dc universe | the m0vie blog

Grant Morrison’s Run on Batman – Time & The Batman (Review)

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Darren

December is “Grant Morrison month” here at the m0vie blog, as we take the month to consider and reflect on one of the most critically acclaimed (and polarising) authors working in the medium. Every Wednesday this month, we’ll have a Grant Morrison related review or retrospective.

I have, I’m not entirely ashamed to admit, grown quite fond of Grant Morrison’s run on Batman. Despite the fact I’m still not overly fond of Batman R.I.P., I really appreciated The Return of Bruce Wayne and Batman & Robin was perhaps the most fun I’ve had reading comics in quite a long time. So I found myself somewhat underwhelmed by Time and the Batman, collecting Morrison’s work on Batman #700 and the two-issue follow-up that served to make explicit the ties between Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis. It’s not that the book isn’t packed with ideas or even that it’s quite short. I think it’s more that Morrison seems to spend a lot of time here providing exposition and filling in information that perhaps couldn’t fit elsewhere in this tapestry.

Joker puts the gang back together…

Continue reading →

Filed under: Comics | Tagged: archetypes, batman, batman r.i.p., batman r.i.p.: the missing chapter, batman rip, batman rip: the missing chapter, Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, comcis, comic books, Comics, darkseid, dc universe, final crisis, frank quitely, grant morrison, Grantmorrison, joker, review, the batman, time and the batman, tony daniel | 4 Comments »

The Absolute Authority, Vol. 2 (Review)

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Darren

With Wildstorm being officially folded into the relaunched DCU (the “DCnU”), I thought I might take a look at some of the more successful and popular Wildstorm titles that the company produced. In particular, The Authority, the superhero saga that spun out of Stormwatch – a series that is getting its own post-relaunch book written by Paul Cornell, easily one of my more anticipated titles.

In many ways, it was The Authority that established Mark Millar and Frank Quitely as talents to watch in their own rights, rather than through their associations with Grant Morrison. As a concept, the series was launched by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, but the duo picked their own replacements. I have to say, I think they chose rather wisely, even if the series has lost a rather considerable amount of its bite nearly a decade after its initial publication. That said, it’s still a highly entertaining superhero book, and one which had more than its fair share of influence on the mainstream titles over the last ten or so years.

There's a new Authority in town...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Comics | Tagged: All Star Superman, Bryan Hitch, censored, censorship in comic books, comic book review, comic book superheroes, comic books, controversy, dc universe, deconstruction, frank quitely, Garth-Morrison, jack kirby, jeph loeb, mark millar, midnighter, midnighter (comic books), midnighter (comics), Paul Cornell, politics, review, sencorship, superheroes, the authority, the authority (comic book), the authority (comics), warren ellis, wildstorm, world war ii | Leave a comment »

Geoff Johns’ Run on Justice Society of America – The Next Age, Thy Kingdom Come (Parts I, II & III) & Black Adam and Isis

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Darren

With the Justice Society of America perhaps the most high-profile title excluded from DC’s upcoming relaunch, I thought I’d bid them farewell by taking a look at writer Geoff Johns’ second run on the title.

The Justice Society of America is one of those titles that DC does so well, one based on legacy. Admittedly Marvel has made some attempts in recent years (The Immortal Iron Fist stands out as a big example, as does Ed Brubaker’s Marvels Project – focusing on the World War II heroes adopted into Marvel’s pantheon), but DC have always handled the nostalgia so well. In fact, the relaunch of the Justice Society of America was prompted by the outstanding success of James Robinson’s original superhero generational saga, Starman. This collection represents the first set of arcs from the third volume – writer Geoff Johns was a veteran from the second volume, which (along with his writing on Flash) brought him to mainstream attention. So he knows the cast of characters and their world inside out.

Pin-ups...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Comics | Tagged: alan scott, Comics, dc comics, dc universe, ed brubaker, flash, geoff johns, green lantern, jay garrick, jsa, justice league, justice society, justice society of america, kingdom come, power girl, Vandal Savage, world war ii | Leave a comment »

Justice League International: Volume 1 (Hardcover) (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Darren

In light of the massive DC reboot taking place next month, launching with a Geoff Johns and Jim Lee run on a new Justice League title, I thought I’d take a look back at another attempt to relaunch the Justice League, emerging from the then-recent Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Once upon a time — there was a Justice League of America. But that was another era, when the world could afford borders and boundaries. When heroes could claim national loyalties and feel justified in their claims.

But in today’s world there’s no longer room for borders or boundaries. The walls between nations have to fall if our planet is to survive. So, for the new era — a new league: Justice League… International!

– Introducing the Justice League International, Justice League #7

Unlike the upcoming Johns/Lee relaunch of DC’s most famous superhero team, or even Grant Morrison’s tenure on JLA, it’s clear from the outset that Justice League: International was never going to be a powerhouse team. As the introduction states, in the wake of the massive restructuring of the DC Universe following the near-reboot of Crisis on Infinite Earths, many characters were tied up in events in their own titles. George Perez was working on Wonder Woman, while John Byrne was putting his own slant on Superman in Man of Steel. So the only returning iconic Justice League founding members were Batman and the Martian Manhunter. The team had to make do with Guy Gardner as the resident Green Lantern. It wasn’t exactly an all-star line-up, to be honest.

The Unusual Suspects?

Continue reading →

Filed under: Comics | Tagged: batman, Blue Beetle, booster gold, comic books, Comics, crisis, crisis on infinite earths, dark knight returns, dc, dc comics, dc universe, green lantern, Guy Gardner, J. M. DeMatteis, JLI, justice league, Justice League International, keith griffen, kevin maguire, Martian Manhunter, maxwell lord, superman, United States | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Green Lantern

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Darren

Green Lantern is solidly middle of the road as far as superhero movies go. Perhaps in a less crowded (and less high quality) summer action season it would seem a stronger contender, but the film really shows as Warner Brothers’ first major attempt to produce a big-budget superhero film not directly related to Superman or Batman. It’s perfectly functional, managing to do everything it sets out to in a relatively efficient manner, but there’s never really a sense that the film exists as anything more than a series of plot points that need be checked in order for the movie to cross the finish line. Given the potential of the source material, as well as its relatively unique nature amongst the slew of generic superheroes, a functioning and formulaic adventure can’t help but feel like a bit of a disappointment.

Hal Jordan: Space Cop? It has a nice ring to it...

Note: We also have an introduction to the Green Lantern mythos available, if you’re interested in checking it out.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Blake Lively, dc comics, dc universe, geoff johns, Geoffrey Rush, green lantern, green lantern corps, green lantern film, green lantern film review, green lantern movie, green lantern movie review, Greenlantern, hal jordan, Hector Hammond, in blackest night, in brightest day, lois lane, mark strong, martin campbell, michael clark duncan, michael clarke duncan, non-review review, parallax, Peter Sarsgaard, review, richard donner, ryan reynolds, sinestro, tim robbins, Warner Bros, Warner Brothers | 10 Comments »

A Knight by Any Other Name: Why We Don’t Need Nolan to Use Characters from the Comic Books…

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Darren

Read our in-depth review of the film here.

There was a bit of a ripple on-line last week when it was announced that Marion Cotillard was playing a Wayne Enterprise employee by the name of Miranda Tate and Joseph Gordon Levitt was playing a cop named John Blake in the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises. Both actors had been suggested for various and established characters (Cotillard seems a perfect fit for Talia Al Ghul, while Levitt was linked to characters as diverse as Alberto Falcone and the Black Mask). Still, it’s surprising how shocked everybody seemed that neither high-profile actor would playing a character established in the Bat mythos. Does it really matter that much?

I can’t Talia if it’s really an original character…

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Alberto Falcone, Batman in film, continuity, dc comics, dc universe, Harvey Bullock, Henri Ducard, john blake, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, marion cotillard, miranda tate, original characters, Silver St. Cloud, Talia Al Ghul, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises | 6 Comments »

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Darren

March is Superman month here at the m0vie blog, what with the release of the animated adaptation of Grant Morrison’s superb All-Star Superman. We’ll be reviewing a Superman-related book/story arc every Wednesday this month, so check on back – and we might have a surprise or two along the way.

They call themselves Legionnaires. There are so many of these guys I can’t keep track of them all.

– Superboy Prime. I can empathise.

The tie-ins to Final Crisis were an interesting bunch. They weren’t, for the most part, your usual comic book event tie-ins. Then again, Final Crisis was hardly your usual comic book event. Indeed, the handful of essential reading material was included in Grant Morrison’s Final Crisis hardcover. The remaining hardcovers didn’t exist to plug holes in the story, nor to showcase particular characters interacting with the crisis du jour. So, while Final Crisis: The Legion of Three Worlds does little to tie-in plot-wise to the main miniseries (save, perhaps, setting up a tiny scene), it’s interesting that Geoff Johns elected to have is story reflect the themes and core ideas of Grant Morrison’s epic event.

And the Legion shall be many...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Comics | Tagged: art, arts, Bart Allen, comic books, Comics, continuity, dc universe, final crisis, final crisis: legion of 3 worlds, final crisis: legion of three worlds, general zod, geoff johns, george perez, gotham central, Grantmorrison, legion, legion of 3 worlds, Legion of Super-Heroes, legion of three worlds, superboy prime, superman | Leave a comment »

Possible Villains for the Zack Snyder Superman Reboot…

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Darren

This being a month dedicated to Superman and all, I thought I’d put together a “rogues gallery” of Superman foes that Snyder might possibly consider using for the upcoming Superman reboot. After all, Luthor and Zod are the only Superman foes to really get a shot at a big-screen adaptation so far, so there’s a whole range of choices out there. Superman might not have as deep a selection of foes as Batman or Spider-Man, but he’s not exactly short on major threats, either.

A viable threat to the Man of Steel?

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bizarro, brainiac, clark kent, Comics, darkseid, dc universe, doomsday, films, fourth world, general sam lane, general zod, joker, lex luthor, Lexluthor, parasite, sam lane, superman, superman reboot, the parasite, the toyman, toyman, zack snyder | 9 Comments »

The Starman Omnibus, Vol. 5 (Stars My Destination)

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Darren

The Starman Omnibus, Volume V covers a very rocky period in the history of the Starman mythos. The wonderful thing about the little after-words that James Robinson has provided for each of these volumes by way of annotation is that they offer you a hint of the context of everything that is going on around the series. Starman as a series had just lost an editor in Archie Goodwin and an artist in Tony Harris. Robinson himself was going through some very personal issues, and he confessed that he was seriously considering just hanging up the reigns on the book.

He didn’t, and ultimately saw the comic book through its full 80-issue run, but it gives you a sense of the instability surrounding the title at that period of time. And what did Robinson do with, with everything so uncertain around the book? He moved the series from the streets of Opal City into the depths of DC’s shared cosmic universe and took on David S. Goyer as a co-plotter for Stars My Destination, which was an interesting direction for one of the nineties’ most down-to-earth characters.

A "cluster" of Starmen?

Continue reading →

Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Christopher Nolan, comic, comic book, continuity, David Goyer, dc universe, james robinson, Opal City, Peter Snejbjerg, retrospective, review, starman, starman: stars my destination, starman: the stars my destination, stars my destination, the stars my destination, tony harris | Leave a comment »

Batman Beyond: Out of the Past (Review)

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. I’ll be looking at movies and episodes and even some of the related comic books. This is the last post of the week, and so I thought I should focus on where it all started, with the animated Bruce Wayne.

I don’t think Batman Beyond gets the credit that it so sorely deserves. It was really the first time that it was explicitly acknowledged that Bruce Wayne couldn’t be Batman forever – that, unlike so many other members of the DC pantheon, the character was a mere mortal who would pass away and that he couldn’t wear the cowl forever. The animated television show was the first to wonder what would happen to the concept of Batman, if Bruce couldn’t do it anymore. Would the hero die out and fade from memory? Or would he live on, somehow, enduring forever?