Another New Orphan

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Story by Bob Haney, Art by Neal Adams

A kid named Lance shows up, and is rude to Alfred.







I can't even believe Bruce falls for this, especially the 'Fuzz', but love the sitcom Dad look.











Alfred makes his feelings known.













I really like the way the Titans work here.









Lance sees Robin's sacrifice and learns the true meaning of family and respect. He apparently strips Robin, puts on his costume and takes a bullet for Batman. So Batman gets to watch Robin 'die' twice in one night!



And Lance gets a statue out somewhere on the grounds of Wayne Manor.

DCU has a blog now. It's here: http://dcublog.dccomics.com/

IGN is doing a poll re: Which Flash do you like best?
It's here: http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090401-flash-poll.html
It's hardly scientific, but is kind of interesting.

I'd love to see the results if they do one for Batgirl.

Comments

[seriousfic.insanejournal.com]

Wally's in the lead.

Those are some of the sweetest words in the universe. Right up there with "starring Robert Downey Jr." and the lyrics to Journey songs.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

And it's a pretty big lead...

[sistermagpie.insanejournal.com]

OMG, so much greatness in this story.

First, that they neatly take care of Lance by killing him off with all his knowledge because nobody really wants Dick to have a brother, right? Especially one who's a rat? (If you've read BftC #2...Lance has got a ways to go to beat Jason there.) Don't ask me how that flimsy looking cape is actually protective.

Then there's the lingo--swinging, zing, and best of all dig. Dick digs Bruce.

Then there's Bruce's great testaments of love for everybody. Lance's dad is the best he ever knew. Except his dad who was the bestest best! And Dick means more to him than anything in life! And Bruce is just the greatest guy ever--just ask Dick! Awwww!

Also Dick getting in trouble for Lance's antics. Honestly, not since Opie Taylor has a kid's father been more willing to believe the worst of a kid with better character.

Also, Bruce's costume still seems to be in its plastic bag from the dry cleaners.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

OMG, so much greatness in this story.

Awww! I know ! Glad to share the love!

Haven't read BftC #2 yet. Am going to pick up Batman Confidential, may p/u BftC. Don't know yet.

Also Dick getting in trouble for Lance's antics. Honestly, not since Opie Taylor has a kid's father been more willing to believe the worst of a kid with better character.

Heh:) I know. *shakes head* Love that Dick's excuse is 'growing pains'. And that Bruce is like, "Get yourself together, young man! We risk both our lives every night! I can't have a crimefighting partner who plays crinkle fender with my new car!

Then there's Bruce's great testaments of love for everybody. Lance's dad is the best he ever knew. Except his dad who was the bestest best! And Dick means more to him than anything in life! And Bruce is just the greatest guy ever--just ask Dick! Awwww!

It's the love testaments that got me in this one. Plus, Neal Adams' Bruce just slays me. In the good way. Although Also, Bruce's costume still seems to be in its plastic bag from the dry cleaners. Heh. Although I am surprised to see Neal Adams draw the Batsuit on a hanger looking quite like that. Heh. Cleaners must be it. And I love the pink tights still attached.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

And that Bruce is like, "Get yourself together, young man! We risk both our lives every night! I can't have a crimefighting partner who plays crinkle fender with my new car!

Well, in fairness, it's not like Bruce doesn't have an example to draw on...

I can't get this to embed, so here's the link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29d427e2ve4) instead

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

ahahaha:)

What an odd, interesting little show! I'm like Prime Time or Saturday Morning?

Have you seen the cough-syrup... Nah. Nevermind. I love him too much.

Something about the embed uses the lj-embed code but I haven't figured it quite out yet. Don't know, but thank you for the link and the laugh. I'm wanting to read both autobiographies. Life in Tights and Back to the Batcave (I think that's the title. I heard it was... better.)

[alessandra_lee.insanejournal.com]

You forgot cat.

[sistermagpie.insanejournal.com]

Ack, yes! They are all hip cats!

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Except for that ever-lovin' fool of a guardian, Bruce Wayne!

[sistermagpie.insanejournal.com]

I forgot--I also love the way Bruce seems to have a portrait of his dad with a disapproving look on his face, I guess so he can look down on Bruce when Bruce feels he's been naughty.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

You know he goes and stands there and just...

suffers...

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

"HEP cats", surely?

[sistermagpie.insanejournal.com]

Oh god, yes. I just outed myself as a totally non-hep cat with that typo!!! The Teen Titans would be so ashamed of me.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Au contraire! The Teen Titans are the friendiest!
Have friendship, will travel!

They'd swing with you, until you got hep. If it were me, I'd probably play un-hep, even after I got hep. For kicks, Baby! Beautiful Kicks!

[sistermagpie.insanejournal.com]

It's true! They are the best!

::sniff::

[superfan1.insanejournal.com]

Very nice and sweet story, also love batman crying moment at the end.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

I did too.

See, DC! Just today in either the BftC thread or Tsuki's Jason thread I read that some writer is saying Jason is absolutely not redeemable. But Jason is redeemable! He wouldn't even be vaguely interesting if he wasn't redeemable.
Not to me, anyway.

Batman wouldn't give up on Jason or throw in the towel with Stephanie the way he did. Back in the um... 90s, I think.

[endis_ni.insanejournal.com]

Wonder Doll.

Wonder Doll.

Mind you, I'm not convinced "Boy Bowman" is any better.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Imma say it's not any better, and about the same:) But I hear you. These kids and the way they talk today kind of vibe. Written by someone who was not... it strikes me as like what my dad would think about slang or something. If he was writing comics in 1969.

Kid Flash, IMO, comes off really well here. It's partly the art and partly the Oh Bro-THER! AND he looks significantly older than teen, but I really like him here.

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

I like the way the Titans are handled here. It's interesting seeing them when they were basically the superpowered equivalent of a kid gang, instead of the major superteam they are at this point. I kinda wish they'd stayed that way - I mean, I know some great things have been done with the Titans since then, but they've basically turned into one of two things: A, a thoroughly professional superteam, equivalent to the JLA or JSA in terms of power and efficiency, or B, a squabbling group of teenagers with superpowers, trying as not-very-hard as they can to avoid killing each other while fighting evil. The first is good, but arguably somewhat derivative; the second is just plain annoying. A superpowered kid gang is fairly unique, if nothing else; some interesting things could have been done with them like that.
Oh, and it's interesting to see just how EMOTIONAL Bats used to get. He sure has changed, huh?

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

They're not really a gang though, they're too well behaved for that.

I like to think of them as a... rather unique after-school peer group... with ogling benefits! :)

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

I meant 'kid gang' in terms of, say, the Newsboy Legion, or Daredevil's 'Little Rascals', or 'Archie and the Gang'. I mean, they ARE a bit clean-cut for such a term, but within certain parameters, if you've got a group of kids together hanging out as a group, that's what you call them. It's the technical term.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Well, he still gets angry...

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

Sure, but not much past that. For a number of years now, his emotional range can basically be described as:
1: Angry.
2: VERY angry
3: Icily calm.
4: Aghast.
5: Grudgingly comforting.
6: The occasional very brief smile. This scares people.
Mind you, there are exceptions, but they're rare.

I like your list!

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Heh. There are probably a few other variants of negative emotions, but overall... sounds right to me.

Re: I like your list!

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

Well, sure, there's 'paranoid' and 'irritatingly superior' and 'overly territorial' (if that counts as an emotion) and the like, but why go too far into detail? I like the character for his GOOD moments, not his bad ones.

[magnetic_regina.insanejournal.com]

Daaaaaw. Protective daddy Batman is adorable. I love those two so much.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Me too!