News! Upcoming post! New Tony Daniel cover! New Arkham trailer, screenshots, and action figures!
I've been working on my review of Joker's Asylum: Two-Face. For the past two weeks. And by review, I mean "comprehensive autopsy." This might be one of the biggest, most in-depth critiques I've written, definitely the sort of thing that average comic fan might sniff at and go, "Ugh, you're thinking too much, why don't you just enjoy it or whatever?"
So, hopefully you folks will enjoy it. I had a lot more to say than I realized, but it's rare to find such a glowing example of everything I hate about the way Two-Face is written. Expect to see that within the next week or two, as Henchgirl and I are still on the road.
What else is new? Several things! First off, the solicit for the latest issue of Tony Daniel's dreaded Two-Face story:
BATMAN #711
Written by TONY DANIEL
Art by STEVE SCOTT and RYAN WINN
Cover by TONY DANIEL
Batman acts on his suspicions of a newly elected political figure in Gotham City and finds himself in deep water. With piranhas. Meanwhile, Two-Face fights his way back from the brink of death to find an unlikely ally who will show him that there are two sides to every story.
On sale JUNE 15 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
... Well, Harvey looked craggier and more Tommy Lee Jones than I'd like, but I'm loving the possibility that Daniel's having him wear his outfit from Nightwing: The Great Leap, which might just be my favorite Two-Face outfit. I still hate everything about Eddie here, and I'm still praying that the mystery female won't turn out to be Gilda.
Finally, prof_pig receives the distinction of being the first person to alert me to the fact that the new Arkham City trailer has been released, with footage of Harvey and Hugo!
First off, the trailer is pretty cool, although I'm torn on the use of indie rock. I kinda like how it reminds me of the awesome Sin City trailer that used "The Servant" by the Cells, but it hardly fits the tone of Batman or his world. Especially THIS Gotham.
Secondly, I adore the fact that Hugo, right off the bat (hurr), is fucking with Batman's brain, and that he calls the rogues and criminals "animals." I have absolutely no doubt that Hugo is going to be stellar in this game, and that a potentially great version of a great but unloved character will reach a whole new generation.
Harvey, on the other hand, is a different matter.
Oh, it's so over-the-top. Even when Harvey took over the courthouse in No Man's Land, he didn't actually DECORATE it. But it's so "comic book" that I can't help but smile. Quoth Henchgirl: "It's actually got a face! And a li'l mustache!"
... Yeah, definitely classic cheesy Two-Face. I'm guessing that's a pit of acid, because why not? I'm just wondering how he managed to FILL the inside of the courthouse with acid. Because that takes commitment.
This is just further confirmation that the Two-Face of Arkham City is very much the Two-Face of Doug Moench: "RARRGH, I'm declaring a trial! The Bat's guilty! The Cat's guilty! I'M GUILTY! THE SENTENCE IS DEAAAAATH GADZOOKS BUT I AM CRAZY."
In motion, I think this doesn't look to bad. In screencaps... yuck. VERY Tommy Lee Jones. But then, considering this game's Joker looks like a skeezy old man, I suppose handsomeness isn't really something any male characters in the Arkham games are gonna get.
As for the voice, I don't think it is Richard Moll, sadly. But he's certainly doing an admirable Moll impression. In fact, he sounds like Moll more than Arleen Sorkin sounds like Harley.
I'm definitely gonna need a .gif icon of this sequence. This is the best part of the trailer for me. Even with all my reservations about how very... standard Two-Face is going to be in this game, I can't suppress a grin at seeing him flip the coin here. Especially considering that it's a proper 1922 Peace Dollar.
For comparison's sake, here's a look at the upcoming figures from Arkham City.
*shrugs* Eh? I'm looking forward to seeing how the final released figure will look, but based on this, it too is pretty standard. It looks like Harvey fell into a puddle of grape jelly. And I still hate the scarred arm. That's just silly-looking, not to mention that it pushes suspension of disbelief too far. Come on, that has to hurt like hell. Really, TAS aside, I've never understood why people give Harvey body scarring. He had the acid in his face, nowhere else, except maybe his hand as well. Some people just push the split thing too far.
So, hopefully you folks will enjoy it. I had a lot more to say than I realized, but it's rare to find such a glowing example of everything I hate about the way Two-Face is written. Expect to see that within the next week or two, as Henchgirl and I are still on the road.
What else is new? Several things! First off, the solicit for the latest issue of Tony Daniel's dreaded Two-Face story:
BATMAN #711
Written by TONY DANIEL
Art by STEVE SCOTT and RYAN WINN
Cover by TONY DANIEL
Batman acts on his suspicions of a newly elected political figure in Gotham City and finds himself in deep water. With piranhas. Meanwhile, Two-Face fights his way back from the brink of death to find an unlikely ally who will show him that there are two sides to every story.
On sale JUNE 15 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
... Well, Harvey looked craggier and more Tommy Lee Jones than I'd like, but I'm loving the possibility that Daniel's having him wear his outfit from Nightwing: The Great Leap, which might just be my favorite Two-Face outfit. I still hate everything about Eddie here, and I'm still praying that the mystery female won't turn out to be Gilda.
Finally, prof_pig receives the distinction of being the first person to alert me to the fact that the new Arkham City trailer has been released, with footage of Harvey and Hugo!
Click to viewFirst off, the trailer is pretty cool, although I'm torn on the use of indie rock. I kinda like how it reminds me of the awesome Sin City trailer that used "The Servant" by the Cells, but it hardly fits the tone of Batman or his world. Especially THIS Gotham.
Secondly, I adore the fact that Hugo, right off the bat (hurr), is fucking with Batman's brain, and that he calls the rogues and criminals "animals." I have absolutely no doubt that Hugo is going to be stellar in this game, and that a potentially great version of a great but unloved character will reach a whole new generation.
Harvey, on the other hand, is a different matter.
Oh, it's so over-the-top. Even when Harvey took over the courthouse in No Man's Land, he didn't actually DECORATE it. But it's so "comic book" that I can't help but smile. Quoth Henchgirl: "It's actually got a face! And a li'l mustache!"
... Yeah, definitely classic cheesy Two-Face. I'm guessing that's a pit of acid, because why not? I'm just wondering how he managed to FILL the inside of the courthouse with acid. Because that takes commitment.
This is just further confirmation that the Two-Face of Arkham City is very much the Two-Face of Doug Moench: "RARRGH, I'm declaring a trial! The Bat's guilty! The Cat's guilty! I'M GUILTY! THE SENTENCE IS DEAAAAATH GADZOOKS BUT I AM CRAZY."
In motion, I think this doesn't look to bad. In screencaps... yuck. VERY Tommy Lee Jones. But then, considering this game's Joker looks like a skeezy old man, I suppose handsomeness isn't really something any male characters in the Arkham games are gonna get.
As for the voice, I don't think it is Richard Moll, sadly. But he's certainly doing an admirable Moll impression. In fact, he sounds like Moll more than Arleen Sorkin sounds like Harley.
I'm definitely gonna need a .gif icon of this sequence. This is the best part of the trailer for me. Even with all my reservations about how very... standard Two-Face is going to be in this game, I can't suppress a grin at seeing him flip the coin here. Especially considering that it's a proper 1922 Peace Dollar.
For comparison's sake, here's a look at the upcoming figures from Arkham City.
*shrugs* Eh? I'm looking forward to seeing how the final released figure will look, but based on this, it too is pretty standard. It looks like Harvey fell into a puddle of grape jelly. And I still hate the scarred arm. That's just silly-looking, not to mention that it pushes suspension of disbelief too far. Come on, that has to hurt like hell. Really, TAS aside, I've never understood why people give Harvey body scarring. He had the acid in his face, nowhere else, except maybe his hand as well. Some people just push the split thing too far.