After Pants tells of his recent trip to NYC for Toy Fair and a 'Late Show' taping, we discuss (spoilers) Batman #17 and New Avengers #3. And with no added charge we also throw in some TV talk on the recent Arrow episode 'The Odyssey'. (1:06:14)
Listen here.
Comments
That said, I think "Death of the Family" was an okay story with a neat atmosphere and damn great art. I liked the lead-up and the first three parts much more than the last two issues, though. If nothing else, however, Snyder's stories really get people excited and get them talking. Even though I think his run has been more inconsistent than most people do, I still very much look forward to every issue because I know that SOMETHING exciting and noteworthy is going to be happening.
And all things considered, I DO think that the ending of Batman #17 was a satisfying ending FOR THAT STORYLINE. But in the "big picture" I just don't think it's satisfying for something that was SO hyped up. Damian and Bruce and Alfred are already back to being REALLY close with each other in Batman & Robin #17 (which is set post-DotF), and Bruce and Dick are shown together on the cover of an upcoming issue of Nightwing. It's worth noting that Bruce's deceit (regarding the Joker possibly having been in the cave, etc.) wasn't something inherent in the character but was rather a sort of retcon that Snyder just created out of nowhere. Like the supposedly ancient Court of Owls, this is a bit of continuity that was created out of nothing -- it happened a long time ago because Scott Snyder suddenly writes that it happened a long time ago. And these story ideas are still cool, don't get me wrong, but they always feel somewhat artificial.
The "family" has had bigger problems before and have recovered very quickly. There's no reason to assume this will be any different. It's all basically going to amount to the Bat-Family ignoring Bruce's call once or twice, tops. So, put it this way: I had a lot of parties with my group of friends during college. One time we had a party and only myself and one other guy could show up. When that happened I didn't freak out and start screaming about "The Death of the Friends!" or anything. So what I'm saying is that I think this "Death of the Family" thing was just a bit too overdramatic and, at times, pretentious. Still a fun story, but... not as substantive as it might seem at first glance.
Capullo's Joker was creepy. Gleason's was just nasty.
I still have the same problem with the main Batman title. Perhaps it's just the grumpy old man that I've become, but I'm still wondering how I could give this book to a kid. My youngest is 14. I'm not sure he could handle this.
If there's a lot of waiting involved, I assume your tendency to get to things early really pays off. Is maybe this where that behavior began?