January 14, 2009
Bruce Wayne IS Batman
.
I know this. YOU know this. EVERYBODY knows this. BUT…
Does DC Comics KNOW THIS?!
In case you haven’t heard by now, Batman was "killed" in the pages of FINAL CRISIS #6 by the villain Darksied with his, ahem, “omega beams.”
The Dark Knight has been fried…burned to a crisp.
Whatever.
Before I get on a soapbox here and I certainly plan to, I must say that my favorite comic book company DOES know that Bruce Wayne is Batman. They know that the fanboys, the general public, and folks like myself will not accept anyone else as the true Batman but ‘ol BW.
Eventually, the good Mr. Wayne will return to the pages of DETECTIVE and BATMAN in the cape and cowl. But in the meantime, our beloved character has been regulated to being the center of carefully planned stunts that are designed to “shake things up” and get folks to buy comic books.
Case in point: “BATMAN, R.I.P” and FINAL CRISIS #6.
With “R.I.P.,” Batman fans were sold nothing more than a bill of goods. We were promised that it was going to deliver one of the most “shocking” events in Batman history. Yet when it was all said and done, “R.I.P.” ended with a big “W.T.F.?!” and Batman fans were expected to go out and buy this FC6 to learn Batman’s ultimate fate.
Good publicity? Probably so -- since I’m writing about it and several thousand people will read this.
Smart business? Probably not -- since all the feedback I’m getting is quite negative.
Honest to goodness, I can not in good faith recommend my “mainstream” friends to start buying Batman comics right now. And trust me, MANY of them are asking. Batman comics are in such a cluster-f*** right now, there’s no way in hell anyone can come in fresh and jump aboard.
I’ve got to ask…is THAT what DC wants right now?
Do they want to alienate longtime Batman fans like me?
Do they want to make it almost impossible for folks who are presently “Bat-curious” -- because of TDK mind you -- to jump into the world of Batman comics?
I say absolutely not; they’re just misguided.
Look, I’m sure the fine folks at DC Comics are laughing there asses off right now with all the tripping out that’s going on over this. Like I said, they know that Bruce Wayne IS Batman and eventually things will return to status quo.
I’m just needing someone much smarter than me -- someone well versed in the in’s and out’s of the comic book business -- to explain to me why you can’t simply write good stories in the monthlies and leave it at that?
So, how exactly is Bruce going to come back?
Was the guy who was fried a clone? Will he be dropped into the Lazarus Pit and resurrected? Is the Batman that was incinerated another Batman from somewhere within the Multiverse?
Or -- God forbid -- he becomes some sort of supernatural being.
The Multiverse…*rolls eyes*…DON’T get me started.
Whatever it is, I’m not happy and I don’t like it.
I’m sure I speak for A LOT of Batman fans who just want good stories in the monthlies, that don’t constantly crossover into the greater DCU, and don’t require buying multiple titles simply to keep up with The Dark Knight’s exploits.
Until then, I’m checking out.
Someone let me know when a caped and cowled BRUCE WAYNE is kicking badguy ass in the pages of DC’s Batman comics.
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