Batman has been in a hell of his own for months since writer Chip Zdarsky took over the reins of the character’s flagship series. As drawn by Jorge Jimenez, the Caped Crusader has battled “Failsafe,” an unstoppable robot created by Batman’s own emergency backup personality to activate and kill him should he ever break his rule against killing .
Failsafe has chewed through Batman (multiple times), Batman’s entire family, and even members of the Justice League like Superman himself. In the last issue, Batman lured the machine to the old Justice League satellite near the moon, and this month’s issue began with Batman stranded and drifting in space between the moon and earth. So he did what any of us would have done in this situation.
He found a way to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and reach the ground alive.
What else is happening on the pages of our favorite comics? We’ll tell you. Welcome to Monday Funnies, Polygon’s list of books our comic editor liked this week. It’s part society pages about the lives of superheroes, part recommended reading, and part look at this cool art. There may be some spoilers. There may not be enough context. But there will be great comics. (And if you missed the last issue, read this.)
How did Batman make it back to the Arctic? He snagged an oxygen tank and an uncased launch vehicle from his wrecked ship to hold on for propulsion, relied on the Batsuit for insulation and shielding (wrapped his swim trunks around his face as his oxygen mask melted on reentry), and I think he did it a a lot of of orbital mechanics math on the fly.
He even managed to land within walking distance of the Fortress of Solitude. Nobody tells Tom Cruise about it.
I love a superhero story set around Christmas and one where New York City’s everyday objects all turn into Toon Town-like nightmares, such as: dark web
What will stick in my mind for a while is this real New York Problems ass example of superhero collateral damage. Not a destroyed building, not a broken bridge: a huge eyesore on an important landmark that is taking way, way too long to clean up. It’s perfect.
Make a power bombAlready one of my best comics of 2023 (since it doesn’t hit the stores until March), this week sees its sweet farewell, with electrifying action and tear-jerking drama to the very end.
From the team that brought you Rorschach comes danger roadnominally an ensemble thriller miniseries only about Shmoes from DC Comics’ most obscure and disjointed series – characters like Lady Cop, Atlas (not the Greek one), and Star Man (not the one you’ve heard of).
It’s an odd illusion considering I’m very familiar with some of these characters – Metamorpho, Warlord, and Doctor Fate, for example – but the overall experience reminds me of something like that the most top ten or Guardian or even an old Wildstorm book. Somehow, writer Tom King and artist Jorge Fornés made the DC Universe feel like an ad hoc superhero setting, inspired by, poking fun at, and the weirdness of the DC Universe celebrates.
Don’t think I didn’t notice Squirrel Girl’s No-Lines Avengers cameo in Ryan North and Francesco Mobili’s Secret invasion. Because I did. I see it, I’m here for it and I love it.