DAREDEVIL #605 Review: No Horsin’ Around

DAREDEVIL #605 written by Charles Soule, art by Mike Henderson, colors by Matt Milla, and letters by Clayton Cowles charges onto our comic racks this week as Daredevil leads New York into a showdown against the Beast and the Hand. It’s time for Daredevil to finally get off his high horse and take his city back. Let’s jump in!

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!

DAREDEVIL #605 SPOILERS TOO!!

Escape from New York

The issue opens with Soule showing the reader that Daredevil, Father Jordan, and the Order of the Dragon were able to escape the Beasts hordes and appear to be hiding out in some convenient store. They are all licking their wounds while the Hand surrounds the building with dozens of ninjas.

Meanwhile back at City Hall, Wilson Fisk storms into his old office demanding his job back from Foggy Nelson. That doesn’t last long because Fisk topples over, like a sack of warm gravy, totally unconscious.

The Pony Express

Daredevil rallies the Order and they charge out the store in hopes to work their way to the NYPD Stables to steal the Mounted Officers horses. Giving the Order the higher ground, Daredevil leads an assault on horseback cutting a swathe through the Hand and heads back to City Hall where we find the Beast asking for Blindspot.

It turns out; this is all happening because Blindspot made a deal with the Beast to gain enough power to beat the Muse. But, when the Beast came to collect, Blindspot said “no thanks!” So, the Beast is merely collecting his debt. Soule ends the issue with a showdown at City Hall. Foggy calls in some favors from Spider-Man, Elektra, and the Defenders to help out.

Episode 4…

In the end, Daredevil jams a glowing broadsword into the Beast, and he disappears like a nasty fart in the wind. Soule cuts to Matt Murdock stepping down for Fisk only if he promises to stop pushing his anti-vigilante agenda. BUT, on the last page, Daredevil overhears Wesley talking to Fisk about fixing the Mayoral Election.

The Visuals

The art by Henderson was impressive throughout the panels that weren’t very busy. The beginning of the issue with Foggy and Fisk talking OR the close-up shot of the Beast was done so well. However, when the action scenes were revving up, the detail of the characters in the fights seemed rushed and lacking in specific features. Henderson’s close up shots of characters as well as larger images and splash panels were spot on with detail. It seemed that the busier the page; the hazier and rushed the sequences looked.

The color choices Milla used were well done. Even though he chose similar colors throughout, like greens and grays, Milla used different shades of those colors nicely to make the scenes still appear dark and troublesome yet distinguishable between the characters. And, the lettering by Cowles was a great touch. When Matt Murdock listens through the wall at the end of the issue, he makes the word balloon look almost see through. OR, when the Beast would talk, the words and the balloons were jagged and made to look eerie. In the end, these little extra nuggets add so much to the story.

Feeling Fisky

Did anyone think that Wilson Fisk indeed won the election fairly? Come on! No one elects a rich millionaire who’s never held a political position before AND has done tons of shady and unspeakable things to an office position… Who does that?

More Defenders Less Kenobi

Soule, what was up with the glowing broadsword? Father Jordan even hints at it, but nothing ever comes from it. Is this playing a role later in the story? If it doesn’t come up again or show any importance, it seemed kind of silly and a waste. Also, there was too much focus on the Order and not enough on Daredevil, Spidey, and Elektra. In the future, give the readers more action with the home run hitters. The last issue was the Order of the Dragons issue, 605 should have been more Daredevil and the Defenders!

Lastly, the ending was a bit disappointing. One jump with one glowing sword through the chest and the Beast disappears like Ben Kenobi fighting Vader in Episode 4. That’s not a fight. A story that involves multiple issues and a massive lead up to an ending needs something a bit more than one stab.

Should you get this issue?

Sure. This issue was only a couple ”bucks.” Plus, Soule always brings “unbridled” enthusiasm to his writing, especially Daredevil. So if you’re reading this review and are on the fence, this issue wasn’t a good place to jump in, BUT the next issue begins a new arc and a new place to join up and “rein” it in!

Should you add this to your pull list?

You bet! “Pony Up” and jump on board. Soule has a great “stable” of talent working on this book, and there is no better time to pop in. I know Fresh Start is kicking off, but it’s not time to put this book “in the pasture” yet.

What did you guys think of DAREDEVIL #605? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @dispatchdcu

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TITANS #23 Review: Failure to Launch

Dispatchdcu

TITANS #23 written by Dan Abnett, with art by Brandon Peterson, colors by Ivan Plascencia, and letters by Dave Sharpe relaunches onto the shelves this week as a new group of Titans seeks to stop new emerging meta-human threats that have developed since the events of DARK NIGHTS: METAL. Let’s jump in and see what Abnett has in store!

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

TITANS #23 SPOILERS TOO!

After reading the TITANS SPECIAL #1, Abnett was finally taking this series in a new direction. It was exciting to see where TITANS were finally going. The Rebirth Series felt like Abnett had a story he wanted to tell the reader but wasn’t allowed too. Maybe it was because of METAL, or DOOMSDAY CLOCK?

But for a book containing the red-headed Wally West who reappeared at DC’s REBIRTH, the TITANS Series had huge plot points to attack. However, Abnett never did. For example, Wally was always left as a dangling plot thread. So, the TITANS SPECIAL #1 left readers with hope for a “Fresh Start” for a series that had been stuck in the mud for a long time now AND a series that moved away from its possible anchor: Wally West. However, did Abnett relaunch this series well?

META-EXPLOSION OF POWERS

This issue opens with a massive release of Dark Matter Energy in Sugar Hill NYC. A guy, who at first I thought was Aqualad from the old TEEN TITANS, let’s off an enormous explosion and directs it towards an old man working at a cash register. Seeing the threat, the Titans head to the epicenter of the blast only to come across oversized large rodents to fight on the way.

The Titans diverge on the situation from their new Boom Tube transport and separate to stop the emerging threats. Beast Boy and Donna Troy race ahead to take out the mutant rodents. Nightwing and the rest of the team arrive shocked to a find a bloody Donna Troy standing over a huge pile of dead rodents.

As a “Dark Matter” of Fact

The Titans continue ahead on their way to the source of the massive Dark Matter Energy blast and happen to calm the guy down who was responsible and put power dampeners on him. However, it turns out the guy was only trying to protect his friends from the cashier who rages out into this huge, horned, demonic beast.

Nothing seems to work on the beast other than the same Dark Matter Energy the guy released earlier. So, the guy the Titans captured breaks out of his dampeners and shoots the beast, exploding his head. Absolutely nothing the Titans did worked. The beast resisted kinetic and psionic energies. So, how is this team going to stop these emerging threats if they can’t hit, punch, or use their superhero abilities?

Any Concerns?

This issue is just utterly confusing. For example, which came first? Did the guy cause the Dark Matter explosion, which caused the mutant rats and the cashier to go demonic OR was Dark Matter released FIRST causing the giant rats, the guy with uncontrollable powers, AND the demonic cashier at the same time? See; it’s even painful to say!! And what’s the point of this team if none of them can stop these threats without Dark Matter abilities?

The next problem was the heavy dark lines outlining the characters by Peterson. Each character felt like they had a dark black line outlining their figure like a coloring book. This made the characters seem hollow and lifeless. AND many of the characters, mainly the cashier and the guy that shot his head off, had weird facial expressions that didn’t fit the scenes and actions they were in at the time.

Failure to Relaunch

The story didn’t get me excited for what’s to come. Is this just going to be a book that gives us a Dark Matter Monster of the Week each issue? And, what’s the direction our Titans are going in? Sure, they’re trying to stop Dark Matter threats as they come up BUT who’s the significant threat? Who’s the big villain?

After reading the end of TITANS SPECIAL #1, it looked like Brother Blood may be the villain … maybe. But Abnett doesn’t mention him at all in this issue. If you didn’t read the TITANS SPECIAL #1, you’d have no idea Brother Blood is even related to any of this. Even then, his part was one page at the end AND confusing. Also, how long will readers have to wait for that showdown? Readers need something big out of the gate to draw them into a story that has been flat for so long, and this just wasn’t it.

Should you get this issue?

No. The art was ok, and the story didn’t move the needle or have a great hook moving forward. The dialogue between the characters was average, and Abnett didn’t progress the story forward at all. Not to mention, parts of the art just came off weird and out of place.

Should you add this to your pull list?

Not just yet. Wait and see where the story is going first. Hopefully, readers won’t have to wait 22 more issues for that to happen.

What did you guys think of TITANS #23? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @dispatchdcu

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Review: GUNDAM BUILD DIVERS Episode 15

Anthony Wendel

The latest episode of Gundam Build Divers features the debut of Riku’s new machine the 00 Sky. Does the new machine inject some energy into the series after a less than stellar previous episode?

Summary

The Build Divers attempt a near impossible challenge in hopes of winning some prize money with the help of Riku’s new mech.

Review

One of the best aspects of Gundam Build Divers is what the setting of the GBN network has to offer. In this episode the team is presented with a challenge which forces them to plan in detail how they are going to approach the situation. The team takes into account the best place to launch their mission, selects the right mode of transportation, and is able to fly into space all in the course of a single episode. Thanks to establishing how enormous the GBN is this doesn’t seem unthinkable or impossible and instead the audience needs only sit back and enjoy the ride.

The highlight of the episode comes as Riku gets the chance to debut the 00 Sky in combat. Of course because it is the first outing of the suit it is shown to be beast which has no equal. Or at least for the moment it has no equal. It will be interesting to see what massive opponent will have to show up to counter such a powerful machine.

This episode offers a fun and light way to make up for the lack of action which came from the previous episode. It also helps to move the characters forward in a new direction. With all the attention the team got from taking part in the challenge everyone in the GBN will want a piece of them in the future.

Gundam Build Divers is streaming on the Gundam Info Youtube Channel and Crunchyroll.

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New Look At Newt Scamander In ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald’

Kieran McLean

July 10, 2018

Empire Magazine has revealed a new image from Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald, giving us another look at Eddie Redmayne as magizoologist, Newt Scamander.

Also Read – New ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald’ Image Reveals A New Look At Jude Law As Dumbledore

In the image, Newt can be seen wielding his wand while kneeling beside his magical briefcase, which houses his mystical creatures. It’s safe to assume that Newt is still hung up on Katherine Waterston’s Tina, as her image can be seen pinned to the inside of the case.

Check out the image:

At the end of the first film, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings. In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

Directed by David Yates, from a screenplay by J.K. Rowling. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Jude Law, Johnny Depp, Zoë Kravitz, Callum Turner, Claudia Kim, William Nadylam, Kevin Guthrie, Carmen Ejogo, and Poppy Corby-Tuech. The film will land in theatres on November 16, 2018!

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The Trailer For LIFE ITSELF Has Arrived And So Have The Waterworks

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

July 10, 2018

Amazon Studios released the trailer for one of their more compelling releases, Life Itself. Dan Fogelman directs this release, and if that name sounds familiar to anyone, it’s because he’s the creator and writer of NBC’s hit show This Is Us. The film stars Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening, Olivia Cooke, Sergio Peris- Mencheta, Laia Costa, Alex Monner, and Mandy Patinkin. Even though the trailer is only two minutes and forty-one seconds, the tone of this release is quite evident (you better bring a kleenex). Here’s the trailer –

Amazon Studios also released a synopsis of the Life Itself –

As a young New York couple goes from college romance to marriage and the birth of their first child, the unexpected twists of their journey create reverberations that echo over continents and through lifetimes in Life Itself. Director and writer Dan Fogelman (“This Is Us”) examines the perils and rewards of everyday life in a multigenerational saga featuring an international ensemble including Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening, Olivia Cooke, Sergio Peris- Mencheta, Laia Costa, Alex Monner and Mandy Patinkin. Set in New York City and Carmona, Spain, Life Itself celebrates the human condition and all of its complications with humor, poignancy and love.

Fogelman appears to have structured the narrative for Life Itself much in the same way he has This Is Us. He’s also stacked the cast with an assortment of performers who thrive in dramatic storylines. What do you guys think of the trailer? Is Life Itself now at the top of your list of must-see films? You have until September 21st to decide.

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Djimon Hounsou Will Play The Wizard In Shazam

Jonathan Bruce

July 10, 2018

The DC Film Universe keeps getting bigger.

Entertainment Weekly reports Djimon Hounsou is playing the Wizard in Shazam.

Hounsou’s best known for his roles in Amistad, Gladiator, The Blood Diamond, Never Back Down. He would earn an Academy Award nomination for his role in Blood Diamond.

According to EW, This Is Us star Ron Cephas Jones was up for the Wizard, but he had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts.

The actor is no stranger to the comic book genre. He is in the MCU as Korath the Pursuer, who he played in Guardians of the Galaxy. Hounsou will reprise the role in next year’s Captain Marvel. In 2005, he played the role of Papa Midnite in Constantine. Also, he did the voice of T’Challa in the Black Panther animated series.

In the comics, the Wizard is an ancient being who is over three thousand years old. Having held the Shazam mantle in his prime, he decides to pass it on to a successor. Upon seeking a person pure of heart, the Wizard selects young Billy Batson to be the new Shazam.

Along with Hounsou, Shazam stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Grace Fulton, and Ian Chen.

The film arrives in theatres on April 5, 2019.

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INTERVIEW: Makeup FX Team From UNCLE DREW And How To Make NBA Players Look Old

Ruben Diaz

July 10, 2018

Basketball superstar Kyrie Irving’s alter ego, Uncle Drew, an old man who schools younger kids on the court, got his own movie in which Blue Whale Studios was in charge of turning NBA players into old men for a charming sports comedy.

You may have heard the holler during commercial breaks, and it goes something like this “Uncle Dreeeew!” Well, the old man on the screen dunking and driving around younger players on the court is Kyrie Irving, the NBA superstar who embodies the title character. Uncle Drew is a creation for commercials and viral marketing to boost Irving’s brand (and Pepsi MAX), but now it’s a feature film with a cast of other NBA stars such as Shaq, Chris Webber, or Reggie Miller and WNBA star Lisa Leslie. Uncle Drew opened to strong box office numbers and some great reviews.

So, Monkeys Fighting Robots got a moment with Jonah and Matt from Blue Whale Studios to talk about the experience of making old men play basketball.

Blue Whale Studios-Uncle drew-film — **Jonah Levy (Left) & Matthew Silva (Right)**

Getting Started

Both Jonah and Matthew are veterans in the industry with decades of experience between them. But the two business partners took some wildly different roads to get to where they are.

Jonah: “I’ve been in this business for about 25 years. I started when I was 17.”

Matt: “I was going to college to teach choir and fell into an apprenticeship. It was totally random. I fell in love with it over the years.”

Jonah: “Matt and I met through a former intern we each worked with. We had an instant connection and realized joining forces to open a business in Atlanta is the right move.”

Dealing With Sweat

In your average movie, the actors in makeup aren’t running around dunking and playing defense. So, some special challenges came with Uncle Drew.

Matt: “The end goal is putting out the most realistic, accurate makeup. In this context, working with athletes … we had to make really conscious decisions about how many pieces and how heavy because these guys are going to be playing real basketball. They’re going to be running up and down the court in the Atlanta summer heat, sweating their faces off.”

Jonah: “Literally. We have a story about that.”

Matt: “Christ Webber, one of the most amazing guys. He ended up having an allergy to the main prosthetic glue that we use. So we had to switch to something that was water-based. The minute he’d sweat it was ‘face off’ … We were chasing him around to keep his face on.”

Bringing Characters To Life

Jonah: “One of the things about creating them [Uncle Drew characters]; it was important to get the realism right but also create these wonderful characters. In a case like Shaquille O’Neil, he’s a big guy, he’s hard to hide, so it was making his character match that larger-than-life persona.”

Jonah: “A project like Uncle Drew was such a collaborative effort. The first meeting we had with Producers Marty Bowen, John Fisher, and Director Charles Stone was a meeting of the minds. And the question was also, can we do it?”

NBA players are training a lot among fulfilling countless other commitments. For Uncle Drew, they had six weeks of prep-time.

Future Acting Star?

Matt: “I think people are going to be blown away when you see Chris Webber’s performance. Kyrie is great too. But there’s something about Chris.”

Jonah: “I agree. We couldn’t have asked for more with the casting.”

What’s Next For Blue Whale?

Jonah and Matt were speaking to me after a day of work on a new film project in New York. For now, they were sworn to secrecy about it, so stayed tuned. However, what’s next from the pair and their company?

Jonah: “You’ll see our work in the upcoming Venom movie.”

Uncle Drew is in theaters now and thanks to
Impact24 PR for making this interview possible.

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Review: SUCCESSION Episode Six Was Quite The Bloodbath

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

Last night’s episode of Succession was deftly constructed from the writing, blocking, and even the pacing resulting in an entertaining yet pivotal sixth episode.

Writer Susan Soon He Stanton demonstrated a great deal of savvy shifting the focus of the episode continually showing the many contributing towards this vote of no-confidence. Stanton’s writing didn’t highlight the bravery of Kendall (Jeremy Strong), but the failure of others for not standing by their convictions. Andrij Parekh’s direction demonstrated a deep understanding of the events unfolding. The writer and director needed to be in sync or Sunday’s episode would have been a disaster.

Sunday’s Succession centered around the forthcoming vote of no confidence against Logan (Brian Cox). Kendall (Strong) is bouncing from board member to board member trying to shore up the “yea” votes.

Roman (Kiernan Culkin) attempts to sway any neutral voters. Logan heads to Washington so he can meet with the president about an upcoming acquisition but is snubbed. Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) attempts to take Greg (Nicholas Braun) under his wing, so he knows how to act “rich.” Shiv (Sarah Snook) is exploring her options in D.C. and potentially the body of a former flame, who happens to be a consultant for the candidate her father loathes.

This episode will long be remembered as the one where the fiery Logan Roy emerged. Cox unleashes his rage on those who sided with Kendall (who he now views as traitors). Logan is someone who thrives on order, and he’s answered to no one for so long.

When he is challenged by these “usurpers,” Logan tries to squash the vote immediately. When Frank told him that he wasn’t following procedure, the rage only got worse. Cox’s delivery in this scene is what made this moment much more believable. He quickly can pivot from pleasantries to sarcasm and of course blinding rage which certainly speaks to his instability.

Sunday’s episode of Succession was undoubtedly a visual one (which is probably one of many reasons Andrij Parekh was picked to direct). Every one of the players during this high stakes moment kept their intentions hidden until the last possible moment. Even when Roman was telling Kendall that he was on all for the vote, anyone could see the doubt in his eyes. It wasn’t some moment where he valued his father; Roman saw this as an opportunity to eliminate some of the family members who were in his way to reaching the top.

Seeing each of them tells Kendall precisely what he wanted to hear was an excellent example of our survival instinct kicking into overdrive. Patrick Capone’s cinematography enhanced this experience by making use of close-ups so the audience can see the anguish on their faces.

Overall, Succession delivered one the best moments in television in 2018 (so far) and set the stage for what lies ahead for the Roy’s. Will Roman ascend to CEO? Where does Shiv fit in all of this? Only time will tell.

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Review: THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS Will Leave A Lasting Impression

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

Tim Wardle’s Three Identical Strangers lulls audiences with a pleasant and uplifting first half only to blindside viewers with a twisted backend to a true story which is riveting while attempting to challenge the notion of nature vs. nurture.

Three Identical Strangers is yet another excellent documentary in what has been quite a renaissance for the often maligned genre. For those who have read up on the case, Wardle’s brand of storytelling doesn’t pass judgment but avoids sugar-coating the facts surrounding the adoption of triplets to three different families, all in the name of science.

Our story begins with Robert Shafran who went away to school and was “greeted” in an odd manner by the other students. The kisses and high fives are generally reserved for someone who had been around last year, but he was just a freshman. He thought they were just “friendly” until an unknown student (who later find out is named Michael) stormed into the room. After the shock of what he immediately wore off, he told David that he had a twin who went to the same university. Eventually, these two (David and his twin Eddie) are connected, and life becomes a whirlwind for them both. A media frenzy begins to build, and the two boys find their image plastered everywhere leading to the discovery of David (their other brother) and the reuniting of these boys who were unfairly separated at a very young age by Louise Wise adoption services. What starts off as a cruel set of circumstances becomes the slow realization that their separation was done with intent and far from an accident.

Wardle’s straightforward approach to storytelling is incredibly helpful when attempting to get through the many layers of this shocking tale. He doesn’t seek to politicize anything and keeps the focus squarely on the children who had their youth manipulated by various doctors. What audiences will appreciate is how he’s not afraid to ask probing questions in the interest of seeking the truth and isn’t malicious towards others (which he easily could be). With every layer of the mystery becoming unraveled came a surprising amount of tension. As more children spoke up about their similar experience, the feeling of astonishment swelled. How could this happen? Why did this occur?

Three Identical Strangers is edited quite well as it highlights the media circus which grew out of control while splicing in clips of the boys discussing their feelings during those moments. It was as if we were watching a video of their life with the triplets providing commentary. The meticulous pacing of the film was certainly appropriate making sure none of the details were diminished.

Avoiding seeing this documentary would be robbing yourself of a fantastic experience seldom found in many releases. Three Identical Strangers delivers a poignant message and shows the world that there are lines one can’t cross even in science and especially if it involves children.

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BATMAN #50 Aftermath – Where’s My Honeymoon?

Dispatchdcu

July 10, 2018

It’s been more than a week since BATMAN #50, written by Tom King was spoiled days before its release. A New York Times article released on July 1, 2018, entitled It Just Wasn’t Meant to Be, Batman rocked the comic world with many disgruntled fans up in arms for a variety of reasons. Now, I’m not here to debate the purpose of the New York Times article or to choose sides. The point of this article is to take a step back after the hype, anger, attraction towards the issue, and spoilers have died down to piece together what we learned from the events of BATMAN #50.

So, who’s to blame?

Do we blame New York Times? Well, let’s face it: you don’t have to read the article to get spoiled. They did a fantastic job ruining the issue with the title alone. However, we find out later that John Cunningham, DC’s Senior Vice President of Sales, responded to a private comic retailer on Facebook in an article from CBR. In summary, DC Comics was aware of what they were doing and intended to spoil BATMAN #50.

Now, before everyone starts hating on DC, this isn’t the first comic company (cough Marvel) that had ever spoiled an issue or event before it was released. Technically, not even the first one that week. However, DC was trying to get their name out in a more traditional market to get more people to buy the comic, as well as related titles and issues.

Ok, so we find out that DC set this entire thing up. But, did King know?

King appeared upset and had no idea, but I have a hard time believing that the creator of this story, who went on Late Night with Seth Meyers promoting the issue, had no clue this was going to happen. The blame needs to be shared across the board. New York Times should have never put the outcome of the issue as the title of the article. That’s just bad taste.

DC Comics could have found other ways to promote the issue with traditional media without spoiling the story; such as interviews with King, interviews with artists on the book throughout the years, as well as discussions with DC executives.

Where should I direct my anger?

Honestly, I don’t know. But, I know where you shouldn’t direct it; at your Comic Shop. After talking to my local shop, they said that they were lucky to break even. BUT, one of the owners followed up by saying that they EXPECTED to make a massive profit off of BATMAN #50 and now they didn’t. Heck, some stores threw parties and ordered wedding cake for Midnight releases. Take a look at this article of a release party at Infinity Flux.

If you ordered variants and or usually ordered BATMAN, I hope you still picked up what you were supposed too. Don’t punish the Comic Shop for something they had no control over. However, if BATMAN magically comes off your pull list after this week, I don’t know if anyone would blame you.

Times are Changing

In defense of DC Comics, it’s not their responsibility to worry about comic book shops. Back when comics first came out, shops dedicated solely to comics didn’t exist. Fans simply went to newsstands to get their comics. Eventually, stores were created FOR the medium, not the other way around.

The same can be said for home video game systems and games. Initially, you could only buy them at a Toy Store or Department Store. Then, we had Video Game Stores like GameStop. Comics and Video Games existed first not the stores that personalize in them.

My Point is…

DC Comics can run their business however they want nor do they need to look out for the stores. As much as I LOVE tangible comics, digital issues are the future. At one time we had video stores, like Blockbuster, to rent movies. Now, we stream almost everything. Why buy music or video when you can just stream it?

DC was trying to find a way to expand their company in a way that benefits them. Comic sales are not doing as well as fans may think. If DC doesn’t adapt, they may be in trouble. Comic shops need to adjust, or they’ll be gone too. If the stores didn’t exist, more comics would be sold at Walmart and other large department and bookstores. Why do you think DC is putting the 100-page comics at Walmart? They’re testing the waters for the future.

Statistically speaking…

BATMAN #50 was a hypothesis that was tested on the sample size of all individuals buying BATMAN #50. Will fans still purchase comics if we spoil issues and events ahead of time? Will fans buy comics from Walmart? Ultimately, do fans care or will they just forget in a day anyway so we might as well get the publicity? I bet the answer is yes to all of the above.

DC knew from preorders who was buying and will crunch the numbers on whether or not this publicity stunt hurt or not. We shall see when the sales numbers come out. But overall, this was just an experiment for the future. And I bet as a whole; sales were at least the same. But, many individual shops took some hits.

Why are you upset at Tom King?

Now, the answer to that question is in the pages of BATMAN #50. To summarize, Catwoman felt like she’d been holding Bruce back from being the Batman the world needed. And let’s face it, Batman hasn’t been himself since Rebirth. He’s had his mind on other things. But that’s not what I mean by the question above.

King gave us a proposal in issue 24 and spent 26 issues (off and on), as well as an annual and special wedding issues, for the Bat and Cat to NOT get married. King spent a year’s worth of storytelling to lead up to an event that was never going to happen. And he knew it and wasted our time. We had wedding one-shots of bachelor parties, deciding who the best man would be, suit fittings, and issues dedicated to dresses for no wedding. I hate to say cash grab but what else were the extra issues for?

We were given dating issues and arcs about wedding gifts. We were given long-winded proposals and fights with ex-girlfriends, all for nothing. A year’s worth of stories for NOTHING. Now many would say, “You can’t honestly think they were going to get married?” And to all of you, I say; yes! I’ve read every issue of King’s run, and it led me to that very conclusion as I’m sure it did for many others.

Logistics

Sure, legally it wouldn’t make sense. Bruce can’t marry a criminal and alter egos can’t get marriage licenses. But the wedding, the feeling, and the emotions could all happen without it being “legal.” I feel tricked for the sake of being tricked. More importantly, this issue shakes faith in DC, REBIRTH, and its direction for the future.

I feel like DC, in general, has lied about the purpose of REBIRTH. In an interview from The Hollywood Reporter back in May 2016, Geoff Johns said he was going to bring back hope and optimism to the DC universe. What’s more hopeful than love? Marriage?

Tom King also said this:

I’m sorry, but I can’t wait for 50 more issues. You just gave us about 26 issues that amounted to nothing. Literally nothing. Are you going to give us a wedding at 100 or just another bait and switch? I’m sorry but 50 more issues from a writer I can’t trust and a company where my faith is shaken, maybe a bit too much.

How do I know you’ll get to finish 100 issues and tell your entire story? How do I know DC’s direction won’t change? You had 50 issues to tell your story which is more than most writers ever get. But, somehow that wasn’t enough. YOU NEED MORE?

Who do I blame?

I don’t blame the article. And, I don’t blame DC. I don’t even entirely blame King. However, I blame myself for falling for this storyline for over a year. But my hope is King can leave this storyline behind and give us something great. I think this wedding has held him hostage long enough. My recommendation Tom: move on, and move away from the Bat and the Cat.

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