Legends of the Dork Knight issue #4

Legends of The Dork Knight #4
March 2020
 

Well, here we are again! The start of a new month and March is always one of my most favorite months. My birthday is in March and is followed by the antics of St. Patrick’s Day and also the return of warm weather, well for me here in Florida anyway. March is also a great month for comics and comic news, and we get a lot of previews for what’s to come over the Summer months. Since my last issue there has been quite a bit of news released concerning the Dark Knight so let’s jump in!

The “Murphyverse” expands!



If you don’t know what the “Murphyverse: is, it is the world in which Sean G, Murphy has created in his Batman White Knight and Curse of the White Knight series, both of which have quickly become fan favorites. Murphy has created an all new universe in which we get an edgier and darker Gotham and a Joker who is conflicted with a sane side of himself. Both stories are of course Batman stories but contain other members of the Bat family, as well as Harley Quinn who has given up her life of crime and strives to be a normal member of society. With fans clawing to his stories, DC took notice and Murphy announced via Twitter that DC was going to be starting a White Knight mini imprint where Murphy will be writing the bones and DC will assign a writer/artist team to tackle the actual books. So far it looks like we can expect books for Harley, Nightwing, and Batgirl which just makes me so excited to read more about these characters who are in the current universe but do not have much background.





 Murphy also recently announced a third volume in the White Knight series titled Beyond the White Knight but there are no details of the new story available yet. Of course, when we hear “Beyond” thrown around we all think of Batman Beyond which could be the basis of this new story. I can’t wait to see what’s next for White Knight and I look forward to seeing this universe expand beyond it as well

What’s the Punchline?


Last month I did a story on how James Tynion’s first issue of Batman sold out and went to a second printing shortly after release. Well since then his issues have gained even more popularity with the debut of not one, but two new villains! Fans have been so intrigued by who Punchline and The Designer are that Batman #89 and Batman #90 sold out before even being released and went into a second printing before the first was even released.  Have seen this happen before but never in one series with two issues in a row. Tynion’s Batman has been so well received and easily one of the best Batman arcs to be released in years with such amazing artists coming on board to bring the story to life visually. Tynion has announce recently on Twitter that we can expect the full introduction to Punchline coming up in Batman #92 which I’m sure will be another sell out issue. There has also been a lot of sneak peeks and speculation about what’s to come in Joker War which artist Jorge Jimenez has stated will begin in Batman #95. I asked Tynion about his use of Bat-Gadgets in which Tynion answered and gave me an exclusive tease of what to expect in Joker War






. It’s an amazing time to be a Batman reader and if for some super weird reason you have not been reading, I highly suggest you start at Batman #86 and get caught up quick because the mad house is about to open its doors!


Three times the laughs
Three Jokers is a story that DC has been teasing us with for a very long time now and many had thought it was never going to happen until recently when artist Jason Fabok started tweeting out panels he had been working on to try and ease fans and let us know the book was actually in the production phases. As time has gone on, Fabok has tweeted more and more sneak peeks with the latest being a new Joker every day for the last three days with him giving us the third tease today as well as an official release date of June 17^th. As soon as the release date was released, social media went into a frenzy of excitement and fans now know when they can expect to finally get their hands on the first issue. The seeds for this story were first planted four years ago when Johns and Fabok were working on Justice League. In Justice League #42 Batman used the powers of the Mobius Chair to ask it two questions. The first was who really killed his parents? The second was what is the joker’s identity? It wasn’t until later in Justice League #50 and DC Universe Rebirth #1 that we find out that the Mobius Chair informed Batman that there were three different Jokers. After the reveal we heard nothing of this again until rumors spread that a three Jokers story was going to be written by Johns and art was to be done by Fabok. Even though they left us hanging for four years, the excitement is still there and soon we will have what we’ve been waiting a long time for. Three Jokers will be published under the DC Black Label name so it really opens up the door for Johns and fabok to really go beyond anything we would have got in  the regular DC Universe and I cannot wait to see what’s in store for us fans who have been patiently waiting for this one!



The Pattsuit-Batsuit and batmobile revealed

There has been a lot of buzz going around since the announcement that The Batman had begun filming and shortly after set photos started to be revealed and everyone started speculating on what they thought the new Batsuit was going to look like. A lot of people were hoping for a Long Halloween inspired suit since rumors were that the movie was going to be based off the classic story and tons of fan art started to circulate with all kinds of different styles and designs. A few weeks ago, we finally got a sneak peek of the new suit in the form of a camera test released by director Matt Reeves and it was something no one had ever imagined.


 The suit looks as if it was hand made by a younger Bruce Wayne showing stitching and seams and a rough style look to it. Last week we were given another amazing surprise from Reeves who tweeted out three pictures of the new Batmobile and fans went crazy for it. The car seems to be a barebones muscle car that’s been rigged up for a bit more extreme use. Sticking with the style of the batsuit, the Batmobile also gives off the feeling that an early Batman put it together himsrlf without all the massive fabrications we’ve seen in previous versions of the vehicle. Personally I feel this was a genius design idea and really helps to sell the fact that this is a Batman who has not been fighting crime very long and has not perfected his suit or car yet and leaves a lot of room open in future sequels to see both advance in time as it would in a realistic world. There are a lot of different views of both and I would love to hear what you guys think! The Batman is set to release next year in 2021 with Robert Pattinson dawning the cowl.


DCeased Returns
Last year, writer Tom Taylor announced a new Dceased story was coming which we later found out was the current run of DCeased UNKILLABLES which is not a sequel but instead gives us a look at what the villains in the DC universe were up to while the heroes were busy failing. There was a ton of positive fan response and now today Tom Taylor made the official announcement that DCeased 2 Dead World is coming releasing two art pieces from the story and confirming that original artist Trevor Hairsine was returning as well. DCeased became one of the best-selling stories of last year and really put Taylor on top of his game over at DC. DCeased UNKILLABLES currently only has released one issue but has had a huge impact already because fans of the original story just can’t get enough. I am so excited to see what else our heroes have to lose as they have already lost so much and I’m sure we are in for another emotional rollercoaster as Taylor is not afraid to kill off any of our favorite heroes as we have learned from DCeased as well as Suicide Squad. There is no other info available at this time but as soon as we learn more, I will be sure to keep you guys up to date so stay tuned to Comics the Gathering and my twitter page.


Crank it to 11


Last month we were eased by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo with some hints pointing toward a new sequel to Dark Nights Metal and then DC launched the official announcement of Dark Nights Death Metal and informed us issue #1 is set to be released May 13^th 2020. DC also unveiled the cover s to issue #1 and fans went crazy on social media. Well today Snyder and Capullo gave us a new tease asking if we were ready for this and then saying that we were not. Both tweeted the cover for issue #2 which see what looks like a dehydrated Swamp Thing riding in the back of a metal looking pick up truck with Batman at the wheel and Wonder Woman leading them on. Again, fans went crazy and the hype for Death Metal is at an all time high now. With the original 17-18 series becoming an instant hit and giving us the new everlasting Batman Who Laughs we can all be sure that Death Metal is going to be just as heavy if not more. DC also announced there were going to be several Metalverse tie in issues as well on top of the main 6 issue series. Are you guys excited about Death Metal? Let me know what you loved most about the original and what you are most looking forward too in the new series in the comments section below.

March Recommended

Recommended Watch – Batman vs Robin (2015)

This movie is one of my all time favorite from the DCAU. After writer Scott Snyder took us down the rabbit hole and really introduced most of us to the Court of Owls it was only a matter of time before we saw them in a feature film. In this movie we see Damian trying to deal with his confliction of having to abide by his father’s rules as Bruce/Batman worries for Damian and his temper as well as attitude. It’s a great story of their father and son relationship as well as their partnership as crime fighters. Damian of course is easily manipulated by Talon who we know as the head soldier for the Court and is turned against his own Father. Its not only an emotionally vexing story but has a lot of fun moments and just entertains the viewer the entire film. Here is the official plot summary –
Damian Wayne is having a hard time coping with his father's "no killing" rule. Meanwhile, Gotham is going through trouble with threats, such as the insane toy maker and the secretive Court of Owls.

Batman vs Robin is available on Blu-ray and DVD and is also available to watch on DC Universe.

Recommended Read – DC Tales from the Dark Multiverse HC (2020)

Last year, DC launched a miniseries of stories that were alternate versions of some of the most famous stories ever told. They released 5 different stories that took inspiration from the original stories but were set in the DC Dark Multiverse where things didn’t work out for our heroes like we all remember from the original tales. If you like to have happy endings in your stories, these may not be for you but if you want to see what would have happened if Batman was not able to reclaim his cowl from Azrael in Knightfall, then this collection is right down your alley! The collected Hardcover collects all five of these stories as well as gives us chapters of the original stories they are based on for us to compare and see what’s the same and what is very very different. The collection also is one of the most beautiful Hard Covers I have seen from DC in a while. You can buy the Hard Cover at any book retailer as well as your local comic shop. If you missed the original issues, be sure to hold on to your seats and maybe have a box of tissues handy. You have all been warned!

Collectors Corner
Diamond Select Toys DC Gallery
Batman the Killing Joke Joker PVC Diorama

New from Diamond Select Toys comes one of the coolest dioramas I think I have ever reviewed. Straight from the pages of Batman the Killing Joke comes this amazing Joker diorama based on the art of Brian Bolland. Brian Bolland’s art from this story has easily become some of the most popular art of Joker of all time with fans having fallen in love with it since it releases in the 80’s. The sculp of this piece is pretty much dead on to the original artwork and reflects Bolland’s work beautifully. As soon as I received this piece, I easily recognized it as being from the part of the story where Joker comes out of the acid and is essential born into madness. I used the original art as a reference to this piece and side by side it resembles the original almost exactly. There are a few differences such as DST decided to change his gloves color to purple to match his suit whereas the original art has him wearing white gloves. I believe this was a decision made to help make his hands pop out from his hair because if they were white, they would blend with the skin tone of his arm and would be difficult to see in his hair. DST also decided to add a Hall of Mirrors background to this piece which I do not understand why they made that choice. In the original art the background is letters that state HAHA all over. It is not until much later that we are introduced to the Jokers fair hideout as well as the Hall of Mirrors. Despite the background being out of place it still looks amazing and doesn’t take anything away from the piece. It is just an odd choice to use for this design. I examined this piece from top to bottom and as always DST has done an amazing job with the detail and paint job of this piece. I did not find one flaw on it or any parts that were over sprayed or over painted and found no blemishes or flaws in the actual plastic. This piece is stunning and really helps sell the madness that is going on in the Jokers mind from the art this is based on. This piece is easily my most favorite diorama ive reviewed from DST and I highly suggest it to any Joker fan or for anyone who is looking to give a gift to someone who is a Joker fan. This piece is so well done that you would never expect it to come from such an affordable line and that is why I love to feature pieces from DST. They really go above and beyond to make sure that we get so much more then what we pay for and making a quality product that all fans can afford. I rated this piece a 9/10!





Conclusion-

Man, what a great time to be a Batman and DC comics fan! This last month we have been given so many treats and have so much to look forward to this year! Lots of amazing new stories coming out as well as the conclusion to a few of the current ones that I am so excited for. 2020 could easily be one of the best years for Batman and will for sure lay the groundwork for years to come. I am a little worried about what is to come from the main Batman series after we reach issue #100 and I am not sure why DC is going forward with a huge reboot of the universe again, but I have faith that they know what they are doing and wont steer us wrong. For right now however I am very happy with everything we have going on and the exciting new things coming our way this summer. We also have a new movie franchise to look forward to next year and so far, I am loving everything that I am seeing. I would really love to hear what you guys have to say! If you guys have anything you want to add to this column, PLEASE feel free to reach out to me and let me know! I am looking to add so much more to this column and I really want to feature more fan based content so if you guys have awesome collections or con photos or cosplay or anything else you want to share you can email me direct with it or reach out to me on Twitter! I will share anything and everything you guys want to see! Well that’s all I have for this issue, but with as many announcements as we’ve had the last couple weeks, I’m sure I’ll have so much more for you guys in the next one! For fan submissions you guys can email me direct at – Wesgreer.comicsthegathering@gmail .com or follow me on twitter at – @wes_greer

-Wes Greer