Interesting project - did you discover any new insights about the run listing them all out like that?
Interesting project - did you discover any new insights about the run listing them all out like that?
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord
Wild how much has changed since Rebirth #1. I wonder if Duke’s inclusion in the first arc was a Snyder mandate. Now that we’re near the end, it’s clear the groundwork TK was laying for him and Clair got changed somewhere along the way.
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord
It's the Dynamic Duo! Batman and Robin!... and Red Robin and Red Hood and Nightwing and Batwoman and Batgirl and Orphan and Spoiler and Bluebird and Lark and Gotham Girl and Talon and Batwing and Huntress and Azreal and Flamebird and Batcow?
Since when could just anybody do what we trained to do? It makes it all dumb instead of special. Like it doesn't matter anymore.
-Dick Grayson (Batman Inc.)
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord
IMO there was a pretty stark shift with issue 9. The key plots of the run start there. And Duke fades into the background. I'm not saying that King pulled a 180 on his first plans, the parts with the proposal with Catwoman I'm pretty sure was part of his original pitch, but I do think he had more for Duke in mind. Which may have been in part to stay focused on Batman. And Catwoman. But I'm largely just speculating here.
Last edited by Pohzee; 11-11-2019 at 09:48 PM.
It's the Dynamic Duo! Batman and Robin!... and Red Robin and Red Hood and Nightwing and Batwoman and Batgirl and Orphan and Spoiler and Bluebird and Lark and Gotham Girl and Talon and Batwing and Huntress and Azreal and Flamebird and Batcow?
Since when could just anybody do what we trained to do? It makes it all dumb instead of special. Like it doesn't matter anymore.
-Dick Grayson (Batman Inc.)
Duke does fade in the background. Though in his early interviews, he mentioned how Snyder has plans for Duke, and he liked the idea of Tim having a year in the cave before he's Robin, comparing Tim and Duke's training directly. So I think it's clear that Duke likely wouldn't have been a huge part of the direct action, and was mostly there to keep him at the forefront until All Star Batman showed up.
The shift in #9, to me, is more of a shift to reveal what's going on. When I first read #1, I felt quite strongly that Batman was acting unusually fatalistically - the "good death" speech. Catwoman's appearance in prison, and then the reveal that she apparently murdered hundreds, to me, explains why he's so "off."
I think you might well be right that there was more in King's mind for Duke...but I think he also has consistently not been a big fan of trying to pull characters from other writers to be "regulars" in his run. So once Snyder made his Metal plans for Duke clear, and then Hill got Outsiders going, he didn't want to really make Duke warp too far from what's going on there. Additionally...quite honestly, I struggle to figure out what someone could really have done with Duke in the middle of King's run. Snyder was revealing his powers extremely slowly and confusingly, he was being bounced from writer to writer (Snyder to Tynion to Patrick to Hill) with massive delays in the plans actually being revealed.
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord
It might still happen in Bat/Cat although at this point any relationship between the two would probably feel a bit rushed and out of the blue.
They might interact again in the last couple of issues. I think it's likely Bruce finds a way to save Gotham Girl at the last minute but I could see Duke maybe at her bedside since it's not looking too good for her.
If Gotham Girl survives I could see her being permanently depowered probably.
I think the most interesting thing I noticed is how much more consistent the artist and story pairings were than I initially thought. While there are still the fill-ins here and there, for the most part the artists stick to their individual storylines, which makes them feel like they can not only stand-out on their own, but also fit over a larger narrative.
Annual #2 and Superfriends are my two favourite stories of the run, and throwing in Elmer Fudd, Swamp Thing, and War Of Jokes And Riddles/Kite Man just elevates this stretch so much!
There's been rumours that every first arc at the start of Rebirth was ghost-written by Geoff Johns (as a way to keep some consistency across the brand), so that may also have to do to why it feels so separated. King has said he believes I Am Gotham is probably the weakest of his work, due to still starting up and trying to get his barring going. Plus directly following it up with a crossover that had to be set-up too.
I do agree that I feel like his run REALLY started in earnest with #9, since that's when Catwoman and Bane's importance come to the forefront, and King's writing style starting to take shape, with the rest being moreso like a prelude.
I think it could be cool if Bruce could save Claire, but I'm not sure if I can see how at this stage.
Duke and Claire are both on their backs right now, one beaten by Thomas, the other by Damian's magic.
That is a really good insight! The nature of comic publishing sometimes magnifies the feelings of unevenness because we sit with them for two weeks or a month, and have so many issues of other comics in between.
Those are pretty good pics! My own favorites are probably #32 and Cold Days, just in terms of impact on me.
I Am Gotham doesn't really feel like Johns - I think it's quite likely that he ran through the story with King, but unlikely that he did any actual dialogue.
I think if you look at I Am Gotham, you can see all the threads he's trying to setup, but #9 is the first issue that really made me situp and say, "WOW." (The rest of the arc was a bit of a letdown, but I still adore that reveal at the end. Which reminds me...I really want to try to find that issue... )
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord
He's back on comics! And it sounds like going back to Bat/Cat!
https://twitter.com/TomKingTK/status...37611189571585
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord
Februarys Solicitations are out and no Bat/Cat.
I wonder when we will see it