Review: Batman: Ego

As one of the most recognizable figures on the planet, it's no secret to anyone that Batman has been the subject of many varying interpretations. Created as a forceful avenger of injustice, time eventually tamed his ruthless pursuit of vengeful conquest against what he considered to be a superstitious, cowardly lot. As a result, despite the many temptations that plague his often trauma-ridden existence, he does not kill, he does not give up, and above all, he remains entirely convinced in the singularity of an impossibly structured war on crime and it's eventual impact on a city without hope. Batman's crusade is made in the solemn belief that, as the victim of tragedy, it is within his power to prevent similar circumstances from befalling the innocent that Gotham City constantly threatens to drag down into the abyss. Whatever your personal interpretation of what Batman is, who he is, and what he stands for, these are the very basic foundations that have remained relevant to the character even today, nearly seventy-five years after his creation in 1939.

Review: Superman - Speeding Bullets

Ah, the Elseworlds brand. Renowned for it's constant misses rather than a slew of hits, DC Comics' banner of off-shoot stories, featuring their most popular characters released of the constraints of regular continuity, gained it's height of popularity throughout the 1990's. The goal of the brand was to challenge contemporary ideas of such classics as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and The Justice League with alternate takes that varied from the subtle-yet-obvious to the drastically different. On a number of levels, it was an outlet for writers to go nuts with whatever crazy concept they had. What if Batman were a pirate? What if Superman were raised by Darkseid? What if Wonder Woman, an Amazon, was found roaming the Wild West? Those ideas and more were presented to the market, and for a time, fans ate it up. It was an idea filled with a combination of endless potential and plenty of margin for error. And often times, it was error that was presented. So by the time that the early 2000's hit, the idea of DC's Elseworlds was unsurprisingly all but a dead brand, with only a few being books released over a period of year until it was quietly abandoned.