Comrade Courant Culture Critic

Everything That Happened in DC's "Absolute Power": Your Essential Guide to DC All In & the Absolute Universe "The complete story of Amanda Waller's war on superheroes that reshaped the DC Universe and launched DC's biggest initiatives since Rebirth." — Catch Up Guide for Current DC Comics NEW TO DC COMICS? START HERE! This is the definitive guide to understanding DC's current landscape. "Absolute Power" is the crucial bridge between Dawn of DC and today's DC All In/DC K.O. & Absolute Universe initiatives. Read this to catch up with current DC Comics! Absolute Power #1 Cover - Art by Dan Mora If you're trying to catch up with DC Comics' current storylines and feeling lost with the new DC All In (also known as DC K.O.) and Absolute Universe initiatives, you've ...

Batman: The Killing Joke (2016): A Horrifying Masterpiece That Redefined Animated Cinema "As a Batman story, it's controversial. As a film, it's a flawless, soul-chilling descent into madness that forever raised the bar for animation." — 5/5 Stars Let's be clear from the outset: Batman: The Killing Joke (2016) is not a comfortable watch. It is not a heroic power fantasy. It is a psychological horror film disguised as a superhero cartoon—a bleak, brutal, and unflinching examination of trauma, madness, and the fragile line that separates order from chaos. And while I take some issue with the story as a Batman fan, as a film, it is excellent and set the high-water mark for what an animated feature can be . Adapting Alan Moore's landmark graphic novel was a daunting task, and the film delivers its nihilistic thesis with devastating precision. The Joker, seeking t...

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham (2023): A Lovecraftian Missed Opportunity Wrapped in Decent Animation "A cursed prophecy, a bat-shaped god, and a film that should’ve been far more terrifying." — 3/5 Stars Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham (2023) arrives with a tantalizing premise: a 1920s Batman, cosmic horror, and a Gotham City built on occult bloodlines. Based on the cult-favorite Elseworlds comic of the same name, the film leans hard into H.P. Lovecraft’s mythos—specifically echoing The Doom That Came to Sarnath —and reimagines Bruce Wayne not as a detective, but as a reluctant avatar of primordial dread. It’s certainly better than most straight-to-video animated superhero fare —more ambitious in scope, more atmospheric in tone. But let’s be clear: it doesn’t hold a candle to DC’s animated high-water marks like Batman: Under the Red Hood , The Killing Joke , or Gotham by Gaslight...