Posts Tagged ‘ Catwoman ’

…I’ve been crazily busy this week so I haven’t even been able to do the pull lists, let alone the quick reviews of the DCnU books, or anything else that I actually want to do, like, I don’t know, writing. The next few weeks don’t look too much better and this might be a bit of a drought through NYCC. I hope not, but we’ll see.

In any case, just a few quick thoughts on this week…

- Fringe is back tonight!

- I quite liked Catwoman. I get why people wouldn’t, but not one thing in the book seemed out of place with a Catwoman in my head (as opposed to the one I stopped reading about when Gotham Girls or whatever it was called started, on account of it being crappy). it’s not like Bruce and Selina haven’t had sex before, and the only real change is that now they don’t seem to know each other’s secret IDs so they keep the masks on. I have no problem with it. Now, is it a suitable entry point for a series that could have attracted a bunch of teenage girl readers if done right? That’s a whole other question…

- Similarly I have no problem with Starfire liking sex. Why? Because lots of people I know like sex. It’s fun. Not everyone is into monogamy, and the fact that readers are commenting that ‘she’s a whore’ or a ‘slut’ or whatever is more about them forcing their standards onto what they read. The same could be said, I suppose, for Red Hood etc etc writer Scott Lobdell and his editors – but I just happen to agree that just because people enjoy having sex doesn’t make them bad people. Oh, and another thing – she’s an alien so why on earth would she subscribe to human traditions or whatever? I actually enjoyed the comic. Again, not a good jumping on point but it worked for me – and honestly, I never liked Starfire anyway. She’s up there with Cyborg and Raven as ‘most boring DC characters ever’ for me.

- What else, what else? A lot of this week’s DC books were really, really quick reads. One that wasn’t was the Deadman-starring DC Comics Presents. I’d recommend that to new readers. Supergirl, too, although that was probably the quickest read of them all.

- I thought NuFacebook annoyed me before Mark Zuckerberg announced all the additional stuff yesterday. Now I may consider Google+ as an actual alternative – except I know that the majority of my friends and family will never move of Facebook at this point.

- I am becoming obsessed by collecting points on cards to use to get flights, and the like (so things like American Express points). I suppose that it’s just one step on from collecting comics, right?

- I’ll be going to NYCC this year, probably for at least some time on all four days but it occurs to me that I’m probably not going to be going to that many comics panels. My wife and son may be putting in an appearance (although as he’s not two yet it may be a bit overwhelming for me), and my niece – who’s an artist – is going to be hanging around too.

- I’ve been reading Becky Hawkins’ site recently (Frenchtoastcomix), mostly because she emailed me a pdf of her new minicomic, Coffee and Beer Money, and it’s really good. I don’t spend half as much time as I should reading stuff like this online, so feel free to point me towards places I should go.

This update was not as quick as it was intended.

It looks like The Dark Knight Rises‘ version of Selina Kyle isn’t averse to a little petty larceny, just like her cat-loving comics namesake – at least assuming that’s a stolen Batpod she’s riding in her first official image:

Granted, you can’t see much beyond the fact that Anne Hathaway’s in skintight leather straddling a big bike, but magazines have been founded on much flimsier ground than that. I actually quite like the image.

She’s also got some funky goggles.

They’re obviously high-techy (because they’ve got funky little blue lights and a crosshair thingy, so they must be, right?), and that’s a start but they’re not quite this funky:

Just sayin’.

Warner Bros has announced that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle (interestingly, the name ‘Catwoman’ doesn’t appear in the release) in the upcoming third (and apparently final) Christopher Nolan Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises.

Additionally, they have stated that the much-rumored Tom Hardy will be playing Bane in the movie, and not Hugo Strange as was rumored. Hardy starred in Nolan’s Inception earlier this year (and he absolutely ruled in it, too).

They do say a ‘new interpretation’ of Bane – so it seems he won’t simply be the muscle in this. Then again, even if he is, I’d say Tom Hardy can show that he’s willing to bulk up impressively for a role…

The press release in full:

Warner Bros. Pictures Announces Anne Hathaway for Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises”

BURBANK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises.” She will be starring alongside Christian Bale, who returns in the title role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Christopher Nolan stated, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story.”

In addition, Tom Hardy has been set to play Bane. “I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies.”

Christopher Nolan stated, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story.”

In addition, Tom Hardy has been set to play Bane. Nolan said, “I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies.”

Nolan will direct the film from a screenplay he wrote with Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Nolan will also produce the film with his longtime producing partner, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven.

“The Dark Knight Rises” is slated for release on July 20, 2012. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Tuesday seems to be developing into the day I post my reviews so…

Batman and Robin #2 – Another good issue, and I know this is being overwhelmingly positively reviewed but…(and you knew there’d be a but)…I really don’t like Damien and that’s souring the whole book for me. I understand that I’m not supposed to, but when there’s very little likable about a character, why bother reading about them?

Batman: Streets of Gotham #1 – Better late than never! A good set up issue, but I need more Hush like I need an axe in the head. I know that he’s become Dini’s pet bad guy over the past year or so, but let it go already. The Manhunter back-up was a good start to Kate’s Gotham adventures, but had very little weight to it.

Gotham City Sirens #1 Nice art, but once again there’s very little of note going on. Catwoman’s weak as a kitten (ho ho) so decides to set up house with Ivy and Harley, because obviously nothing could possibly go wrong with that – and that’s about it. Sure there’s a random bad guy thrown in but…that’s it.

Green Lantern Corps #38 – Good, but underwhelming intro to Blackest Night. The Guardians continue to be bastards, and nobody really seems to mind aside from Kyle and Guy. Suspect that’ll come back to bite them in their little blue asses.

Justice League: Cry for Justice#1 – Nice art, shame about the cliched writing. Every character wants “…Justice!”, which appears to be another way of saying “…Revenge!”. Overwrought, over played, and distressingly unsubtle. Although it does have a talking gorilla, so there’s that.

Agents Of Atlas #7 – I’m teetering on dropping this, as much as I like it. I’m just not sure where it’s going exactly. Right now, it feels oddly directionless – it seems desperate to define itself by reference to its guest stars. Next issue may make it or break it, Gorilla Man or not.

Amazing Spider-Man Family #8 – As good as ever, and per Bleeding Cool, not exactly cancelled, which is good news.

Captain America Reborn #1 – I don’t even have an opinion on this. It reads well, it looks good, it makes some sense…but I need to let it play out a little more before I make a decision one way or the other on the book. Something just feels iffy to me, using time travel as a plot point – even if it was heavily telegraphed in the early days of this volume of Captain America. And if that was Steve pulled out of time, who was buried in his coffin?

Fantastic Four #568 – Splash pages galore as the Marquis of Doom and his hooded disciple knock the team around a bit and then Reed shows him what a real man is. And then Reed gets the crap kicked out of him by a whole bunch of alternate versions of the Torch, the Thing and Sue. What? Ridiculous, borderline incoherent, but a very good looking book.

Invincible Iron Man #15 – Good issue, if a little light on action – but the plot moved forward nicely anyway. It’s the first time that the loss of Tony’s memory and intelligence hit on an emotional level, too, with a simple “Who’s Happy?” showing just how bad things are getting.

Uncanny X-Men #513 – Pointless posturing as Norman Osborn consolidates his power and clumsily muddles through some exposition as he introduces his own team of X-Men, and Cyclops ponders his next move. Honestly, I don’t know how this is the same guy writing this and Iron Man right now.

War Of Kings #5 – Continues to be an example of how to do a crossover right. And, of course, it all seems to boil down to the two leaders duking it out. I’m intrigued for what’s next for these characters, and hope that we get an Inhumans regular series out of it, or at least something starring Ronan and Crystal, who are really the break out stars of the story.

I also picked up Buffy but haven’t a chance to read it, so next week for that. I know, you can’t wait!

…only this time Dick is Batman! See what I did there?

I enjoyed Battle for the Cowl in a Jerry Bruckheimer-type way; I won’t spend too much time thinking about it but I’ll probably look at it again to look at the pretty pictures.

I’m a little disappointed that absolutely nothing in the series was unexpected, but at this point I’m keen to move forward with the new status quo. I’m not entirely sure I like Damien as Robin as he’s never been portrayed as anything but a snot-nosed brat (and last time we had one of those as Robin, it didn’t work out so well).

Still, at least Tim’s keeping his own book as Red Robin (well, presumably) and I’m holding out hope that Steph’s going to be Batgirl - which does make me wonder what’ll happen to Cass.

So to summarize: there’s a new Robin.

There’s a new Azrael series starting up.

There’s a new Batgirl.

There’s a new ‘bad girl’ book.

The old Robin is moving off on his own to a new identity.

And Dick’s Batman.

It’s like the 90s all over again!*

*Yes, I know Tim debuted in 1989. Give me a break! It’s not like I compared Streets of Gotham to Gotham Central!

Nice art though.

Via

It’s another pretty big week, but you may notice that at least Trinity is off the list now…

Batman #685 – The second part of Dini’s final Hush/Catwoman story. And the cover’s great:
Faces of Evil: Kobra - I’ve been enjoying these one-shots, and I’ve always kind of liked that Kobra has become a stand-in for any religious zealot you can name. I’ll at least flick through it.

Final Crisis #7 – Finally, the end of the Final Crisis where we’ll learn the Final Fate of Batman. Will this happen? Guess it depends on what happens in…

Final Crisis: Revelations #5 – Thoroughly disappointing mini. A shame as I had high hopes.

Justice Society of America #23 – Finally, all that Kingdom Come malarkey is over and done. And Black Adam’s back!

Legion of Super Heroes #50 – Final issue. Shooter’s return was underwhelming but all in all I enjoyed it.

Superman #684 – Epilogue to New Krypton (which was kind of ‘meh’, ending aside) as Clark mourns his father. I’m expecting a laugh-fest.

Amazing Spider-Man Extra #2 – I like these little snippets and teases of future storylines, but some of the stuff from #1 hasn’t happened yet…

Avengers The Initiative #21 – The disassembling starts – and Clor returns because that’s what we’ve all been waiting for.

Captain America #46 – Namor!

Fantastic Four #563 – Thing gets hitched (or at least engaged – what would Alicia say?), 1985 gets crammed in, Doom’s bad assedness gets distilled and any form of continuity gets ignored. Yep, Millar’s still on the book.

Incredible Hercules #125 – Love and War concludes. This book’s awesome.

New Avengers #49 – Luke Cage makes a deal with the devil. Because it worked for Spider-Man.

Nova #21 – Along with Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Britain and Hercules, this is one of Marvel’s highlights right now.

X-Force #11 – The backstory of a villain we’ve barely met is supposed to be

Young X-Men #10 – I’m going to miss this book even if noone else will.

Proof #16 – A downtime story – usually the series’ best issues so I’m looking forward to this.

Nuff said.

Via Neil Gaiman’s blog.

Bat-artist Tony Daniel has the solicits for Batman: Battle for the Cowl #1 over on his blog.

The three issues will have three interlocking covers which will have different characters. Of interest here – no Tim Drake (I’m guessing he’ll be front and center of #2 or #3), Batman’s trainer Wildcat shows up, and Batbrat Damian (or is it Damien?) is still in his own Robin outfit, adding fuel to speculation that he’ll be Robin when all’s said and done.

Oddly, as unsatisfying as RIP was, I’m actually really looking forward to this…

He made a story starring Hush good.

And he used that bloody robot dinosaur that’s been in Bruce’s cave since God-knows-when.

You know, that happy ending might only have lasted a night, but I like to think that somewhere out in the DC multiverse, they retire, live happily ever after and have lots of little Huntresses.

Well done, Mr Dini, well done. Countdown may have sucked, but Detective Comics has been really rather good.

Say what you like about Alex Ross’s irritating tendency to idealise the Silver Age (and let’s face it, it’s not like he’s alone there), but the man can paint.

And for the record, I’m okay with Selina becoming a villain again if that’s what it takes for the character to get her edge back.

From Batman #685 via.

Over at OS, Val comments on the Daily Telegraph story that Cher may be poised to play Catwoman in the next Batman movie…

Can I just ask: why, sweet merciful Jesus, why?

For the love of all that is holy, no…

Actually I don’t credit the article too much weight as – at least as far as I know – Nolan hasn’t even agreed to a third film. Even so…no. Just no.

If you want an older, crazy Catwoman, I hear Sean Young is available…