Cool Comic Pages of the Week

I have mentioned before how much I am lovin the direction of the Batman comics these days. Last time that Bruce Wayne stopped being Batman (due to the broken back he got from Bane) and Dick Grayson stepped up to fill the bat suit it was an unmitigated failure. Maybe it was the writing or the fact that I felt that Dick was not up for the challenge of being Batman (and of course these characters are 100% real to me so stop your snarky looks right there bitches) but it didn't last long. I wished every issue that Bruce Wayne would be back. Now that Bruce has supposedly 'died' after 'Final Crisis' we once again see Dick step up to fill the big boy boots and for some reason it feels right. I think I can trace the difference to the value the writers are putting on Alfred's role in the whole 'Bat operation'. He was always the lynch pin that made things work but now he is front and center to what makes Dick a good Batman. Alfred's recollections on Bruce are poignant and his support and advice to Dick are spot on. Its like a grandfather talking to his grandson which is effectively what their relationship is. Frankly if they keep things up like this I can wait a good long while for grumpy old Bruce Wayne to come back. Even Two Face notices that Batman is smiling on video footage of him busting up an illegal casino. We haven't seen a smile on Bruces face for a decade or more. Dick's Batman actually enjoys his role and doesn't see it as a burden, but as a performance. These pages, which you should click to enlarge, are an example of the great character development that is going into the Batman books these days. I always liked Judd Winick's work, especially on the first volume of 'Exiles' but his Batman stuff is really top notch. Oh, and his new flying Batmobile is pretty sweet too.