When I went to NYU I knew a pair of sisters who were identical twins. One was absolutely stunning. She had bangs, piercing eyes and a body that asked you to look two or three times. She walked with all the confidence in the world and her smile lit up the room. Her sister? The complete opposite. She looked the same physically; pretty much the same haircut and attributes. But she was frumpy, had a doleful look about her and it felt like a dusty cloud followed her everywhere. She was like the female Pigpen. I also for some reason remember her having very hairy forearms.
Now the confident one always had a boyfriend, she was never on the market for long. But Frumpy? She was never with anybody. I knew Frumpy, not very well but she ran in the same acting class circles as I did. As I got to know her better I wondered, ‘why don’t I date her?’ She’s the identical twin of super sexy miss popular, what could go wrong? Maybe she just needs a shopping spree or a spa day? Not that I could afford either, but whatever. I never asked her out. We would flirt and I would at times brush closer to her and she would smile this crooked smile at me as if she would rather cry a bucket of tears than smile.
Yeah, you wanted the real one not the Xerox copy with the smudgy edges, right? You don’t want the reprint of Hulk 181 you want the original. But the frikkin’ original is hundreds if not thousands of dollars and it pisses you off because you don’t give a shit about Wolverine, you’re a Hulk fan and you have all the Hulks from 125 on but you don’t have a complete run because of the stupid Wolverine appearance and his goofy yellow costume from hell. Wanna ruin my day? Just say Hulk 181.
Anyway, the Batman comic is the hot Twin. Detective Comics is the Frumpy one. I almost never buy Detective Comics, the stories just seem so, I dunno, second rate? The greatest stories and art from the past 50 years have all come from Batman. Detective Comics are the New York Jets. They’re the Starz network. You flip through them but then bring the Batman comic to the cashier.
After the Zdarsky Batman 125 debacle from a few week ago I was loathe to pick up another non Black Label Batman book but I saw that Ram V was writing it. I had no idea who Ram was until I just picked up ‘Aquaman: Andromeda’. I picked it because it was drawn by Christian Ward one of the best to ever do it and it seemed cool, plus Black Label books are as sure as sure things can get. It was amazing! What a book! Wait, am I reading an Aquaman book??? If Ram V can get me to read an Aquaman book then maybe he can get me to read Frumpy Bats.
Right from the get go you can feel like it’s a good story, a little too gothic and dramatic but I’m okay with it. The paper stock feels like real paper not the genetically modified goo that Marvel prints on. The art is not eye popping but it serves the overall tone of the story. Looks like they’re still on this ‘Batman lost his batcave and has to work elsewhere’ nonsense so Batman is working out of a Brownstone. I mean, who wouldn’t love to walk downstairs and tell Batman to ‘keep it the fuck down, it’s late!’. ‘Hey Bats did they deliver my little baby’s elk sticks to you? It says delivered. The little needs her doggie treats Bats! Bats, open up!’
Despite that the villains are new to me and the set-up, although a bit too close to the vest works. Plus, the back-up story by Si Spurrier is really top notch. A solo Jim Gordon story where he travels to an abandoned Arkham to search for a lost kid of lifelong prostitute of Gotham. I’m intrigued! I’m interested! Frumps, what are you doing tomorrow night? Look Frumps could cry in her appetizer by next issue but maybe, just maybe, I can deliver enough goofy jokes to hear what she actually sounds like when she laughs. Ram Veeee for Bats Victoryyyyyyy.
Rating: 8.7
Verdict: Pull
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