyanna...who brushed it off with her positive attitude.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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quote:Heck, the guy had the Invisible Man raping Pollyanna...who brushed it off with her positive attitude.
The thing is, I think Moore himself took that very seriously; his writing on Promethea and LoEG II strongly suggest that it's not meant as light-hearted whimsy.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Promethea was basically Moore's version of a Chick Tract, in which his personal spiritual beliefs are portrayed as the One Truth.
But LoEG I and II, while written (melo)dramatically are a different sort of animal.
I've read his essays on the latter series...basically, they're him having fun with the toys he enjoyed reading as a kid...while poking tongue-in-cheek fun by seeing how twisted he can make certain things.
(Rupert the Bear and Mr. Toad were created by Dr. Moreau? Tom, don't tell me you thought for a moment he meant that seriously.)
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Frank Miller lost his mind a few years ago. *shrug* He, Dave Sim, and Alan Moore should collaborate on something. Five gets you ten it would be cynically incoherent.
Cerebus Returns
In which an older, punchier aardvark goes back to his barbarian roots... conquering Aquilonia despite his opium addiction... with guest appearances, however brief, by everyone from the Hyborian Age.
Posts: 196 | Registered: May 2005
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I adore Frank Miller, but after giving it three issues to go somewhere, and go somewhere at least moderately well, I will never pick up All Star Batman and Robin again.
I know it isn't in my best financial interest, but i keep pursuading people to stop buying it.
apparently Frank told DC he never wanted to write Batman again, but they insisted, and so this is what we get. Frank's joke on us all.
Stop buying bad comics! I love Brian Stelfreeze's rant about that.
Anyone going to Wizard World Los Angeles this March?
Posts: 3936 | Registered: Jul 2000
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All-Star Superman is, imo, great. I love it. Best-Superman-Ever! Well, at least one of the best Supermans ever. I enjoyed issue #1 and #2 (especially #2) quiete a bit. Grant Morison and Frank Q are bringing alot of creatively to the Superman character. Its a really fun book to read.
As for All-Star Batman....I couldn't get past issue #1. The art was fine. Its Jim Lee, so its not bad (though I like his art on Hush much better). The main problem with the book, imo, is the writing. It just didn't seem like Batman at all. The story just didn't grab me. I was disapointed in it.
Now, I haven't read too much of Frank Miller. In fact, I think I've only just read Year One by him. So I guess I was expecting/hoping for Year One Batman. Instead...we get....I don't know what it is....
And after reading a quote from the All-Star Batman at Newsarama, a quote that they said was really good...well...I disagreed. It sounded awful. I was glad I didn't stick around.
Also hearing in this thread about All-Star Batman, well, glad I stopped after #1.
Its too bad the book is bad. I wish it was as great as All-Star Superman. I'd like to be reading a really fun Batman book too!
DF2506 " Hopefully Frank won't stay on the book for good. Maybe they could get somebody really good to come in and tell a great Batman story! "
Posts: 128 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:I'd like to be reading a really fun Batman book too!
There actually IS a really fun Batman book right now, believe it or not. It's called "Batman." All the other Batman books are, IMO, fairly dispensable, but this one's held my interest.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Travis Morgan, the Warlord is getting a new comic series early this spring.
I do think Paul Dini's upcoming run on Detective Comics will be a Batman series worth reading.
Among other things, Paul was a major creative force behind Batman: The Animated Series and most of the other DC animated shows up until Justice League began. He's also the co-creator of fan-favorite bat characters like Harley Quinn, Rene Montaya, Terry McGinnis, etc.
And he made Mr. Freeze into an interesting, tragic villain instead of a cheesy left-over from the 60s.
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