CBR: DC Releases Dual Advance Batman Previews

[RonnieThunderbolts]

Here (http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/10/08/nycc-2010-a-first-look-at-batman-the-dark-knight-1-and-batman-incorporated-1/) is a link to several preview images up at DC's official blog, the Source (http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/).

I think that the art in the Batman, Inc. preview looks great. Interesting to note that Batman, Inc.'s logo is "Batman Incorporated," I know I've seen a little speculation whether or not it would be abbreviated, and now we have our answer. I'm not sure what I think about the title logo, it looks okay, but not as cool as the Batman and Robin logo, IMHO.

I'm not as big a fan of David Finch, but I'm willing to go into the series with an open mind. While I'm not thrilled about the pages shown here, they're pretty good and Finch's writing is an entirely unknown quantity. It could be really good, it could be bad, or anywhere in between, and having such a blank slate behind the title makes it a mystery to me. I'll definitely check the book out, but I'm not sure I'll be buying it quite yet. I do like the Dark Knight logo, I think it has something going for it.

Here are some links to the Batman, Incorporated preview images.

Here (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/RonnieThunderbolts/Batman/Previews/Batman%20Incorporated%20Preview/bmtdk16.jpg) is the cover to Batman, Incorporated # 1. And here are preview pages 1 (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/RonnieThunderbolts/Batman/Previews/Batman%20Incorporated%20Preview/bmtdk14.jpg), 2 (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/RonnieThunderbolts/Batman/Previews/Batman%20Incorporated%20Preview/bmtdk13.jpg), 3 (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/RonnieThunderbolts/Batman/Previews/Batman%20Incorporated%20Preview/bmtdk12.jpg), 4 (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/RonnieThunderbolts/Batman/Previews/Batman%20Incorporated%20Preview/bmtdk11.jpg) and 5 (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/RonnieThunderbolts/Batman/Previews/Batman%20Incorporated%20Preview/bmtdk10.jpg).

Here are some links for the Batman- The Dark Knight preview images as well.

Here is what looks to be page 1 (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/RonnieThunderbolts/Batman/Previews/Batman-%20The%20Dark%20Knight%20Preview/bmtdk2.jpg), 2 (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/RonnieThunderbolts/Batman/Previews/Batman-%20The%20Dark%20Knight%20Preview/bmtdk3.jpg), 3 (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/RonnieThunderbolts/Batman/Previews/Batman-%20The%20Dark%20Knight%20Preview/bmtdk5.jpg), 4 (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/RonnieThunderbolts/Batman/Previews/Batman-%20The%20Dark%20Knight%20Preview/bmtdk6.jpg) and 5 (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/RonnieThunderbolts/Batman/Previews/Batman-%20The%20Dark%20Knight%20Preview/bmtdk7.jpg).

[ugdave]

Wow. Awesome look to both of those books.

[Tenacious_AA]

Here (http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/10/08/nycc-2010-a-first-look-at-batman-the-dark-knight-1-and-batman-incorporated-1/) is a link to several preview images up at DC's official blog, the Source (http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/).


Those images of the Dark Knight look pretty awesome... I'm starting to get psyched for it.

Batman Incorporated doesn't impress me anymore then it did.

[Tenacious_AA]

http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/files/2010/10/bmtdk3.jpg
I can't wait to see this in color

[FHIZ]

David Finch can friggen draw. I'm really hoping his story telling pulls through.

[DarkKnghtJared]

The Incorporated preview doesn't really have anything we didn't already know--I assume that the skull-guy's the Japanese villain from the Bat-manga people figured out, and we saw the "Mr. Unknown is Dead" spread before. Still cool, though.

The Dark Knight preview...at least we know homeboy can choreograph a solid fight scene by himself. That's one less thing to worry about. It also looks like Bruce is taking out Croc in a way I'm pretty sure I haven't seen him do before, which is pretty cool. I'm getting a bit more optimistic about this.

[benicio127]

I didn't realize Selina is going to be in Batman, Inc.!

~woooo!!~ Nice to see Morrison will be writing her (finally! and in her current state/costume); hopefully he doesn't do to her what he did to Talia.

[Greenbats]

so far it is looking pretty sweet, I am very eagerly awaiting its release

[AJM]

Everything here looks great . . . except that Incorporated logo. Eugh.

[-BMC-]

Both of these look really great.

Thoughts on Dark Knight - GREAT art, nice to see Croc, hopefully the story is good (I think it will be)

Thoughts on Inc - nice art, awesome morrison craziness right from the start

[AJM]

The Incorporated preview doesn't really have anything we didn't already know--I assume that the skull-guy's the Japanese villain from the Bat-manga people figured out, and we saw the "Mr. Unknown is Dead" spread before. Still cool, though.

Who's the skull guy? I missed that thread.


It also looks like Bruce is taking out Croc in a way I'm pretty sure I haven't seen him do before, which is pretty cool.

Really? I thought it looked almost exactly like the Killer Croc opening (and closing, IIRC) scene from Broken City. Good art, though.

[El Sombrero]

Inc looks gorgeous. I really like Paquette. The title logo is lame and amateurish looking though.

Finch's book is really going to be hit or miss, I can't see any in-between here. The art looks really cool but the fact that he's dedicating the first five pages (at least) of the book to a Batman / Killer Croc fight that will probably have very little to do with the story (he said he wanted to use Croc because "Jim Lee used Croc at the start of Hush") is not a good sign.

[RonnieThunderbolts]

Who's the skull guy? I missed that thread.

That is Lord Death Man, originally a Japanese translation based on the one-off villain Death Man from Batman # 180. Lord Death Man appeared in the Japanese magazine Shonen Ace in 1966. It can be found in the U.S. today easily in the Bat-Manga hardcover with a bunch of other great reprints from the original material produced over there. They were largely retellings of American stories that had been published shortly beforehand, and were sometimes even better, and always had a unique identity and style. They were expertly crafted by Jiro Kuwata, who I believe did the art and writing for the original stories and adaptations printed in Shonen Ace.

It seems like it is another way Grant Morrison is unifying all the different interpretations of Batman by bringing Lord Death Man into mainstream continuity for the first time.

[FHIZ]

except that Incorporated logo. Eugh.

Yeah, I agree. There's time for that to change. I feel like if they just shortened it to "Inc." in a redesign, it'd look better.

[AJM]

That is Lord Death Man, originally a Japanese translation based on the one-off villain Death Man from Batman # 180. Lord Death Man appeared in the Japanese magazine Shonen Ace in 1966. It can be found in the U.S. today easily in the Bat-Manga hardcover with a bunch of other great reprints from the original material produced over there. They were largely retellings of American stories being published shortly beforehand, and were sometimes even better, and always had a unique identity and style. They were expertly crafted by Jiro Kuwata, who I believe did the art and writing for the original stories and adaptations printed in Shonen Ace.

It seems like it is another way Grant Morrison is unifying all the different interpretations of Batman by bringing Lord Death Man into mainstream continuity for the first time.

Ha! I've got the Bat-Manga book here and i didn't even notice that. I found the sections on merchandise more exciting than the stories, to be honest. I found the lettering in the comics to be a little off-putting, wasn't keen on that at all . . . and now that i think of it, there's an explanation / justification about that in there somewhere, isn't there? I'll pull it out later and have a look.

[AJM]

Yeah, I agree. There's time for that to change. I feel like if they just shortened it to "Inc." in a redesign, it'd look better.

I'm hoping it might like better in colour, but i doubt it.

[Lemurion]

At least with Finch's pencils the new Bat-suit doesn't look too bad. Everyone else goes overboard on that never to be sufficiently damned piping and makes it look like crap.

[CBR News]

DC Comics has released a pair of Batman-themed advance previews, offering early looks at November's "Batman Inc." #1 and "Batman: The Dark Knight" #1.


Full article here (http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=28752).

[-BMC-]

I kind of like the Batman Inc. logo. It's very official-looking and like a company logo (which makes sense with the title of the book).

[RonnieThunderbolts]

Ha! I've got the Bat-Manga book here and i didn't even notice that. I found the sections on merchandise more exciting than the stories, to be honest. I found the lettering in the comics to be a little off-putting, wasn't keen on that at all . . . and now that i think of it, there's an explanation / justification about that in there somewhere, isn't there? I'll pull it out later and have a look.

Well, it was originally lettered in Japanese, so it isn't Jiro Kuwata's original lettering. Going from language to language and being redone to adapt a different reading process might effect the way it feels a bit too. I don't know, I recommend them, they're really fun, and now they'll likely be exposed to more people through Batman, Inc.

[Jake V]

The Batman Inc logo definitely has a company logo/business card feel to it, so it works, depending on the coloring of it.

My only concern about the book is that I think it will just end up being a 24 issue limited series. The conceit of the story is so specific that I don't see another writer picking it up once Morrison is done with it. Also, I'm confused as to why this story couldn't have been told in Batman.

But whatever. I'll probably buy it for however long it lasts.

[AJM]

Well, it was originally lettered in Japanese, so it isn't Jiro Kuwata's original lettering.

Um . . . yeah, i had realised that. I was talking about Chip Kidd's choice of typeface – doesn't he try and justify choosing it over traditional comics hand-lettering in his introduction? That's what i meant.

[Hullababy]

Batman Inc. looks great. The logo, although not as cool as Batman and Robin's, makes sense from a story standpoint (and there's still enough time to change it) and Paquette's art looks great.

Still not sure about picking up the Dark Knight. I'll wait for some reviews before giving it a chance.

[Kiryu]

Batman Inc Logo is such a downgrade from B&R :(

The Batman Inc preview looks sweet. More of that B&R Strageness then Grant's initial Batman run had. Awesome.

Dark Knight looks, just boring. Batman kneeling on the edge of a roof looking into an alley in the dark rain. Yawn.

[RonnieThunderbolts]

Um . . . yeah, i had realised that. I was talking about Chip Kidd's choice of typeface – doesn't he try and justify choosing it over traditional comics hand-lettering in his introduction? That's what i meant.

I didn't meant to say you didn't realize that, sorry. I was just starting a line of thought to speculate on why the lettering may not be up to snuff or the usual standard, I didn't immediately recollect Kidd's justification. You're probably correct, I need to reread the non-reprint portion at some point. I read them when I first picked up Bat-Manga, but have only gone back to the comics when I've returned to it.

[Tenacious_AA]

Dark Knight looks, just boring. Batman kneeling on the edge of a roof looking into an alley in the dark rain. Yawn.

Only reply I have for that is:
Boot to the Head!

http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/files/2010/10/bmtdk5.jpg

[DarkKnghtJared]

I didn't realize Selina is going to be in Batman, Inc.!

~woooo!!~ Nice to see Morrison will be writing her (finally! and in her current state/costume); hopefully he doesn't do to her what he did to Talia.

I think the last time he wrote her in "current" continuity, not counting flashbacks or alternate realities, was in JLA. She was in the story that first featured Prometheus, and actually helped the JLA to stop his plan. I remember three great moments from that:

1. She got into the Justice League's moon base, disquised as Daily Planet reporter Cat Grant.
2. She ultimately takes down Promethus by whipping him with her cat o'nine tails square in the testicles.
3. After it's all said and done, and Batman thanks her for the assist, she tries to sneak out with a trinket from their trophy gallery and he tells her to put it back.

So she's a hyper-competant thief with a code of honor, if not a mild kepto streak. I'm sure he won't pull a Talia on her.


Really? I thought it looked almost exactly like the Killer Croc opening (and closing, IIRC) scene from Broken City. Good art, though.

In Broken City Batman stealthly tied Croc by his ankles and hung him upside down by the fire escape. Here, it looks like Batman's whipping some of his rope around the fire escape to bring it down on Croc. The only real similarity I find between the two is Croc's coat and hat.


The Batman Inc logo definitely has a company logo/business card feel to it, so it works, depending on the coloring of it.

My only concern about the book is that I think it will just end up being a 24 issue limited series. The conceit of the story is so specific that I don't see another writer picking it up once Morrison is done with it. Also, I'm confused as to why this story couldn't have been told in Batman.

But whatever. I'll probably buy it for however long it lasts.

I agree on the logo.

As for the book--I could totally see them relaunching it as, say, Batman Family or something, even if they keep the incorporated stuff after Morrison leaves.

[Kiryu]

Only reply I have for that is:
Boot to the Head!

[Img]

Yes, he looked grimly down at an Alley then leaped down to kick someone in the face.

How original.

[Tommi]

I like the in logo and I think it will be great in colour. I have high hopes for the inc. but i have my doubts about the dark knight. I have put down a order for both first issues but at this point im not sure if i can afford 2 more subscriptions.

Just haveto say that i really really hate the batman inc cover.... its so damn boring! B&R have really set a standard on cover art that will be hard to live up to

[Tenacious_AA]

Yes, he looked grimly down at an Alley then leaped down to kick someone in the face.

How original.

So swinging on a clothes line, is just so ... original?

It's a wonder that you read any Batman stories at all.

[Kiryu]

So swinging on a clothes line, is just so ... original?

It's a wonder that you read any Batman stories at all.

Batman will do things Batman does. But beginning a story with Batman kneeling dramatically, looking grimly over an ally, has been done 10000000000 times and is boring.

Sorry you like seeing the same crap over and over again and I don't.

[Tenacious_AA]

Batman will do things Batman does. But beginning a story with Batman kneeling dramatically, looking grimly over an ally, has been done 10000000000 times and is boring.

Sorry you like seeing the same crap over and over again and I don't.

Yeah...very rarely when a ride a Roller Coaster...do I go.."same ol' same"
Batman happens to be my favorite Roller Coaster...
and I even buy those Gallery comics of just Batman poses ...

..those full page splashes of Batman in a stalking stance...
hell yes I love them...

A comic that starts off with action...even better. ..

A powerful criminal being taken down ... right at the beginning of the book ...Oh yeah...

But to each their own...

[Hybrid2]

When did Croc got cured?

Not that I'm not happy to see him back as his old self.

[DarkKnghtJared]

Yes, he looked grimly down at an Alley then leaped down to kick someone in the face.

How original.

I dunno--being mad at seeing Batman kneeling on a gargoyle, flying down and kicking someone in the face is like being mad at Superman flying, or watching porn to see people bone each other. Isn't it kind-of the point? I'd really only be angry if that's all he does in the book, but otherwise, if I started writing/drawing a Batman book, that would probably be my first thing too.


When did Croc got cured?

Not that I'm not happy to see him back as his old self.

You mean cured from being Lizard-Croc in Hush? I think it was in that same story. I seem to remember a line, I think it was during the Riddler reveal, talking about all the villains that he was using, that Croc was injected with something, and that the effects of it were wearing off. He got hit with some sort of steroid thing with a time-window, and by the end he was coming down from it.

[Retro315]

Classic Killer Croc always piques my interest. Wonder if they'll bother explaining his reversion to classic form or if they'll just ignore it. Either way kind of works for me ... I'm just glad to have him back.

Nothing we don't know about Incorporated, no ... but Paquette is a great storyteller. That narrative doesn't even need words. Lord Death Man finds Mr. Unknown's hideout. Kills him. Mr. Unknown's "apprentice" shows up, sees everything, escapes with some cool moves, runs off and finds Batman and Catwoman.

Sounds like a great start to me.

[AJM]

I didn't meant to say you didn't realize that, sorry. I was just starting a line of thought to speculate on why the lettering may not be up to snuff or the usual standard, I didn't immediately recollect Kidd's justification. You're probably correct, I need to reread the non-reprint portion at some point. I read them when I first picked up Bat-Manga, but have only gone back to the comics when I've returned to it.

No problem, all good. I've got a spare few minutes coming up so i'm going to have a flick through.


In Broken City Batman stealthly tied Croc by his ankles and hung him upside down by the fire escape. Here, it looks like Batman's whipping some of his rope around the fire escape to bring it down on Croc.

Um . . .


The only real similarity I find between the two is Croc's coat and hat.

So we have Killer Croc in the same hat and coat, a fire escape, Batman, and some rope. Oh, and it's raining too – sorry, but this opening scene is bordering on plagiarism.


Batman will do things Batman does. But beginning a story with Batman kneeling dramatically, looking grimly over an ally, has been done 10000000000 times and is boring.

I agree, plus see what i've outlined above. But for a minor detail, i felt that i'd actually seen this precise scene before.

Still like the art, though.

[Kiryu]

I dunno--being mad at seeing Batman kneeling on a gargoyle, flying down and kicking someone in the face is like being mad at Superman flying, or watching porn to see people bone each other. Isn't it kind-of the point? I'd really only be angry if that's all he does in the book, but otherwise, if I started writing/drawing a Batman book, that would probably be my first thing too.


I'm not mad and I don't think I expressed that o.O

I am what I am, bored by it. It's the same as a trite Wolverine scene where he roams through the forest stalking a deer, tracking it, being all in tune and in touch with nature. Anyone can go to the same well over and over, I prefer to spend my money on people trying to dig new ones. And that Finch has to start with this overused and uninteresting Batman trope doesn't fill me with a lot of excitement and anticipation or hope for his story telling ability nor make me believe he's coming to the table with some unique and interesting ideas. It feels like he'll be another Tony Daniel.

And I disagree 100% that isn't the point. I don't read a Superman story to see him fly and fight, I read a Superman story to see that character who can fly and fight adapt to new and different situations and experiences. Not the same old crap.

So for my money, Batman infiltrating a supervillains lab to steal a Doomsday weapon with Catwoman in Dubai sounds like a better bet. But I'm not sitting here trying to argue with people who don't want it and prefer....this

@AJM

Oh we see that scene all the time, even the way Batman lands the kick has been done before. It was cool when like, Mark Waid did it and made fun of the trope. In his book Batman does this same thing with Blue Beetle, he spies a villain. Swoops down, the villains runs into Batman and falls down. Batman points at him and the villain screams in horror and gives up the information while Batman goes "Mmhmm, I know you'll tell me."

It was funny and a twist on the classic and overused trope.

[NickFury90]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Morrison writing the first Finch Batman issue?

[Jake V]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Morrison writing the first Finch Batman issue?

He's writing "The Return" one-shot, which is drawn by Finch.

[RonnieThunderbolts]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Morrison writing the first Finch Batman issue?

Not exactly, not of Finch's Batman: The Dark Knight. I think you're thinking of the one-shot, Batman: The Return, which is written by Morrison and drawn by Finch. So, his first full Batman-related issue, but not the first issue of his ongoing series.


He's writing "The Return" one-shot, which is drawn by Finch.

Or, what he said^^

[BigTopTony]

I tend to agree with Kiryu. I may give the Finch a try and it does look good, but I've had my fill of Batman brooding in an alley or on a gargoyle.