So are the quest gone now?

I did a pretty good job with my predictions this week.

My Batman predictions was dead on. I not only am finding Harper Row boring but she is starting to annoy me as well. When Snyder introduced her way back in issue whatever, I thought I would like her but the more and more he reveals stuff about her the less and less I like her. She would have been better as someone who popped in every now and then when Batman needed a human shield help.

I really like Thor and Batman and Robin. I know that Gorr's back story wasn't super original but it was told well and the issue ended strong. The fact that Thor didn't show up didn't bother me at all. Great book.

Batman and Robin will most likely be the best issue of the year. It was an instant classic. It totally made Damian's death worth it. Everyone should read this issue. It's literally too good for words. Except for these.

I enjoyed everything else on my list. I was little disappointed in Batgirl, because the Robin tie in was almost non existent. I did feel like James Jr. was written better this time around and I am ready to see what Gail is going to do after this setup.

I can't say the Green Lantern Corps was disappointing because I wasn't expecting anything from that book, but it was the weakest in the bunch. I don't dislike the Wrath of the First Lantern story in general, but I am glad these little windows into each characters minds are almost done.

Top of the Pile for March Noms: Thor and Batman and Robin

For me:

• Batgirl #18
• Batman #18
• Batman and Robin #18
• Bloodshot #9
• Green Lantern Corps #18
• Mind the Gap #8
• The Ravagers #10
• Star Wars #3
• Thor: God of Thunder #6
• The Walking Dead #108

Thoughts and Expectations: The books I am most excited about this week are Thor and Batman and Robin. Thor has been my favorite of the Marvel Now titles so far and I am really looking forward to how this God Killer story will continue. I've really enjoyed how this book has followed just Thor and not really involved the rest of the Marvel universe.

As much as the death of Robin bugs me, I am really interested with how Tomasi will explore Batman's grief in the next few issues of Batman and Robin. On the one hand, Morrison has ruined this book by killing of one of the two main characters. But he has also given Tomasi and opportunity do a pretty unique and emotional set of stories.I am just worried about what happens after these next five issues.

I am expecting to enjoy the rest of the books on my list, except Batman, this week. Bloodshot might be the one I am most excited about as we get closer to the Harbinger Wars. I want to be more excited with Batgirl, but I am not sure if I like how James Jr. is being used so far in the new 52.

Batman. I am not a fan of Harper Row at all, so I fully expect for this issue to be pretty boring. I wasn't a fan of issue 12 and I find it hard for me to care about this new character. If she ends up becoming the next Robin I will probably lose my shit. If this issue ends up being half way decent, it will exceed my expectations.

Projected Top of the Pile: Thor and Batman and Robin.

Disclaimer: Since I get Superman and Detective Comics via the mail, I have not read them yet.

Verdicts:

The only book that I was let down by was probably Legends of the Dark Knight. It featured a little too much supernatural stuff for Batman. It wasn't up to par with the rest of the series so far.

I though both Animal Man and Swamp Thing finished well. I do feel like the impact of what happened in those books was lessened by the fact that I was let down by how the actual Rotworld story finished last month. It's kinda strange how much my distaste for the art in Swamp Thing last month is affecting how much I like this ending. But both of these titles did a great job of ending with an emotional bang. Great story telling. I am looking forward to seeing how these two titles do now that they will be less intertwined.

Something very big happens in Spider-Man. It just seems to me that Peter Parker's life, and after-life, will always be awful. Ock is a better Spider-Man, for the most part, but he will most likely ruin Peter's name. It's just going to make everything about Peter's life harder when he returns. Not sure if that's what I want to read or not.

Lemire killed it this week with Arrow. I am 100% committed to his run on this series now. He has my attention and trust. Great stuff.

All-New X-Men was an absolute delight as well. The sequence with Kitty and Ice Man imitating Cap and Beast was perfect. The only problem I have with the book is Jean's hair. Get that girl a make over.

Everything was good this week. Comi Girls was fun, Avengers is starting look interesting, Daredevil was the potential to be really good, Shadowman moved forward nicely, and the Great Pacific still has me intrigued. I definitely liked Green Lantern this week, I just don't know if I loved it or not. It was definitely, for me, the best issue of this whole Third Army/First Lantern arc.

Top of the Pile for March Noms: All-New X-Men and Green Arrow

For me:

1. All-New X-Men #8
2. Ame-Comi Girls #1
3. Animal Man #18
4. Avengers #7
5. Daredevil: End of Days #6
6. Detective Comics #18
7. Great Pacific #5
8. Green Arrow #18
9. Green Lantern #18
10. Legends of the Dark Knight #6
11. Shadowman #5
12. Superman #17
13. Superior Spider-Man #5
14. Swamp Thing #18

Thoughts and Expectations: This looks to be a very good week. I fully expect Swamp and Animal to finish up the Rotworld saga with some kind of reset scenario. I said that would need to happen from the beginning. I was very underwhelmed with the way the actually story ended after such a great ride for about a year and half. Hopefully these epilogues leave me more satisfied then the ending did. And I am so glad Yanick Paquette is back for Swamp Thing, even though its his last issue. The previous issue would have been at least bearable if he had drawn it.

I am hopeful that He'l on Earth ends well. I have liked the story so far. It may have bee just an issue or two too long, but I don't feel like its dragged forever. I love Kenneth Rocafort's art. Its probably the thing I am looking most forward to seeing this Wednesday. I really wish he was still doing Red Hood as well, but he is doing great on Superman.

I am interested to see if Green Arrow win continue to get better. Jeff Lemire does really quality stuff and I am sure he has an awesome story ready for us. Though I can appreciate what the artist is trying to do, and I definitely wouldn't say I don't like the art, I am not blown away by it either. I trust that they story will make up for any problems I have with the art though.

I'd say that I am equally eager to read the rest of the books on my list. There is nothing that I feel that I absolutely must read right away, but there isn't anything that I am just reading because I feel like I have to. Hopefully something on this list wows me after reading it.

Predicted Top of This Pile: Animal Man #18

My pull list:

• American Vampire: Lord of Nightmares #5
• Before Watchmen: Minutemen #4
• Catwoman #13
• Daredevil #19
• Green Lantern: New Guardians #13
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #3
• Nightwing #13
• Supergirl #13
• The Walking Dead #103
• Justice League #13
• Wonder Woman #13

I would say the I am the most looking forward to He-Man this week. This is not a knock on the other books, I just really want to see where the He-Man story goes. He-Man was just such a big part of my childhood that I think it heightens my opinion of the comic.

I really hope that Catwoman has a lot of Joker stuff, cuz I wouldn't normally be getting this title if it was Joker free. But I am digging the die-cut covers.

New Guardians, Nightwing, Supergirl, and Wonder Woman all have about the same level of excitement for me. I like the villain in Supergirl right now, her story is coming full circle from where it started. The Third Army arc will keep moving along in the New Guardians. I have to say that Geoff Johns entire GL run has been consistently good for about what 7 years now. That's pretty impressive. I am pumped for Wonder Woman, I am ready for a real story about the zero issues. I think Wonder Woman has some good stuff coming up. The only thing I am worried about with Nightwing is it being rushed. The Death of the Family story is cutting in soon and I don't want it to take away from the Lady Shiva story that will come first.

For whatever reason I am not really anticipating much from The Walking Dead or Justice League. I am hoping this Trinity War stuff is really good and I hope the Shazam back story stuff gets better. I was not a fan of the zero issue.

It going to be tough to top a week that involved the Joker, but here's hoping.

With the Joker finally getting a proper arc in Scott Snyder’s Batman tomorrow, I thought it would be a good time to write my thoughts down about the whom Joker is to me and why I feel he is the best villain of all time. I understand that statement is bold. I can already see fan boys everywhere simply extending their hands out in an attempt to choke the life out me. What about Vader? What about Hannibal Lector? Magneto? What about Kaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhnnnn? Though all of these villains are great, they just don't have the same potential for complete and utter anarchy that the Joker does. And I would argue that his biggest competition, Vader, isn't a villain at all. He does eventually fulfill his destiny as the chosen one. The Emperor is evil, to the core, but in the end, his motivation is still power. Sure he seems to take pleasure in destruction but he ultimately wants to be the one standing at the top of the mountain.

The Joker is the closest thing to the actual devil in all of fiction. His goal is to see you fall by your own actions. In other words, he doesn't seek to kill you or steal from you; he wants you to give yourself to chaos. He wants to bring you down to the lowest point possible and then he wants you to choose to dig instead of climb out. He doesn't understand failure because if you choose good, he now has a new opponent to play against him in his little game. If everyone falls he wins. If just one person chooses good, he still wins.

Back to my analogy about the Joker being like the devil. If you believe that God created each and everyone one of us for the specific purpose of one day joining him heaven, then it must also be true that we are each uniquely special to him. We are each his children. If the devil is able to bring just one of us down, then he has taken something precious from God. Now the more and more people he is able bring down, the larger his act of defiance becomes against God. So in the case of the Joker, as he causes more and more people to fall, his act of defiance against the goodness of society grows larger. The problem here that as long as any hope is left, the good in just one man can spread to those that have fallen. This causes the Joker to not a destination. He just has the journey or path of destruction. And isn’t the journey the best part?

I also argue that the Joker uses greed, power, money, revenge, etc. as weapons, but never motive. In fact, in my mind, the perfect iteration of the Joker has no origin and very little motive. Much like Nolan's joker, he just does things. He spends most of his time having a big laugh about the whole thing with a few brief moments where we see some deep seeded rage peppered in. It's the idea that his motives aren't simple, that they aren't just common, that makes him my favorite villain. He is the opposite of Batman. Batman has a specific purpose and a very defined set of rules on how to get to his endgame. The Joker on the other had has no real endgame and however he tries to get there is completely left up to the moment.

I hope that all made sense. I just wanted to kind of get that out there and see what people think. I hope the God stuff doesn’t bother anyone. Although I am Catholic and do really believe all that stuff, I wasn’t trying to make that the point of the blog. I find that the comic world really isn’t the place for that discussion. Anyway I would love to hear what everyone’s thoughts are about the Joker and villains and the other things that make superhero comics worth reading. Thanks for reading.

My pull list for 9/26

• American Vampire vol. 3 TP
• American Vampire #31
• Aquaman #0
• Batman Inc #0
• The Dark Knight #0
• The Flash #0
• Mind the Gap #5
• Superman #0
• Talon #0
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #14
• Teen Titans #0

Getting the American Vampire TP so I can catch up. I just need volume for and then I can read all of the American Vampires I have been saving up, including this weeks #31.

Aquaman would probably be my favorite book if it somehow was turned into a Batman story. But second place is pretty good. I have a feeling that this story will tie in well with what we have been seeing with Aquaman so far. I really hope that when they show us Atlantis that they make it a grand reveal. Two page spread please.

I feel like this issue could just be called Batman Inc #0.4. So far all of the Batman Incs have been zero stories. Hopefully Morrison doesn't go to that place that only he understands and loses me. I don't really have high hopes for this issue.

I could go either way on the Dark Knight story. It makes sense to have the zero issue be about his parents but I don't think I am going to like the whole conspiracy to kill the Wayne family angle. The original random mugging story is the best.

I really hope this books starts to find its way again. I really liked how it started but I feel like its been lost for a while. Hopefully this zero gets them back on track.

Mind the Gap. This book needs to finish strong if I am going to keep reading after this arc. I just don't find myself thin about this story after I am done reading it.

Hopefully Lobdell can find a way to make Superman interesting again. This is will be following Jor-El mostly and it might be nice to get his point of view after how good it was to see Zor-El in Supergirl last week.

As a rule I will be giving anything Scott Snyder writes a fair chance. I have been more than please with almost all of this work. The Talon looks like it has some potential. He just has to find a way to make you care about this new character. Also, James Tynion IV is very quickly moving up the list of writers who I must read. Some of his backups have been better than the book's main story.

I really wish they would just use this comics story for the Turtles new movie. It has been why cooler than anything I have heard out of Hollywood. I am excited for this issue and scared at the same time. I am not sure where they are going to go with this true way of the ninja angle. But I think I would be fine with any way they good.

I don't currently read Teen Titans, but this issue should deal with Tim Drake. I really want to see how he fits into the whole Robin timeline.

My pull list for 9/19

• Daredevil #18
• New Guardians #0
• Justice League #0
• Nightwing #0
• Supergirl #0
• The Walking Dead #102
• Wonder Woman #0

I decided to start reading Daredevil because a.) it seem to be well liked by a lot of people and b.) I have need to not be left out of anything cool. It goes along with my crippling need for attention. I like the first trade and I am waiting to get the second and read the comics that I have after that. So I really don't have anything to be excited about for #18 but I will hopefully be caught up soon.

I have no idea what this zero issue will be about. I pretty sure we already saw the inception of the the New Guardians, perhaps this will just be from a different point of view. Most likely, this will somehow set up the Rise of the Third Army that starts next month.

I wasn't as excited about the Shazam back story as most people were but I am interested in seeing him take center stage in this issue. I almost want to see what happens with Pandora more than I do Shazam. It's kinda up in the air for me.

I think I am going to start reading Nightwing. I seem to like all of his appearances in the Batman books I read and I have heard some good things. I am going to pick up this issue and maybe get the trades and back issues to catch up.

Supergirl origin. Bring it on. I am glad we get to find out how she got here but didn't age. Hoping for a cool story here.

I heard there is going to be zombies in the walking dead this week. That should mix things up a little bit.

I hope this issue is good. I really like Wonder Woman so far and I never knew anything about her history before the new 52. So this has the potential to be my favorite zero issue yet. I just hope the story is better than the cover.

My pull list for 8/22:

• Batman Incorporated #3
• Batman: The Dark Knight #12
• The Flash #12
• Green Lantern: New Guardians #12
• Superman #12
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #13

Batman Incorporated is technically just getting going but it feels like I read the first issue a year ago. Plus issue 2 was total sidebar, a very decent sidebar, but a sidebar none the less. I really dug the variant cover for issue 2. One of the few variants I have bought. I am interested to see what happens next, but I don't really have high hopes. Morrison is usually all over the place and tends to lose me a lot. We'll see.

I have found that some people didn't like how Batman was captured at the end of last issue, but I don't really let things like that bother me as long as the rest of the story is good. Hurwitz was stronger in his first issue that in the last one, but I think the overall arc will turn out to be pretty good. He has improved in almost all areas over the previous group.

I really like the Flash as a character and the first story arc was well done. I just feel like this book has bounced around a lot since then. I think it need more of a distinct direction and purpose. He is leaving Barry Allen dead for now, but I feel like that idea is going to axed very soon. If you are going to do something like that then it should be for longer and feel more necessary than it does here.

Looking forward to this ending for New Guardians. I have really enjoyed this book from the beginning and I hope the ending meets a high standard of epicness this book presents. I am also looking forward to how it ties into the rest of the ongoing in the Green Lantern universe.

Man I wish Superman was cooler. This looks to be just your standard random monster battle. Maybe it will get better when the forth writer takes over in issue 13.

Turtle Power. I really want to hear from someone who is reading this book but didn't really get into the show as a kid. I fear sometimes that my enthusiasm is elevated because I was huge turtle fan as a kid. There is just a lot of stuff that I like in this book. It looks to continue its great character development in this next arc. It's definitely more grown up but still keeps that fun element that make the turtles awesome.