DC Comics reviews for April 2012
This week’s trio of reviews includes THE FLASH #7, BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #2, and SUPERNATURAL #6. Get ‘em from DC Comics!
Posts Tagged ‘Batman Beyond’
Batman Beyond #1
I loved growing up in the nineties. I received my first GameBoy Color (the yellow Pikachu edition) for Christmas, collected and traded Pokemon cards, and watched hours and hours of cartoons—including one of my favorites to date, Batman Beyond. Seriously, its teenage street slang has been assimilated into my lexicon. I’m a big traditional Batman fan—I like my Batman square-jawed, brooding, and as little Goddamn as possible—but the clever and catchy premise of Batman Beyond was always too good to pass up.
So consider me one of the many excited fans who jumped at the idea of a series revival—even if that long overdue return arrived on the pages of a comic book instead of a television screen. But just about every fan, however faithful—and I have two feet on board here—has the right to express concern about whether the source material is being treated properly, with all the respect and careful attention it deserves.
The greatest insult to the series would be to let it stagnate. Batman Beyond #1 writer Adam Beechen is perhaps trying too hard to maintain the show’s legacy and keep fans happy. Let me set the record straight. Seeing Terry McGinnis punching Jokerz in the face while rattling off words like “dreg” and “slagged” is a nice trip down memory lane, but it’s not going to make me a happy fan—and that shouldn’t be enough for my fellow cartoon enthusiasts, either. Beechen’s first issue has the “feel” of Batman Beyond—speeders, fancy ear piece cell phones, and a cameo by the Justice League of the future—but trying to copy everything that made the show popular is only going to make fans want to pop in a DVD. To make a Batman Beyond a successful comic book, writers will have to do some thoughtful reinventing without deviating from the original spirit of the show.
Easier said than done, right? Of course, Beechen isn’t the only one shouldering that responsibility. Ryan Benjamin has his work cut out for him as an artist. Some of his panels fit with the futuristic, cyberpunk look present in the television episodes (the concluding page, namely), and he nails a few characters (the Justice League and Gordon), but he isn’t bridging the now aged animation style from the nineties with the detailed rendering of characters in comic books nowadays. A cartoonish approach is fine, but the comic needs a little extra oomph, especially in the character department—just take it from the hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics from Dark Horse. Terry’s jaw and nose are way too angular in the opening splash page, Bruce doesn’t look quite like Bruce should, and the whole McGinnis family and Dana look like they were nervously sketched by someone unsure of their defining facial features. Not to mention Terry’s brother Matt could be Damian/Robin’s twin. The artist is relying too much on the cartoon’s style, reluctant to give these beloved characters a new beginning on the printed page.
Benjamin gets the color scheme right, but that aspect can and should evolve according to different artists’ tastes. As for Terry’s girlfriend, Dana? The sooner she’s gone, the better. Give Terry a fresh start; give him challenges to overcome that would have been considered too mature in theme for a kid’s show. If Batman Beyond is about a new Batman in a new Gotham, then let both evolve already. All the comic needs is a gutsy writer and artist team to take the first and hardest step.
Batman Beyond Returns to Your Batcave
Batman Beyond doesn’t have the same classic edge that The Animated Series did in the ’90s, but I loved it nonetheless. I remember how I would rush home after school to catch the latest episode, and truth be told, I probably caught every one—or close to it. I loved TAS, but I couldn’t get enough of the thought that a brand new series was about to debut on my watch.
Bruce Wayne will always be the one and only Batman. With the post-RIP and Battle for the Cowl pandemonium going on right now in comics, it almost sounds hypocritical to say I disapprove of anyone else wearing the cape and cowl while holding such fond memories for Batman Beyond in my heart. On the show, Terry McGinnis’ father is murdered, and to seek revenge Terry steals the mantle of the Bat from the retired Batman, who later takes him under his wing. So why do I love it? Maybe because the series presents a literal new age of Gotham—a story set in a futuristic Gotham we only got a taste of in classic graphic novels like The Dark Knight Returns. Or maybe the way the new generation of Batman is handled stuck with me: Not by force, or claiming it through bloodshed, or by some eccentric avenger’s hands, but the passing on of the legacy the right way—even if Bruce never intended to burden a successor with his plight. Terry chose the suit for selfish reasons, but he continued to wear it for just ones—forcing Bruce to realize, or perhaps remember, that Batman is much more than his identity. It’s a symbol that helped Gotham, and can help it now, in a time of crisis.
Whatever your reasons for being a fan—maybe it was just the Kevin Conroy/Mark Hamill reunion in the movie version, Return of the Joker—you’ll find new ones and rekindle the old soon enough, because Dan Didio announced Terry’s brief but perhaps extended arrival next year:
There will be a Terry McGinnis mini-series early next year. We’ve heard the fans, we’ve heard everyone’s interest. And right now we’re planning to put out a Batman Beyond mini-series in 2010.
Fans shouldn’t count their bats before they’ve flown just yet, but who knows—a whole new season could launch if the return does well. As for me, I’d love to see Shriek or Spellbinder make a comeback.
Via GeekTyrant
UPDATE: Both Dan Didio for Newsarama and GeekTyrant, consequently, were vague on the subject, but Batman Beyond will be a comic book mini-series—not a television mini. Regardless, I’m picking this up, so expect to see some coverage here on the blog.
