DC Comics from Lunar Distributors for March 8, 2022

DC COMICS:

Batgirls #4 (Cover A Jorge Corona), $3.99
Batgirls #4 (Cover B Michael Cho Card Stock Variant), $4.99
Batgirls #4 (Cover C Jonboy Meyers The Batman Card Stock Variant), $4.99
Batgirls #4 (Cover D Paulina Ganucheau International Women’s Day Card Stock Variant), $4.99
Batgirls #4 (Cover E Rian Gonzales Card Stock Variant), AR
Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries #12 (Of 12)(Cover A Dario Brizuela), $2.99
Batman Urban Legends #13 (Cover A Kim Jacinto), $7.99
Batman Urban Legends #13 (Cover B Karl Mostert & Trish Mulvihill Variant), $7.99
Batman Urban Legends #13 (Cover C David Marquez Variant), $7.99
DC Horror Presents The Conjuring The Lover HC, $24.99
DC Poster Portfolio Dark Nights Metal TP, $24.99
Detective Comics #1056 (Cover A Irvin Rodriguez), $4.99
Detective Comics #1056 (Cover B Lee Bermejo Card Stock Variant), $5.99
Detective Comics #1056 (Cover C Puppeteer Lee The Batman Card Stock Variant), $5.99
Detective Comics #1056 (Cover D Jorge Fornes Card Stock Variant), AR
Future State Gotham #11 (Cover A Simone Di Meo), $3.99
Future State Gotham #11 (Cover B Mike Bowden Card Stock Variant), $4.99
Green Arrow Stranded TP, $9.99
I Am Batman #7 (Cover A Ken Lashley), $3.99
I Am Batman #7 (Cover B Francesco Mattina Card Stock Variant), $4.99
I Am Batman #7 (Cover C Dike Ruan Card Stock Variant), AR
Joker #13 (Cover A Giuseppe Camuncoli & Cam Smith), $5.99
Joker #13 (Cover B Kim Jacinto), $5.99
Joker #13 (Cover C James Harren), $5.99
Joker #13 (Cover D James Stokoe), AR
Justice League Vs The Legion Of Super-Heroes #2 (Of 6)(Cover A Scott Godlewski), $3.99
Justice League Vs The Legion Of Super-Heroes #2 (Of 6)(Cover B Travis Moore Card Stock Variant), $4.99
Naomi Season 2 #1 (Of 6), $3.99
New Teen Titans Volume 13 TP, $29.99
Nubia And The Amazons #6 (Of 6) Trial Of The Amazons Bana-Mighdall Tattoo, AR
Nubia And The Amazons #6 (Of 6)(Cover A Alitha Martinez)(Trial Of The Amazons), $3.99
Nubia And The Amazons #6 (Of 6)(Cover B Kyle Baker Card Stock Variant)(Trial Of The Amazons), $4.99
Nubia And The Amazons #6 (Of 6)(Cover C Juliet Nneka International Women’s Day Card Stock Variant)(Trial Of The Amazons), $4.99
Superboy And The Legion Of Super-Heroes Tabloid Edition HC, $39.99
Superman Action Comics Volume 1 Warworld Rising TP, $16.99
Superman Son Of Kal-El #9 (Cover A Bruno Redondo), $3.99
Superman Son Of Kal-El #9 (Cover B Travis Moore & Tamra Bonvillain Card Stock Variant), $4.99
Superman Son Of Kal-El #9 (Cover C Janaina Medeiros International Women’s Day Card Stock Variant), $4.99
Superman Vs Lobo #3 (Of 3)(Cover A Mirka Andolfo), $6.99
Superman Vs Lobo #3 (Of 3)(Cover B Daniel Warren Johnson), $6.99
Teen Titans Academy Volume 1 X Marks The Spot HC, $29.99
Titans United #7 (Of 7)(Cover C Cat Staggs International Womens Day Card Stock Variant), $4.99
Trial Of The Amazons #1 (Of 2) Themyscirans Tattoo, AR
Trial Of The Amazons #1 (Of 2)(Cover A Jim Cheung), $4.99
Trial Of The Amazons #1 (Of 2)(Cover B Rose Besch Card Stock Variant), $5.99
Trial Of The Amazons #1 (Of 2)(Cover C Team Jen Bartel Card Stock Variant), AR
Trial Of The Amazons #1 (Of 2)(Cover D Rafael Albuquerque Card Stock Variant), AR
Trial Of The Amazons #1 (Of 2)(Cover E Rose Besch Fluorescent Ink Card Stock Variant), AR
Y The Last Man Compendium Volume 2 TP, $59.99

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: THE BATMAN

The Batman (2022)

Running time:  175 minutes (2 hours, 55 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language, and some suggestive material
DIRECTOR:  Matt Reeves
WRITERS:  Matt Reeves and Peter Craig (based on Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger)
PRODUCERS:  Dylan Clark and Matt Reeves
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Greig Fraser (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  William Hoy and Tyler Nelson
COMPOSER:  Michael Giacchino

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION and DRAMA/MYSTERY

Starring:  Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell, John Turturro, Andy Serkis, Peter Sarsgaard, Jayme Lawson, Gil Perez-Abraham, Alex Ferns, Rupert Penry-Jones, Hana Hrzic, Charlie Carver, Max Carver, Luke Roberts, Stella Stocker, and Barry Keoghan

The Batman is a 2022 superhero action-drama from director Matt Reeves.  It is the eighth film in the modern Batman film franchise that began with director Tim Burton's 1989 film, Batman, and it is a reboot of the Batman film franchise.  In The Batman, a sadistic serial killer begins murdering key political figures, forcing Batman to investigate his city's hidden corruption, which may involve both his father and mother's side of the family.

The Batman opens on Halloween.  The Gotham City mayoral race is in the final stretch between incumbent Mayor Don Mitchell Jr. (Robert Pattinson) and challenger, Bella Reál (Jayme Lawson).  A sadistic new serial killer, who calls himself "The Riddler" (Paul Dano), murders Mayor Mitchell.  Thus, begins The Riddler's wave of murder and terror.

The Batman (Robert Pattinson), a vigilante who has operated in Gotham for two years, works alongside Lieutenant James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) of the Gotham City Police Department, much to the chagrin of many rank and file officers and higher-ups in the department.  They discover that with each of his murders, The Riddler leaves a message for Batman.

Batman is really reclusive billionaire, Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson), who obsessively protects Gotham.  So focused on his mission is Bruce that he pushes away his loyal butler and mentor, Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis).  However, Batman ends up partnering with Selina Kyle ( Zoë Kravitz), a waitress who is something of a cat burglar – a “Catwoman” – who is trying to find her missing roommate and girlfriend Annika (Hana Hrzic).

The Batman will be forced to reckon with Gotham City's hidden corruption and also face tough questions about his late parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne's (Luke Roberts and Stella Stocker) involvement in that corruption  Especially, troubling is Thomas Wayne's connection to a notorious Gotham crime lord, Carmine Falcone (John Turturro).

The Batman is a film that borrows liberally from the recent film and comic book past of Batman.  I recognize story elements borrowed from Batman comic book stories like “Batman: Year One” and “Zero Year.”  There are allusions to Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film; even composer Michael Giacchino's score seems to reference composer Danny Elfman's score for Burton's film.

However, director Matt Reeves, in making The Batman, seems obsessed with or bewitched by director Christopher Nolan's hugely popular Batman films:  Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), referred to as “The Dark Knight trilogy.”  Nolan's film were “dark” and edgy in terms of subject matter, plots, and characters, but Nolan filled the films with invigorating and tense action set pieces.

The Batman is just dark.  It is as if Reeves took Nolan's aesthetic and through a coal black filter over it.  The Gotham City of this film seems like a real-life city, and it is dark as all Hell at night and damp – really damp.  Reeves and his co-screenwriter, Peter Craig, fashion a story that is overwhelmed with political corruption and depraved criminals that are dark in personality and even darker in motivation.  Bruce Wayne is morose, as if both actor Robert Pattinson and Matt Reeves are determined to make him a caricature of the caricature that has become iconic rock musician, the late Kurt Cobain.  It is an utter waste of Pattinson's potential as both an actor and a movie star.

On the other hand, Pattinson's Batman has more layers.  Pattinson makes him formidable and dangerous, but also introspective and capable of mercy.  This Batman is also a fierce fighter, but is physically vulnerable; Bruce's body is marked with the scars of his Batman activities.  Batman is often knocked down by his opponents in hand to hand combat and seriously injured by gunfire.

Too bad that The Batman does not have better villains.  They aren't really worth talking about, but I do want to point out the really terrible version of The Riddler that is in this film.  He is a whiny, boring incel, and as The Riddler, actor Paul Dano is more doofus than diabolical.

The Batman does have good supporting characters, but the script does not give them much with which to work.  Zoë Kravitz is full of fire and talent as Selina Kyle, and when she is allowed to show her acting chops, she steals entire scenes.  Most of the time, however, it feels like all the filmmakers really want her to do is pose and look bad-ass slash alluring.  James Gordon is a mostly one-note character, and even the supremely talented Jeffrey Wright cannot make the character be more than that.  I won't get into how much the brilliant Andy Serkis is wasted as Alfred Pennyworth.

The Batman is truly at its best during the fights, chases, and action scenes.  The film also gives us a monster-like Batmobile that is more muscle car than mobile, and when Batman uses it to pursue the Penguin (Colin Farrell) in his car, the film seems to explode off the screen.

What keeps The Batman from being a really good film, to say nothing of being a great film, is that it is too long.  It is half kick-ass action and half plodding melodrama, and I wish the plodding melodrama had been cut in half.  Honestly, I would only recommend The Batman to people who enjoy watching Batman movies, regardless of whether they are comic book fans or not.

B

Friday, March 4, 2022


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: GEIGER #3

GEIGER #3
IMAGE COMICS/Mad Ghost

STORY: Geoff Johns
ART: Gary Frank
COLORS: Brad Anderson
LETTERS: Rob Leigh
EDITOR: Pat McCallum
COVER: Gary Frank with Brad Anderson
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jeff Lemire; Lee Weeks; Gary Frank
32pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S. (June 2021)

Rated “T+/Teen Plus”

Geiger created by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank

“Fallout”

Geiger is a new comic book series from writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank.  Published by Image Comics, Geiger is set on a dying Earth in the years after a nuclear war ravaged the planet.  Colorist Brad Anderson and letterer Rob Leigh complete the series' creative team.

Geiger is set 20 years after the nuclear conflict known as the “Unknown War” ravaged the planet, turning Earth into a dying world.  In the state of Nevada, desperate outlaws battle for survival in a world of rapidly disappearing resources and supplies.  In Boulder City, Nevada, there resides the fearsome man known by many names:  Joe Glow, The Meltdown Man, and the Walking Bomb, to name a few.  But before the war, he was simply a man named Tariq Geiger.  So who or what is Geiger, now?

As Geiger #3 (“Fallout”) opens, a flashback reveals Tariq's past life when he began his fight against cancer.  Back in the present, Tariq, now known as “Geiger,” has saved two siblings, Hailee and Henry, from Nightcrawlers.  What will he do with these kids … when all he wants to be is alone?

Meanwhile, another flashback reveals Geiger's first encounter with the young King of Camelot and his Knights.  With this King spoiling for revenge, Geiger may have to take a serious look at whatever these two children's plans are.

THE LOWDOWN:  As first issues go, Geiger #1 was mostly an introduction, kind of like a prologue.  It introduced the title character, Geiger, giving readers a look at who he was in the past and a glance at who he is now.  Geiger #2 went inside Las Vegas.

With Geiger #3, Geoff Johns begins to excavate the heart of the character drama and the passion of old grudges and conflicts.  It feels like the third issue is the first one with some real emotion in the story.

In this third issue, Gary Frank's pencil art captures the emotions, passions, and hotter blood of the relationships of the past that shape the present of Geiger's narrative.  Frank conveys the evil and petulance of the fake boy king in a way that strikes out at the reader, while he reveals Tariq/Geiger in layers that finally opens up the character to readers.  Brad Anderson's colors, however, keeps this “revealing” from dispelling the mystery by painting color and shadow in equal measure.

I'm all in on Geiger now, and I highly recommend it.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Geoff Johns and Gary Frank will want to check out Geiger.

A

[This comic book includes a preview of Ordinary Gods #1 by Kyle Higgins and Felipe Watanabe.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/geoffjohns
http://www.madghost.com/
https://twitter.com/1moreGaryFrank
https://twitter.com/ImageComics
https://imagecomics.com/


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

BOOM! Studios from Diamond Distributors for March 2, 2022

BOOM! STUDIOS

JAN220805 BUCKHEAD #4 (OF 5) CVR A KAMBADAIS $3.99

JAN220807 BUCKHEAD #4 (OF 5) CVR C FOC REVEAL VAR PARK $3.99

JAN220746 JIM HENSONS STORYTELLER SHAPESHIFTERS #1 CVR A DEL MUNDO $4.99

JAN220747 JIM HENSONS STORYTELLER SHAPESHIFTERS #1 CVR B MANHANINI $4.99

JAN220749 MAGIC THE GATHERING (MTG) #12 CVR A MERCADO $4.99

JAN220750 MAGIC THE GATHERING (MTG) #12 CVR B HIDDEN SPARK INTERMIX $4.99

NOV210778 SAVE YOURSELF TP $14.99

DEC210815 SOMETHING IS KILLING CHILDREN SLAUGHTER PACK (BUNDLE) #2 $39.99

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Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for March 2, 2022

DARK HORSE COMICS

JUN210351 HELLBOUND TP VOL 01 (MR) $17.99

JAN220368 MANOR BLACK FIRE IN THE BLOOD #2 (OF 4) CVR A HURTT (MR) $3.99

JAN220369 MANOR BLACK FIRE IN THE BLOOD #2 (OF 4) CVR B BRERETON (MR) $3.99

JAN220348 RADIO SPACEMAN #1 (OF 2) $3.99

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Dynamite Entertainment from Diamond Distributors for March 2, 2022

DYNAMITE

JAN220578 BOYS #3 DYNAMITE PLATINUM FOIL ED VAR (MR) $19.99

JAN220501 DIE!NAMITE NEVER DIES #1 CVR A FLEECS $3.99

JAN220502 DIE!NAMITE NEVER DIES #1 CVR B PARRILLO $3.99

JAN220503 DIE!NAMITE NEVER DIES #1 CVR C SUYDAM $3.99

JAN220504 DIE!NAMITE NEVER DIES #1 CVR D LEIRIX $3.99

JAN220505 DIE!NAMITE NEVER DIES #1 CVR E COSPLAY $3.99

JAN220506 DIE!NAMITE NEVER DIES #1 CVR F BLANK AUTHENTIX $3.99

DEC219398 DIE!NAMITE NEVER DIES #1 CVR Q FOC BONUS MCFARLANE HOMAGE BI $3.99

DEC219399 DIE!NAMITE NEVER DIES #1 CVR R FOC PARRILLO ULTRAVIOLET $3.99

DEC219400 DIE!NAMITE NEVER DIES #1 CVR S FOC LEIRIX ULTRAVIOLET $3.99

JAN220566 HELL SONJA #3 CVR A PARRILLO $3.99

JAN220567 HELL SONJA #3 CVR B LEE $3.99

JAN220568 HELL SONJA #3 CVR C YOON $3.99

JAN220569 HELL SONJA #3 CVR D LINSNER $3.99

JAN220570 HELL SONJA #3 CVR E COSPLAY $3.99

DEC219408 HELL SONJA #3 CVR L FOC WIZARD HOMAGE JAMIE BIGGS ORIGINAL $3.99

DEC219409 HELL SONJA #3 CVR M FOC QUALANO ORIGINAL $3.99

DEC210659 JAMES BOND HIMEROS #5 CVR D FRANCAVILLA LTD VIRGIN $50.00

DEC210660 JAMES BOND HIMEROS #5 CVR E GUICE LTD VIRGIN $50.00

MAY210845 JOSEPH MICHAEL LINSNER DAWN BUST STANDARD ED $129.99

DEC210680 NYX #4 CVR I BESCH LTD VIRGIN $50.00

SEP210599 REANIMATOR ETERNAL LIE CVR C HERBERT WEST $50.00

SEP210600 REANIMATOR ETERNAL LIE CVR D SKULL $50.00

NOV210546 REANIMATOR WORLD CTHULHU ETERNAL CROWDFUNDER CVR A $50.00

NOV210547 REANIMATOR WORLD CTHULHU ETERNAL CROWDFUNDER CVR B $50.00

DEC210700 RED SONJA BLACK WHITE RED #7 CVR I SWAY LTD VIRGIN $50.00

DEC210701 RED SONJA BLACK WHITE RED #7 CVR J HESTER LTD VIRGIN $50.00

DEC210723 SHEENA QUEEN JUNGLE #4 CVR A PARRILLO $3.99

DEC210724 SHEENA QUEEN JUNGLE #4 CVR B BESCH $3.99

DEC210725 SHEENA QUEEN JUNGLE #4 CVR C SUYDAM $3.99

DEC210726 SHEENA QUEEN JUNGLE #4 CVR D LINSNER $3.99

DEC210727 SHEENA QUEEN JUNGLE #4 CVR E COSPLAY $3.99

DEC219415 SHEENA QUEEN JUNGLE #4 CVR N FOC TMNT HOMAGE HAESER ORIGINAL $3.99

DEC219416 SHEENA QUEEN JUNGLE #4 CVR O FOC PARRILLO ULTRAVIOLET $3.99

DEC210721 VAMPIVERSE #6 CVR J MUSABEKOV VIRGIN LTD $50.00

DEC210722 VAMPIVERSE #6 CVR K HETRICK LTD VIRGIN $50.00

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IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for March 2, 2022

IDW PUBLISHING

DEC210518 GI JOE A REAL AMERICAN HERO YO JOE $7.99

JAN220476 STAR TREK DISCOVERY ADV IN 32ND CENTURY #1 (OF 4) CVR A HERN $3.99

JAN220478 STAR TREK MIRROR WAR CAPTAIN LA FORGE CVR A RODRIGUEZ $3.99

JAN220479 STAR TREK MIRROR WAR CAPTAIN LA FORGE CVR B EBENEBE $3.99

AUG210579 TMNT ULTIMATE COLL TP VOL 06 $29.99

DEC210543 TRANSFORMERS BEAST WARS #13 CVR A SIDVENBLU $3.99

DEC210544 TRANSFORMERS BEAST WARS #13 CVR B PHILLIP JOHNSON $3.99

JAN220493 TRANSFORMERS BEST OF MEGATRON $6.99

NOV210422 VOICE OF THE FIRE 25TH ANNIV ED SC NOVEL (MR) $14.99

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