BOOK REVIEW – BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN

May 20, 2020 KillerRoboticsBatman, Comic Book, Graphic NovelLeave a comment

Batman: The Long Halloween is a 13 issue comic book series that was initially released between 1996 and 1997. It was written by Jeph Loeb with artwork done by Tim Sake.

The story in The Long Halloween takes place at a time when Batman was still relatively new and inexperienced in his crime-fighting career. In the Story, Batman, with the assistance of Commissioner Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent hunt for a killer who kills on notable holidays, such as Halloween, Christmas, New Years, Mother’s day and so on.

Various members of Batman’s Rogues gallery make an appearance including the Joker, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, and Catwoman, to name a few, and the story also covers the transformation of Harvey Dent into Two-face.

Batman: The Long Halloween is widely considered one of the definitive Batman stories, but saying that it is not one of my favorites as there are numerous plot holes and logic leaps that I find detracts from the overall story.

It is still a very enjoyable read, however, if someone is interested in getting started in the Batman comic series, I would instead suggest Batman: Hush or Batman: Year One as a better starting point.

MOVIE REVIEW – BATMAN VS TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

August 10, 2019 KillerRoboticsBatman, Comic Book, Geek, Movie, Review, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, TMNT2 Comments

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 2019 DC animated movie based on the comic book miniseries Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Freddie Williams II.

This movie is a great deal of fun and is more light-hearted than many other DC animated movies. The version of the Turtles in this movie is a mix between the 1987 cartoon and the Turtles from the comic books by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, keeping the colored face masks from the cartoon but being significantly more violent as in the comic books. It is worth reiterating that Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a lot more violent than the cartoon show, with the Turtles drawing blood in fights and Shredder killing quite a few people, the foot soldiers are also people like in the comic books and not robots as they where in the cartoon.

There are numerous homages to the 1987 cartoon in the movie, such as a scene from the cartoon shows opening sequence recreated in the movie, as shown in the screengrabs below.

Without spoiling the story, it centers around Shredder and Ra’s al Ghul teaming up to execute some evil plan and Batman teaming up with the Turtles to stop them. A great selection of Batman’s rogue gallery makes an appearance, such as the Penguin, Bane, Mr. Freez, Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Scarecrow, and the Joker, and some of them even get a unique TMNT twist. There are some truly amazing scenes with these villains, like when Leonardo is exposed to Scarecrows fear toxin, or when Bane tries to break Donatello’s back the same way he broke Batmans back (It didn’t work out so well for Bane, with Donatello having a shell).

There is also an epic scene where the Batmobile drives side by side with the Turtle Van and another great sequence where the Turtle Van fires manhole covers painted like pizzas, a reference to the 1989 Pizza Thrower Toy.

The voice cast does a fantastic job with Troy Baker voicing Batman as well as the Joker, and although he does an amazing job and has performed these roles before, he never quite reaches the levels of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill.

This movie is a joy to watch, and both fans of Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will love it. It is one of my favorite DC animated movies and one of the most enjoyable movies I have watched this year. Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comes highly recommended and is a must-watch for fans of either of the title characters. And to finish off, it is worth mentioning there is a post-credit scene that might hint at a sequel…

MOVIE REVIEW – BATMAN: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT

October 27, 2018 KillerRoboticsBatman, Comic Book, DC Universe, DCU, Graphic Novel, MovieLeave a comment

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is a 2018 animated movie produced by Warner Bros Animation and DC Entertainment and is based on a one-off graphic novel by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola (originally published in 1989). The story forms part of the DC Else World series which places known characters in different timelines or realities and does not form part of the main DC universe continuity.

The story takes place in a Victorian era Gotham city sometime in the 19^th century, which is strongly styled after London during the Victorian times. The story revolves around a killer, Jack the Ripper, who is terrorizing Gotham city and how the Batman is trying to apprehend him.

Various familiar characters make an appearance such as Poison Ivy, James Gordon and Hugo Strange, but they all take on different roles than the ones we know them for. For example, young Tim Drake, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd are in a street gang known as the Robins.

The movie is beautifully animated as with most DC animated movies and the voice acting is outstanding, Bruce Wayne\Batman is voiced by Bruce Greenwood, who does an exceptional job, however I do always find it slightly jarring when Batman is voiced by anyone other than Kevin Conroy.

This movie is immensely engaging and does a great job of bringing the graphic novel to life. It does have a major plot twist, that I will not spoil, that adds a real sense of surprise to how the story ends.

It is a great movie for Batman and DC Animated Universe fans and is a really enjoyable watching experience.

BOOK REVIEW – BATMAN: THE COURT OF OWLS AND BATMAN: THE CITY OF OWLS

September 30, 2018 KillerRoboticsBatman, Book, Book review, Comic BookLeave a comment

The Court of Owls written by Scott Snyder and The City of Owls written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV, formed part of the New 52 line and was originally published from 2011 to 2012.

The main story focuses on mysterious secret society, The Court of Owls, operating in Gotham city who attempt to assassinate various high-profile individuals, including Bruce Wayne, using a group of highly trained assassins called the Talons.

The story does a great job of building a sense of history, covering several members of past generations of the Wayne Family and even a story focused on Alfred’s father, who served as a butler to Thomas and Martha Wayne when Bruce was a small child.

Gotham City is also fleshed out more than any other Batman story, making it feel like an important character in the story, not just a location therein.

Without spoiling anything, the story progresses at an amazing pace, building tension and mystery at just the right amount, making it a very difficult book to put down.

This story arc was the start of the New 52 Batman reboot and is a classic Batman story with great art work that pulls the reader in. It is a great place to start for people new to the Batman comic books series and is a must read for any fan of the Batman comic.

BOOK REVIEW – BATMAN HUSH

September 15, 2018 KillerRoboticsBatman, Book, Book review, Comic Book, Graphic NovelLeave a comment

hush

Batman Hush is a mainline Batman story arc that was originally published in the Batman Comic between 2002 to 2003, which has subsequently been published in this graphic novel. Hush is a great self-contained story which can easily be picked up by anyone looking for a starting point in the almost endless selection of Batman comics.

Batman Hush is one of the best usages of the Batman Villains’ gallery, featuring a large cast including, the Riddler, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow and the Joker to name a few. The graphic novel tells a great story written by Jeph Loeb, full of twists and a few surprises along the way, it really is one of the classic must read story in the Batman comic series.

The story is beautifully bought to life by the artwork, which is some of my favorite in the long running Batman comic series. The art is the combined work of Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair, being responsible for pencil, ink and color respectively.

I can really recommend this graphic novel if you want to get started in the Batman comic series as it is a great jumping-off point and if you are already reading the series and have not read Hush, then you are really missing out.

BOOK REVIEW – LITTLE NIGHTMARES VOLUME 1 GRAPHIC NOVEL

September 8, 2018 KillerRoboticsBook, Book review, Comic Book, Graphic Novel, Little NightmaresLeave a comment

Needless to say, this graphic novel is based on the game Little Nightmares and contains the first 2 comic books in the series. The series was initially announced to consist of 4 comic books, however at the time of this post book 3 and 4 unfortunately appear to have been cancelled.

Anyone who has played Little Nightmares will know that the world of the game is a dark and mysterious place, with a lot of unanswered questions. This graphic novel builds on this world and provides some additional bits of information about the greater world that was not directly shown in the game.

I really like the ascetics and feel of Little Nightmares and part of its appeal is this sense of unknown, and the graphic novel does not spoil this, providing just enough information to get the reader more curious. For example, the comic books explain how the kids end up on The Maw, the fictional ship on which the game and its DLC takes place, but gives no additional details about the mysteries surrounding the Maw itself.

The graphic novel is beautifully illustrated with amazing artwork, in line with the graphic style of the game.

It is however important to mention that this graphic novel will not make sense to someone who has not played the game. It is very much a companion piece to the game and builds on the world that was established therein. But if you played Little Nightmares and loved the world it built then this will be a great read.

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