Detective Comics: Endgame #1

How many anarchists does it take to screw in a light bulb? One.

I really hope this comic book doesn't spoil the end of Snyder's Endgame. I'm sure it will just be about a bunch of people punching a bunch of other people with Joker grimaces on their faces in their faces. Sometimes my editor thinks I should rework my sentences so that they aren't so convoluted but then I put my finger in her face and scowl, "No! Where is the fun in that?" But then I wish I'd said "Where is the fun in that?" in a more convoluted way. And often I just wind up feeling guilty for talking back to my pretend editor when she's just trying to do her pretend job improving my pretend writing skills.

This issue begins during the Joker Riots of Whatever Year This Is (not to be confused with the Joker Riots of Whatever Year Came Before This and the Joker Riots of Whatever Year Came Before That, et cetera, et cetera (Fun Fact! My pretend editor's name is Et Cetera (I might be stretching the definition of "fact" and "fun" with that fun fact))) before Detective Yip shot Lonnie in the face for being a youth on the street during a time of crisis. No wait! It probably occurs after Lonnie got shot by Yip and was released from the hospital with his Anarky gift mask or else how could Lonnie decide to don a mask he doesn't own and become Anarky to help stop the anarchy caused by The Joker?

You see, The Joker's anarchy is the bad kind of anarchy. It's the kind of anarchy that most people think of when they hear the word. It's the kind that movies and comic books would like you to believe would take the place of civilization if our system of laws were ever to be thrown in the toilet. It's belief in this kind of anarchy that causes an outcry for more control of the populace and encourages fascist regimes to take control. So Anarky has to use the good kind of anarchy (some might say "vigilantism") to stop the spread of the bad kind of anarchy!

Anarchy is really the most mature of all social philosophies and political ideals. It posits the theory that we are all fucking adults who can take care of ourselves. Most people want a nanny state and a protective father figure ensuring their safety so they can blissfully walk about with their noses stuck in their cell phones. But order and control is just an illusion and we're all in a perpetual state of denial. The law of everybody's neighborhood is actually anarchy. At any moment, if just a tiny fraction of the population decided to do whatever the fuck they felt like it, the system would break down. That means that the system is just an illusion that we have all agreed to for our own selfish reasons. That's anarchy, people! Citizens (white ones, anyway) might feel safer knowing that there is a police force to protect their lives or, more importantly it seems, their property. But even if a neighborhood police force didn't exist, people would still protect themselves. So now you'd have neighbors living in the exact same community but having to maintain their own protection. Basically what you'd have is the same thing you have now but probably more weapons and deadbolts in every single house in your neighborhood. But you'd almost certainly still have the same community. All that road warrior bullshit? It might happen in like Texas or something (not Austin) but most people are still going to be decent people if "the law" were to suddenly not exist. The evidence is all around you every day. Sometimes people do shitty, murderous, nutty things and they'll do it whether laws exist or not. Anarchy is not something to be feared! It's an ideal to be striven for!

Did I use "striven" correctly? Fuck it! Of course I did! I'm an anarchist and I can use it however I want!

He is an anarchist. He does know he doesn't have to sign his name at the end of each text, right?

That's the only page I've read so far but judging by the cover, Lonnie is going to don the Anarky mask and get to work protecting his mother and, I guess, Gotham by whatever means necessary! By the end of the issue, he'll have spray painted the Anarky symbol on the Bat Signal and have jerked off onto the back of a homeless person's head while listening to some radio friendly "punk rock" like Sublime, Green Day, or Blink 182. Anarchy!

Lonnie winds up getting shot at by some Joker cops (or normal cops. Really, what's the difference, amirite?) and meets a guy named Dax. Dax has an "X" in his name, a septum piercing, and a mohawk hairstyle (originally made famous by General Mohawk during the civil war. I think) which instantly identifies him as an anarchist and totally chill dude except when it comes to discussing society at large! Lonnie is about to hear some truth down in here! And probably some really crazy shit about Project Cloverleaf and how AIDS was created to kill black men and was, in the late seventies and early eighties, an actual ingredient of malt liquor.

Who would have guessed?! They're punks!

Dax's friends are Dre and Riko. They're anarchists too! When Lonnie asks if they're heroes, Riko (or Dre) says, "Nah. We're just us." Now that whole "just us/justice" thing might have been clever the first bazillion times people began to use it. But here it's clever again because of the theme of anarchy and how everybody is responsible for their own happiness and safety. And guess what helps make somebody's selfish desire for happy and safety to come about? Keeping your community happy and safe as well! So you see, an anarchist has a truly selfish reason for helping to keep their local community safe. So Dre, Dax, and Riko don't need the cops. They have "just us."

Also, Lonnie turns out to be some genius hacker that goes by the name of Moneyspider. A hacker! Those guys are total anarchists! And his mom is a stripper. Pure anarchy!

I might be shouting "Anarchy!" too much. I think everybody gets what the comic book is about. Sorry.

Does anybody sense a crazy, wacky Anarky title in the style of Burnside Batgirl? Can you say "Anarchy"? Sorry.

Ann Nocenti spent six issues writing dialogue for some truly beautiful characters drawn by Trevor McCarthy and not once made them interesting or gave me any reason to care about them. Dax and his gang look like your average, run-of-the-mill comic book characters and, in just a few pages, Brian Buccellato has created a group of kids whose monthly comic book I would pick up and read.

Trevor McCarthy really did draw an adorable looking Zell. Although she could have been a little chunkier.

Lonnie ditches his new friends to go save his mother as you probably know if you actually read the page I scanned so why am I typing this paragraph? But what you might not have known is that they decide to go after him because he's Moneyspider! Or because they just liked the cut of his jib. Is that sexist?

Oh my god! They fly?! I guess gravity is a law and fuck laws, amirite?! Anarchy!

They're not actually flying. That was just the artist's interpretation of three kids jumping from one roof to another in the most absurd way possible. But if you're going to be a hero in Gotham and have any hope of starring in your own comic book, you've got to be able to jump from one rooftop to the next.

The Anarkids run into the Batfamily in the middle of a Jokerfuffle. They don't have time to help them save a stripper because they judge. So they send Spoiler to help them out.

Since Batman Eternal, Spoiler apparently got her hands on some kind of growth formula.

Spoiler's plan is to shoot a few Joker Citizens with tranq darts but Lonnie has a better plan! Spray paint joker smiles on masks fished out of the strip club's dumpster, spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning the buffalo wing sauce and ranch dressing off of them, put them on, and storm the strip club! Then it's hugs and dollar bills all around! Happy endings for everybody!

Detective Comics: Endgame #1 Rating: Since this issue ended with a "The Beginning..." closer, I'm going to jump off a limb and say this is a pilot for a monthly Anarky series depending on how well it sells. I'm all in for that series as long as Buccellato is writing it. How about instead of teaming Buccellato up with Manapul, give him Justin Gray for awhile! Then Jimmy Palmiotti can use Manapul and we'll see if more magic happens! Or at least maybe some writer's block curing handjobs.

Batman Eternal #43

Fighting crime is only Batman's second reason for patrolling at night. Voyeurism is the first.

Hush was a boring ass boring villain who was boring but he made sense as the main antagonist in this story because he knew Batman's secret identity. A lot of the shit going down is targeting Batman in such a way that the main antagonist must know a lot of Batman's secrets. Therefore the bad guy must be Owlman from the Crime Syndicate. Or Superwoman's baby. Oh man, how great would that reveal be!

This issue begins with Batman and Bluebird on patrol together. Did she pick that name simply so Batman has to think of happiness every time he calls her by name? Did she choose the name to make fun of Batman's depression? "I'm happy go lucky and cute and you're a big sourpuss grumpface!"

Bluebird's second assignment is to keep Stephanie Brown safe. Her first assignment, judging by the eyeball comment, was to read Batman's Big Book of Things You Can Do To Villains That Aren't Technically Killing Them.

Since last issue ended with Catwoman capturing Stephanie and this issue begins with Stephanie in Batman's clutches (in a good way. Not that good of a way, sicko!), Batman #28 must have happened between Batman Eternal #42 and Batman Eternal #43. It mostly makes sense if you go back and read it now. Plus Batman leaves a clue in his dialogue when he says there are 43 people on the floor of Selina's casino! See? He's telling you when to read Batman #28! Unless it was Bluebird who counted the people. I just reread it and I can't remember!

Spoiler has been left with Cullen in "one of the safest buildings in Gotham." Is it the 900 block that was full of Man-Bats some time back? Is it safe because it was built upon an ancient Micmac burial ground? Perhaps it's the most rundown part of Gotham and owned by Bruce Wayne who is keeping it rundown so that none of the crime families want anything to do with it but Batman still cleans out all of the street crime to keep it one of the safest and cheapest places to live in the city?!

Inside the safe house, Cullen and Stephanie pause in the middle of playing Double Dragon to discuss the different flavors of tea like black or the other ones.

Stephanie and Harper don't exactly get along because Harper wanted to be a sidekick so she buys into everything Batman is about but Stephanie was forced into being a costumed person just to stay alive and has also probably seen all of the injuries Batman has given her father over the years so she's a little bit anti-bat. Plus she just spent some time with Selina Kyle who probably dumped all of her Batman problems on her. Now I wish I was tied up in Catwoman's lair listening to her tell me all of her big fuckfight stories with the Batman!

The story is providing some flashback material to fill in the details surrounding the rescue of Spoiler in Batman #28.

Red Robin tells Harper the plan to find Catwoman's casino and to infiltrate it. All the right plot points are touched upon to explain why things happened the way they happened in Batman #28. Harper has to be the one to enter the casino since Catwoman has a scanner that will identify all known associates of Batman. So that explains why Batman went on this mission with Harper whom he chastises in the middle of the battle for having been training with his sidekicks. At least this version of the story gives us some scenes between Catwoman and Spoiler this time. I guess those...hee hee hee...scenes couldn't be shown before because they...giggle giggle...would have been...snicker snicker snicker...spoilers.

God I hate myself.

Selina is correct. As I've pointed out over and over and over and over again, everybody in DC Comics is motivated by Daddy Issues.

And then Batman #28 happens. I highly recommend pulling it out and giving it a jerk reread. It's not like it's needed since this story hits all the beats that need to be hit but I think it makes Batman and Harper's team-up more enjoyable. This whole scene is just lots of fun. I can't wait to see Harper and Damian working together!

Harper's take on the Spoiler rescue.

As we saw at the beginning of the issue, Spoiler goes with Batman. She doesn't plan on telling Batman all of her secrets for some reason but I'm sure she'll cave in time. Probably when she and Harper stop baring their fangs at each other and begin licking each other instead. That was a cat metaphor and not a sex thing, perverts!

Oh, and the licking happens fast once the cats are comfy on the couch.

Earth-3 Owlman! And his sidekick, Superwoman's baby!

Harper Row makes a good sidekick. I hope she continues to work with Batman and Robin as Bluebird. And I hope that she remains "in training" for a long time instead of just suddenly making her just as good at fighting and acrobatics as all of the other sidekicks. Every mission Batman goes on doesn't have to be the most dangerous mission ever. There are a lot of low level Gotham villains that would be perfect for Harper's skill level. Like all of the ones I can't think of right now other than The Mad Hatter who she already beat up. Except he's a fairly dangerous psychotic that may have already killed more residents of Gotham than even The Joker at this point! Harper was lucky she didn't get killed on her very first night wearing her Bluebird suit.

Batman Eternal #43 Rating: +1 Ranking. This issue made a nice companion piece to Batman #28, filling in just the right amount of gaps, repeating scenes with just enough of a different perspective or dialogue to keep it fun and interesting, and it revealed all of the things that couldn't be revealed a year ago. And I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed the manga/anime inspired art and the artist's tips of the hat to the genre. Everybody was just so cute it was disgusting.

Bat-Mad Lib Eternal #32

Hush (verb, present tense) Spoiler in the (body part) while Batman (verb, present tense) Hush right (preposition) the ass.

Last issue, (animal)man mostly just (verb, past tense) around in his Bat(conveyance). But (preferred pronoun) did manage to (comic book feat I can't remember because it happened last month). So that was something(punctuation mark)

Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's (synonym for indentured servant), teamed up with (ethnic super villain) to escape the ruins of Arkham (place where people are treated horribly). Alfred has been (adverb that is not fucking literally) hallucinating due to an injection (super villain with a stupid name) gave him directly to his (organ which men use to make decisions). But he's (comparative) now!

The issue ended with (something a librarian says) about to kill Cluemaster's daughter, (part of a car).

How come whenever a character has a (ranged weapon that doesn't kill people because people apparently kill people, quite often with the ranged weapon's help), they always get too close, allowing their opponent to (verb) them?

Batman arrives to (verb) the (unit of time least likely to encounter a bat) using his personalized take on the (weapon co-opted from another culture). Hush lobs a (fruit) at Batman and Spoiler which causes a huge (noisy event not usually involving children). When the (noun) clears, Batman finds that Hush and Spoiler have pulled a (famous DC Comic Book character) on him and disappeared.

Later, Batman returns to (verb) Bat(non-human body part) because he loves him. Or he just doesn't want Batwing's (inevitable, depressing, horrible fact of life that we constantly try to ignore by having loads of sex, eating lots and lots of decadent foods, and immersing ourselves in constant yet ultimately meaningless distractions) on his conscience. Or he was just (verb, past tense) of hearing Batwing mutter over the Batcom, "(desperate plea) (selfish pronoun)!"

Alfred (worthless monetary unit)worth is a bad ass. He had ('a' or 'an', depending on how pretentious you'd like to sound) historic building dropped on him and only needed one small (brand name item used to refer to all items of like type) on his (body part that isn't penis or vagina because you've probably already used those).

Meanwhile on the roof of the (Gotham building full of corrupt assholes. So, you know, any of them), Jason (Dungeons and Dragons character class) and Hush finally meet face to (body part often used in sex) to talk (the best sex) to (the worst sex). (Yes, I realize the wording in the previous blanks will wind up with Jason Bard and Hush meeting to talk doggy style to anal. Or meeting to talk with my soulmate to my first time.) I (verb) this is the first time Hush and (minor character with a limp) have met to show they're definitely (gerund) together.

(entire paragraph that basically amounts to "Scott Lobdell is a lousy writer.")

Jason Bard goes to visit (poor man's Lois Lane) to discuss what he's learned about Hush's (plural noun). At the same time, Batman notices somebody has (illegal but cool verb to do, past tense) the MacGregor database. That's the listing of all of Batman's (adjective) weapons caches across (fictional city that means village of goats). For anybody too (adjective that isn't 'retarded' but could be if you are an insensitive bastard!) to figure out (math equation), I'll spell it out for you: (super villain) (verb, past tense) (article) (noun)!

Oh (expletive)!

The final pages play out with (repressed vigilante with a sad social life) being framed for (overused media noun adjunct) attacks all over Gotham City. When is (character I don't care about) going to step up and do something about this (other character I don't care about) before all (fictional place used to keep people nice by being afraid) breaks loose!

Batman Eternal #32 Rating (in which I've already filled out the Mad Lib blanks): Dog farts extrapolate polar median hibiscus monstrosities. Phallic raiment devolves upon shoddy platonic wet dreams. Demonstrative police savage inane pituitary concerns. Batman? Why, tuberculosis, of course!

Batman Eternal #24

Because of this cover, how many nerd reviews are filled with assholes spoiling as many books and movies as they possibly can?

I'm going to spoil the entire Lord of the Rings series for those people that have never been able to slog through it but have read tons and tons of Lord of the Rings fan fiction. Sam and Frodo never buttfuck in Mordor. Legolas never fucks Gimli on horseback while humiliating him and his ancestors. Pippin is not gang banged by Ents (at least not explicitly). Eowyn never rides Merry's face after he becomes a Knight of "Ridemyfacemark." Saruman's ultimate goal is not to skull fuck one of every creature in Middle Earth plus a few he creates himself. Hobbits do not celebrate their eleventy-first birthday with a huge gay hobbit orgy. Just before he dies, Boromir does not pull out his cock to have it sucked by Aragorn while dozens of mortally wounded orcs watch and masturbate. Frodo does not emerge from Shelob's lair sick from too much spider pussy. Gollum does not have a twelve inch penis. Okay, he might have a twelve inch penis. The actual book doesn't mention it at all. Which is weird when you think about it since Tolkien felt the need to describe nearly every other thing in Middle Earth in excruciating detail.

I now think maybe I should be writing Lord of the Rings fan fiction instead of commenting on DC's The New 52. Or perhaps I just need to stick more throbbing, erect phalluses into my commentaries. For those of you who just thought "That's what she said," fuck you. I said I should be writing fan fiction so you should have thought "That's what he said."

I wonder if Slash from Guns N' Roses hates that his name now basically represents The Smoking Man using his mouth to tell Fox Mulder's penis the truth, or Superman taking a big fat batcock right up his K-hole?

Here's a spoiler for Eee! Tess Ate Chai Tea: I've come to realize that I hate comic book fans far more than I hate DC Comics. I don't blame DC for putting Batman in every single one of their comic books. How does it seem that the comic book fandom can't stop masturbating on everything Marvel puts out and yet Batman still sells more comic books than any other title month to month? Hey, you fucking Batfans? Just because Batman isn't on the cover of a DC Comic book, it doesn't mean that comic book isn't worth reading! Start branching out! DC has some other really good books. Like Batman and Robin! No wait. I mean, that's good, sure. But my point was good books without Batman. Well, I'd say Swamp Thing and Red Lanterns are fucking terrific and they're barely selling but I'd hate to get people reading those just when Charles Soule has signed an exclusivity contract with Marvel. Demon Knights is really...oh wait. How about All Star...oh. Hmm, forget that. Fuck it. Keep buying whatever you want to buy and I'll keep enjoying for extremely limited amounts of time good books with characters that don't sell comic books.

I actually wouldn't be surprised to see Harley Quinn begin starring in more titles by the way her book is selling. Fucking comic book fans. I should actually say comic character fans because by the monthly sales stats, I'd have to say a large majority of people reading comic books don't actually care about the medium. They simply care about specific characters no matter how shitty they're being written. They've made an emotional connection to the character somewhere along the way and simply get squidgy feelings all up and down their insides that may or may not be (but probably are) connected to their genitals whenever they see the character. Even if that character is currently referring to her vagina as a clown car.

I'm just bitter that I can't have long runs of characters I identify with, like Etrigan and Jonah Hex. And Constantine will probably soon be canceled according to his monthly sales but that might be okay since he's been fucking neutered since being forced into regular continuity. Maybe Harley Quinn should start saying things in her comic book like, "I sure am interested in what happens to that Swamp Thing! Anybody that loves my adventures would certainly love the adventures of the Swamp Thing!" Or maybe all of DC's comic books should be team comics starring Batman and the other character that previously wasn't sharing the title with him?

Oh, who am I kidding? When I say that I hate comic book fans, I'm really just saying I hate myself. I hate myself for caring about this medium! I hate myself for reading issue after issue written by Ann Nocenti! I hate myself for...well, for other more personal and intimate reasons that I'm not sharing with the likes of you, perverted internet denizens.

It's Hush! It's already been revealed! It isn't a mystery anymore! You suck at spoiling!

Cluemaster reports to Hush that he and his gang are fucking with Gotham's infrastructure so that every citizen of Gotham will be kicking their pets. Signalman is fucking with the traffic lights because he chose a stupid name like Signalman. Serves him right. Ratcatcher is running around in the sewers trying to spread disease. He'll probably get picked up by Maxie Zeus or Killer Croc soon. And the Prankster has decided Chicago is no fun with Nightwing dead, so he's moved to Gotham where criminals seem to be able to do whatever the fuck they want, whenever they want. Sure, occasionally one of them gets some bones broken by Batman. But Batman can't be everywhere at once, right? Judging by the amount of crime in Gotham, the risk of encountering Batman seems low enough to overcome the fear of that encounter.

Later, Batman battles a deadly apparition at the Museum of Modern Art. Or it's possible he ruins a performance art piece by Doctor Ecks. Who can tell? I can't because I was programmed by the man.

This piece is called "Batman Standing in Front of a Picture of a Hamster Being Shrunk Down to the Size of a Hamster-Sized Candy Bar While Psychiatrist Sleeps."

Lastly, Spoiler manipulates her father, Cluemaster, so that he chases her outside Gotham city limits where he's picked up by state troopers who don't seem to be corrupt. Why is it Gotham cops are so corrupt? What is inherently wrong with Gotham? It must be Batman, right? I don't think Batman himself knows how he's being manipulated by Bruce Wayne. I really think Bruce Wayne is a master criminal. He controls real estate and technology in Gotham while he fosters the personality of Batman who goes about keeping the other criminal masterminds in check. Batman is a distinct personality that has an idea who Bruce Wayne is but doesn't truly know Bruce Wayne's plans and ambitions. But Bruce Wayne has no direct control over his Batman persona so he has to manipulate it in small ways, much like the protagonist of Memento manipulates himself to keep searching for his wife's killer no matter how many "killers" he kills. No wonder The Joker is in love with Batman. He's probably the only person that understands exactly how insane Bruce and Batman are.

Batman Eternal #24 Rating: No change.