Christian Bale on the set of the new Batman movie.

Christian Bale on the set of the new Batman movie.

swoons

I can't wait for that movie.

This is an interesting site: Batsquad. If you click on Characters, it pulls down particular issues and TPB in continuity order on the left hand side with little summaries.

If you click on Birds of Prey, you can scroll down and look at the cover of Birds of Prey #8 (for example) and get a paragraph synopsis.

Do all the Dick fans have this one?

Secret Origins #13 starring Nightwing
Date April 1987
Writer(s) Dan Mishkin
Artist(s) Erik Larsen, Mike DeCarlo v

Storyline: Nightwing, on his 20th birthday, told Jericho about his past. He recalled the circus and the first time he performed without a net (at age 5). He became a regular in the act and did two shows per night for the next five years as a member of the Flying Graysons. When he was ten, his mother and father died in a fall. Later that night, he learned it wasn't an accident. Batman came to him and stopped him from going to the police. He told Dick about Boss Zucco and that he would have been killed shortly after going to the police. Dick became the ward of Bruce Wayne, and less than a year later, he became Batman's partner, Robin. Together, the Dynamic Duo took down Zucco. Robin met other young sidekicks Wonder Girl, AquaLad, Speedy, and Kid Flash. They formed a group and called themselves the Teen Titans. Robin loved his role of leader in the group, but they all eventually went their own ways. Batman and Robin were no longer as much a team as they used to be; they both went out more solo than together. Dick went off to college, but soon dropped out. A mysterious girl named Raven came to him needing him to re-form the Titans. Batman got a new Robin and Dick got a new name - Nightwing. Along the way, he fell in love with Starfire, one of his Titans teammates. She'd married another man for political reasons, causing Dick to again wonder about his place in life.

Post-modern toasties:

I've mentioned before that I thought the two greatest "lost" hero series (that is..generally forgotten because they're not in the DC or Marvel continuitities) were Nexus and American Flagg. The good news is...

A Collected American Flagg!

In the mid-1980s, Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg! -- published by First Comics -- was a major comic to watch, complete with a crazy corporate future and frenetic panel layouts. It inspired plenty of major creators whose own masterpieces are still widely available and cherished. Despite its importance in comics history, a collection of American Flagg!, however, has not been forthcoming.

Dynamic Forces recently announced its plans for a collection of the title -- or at least its earliest, most radical issues. Although the exact contents are not yet known, Dynamic Forces hopes for a 4 July 2004 release. Expect production values to be high and the print run to be low, as many do not know the importance of the edition -- a case not dissimilar from Checker’s collections of Alan Moore’s historically vital Supreme.

Among its many other virtues, AF is one of the best and most innovatively designed comics ever. Comparable to Steranko's Nick Fury in influence far exceeding their original sales.

Also, it's particularly apt for our times as well, since Chaykin wrote it in a fury as the political right wrapped itself in the flag. He purposefully created AF to push an idea of patriotism that represented the left, and the original ideals of the founding fathers.

Plus, it has the virtue of lots of sex with incredibly hot retro looking girls and guys.

Christian Bale on the set of the new Batman movie.

He's looking very Patrick Bateman there. Not necessarily a bad thing for Bats.

since Chaykin wrote it in a fury as the political right wrapped itself in the flag. He purposefully created AF to push an idea of patriotism that represented the left, and the original ideals of the founding fathers.

So do you think Chaykin just imploded (I ask as one who has a couple of the oversize AF compilations from back in the day)? Because while BLACK KISS was...interesting, it sure as hell wasn't good.

I have a digital copy if you want it, Jeff, not a print one.

And Chaykin's work in "The Escapist," at least, was good.

So do you think Chaykin just imploded (I ask as one who has a couple of the oversize AF compilations from back in the day)? Because while BLACK KISS was...interesting, it sure as hell wasn't good.

I don't know what happened. Even Time Squared (his graphic novel after AF) sucked. But the initial run of AF was brill. Beautiful visuals, unusual storylines, complex characters with murky motives. He's sort of like some musicians who can only briefly manage a balance between their interests and their capabilities before their interests lead them astray.

The problem with having American Flagg come out from Dynamic Forces is that you know they will charge up the ying-yang for it, especially when they talk about "limited print run". Still, if it's not too outrageously prices, it'd be nice to get.

Everybody knows that Chaykin is back in comics, right? He recently released the original graphic novel Mightly Love (a quasi-romantic comedy about 2 superheros who fall in love, but their secret identities can't stand each other - it didn't get good reviews), and this week the first of a six-part mini called Bite Club (about vampires ruling the mob) came out. He is also bringing out a reboot of The Challengers of the Unknown later this year.

Michele T., insent.