The Dark Knight Rises - Prodigal

DECIPHERING DC

Writers: Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, Alan Grant
Artists: Mike Gustovich, Ron Wagner, Phil Jimenez, John Cleary, Lee Weeks, Graham Nolan, Bret Blevins, Mark Bright

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Welcome to the final edition of Deciphering DC's coverage of the colossal and epic Knightfall saga. Though Knightfall ended with KnightsEnd, the good people at DC saw it prudent to use this opportunity to bring forth the long out of print, perennially in demand Prodigal, where we see Dick Grayson donning the cape and the cowl as Batman for the first time.

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises - KnightsEnd

DECIPHERING DC

Writers: Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon, Alan Grant, Dennis O'Neil, Jo Duffy
Artists: Mike Manley, Graham Nolan, Bret Blevins, Tom Grummett, Ron Wagner, Jim Balent, Barry Kitson

Hello and Welcome to yet another edition of Deciphering DC. This time, we take a look at the conclusion of the Knights Saga, KnightsEnd. Of course, Bruce comes back to regain the mantle of the Bat. Subsequently, Dick Grayson takes up the Bat costume, albeit for a short time, in the next arc, Prodigal.

Christopher Nolan’s "The Dark Knight" trilogy : The Comic Connections

With The Dark Knight Rises having stormed theatres around the world and the epic trilogy coming to a close, there is a lot of discussion on various sites and pages about how much this trilogy is loyal to its comic book counterparts.
Well the good news is that it is to a large extent.

This article tries to prove how well the researched the trilogy was by showing all the cues, characters, story points and details that Christopher Nolan and his fellow writers adapted from various iconic comic stories/arcs to create a whole new Batman for a new age!

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(It will either prove that, or that I'm an utter and total nutter who see's things everywhere that are just not there!)

I've tried to break these elements down and give you the titles of the stories/graphic novels/collections where they seem to have originated, of course only the movie-makers can know what's true and what's not.
But here, I ask YOU - think you know your caped crusader? Check this out and see what you knew and all the stuff you might've missed, the inspirations for some great movie moments.

The Dark Knight Rises - KnightQuest: The Crusade (Batman and Catwoman)

DECIPHERING DC

Welcome to yet another edition of Deciphering DC. Continuing our look at KnightQuest, this time we focus on the issues featured in the monthly title Batman and Catwoman. This review covers Batman #501-508 and Catwoman #6 & 7. All issues of Batman are written by Doug Moench and art by Mike Manley. The Catwoman issues are written by Jo Duffy and the art is by Jim Balent. All Batman covers are by Kelley Jones, while Catwoman covers are by Jim Balent.

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises - KnightQuest: The Crusade - Batman: Shadow of the Bat

DECIPHERING DC

This week we continue our look at the entire Knightfall saga and today we take a look at the issues of Batman: Shadow of the Bat featuring KnightQuest: The Crusade. This review covers issues #19, 20, 24-28 of Batman: Shadow of the Bat. Issues 21-23 will be covered in KnightQuest: The Search, next week. All stories are by Alan Grant, while art is by Vince Giarrano on the earlier three issues and Bret Blevins on the later four issues. All covers are by Batman: Shadow of the Bat regular cover artist Brian Stelfreeze.

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises - KnightQuest: The Crusade - Detective Comics and Robin

DECIPHERING DC

Hello and welcome one and all to yet another edition of Deciphering DC. Today, we continue with our look at one of the modern Bat epics, arguably THE modern Bat epic, the Knights Trilogy. While Knightfall chronicled the breaking of an exhausted Bruce Wayne at the hands of Bane, KnightQuest, the second part of the trilogy examines Gotham City without Bruce Wayne as Batman.

Deciphering The Dark Knight Rises - Knightfall Vol 1: The Broken Bat

Welcome to another special edition of Deciphering DC with me, Aalok. For quite a few weeks now we've been making our way through the shared history of Batman and one of his deadliest enemies - Bane - all with an eye to the recently released and outright awesome experience that is The Dark Knight Rises.
This week we reach the most critical part of this journey, the fatal confrontation that led to the breaking of The Bat and his rise from the ashes - yes, this is where the movie got the idea!

[Editor : For the previous articles that led up to this epic and legendary story-line in the Batman mythos, see the bottom of this post]


Writers: Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon

Artists: Jim Aparo, Graham Nolan, Norm Breyfogle, Jim Balent

Collects: Batman 491-497, Detective Comics 659-663

Technically, the Knightfall arc has gone through a number of printings with surprising inclusions, as well as equally surprising omissions. The first and second printing collected the basic nineteen-part storyline, plus additional issues, in the form of two trade paperbacks. The third (current) printing chooses to combine the contents of the earlier two trades in one volume. However, both the volumes of the first and second printing are two different beasts entirely, so that is how I choose to analyse and break down the story.

The Dark Knight Rises (Movie Review)

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I have never seen people counting down to a movie by the hour, never seen people more reluctant to reveal spoilers or anything that normally appeals to so many people, most of whom are from the comic book writing/drawing fields and have worked on the character at some time in their career. If all of this is happening, one thing is obvious - Nolan and Co. have gotten it right. To say that this was the most eagerly awaited movie of the year would be an understatement, and an unfair one, at that!

Okay, let's begin with where the first two movies by Nolan had brought us.
Batman Begins introduced us to Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale), Alfred (Michael Caine), Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman), Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) and Ra's Al Ghul (Liam Neeson). We get a glimpse into the world of the Batman and what makes him tick. We learn of his arduous training under Henri Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul, and most important, we see how Bruce conquers his greatest enemy, his fear. The Dark Knight introduces us to the primary force of chaos in Gotham, The Joker. We see allies turn into enemies, as Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is disfigured and ruined physically as well as mentally, turning him into the homicidal Two Face. While Batman Begins was powerful on emotional content, The Dark Knight packed a punch with it's edge of the seat sequences, and the memorable performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker.

Countdown to The Dark Knight Rises - Prelude to Knightfall

Welcome back to another edition of Deciphering DC. With the Dark Knight Rises all the rage all over the media, I think it’s high time I gave the whole saga a comprehensive look. DC thought the same, and that is why we saw a collection called Batman vs Bane, that collected for the first time ever, Batman: Vengeance of Bane 1 and the miniseries Batman: Bane of the Demon.

Among other collections released were a reprint of Batman: Venom (see review here), with the first appearance of the drug of the same name, which the antagonist Bane uses and Batman: Birth of the Demon (see review here), featuring the trilogy of graphic novels featuring Ra’s Al Ghul, probably a major player in this enterprise as well. And finally, an expanded collection featuring the Knightfall saga and tie ins.

Countdown to The Dark Knight Rises - Batman: Venom

Writer: Dennis O'Neil

Artists: Trevor Von Eeden, Russell Braun, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez

Collects: Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight #16-20



Welcome to another edition of Deciphering DC. This once, in anticipation of the upcoming movie, The Dark Knight Rises, which features Bane, DC Comics has decided to release a few Bane centric trades in the hopes of cashing on. This is one, the others are Batman Vs Bane (collects Batman: Vengeance of Bane 1 and Batman: Bane of the Demon 1 - 4) and a remastered edition of Batman: Knightfall, again in three (huge) volumes but this time complete with KnightsQuest and Prodigal.