Comic Books Purchased May 18, 2011 (or "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Remember When Batman was Good")

Big day on the comic stands today!  Lots of stuff came out and I'm really excited about some of it.

I even took a picture!  Look!  Picture!!!

In case you can't make it out and clicking the picture somehow doesn't make it bigger for you...here's the list...

1. Darkwing Duck -- Issue #12
2. Sigil -- Issue #3
3. X-Men: Prelude to Schism -- Issue #2 of 4
4. Generation Hope -- Issue #7
5. Gates of Gotham -- Issue #1 of 5
6. Rocketeer Adventures -- Issue #1
7. Batman -- 100-Page Spectacular: Dark Knight, Dark City

I haven't done any reading yet (with one exception)...but my anticipation level is high.  DW's always good.  Sigil is growing on me. Prelude to Schism was really good in the first issue, and I have good hopes for the series.  Generation Hope is my favorite X-Men title possibly EVER.  Gates of Gotham, though a modern day Bat title is supposed to be really good and isn't helmed by Morrison, so I'm giving it a shot.  Rocketeer was kind of a spur-of-the-moment purchase, as Mike at the store assured me that "we all just discovered that this is awesome" and Shelby immediately echoed him...and I kind of liked The Rocketeer, so I'm giving it a chance.  And then there's the 100 pager...

100 Page issues are typically older stories from issues gone by.  Usually they're ten years old or so, or are from a series that was under appreciated (or sometimes EXTREMELY appreciated), but not lengthy enough to warrant a full Trade.  (This, by the way, is something I only recently figured out...because I'm an idiot.)  The Dark Night, Dark City story is a three part story (and they supplemented it with another story from a different issue to fill the pages).  It's spooky and weird, and it's one I remember from a long while ago.

The original issues came out in 1990.  (Holy shit...make that 20 years ago!)  I remember getting the first issue and reading it in my Grandma's house.  My family's air conditioner had broken down and we were staying with her for a few days.  I got to the end of the issue and was a little creeped out and wanted to know the end of the story.  It was the first time I'd ever read a comic that was that DARK and spooky.  It centers heavily around the occult and demonic ritual, delving deep into Gotham's history, and the history of the nation itself.  There's blood, gore, death, Satanic evil...and at one point Batman even slits the throat of a fucking BABY!  (Okay...it's revealed that it's a tracheotomy because it was choking...but still!)

Then I had to wait a MONTH for the next issue...and when I bought it, I was in Arkansas, visiting my mom's half of the family.  So I read that one in Goobertown (real place!) and had to wait ANOTHER month to read the ending at home, in my basement.

I remember it vividly.  This is the story that made me love Batman.  (And not the Tim Burton Batman of the same era...but the Batman that actually existed IN THE COMICS.)  This is the story that made me realize what comics CAN be--they can be dark, scary, gripping, and moving.  This was the issue that forever made the goddamn RIDDLER my all-time favorite Batman villain.  (That's right.  Riddler...not Joker.)

A few years ago, when I started getting back into comics, I tracked down the issues on E-Bay.  They were just as good as I remembered.  And now that I have them in one bound issue that'll outlast even my carelessness, I'm very much looking forward to putting my feet up and remembering a time when Batman was awesome, the world was young, and the Gulf War was an interesting headline and not just something we'd accepted as a part of every day life.

And then I remember than Grant Morrison's name is appearing on the title now, and its turned into something I no longer recognize or even understand.  And I sometimes can't believe how little all of that seems to matter to the present franchise.

Oh well...comics are awesome and even Batman could be salvaged if they do it soon.  It's a good week to be a fanboy.  I won't let the failures of one series ruin it for me.  I'll just stick to the good stuff.

Reviews coming shortly.