Strength in Teamwork in Batman 43

By Drew Baumgartner

Batman 43

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

On the surface, grief and regret may not seem all that similar; one deals with an inescapable force of nature, the other is preoccupied with (potentially avoidable) personal failures. I might argue that regret is a kind of grief, albeit over the death of an idea or an opportunity, as opposed to a loved one, but there’s a more fundamental commonality between these two: how personal they feel. This can make both grief and regret feel very lonely, potentially driving us away from the friends and family who might want to support us through those difficult times. It’s a trap Ivy falls into, trying to go it alone in the face of her own grief and regrets, but Batman and Catwoman (and the entire creative team behind Batman 43) have a better way. Continue reading

Midnighter 10

midnighter 10

Today, Spencer and Mark are discussing Midnighter 10, originally released March 2nd, 2016.

Spencer: I was a little know-it-all as a kid. One of my earliest memories is interrupting a lecturer on a field trip to a planetarium to correct him about outer space trivia; “well, actually” might as well have been my catchphrase in elementary school. Even as an adult with decidedly screwed-up self esteem, I still occasionally find myself falling prey to the snare of overconfidence; in many ways, I think it’s just human nature. Supreme confidence has always been presented as one of Midnighter’s most charming attributes, but after suffering yet another loss, Midnighter 10 starts to explore whether that confidence is an asset or a hindrance, and one of the most effective ways it does so is by comparing it to the overconfidence of the rest of the cast. Continue reading

Midnighter 9

midnighter 9

Today, Spencer and Mark are discussing Midnighter 9, originally released February 3rd, 2016.

Spencer: Who is Midnighter? It’s clearly a question writer Steve Orlando wants to keep on his readers’ minds, as most issues of Midnighter feature its titular character explaining his life story to someone (this month, his documentarist Robert). Any conclusions we can draw about who Midnighter really is deep inside from that information, though, are complicated to say the least. Who is Midnighter? He’s a contradiction. Continue reading

Midnighter 7

midnighter 7

Today, Mark and Spencer are discussing Midnighter 7, originally released December 2nd, 2015.

Mark: Well, shit. After complaining about the anti-climactic fight between Frankenstein and Superman in Action Comics 47, writer Steve Orlando does not make the same mistake in Midnighter 7′s climactic matchup between Midnighter and Prometheus. This is a knock down, drag out battle that serves as an appropriate follow-up to last issue’s shocking reveal. Continue reading