Yep, cancelled my blu-ray preorder after watching it.
I got the book when it came out. I still have the first printing, but it's probably not worth much cause I read it and re-read it so it's pretty beat up.
I was about 10 or 11 when it came out. Probably too young, but that might be a reason why it made such an impact on me. Same with reading Dark Knight Returns around the same age...I knew this was something "adult" and "off limits" and it made it that much more thrilling. It never gave me nightmares or anything. I knew what he did to Barbara was more than just usual "bad guy" stuff...he took her clothes off. Even as a kid, I knew that was somehow worse than shooting her. (I had no idea what the line "good in the sack" was supposed to mean though.)
Young as I was, I don't remember anyone complaining about it. In fact, I remember it getting universal praise. And the art is still some of the best comic art I've ever seen. Brian Bolland is a god amongst men with a pencil.
I don't even remember reading anything negative about the story until a year or two back when DC had to pull that variant cover.
I see it like this: this isn't Barbara's story and it never was. She's there for one reason: to be a victim. You know what? Bad things happen every day to good people. And she had something bad happen to her. That's all there is to it. That was her purpose in the story. It was about the JOKER. It was about BATMAN. It was about their relationship and psychoses. Barbara and Gordan were merely plot devices to push the story along.
And what is so wrong about that? It's not called BATGIRL: THE KILLING JOKE. Joker is a bad guy. Bad guys prey on victims. She was a victim.
The tacked on prologue was cringeworthy. All the grrl power stuff, the hamfisted way they made sure everyone knew what a "creepy guy" the mobster kid was. Babs dishing it up to her gay BFF. All the smartphones. We have a story that clearly takes place in 2016 and then the REAL story starts and we abruptly transition back to the aesthetics and sensibilities of 1988. The sudden shift in tone gave me whiplash. Two unrelated stories smacked together....and they didn't fit at all.
One last complaint, since I'm on a roll....I read the book so many times I had it practically memorized. I knew all the words to the "Loo-oo-ooney" song. But the melody I made up in my head was way better than the one they used in the cartoon. So along with the original "garish" colors from the book, I also prefer my original tune for the song.
Yes I know...I'm old and cranky. I've become Comic Book Guy in real life. Well....fine. So be it. I just think after hyping this cartoon for a year, they sure delivered a lousy product in the end. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that thought it really sucked.
I believe 1st prints/editions are still worth a little something to collectos, if it's a 1st edition of anything before the late 90's.
Especially TKJ since the only editions that are easy to get are the horrible 2008 recoloring.
There's another newer edition with the original colors, I believe.
You mean the one I got as a birthday gift in 2008? ; _ ;
You mean the one I got as a birthday gift in 2008? ; _ ;
Well Brian Bolland may have decided that he didn't like the "garish" and "cartoony" colors "ruining" his artwork, but I will always prefer that to his sterile recolor. It just looks bleached-out and boring. The worst offense to me was that he took the time to photoshop out the yellow oval on the bat symbol in every shot of Batman, just cause that was considered passe by 2008. But it looks SO wrong cause it's still the oval shaped bat but "naked," not the Frank Miller/Jim Lee style symbol Batman's been using for years.
At least the DC Direct figure still had the oval. This is still my go-to comic book style Batman in my display. Brian Bolland's Batman will always be MY personal definitive comic style Batman. Kids in the 70s had Neal Adams, kids today might prefer Greg Cappulo, but this is the one for me.
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The sex scene isn't bad on itself, and there's nothing actually wrong with it, it's not "reductive" or whatever the SJW are making it out to be.Saw it the second time last night with friends, they're casual Batfans but they know the lore well enough. They all spontaneously cringed at that sex scene and the conversation that followed it so that's a good indication on how bad it is. Honestly, I would re-cut the movie since this version is just that bad. Barbara's prequel doesn't hold up on repeated viewings.
Unlike some, I was okay with the chosen voice actors
Not for this, and we were right, they didn't do anything to elevate any of this, and they only brought that TAS sentiment they always bring into stuff, which is always so welcome, but wasn't appropriate for this.There are people who don't like Conroy and Hamill doing the voice work?
There are people who don't like Conroy and Hamill doing the voice work?
Punch them for me
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