Last year saw the passing of acclaimed comic book writer Denny O'Neill. O'Neill had a long history with many DC Comics superheroes as a writer and editor and is best known for revitalizing the character of Batman among others starting in the 1970s. I decided to pick up a copy of one of the more famous Batman issues of this era, Joker's Five Way Revenge which was written by O'Neill and drawn by Neal Adams. The story featured in Batman # 251, was released in November, 1973. While I am gaining a better appreciation for 1990s comics, I largely avoided avidly reading 1970s issues due to their seemingly dated nature and tropes. After reading this issue, I had some thoughts on both how the character and mythos of Batman has evolved over time and a greater appreciation for a more grounded Dark Knight. In Joker's Five Way Revenge, the Joker is seeking revenge for a presumed betrayal by killing members of his former gang and Batman is striving to stop him. By the time t
Between the time the guns of August roared in 1914 until the signing of the Armistice in November, 1918, nations rose, empires fell, millions died, & the course of the 20 th Century was forever altered. World War I or the Great War is often called the forgotten war as it gets overshadowed by the subsequent World War II in American history and in popular culture. However the Academy Award nominated film ‘1917’ seeks to remind us all of this terrible conflict. While retellings of World War I can get entangled in the tales of kings, emperors, & statesmen, war must always be remembered as the story of ordinary soldiers. ‘1917’ focuses on two ordinary British soldiers who are tasked with a straightforward but crucial mission in the Western Front in northern France but through short conversations these two soldiers reveal quite intriguing conflicting on the so-called ‘War to End all Wars’ and war in general. In ‘1917’ William Schofield and Tom Blake are two soldiers and fri