Trying to get ahead of the Batman deluge that is sure to come with the new movie’s release, I opted to snag a selection of Bats-related quotes this week. OK, maybe the Batman coverage became oversaturated weeks ago, but I’m thinking otherwise for the sake of this column. And if you are sick of Batman already, skip to the end of the collection for a few non-Batman quotes.
“Sure, a lot of it may not have aged well – all of the Ronald Reagan scenes, for example – but no-one can deny how good it is to see Bruce Wayne come out of retirement to kick some mutant ass and save the world.”
- Graeme McMillan assessing Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns (1986) as well as compiling a list of Batman must reads
“For industry watchers, I suppose this provides another example of the theory that DC’s various editorial offices don’t much communicate, and even try to keep story points secret from each other.”
- J. Caleb Mozzocco noticing that, other than the Batman RIP logo slapped on the front, Detective Comics #846 has next to no connection to the Grant Morrison storyline in the main Batman book
“I want a Riddler that hurtles out of the shadows to cast his puzzle-nets, and makes impossible escapes that even the Batman can’t decipher. A King of Conundrums whose schemes trap the Caped Crusader in their dark twisting labyrinthine depths: plans within riddles within riddles within plans.”
- Zom detailing what would make an engaging Riddler story (at least from Zom’s perspective…)
“All-Star Batman celebrates its 3rd anniversary this month: 9 issues in 3 years. Who gives a shit? I don’t; they don’t; it doesn’t matter. No one’s losing their jobs over All-Star Batman, ala Bill Mechanic & Fight Club.”
- Abhay Khosla ranting about a thing or two…follow the link
“I’m interested in fostering serious discussion about the over-use of photography in cartooning. Photography. Cartooning. Two different disciplines.”
- Frank Santoro painting a picture of how concerned he is about the over-use of photography and trying to avoid mentioning “Alex Ross” so as to not distract people from his actual topic of interest.
“And of course, it’s sad that Archie’s award has to be posthumous. We lost a lot when we lost that guy.”
- Mark Evanier, one of the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing selection committee members, commenting on the selection of Archie Goodwin (along with Larry Lieber) as this year’s two honorees
“Elsewhere I’ve been listening and reading with interest as comic fandom in its many guises pays ‘tribute’ to Michael Turner. Has there been one podcaster or blogger who hasn’t prefixed their tribute to the man with the words ‘His art wasn’t to my taste, but…’?”
- Dom Sutton observing a trend that I also ran across in seeking quotes about the passing of Michael Turner. Be sure to visit Spurgeon’s collective memory for more Turner tributes (to better keep my commitment from my last column)
“Muriel was a second mother to some of us during our years at the school, offering not only all she did that was essential to the school, but constantly extending personal, emotional and inspirational support to us whenever it was needed. Muriel went above and beyond daily for many of us. She also made sure we knew how vital WE were to the school, to Joe, and to her — and through Muriel, we also came to know and love the rest of the family. And that, indeed, was a gift.
Simply put, Muriel was amazing.
It was a privilege to know her for a time, and to be part of (and beneficiary of) the school she and Joe poured blood, sweat and soul into. Muriel changed my life irrevocably for the better — it’s heartbreaking to say ‘goodbye,’ and I can only imagine what a loss this is to Joe and the family.
God bless.”
- Stephen R. Bissette remembering the vital role Muriel Kubert played in his education (and many others’) as well as lamenting her passing this past week
July 14th, 2008 at 4:17 am
I also think that the Riddler could play a much bigger role as a Batman villain, if he hadn’t gone good that is.
As for the Michael Turner comment, what are these people supposed to say. When someone as famous (at least in the comic community) dies are they supposed to ignore it just because they didn’t particularly like his work? So they mentioned they didn’t like his work, but they did admit he had talent and was extremely devoted to his fans. They said positive things about him despite not being a fan of his work. I personally didn’t see anything offensive about anything I’ve seen, but I guess I could see how it could be seen that way.
July 14th, 2008 at 8:51 am
“trying to avoid mentioning “Alex Ross” so as to not distract people from his actual topic of interest”
Or could be talking about any number of comics that cut and paste in photo backgrounds or even have constructing whole panels or pages with reworked photos. That’s before even mentioning artists who work directly over photographs they’ve either taken themselves or seemingly just Google image searched. It’s gotten really east to do “realistic” and comic art has suffered greatly because of it in my opinion.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:16 am
While it’s fair to say that calling the current story in Detective a tie-in to RIP is a lie, it’s not because the editors and writers are not communicating. Both Batbooks have the same editor, and it’s clear that Dini knows what’s going on in RIP, and is using it in a very vague and distant way.