My Latest Photoshop Adventures

I've had this idea for quite some time, and I think it's blossoming into a possible project. Either way, i'm booking the HYPOTHETICAL WWE VS. UFC megacard, and it's fun stuff. This is the level of nerd that you are dealing with.

First batch:

this really could turn into something 

i think wrestlemania season has just got me energized...and 2013 was an OUTSTANDING year in MMA

I appprove of winter thus far.

I'm going to miss the polar vortex. THIS is how winter should be. I'm hoping for another snowpocalypse or two.

the hiatus is over.

I'll be back with some more comic reviews and all the other crap that I post about soon.

Immersing myself in Bat-Lore, Part 4

Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.

This is almost always listed at the top of Batman stories, and for good reason. For me, it was enjoyable, but we've kind of seen this regurgitated in the movies and animated series quite a few times at this point. That really shows how seminal this story is. It's always good to know that Batman once seemed vulnerable.

Batman: The Black Glove Deluxe Edition by Grant Morrison, Andy Kuber, JH Williams III and Tony Daniel

Grant Morrison's Batman is the one I was most excited to get into, as I've read some of the later chapters in his extended run, and going back and reading the entire thing is a lot of fun. This is the kind of Batman story I can really dig into. It's complex, layered, and just kind of crazy. Grant Morrison goes back into Batman's history and begins weaving this tapestry that's super compelling. There are annotations online for his run, because it's so in-depth. This is just the beginning of his Batman epic, and it's a great start.

Batman R.I.P. by Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel

This goes with the Black Glove stuff, it's part of Grant Morrison's Bat-Epic. It just gets better honestly. Batman is broken mentally by the entity known as The Black Glove, who appears as his dead father, Thomas Wayne. Fortunately, Batman has devised a backup personality, "The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh" to fight back. It's crazy stuff. Just read it. I can't do it justice here.

Immersing Myself in Bat-Lore Part 3

Wasting no time at all, I finished 4 Batman graphic novels this past week:

The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale.

This was enjoyable. While Jeph Loeb has regressed as a writer in recent years, he was at point very capable and has written some critically claimed and best selling series, this being one of them. As far as plot goes, it was pretty good, although I predicted the ending by the third chapter, I still enjoyed the story. A lot of Batman stories are a bit formulaic in the fact that they are crime/murder mysteries, but the key is in the execution. The writing was fine, but the art is really what stands out. Tim Sale's work on this is magnificent, it perfectly captures Batman's rogues gallery, especially Two-Face and Joker. Overall, a good read, but not as good as critics say.

Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean

The graphic novel that made Grant Morrison very wealthy. This, along with the Killing Joke, Batman: Year One, and The Dark Knight Returns, are all cited as being seminal takes on the Batman mythology. This goes into the back story of Arkham, the infamous asylum that houses Batman's beyond criminally insane rogues. You get an inside look at the terror of this facility as it has been cursed b Amadeus Arkham, the founder. McKean's artwork is suitably creepy, and Morrison always brings the weird. It was enjoyable.

Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

The sequel to the Long Halloween. Pretty good, and it continues the themes and plot developed in "The Long Halloween." Once again, Tim Sale excels. I gotta say, the ending was just okay. However, for me it wasn't as telegraphed as it was in "The Long Halloween."

Batman: Earth One by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank

One of the more recent takes on Batman in my current study, this was REALLY REALLY enjoyable. A great, fresh take on the character that WORKS. Geoff Johns is one of the best writers DC has ever had, and he does not disappoint here. He updates Batman in a way that both makes sense and feels right. The Batman  of Earth One is way more vulnerable and prone to make mistakes. He's still a work in progress, and that is definitely a Batman we have rarely seen. Great stuff here.

Immersing myself in Bat-Lore: Part 2

The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland

This is probably the most widely known Batman story of the last 25 years, and for good reason: Alan Moore wrote it. It's a quality story, for sure, and I feel as if this version of the Joker become the standard, which is to say, we really outlined some of the parameters of his psychosis. The Joker has been in SO many stories since then, and many of them are just trying to live up to or possibly surpass this version of the character. No doubt, it's good stuff, but at this point, I've read and seen so much Joker stuff, I wasn't necessarily blown away by this. It's on all the top 5 best Batman stories lists, and it should be. It's the essential Joker story.

Immersing Myself In Bat-Lore: Part 1

The Black Mirror by Scott Snyder, Jock, Francesco Francavilla.

My quest to find the best Batman stories starts with The Black Mirror, which is a very recent Batman story. Dick Grayson is Batman in this story, which is a significant personnel change. In all classic Batman stories, it's Bruce Wayne. That doesn't take away from the story at all, in my opinion. Snyder really had a grasp on what makes a great Batman story, and he nails it here. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did, but this was a good one. Most Batman stories follow the crime/mystery formula, which you can only do so much with, but this one is actually really good. The art really helps too, as he's got two guys who absolutely kill it. I'd be okay with Jock and Francesco Francavilla drawing Batman FOREVER. The pencils are gorgeous. Actually, the colorist for Francavilla definitely deserves a huge bonus. This book looks GREAT. I sense that at this time in comics, creators generally know what doesn't work and what does work in a Batman story. The character has been mined for DECADES and DECADES and we've seen so many iterations and permutations of him, his rogues gallery, and now it's finally been boiled down to the essential. "The Black Mirror" accomplishes just that: it captures the spirit of the essential Batman story.