Rant Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Many of you have surely noticed that I've been curiously quiet (on the blog, definitely not in real life) about the finale to Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. I just felt that, with so many blogs and websites already covering every detail that was released, bit by bit, in the months leading up to its release, that job was more than adequately covered. So, I decided to withhold all comments until I had actually seen the movie. Make no mistake, this movie has always been a big deal to me. Batman has been pretty much my favorite thing ever since I was a little kid, and having such a staggeringly good series of films set in his world was about as much as I could have realistically hoped for. After Batman Begins and The Dark Knight somehow surpassed all my expectations, the anticipation for the third film(despite all the hem-hawing around about whether or not Nolan would do a third film, I was always 100% certain that he would) was ridiculously high. Since the moment I staggered out of the theater after watching The Dark Knight for the first time, not a day has gone by that I have not spent at least a few minutes wondering what the third installment would bring to the table. The final week leading up to its release was nearly unbearable. The horrific shooting that occurred during one of the midnight showings cast a weird and tragic pall over the entire affair.

Then, at long last, we were sitting in the theater. As the film began, I had to fight the urge to elbow Cindy and tell her "Hey! We're actually watching it! It's playing right now and we're getting to see it!" This was more than a movie; it was a cultural event.

All that means that The Dark Knight Rises had a whole hell of a lot to live up to. The movie is not perfect, it has a few more flaws than its predecessors, and it's not quite as good as the maniacally awesome The Dark Knight, but it is a wholly satisfying conclusion to the Dark Knight trilogy. I'm not about to summarize the plot here, because that's what pretty much everyone who has reviewed this movie has done, a plot synopsis is pretty damn easy to find. I also don't wanna spoil even the most trivial things for people who haven't seen it yet, and are trying to avoid any and all spoilers. There are a lot of thematic parallels with Batman Begins, so it might be a good idea to re-watch at least that movie before you see TDKR. All you need to understand the film is presented to you, but you'll get more of the subtext by re-watching BB first.

The performances are exceptionally strong across the board. That's no surprise at this point, but it still is worth noting. As the central villain, tom Hardy's Bane is drawing many comparisons to Heath Ledger's Joker. Bane doesn't have the dark charisma that sucks you right into the movie that Ledger's Joker possesses, but Hardy gives a magnetic performance that is just as award-worthy. Watch Hardy's eyes; I made a point of watching them whenever possible, and the way he emotes and conveys so much through his eyes is staggering. combined with the unique, oddly enthralling voice he gives the character, Bane is a villain for the ages, entirely worthy of inclusion in this remarkable film trilogy.

Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle has been a hotly debated character, but rest assured, she is every bit a fully-realized character worthy to stand alongside her co-stars. The cinematic crimes committed against the character in previous movies have been rectified by Nolan and Hathaway.

As for the returning cast, Christian Bale gets much more development for his character than in TDK, and as always, he makes the most of it. As the film ends, you truly feel that Bruce Wayne's character arc is complete. Michael Caine's Alfred gets some great emotional moments, and may well give you the sensation that dust is suddenly flying around  the room and getting in your eyes in several scenes. Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox is delightful, as usual, and Gary Oldman's James Gordon remains the staunch ally of the Batman you expect him to be. As the police commissioner, Gordon is burdened by the great lie which has seemingly saved Gotham, at the price of sullying the Batman for all time, as seen at the conclusion of TDK. His conscience wrestles with his knowledge that the lie has been good for Gotham, and Oldman gets some nice moments out of the conflict.

Hans Zimmer's score is phenomenal, as always. the integration of the chanting with the music in key scenes helps to raise the tension in much the same way as the ever-escalating "theme" used for the Joker did in TDK. Along with another longtime Nolan collaborator, cinematographer Wally Pfister, the technical aspects of the film are in excellent hands.

And honestly, that's about all I can say without venturing into spoiler territory. There's a lot to discuss there, so I may well do a spoiler-ific supplement to this before long. To sum up for now, The Dark Knight Rises is the greatest third act any film series has ever gotten, with the possible exception of 1964's Goldfinger. As with all of Nolan's films, it rewards "active" viewing; if you actually use your brain as you watch, you will get so much more out of it. TDKR is a multi-layered feast that I'm already looking forward to seeing again very soon. There has long been a supposed "rule" regarding film adaptations of comic books characters: the third film in the series always sucks. It's been borne out again and again, with film series starring everyone from Superman to Spider-Man. That trend is officially over. The Dark Knight Rises is easily the best movie I've seen this year, and does what many deemed impossible in ending the wildly popular series in a wholly satisfying manner. Go and see it. Then go see it again.
My score:

My art: Valkara the Reaver

This is my character Valkara the Reaver as she appears in Skyrim. Valkara has been with me in this basic form for nearly two decades, and she frequently becomes my character of choice in such games. I've taken some liberties in the depiction of the armor and weapons she is using. The game does not include the proper hairstyle, nor does it let me get her physique to the level it is supposed to be, but I've depicted her as she should appear here. Click here to embiggen.

My art: Puny god

Embiggened version here.

My art: Orlok Stalks

Embiggened version here.

Tribute to Ray Bradbury

It's exceedingly rare for the death of someone I've never even met affects me more than just token sympathy for the loved ones they've left behind, but the death of Ray Bradbury is different. I feel like I've lost a member of the family. I grew up reading his work, and he has always been a towering inspiration to me. (Yeah, I know, me and about 50 million other daydreamers...)

Obviously, I had to do SOMETHING in tribute to this man whose wonderful imagination gave me so much. So much has already been written by people far more eloquent than I, however, so I decided to draw something inspired by his work. It surely won't be the best piece of art you'll see this week, but it is uniquely mine, and that will have to be enough. No one else would have done it in quite the same way. It's the best way I can think of to honor his memory in my own small way.

Family Reunion is inspired by one of my favorite stories, Homecoming, which can be found in the wonderful October Country collection. Obviously, I highly recommend it. Click here if you wish to see an embiggened version.

Rest well, Mr. Bradbury.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight digital comic series kicks off today

DC's new Batman series Legends of the Dark Knight begins today.
It's available here, and it's just 99 cents per issue. This digital-first comic series tells Batman stories by various high-profile creators who are unburdened by current continuity. This means that literally anyone can purchase and read a random issue of this series and have no trouble diving right in. Yesterday, DC announced the creative team lineups for the first six weeks of the series:



June 7 – “The Butler Did It” written by Damon Lindelof with artwork by Jeff Lemire

June 14 – “All of the Above” written by Jonathan Larsen with artwork by JG Jones

June 21– “The Crime Never Committed” written by Tom Taylor with artwork by Nicola Scott and Wayne Faucher

June 28 – “Crisis of Identity” Part 1 written by B. Clay Moore with artwork by Ben Templesmith

July 5 – “Crisis of Identity” Part 2 written by B. Clay Moore with artwork by Ben Templesmith

July 12 – “Crisis of Identity” Part 3 written by B. Clay Moore with artwork by Ben Templesmith

Longtime Batman comic readers will recall the original Legends of the Dark Knight series that launched to coincide with the release of the first Burton Batman film in 1989. It focused on telling stories set in the Year One era, and eventually evolved to the point that it would sometimes feature stories that took place completely outside of continuity. The beloved series came to an end in 2007, and DC soon launched a similar series, Batman Confidential. For whatever reason, this new series never seemed to have the fire of its predecessor, and it too was cancelled in early 2011. Luckily, this new digital Legends of the Dark Knight series looks poised to follow in the spirit of the first comic series to bear that title.

Before Watchmen begins tomorrow!

As a certain TV ad may have reminded you, DC's epic Before Watchmen project kicks off tomorrow, with the debut issue of Darwyn Cooke's Minutemen. Personally, I can hardly wait. The level talent involved is staggering. Despite Alan Moore's ravings-- I've made my feelings clear as far as his stance is concerned-- the project is sure to be a massive hit. I still see a lot of people around the internet claiming that we're basically supporting every corporate entity who has ever screwed over an artist by supporting this project, but that is ridiculous hyperbole. Honestly, I get as indignant as anyone about the shabby state of affairs in the comics industry when it comes to how the creators of decades-old beloved characters have been compensated-- r not-- for their creations. Frankly, however, I do not feel that the Watchmen issue falls into that wide-ranging category. Moore was given every opportunity to be involved with this in some way-- seriously, the powers that be at DC have gone to monumental lengths over the years to try to appease him-- but he would have none of it.  He holds his Watchmen characters, who he co-created with artist Dave Gibbons using the Charlton stable of characters as a springboard, sacrosanct and inviolable. Meanwhile, he has become a purveyor of what amounts to pornographic fan-fiction featuring the beloved characters of other creators, and fails to see the irony in it all.

Some of you may avoid the Before Watchmen project like that plague, citing creator's rights, or whatever.
While I am very sympathetic to creators who have been mercilessly put to the screws, I just don't feel this is one of those cases. Ultimately, as with religious discussions, this is just one of those topics where none of us are at all likely to convince anyone with an opposing viewpoint that their way is the right way. We must each decide for ourselves what our attitude will be toward this project. Personally, I'll be reading them all without an ounce of guilt, and either enjoying them or not based on their own merits, free from any influence by the controversy surrounding the very existence of these comics.

My art: DARKSEID IS

Click here for an embiggened verion.

My Art: The Frankenstein Monster

For the embiggened version, click here. 

My Art: Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror

The art is a bit too large for the scanner, so a tiny bit of the bottom and the "r" all the way on the right got cut off. For the embiggened version, click here.

The Eerie Beauty of Blackreach

Blackreach is a vast underground area in Skyrim, riddled with caves and ancient ruins. Populated by various creatures, home to bioluminescent plantlife, and host to much loot, the area is far larger than even the biggest city in the game. The main story in Skyrim takes you there briefly, but I always intended to set aside a few hours and explore it more fully when I had the chance.

To keep my exploration from being 100% random, I decided to collect as many examples of crimson nirnroot as I could, therefore unlocking the "return to your roots" quest. The quest requires you to have 30; I got a few extras in my time in Blackreach.

I was surprised to find a fucking giant strolling aimlessly down here. As usual, he turned hostile once I got somewhat close to him, and I had to put him down.

Here is a Dwemer Centurion Master who had the misfortune of being spotted by me; I killed it before it could even rise from its metal rack container-thingy.

After dispatching a few Falmer near this orb...

A goddamn dragon appeared!

I have no idea how a dragon came to be trapped down here, as dragons are not normally found in caves in Skyrim.

Fortunately, he was no tougher to kill than any other dragon, and he was soon munching dirt.

I spent about three hours altogether in Blackreach this time, and I still haven't been everywhere. The place is vast. I'll have to make a return trip when time allows.
For larger versions of any of these photos, you can view the album here.

My art: DC Dead- Superman vs. Wonder Woman

All of you who kept bugging the hell outta me asking "How can Superman be a zombie?" Here's how. Click here for an embiggened version.