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Chapter By Chapter (usually) features me reading one chapter of the selected book at a time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.
PART 3: KnightsEnd
And so we come to the last “part” of this novelization of the story arc that explored what a more violent Batman would actually be like…except we haven’t really explored that. We’ve gotten glimpses of Jean Paul Valley as Batman but most of this darker Batman’s questionable actions were told to us by Tim Drake, with most of the focus of part 2 being the injured Bruce trying to rescue his metahuman doctor from a madman who wanted to use her powers. I know O’Neil couldn’t adapt everything given how many different Bat-Titles there were at the time and that’s not even counting potential cameos elsewhere. (The Justice League at the time featured mostly unknown characters and wasn’t the A-Squad of previous incarnations.) If Owen Likes Comics is right about what the Knightfall storyline was supposed to be about thematically then the novelization has already lost something compared to actually reading the comics. It might have been necessary for the format change for all I know since I wasn’t there when deciding what stories to adapt, but it still loses some of the theme of “Batman doesn’t kill and you really don’t want him to” that the story is supposedly going for.
So Bruce has found his doctor, his back is functioning again…but that’s only half the battle Bruce is back on his feet but he’s not reclaimed the cowl yet. KnightsEnd, which I hope includes stories from Knightquest: The Crusade, should be about him working to regain what made him Batman. We see his detective mind and all the tricks of Batman are still with him. However, Batman does need to fight, to use the shadows, to do more than thrown a Batarang or break out a little gadget in order to win. Bruce reclaimed his body, but his mind still needs healing. That’s what this part of the storyline should be about, so let’s begin.
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #10
Mirage Studios (April, 1987)
“Silent Partner”
Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Michael Dooney, Steve Lavigne (credited as letter in the First comic reprints, according to the Comic Book Database; who did what isn’t listed in the original version)
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This isn’t even the biggest jerk Leon’s commented on today. He discusses comics.
Why do I have such a hard time drawing crossed arms? Any other artists out there have this trouble?
Over at The Clutter Reports this week I reorganized my various art type papers for easier access.
This week here at the Spotlight our Chapter By Chapter review of Batman: Knightfall reaches part 3 of the novelization, meaning rebooting the chapter count. Kind of like modern comics. Also, more of the Beast Hunters story treatment and whatever else comes to mind as the week goes on. Have a great one, everybody!
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Created by Jeff Goode, American Dragon Jake Long is that other cartoon Donnie Basco is famous for voicing besides Avatar: The Last Airbender. This time he gets to be the hero, the title character of Jake Long, the latest “chosen one” who must protect and sometimes battle the secret magical underground of fantasy and mythological creatures hiding among the residents of New York City. Being an American Dragon in training and a kid it’s not easy. He also has to keep his secret from his friends (though they learn pretty early about his secret and becomes his allies), his crush, and even his jittery dad who doesn’t know he married a dragon and had two magic dragon babies since they can appear human. This last part leads to a lot of questions that will never be answered, and being a kids show doesn’t believe it needs to.
In the first episode, Jake doesn’t understand Grandpa’s rather disgusting training (because of course he doesn’t bother explaining because he’s only Jake’s mentor and grandfather–why do that?), which leads to trouble when the magical creature hunting Huntsman and his girl apprentice go after them. Also there’s a cute new girl at school. Coincidence? Enjoy.
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The long awaited Bloodshot crossover begins…on Crisis On Earth Prime or Super-Team Family or something. Not here.
The Blue Beetle #26
Holyoke Publishing (October, 1943)
This issue has two Blue Beetle stories bookending the comic and he hosts an activity page. I guess that’s the best you can hope for in the Golden Age. That and all the stories be good but that’s become a crapshoot. Maybe that’s why they did anthologies back then, in the hopes that enough stories would be worth the price?
Who knows. Let’s begin.
BW Media Spotlight 
BW’s Daily Video> Female Person Discusses Female Characters
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Posted by ShadowWing Tronix on September 25, 2023 in Movie Spotlight, Television Spotlight and tagged commentary, Television and Movies, writing female characters.
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