bad guys | the m0vie blog

Robin: Year One (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Darren

23rd July is Batman Day, celebrating the character’s 75th anniversary. To celebrate, this July we’re taking a look at some new and classic Batman (and Batman related) stories. Check back daily for the latest review.

Chuck Dixon is one of the definitive Batman writers, particularly in the context of the nineties. Dixon enjoyed a long and well-regarded run on Detective Comics in the nineties, serving as one of the three writers driving the Batman franchise – along with Doug Moench and Kelley Jones on Batman and Alan Grant on Shadow of the Bat. Dixon even got to stay involved with the Bat titles for a little while after No Man’s Land in 1999, when the entire line had a massive turnover in talent.

However, while Dixon is an incredibly influential writer on Batman, he had as much of an influence on Dick Grayson. Dixon was the writer who handled Dick Grayson’s first on-going Nightwing series, building off a miniseries written by Denny O’Neil. Dixon worked on Nightwing for seventy issues between 1996 and 2002. He even returned to the title with collaborator Scotty Beatty after its one hundredth issue to write Nightwing: Year One, an origin story covering the former Robin’s transition into his new superhero persona.

Swinging into action…

As such, it makes a great deal of sense for Dixon to collaborate with writer Scott Beatty on Robin: Year One, a prestigious miniseries spanning four extended issues and featuring wonderful artwork from Javier Pulido. Pulido’s distinctive artwork lends itself to vibrant colours and dynamic expression, as demonstrated during his wonderful stint as part of the rotating art team on The Amazing Spider-Man. If ever a comic book lent itself to Pulido’s style, Robin: Year One is it.

Dixon does some nice work trying to explain the dynamic between Batman and Robin, and even to argue why Robin is an essential part of the mythos. Most interestingly, he, Beatty and Pulido try to integrate the arrival of Robin with the atmosphere and mood established by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli in Batman: Year One.

Suit up!

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: bad guys, batman, dick grayson, evil, gordon, harvey dent, mr. freeze, robin, robin: year one, two face, villains, year one | Leave a comment »

Paul Cornell’s Run on Action Comics – The Black Ring (Volumes I & II) (Review)

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Darren

LEX LUTHOR!!! — Kneel before GRODD! You have walked into my ambush! And I have brought my biggest combat spoon– to eat your tasty brains!!!

– the moment I fell in love with Paul Cornell’s Action Comics

I adore Paul Cornell. He’s just a fantastic writer. His most notable work to date has probably been two episodes of the televised Doctor Who (Father’s Day and Human Nature/Family of Blood), but he’s also made a rather fantastic addition to the stable of writers at DC comics. If you wanted proof of up-and-coming new blood at the company, Cornell’s increasing contributions over the past few years certainly make a case for it. I think his Action Comics might be one of the most shamelessly “fun” runs in modern comic books, an adventure that rejoices in the sheer ridiculousness of comic books, without sacrificing character or depth for cheap spectacle. It helps that Cornell manages to take one of the most fascinating characters in comic book history and craft in insightful look at his protagonist’s personality in a single year-long storyline.

This is Lex Luthor’s time to shine. And not just because he’s bald, although the glare on that thing must be something.

The power of the world in the palm of his hand...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Action Comics, bad guys, brainiac, brian azzarello, Cornell, dc comic, dc comics, J. Michael Straczynski, joker, Larfleeze, lex luthor, LexCorp, Paul Cornell, Pete Woods, superman, The Black Ring, villains | Leave a comment »

Is Picking a Bad Guy the Biggest Hurdle In Getting The Flash to Screen?

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Darren

The rumour is that the Flash is the next Green Lantern. By which I mean the character looks set to move to the centre of DC’s universe – on panel and on screen – in the next few years. Geoff Johns relaunched Hal Jordan with Green Lantern: Rebirth about four years ago and since then he’s guided the character through arguably two of the best received event comics of the past decade (Sinestro Corps War and Blackest Night), launched a direct-to-DVD animated feature and is getting the big screen treatment from Martin Campbell, the man who saved Bond (twice). All this from what a character who was a second stringer a few years ago. It appears that the Flash is on a similar trajectory. A relaunch of the comic book was completed last month with the final issue of Flash: Rebirth and there are rumours of a big screen treatment already in the works. Part of me wonders, however, if the character’s foes are ready for the big screen?

They're either a bunch of supervillains, or a very committed eighties concept band...

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Filed under: Comics, Movies | Tagged: bad guys, Comics, dc comics, films, flash, geoff johns, hunter zolomon, Movie, professor zoom, the flash, the rogues, villains, zoom | Leave a comment »

Riddle Me This… Is The Riddler Really An Ideal Choice for Batman 3?

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Darren

Last week I outlined why I didn’t think that Harvey Dent should be brought back for the sequel to The Dark Knight. If Nolan comes back, I trust him to do whatever he feels like doing with the franchise – he’s demonstrated that he knows what he’s doing when it comes to directing Batman. If he wants to recast the role of the Joker – or if he doesn’t – that’s fine with me. So, it’s ultimately futile to speculate about films that haven’t even entered production, but that’s never really stopped me before, has it? It keeps coming down to the Riddler – Johnny Depp or Eddie Murphy or whoever. It seems that everyone is expecting The Riddler to be the villain (or at least play a supporting role) in the next film. But I’m skeptical.