Batman A Death in the Family by Jim Starlin Review

I read this a while back and it was quite the sad experience. I really like Jason Todd as a character for the reasons many people disliked him; he was completely different from Dick Grayson as Robin. I think this comic book gives insight into the unique relationship Bruce Wayne and Jason Todd have as Batman and Robin as well as father and son. I liked their dynamic because it was that of the "not-so-obedient" son and father looking for his son's best interest. It was realistic and emotionally trying. I think this is a sad but memorable comic book that all Batman fans should be exposed to.

SPOILERS: Don't keep reading if you haven't read the comic book yet or if you mind spoilers.

This is truly the comic book that made me hate the Joker. When I say "hate" The Joker, I mean it because of the emotional pain he caused Batman. The panels with just The Joker and Jason Todd alone as The Joker beat him to a pulp with a crowbar made me cringe in my seat. I was already familiar with the storyline before I started reading the comic book and even when I already knew what was coming, I was horrified. I think the worst part was watching Jason struggle to survive as he tries to leave the abandoned basement that the Joker left him in with the bomb. A lot of times with Batman characters, you forget that they are just kids. I say this when referring to Batgirl and Dick Grayson and pretty much all of Batman's partners in all continuities. I think as comic book readers we forget that they are teenagers when they are they are exposed to some of the most dangerous villains in the world. I could relate to Jason's fear and panic as he slowly awaited his death when the bomb went off and killed him.

I think readers that are parents should be able to relate a lot to Batman when he finally finds Jason's body. On Batman's end when the story is being told, he is racing against the clock because he knows Jason is in danger. It's heart wrenching when he arrives at the scene of Jason's demise and realizes it's too late. He's shown carrying Jason's bloodied and lifeless body surrounded by rubble. It really is terrible. Jason is for all intents and purposes, Bruce's son. The Joker escapes and Bruce is left to take care of funeral preparations and lying to the world about how his son died, essentially.

My final thoughts on this story are that I really like the way the story was done because it allowed me to feel emotionally connected to the characters. I think you know a villain is well done when his/her actions make your blood boil like The Joker. The only resentment I have toward this storyline is that Jason's fate was decided via phone call voting with fans deciding whether he lived or died. Later on it was revealed that someone possibly cheated by creating a program that would call and vote for them over and over again for quite a few hours. Therefore, a single person was possibly responsible for the very small 72-vote margin that determined Jason would die. This makes me upset on a more personal level, but that's just me. I definitely think this comic book has an intriguing story that is truly pivotal to Batman's development as a character. The response readers had to Jason Todd definitely influenced the creation of future Robin, Tim Drake as well as Batman's reluctance to take on another disciple. If you want an emotional father-son story about loss, this is the story for you.

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Batman The Killing Joke by Alan Moore Review

I have to say this comic book was more shocking than I thought. I'm really excited for the upcoming DC animated film, which will be rated R (as it should be). I guess I didn't expect the plot to be dark in the way that it was. I loved being able to see the Joker's past and that he was at some point just an average guy. The dynamic between him and Batman is one of the most interesting elements of the story. Alan Moore truly shines a light on how Batman and the Joker are two sides of the same coin. Way to put a psychological thriller in less than 50 pages of a comic book. That is part of what makes me have a problem with the comic book, though. As important as this storyline is to comic book history, everyone just seems very out of character for the most part and I hate how female characters are often used by Alan Moore simply as a plot point. I also think that the way the Joker is depicted in terms of psychopathy and cruelty is unfair to the character. I'll get into more details in the spoiler section.

SPOILERS: Do not continue reading if you haven't read the comic book yet or if you mind spoilers!

Okay, so when I said dark, I meant like traumatizing. The comic book starts off with Batman going to see the Joker at his prison cell only to discover that there is an imposter there in his place. This sends Bats on a manhunt for the missing Joker. The conversation he has with the fake Joker is really enticing, though. Batman discusses how the battle between him and the Joker can only end with one of them killing the other or both of them killing each other. He confesses that he wishes that there was an alternative before going to search for the real Joker once he discovers the imposter.

Later in the comic book Joker has the infamous scene where he goes to James Gordon's home where Barbara answers the door and is shot in the spine by Joker's gun. She is deemed paralyzed from the waist down later when she is taken to the hospital and given medical attention, possibly for life. Meanwhile, James Gordon is kidnapped by the Joker where he is humiliated and tortured. What really makes all of this really dark is the way it is all done. Barbara Gordon was shot as a way of provoking Batman. The Joker obviously knew he was hitting a nerve when he planned all of this out. During Barbara's medical diagnosis, it is stated that she was found naked and it is strongly suggested that the Joker took photographs of her while she was unconscious and nude (in her genital areas too). This is, unfortunately, confirmed later in the comic. Talk about creepy. I had a discussion with a friend about this comic and what we both agreed on is that the Joker commits a lot of his crimes because he thinks they are funny. This just seems like something he did out of vengeance and hatred toward Batman which is not Joker-ish at all. It's also a disrespect to Barbara to just use her as a plot point to then go on to only focus on Batman and Joker like what just happened to her wasn't disgusting and terrible. Moving on with the story...

James Gordon, now alone with the Joker, is deemed completely nude and tied up. Very BDSM, but in a totally humiliating and unflattering way. James is at an abandoned amusement park where Joker has his minions (or whoever is working for him), take him for a ride on a roller coaster as he is shown large projections on various screens of the nude photographs Joker took of his defenseless daughter earlier in the story. After the ride, Gordon is eventually found by Batman, still naked, in a cage. Gordon is very shaken by the experience and tells Batman that he will be okay, but that Joker needs to be stopped "their way" so that he can be shown that the straight legal path works.

Batman goes to find the Joker and they have their final confrontation in the plot. Batman really fears that their confrontations will eventually end in one of their deaths, which he doesn't want. He offers an opportunity for redemption which the Joker refuses. Joker then tells a joke to which Batman chuckles and he's shown touching the Joker's shoulder as the police approach them.

The story ends in an ambiguous way which I think is appropriate and very Alan Moore. I should mention that flashbacks of the Joker's life before he became Batman's nemesis are given throughout the comic book. He started out as a regular guy working at a chemical plant that quit his job to try and become a comedian. His attempts failed and he struggled to support himself and his pregnant wife Jeannie. He makes a deal to participate in illicit activities to make some money with a group of guys. During one of their meetings, the police come to him to tell him that his pregnant wife died. Devastated, he tries to back out of the plan, but is threatened into not doing so. He goes to a chemical plant with these guys dressed as the Red Hood and falls into a tub of chemicals emerging with his signature bleached skin, red lips, and green hair, officially becoming The Joker. Whenever The Joker speaks to Batman in present day he mocks him saying that all it takes is "one bad day" to change everything. His assumption is on point since "the bad day" for Bruce Wayne was the day his parents were killed in front of him pushing him to become Batman. I feel like I would have enjoyed the story more if it wasn't with these DC characters and with original characters made specifically for this storyline. Even then, it bothers me that using female characters as victims just to further a plot point seems to be a recurring theme in Moore's stories. However, I think this is a comic book everyone should read to gain perspective on Moore's work, but not as an overall depiction of any of the DC characters. Those are my final two cents on this storyline.

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The Maze Runner by James Dashner Review

I have been wanting to read this book since a few years back and I'm so glad I finally got through it.  The story starts out pretty slow and I have to say I wasn't truly invested in the story until about half way through the book. This is not to say that this was a bad read. I have friend that told me that the first book in the series is a bit slow, so bear with me.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

The story is written from a first person point of view with the main character Thomas appearing in a place known as the Glade inhabited by a  group of teenage boys that call themselves the Gladers. The Gladers seem to have a culture of sorts using their own unique slang and treating Thomas like the newbie. They nickname him "greenie" for a good portion of the book. Thomas seems to be very confused as to where he is and it becomes apparent that he has lost his memory before getting to the Glade. All of the other boys have also lost their memories from their past lives. It is later revealed in the book that there is a way of recovering these "lost" memories.

For the most part, the rest of the Gladers seem reluctant to share information they know about the Glade and the Maze with Thomas. This made reading the book in first person quite frustrating. For clarification on how the title relates to the book, the Maze is exactly what it sound like, a huge maze that neighbors the Glade and seems to be the only exit from this mysterious place for the Gladers. The Gladers assign Runners who each try and map out a part of the Maze hoping to eventually put together a map that will let them escape. The Maze moves every so often, though and has gates that close after a certain amount of time. Thomas really wants to be a Runner from the beginning of the book and eventually become one.

Overall, I wish the story was more fast paced and more information was given as to what was going on at the beginning of the book. I wouldn't say that I was super attached to the characters and their relationships with each other at first, but they eventually grew on me. Newt is definitely one of the characters I favor. It is not the best young adult dystopian novel I've read, but by the end of it I was definitely excited to start reading the sequel. I'll be reading that next, so expect a review soon!

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