WE'VE MOVED & STEPPED INTO THE BROKEN INFINITE

  As stated before, we have moved. But more accurately, we have evolved. Hello Clashers. Former CBC EIC   Frankie Rodriguez here. I say former cause my title has changed twofold.

   From the earlier post, we have the new J1 Studios site where you can find all the stuff you used to find in sections all under one roof. You would just have to look it up and find it there. Everything is under categories. When J1 founder and President Jason Richardson decided to move forward, he wanted a unified site where everything would be in one roof. Comics, Anime, Gaming and more. All there. Like Kotaku. The one slight down side is that Comic Book Clash, The Reset Button and more are now no more. It is over. My title with J1 is now Comics Editor. But still, the site looks great. And while not all the CBC writers are there, you can join me, Hector and the rest of the J1 crew  at the new J1 Studios site.


  Now, I mentioned not all the CBC writers are in the new J1 site. But that is where I said my position evolved twofold. Behold, from the writers of CBC, welcome to the evolution of Comic Book Clash .. . The Broken Infinite. Every post on this site has been moved there besides a few. Just about every writer from CBC has come there with some fresh new blood. What is the Broken Infinite? Well, we are still primarily dealing with comics but we got some other stuff like tokusatsu and anime there. Also, many writers there have started a line of serials. Yes, brand new original stories featuring brand new characters from many writers including Darryll YTC Carter, Jeremias de Leon and of course, myself. The Broken Infinite wanted to be what Comic Book Clash was and more. And that is exactly what we're doing. We got stories, we got podcasts . .. and most importantly, everything that was part of CBC is there . . . just turned up to over 9000. *laughs* The Broken Infinite is vast and will be evolving, much like J1 Studios but in a different direction. So I am proud to unleash the new site, being the Editor-in-Chief there. We are committed to giving you what you had in Comic Book Clash and more.

  Comic Book Clash has evolved. What was once one is now two. With very few similarities. But that is the best part. Go onto the fun of J1 then step into the Broken Infinite.


So, Comic book Clash is Dead, Long Live J1 Studios. Long Live The Broken Infinite. So come along. Join us. We're waiting for you.


And we want to thank all our fans for all their support and love over the past year. THE BEST .. . is YET TO COME.


 Sincerely, 




Frankie Rodriguez
Former EIC of CBC
Comics Editor of J1 Studios
Founder & EIC of The Broken Infinite.

Miles to Climb: Miles Morales as Spiderman

by Hector Ramirez



            Hola, gutentag, bonjour and hello clashers. Your friendly neighborhood clasher here continuing our year long celebration of the wall crawler. We’ve looked at two brave men who have taken on the Spiderman mantle and this month, we look at the latest man beneath the webbed mask; who, coincidentally, is actually not a man but a young boy even younger than Peter in any version of his assumption of the mantle. Of course, I’m speaking of  the current Ultimate Spiderman: Miles Morales. While visiting his uncle, Miles is bitten by a scientifically-altered spider and the rest as they say is history.

Since obtaining the spider powers, Miles wasn’t sure what to do. He was afraid, as any young child would be, and his father’s meta-bashing doesn’t help at all. He doesn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to be a super hero and he wasn’t exactly looking to be one. But even with the fear and the doubt, Miles heard the calling. He knew that with great power came great responsibility. Miles definitely brings something new to the Spiderman title. He’s very uncertain and having the first Spiderman to live up to makes him even more so.  As he gets use to his role as Spiderman, he becomes more confident finding innovative ways to use his powers by both studying Peter and coming into his own with his own unique powers like the camouflage and spider sting. Starting off, taking out the Kangaroo then proving himself to Nick Fury by bringing down Electro.

Watching Miles grow as both a person and a hero has been entertaining so far and is sure to be an increasingly great read. Seeing how he deals with Peter’s remaining villains, his uncle, his father and the new villains makes for great stories in the future. We’ll see if Miles can grow to be as great as Peter if not better. Lord knows he’ll pick up some pointers from Peter in Spidermen. Until next time friends, keep clashing.  

COMICS ON SCREEN: THE ROBIN MOVIE

The Robin Movie: An Unhealthy Obsession
Film by Saul Kramer
Review by Hector Ramirez




So Frankie and I were enjoying Free Comic Book Day when I’m approached by one Mr. Saul Kramer. He had noticed me in my Robin caped t-shirt and figured me a Robin fan. So, he came up to me and pitched this movie that he posted on youtube to me. Well, I went online and looked it up.

Ok. Jay is a young man whose father left him with nothing more than an obsession with Robin the Boy Wonder. None of his friends understand why he likes Robin so much and the neighborhood bullies don’t make life much easier. Jay gets sick of the bullies and decides to put on his father's old Robin costume and take care of the bullies himself. Of course, he didn’t stop to think that all those to take on the mantle of Robin went through vigorous training whereas he thought he could simply beat the guys with a broomstick. His sister-in- law explains to him that he took things too far; that being kind and generous is heroic in its own right.

I’ll start off by saying it was well made for an independent film. The acting wasn’t bad and the camera work was great. The theme “you don’t have to be a superhero to be a superhero” was pretty cliché. If I recall correctly, it’s the slogan for the current DC charity campaign. The story was kind of weak.  It was like the beginning of Kick-Ass; a comic loving nerd tries to be a superhero and gets beaten senseless. At least he wasn’t crippled like Kick-Ass. Another thing, his sister-in-law tells him he went too far; yet him standing up to the bully was her idea. And I may be knit picking but he goes on and on about how Dick Grayson is the best Robin yet all his posters and comics are of Tim Drake or Damien Wayne and his costume was similar to Jason Todd’s. All in all, it was good for what it was but not great. I give it a Tim Drake Robin (3 out of 5). Next week, I take a look at Tokusatsu Spiderman as part of our year long celebration. Until then friends, keep clashing.

WEB OF REFLECTION: BEN REILLY

THE MANY SPIDER-MEN PART II:

WEB OF REFLECTION: BEN REILLY

by Hector Ramirez

Hello Clashers, your friendly neighborhood Clasher here. It’s that time of the month where us Clashers become crawlers swingers and slingers, of the wall and web variety that is. It’s time for another 50 year anniversary celebration of the spectacular, sensational, amazing and just recently fantastic, and avenging SPIDERMAN. Now last month  I took you all into the future for a look at how Miguel O’Hara did things as the wall crawler. Well this week we take a look at Ben Reilly and his reign as the web slinger. So follow me through New York as we take a look how Peter’s clone filled in for him.

            Dr. Miles “The Jackal” Warren became obsessed with Peter Parker and his girlfriend Gwen Stacy and decides to clone them….repeatedly. After finally perfecting a Peter clone he convinced him that Peter was in fact the clone. A huge fight ensues which ends with Peter throwing the clone into a smoke stack, leaving him for dead. The clone, who actually survived, climbs out and instead of trying to interfere with Peter decides to start a life of his own. After spending several years traveling the world under the assumed name Ben Reilly (Ben in memory of his late uncle and Reilly Aunt May’s maiden name) keeping tabs on Peter through Aunt May claiming to be a long lost cousin, decided to return to New York. Dying his hair so that people wouldn’t recognize him as Peter, Ben takes on odd jobs around the city and wall crawling as the Scarlet Spider. Eventually Ben and Peter meet and team up keeping up the charade of Ben being a distant cousin. The two became close, (makes sense they’re basically the same person) so when Peter decides he wants to call it quits, Ben, reluctantly at first, takes on the mantle. (Not like many other people could.)

             To feel like his own man, Ben designed a new costume, which was a revamp (and in my opinion an improvement) on the classic red and blue costume. At this time Ben and Peter have been misled to believe that Ben was the real Peter under the orders of Norman Osborn. Because of the different costume the Daily Bugle ran a story claiming New York Had a new Spiderman but later dropped the story when given evidence to the contrary. Only a select few who knew Peter as Spiderman knew the truth. During that time Ben went through quite a bit, like being bonded with the Carnage symbiote for a short time. 


          Ben found a steady job at a restaurant before it was burned down by the Hobgoblin who framed Ben for the arson had his bank account frozen and robbed him of everything. Peter and Mary Jane returned to New York from Portland right before many of New York’s Heroes disappeared during the Onslaught incident. During this time Peter dawned his costume to help keep New York safe under the watchful eye of two Spidermen. Eventually this also came to an end when Norman Osborn finally came out of hiding. Mockingly admitting that it was he who had misled them to break Peter’s spirits and revealing was in fact the clone. A battle between the three ensues ending with Ben being impaled by the goblin glider and disintegratingas ben dies Peter leaves him wit the final words "rest easy ....brother". 


    Ben Reilly brings new characters from his travels into the world of Spiderman, making it that much more interesting. When he wore the webs, there was a fresh twist on Spidey while retaining all that made the title what it was. Well, that's all for now. Until next time friends, keep clashing.

#47 VENOM: CIRCLE OF FOUR

Venom:Circle of Four

by Hector Ramirez

Written by Rick Remender

Art by Stefano Caselli & Walt Simonson

            Hey there Clashers, Hector here coming at you with one "Hell" of a review. This week, we'll  be looking at a story that takes it's four heroes to Hell and back, literally, in this storyline Marvel brings together one of the most ragtag bunch of 3rd generation heroes and really give them their own purpose. So, grab your spf 666 and let us descend shall we.

            Story starts off with Flash "Venom" Thompson having gone AWOL after the government attempted to remove the symbiote from him. Thunderbolt"Red Hulk" Ross is sent after him to bring him in. Meanwhile , Johnny Blaze is training Alejandra, the newest Ghost Rider, who is less than grateful to say the least. At this time, Blackheart has launched a plan to bring Hell to Earth with Sin City itself as the doorway. Once Hell was brought to Earth, he planned on using an army of symbiote clones of X-23 to overtake his father as King of Hell. X-23 was on a mission to make sure her DNA wasn't used for such heinous purposes. Blackheart tricks Alejandra to open the portal and keep it open. Johnny agrees to take her place while she teams up with the other three to stop Blackheart.

            Hell on Earth has been done over and over again in  all forms of media but this was different. Storywise, it was enjoyable, not cliche or slow. Usually, in these kinds of stories, there would be one, shining, divine hero. Instead, we got 4 questionable heroes. It had action even with the hell mumbo jumbo. It was fast paced, exciting and different. The art was great. No complaints there. It really complimented the story. It wasn't too cartoony or artsy, yet not too realistic. Overall, it was a good book but not great. I dont know just didnt exactly blow my mind. I give it a Red Robin (3 out of 5).  Well, that's all for now. Until next time Clashers, keep clashing.

THE FUTURE OF WALL CRAWLING: MEET MIGUEL O'HARA

Special Segment by Hector Ramirez


Hey there Clashers, your Friendly Neighborhood Clasher here. It’s about time we swing into the world of Spiderman and take a look at the future.

      Throughout the history of media the future has been a very popular theme with books like 1984, movies like Back to the Future, and TV shows like The Jetsons, it seems like we as a people just can’t help but to ponder what this unknown time holds for us. Marvel is no exception to this curiosity with their 2099 line in the 90’s, where heroic mantles are taken up by new avatars in the future where the heroic age is no more.
Imagine if you will a world where the police only protect you if you pay your monthly protection bill. Where the heroes are gone except in memory. With Thor back in Asgard and being worshipped as a full blown deity. A future where corporations rule all, and mold their great minds from childhood.

One of those great minds is Miguel O’Hara; brought up by Alchemax to be one of their greatest scientists. Miguel was working on a way to rewrite DNA and was getting very far with his research but was sick of his boss’s vindictive ways so was ready to quit. Not wanting to lose his greatest employee, the CEO of Alchemax injected Miguel with a drug that grafts to a person’s DNA so they can never be over their addiction. And what do you know Alchemax holds exclusive patent on this drug and as long as he stays with them Miguel gets a free steady supply. Miguel attempts to use his research to rewrite his own DNA with an untainted sample of his DNA. Unfortunately, Miguel had a lab partner who was not content with living in his shadow. In his jealousy, Miguel’s lab partner replaces his DNA sample with a spider DNA sample they were working with turning Miguel into a new Spiderman.

Miguel wasn’t exactly thrilled to have his DNA grafted with that of a spider; especially with the police force in Alchemax’s pocket and chasing down the “mysterious spider-powered intruder” but as he runs home he sees this as an opportunity to get back at the tyrant running Alchemax. Dawning an old day of the dead costume he got in Mexico, Miguel starts publicly attacking Alchemax as well as trying to bring them down from the inside. While attempting to escape the police Miguel sees how people outside of the corporate bubble still need heroes and takes it upon himself to be one.

Miguel O’Hara is definitely his own Spiderman. Because of the way he was raised, first by his hot headed father then by his cold hearted boss, he himself can be both hot heated and coldhearted at times. He’s nowhere near as free-spirited as Peter nor does he know much about a nurturing loving upbringing. On the same token however Miguel was living in the lap of luxury since he was 10 years old. The futuristic New York definitely adds a new dynamic to both the story and the characters themselves. The living conditions of the poor side of the city has people doing the craziest things to survive. One man calling himself the Vulture uses a flight harness similar to that of his namesake to protect the people under his watch. Seems heroic but any who dare threaten his followers…. Are killed and eaten. Miguel at one point teams up with the Vulture to protect innocent people but after finding out about his….”special diet” Miguel ends up at odds with the cannibal. Another interesting dynamic is the use of technology. Being set in the future gives it a certain science fiction element. At some point Miguel winds up in a virtual reality program trying to save his brother from a living virus.

Besides names and powers, Spidey 2099 is in no way like Peter Parker; comparing them would barely make sense. If you blurred out titles and Spiderman from th books you would never think to link the two. The variety is in my opinion a good thing so your not jut reading about a knock-off Peter Parker. Im glad they also made Miles Morales his own Spiderman as well but that’s a segment for another month in this year long web of celebration so until next time friends, keep clashing.                

#44 - JLA: FOREIGN BODIES - BODY SWITCHERS

Justice League-Foreign Bodies:The Fastest Dark Knight of Steel Amazon Ruler of Atlantis!?!?!

written by Len Kaminski

art by Val Semeiks

review by Hector Ramirez

            Hey guys and gals, your friendly neighborhood Clasher here. So it's that time of the week again. Good ol' Wednesday, new comics discounted Whoppers and of course new stuff from us here at the Clash. this week we take a peek back to 1999 back when people thought we'd lose all technology the next year so we bought things in bulk and prepared for Y2K. Meanwhile Kobra had his own endgame in the works and the Justice League was in for a whopper of a different kind.

            Apparently, Kobra believed himself a Messiah and needed a strategically placed palace. Choosing the JLA Watchtower on the moon, he hatched his heinous plot; throwing the world into chaos  and drawing out the League. He deploys a psychic kamikaze bomber that switches the JLA's minds around in each other's heads so that Kobra could usurp the watchtower in the confusion. As with all body switching stories they all learned more about each other after walking the proverbial mile in one anothers shoes yadda yadda you're my best friend in a world we must defend.

            The book is definitely a fun read I would recommend it to all JLA fans. The art was good detailed but not extremely realistic.story wise it was well put together the ending was a nice twist but on the same token you feel like you've read it before. The underlying themes are way too apparent as well as overused. All in all this recieves a Tim Drake Robin, the strength of the cliche was too overpowering.This concludes our program for today tune in next right here at j1studios.com until then friends, keep clashing. 

#42 THE CAPE: Look Up in the Sky, It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s a Psycho with a Magic Cape!!!

THE CAPE 
#1-4
Written by Jason Ciaramella
Art by Zach Howard
Based on a short story by Joe Hill
IDW Publishing




Hey Clashers,  Hector here and do I have a review for you. This week, we’re looking at IDW’s The Cape. If you decide to read this I must say reader discretion is advised. So without further ado strap on your magic cape and please no bears or chainsaws in the air.

Have you ever known someone who is going nowhere in life and constantly blaming their failure on others. I think we’ve all known someone like that if not have been that person at some point in our lives. Take that emotional disposition and add the power of flight and enhanced strength and we have our story. Enter Eric, our main character who as a child somehow came into the possession of a magic cape that endows him with the afore mentioned powers. As Eric grows older he does little in the ways of advancing his life and is a loser who lives with his mother. His paranoia leads him to attack his loved ones, starting with his girlfriend and the cops investigating her murder. This causes his brother to retaliate…fatally, taking the  cape into his possession.

I must say it was an interesting tale but not really worth the wait. The pace of the story was slow with very little action yet it was compelling. The characters were well developed for such a short story and you really get to know them. The downside would be the inconsistency with which the book was released which almost caused me to drop it because the books were not very eventful. I am on the fence about this book because it was compelling yet slow. The art was kind of sloppy but not entirely bad in closing I’d give this a Red Robin not good not bad in the middle. Next week, I take a look at the 5 men to take on the Spiderman mantle. Until then friends, keep clashing.

#40 - JUSTICE LEAGUE : ENTER DARKSEID!!

 Justice League 1-6: Enter Darkseid  
Written by Geoff Johns
Penciled by Jim Lee
Inked by Scott Williams

Interview by Hector Ramirez

Rating System:
 I will start with the rating system; it’s relatively simple based on Batman and his sidekicks. Jason Todd being the publics lowest rated Robin, Red Hood is the lowest rating then it goes up to Robin, Red Robin, Nightwing, and of course Batman himself. Like I said it’s simple if ever I need to rate something between the two I’ll use an obvious in between for example a 4 ½ would be a Grayson Batman. And that’s it clashers any confusion just ask in comments I do welcome feedback.

 Welcome Clashers to another action packed adrenaline rush all packaged neatly into a review of the first story arc of Justice League.  They call me Hector and I’ll be your tour guide to Apokolips and back. Please, don’t feed the parademons.

 So, it starts off with Batman running after one of Darkseid’s minions while also dodging Gotham’s finest then in comes a very arrogant Green Lantern by the name of Hal Jordan. After dispatching the strange alien, it drops a strange box. They discuss aliens which brings them to the subject of Superman over in Metropolis and decide to go after him. They get there; the classic misunderstanding and good guy vs. good guy fight ensues. Hal calls in the Flash for help but Batman clears up the misunderstanding. The box, which was one of many, explodes releasing parademons; as do all the others including one in S.T.A.R. labs where Victor Stone is arguing with his father for not taking his football career seriously. The blast nearly kills him so his father fits him with robotic parts turning him into Cyborg. He runs away from his father in anger and encounters parademons. He fights them and ends up teaming with our original quartet who have been joined by Aquaman and Wonder Woman.  Cyborg absorbs one of the boxes merging with its technology. Darkseid shows up and gives the league a great fight hitting Superman with an omega beam and leaving him to a parademon to be taken to Apokolips to be dissected to create a new army for Darkseid. Batman goes after Superman while the other five fight Darkseid with little avail. Superman returns knocking Darkseid back through a portal back to Apokolips and Cyborg closes it.

 First off, I love the Justice League I always have and the new 52 has been phenomenal thus far this story arc is no exception. DC pulled out the big guns right off back going straight for a Darkseid fight to bring together the League.  The fights were brutal, there was action cover to cover and the art was amazing. Jim Lee is definitely no slouch and he brings a great new look to the legendary characters. I really like how the story has character development so that you know a little about each character without going too far into detail so you really want to pick up their solo titles. Overall, with a great story awesome art and a beautiful set up, this story gets the coveted Bruce Wayne Batman. That’s all for now friends. Next week, I look at IDW’s The Cape until then…. Keep Clashing!!!

#33 -WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN (#1-3) : BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT

Wolverine and the X-Men: 1-3 Back to School Night 

Story by Jason Aaron
Art by Chris Bachalo & Duncan Rouleau

By Hector Ramirez

RATING SYSTEM:


Red Hood (Jason Todd) -1
Robin (Damian Wayne) - 2
Robin (Tim Drake) - 2.5
Red Robin (Tim Drake) - 3
Red Robin (Dick Grayson) -3.5
Nightwing (Dick Grayson) - 4
Batman (Dick Grayson) - 4.5
Batman (Bruce Wayne) - 5






Greetings Clashers! Hector here and I’m here to take you to school. The Jean Grey school that is. This week we’re taking a look at  Wolverine and the X-Men , that being said watch that first step, it’s a doozy.

Starting off, I’d like to give a brief overview of X-Men Schism which split the X-Men up into the two factions they are now in. it all starts when Cyclops go to the U.N. in an effort to rid the world of the mutant hunting robots known as sentinels. At the conference Quentin Quire a.k.a. Kid Omega launches a psychic attack  on the leaders of the  world  causing them to admit their  deepest darkest secrets. Seeing this as an excuse to deem mutant-kind a threat to humanity the world leaders  scramble to get there hands on any bit of  sentinel technology they can get their hands on. Enter Kade Kilgore; who has just became the CEO of his family’s weapons company and Black King of the Hellfire Club, all at the age of 13. Kilgore built a giant Sentinel that drew in metal from its surroundings to build its body and sent it to Utopia to destroy the X-Men. With the rest of the X-Men dealing with the other Sentinels, Scott and Logan are left with the youngest recruits and that's where things take a turn for the worst. Logan believes that kids shouldn’t have to risk their lives in such a situation while Scott believed they should stand and fight as X-Men. This leads to an altercation that lead to the split.
 

Logan has decided to return to West Chester to re-open  the Charles Xavier school and renaming it the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. It is when the New York Department of Education sends two representatives to check out the legitimacy of the school when things take a turn for the worst. All the technologies that Hank programmed into the school are going haywire and the grounds themselves seem to be attacking. Turns out  that  Kade Kilgore and his little playmates in the Hellfire Club are making sure everything that can possibly go wrong does. Also, it turns out the grounds are attacking because beneath them lives a grandchild to Krakoa, a living plot of land. After penetrating the creature's mind, the unlikely hero of Quentin Quire saves the day by calming it down and convincing it that the X-Men are not the enemies. After cleaning up the mess, Logan sends Kilgore a little surprise in the form of a legal subpoena delivered by one Matthew Murdock Esquire.

I, for one, enjoyed this story. It really showed how far Logan has come. He’s not the irrational berserker he's been known to be anymore. He’s really grown and isn’t afraid to show his softer side. He really cares for the kids and he shows it by everything he went through to re-open the school; to give them somewhere to learn and grow where they won't be considered a mutant army the way Scott tried to make them out to be. As for the art, I liked it. It had a great balance of realism and artistry so that it wasn’t too cartoony. In closing, with a great story told with good art. I rate this plotline a Grayson Batman. Good work crew. This is definitely a title I will be keeping up with and I suggest you Clashers to do the same. Until next time friends, keep clashing!  


You can follow the Jean Grey School on Twitter with: Jean Grey School of Higher Learning

Please check out their live Tweet of the Future History Course, taught by Jean Grey's & Scott Summers' daughter, Professor Rachel Grey on January 11th, 2012 @ 2:00pm EST.


NEXT WEEK: CBC's EIC Frankie Rodriguez reviews Cyclops's side of Mutantdom with a review of Uncanny X-Men #1-3.

#30 - TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (#1-#3): REMAKE IN A HALFSHELL

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

Issue # 1-3


Written by Kevin Eastman 

IDW Publishing


by Hector Ramirez 



     Cowabunga Clashers! Got a nice little treat for you guys I’m reviewing the first story arc of TMNT as well as revealing my new rating system. So strap in hold on and get ready to clash.

        I will start with the new rating system; it’s relatively simple based on Batman and his sidekicks. Jason Todd being the publics lowest rated Robin, Red Hood is the lowest rating then it goes up to Robin, Red Robin, Nightwing, and of course Batman himself. Like I said it’s simple if ever I need to rate something between the two I’ll use an obvious in between for example a 4 ½ would be a Grayson Batman. And that’s it clashers any confusion just ask in comments I do welcome feedback.

                 With that out of the way, let’s get on to the heroes in a half shell shall we. First, I would like to say I grew up on Ninja Turtles and I love them. They’re my four mutant older brothers. I’ve seen all the movies. I love the cartoons and the comics and the newest ongoing series is no exception. The return of Kevin Eastman to the title is definitely big news; bringing back that classic feel to the book. Collaborating with a new team also brings some fresh ideas keeping it from getting stale and overly familiar drawing in new readers.

       The first 3 issues are a retelling of Splinter, and the turtles’ origin. The turtles and Splinter are test subjects for a mutagen being developed for a private military man by the name of, ready for it Krang. A team of ninjas breaks into the lab and steals the mutagen and inadvertently free the animals. The only witness the labs newest intern a young April O’Neil. A cat attempts to eat one of the turtles separating him from his brothers causing Splinter to rip out his eye and later for him to mutate into a new enemy. Splinter, Leonardo, Donatello, and my personal favorite, Michelangelo after full mutating retreat to the sewers as Raphael wanders the streets looking for food and shelter where he runs across a young Casey Jones getting beat by his drunken father. He saves him and in turn stays with him for a bit. And while patrolling one night they are attacked by the mutated cat, Old Hob and his gang just to be rescued by his brothers.

                   This story gets a Red Robin from me. It’s a good twist on things and yes the classic components are there and effective. At one point, Splinter mentions their mutation is in no way random or an accident and I want to see where they go with that. Ok, so there are two problems I have with these first three issues. First, why is it that every comic company has to have some type of super soldier program operating in the background? Can you think of any other reasons people or animals become heroes or villains? Another thing if they were being tested on with the mutagen the entire time they were in the lab, why did it take until that night to mutate when Old Hob mutated mere hours after being exposed to a secondary source of the mutagen? (Having Raphael in his mouth and Splinter’s claws in his eye) This new ongoing series is going to be enjoyable; I can tell with new characters and new twists on old characters and plot lines as it continues I’ll keep you posted.

        Hector out for now, thanks to all my readers for following since my debut this will be my last review for the year and I will come back big in January. So, until then friends, keep clashing!

#20 - BATMAN: The Widening Gyre -Sucks to be Bruce

Yea so I’m a huge Kevin Smith, I’ve seen every one of his movies so when I saw a Batman graphic novel naturally I had to pick it up.

Ok! So after going on a mission with Nightwing, Bruce is starting to miss the camaraderie of having a partner but isn’t too keen on bringing another Robin into the game. Getting home Alfred informs him an old flame, Silver St. Cloud, has arrived to see him starting a second chance for their relationship to flourish which it does seeing as Bruce proposes. At the same time, Gotham is overrun with criminal activity. Enter Baphomet, some guy that runs around in a goat mask to instill the fear of Satan into criminals. After a few assists from Baphomet, Batman decides to follow him home see what he’s all about. Baphomet earns Bruce’s trust so he takes him back to the Batcave to meet his new fiancé and make him part of the Bat- family. Big mistake! The guy takes a knife and plunges it into Silvers throat, end story.
I liked this story you see a lighter side to bruce that you don’t normally see but it’s a bit too light. First off, Batman never accepts help so readily even when he really needs it. Second he definitely never welcomes vigilantes into gotham and brings them into the Batcave for friggin eggs benedict with his fiancé. Kevin man I’m a big fan I love you but you
need to read up on your Batman.

 Well that’s all I’ve got to say as usual this has been Hector Ramirez, until next time friends keep clashing :p