So I finished the Gretel portion of Batgirl's trade and that part...kinda sucked? Why just randomly tack a two comic arc onto the end of an otherwise very focused trade?

With only two chapters the Gretel portion was rushed beyond belief. It concluded very unsatisfyingly and seemingly existed for the sake of a "deep" conclusion to the book. Overall I REALLY liked this trade but the Gretel thing leaves the book going out with a sour taste.

We watched the first 10 episodes to Arrow season 2 today. DAMN!!

Was this the one where two issues were from James Gordon, Jr.'s perspective? Because those two issues were written by another writer because Gail Simone had been fired for a while.

Know what I appreciate? Tim Drake and Stephanie's ship.

Is that still canon? Or is that in the trash like Clark Kent x Lois Lane?

… :cry

Oh, and Bruce Wayne x Selina Kyle is my favorite Batman ship.

No, basically Barbara defeats Mirror, her Mum comes to town and then suddenly Gretel appears who apparently gained the power to control men after being shot (?) and then they fight for two issues and the book ends. So weird. All of the trades in my life have collected just one story at a time, but this just tacks on a random two comic arc seemingly for shits and gigs.

I don't even remember a character named Gretel. I'd say you have the wrong trade, but Barbara's mom showing up messes with that notion.

Was Gretel a Talon?

No, she's literally just a random character who can control men.

It's an odd little arc.

Sorry, I'm a Talia fan. Talia is Bruce's true love.

Sentai approves this.

Exactly, so left field.

In other news, started reading the opening Earth 2 trade and like damn, I almost read the whole thing in a single day. The action is epic, the narrative is playful and I adore the redesigns.

My only real complaint is wow, Alan Scott being gay is really cheap. I have nothing against making established characters gay - I mean it's Earth 2 in the first place for Christ's Sake - but I'm only happy with the change if it's done in a meaningful way and it isn't some cheap novelty to sell comics. Alan Scott being gay is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT about selling comics and it makes no attempt to disguise it at all.

Sam literally gets killed off like two panels, and maybe a single page, after he gets a gay kiss with Alan. Like literally Sam could have been a llama, caused just as much controversy and been just as superfluous. Shit like this is why comics gets a bad wrap.

I've read the first three trades, and I don't even remember her. :lol

I read Batman, Incorporated. It is difficult for me to believe this.

Yay! Another Earth 2 fan! We can start a party with Switchblade, now! :D

Alan Scott being gay is a bit superfluous, but I don't think it's too intrusive. I see it more like his hair being blonde—it's a part of him, but not a big part.

I completely agree with you with Talia, after Batman, Incorporated it is difficult to believe that. I love Batman with Catwoman honestly.

I'm also an Earth-2 fan, I think it's been really slow lately since the new writer has started on it. I also hated one of the deaths in the series too.

Alan Scott being gay is really pointless I mean they got rid of his Boyfriend in the first couple issues so what was the point with even dealing with who he's in to?

I also am a big JSA fan so I really hated how much of the Justice Society got eliminated for Earth-2. Alan Scott's son, Obsidian (who was gay), is one of my favorite characters, so are Hourman, Wildcat, Damage, Atom Smasher, Cyclone, Sandman (Sanderson), Dr. Mid-Nite, Liberty Belle, Citizen Steel, Jakeem Thunder, Tomcat (Wildcat's son), Jade, and more. So pretty much Earth-2 has a lot of catching up to do in my book. I want the Justice Society already, not let's try and stop Evil Superman.

I don't read Batman Inc. In fact, I don't read any of the N52 Batman stuff. For me, Denny O'Neil's stories from the 70s are some of the most definitive Batman stories of all time.

Batman, Incorporated was weird. It was a good story, but it was weird.

And you're missing out on Scott Snyder's Batman.

No I'm not. The N52 turned Bruce Wayne into some sex crazed James Bond type.

… What were you reading? Catwoman?

The main Batman titles has none of that, at least in my limited experience.

You guys realize the whole point of Alan being gay in Earth 2 is a tribute to his son right? When James Robinson was first given the go ahead on the series DC laid out for him that these characters were all fresh starts. Brand new with no baggage or previous continuity behind them. However that sadly meant that both of Alan's kids, Obsidian & Jade, no longer existed.

Obsidian/Todd was a pretty high profile gay character in comics for a time. Primarily because of his struggles to out himself to his family and because of the mental instability his powers caused. For a long time he was written as a kind of sociopath who happened to be gay until Robinson finally got a hold of him and really turned the character around. Obsidian was adavanced far beyond being a trivially gay character. He and his partner even attempted to adopt a child just before the N52 relaunch but they were sadly denied.

In honor of Obsidian and his nullified existence Robinson wanted Alan to at least still carry a part of his character. So Alan was written as being gay. Am I saying it was totally not for money? No. The publicity stunt aspect of it is certainly a factor here. But the overriding reason why it happened was to honor a son that no longer existed. WIth so few prominent positive gay characters in comics these days, Robinson sought to rectify the loss of one thanks to a reboot.

God if Alan was meant to celebrate the now non-existence of a once prominent gay character, it is even worse.

Speaking of New 52 Batman, sex crazed James Bond? :lol What are you reading?! Still though, New 52 Bruce is...not good. Batman seems less faithfully adapted in his own series, than his cameos in....pretty much every title. It's weird.

Another Superman/Batman book? Can't wait :rolleyes

LEVITZ BIDS HUNTRESS AND POWER GIRL A "WORLDS' FINEST" FAREWELL

We just finished episode 14 of Arrow and this season has definitely improved on the first but I do have two issues with it. The first is just a nitpick, but I am really sick to death of hearing them pronounce Ra's' name as Raz!! It is very annoying and was the only negative I had about Nolan's trilogy. The name is freaking Ra's!! Denny O'Neil states it is Ra's. They even mentioned how it should pronounced in Batman Beyond. How the hell do these guys not know how this guy's name is supposed to be pronounced?

My second issue is with Black Canary. I'm not sure if it is just the way she is written, or the actress, but I do not care for her one bit. Her acting comes off stiff and she just does not scream Black Canary to me at all. I also hate her mask.

Aside from that, it has been a great season so far but I am surprised they chose to bring in Nyssa instead of Talia. Well, I hope we get to see Ra's and he lays down the law of how to properly pronounce his name. I do think Michael Jai White makes a great Bronze Tiger though and their version of Clock King was kind of cool.

To be fair, most people can't pronounce Ra's al Ghul correctly. That includes the people who pronounce it "Raish" instead of "Raz."

Except it is not Raz!! They made this quite clear in Batman Beyond. It is spoken as Ray'sh. Plus, Nyssa even said it right after Arrow saved Canary from the poision.

So it seems I was right to be apprehensive about this

Your New Helena Bertinelli For The New 52 In Today’s Nightwing #30 (UPDATE)

Yeah I'm not quite happy about this...

I want a white Static Shock and an Asian Black Lightning now.

I don't think she's meant to be black, its more a tanned skin colour a lot of Italians have.

I want to say you are right, but the hair and from what has been said over at DC, she is now black.

So I finished the first Earth 2 trade and it was...okay. Lots of the redesigns and plays on established characters and stories were very entertaining, and - especially relating to Alan - it had some pretty epic moments but the book felt like it lost a lot of steam after that initial epic first half. Grundy was impressively boring for a villain who was destroying the whole planet while fighting our "Wonders" at the same time.

The artwork was mostly bland and forgettable which was problematic as this book was basically one long fight sequence with very little plot or character moments to take the weight off of the artwork.

I might check out the second trade but if it's a repeat of the first I don't think I'll be taking this much further.

It's not pronounced "Al Ghoul," either, yet everyone pronounces it that way, anyway.

Here's some incentive:

http://media.insidepulse.com/zones/i...2-Dr.-Fate.jpg

Dr Fate was really the only thing that made suffering through Vol 2 worth it. However, the comic is still not that good, but then, unless it has Swamp Thing or Animal Man in the title, it really isn't good at all.

So KRX, what is his last name pronounced then?

I don't know. Justice League Dark is an interesting read. Sword of Sorcery is short but sweet. Talon is incredibly under-rated. Justice League International was fun. And I liked Grant Morrison's run on Action Comics… I think.

I can't properly describe it through the Internet because the sound does not exist in the English language. "Ra's" places a greater emphasis on the "R" than the "raish" pronounciation; "al" is pronounced with a thicker tongue; and "Ghul" is a guttural sound.

JLDark started out good but then it just dropped the vampire story out of the blue in Volume 2 making it completely and utterly pointless and a waste of time.

The Books of Magic story arc was still quite interesting. Then again, I'm easy to please.

But I think more people should take the time out of their day to appreciate Calvin Rose.

You know who's awesome?

This guy:

http://media.insidepulse.com/zones/i...-DC-New-52.jpg

I have high hopes for JM Dematteis's run now that we're done with that neverending Forever Evil sidetrack.

I have no idea who that is.

Calvin Rose, star of James Tynion IV's series Talon. Or, as I like to call him, Calvin Rose, the Man Without Pants!

Oh, right.

That still exists?

It's a good series! :(

I legitimately forgot it existed. Like Batwing, which is apparently also still around.