Batman Is So BAD It’s Embarrassing & Comic Recommendations

Chip Zdarsky's Batman is beyond saving at this point. This weeks Batman #149 is so bad it's embarrassing to DC Comics and Zdarsky that they wouldn't even publish it. Thankfully there are some great comics to recommend this week. DC and Marvel deliver big with Ultimate Spider-Man, Wolverine Blood Hunt, Green Lantern and Nightwing. Indie comics released several great books like Destro, GI Joe, TMNT and Uncanny Valley. Wes and Drew talk about the enormous dump that is Batman #149 and recommend awesome books from DC, Marvel and indie comics. Batman is so bad it's embarrassing and comic book recommendations.
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Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:30 Batman #149 Is Embarrassing
4:37 Destro #1
6:19 GI Joe: A Real American Hero #307
8:20 Uncanny Valley #3
10:06 TMNT: The Untold Destiny of the Foot Clan #4
12:02 Ultimate Spider-Man #6
14:09 Wolverine: Blood Hunt #2
16:05 Green Lantern: War Journal #10
18:07 Nightwing #115
Contact Thinking Critical:
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#marvel #dccomics #comicbooks

[@jackhowe6]

It occurs to me that they ordered Zedarsky to restore the Batman to baseline before he left, and Zedarsky took that in the spirit of "You're fired, you have to train your replacement before you go".

[@matthewschwartz6607]

Huh? He’s still on the book.

[@jackhowe6]

@matthewschwartz6607 yes, he's in the "put the Bat back to baseline" phase.

[@krisj827]

This is the result of DC listening to casuals. I'm ok with character growth as long it doesn't take the key elements of what makes the character great. Killing off Alfred was a bad move and it shows in the current Batbooks.

[@briandoyle1168]

That and i wasnt a big fan of Thomas wayne giving the Go ahead as someone that wanted his child to have a better life ...... but somehow willing to kill their shared family and grand children .

[@anthonywhite9258]

Isn't it about time to dump Alfred's dead body into a Lazarus Pit.

[@valeriavitale1290]

True. Things went downhill for the whole batfamily after they killed Alfred.

[@beastdude507]

Reject modernity, Marvel and DC, embrace pulp and indie

[@CoreyAdolfi]

Sounds boring.

[@bujindork]

Nah ill stick with the big 2

[@EvandroACruz]

Embrace mangas.

[@brandonryan8177]

Also keep the Classic dc and Marvel issues safe.

[@leandronc]

I've done that for a while now, best decision I ever made in comics.

[@cheeseburgersuperior1874]

this isn't batman. this is just...MAN.

[@brucesmith2143]

Worst then that it's MAN BOY

[@mr.selfimprovement3241]

Exactly

[@brucesmith2143]

@mr.selfimprovement3241 and It unfortunately sink into Good batman story like Arkham post Origin and Asylum era and the Batman and dark knight films Is like what the clone sega and one more day did to Spiderman

[@austinmitchell8367]

More like WTF MAN

[@eon1014]

Why is MAN trying to be Batman? Is he stupid?

[@r33s3m2]

I get being tired of the Alfred homage, but if you think about it. Everyone who has interacted with Bruce/ Batman has also interacted with Alfred at some point. I haven't read a DC book in a few yrs, but I do get a lot of ppl giving luv to a character that was killed by a hack.

[@amead78]

I can’t help but think that they’re attacking wealthy people by saying that it’s not really their money, it’s stollen from other people.

[@mitchellalexander9162]

It's going to be a loooooooonnnnnnnngggggggg Agonizing, Painful and Depressing Decade before Bruce Wayne FINALLY goes into the Public Domain. And DAMN are they fucking trying to make him Radioactive before then...

[@WxIxLxLxIxAxMxS]

Ah, that explains it.

[@eon1014]

Let’s be real here, we all knew this was going to happen. Whenever the status quo gets changed, it always gets reverted back sooner or later. Hell, it even happened once not too long ago when Bruce lost his memory and James Gordon became Batman for a short time. DC and Marvel are scared of changing their characters permanently or killing them off, thus their heroes will never change and are never truly in danger, so there is no tension or suspense in any of their stories. Expect Alfred to come back soon.

[@pas3525]

What is Bruce exactly apologizing to Selina for? Looking at this and previous issues, who does Zdarsky try to convince that Gotham War was Bruce's fault - himself or the readers? Bruce has been apologizing to everyone while there has been no self reflection on bat-family part.

[@Leadeshipcoach]

I thought the EXACT same thing when I saw him apologize! “Why is Batman apologizing… for what?!!!!”🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️

[@Improbi]

Wow, the art in Batman is cheap artwork found in grade school text books. I remember a time when top books/characters used to use to always great the best artists & writers. Shows the Mediocre Two's main objective is to find the cheapest creatives with no talent off the street & hope the memberberries sell the books.

[@VolkswagenGamer]

Greats like Neal Adams, Jim Aparo, and Tim Sale are sorely missed. They put so much detail and passion into their work.

[@mikem3543]

Ok, so it wasn’t just me that thought this weeks Batman was super weak?phew. I’m like, what is this? It was pretty bad.

[@bradfrederick1135]

I was so excited for Zdarsky’s run on Batman and it ended up being such a disappointment. I’ve been getting Batman and Amazing Spider-Man since the 80’s and I don’t remember a time when they were both simultaneously this underwhelming.

[@joshuaingobo1559]

For World’s Finest, the great things about this comic are Jimmy having Mxy’s powers (and Mxy being a powerless civilian, which is interesting) and traveling to the Fifth Dimension to recruit the Justice Imps to save the world with help from Dick, Kara, and the JLA; and Clark, Bruce, and Bat-Mite traveling through dimensions (i.e. Sixth, Fifth, Fourth, and First) before returning to the Third Dimension, with Bruce telling Bat-Mite that Bat-Mite missed all the Silver Age adventures he had with Bruce and that he wants to do a final team-up with Bat-Mite. Also, Clark and Bruce seeing their future selves. Mark Waid has done an excellent job on expanding Mxy and Bat-Mite based on their experiences encountering the World’s Finest. Overall, this comic is great! For Green Lantern: War Journal, I like that John encountered Olgrun’s grief and pain after being freed from his control, while a construct of Ellie, lrons, and Natasha saved Shirley from harm. from the Star Shroud. Also, Guy saving Sheperd and working together to save John. Overall, this comic is good! For Wonder Woman, it’s just Diana and Barbara fighting each other for days before they reconciled and saved each other. Also, even though Diana and Barbara encountered each other since the late ‘80s, they don’t personally know each other. At least we get to see a mentioning of Pricilla Rich (whose pre-Crisis Earth-Two self last appeared in the first Crisis and whose pre-Crisis Earth-One/New Earth/Prime Earth self died) and Deborah Domaine (who was cured by Diana off-panel after the first Crisis). Same thing with Tom King continuing Barbara’s redemption since the forgettable and bad Cloonrad run. Also, Diana still saying, “No Thank You,” to have a modern and memorable catchphrase like Superman and Batman. Meanwhile, we have the Wonder Girls (Donna, Cassie, and Yara) going on the Invisible Plane to rescue Diana. I like that they want to save Diana while having a friendly banter. The missed opportunity should’ve involved them talking to each other about how they became Wonder Girl, join the superhero teams, deal with romantic relationships and continuity problems, and team ups with Diana. Also, Yara is practically Diana’s Robin because sharing mantles and having a sibling bond. Overall, this comic is okay at best. For the Super Sons backup, I thought it was wholesome for Jon and Damian to teach Lizzie how to fly a kite. Also, Jon telling Damian to learn about humility as an old chum because Damian is vengeance and night and Kite Man (Hell Yeah!) teaching Lizzie how to fly a kite. Overall, this is a good and wholesome backup! For Titans, it’s just the Titans feeling Vanadia from control (in which I was right about that) before she was killed by Dark-Wing Queen Raven (in which I was half right about that). I feel bad that Vanadia was killed by Dark-Wing Queen Raven, but it was expected since Tom Taylor mashed several storylines in his book to make sense for him and not make sense for us (like his two Jon Kent books). Also, it’s likely that the next three issues will end with the Titans saving Raven from Evil Raven and Evil Raven realizing that she does care about the Titans because they’re her family. My only criticism is making every Raven storyline about her being evil because we’ve seen this storyline for 40 years and that it’s unnecessary. Overall, this comic isn’t terrible, but it’s not good either. For Nightwing, it’s just Dick being passed out by Shelton before he framed Dick as Heartless. That’s it. Also, Zucco (who should’ve remembered his pre-Crisis and pre-Flashpoint death) learning that Dick is Nightwing. Also, Damian having knowledge of every escape route in every building he enters. Overall, this comic is okay. For Batman, I like that Bruce tried to do whatever it takes to save his clone from being aged up before the the clone sacrificed his hand so that Bruce could have his hand back before he died in piece. I also like that Bruce got his money, house (although it’s a new manor since he told Savage to keep Wayne Manor because he’s going to find a way to defeat him because new status quo), family, and Selina (who told him about her adventures in Tini Howard’s run, in which they laugh because it’s ridiculous and dumb) back. Overall, this is a good comic and sets a new status quo for the Batman Family after Absolute Power (which might be a lackluster event). For ASM, I like that Ben was able to remove Peter’s Spider-Goblin persona before Peter thanked him for saving his life. This is the only good thing about this comic. The rest is just Kamala seeing J. Jonah, the Living Brain, and Rek-Rap because Zeb Wells wanting to doing something with Kamala since she didn’t do anything interesting in ASM last year and wanting Rek-Rap to do something heroic and unidiotic. Overall, this comic is okay. For She-Hulk, it’s hilarious that Jen and Jack found out that Ransak and Karkas used her apartment for something important. I like that Jen traveled to the Impossible City with Carol so that she could meet up with the Avengers before she and Jack has a talk about her JLI in the Avengers and him being back from the dead. Also, Thor and She-Hulk awkward moment since they used to date in Jason Aaron’s Avengers run in 2018. Overall, this is a good comic! For Spider-Woman, it’s just Jessica and David talking about The Assembly before Jess teamed up with the Assembly to defeat The Screamer. Let’s hope that they realize who Gamma Rod really is so that that can defeat him and Viper and make sure that Jess will save her son Gerry from Hydra and Echidna. Overall, this comic is okay. For USM, the great things about this comic are Peter and Harry working together to have their first encounter with the Kingpin (resulting in Kingpin seeing them very soon) and Peter telling his family (aside from May, since she’s kept it for four months) about him being active as Spider-Man (resulting in Richard and MJ to be surprised and impressed and for MJ to support Peter’s activities as Spider-Man, with her giving the Spider-Man name to him). Jonathan Hickman has done a great job on Peter telling his family about his Spider-Man life, with his family supporting him with little worry because they know he’ll be okay. Let’s hope that the family will get to see Peter in action as Spider-Man. Overall, this comic is great! For Venomverse Reborn, I like that an alternate future Eddie (and Venom) became the narrator so that he would tell us about two universes where he never became Venom. It’s interesting! For the first part, I like that the Venom of Earth-1048 (aka the PS4 Spider-Man universe) refuse to join Knull’s army during the King in Black back in 2018 before he returned to his universe. For the second part, it’s shocking and surprising that the Avengers of another universe were killed by Venom. For Uncle Scrooge and the Infinity Dime, I like that the Scrooges of the entire multiverse were able to defeat the Scrooge-Above-All with help from the Council of Gyros and multiple versions of Donald Duck (which makes sense, given that it’s his 90th anniversary), before they told the Scrooge-Above-All that family and adventures are what makes them whole. I also like that we get to see an epilogue where the Scrooge-Above-All have a Christmas party with his counterparts and that he told them that he was able to spent time and have adventures with his family, since he wasn’t able to meet them on Bear Mountain in 1947. Jason Aaron has done a great job making sure that we get to see an Uncle Scrooge adventure that has been spread across the multiverse. The artists did a great job on it, and all of the covers (aside from the Frank Miller one, which is meme-worthy) is impressive (including the Alex Ross cover, which looks glorious and impressive and is like the artwork of Carl Barks). The missed opportunity should’ve shown Huey, Dewey, and Louie (of the multiverse) helping Scrooge defeat the Scrooge-Above-All, but at least they told him about the multiverse. Overall, this comic is great, and I hope Disney and Marvel will release one-shots of Disney characters later this year and next year (if they’re up to it and/or if the fans like it)!

[@SebastianEnamorado-ql4rh]

Batcat is trash

[@PrivateCitizen84]

I forget fans like this really exist. The super fans who are really into it. I feel like a tourist in comparison. I only came to comics due to the general decline in films and shows with storytelling. Thought I'd give comics ago and I also missed the fun vibe of early MCU.

[@joshuaingobo1559]

For Justice Ducks, I like that the Justice Ducks met Gosalyn’s friend Helder (who arrived from his planet to Earth to discover his passion for computers) before they were able to convince the two aliens to let Helder stay on Earth. It’s nice and sweet.

[@peterburman5193]

I don't know what Chip is smoking but he needs to stop ASAP! I hope it's DC mandating this because I don't want to believe Chip has secretly sucked all along.

[@OsirisLocke]

I'm tired of the hero's upset family trope. Loved how Peter's tribe and MJ reacted.

[@nachogallagher3393]

The art on Batman 149 really sucked, to add insult to injury.

[@karaoconnoraliasraidra]

3:29- What are those expressions on the Bat-Family? Do they not want a manor?

[@stryker-reclassified]

Those ungrateful heathens haha

[@brucesmith2143]

@stryker-reclassified they been ungrateful since gotham war or death in the family 2010s they start acting like little snots or little shits

[@fishin4bass2002]

I’m glad Batman is rich again but Jesus Christ let’s get chip gone from Batman. I don’t know what’s happened to chip but he’s been absolute garbage for the past year.

[@Imantyk]

Simply an opinion.. I think he’s great!

[@anthonywhite9258]

To all the people complaining about Pennyworth Manor. If you look at this from Batman's perspective, the old Wayne Manor was a long drive to Gotham Proper to punch low income folks. Now all he has to do is walk outside to find people to punch :). It's funny how Chip tries to convince you how much he cares but ends up coming off as even more out of touch.

[@cursedcancersurvivor]

B-but Bruce Wayne buying property in a low income neighborhood and fixing it up might make that neighborhood become...(gasp) *gentrified!*

[@mr.selfimprovement3241]

Honestly, in 2024 I'm just tired of the Bat Family stuff..... it has become as played-out as Multi-verses at this point, and what was novel, is now a anchor holding down these stories. It was fine 20 years ago: but in recent years, it has really been hammered home that in hindsight the fundamental motivator of Bruce Wayne (and driving force to become Batman) is the loss of his family and his inability to become a normal functional heir of his families wealth. He is torn between wanting to protect people from suffering the same lose he did, and his legacy as a Wayne (and son of a great man). Bruce is supposed to be a guy who has a fundamental disconnect with society, who was raised by Alfred in the lonely shadow of his families estate. Somewhere along the way the worlds greatest detective also became a ninja, the successor a lazarus dooms-day cult, the guy who has to keep superman in check, a global weapons merchant, creator of a robot army, and so on-and-on. The Playboy element was always there, and the mastery of hand-to-hand combat.... but wow, has his character pulled away from what has always been his core motivator as a hero. In the 80s and 90s they reinterpreted his relationship with Robin more as a struggling father figure who couldn't fully adjust to sacrificing his selfish desires to be the Batman with having a ward of his own. It worked though - because like Bruce - Robin was never a normal child to begin with (he already had a far from normal life) and was now who a orphan, struggling with his own desires for revenge and need to escape his sudden lose. Bruce having never had a father (or friends and human relationships for that mater), literally has no clue what fathers actually 'do', and has no idea how to raise him. There is something that works with Bruces' core character motivation having Dick Greyson around - Bruce wanting Alfred to raise him, while he disappears all the time - while Robin looks to Bruce not as a 'brother' but a father. This dark and deary old mansion and three generations of orphans living together and celebrating quiet depressed Christmases, and their reconciling with their issues. All three of them slowly finding family in each other, and a bond that is constantly challenged by their differences as fundamentally broken men with no feminine influence in their lives (and mother issues). I was never a fan of the Nolan movies, New 52 or the Snyderverse. But I think that from the Detective Comic days to the Paul Dini stuff - there was a common thread that understood who and what motivated Bruce. The moment Bruce has a four Robins, two bat girls, is dating Catwoman and is the father figure to a group of teenagers who undermine him.... that motivation is completely gone. He is no longer Batman or even Bruce Wayne. And when you do that, you then have to come up with all this superfluous extra stuff to justify making stories around him. Bruce Wayne and Batman, FUNDAMENTALLY cannot handled in the same way as Peter Parkers' Spider-man. His cross to bear is that Bruce IS the Batman, as much as Batman is Bruce - there is no separating the two identities. He IS the tragedy in his life: he IS the darkness, he IS the night! Bruce's story has to stay contained in his world, and his motivation (a very relatable one) is his Greek tragedy. There is room for time progression and some expansion - but in the end, you cannot treat Batman like Spider-man and age him up with kids and a happy family. Bruce is not a character that translated as well to the modern world (more technology breaks his 40s/50s Noire world), and he's not a reflection of who we want to be - or even who we are: Yes, we are people without super powers, many of us with skeletons in our closets, who are just trying to live with our ourselves. But Bruce is the classic example of a Greek hero. He's supposed to be more relatable than most super heroes, but in the end he's also someone whose dealing with heavy things than most people will never experience. He's a character you sympathize with, relate too, wish you were, and then also are glad you are not. He is not like Spider-man or Superman, were he exists to be completely relatable to the reader, and as someone we all look up too and wish we were. Batman was never meant to be aspirational - he is supposed to be a combination of the cautionary and an example of the human spirit prevailing over our demons. Batman embraced his demons to fight evil, and he shows us that good can be done outside the system - but there is personal sacrifice to achieve it that way. He was always someone who needs to crack the case, stop the criminal and forget his past for one night was is primary action as a hero. It's even the reason why some of his more absurd villains that later cam (like Joker and Calander man ofcourse) work so well versus him, because Bruce doesn't stop long enough to acknowledge the absurdity of some of the people he's fighting. And it is ALSO why characters like Clayface/Basil Karlo, Croc, Baby Doll (from TAS), Two-face and Mr. Freeze bring out a different tone, because they remind Batman that he is still Bruce under the cowl and he lost not only those he held dear... but any chance at a normal life. That ALL GOES OUT THE WINDOW, when Batman consumes the Bruce Wayne character, and becomes a walking punching machine who can predict every persons move ten steps in - but not his own... and who spends most his days step-fathering to a team of superheroes and flirting with criminals. The moment Bruce has a space station or is replacing Wayne Manor with Clock Towers or other mansions... you lost the narrative that kept the character grounded for decades. WHY DO I KNOW ALL THIS, and DC's own writers apparently do not?

[@annymora-rq6vi]

Batman is and should be a loner and in that case, as you say, he will die in a heroic way. I don't see him being married, it's stupid, but he does need a friend, not a girlfriend who wants to get the demons out of him, no, but an adventurous friend who has a different dynamic, hell people have this stupid concept that to be happy you have to get married and have children when that is not the case, batman if he retires it is to live life perhaps traveling and with a good womanizing buddy who supports him and going out to party on the day That he retires or kills him has to be under that concept because if they changed part of the origin and loneliest personality then dying perhaps accompanied by the robins and friends and knowing he did what he wanted is a much better ending

[@mr.selfimprovement3241]

@@annymora-rq6vi Yes, I totally agree. I think that's why Nightwing is such a good evolution for Robin in the relationship to where he eventually finds himself in comparison to Bruce/Batman. If you go back and read some of those later Nightwing books from the late 80s, it was clear that the idea at that point, was to foreshadow that Dick would eventually come back around and pick up Bruce's mantel one day in the distant future. No matter how much they argue or had differences, Dick Grayson would ALWAYS be there for Bruce when the chips fall. No matter how angry he became or occupied, he would tell batman off, and then without hesitation be there by Bruce's side when his things legitimately were dire. Nightwing was just such a good idea: you have another character who is so much like Bruce, and driven in the same way - but tries his best to rebel against it and be someone else.... only to later mature and eventually realized all the things that drove him from Bruce, are aspects that are reflected in his own self, that made him better (completing the father arc). That is largely why I feel like Tim Drake should have never existed in hindsight. Because he ended up being such a good character (like Miles Morales), and got over so well with fans, that DC tried forever to push him as the Next Batman. The issue is that they spent decades laying the lore around Dick Grayson as the guy who was Bruce's equal. It was clear that at some point, Night Wing would mature and come back to the fold. But we know how that went: Jason Todd, Damien Wayne, etc....even Terry McGinnis (Batman Beyond).

[@annymora-rq6vi]

@@mr.selfimprovement3241 I'm sure that Dick should have been Bruce's successor a long time ago, but as long as he follows the Batman idea, the only one is Bruce because of toxic fanboys, he got screwed, and there comes a point that is unbearable, for example, some complain about the super script that Batman almost has. about getting out of the problem alone and others complain when a lady chiva beats him saying no, this is not batman. When in reality Batman stopped being one when Bill stopped writing it, you have to see the comics after the creators and that they are not like mythologies or fanfiction, it is serious, they are also unbearable from the idea that they have an allusion that they are fictional

[@zemox2534]

@annymora-rq6vi Batman needs help sometimes. The whole point of a Bat-family is to push Bruce forward. Keeping him an obsessed lonely man is not moving the character forward! You just do not like change and want everything 2 stay stagnant. This quote from the Batman cartoon sums up Batman and his relationships well: ' It was never about not needing you. It was about not losing you.' The issue is that writers lost sight of Bruce and his character development and ruined his relationship with his family!

[@RichyRich-eo9uk]

I'm pretty much done with DC and Marvel. Utter trash. Terrible writing, bad and boring art, stupid events every other month - I'm done. If something starts getting Wes's attention I'll see if it sustains itself then I'll buy a trade or omni. Lots good old stuff will keep me going for years!

[@BROWNMIST44]

I just started reading The New Frontier and it is just insane how good this medium can be but isn’t at the moment. I think the old stuff is definitely where the gold is.

[@AL-ws5yi]

I’m just getting facsimiles.

[@jeromemaida4933]

Support the Indies, then! 'Red Sonja ", "Conan", "007", and "Gun Honey",;to name a few, are worth your time.

[@scaldwell1982]

I read Batman in the 80s and the 90s and every book always felt like it was the same characters moving forward in the story. For me, around the time of Grant Morrison the Batman no longer felt like the same person and none of the characters acted the way that I expected them to her reminded meI read Batman in the 80s and the 90s and every book always felt like it was the same characters moving forward in the story. For me, around the time of Grant Morrison the Batman no longer felt like the same person and none of the characters acted the way that I expected them to. For me, that's when they just became character IPs to sell merchandise and the writer's no longer really cared about keeping a flowing forward moving story. Same with spider-man. Even though I absolutely hated one more day, I did feel like the story move forward a little bit after one more day. I don't like the whole getting rid of Mary Jane thing but at least I felt like I followed a storyline on that. Now Spider-Man doesn't even act like Peter Parker anymore. It all sucks

[@RamManNo1]

That’s when they started letting “non-comicbook writers” do whatever they want. No longer was the pitch “hey I’ve got a great story FOR [so and so]”. The pitch is now “I have a story. I want to shoehorn [so and so] into it”. But honestly, the real reason is the writers are untalented and lazy lol.

[@EvandroACruz]

Batman books started to lost your touch for me after No Man's Land. Jason return and Damian creation always were big missteps for me.

[@jeromemaida4933]

"Spider-Man; Shadow of the Green Goblin" is out freaking standing!

[@CelticChief1979]

DC need to get back the the ONeil era style stories. They have become far too fantastical.

[@zemox2534]

Well to be fair Batman lives in a universe with guys who run superfast. Batman fighting in fantastical situations can work when they are written well. JLA is a good example and it was written by a writers that fans unjustly hate, grant morrison

[@antwonsmith8931]

Yeah I stopped reading Batman after Alfred was killed.

[@valeriavitale1290]

Things went downhill for the whole batfamily after they killed Alfred.

[@matthewschwartz6607]

I’m confused: How did Peter NOT have a name yet?

[@novembersun2988]

I absolutely hate how Zdarsky makes people stutter ALL THE TIME in dialogue. I... this.. this is... I.. could...could we.... It's SO damn annoying. It takes you out of the story.

[@markalbert8135]

Wolverine fighting vampire hordes just works. And so does Larry Hama on GI Joe. Meanwhile on another book that came out this week, JMS started strong on Captain America with flashbacks to Steve's youth in NYC. But he's now taken the series off the edge of a cliff. I'm sure Brevoort could care less though.

[@jeromemaida4933]

How has he taken the series off a cliff? Genuinely asking.

[@michealbohmer2871]

Thanks Drew. Thanks Wes. Yet another great video from the Thinking Critical gang!

[@DrLynch2009]

I haven't read Batman in over a decade. And you just remember me why.

[@megrimlock6034]

In Destro there is another connection to Transformers beside Energon. The character of Astoria is from the G1 episode The Girl Who Loved Powerglide.

[@ljkelty1766]

Zdarsky's Batman run started out ok, but it has veered into the WTF territory. And Detective is like an Elseworld acid trip. I'm half expecting the story to end with it all being in Batman mind. Loved Destro - Skybound is still killing it.

[@giantproof]

If Jeremy Adams could fix Flash after Heroes in Crisis Zdarsky should've been able to fix Batman. No excuse.

[@loudtaste1046]

I’m so sick of the bat family

[@nikholman1287]

Met up with Larry Hama again this weekend. Heck of a nice guy and he had some copies of 307 at his table. Great book.

[@chloe59k]

Mooneyham is the best artist at image but Paul is still better then any energon feminine energy art work.

[@JoSe2beazt]

I am ready to take Batman off my pull list after this issue. But if we get a new writer I'll be happy. They need to put like Robert Venditti or ask someone like Mark Millar to write it.

[@matthewschwartz6607]

I read that his Azrael run was actually GOOD!

[@SebastianEnamorado-ql4rh]

The worst thing is that the batcat toxic relationship may returning done with Batman

[@snowbunnie1113]

Every thing Tom King has written has been devastating for the characters he worked on. DC seemed to be recovering their image and regaining their fans during “Rebirth” then King just destroyed all that goodwill.

[@SebastianEnamorado-ql4rh]

@@snowbunnie1113 batcat is the most toxic dc relationship they always created a dumb justification to still putting them together , she Stab him in the bag and later is everything alright, batcat haves turned a Batman into a dumb simp and cuck, and now with this bat family stuff with overrated characters and dumb execution have turn Batman into a clown and dumb family guy, the bat family was better when they where only few characters and not some random characters from the 80s.

[@WxIxLxLxIxAxMxS]

The batcat bs has been around since the beginning, right? So I wouldn't call that the worst thing.... I think we're all used to it by now.

[@ThePalePatriot]

Batman comics end for me in 2011, Nu52 started the slow decline

[@dinmavric5504]

I wouldn't mind 3 billion my alter ego stashed away.

[@omarscarborough4274]

Joker stole 100 billion dollars from Batman.

[@matthewschwartz6607]

Happy Birthday, Drew.

[@user-is6cs2nu5s]

Asked shop how batman is he said it sucks I rather u buy anything else that in our dollar bin 😂

[@greendaleforever]

Alfred's death was spoiled for me by none other than Chuck Dixon! As the trash finale of King's run was coming out, it was nice to be facebook friends with a REAL comic book writer who had no problem just exposing trash ideas... this kinda stuff helped me get through the woke wonderland today known as college 😂

[@Philosophical24]

15:56 is this an MCU Blade jab? 😂

[@raiderbear1]

Great reviews guys

[@WTSD850]

I liked scarlett and destro even thoughthey made a few changes to scarlett's history what with her becoming friends with jinx way earlier in her life but you know they changed some stuffaround with other gi joe characters and I'm sure her history with snake eyes will get explained in later issues

[@SuperCam-me3mj]

I wonder if bendis was on the main Batman title lose its number 1 spot to another title?, or would Batman fanboys keep buying the title(even if they don’t read it) no matter how bad it is to keep Batman at number 1.

[@matthewschwartz6607]

Clones don’t really fit in well with Batman. Come to think about it , it might have been cool if the clone were Clayface. But this was odd. I liked Bruce better WITHOUT money, it seems like a regression now!

[@naquangreen2192]

It has always been an interesting concept in theory and execution. What if Batman could still be Batman without all of his money. A debate among Batman fans that is gone on for decades.

[@naquangreen2192]

It has always been an interesting concept in theory and execution. What if Batman could still be Batman without all of his money. A debate among Batman fans that is gone on for decades.

[@hotrodbumblebee9721]

The one good thing in this Batman 149 is Batman who became billionaire again and finally it’s done I was waiting for that since joker war, on thing that give me weird sensation is batman live in a new manor instead of returning in Wayne manor, can’t wait for this to be retconed

[@dhyde9780]

Now he's an embezzler? SO is this how they gonna give bruce back his money? Absolute Mess = no thanks I'll pass.

[@snowbunnie1113]

DC will be DC. I don’t know what was going on behind the scenes, between Zdarsky and the editors, but it seems like they’ve been at war with each other for this whole run. My guess is that Tom King is still causing drama, and doesn’t want DC to walk back any more of the changes he made to Batman during his time on the book. Not that Zdarsky is blameless for his own bad writing decisions but it would explain why everything came to such a sloppy resolution. DC really needs to fire guys like King and get back to the status quo with a hard reset on all their books. Nightwing was an improvement over its usual content, but we should have gotten to this point way earlier. Why did Taylor need to waste so much time shilling for “Bea the pirate princess”?

[@themultiversalmagpie7827]

Pretty sure thats Ryu not Ken

[@chuckskillz5184]

Happy Birthday Drew! 🎉

[@Dolan_waddick23]

Thanks man!

[@AL-ws5yi]

Feel better Drew and Happy Birthday! I’ve been done with Marvel and DC for a long time now. Long live indies and manga/manhwa.

[@Barot8]

Happy Belated Birthday! Thank you both!

[@TheUnseenFenianHand]

I’ve really enjoyed GL War Journal. Emotional take with the story about Ellie and John’s mum. Wish more people were buying it as it’s inevitably getting cancelled

[@SebastianEnamorado-ql4rh]

1:13 or some back up holdings: In lands , bank , oil gold , kriptonite etc

[@andrewgonzalez2356]

I just got done smoking a briscuit and pull pork for 8/10 hours. It came out good! First time doing it! Good vid.

[@brucesmith2143]

This is not Batman I know this is MAN-BOY BAT-BOY Bat-Teen Bat-Zoomer not THE BATMAN This character is gone to shit in comics since Batman hush or war games happen

[@fusionspace175]

Hmm, lost a hand that amounts to nothing, secret clone, these are just recycled Luke Skywalker ideas, aren't they?

[@dhowison6052]

What the hell is with that art in Batman 149. Ffs

[@bwayne.stpaul]

110% AGREE. JFC what a nightmare. DC comics has been nothing but shite since the introduction of The New 52.

[@VicRattleHead28]

I loved Chip's Daredevil run. This? 😕 😞

[@rammisalami]

You would think he might earn it back with a Matches Malone type job.

[@ComicBookBlackBelt]

could this batman art be any more pedestrian?

[@DarthDread-oh2ne]

Get this: I got a reply from a KZbinr: he said me and KZbinrs like thinking critical were nobodies. Thinking Critical is a veteran and a entertaining KZbinr.

[@scaldwell1982]

Internet is a place for socially retarded people to get their kicks by acting cool and putting other people down. I just ignore them.

[@ClintLowe]

I hope Scarlett pulls out of the nose dive that issue 1 was. They need to stop hiring women who can't handle properties.

[@zillauniverse7208]

Good to know Deatro is off to a good start, can’t wait to pick it up along with Transformers #9

[@Nadafingah]

The foot clan book was excellent. One of the top books of 5be week along with Wolverine Blood Hunt and World’s Finest (I understand you guys not Waiding into the book anymore, but it’s still the best book by the big two). I forgot to get a copy of Uncanny Valley. Guess I’m going back to the store.

[@raiderbear1]

Awesome work guys

[@kman7774]

What is wrong with Scarlett #1?

[@PapaMartyo4331]

Is Bruce building low income housing so he doesn’t have to go far to catch criminals?

[@mr.selfimprovement3241]

As someone who lived in low income housing most my life: I want to be mad at your comment because its straight-up classist against people like me who were born into a family without money (generational poverty) who were hard working people (just no educations) - we also did not have crime or issues in my small town. 😁 It's also mostly wrong to assume that the majority of low income housing - statistically most of it in rural areas (not cities) - is a hot bed of crime. Typically in the suburbs or the average town in America, it's no different than renting anywhere else. Infact, most the low income housing I've lived in was fairly nice (nicer than renting a place from some rando), because it's basically just rental properties that the government covered part of the bill on (you are less likely to have the same issues with conditions or broken utilities too). But I also do not live on the west-coast or some city that overlooks crime. 😅 *.....But at the same time:* I've been to some cities in my life.... and I've seen some places were you see a one-way street into a neighborhood, and you would rather turn the other way into traffic. lmao. 🤣 Plus I can still appreciate a *well crafted joke* with a hilarious punchline. So, good one sir! Comedy should push boundaries and be risky. 👍👏

[@drekiskrek5008]

​@@mr.selfimprovement3241 Unga boonga

[@_masfueg0_]

Is the image comics run of GI Joe part of the Energon Universe?

[@sidneyrivera3578]

Thanks for your efforts Wes and Drew. My favorite video of the week. I am getting better at buying good comics.✌️

[@Wes_From_TC]

That's awesome

[@PaballoKobe-xh9ve]

I miss skip itsband mehs

[@jeromemaida4933]

Like most of these recommendations, but Wes, how can you NOT give any love to : 1.) "Red Sonja: Empire of the Damned" by Steve Niles 2.) "Venom: Separation Anxiety" And, perhaps the most surprising jewel... 3.) "Gun Honey: Collision Course #2" - Fantastic writing, cool adventure, fine art with fine women! . And Garth Ennis on "007"!

[@Dolan_waddick23]

This is neither the best nor the worst James Bond run in comics. A solid coin flip.

[@jeromemaida4933]

@@Dolan_waddick23 Did I say it was the best? It's pretty darn good.

[@raiderbear1]

Fantastic recommendations guys

[@VolkswagenGamer]

The interior art is so uninspired. Very by the numbers

[@THEFANBOY]

I just read ultimate spider-man #6, green lantern war journal and finally found and read falling in love on the path to hell. And the falling in love story got me hooked and its way better than his dc and marvel stuff and the female samurai is beautifully interesting so i think he should stick to indie stuff and hope he delivers on #2. And ultimate spider-man #6 i really like it especially the ending and i imagined the man of steel flight theme and im really glad Marco is back and kingpin is more menacing then kingpin in echoe. And green lantern war journal new comic is just great.

[@angelhurtado55]

batman for what exactly? what's that word in thumbnail?

[@chloe59k]

Did not like destro think I will just read transformers and you guys finally acknowledge gi joe arah a way way better book then the energon stuff and my shop didn't have it yet so gotta skip that review.

[@vicstf8432]

I think the last writer who got a Bat character right was Marighread Scott on her Batgirl book. She had that interior monologue so spot on and they pretty much threw her out and got Cecil Castelucci to completely bury the character.

[@zemox2534]

Destro is an underappreciated villain. In fact the entire GI Joe franchise is underappreciated and underutilised. I hope this leads to a resurgence. Uncanny Valley looked fun.

[@EvandroACruz]

While I full agree that Batman Zdarsky run is abysmal I liked this issue because we saw Bruce recovering your wealth and missing hand. The clone stuff was a convinient plot device but fixed some things at least. I liked to see Bruce reconnecting with your family again. I hope that Zdarsky run finish soon and the next writer bring Alfred back. We need of Pre-Tom King's Batman run status quo back.

[@zemox2534]

A run written by anyone who is not Jason Aaron or Tom King or Tom Taylor

[@EvandroACruz]

@@zemox2534 I'm liking of Aaron mini Batman Off-World but you're right. No way I can see Aaron in a long run in a Batman main title. Your Avengers run was awful.

[@AbortedEvolution]

Terrible issue but I'm just glad Batman is mostly put back in order. They're definitely gonna relaunch that clean slate with a new number 1.

[@PrivateCitizen84]

😊

[@illithidlore]

Hard disagree on Destro. While it wasn't as bad as Scarlett, it was still terrible. Destro practically comes off as a good guy.

[@zemox2534]

How was it terrible?

[@maartenbouw]

Did you read issue one of Union Jack the Ripper: Blood Hunt? Kev Walker’s art style is perfect for this type of story.

[@clonegeek3317]

I think the idea of Bruce losing a hand isn't a bad one. Though I think Alfred would be a really easy character to bring back via his clone from All Star Batman

[@knocklesnar]

IT WAS BRUCE'S MONEY, That's why they showed the flashback of Air as Bruce on the phone with Lucius. Don't critique comics you don't pay attention of

[@TheWilk75]

The Black Panther , Ghost Rider and Dracula tie-ins for Bloodhunt are also great

[@SebastianEnamorado-ql4rh]

You are surprise In Batman run: a simp and now poor In detective comics: getting his kick ass by lady shiva and his Mary sue daughter and being outsmarted by everyone

[@brucesmith2143]

Sound's like the batman character always like this since Batman hush and since War games in the comics

[@brucesmith2143]

And always saved by his allies or some b or c list hero and anti hero

[@SebastianEnamorado-ql4rh]

@@brucesmith2143 that why I hate hush

[@brucesmith2143]

@@SebastianEnamorado-ql4rh asylum

[@brucesmith2143]

@@SebastianEnamorado-ql4rh it killed Comic Batman Batman only alive in shows and games