cahubble09

November 15, 2011 12:59 am Does it count if one of Madrox's dupes dies? That is a possibility ... if one of his dupes were to die, they would technically be a member of X-Factor ...

November 12, 2011 12:34 pm I believe so. If memory serves me correctly, she'd already completed most of the art for her arc when she was at Denver's ComicFest last spring.

November 12, 2011 12:31 pm Maybe J.H. Williams taking over writing duties from Rucka has altered this book in a way that some folks no longer find it interesting. Frankly, I find Kate Kane a more compelling female character than Catwoman and Starfire. If you drop it now, you'll deprive yourself of Amy Reeder's art on the second arc. ;D

November 12, 2011 12:22 pm Technically they're all "new". ;D I don't think this character has ever appeared before, but issue #2 left me with the impression that he and Bruce have known each other for decades. I suspect we'll see a retcon origin at some point. Although the phrase retcon doesn't work anymore does it because the entire continuity is new. hmm ...

November 12, 2011 12:19 pm @jonny: right there with ya. Red Robin was one of my favorite titles. @robbyd: I loved Damian's growth and development as a character in Grant Morrison's hands. What they're doing with him right now is really bothering me, because if he turns bad, it's Bruce's fault entirely, IMO. @Ken: yeah ... but didn't you love Tim's origin story?

November 12, 2011 12:16 pm @TheRealVenom: Damian is one of the more complex, interesting, compelling characters in comics today, and I wouldn't limit him by describing him as an amalgam of Dick, Jason and Tim. This volume of Batman and Robin is unfortunately subjecting us to a character regression so that they can examine the tension between Damian and his biological father. We have already covered this ground with Grant Morrison's volume when Dick and Damian were paired as B&R. By the end of Morrison's run, I felt that Damian was a fairly authentic, realized character. Now we're stuck going through that entire process again (an unfortunate side effect I suppose of the New 52 reboot). The added dynamic of Bruce being Damian's "father" doesn't necessarily persuade me as Bruce has always been described as an adoptive father of his "wards". Hopefully this won't last longer than the first arc. You might find more enjoyable reading in back issues or trades of Grant Morrison's run on Batman and Robin (2009) #1 - #16. I don't know what titles the trades are listed under.

November 11, 2011 3:29 pm Right ... we get that ... but do you think they're bringing in NEW readers? Have they fundamentally altered the dynamics of this market? I'm not hearing that locally. Looking at the long-terms sales six to twelve months from now compared to historical figures (http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales.html) will give us a better sense than being unreasonably giddy over what may be a momentary boost in sales from the reboot. Of COURSE we're going to see a bounce in sales right now. That's a given because DC has completely reset their entire line. I'm still not seeing any evidence that NEW readers are entering the market, and since neither DC nor Marvel will release digital sales figures, no one can see if they're successfully building a new niche market via digital platforms.

November 11, 2011 1:10 am LOL ... hardly a true believer ... just not a believer in the hype that DC has been dishing out. The fact is that they haven't fulfilled what they set out to do, which was to bring NEW readers into the market. They marketed this deal to existing readers, and obtained very little coverage (relatively speaking) OUTSIDE of the niche media that follows the industry. And my LCS certainly doesn't report any NEW readers. They report a lot of old folks that they haven't seen in awhile. And the content in some of these books is hardly new reader friendly ... certainly not YOUNG new reader friendly. It isn't about waiting long enough for a fail Burritoclock. It's about doing what you say you're going to do. And on that score, the entire endeavor is a big fail. The fact is that DC's "New 52" has done nothing to alter the fundamentals of this market. NADA. Marvel at least is attempting to develop a digital market far more intelligently, by developing strategic partnerships with other companies that can help them create NEW points of entry for NEW, DIGITAL customers. To cite just one example, when you walk into Starbucks and log onto the internet while you're in the store, the first thing you see is an offer of free access while you're in the store to Marvel digital comics. Are souped up latte drinkers likely comic readers? Yup ... the next thing you'll see are free downloads of comics printed on those little cards at the register that offer free songs each week. I'll be curious to see how else they try to BUILD a digital market. @thehangman: I'm hardly a partisan of the comic book war that you seem to perceive. I read as many DC books as I do Marvel books. This isn't a rivalry issue, it's about revitalizing the industry--and DC's New 52 was a major fail in terms of changing the fundamental dynamics that are ailing this market.

November 9, 2011 11:51 pm well duh ... let's check again six months from now ...

November 6, 2011 10:40 pm Imagining word balloons with, "pachew!" and "skoosh" and "blam" and "boom" and "zat-zzzaatt" strewn around those pages of freakishly gorgeous artwork and thinking including them would have been horribly ill advised.