New Comics Review: "Without Sin," by Mishkin and Mandrake, from LotDK #42-47 (2013)

[about_faces]

Note: As you start reading this review, you may get a sense of deja vu and asks yourself, "Wait, didn't I already read this post?" That's because I already reviewed the first part when it came out six weeks ago, with the original intention of trying to review each part every week, something I obviously didn't get around to doing. I held off for

Comments

[killermoth]

John -

At 00.35 here Peter Tomasi announces that the next BATMAN AND ROBIN story arc will be a Two-Face story:

http://www.newsarama.com/common/media/video/player.php?aid=49536

[martin_l_gore]

I wonder if this is supposed to be part of the "Batman teams up with various Robins"-thing that's going on in that particular title right now? In other news, the CSBG blog is holding a vote for the top 10 Two-Face stories of all time, which will be interesting outside of the first place... Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Lonely Place of Dying, That DKR-issue, the Teen Titans spotlight and Batman Annual #14 will definitely be on the list, but what other four stories?

[about_faces]

I would vote for several of Ty Templeton's DCAU comics, but they probably don't count. DeMatteis' "Two-Face: Crime and Punishment," that should also go there. Oh! And that great Grace Dent story from "Secret Origins Special." Also the original Harvey Kent trilogy. Not sure what else.

[about_faces]

Oh my god, not sure if want. On one hand, Nightwing: The Great Leap might be one of my favorite Two-Face stories. On the other hand, I love it for reasons that seem to go against what Tomasi's own narrative WANTED me to feel. Furthermore, I hate the direction it took by suddenly turning into another bland "Two-Face goes on a rampage" story. Also, I hate Gilda being supplanted by Not!Rachel Dawes in Harvey's heart. Also also, Tomasi was the show-runner on Batman: Face the Face, one of the worst Harvey Dent stories ever written.

... Wow, there is a LOT going against Tomasi here. But he's still a great writer, generally speaking, and if he can tap into the good parts of his Harvey from N:TGL, then that will be awesome. As it is, I am nervous.

[killermoth]

Welp, Harvey was on the last page of today's issue - so it looks like we're going to be seeing him sooner rather than later! And since the villains will be replaced the heroes in September, it's very likely we'll be getting a Two-Face #1 from Tomasi and Gleason. That's historic, if nothing else...

...as for how he'll be depicted, I don't know if Tomasi will write him like he has before, or will it be a 'New 52' version? I've been reading his B & R run from the beginning (and enjoying it) but there's been nothing to indicate that there's been any kind of a reboot, oddly enough (while people like Lobdell are changing things just to change things.) To be honest, I'd MUCH rather read the Harvey from 'The Great Leap' and 'Face the Face' than see him raked through the coals like Tynion did with Freeze and Hurwitz is doing with the Hatter...

[about_faces]

So I saw! I picked up the issue just for him supposed appearance, which was slight but interesting in its minimalism. I think I'll post it here in a few days with a post of various news tidbits, including hopefully an revised version of the Penguin storyline from the comic strip.

If comics have taught me anything it's that the only version we can count on seeing is the one as written by the same creator who wrote that character earlier on. I sincerely doubt that Tomasi will adhere to any other version but his own from Nightwing (directly derived from Face the Face, which he edited), seeing as how every writer has done that with the character over the past decade or so. Heck, it's not like the editor is trying to adhere them to a consistent version anyway.

And oh jesus, what's Hurwitz doing now?!

[killermoth]

"And oh jesus, what's Hurwitz doing now?! "

The last four issues of THE DARK KNIGHT have been the origin of Jervis Tetch, because, according to the creative team, 'there's no definitive Mad Hatter story'. (*ahem*) The origin, which they say is inspired by Charles Manson, is thus: Jervis Tech is a haberdasher's son. As a child, he takes a girl named Alice he likes to an 'Alice in Wonderland' theme park. They have a nice time. Cut to years later and Alice isn't interested in him anymore because he's...short. So Jervis's parents take him to a doctor. Turns out Jervis has a testosterone deficiency. The doctor offers a radical new medication that will remedy this ('One pill makes you larger...') but it might drive Jervis insane. So of course he takes it. It makes him lose his hair, so he starts wearing...you guessed it, HATS! He gets progressively more mental until one day he kills his pet rabbit. His parents then put him in Arkham Children's Hospital.

I'm sure there'll be more, but I won't be there to read it.

[killermoth]

My personal favorite Hatter origin is and will always be the TAS one. Nothing will ever replace that one for me. The rebooted Hatter design didn't mesh with my personal tastes, either. Again, my favorite design for Jervis is probably the TAS one, although he seems to look very different every time he appears in the comics.

Hurwitz also redid the Scarecrow's backstory fairly recently, in which Jonathan Crane went insane because his mad scientist father did fear experiments on him when he was little. Being a fan of the Scarecrow: Year One backstory with Crane being raised in Georgia, the new origin didn't go over very well with me. I didn't really like the rebooted design for the Scarecrow, either: it reminds me more than a little of the Nolanverse design, and I can't bring myself to warm up to it.

Maybe I'm just bitter because I liked the older Scarecrow backstory a lot more, but I think it's also the hat. I can't be the only one who misses the hat.

- Crow's Talon

[killermoth]

C's T -

I agree with you everything you said.

- KM

[psychopathicus]

That seems quite unnecessarily complicated. I agree that there probably isn't a 'definitive Mad Hatter story, at least not in the comics, but that doesn't sound like it's about to change. Theme parks and shortness and testosterone pills? What the hell's wrong with 'he had always been obsessed with Lewis Carroll, and something happened to make him more obsessed'?
The thing with Jervis is, his theme is a book. It is quite easy to explain how people get obsessed with books, particularly children's books, which we may retain an affection for all our lives. I know of at least two conventions specifically for devotees of different children's series; this is not an uncommon thing. This is especially true when you're talking about something like the two Alice books, which get referenced constantly - I mean unceasingly; I compiled a list of the top ten most-adapted characters in fiction not too long ago, and Alice was on it. It's all too easy to understand how someone could become dangerously obsessed with the mythos; it's everywhere. Turning

[mothy_van_cleer]

If that was intended as some kind of meta-criticism on obvious foreshadowing and clichés in super-villain backstories, I dare say it's brilliant.

But, of course, it wasn't.

[about_faces]

On second thought, Tomasi was the one who rewrote Harvey's past to include a secret true love with whom he was having an emotional affair. But she was just in place of Rachel Dawes, so there's no guarantee that she'll come back. In either case, much as I utterly loathe Face the Face, I'd rather have Tomasi on the job for a possible Two-Face new origin than the likes of Snyder, Tynion, Daniel, or Hurwitz. He at least has about a fifty-fifty chance to get it right, based on his track record.

[yaseen101]

"He at least has about a fifty-fifty chance to get it right, based on his track record."

Oddly fitting for a Two-Face writer, I must say.