Countdown to BvS: 10 Comicbooks To Read Before BvS

Let the countdown begin! We're ten days away from Batman v. Superman! It's time to open those comicbook boxes and look for these comics relevant to the movie. Here is a list of comics that can help you prepare for the movie. These comics are in no way a requisite to enjoy the movie, but these books may have some facts that can give you a deeper analysis of the movie.

1. Batman: Death in the Family

Death in the Family (emphasis provided) is one of those books that every Batman fan should read. Written by Jim Starlin and drawn by Jim Aparo, DITF spotlights the immaturity and the overzealous Robin, Jason Todd. With rumors spreading that the Robin suit in the movie is Jason's, one can only wonder where he is. A lot of people are speculating that the Joker killed Robin in the movies, so DITF is a good prequel before watching the movie.

2. Batman: Earth One vol.1

In the trailers, we've seen Batman operate in a way we've never seen before in the movies. Alfred Pennyworth has taken a more hands-on approach in helping the Dark Knight in his quest to rid the city of delinquents. Even more, this Alfred that we're going to see in a few days is a different Alfred from what we're accustomed to in the comics. Well... not really. Batman Earth One depicts Alfred as a member of the Royal Marines. He took part in a war in the Middle East. There, he lost his leg which Thomas Wayne replaced with prosthetic. 

3. Superman: The Death of Superman

People are wondering why Doomsday is revealed as early as the second trailer. More so, many are confused why WB decided to use Doomsday as early as the first movie. To many fans, Doomsday has only one purpose--to kill Superman. It is hard to disassociate Doomsday to Superman's death because of the ramification that took place in 1992. It was a heartbreaking moment that even CNN covered that story.

4. Batman: Knightfall

Knightfall is a well-thought of story. In fact, it is the only story in the Batman lore that comes up with an equation to defeat the Batman. With the whole BvS team claiming that Batffleck bears the scars of a seasoned crime fighter, this is the best prequel in understanding why the team chose Ben Affleck.

5. Wonder Woman: Spirit of the Truth 

Spirit of the Truth tells the origin of Wonder Woman in the point of view of her mother. Here, Wonder Woman defeats a group of terrorists while advocating women's rights. She is also portrayed in this book as the ambassador for her people.

6. Lex Luthor: Man of Steel (Luthor for brevity)

It looks like Lex Luthor (of Lex Luthor Jr.) is the main villain not just for BvS, but also for DC's Extended Universe. "Luthor" gives a glimpse into the mind of Superman's greatest foe. All Lex wants is to see the downfall of the Last Son of Krypton.

7. Batman Confidential: Rules of Engagement

This is another story that gives Lex Luthor the spotlight. Rules of Engagement, drawn by our very own Whilce Portacio, is about the chess match between Batman and Lex Luthor. This story has many dimensions to it. Not only does it cover a good battle between the two, but it also tackles the corporation rivalry between them.

8. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

In this story, Lex Luthor is the President of the United States and that he declared Superman and Batman as public enemies. Luthor would later on offer a Billion dollar bounty on any hero/es or villain/s who could kill the two. Pitted against heroes and villians, Superman and Batman stood side by side for survival. Bonus: Public Enemies shows flashbacks of Clark and Bruce's first meeting.

9. DC: The New Frontier

New Frontier won an Eisner Award for Best Limited Series in 2004. When faith was lost for superheroes during World War II, a new era of superheroes was formed in order to battle the monsters.

10. Justice League: Origins (New 52)

Origins is a rebooted origin story of the League in New 52. It shows what will happen if these modern superheroes met for the first time. BvS production team also claimed that some of the fight scenes in the movie were taken from this book.

Honorable Mention

The Dark Knight Returns

The BvS team, even the director himself, is very vocal that some of the homages from the movie were taken from TDKR. Plus, this is really a good book to read.

Comics Club Philippines hosts Batman v. Superman Basketball Game

Comics Club Philippines is one of the pillars for the comicbook community here in the Philippines. They have their own forums and a separate page for their buy and sell items. The group is made specifically for comicbook enthusiasts who frequently share their thoughts, collections, and everything about comics.

Last Sunday, March 13, CCP hosted the only Batman v. Superman Basketball game here in the Philippines. The game was held in Gold's Gym Sheridan, Mandaluyong City. It was organized by the admins of CCP--Brian Luna, Nico Deacosta, Ryan Sulit Ericus Soriano, and the rest--together with Garry Reyala.

The teams are composed of members of different groups in the Philippines, but most of them are also members of CCP. To make things more interesting, the participants of the game decided to have their own BvS drift shirts.

 

From the start, Team Batman is already at a disadvantage. With more people choosing the Boy scout, the Detectives decided to wing the competition. During the warm ups, Team Superman had their drills and talked about their game plan. On the other hand, Team Batman decided to shoot around and made fun of Team Supes' dedication to win the game.

Team Batman started the game hot, but Team Superman countered with their mighty grip on the boards. Their rebounding game made it hard for Team Batman to run their offense. Led by Macoy Coching, Team Supes took opportunity of Team Bats' lack of a big man in the middle.

Towards the end of the half, the lead of Team Superman started to grow. With Team Batman down by 15 points, they relied on their hot shooter, Joseph Feliciano and the driving skills of John Provido. Every time Team Batman made their run, Team Superman would always back with second chance points.

In the fourth quarter, Team Batman made their final run by eliminating the 16-point deficit. The comeback started with the many fouls they got from driving to the rim. Down by 6 in the last minute, John Provido was fouled shooting a three-pointer. He made the two free throws but purposely missed the last one in order to get the rebound. Luck may have turned it's side when Team Batman got the rebound. Four seconds remaining, Team Batman is down by 4 when another shooting foul was called. Unfortunately for Team Batman, the free throws was split. The final score was 66-63 in favor of Team Superman.

The game was fun. More than that, it was the camaraderie that made this event epic. CCP is not just a group of geeks who loves reading comicbooks. Fouls were called, elbows were thrown, but at the end of the game, only high-fives and handshakes ruled the court. Over the years, CCP has formed a brotherhood out of reading comics. The basketball game was more than just a game. Many went to watch, many went to finalize their comicbook transactions, and many went to have fun.

The last of the Neal Adams variants

It seems that DC continued with of their promotional stategy in coming up with different monthly themed variants. For the month of February, DC announced that their themed variants would pay homage to the iconic cover art of Neal Adams. The twist, though, is that Neal Adams himself would do most of the covers.

Egoistic it may seem at first, but these homage covers are amazing! Most of them are already sold out, so if you missed out on that opportunity, there are two more Neal Adams variant coming your way.

Justice League of America #8 will pay homage to Adams' iconic Batman #244. This variant by Neal Adams is inked by Bill Siekiewicz and colored by Alex Sinclair. This will be available on March 30.

Second is Justice League: The Darkseid War Special #1. Artist Kevin Nowlan and colorist Nathan Fairbairn, pays homage to Adams' Green Lantern #87. This will be available on April 6.

Chris Terrio's Best Script, and Justice League Part Two's New Script Writter

 

At the early stages of Batman v. Superman production, Warner Bros. Studio hired the Academy Award-winner Chris Terrio to revise the script for the movie. Known for his work in Argo, he is probably the biggest pick-up for the BvS team. As most of the script for BvS was edited (or should I say overhauled), he was also hired by WB to write the script for Justice League Part One.

In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Chris claims that he might not return for Justice League Part Two:

There are many more DC movies to come, including a second “Justice League.” Will you be writing more?

I have written “Justice League Part One,” but I won’t necessarily write “Part Two.” This has been the most rigorous intellectual exercise I’ve had in my writing life. For “Batman v Superman,” I wanted to really dig into everything from ideas about American power to the structure of revenge tragedies to the huge canon of DC Comics to Amazon mythology. For “Justice League,” I could be reading in the same day about red- and blueshifts in physics, Diodorus of Sicily and his account of the war between Amazons and Atlanteans, or deep-sea biology and what kind of life plausibly might be in the Mariana Trench.

If you told me the most rigorous dramaturgical and intellectual product of my life would be superhero movies, I would say you were crazy. But I do think fans deserve that. I felt I owed the fan base all of my body and soul for two years because anything less wouldn’t have been appreciating the opportunity I had.

As there are no confirmation that Chris will indeed leave WB after Justice League Part One, all we can do is appreciate the man's blood and sweat. His concept for the DC Extended Universe is quite astonishing and unprecedented. Batman v Superman is one thing. But just the thought of adding The Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, and Wonder Woman to the mix, man that's something else. Chris Terrio can dig deep into the DC lore.

But we shouldn't worry about this interview. At the other side of the fence, Joss Whedon still maintains his presence in Marvel Studios. Chris can actually do the same thing. He can serve as a consultant for the remaining DC Movies.

But who knows. Batman v. Superman might reach the Billion Dollar mark. All WB has to do is give Chris millions and millions of dollars to keep him under their belt.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

THE DARK KNIGHT 3: THE MASTER RACE #3

Story by: Brian Azzarello and Frank Miller

Art by: Andy Kubert and Klaus Janson

Spoiler-free review

TDKPH rating: 7/10

 

LETS START WITH THE BAD

DK3 is starting to rear its ugly head. As much as I want to believe that DK3 is far better than The Dark Knight Strikes Again, I'm starting to think that its not. With Frank Miller on-board, and with the rumors that he's telling Azzarello what to write, it seems obvious that Miller is getting everything that he wants to happen in DK3. Well, its not that bad, per se, but some of the prominent elements of TDKSA (namely its lack of a coherent theme and direction) is starting to pop out in DK3.

When DK3 #1 came out, many fans were lead to believe that there will be a shift or the torch will be passed to Carrie Kelley. In #1, there was also a change in the paradigm. With the story focusing on Carrie and Supergirl, female superheroes became the center of Miller-verse. We all thought that Master Race starts with that premise. But with issue 3, they sorta regressed and brought back the focus to male superheroes. It was as if issue 1 is irrelevant and has a small role to play in the entire story.

Well at least issue 3 revealed what The Master Race is all about. But with issues 1-3 already out, I think they could've simplified those issues into 1 comicbook. If, in fact, it is true that DK3 is moving in that direction, where the male characters are the focus of the story, then they could've do away with the 1st issue.

DK3 is starting to look like TDKSA and I couldn't bear to see it happen again.

WELL, IT COULDN'T GET ANY UGLIER THAN THAT RIGHT?

Wrong! I can't believe we waited another month for issue 3. The pace of the story is slow as it is. The delay of it being available to the public made it worse.

Also, the mini-comicbook inserted inside used to be a great compliment to the issue. With this month's mini-comicbook, I couldn't say the same. In fact, I was actually disappointed with it. If you're a Green Lantern fan, you would understand what I mean.

There were a lot of plot-holes in this story. It even tried so hard to make a connection between the story in issue 3 and the mini-comicbook inserted in it. The mini-comicbook doesn't feel organic. I thought it was forced and a bit out of place.

AT LEAST THERE'S STILL SOME HOPE LEFT FOR THE BOOK

True! While DK3 #3 had its dull moments, the overall story is still interesting. It showed a lot of emotions especially when Bruce talks about Carrie Kelley. There are moments that it felt like Bruce loves Carrie romantically, but if you read and understand the context of what Bruce is saying, you'd feel that his love for Carrie is nothing like that.

I also like that Bruce explained what happened to him after TDKSA. He kind of gave an explanation why he's operating behind the shadows.

Also, I do think that DK3 is veering away from all that Batman beating the crap out of Superman. TDKR and TDKSA made that a staple for the franchise. But with DK3, I think its the other way around. It is Batman trying to ask for Superman's help. Or is it? (hehe). I guess, we'll find out soon enough.

Ow and before I forget, Kubert's art is starting to look like his again. With issues 1 and 2, it felt like he was trying so hard to make things look like Miller's. But with issue 3, he brought back his art style. And again, his sequences are amazing!

DC Animated Universe (DCAU) - BTAS Demon' s Quest 

February is not yet over! Let's talk about Talia, another great love interest of the Dark Knight in the BTAS episode Demon's Quest.

Demon's Quest is a two part episode of the Batman Animated Series. Written by Dennis O Neill and Len Wein, the animated episode is adapted from O' Neill's own Daughter of the Demon (Batman # 232) story arc. 

The story and Talia was also inspired by another great pop culture icon....James Bond. Specifically the 1969's On Her Majesty's Service and the Fu Manchu fiction. So if you're a James Bond fan you will find similarities with the story...a beautiful girl, a powerful and evil criminal mastermind and a world traveling adventure. :)

The story starts with Robin being kidnapped in his school's dormitory by a mysterious man in a jackal mask. Later, Bruce Wayne returns to the Bat Cave tells Alfred that Robin has been missing for two days. He receives a note from Alfred with a picture of Robin tied up. A mysterious man named Ras al Ghul then steps out of the shadows inside the Bat Cave asking for help as his daughter is similarly abducted. He joins Batman in the search but this was all a test. 

Ras al Ghul is seeking an heir to his League of Shadows and seeing Batman as the ideal candidate and a worthy mate to his daughter, he offers Batman the chance to be by his side.  For me this is one of Batman's greatest temptations...A beautiful wife by his side, a powerful empire to add to his own wealth and a chance for immortality. Batman turns Ras down and Ras in his fury decides to kill Batman and Robin. One thing that saved them is the love of Ras daughter, Talia. 

Demon's Quest is truly a beautiful story of Talia and the League of Shadows. It has the scope and epic scale of Lawrence of Arabia and the pace of the James Bond movies. I highly recommend that you watch this.

Batman Throughout the Years -- The Cat and The Bat

Is it love at first sight? Or is it a match made in Heaven? No matter how you see it, you can't deny the fact that The Cat and The Bat are meant to be together. From their first meeting to the meetings on the rooftops, the level of intimacy between these characters is beyond measure. We already know that they're perfect for one another. But in lieu of Valentine's Day, lets look back at the evolution of Batman's love for Catwoman.

When Catwoman (back then she was named as 'The Cat') first appeared in Batman #1 (1940), she disguised herself as an old lady to steal a jewelry worth half a million dollars. In that story, it was Robin who caught her. After Batman removed her disguise, he was surprised to see a beautiful young woman. Yeah Batman, whats the matter? haven't you ever seen a pretty girl before? Well, it doesn't end there. At the end of this story, Batman and Robin eventually captures her. When they left the yacht, Batman "allowed" her to escape. Robin was ready to respond and go after her, but Batman "accidentally" blocked him. Well, with eyes like that, how can you blame Batman for letting her go? I mean he even forgot he's got a fiancee named Julie Madison.

It didn't take long before these two love birds would meet again. In Batman #2, Batman bumps unto Catwoman and suddenly recognizes those beautiful eyes. He even gave her a compliment by saying that she's the prettiest jewel thief in the business. Man, Batman fell hard for this woman! In this story, he also let Catwoman get away with the jewel cast. But to be fair, he saved Robin from being poisoned at the expense of letting Catwoman escape.

Wait what!? Isn't Robin a minor?

When Batman #3 was released, fans were beginning to think Catwoman is more than just a guest appearance in every Batman comicbook. As her third straight appearance in the book, she steals a kiss from her protector, Batman. And at the end of the story, Catwoman dreams of a reality where she's beside Batman all day long.

 

A few issues later, Catwoman would again kiss Batman for saving her. This time, she kissed him just because she wanted to and not because she wanted to escape.

 

And yeah, Batman was left mesmerizing after that kiss.

During the Silver Age, DC Comics gave Batman a lot of love interests that are borderline weird. One of which was with Batwoman--Kathy Kane. This is not the lesbian Batwoman that we know now. But in any case, this was a weird love team because they had no chemistry. They were simply crime-fighters who were forced (by the writers) to become lovers. Man, don't even get me started with Batman and Bat-Girl! Towards the end of the Silver Age, they were matching Batman with Barbara Gordon. Man, that was REALLY weird! Good thing it didn't take long before DC realized how sick that was. It was then and there where they tried to bring back Catwoman as Batman's love interest.

In Batman #197, Catwoman tries to compete with Batgirl by reforming and fighting crime to get Batman's attention. In the same issue, she proposed to a partnership with Batman (well, actually more than just a partnership) but the latter said that he was already satisfied with the way things are (referring to Batgirl).

Many thought that it was the perfect love story (or at least better than Twilight). You have a trouble maker who was willing to change just for love. She wanted him, but he had other priorities. But then again, a leopard (in this case, a Cat) cant change its spots.

After pitting Batman to make a choice, I guess that was the moment Catwoman crossed the line. She reverted to her criminal ways thus making it easy for Batman to make a choice. The only good thing that came out of this issue was that Batgirl guaranteed everyone--even Catwoman--that she doesn't have any interest in Batman (oh good Lord!).

This is where things gets complicated. Throughout the years, the relationship between Batman and Catwoman can be categorized as a love-hate relationship. Some times, Catwoman is depicted as the party who is madly in love with the lead male. However, when Batman is the one showing his love for her, she's the one who reciprocates it with hate. In Batman #256, Bruce realizes the curse of caring for someone.

This love-hate relationship would go on for years! It is only during The Hush Saga where their relationship would progress. While looking for Poison Ivy, Batman encounters Catwoman and an enraged Killer Croc. This skirmish ended up with Batman saving Catwoman from the clutches of Killer Croc. Later on, Catwoman realizes that she hasn't properly thanked Batman for saving her life countless of times. Batman tells her to stop advancing but he eventually gives in and accepts the romantic kiss.

After Hush, it seems like their relationship was going strong. With panels like these from Catwoman (vol.3) #31, how can you not root for them to end up tying the knot?

Heart of Hush only strengthened the argument that Catwoman was the only person whom Batman loved. With lines like this, how (again) can you deny the fact that these two characters are made for each other?

For a second, I thought he was Mr. Darcy

That was supposedly the penultimate line that culminates Bruce and Selina as the greatest love story ever told. But DC decided to reboot their universe (thanks a lot DC). We'll, i'm not really complaining. Although their relationship in the New 52 universe is light years away from where they were in the pre-New 52 universe, we still got some panels like these:

And here's a little bonus for y'all. Guillem March, the artist for Catwoman, pitched this idea to DC but the latter didn't approve of it. After their hardcore "fun time," (yes, I didn't show you guys the intense panels where they're really passionate at what they do hehe) Catwoman finally discovers who Batman is. In the New 52 Universe, Selina has kissed both Bruce Wayne and Batman in different occasions. With those kisses, she deduced that Bruce Wayne is Batman. So, because of this, Selina went to Wayne Manor... and started to STRIP!

You don't believe me? hehe. Here's the link to Guillem March's page :)