The New 52: Batman

Title: Batman
Issue: #1
Release: September 2011
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artists: Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion


Photo via Comic Book Resources

Batman is DC's most interesting individual character, or at least he should be. As discussed in my Action Comics post, I find Superman to be rather limited. Clark Kent/Superman is pure good - ideal for a cultural icon but not so inspiring as a literary protagonist. Batman is different. He has no super powers and is not invincible. He is just a very rich man with really cool toys and a highly malleable sense of justice. Bruce Wayne is good but he's not perfect. He must survive by his wits more than anything else. Survival is expected, but not a given. That is why I take such offense at the recent passing off of Batman to other aliases. My feeling is that if you can't build upon Bruce Wayne/Batman, you don't belong in the character development business.

Robin is another matter. I've never quite grasped the need for Robin. Alfred is a stronger intellectual foil. Is Robin simply the realization of a universal childhood fantasy of hanging out with a superhero? Plus, I don't think changing Robin's alias has done much to change the character one way or another as far as the Batman storyline is concerned - still superfluous baggage.

Batman #1 did not pass my curiosity test. The book is good and the artwork strong but not enough to interest me in issue #2. The twist at the end is a great one but it's a little too easy to see how it will play out. More after the...


*****SPOILER ALERT*****

Surely, Dick Greyson isn't really out to kill Bruce Wayne. Mind you, that would be a very interesting story but I just don't see it happening. There has to be something more going on, some other reason for Greyson's DNA to end up at the crime scene. If Greyson really did leave the message, he's being controlled somehow - something happened during his extra night in the prison, perhaps. Like I said, it's pretty easy to imagine how this all plays out. If anyone reads further issues and finds differently, feel free to write to me with an I-told-you-so. The how and why of the matter is almost enough to pique my interest but not quite.

My Football Fantasy: Austin

College League: won, 110.62-104.98 (2-0 overall, 2nd place out of 12 teams)
Vermont League: won, 157.76-128.62 (1-1 overall, 5th out of 12)
My Player of the Week: Miles Austin (Wide Receiver, Cowboys) with 9 receptions for 143 yards and 3 touchdowns plus 1 rushing attempt for -2 yards


Photo via Fantasy Knuckleheads

Best case scenario in the Vermont league: I win the title. Next-best case scenario: Mock wins the title. As such, I do feel a little bit bad for him regarding our matchup this past week. If he'd been playing anyone else, he'd have won. I'd say both of our teams are in pretty good shape going forward.

I've got Austin in the college league but Mock has him in the Vermont league so he was a double-edged sword for me this week.

Family Adventures: Letterboxing

My Wife has discovered a new family hobby for us: letterboxing. Learn all about it here. The basic idea is, someone plants a waterproof box somewhere. They put a rubber stamp and a small notepad in the box. They post clues to finding the box online. The searcher finds the box, stamps their own notebook and marks the notepad in the box with their own stamp or signs it. Done. It's basically a treasure hunt. The boxes are planted throughout North America and beyond. There are 178 listed for Northern Vermont alone, including quite a few within easy striking distance of our house. So, we decided to give it a go.


We started with the Mills Riverside Park Series. Sadly, we were only able to find two of the three in the series. We couldn't find #1. One of the clues for #1 is "Check out the amazing tree." This is Vermont, for crying out loud! Throw a rock in any given direction. It'll bounce off of one amazing tree and hit the one next to it. There has been some flooding in the area, as you may have heard, and it's not difficult to imagine that box might have been washed away. We did find #2 and it was in excellent shape. #3 hasn't fared as well. The box had been crushed and the notepad was completely soaked. The stamp was in good condition, though.

Overall, I enjoyed it and I think it has a lot of promise as a hobby for us. It's hiking-light compared to our Long Trail and Side-to-Side projects. It's also driving-light, which I definitely like. Some supplies to bring for next time: gloves for poking around in the dirt and underbrush for the box, hand wipes and/or sanitizer and perhaps some extra Ziplocs to reinforce boxes that have sustained damage.

We also went "apple picking." Apple picking the past couple of years has basically involved driving to Chapin Orchard, buying a couple bags of apples, then finding a nice place to sit with our cider and doughnuts: perfect.




Finally, we stopped by the Jericho village green to see the new sculpture display by Our Girl's after school arts program. This is her section of the larger whole which follows:




Overall, it was a great, adventurous weekend. The equinox is near!

My Baseball Fantasy: On to the Finals

Private League: won 10-0
Public League: 1st place out of 12 teams, 6.5 points ahead
My Player of the Week: Matt Kemp (Center Fielder, Dodgers) with 2 home runs, 7 runs, 6 RBI, 2 stolen bases and a .385 batting average


Photo via TheFizzBuzz

I certainly can't complain about my week in the private league. On to the finals we go. I hold a tie-break advantage so I only need five points out of ten. Here we go!

Meanwhile, the situation in the public league is making me nervous. The end game in a rotisserie league is tricky. The guy behind me made up 7.5 points in one week. If he does that again, he takes the title.

If Kemp doesn't win National League MVP this year, it will only be because the Dodgers have been mediocre. He's been a fantasy baseball dream: 34 home runs, 113 RBI, 103 runs, 40 stolen bases and a .320 batting average. He still has a week-and-a-half to build on those totals!

I'm with the Band: Ohio State

Band: The Ohio State University Marching Band
University: The Ohio State University
Founded: 1878
Current Director: Jon R. Woods
Fight Songs: "Across the Field" and "Buckeye Battle Cry"



The Ohio State University Marching Band is an all-brass and percussion ensemble, the largest such band in the world. "Across the Field" is the older of the two fight songs, composed in 1915 by William A. Dougherty, Jr. "Buckeye Battle Cry," however, is the one played after touchdowns. It was composed by Frank Crumit in 1919.

All This and Football, Too!

My Picks for the Week: 13/20 (tied for 1st place out of 3 players)
My Picks for the Season: 41/60 (3rd place out of 3)

I picked five upsets this week: Auburn, Temple, Vanderbilt, Miami (OH) and Ohio State. Only Vanderbilt won.

The New 52: Green Lantern

Title: Green Lantern
Issue: #1
Release: September 2011
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy


Image via Comic Booked

This one was a pleasant surprise. I was entirely prepared to dislike Green Lantern. The series embodies many of the things I find frustrating about the recent DC Comic story lines, namely heroes taking on new aliases. Are you really going to make Batman more interesting by making his alias someone other than Bruce Wayne? Why not work to develop the Bruce Wayne character instead? Dynamism is good. Why is Huck Finn a stronger character than Tom Sawyer? Because he changes.

Just in the New 52 books I've read, I've encountered three different Green Lantern characters: Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner and Sinestro. To add to the confusion for the newbie, they all wear exactly the same uniform, too. And yet, I have to admit, somehow it works. The three I've mentioned are all very different from each other. While I still contend that one character with a complex personality would be preferable, the idea of team members offering different aspects to one unifying concept is compelling in its own way.

And so, Green Lantern #1 passes my curiosity test, the second New 52 title to do so. It is not lost on me that this book and Justice League #1 (the other one to pass my test) were both written by Geoff Johns. I think I'm willing to give next week's Green Lantern Corps #1 a try as well.


*****SPOILER ALERT*****

I honestly did not see Sinestro's appearance at the end coming. For starters, I'd gotten caught up in Hal Jordan's real life love and money issues. I'd briefly forgotten about the whole Green Lantern thing. Plus, I assumed that the Jordan and Sinestro stories would be developed slowly and separately, not to be intertwined until further issues. As such, Sinestro's arrival was genuinely startling for me. I really like the set up of one character who desperately wants to be a Green Lantern and another who's just as eager to be rid of the burden.

I love the floating Oompa-Loompas...er...Guardians...


Image via DC Comics Planet

Family Adventures: Ballet I

I believe it's important to include other caring adults besides the parents in a child's life. We have been particularly lucky with Our Girl's teachers - and not just the ones at school, though they've been wonderful, too. We have managed to find gifted and thoughtful instructors in art, soccer and swimming almost entirely through luck and proximity. One of the most important adults in her life beyond our family has been her dance instructor.


Photo via Fusion 802 Dance

I have written some about Our Girl's passion for dance before. We found her wonderfully talented and thoughtful teacher entirely by chance. My Wife had heard good things about a particular dance school so we signed her up for a one week summer camp. Miss N was one of many teachers at the school and just happened to be the instructor that week. She has been a big part of our family life ever since. Miss N has since opened her own dance studio and we eagerly followed her to her new digs. If you live near Colchester, Vermont and you're looking for a dance class, I cannot recommend Fusion 802 highly enough.

Our Girl is doing Ballet I this year and it is such a joy to watch her dance. She clearly loves it so much and really takes it seriously. As I've written before, I worry about what happens once puberty hits and body issues come to the fore. But I'm confident that as long as we stick with Miss N, dance will continue to be a very positive part of her life.