1. The Smith writes a damn good old-school Dick Grayson; all wise-cracks and pluck.
2. The fact that this story is set at some point before Infinite Crisis, since we still have Dick Grayson as Nightwing, working out of Bludhaven and generally being a much happier character than he's been since... well, anytime in recent memory.
3. The brief character moment where we get inside Bruce's cowl and have him pondering his own aging and mortality. I can't remember anyone else except Frank Miller approaching this subject and this is nowhere near as heavy handed.
4. Like Bruce, I too feel my three-sizes too small heart warm when I ponder this image.
5. Speaking of blasts from the past, I love seeing someone writing Ivy was she used to be written back in the day; putting the nymph back in nymphomaniac.
6. Finally, I love how Smith writes Etrigan. Especially his rhymes, which are very fitting for how Etrigan is written in the Vertigo titles. Or any Etrigan The Demon story Keith Giffen or Dwayne McDuffie ever wrote.
I also love the concept of the book, which centers around Batman having to protect Poison Ivy from a vengeful Etrigan. Why? You'll have to read the book to find out. ;)
...wow. That's some skanked out Ivy, right there.
ReplyDeleteThough it makes me kinda ponder about the 'regular' Ivy portrayal these days- is she just gay for Harley, or was that mostly Bruce Timm and co being pervy? (Not that there's anything wrong with that...)
Dammit, now I may need to buy this. Joker's reasoning for why Ivy does things is priceless.
ReplyDelete...wow. That's some skanked out Ivy, right there.
ReplyDeleteI've seen worse at conventions. And give the artist props for being symbolic if not particularly subtle with the fountain placement.
As for the dialogue - meh. It's about on par with the Ivy innuendo I've seen in Denny O'Neil stories.
Though it makes me kinda ponder about the 'regular' Ivy portrayal these days- is she just gay for Harley, or was that mostly Bruce Timm and co being pervy? (Not that there's anything wrong with that...)
Apart from it being hinted in Hush that Ivy may have had Catwoman do... things... while under the influence, there's never been any serious suggestion that Harley likes girls.
And apart from Bruce Timm's projects and all the stories sense then where Ivy was portrayed as being more plant than woman, it's always been suggested that Ivy has a rather healthy sex drive and is all about getting plowed like a field, so to speak.
As is the next page... when Batman just leaves him strung up. :)
ReplyDeleteAll the projects SINCE... gah, I need to get to bed. Spelling is going out the window.
ReplyDelete