incorrigibly frivolous (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
usuallyhats) wrote2012-11-01 01:03 pm
usuallyhats) wrote2012-11-01 01:03 pm
Entry tags:
"i'm here in an angry capacity"
I was all ready to be enthusiastic about the first issue of Li'l Gotham, because it was adorable and featured a) Damian trick or treating and b) a black haired girl wearing what is clearly Steph's Batgirl outfit: even if she wasn't supposed to be Steph (and I can totally buy that Steph would think that it would be HILARIOUS to dress as a Batgirl cosplayer for Halloween), it implies that Steph exists in that world, which is a cause for celebration if you're me. But then I read that the black haired girl was originally blonde - and she was, you can still see the original art in the Buzzfeed preview - and that some people were saying she was blonde when they bought the comic and only became black haired later on, and now I just want to break things. What a petty thing for DC to do.
NB the very first comment on the post where they announced this series was "In before Dan Didio notices Steph's in there and orders the entire series cancelled." HOLLOW LAUGHTER. (I am also impressed at DC's unerring ability to annoy me just as I'm thinking about buying the first Demon Knights collected edition. This is about the third time they've done it. Clearly I will never actually end up getting it.)
NB the very first comment on the post where they announced this series was "In before Dan Didio notices Steph's in there and orders the entire series cancelled." HOLLOW LAUGHTER. (I am also impressed at DC's unerring ability to annoy me just as I'm thinking about buying the first Demon Knights collected edition. This is about the third time they've done it. Clearly I will never actually end up getting it.)
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Ha, well, he did grow up in the circus, so maybe he would think it was funny. :P I bet Alfred would be amused by the whole thing. And probably have to hide so that Damian wouldn't realize anyone thought he was funny and go looking for knives, haha.
At least if they'd done that, it would've been consistent retconning.
That's a fair point, because it is a bit weird for Dick to be old enough to be running around as Nightwing by himself and Barbara to still be comfortable calling herself Batgirl. Although I think there was some length of time pre-reboot when that was true? Because I have Nightwing: Year One from the library (although I've not actually read it) and it appears to have Barbara in her Batgirl suit on the cover as well.
there's this really creepy bit where Alfred takes Bruce to see Tim's gymnastic performance and points him out as a potential new Robin
That does sound really creepy, and kind of not like Alfred.
I guess I only knew broad-strokes versions of the Robins' origin stories anyway, but that's kind of weird that they felt like they needed to change them. Especially things like Bruce not taking Dick in--that's kind of a big thing. The 0 issue of Batman and Robin was, I think, supposed to serve a similar purpose to Batman and Son, and so Damian comes to Bruce in a very similar way (and with some panels that must be intentional artistic nods, even), but I don't know how much is the same after that. It's just that it has that at the very end of the issue, and most of it is about Damian's relationship with Talia, and how she sort of teases and withholds who his father is from him while she trains him. It's pretty interesting, and although it never really got into this, it did made me think about how Talia is probably a horrible person for the same reason that Damian is (and I say that with a great deal of affection for Damian :P )--she was probably raised very similarly, and subject to the same kind of pressure and conditioning. As opposed to just being a crazy evil genius, which she sometimes seems.
it's just jammed into a five year timespan
Wait, three Robins in five years? And a Batgirl, too? And she gets shot, and then right after all this, Damian shows up on his doorstep? Why would they do all that so fast? Why wouldn't they give themselves a bigger pre-boot time window? O_O
Thinking about it, it may span SEVERAL continuities of its own!
From what I've heard, it could exist outside of space and time and still not make sense. :P
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*g* I imagine Dick as really enjoying terrible jokes. Possibly as a a defence mechanism, given his name. :D And yes, Alfred would find it all very entertaining. ♥
I think there was a bit of crossover between Babsgirl and Nightwing originally - I remember reading somewhere (probably on tumblr!) that she was never Batgirl when he had the black and blue fingerstripes outfit, but was when he had his discowing costume. I know that she was a fair bit older than him pre-new 52, too. I think she was pretty grown-up when she started calling herself Batgirl: not sure how old exactly, though!
Especially things like Bruce not taking Dick in--that's kind of a big thing.
Yeah, it would change their relationship significantly, I'd think. I'm assuming (and hoping!) he does adopt him later on, based on one of the earlier issues either implying or explicitly identifying him as Bruce's son, but then earlier issues also said Tim had been Robin, so who knows.
but I don't know how much is the same after that
I was under the impression that Damian's backstory was pretty much the same, hurray!
it did made me think about how Talia is probably a horrible person for the same reason that Damian is (and I say that with a great deal of affection for Damian :P )--she was probably raised very similarly, and subject to the same kind of pressure and conditioning. As opposed to just being a crazy evil genius, which she sometimes seems.
Ooh, that's a good point. (I have an idea that I may have read something about Talia's childhood somewhere before, but I can't remember where it was or what it said /o\) Her characterisation seems pretty inconsistent, from what I've read, but I really like that idea!
Wait, three Robins in five years?
Yep, three and a half if you count Tim! Plus Dick being Batman for a bit is definitely still canon. And Barbara had a few years between getting shot and being Batgirl again, I think. It's ridiculously tight. I'd got the impression that they were giving Batman a bit longer than the five years everyone else got (for some reason they've done away with the idea that there were any superheroes before that, on Earth One at any rate), but I think Batman #0 tied it down to five or possibly six. :(
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Ah, okay, that makes more sense then. And yeah, the book I have from the library is one where he is wearing a slightly baffling costume that would not be out of place at a disco party. :P
I am glad Dick being Batman is still canon and Damian's origin story is mostly the same. I was v. worried that they were going to un-canon all that, poor Damian and all his family issues. But still, that's a crazy amount of stuff to go down in five years.
Oh, and the library finally sent me the New 52 Batwoman! The art was really fabulous, but since Greg Rucka isn't writing it anymore, the story was kind of...less good. Bits of it were kind of cliche or melodramatic, I think. It was still good, but not great, but I hear it gets better in the next arc.
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Me too! I'm annoyed at the double standard, but I'm also glad that if we are stuck with this half changed universe, at least some good things survived.
Oh, that's a shame. I'm looking forward to reading it (my library's copies haven't arrived yet), but I'm also slightly worried about what I've heard about Flamebird... At least the art's still good!
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Yeah, I am not familiar with Flamebird, but I was a little bit hmm about the way she was written. The book did still have some really nice bits, though.
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I only know her from a brief appearance in Teen Titans, but I really liked her, and was rather annoyed that she wasn't really taken seriously because she got into crimefighting because she had a crush on Dick, so I was excited to see her in Batwoman. :(
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There wasn't anything about that specifically in Batwoman, but Bette was not super on top of things, either. Which admittedly might be some kind of winking continuity reference to way back when, because the very first Batgirl had her same name and was Batwoman's sidekick and was a bit incompetent.
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Oh, that's a shame. :( I just want Bette to have a chance to shine!
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I hadn't noticed that, but you're right, he is! I suppose when the Phantom Stranger's carrying him it would've looked silly if he was the right size. But otherwise, whoops! :D
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Someone on Tumblr (I think it was nightwingzz, I forget how many z's she has in her name) was saying that Steph is basically working her way up the ladder to being Batman someday, which, YES. Except she may be too well-adjusted to be Batman. :P
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Except she may be too well-adjusted to be Batman. :P
Hee, very probably! And I'm not sure she could take Batmanning very seriously... :D She'll have to be the Nightwing to Cass's Batman instead. ♥
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Haha, yes, that would be perfect! Which, I did finally read Cass' second trade last night when I was meant to be studying for my computer science midterm (heh....) and I am starting to like it more because Cass is indeed great. And the bit when she gets her own cave! It was pretty much just like in Beauty and the Beast when Belle gets her own library. ALL THE FEELS.
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Yay! Really glad it's growing on you. (Good luck with the midterm!) OH CASS. "ALL THE FEELS" is pretty much how I feel every time she shows up. (There's a similar moment coming up in "Kicking Assassins", which I also love a lot.)
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(Bruce would be so, so disappointed if he ever found out that that was how they had all been running Gotham in his absence. Which just goes to show that Bruce needs a vacation that does not involve getting dead through all of time and space. :P )
Thank you for the good luck wishes! And yay for more Cass feels. Although I think I would still have to read a lot more before I get to that one?
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A fair bit, yeah... I read it all out of order so I forget quite how much there is before Kicking Assassins! I'm still working my way through it myself.
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Have you read Batman & Robin: Dark Knight vs. White Knight? I thought there were only three trades with Dick and Damian, but I found it at the library the other day and Dick is indeed subjecting Damian to his bad sense of humor, which is amusing. Damian says he is the "worryingly jolly Batman." Also amusing is Damian attempting to make quips that are equally horrible, but more in a "ten-year-old with a sadistic sense of humor" sort of way. :P
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That's sad that your library is waiting until February. :/
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I'm torn between paperback = cheaper = more money for other stuff! and "but I want it NOW". ;D
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