Top 10: Batman: Arkham Origins Assassins
Game Informer #241
Top 10: Batman: Arkham Origins Assassins by Jerry Whitworth
After months of speculation, the third game in the Batman: Arkham video game series has been officially announced. Titled Batman: Arkham Origins and set for release October 25, 2013 on the PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U, the game is centered around Black Mask placing a bounty on the head of Batman bringing eight of the world’s most dangerous assassins to come to Gotham City on Christmas Eve. A prequel to the first two games Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, longstanding rumors persist the Dark Knight will cross paths with heroes that later form the Justice League of America together. Reportedly, players will also have the opportunity to do battle with villains not generally associated with Batman on side missions. It’s also being reported the map of the game will be twice the size of Arkham City as Batman will be able to adventure through Old Gotham (largely the setting of Arkham City) and New Gotham (seen from Arkham City in the distance in the previous game). There is some controversy that should be noted with this third game in that writer Paul Dini and game studio Rocksteady, who were the architects of the first two games, were not involved in the new game’s development. Only time will tell what effect, if any, this new avenue will have with the franchise. Lets take a look at who could be some of the assassins that will try to collect on Black Mask’s bounty.
Read MoreBatusi Returns: The Camp Knight Rises
Batman by Allred
Batusi Returns: The Camp Knight Rises by Jerry Whitworth
Last summer, Warner Bros inked a deal with 20th Century Fox to produce merchandise based on the likenesses of the Batman television series from the 1960s. The advent is quite revolutionary considering both companies have gone back and forth over the franchise for decades with this deal being the first time since the show left the air that something new has been made from the material (save for replica miniatures of the show’s vehicles). While as yet there are no plans to see the series make the transition to DVD or Blu-Ray, which is something fans have rallied to see happen for many years, the new deal gives hope of this. However, short of the series released for home video, fans will be happy to see the series adapted for comics starting this summer as a digital first title from the creative team of Jeff Parker and Jonathan Case (with covers by Michael Allred). Lets take a look at the genesis of the Batman television series, its cultural impact, and its legacy.
Read MoreTop 5 by Jamie Dunst
TOP 5 by Jamie Dunst
Who are your favorite superheroes? Favorite artists? Favorite ships? Weapons? Everyone makes top lists. I remember reading the novel HIgh Fidelity and the characters of the book would make top 5 lists. I listen to a podcast where they make top 5 lists and another podcast where they sometimes list the 5 top books they would keep in their pull list if they had to cut their reading pile to just 5 books. I love top 5 lists because I think they make for great conversation starters. I always wonder why someone would put comic book X in their list and why they didn’t have comic book Y. I also feel it’s a great way to get to know a person’s interests and likes when it comes to these lists. So, to start things off, I am going to begin with a top 5 list that I had just mentioned. TOP 5 COMICS THAT I WOULD HAVE TO KEEP IN MY PULL LIST:
BATMAN #0 Review
BATMAN #0
BATMAN #0 Review by Jamie Dunst
MAIN STORY: Scott Snyder: Writer; Greg Capullo: Penciler; Jonathan Glapton: Inker; FCO Plascencia: Colorist; Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt: Lettering; Capulo & Plascencia: Cover
BACKUP STORY: James Tynion IV: Writer; Andy Clarke: Artist; FCO Plascencia: Colorist; Patrick Brosseau: Letterer
The issue beings 6 years ago with the opening of the Old Gotham Bank when a bunch of thugs wearing very familiar Red masks break in and rob the place. When the manager tries to stand up to them, on of the Red Hoods (Red Hood Five to be exact) knocks him out with his gun. The Red Hood leader gives Red Hood Five, his gun since it looks like Red Hood Five’s gun is broken. The leader then tells Red Hood Five to put the gun to in his mouth. The Red Hood leader starts to tell Red Hood Five all the things he knows about the real Red Hood Five to know that this one is a fake. Red Hood Five then fights all the other Red Hoods and makes his escape as the cops show up.
Read MoreBeware the Batman: From Page to Screen
Beware the Batman
Beware the Batman: From Page to Screen by Jerry Whitworth
The popular series Batman: The Brave and the Bold ended last year to make way for another incarnation of the Dark Knight in Beware the Batman (Batman: TBTB making light of this fact in its finale joking about making way for a more serious CGI series, but described Batgirl in place of Batman in this context). This time animated with computer-generated images like the new series Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Beware will see Glen Murakami return to bring the Caped Crusader to the small screen since his work on The Batman. Returning to a darker tone, gone will be familiar characters like Robin and the Joker to make way for a new sidekick in sword-wielding Katana and obscure anti-establishment anti-villain Anarky. It’s unknown if there’s any relation between this new series and a similar sounding comic book series about another hero based in Gotham City in Beware the Creeper. The new series will premier on Cartoon Network as part of the DC Nation block of programming alongside Young Justice in 2013.
Read MoreBatman #10 Review
Batman #10 Cover
Batman #10 Review by Derf
Writer: Scott Snyder; Pencils: Greg Capullo; Inks: Jonathan Glapion; Colors: FCO Plascencia; Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Jimmy B; Cover: Greg Capullo and FCO Plascencia; Variant cover: Rafael Albuquerque; Editor: Mike Marts; Assistant Editor: Katie Kubert
Batman created by Bob Kane
You thought the Night of Owls had some surprises; well the aftermath has its surprises too. In this issue, we find Batman trying to find the brains behind the brawn of the owls. Being the great detective that he is, he manages to put the pieces together. And when he does we are in for a shock, one of the targets was actually one of the talons.
I could not put this book down. Some of the revelations is this issue is guaranteed to change what you know about Batman’s past, present, and future. The writing in the Batman series since the beginning of the new 52 has been phenomenal! Scott Snyder is a brilliant writer and I am looking forward to see what happens in issue #11.
The writing is so good, I can actually see it being made into a screenplay for a Batman animated movie. The Batman titles have not let me down yet! Great Writing + Great Art = one damn good book!
Top 10: Comic Book TV Series
Age of TV Heroes by Alex Ross
Top 10: Comic Book TV Series by Jerry Whitworth
Comic books being adapted for feature films are all the rage now but much of that has grown from exposure on the small screen over the last six decades. Heroes like Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man have graced television sets across the world in that time only to be given bigger budgets and more notable actors to portray them for theaters. And while upcoming films like Amazing Spider-Man, Dark Knight Rises, Man of Steel, Iron Man 3, and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For are on the horizon, series like Arrow and Powers are also preparing runs on the small screen (with the third season of Walking Dead being filmed presently). Lets take a look now at the greatest live action television series to adapt comic book characters.
Read MoreMake It So: Batman: Arkham 3
Batman Arkham Villains
Make It So: Batman: Arkham 3 by Jerry Whitworth
Well, this is a fairly obvious entry for Make It So, Batman: Arkham Asylum was a wildly popular game and its sequel Batman: Arkham City completely blew it away so a third installment is more of a ‘when’ than an ‘if.’ In Arkham Asylum, the Joker has lured Batman to the title’s location where the villain has had the prisoners from Blackgate Penitentiary transferred to the institution and takes it over as his own personal funhouse. Therein, experiments have been done on Venom, the drug used by Bane to vastly increase his physical strength, which produced a more potent compound in Titan. Employing this new drug, the Joker tries to enact a final face-to-face confrontation with Batman only to fail. As Titan was imperfect and in its infancy, the side effects were unknown until Joker’s use of it, where it’s discovered using it means a death sentence.
Read MoreMake It So: Justice League the Movie
Justice League
Make It So: Justice League the Movie by Jerry Whitworth
Most of my Make It So articles have been about projects that make sense to me to be produced but have yet to be realized. For this installment, I’m going to break tradition and discuss a movie recently announced to be in development. The Justice League of America is DC Comics’ premier super hero team generally featuring their biggest icons like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman (of these, the final film in the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy will be in theaters next month, the first in a new Superman film series begins the summer of next year, and Wonder Woman has also been recently announced to be developed for film which was previously featured in Make It So). Developing the Justice League in a live action format is nothing new.
Read MoreMake It So: DC vs SJ Heroes
Make It So: DC vs SJ Heroes by Jerry Whitworth
East vs Western Comics
2D fighting games are big business. In a growing market of highly sophisticated video games with cutting edge graphics, many fans will still buy from traditional franchises like Super Smash Bros, Street Fighter, Tekken, and King of Fighters. Versus franchise games, be it inter-fighters like Tekken X Street Fighter and Capcom vs SNK or mingling external media like Marvel vs Capcom, Tatsunoko vs Capcom, and Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, look to dwarf their predecessors in popularity. While fighting games improve in graphics, they generally use the same engine meaning with some slight tweaks, you can just continuously update content. Pull in extra fans by adding the Versus franchise aspect and offer pay-for downloadable characters (DLC) and it’s like printing your own money. Imagine, now, mashing up two of some of the biggest media franchises on earth: Warner Bros’ DC Comics and Shueisha’s Shonen Jump. Home to some of the most popular characters in fiction, both companies have previously graced the fighting game genre. DC had Justice League Task Force and the aforementioned Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe while SJ has had Jump Super Stars, Jump Ultimate Stars, Battle Stadium D.O.N., and the wildly popular fighting game series of Dragon Ball and Naruto, a fighting game seeing these companies clash would be titanic (not to mention, imagine accompanying comic book, action figure, collectible card game, table top role-playing games, and cartoon series to exploit the monumental smack down). Lets take a look at some of the possibilities.
Read MoreTop 10: Rogues Galleries
Villains
Top 10: Rogues Galleries by Jerry Whitworth
For the American comic book, superheroes reign supreme. It doesn’t matter if it’s DC, Marvel, Image, or any of the indies. Throw a cape or mask on someone and you got a much better shot than virtually anything else. But, superheroes are useless without another key component: supervillains. Alien invasions and gangsters are great padding, but we read comics to see colorful characters knocking down buildings or placing loved ones in perilous death traps. Imagine a comic book without a Dr. Doom, Joker, or Lex Luthor or a superhero without some Rogues Gallery, Sinister Six, or Monster Society of Evil to battle him or her. It’s a rather depressing notion because what’s the point of dashing off of rooftops or barreling out of a exploding building if there’s no one to legitimately challenge our hero when they survive? Lets see what villains stand atop all others. Though, before we begin, a little disclaimer: I’m purposely sticking to superheroes. With villains for heroes like James Bond, Doctor Who, and Dick Tracy, the list would be too challenging for me to cut to ten.
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