Batman faces down Hush and his cronies with Robin and an odd ally: Bane. Nightwing and Red Hood deal with Joker. And Batgirl goes to talk to her dad, which leads to a confrontation with Batman. Batman #161 is written by Jeph Loeb, penciled by Jim Lee, inked by Scott Williams, colored by Alex Sinclair…
Somehow, as we near 200 episodes, we still stumble across holes in our coverage. He’s appeared in a lot of stories we’ve covered, but we have never done an episode purely focused on Penguin stories. So this week, we remedy that. We’re reading Penguin’s first appearance, the story that changed him from supervillain to mobster…
Imprisoned inside Ark M, Batman will not give in. He will not give in to the experiments. He will not give in to the privations. He will not give in to Bane. He will escape. Absolute Batman #10 is written by Scott Snyder, drawn by Nick Dragotta, colored by Frank Martin and lettered by Clayton…
Superman was pretty great, huh? We wanted to keep the good times rolling this week with an episode featuring characters other than the big guy who appeared in the movie. I really wanted to do a Batman/Mr. Terrific team up, but outside team settings, there aren’t really any, so we instead went with a classic…
Each week, ComicsXF staff offer their recommendations for what to read. New comics come out Wednesdays. See your local comic shop for more info. And if you own a local comic shop and would like to sponsor the CXF weekly Staff Picks, email contact@comicsxf.com. Penn’s pick: Warriors and a Wee Wonder #1: What happens when…
We live in the age of reboots. Is there a TV series from the ’80s and ’90s that does not have some new version on a streaming service or even a network (I’m not taking shots here, just stating facts. I’m an old, and have been enjoying the Matlock reboot starring Kathy Bates). But as…
As Batman’s hunt for the killer in Gotham’s Rookery district verges on obsession, he dives deeper in, learning about the past of an erstwhile ally and leaving him open for the killer’s strike. Batman: Dark Patterns #8 is written by Dan Watters, drawn by Hayden Sherman, colored by Triona Farrell and lettered by Frank Cvetkovic. Matt…
The birth of the new DC Cinematic Universe… DC Extended Universe… DC… ah whatever the hell they’re calling it, kicks off on the big screen this week with the debut of James Gunn’s Superman film, so we’re obviously tying in because SEO is a powerful thing. We have three more stories of the World’s Finest…
Each week, ComicsXF staff offer their recommendations for what to read. New comics come out Wednesdays. See your local comic shop for more info. And if you own a local comic shop and would like to sponsor the CXF weekly Staff Picks, email contact@comicsxf.com. Adam’s pick: Marvel Swimsuit Special #1: Roxxon Comics is at it…
Batman faces down the mastermind behind all his recent woes, the terrorist Ra’s al Ghul, as Harley Quinn storms the TV studio and Scarecrow does … something. It’s a series finale that may or may not (almost definitely may not) answer all your questions in Batman ’89: Echoes #6, written by Sam Hamm, drawn by…
The revolving doors of any prison or mental health facility in Gotham City are running jokes, and rightly so; they can’t keep a D-lister like Ratcatcher locked up, let alone someone like the Joker. But they do keep winding up back in custody, so there has to be story potential there, right? This week’s episode…
Hunting for the kidnapped Harvey Bullock, Batman finds the secret organization called Elixir has another victim: The Penguin. Batman and Penguin must work together to find Bullock and escape Elixir. Detective Comics #1,098 is written by Tom Taylor, drawn by Lee Garbett, colored by Lee Loughridge and lettered by Wes Abbott. Will Nevin: Let’s talk…
Doug Moench wrote Batman stories for about a decade over the course of his runs on the character. And while his Bat work is probably best associated with his collaboration with Kelley Jones, generally his best known collaborator is penciller Paul Gulacy, with whom he defined Shang-Chi over at Marvel. That isn’t to say he…
Waylon Jones is missing, and Batman has discovered he has been taken to the black site outside of Gotham, Ark M. Batman must find his friend, but he faces a threat like he has never encountered. Enter: Absolute Bane. Absolute Batman #9 is written by Scott Snyder, drawn by Nick Dragotta, colored by Frank Martin…
The evolution of representation of queer characters in mainstream superhero comics is something that entire books can, and should, be written about. So I’m not going to wax rhapsodic about all the changes here, but it’s June and thus Pride Month, and so we’re back with queer Bat characters. First we wrap up Greg Rucka’s…