There's a lot of stuff going on with spandex clad super heroes taking the dirt nap these days. Batman RIP. Captain America taken out during the Civil War fiasco. Goliath dying during the Civil War fiasco. It's a trend.

It's sort of like remakes in Hollywood. Now I don't mind when somebody takes a hero and does a reinvention or a retelling of their origin. Green Arrow: Year One is one of my most favorite recent examples.

But did anyone ever think Captain America was going to stay dead. Didn't we all, in the back of minds, think that the Barry Allan Flash might return someday. And you know Bats is coming back. It will be another "Biggest Comics Event of the Year". There's another Lazarus pit out there somewhere for the Caped Crusader.

I have a confession to make. I am an unabashed Captain America fan. Yes, he might be the cheesiest hero in the Marvel verse. He's corny sometimes. (Well, almost all the time). He's 107 years old thanks to the 'Super Soldier Serum'. But dammit, he's Captain America and I've been with him all the way. Even during the awkward Falcon years and that whole Nomad thing. (What was up with that?).

Because he's Cap. He stands for something. Doing the right thing. Not the easy thing. Defeating evil. Opening a can of whoop ass on the Red Skull even though he's also 107. And dang it now two bit, trussed up, fancy pants psychopath like Norman Osborn gets to say "Avengers Assemble!" That's Cap's line you sick bastard.

And furthermore the whole problem with the Civil War fiasco is Cap being taken out because Iron Man was an incompetent putz. I'm sorry. Tony Stark does not get to kill Captain America. Thank god Thor came back and whipped his ass for that. I'm so pissed that I have not and will not see the movie Iron Man because of it. Nor will I see it's sequel. As the song says. "You Have To Stand For Something, Or You'll Fall For Anything."

So we waited for the inevitable return of the Captain. You knew it was coming. You waited. It had to happen. You waited. And now it's here. Captain America: Reborn. And what do we at the Informant think about it?

We don't know. And truth be told the story is a little confusing. There's a former S.H.I.E.L.D agent involved in his death. Apparently, Doctor Doom has a time platform (or something) that snatched him away just as he was shot and Steve Rogers wakes up, but it's in World War II again. At least I think that's what happened. I'm not really sure.

Buy the comic if your must, because like I said, it's Cap. But as in the case of Flash: Rebirth, I think I'm going to wait until the trade paperback comes out so I can read the whole story all at once.

Maybe then I'll get it.

The Hood...doesn't suck

I love it when a (relatively) new character works. It's rare, like when you see a pileated woodpecker eating regular birdseed. Thank the comic gods Marvel let this supervillain eat the regular birdseed.

Readers, reach back into spacetime (2002) and check out the origin story of Parker Robbins. Brian K Vaughan (in my opinion the most consistently entertaining writer in comics today) sort of turned the Spiderman/Daredevil thing on its head and explored what happens when an asshole powers up. Despite Dormammu being involved, which usually predetermines a certain amount of suckiness, the Hood Vol 1-6 allowed for a more classical and deeper story.

Here's a guy who wants an easy way out, and here's a demon inhabiting him through a cloak -with all the Faustian twists and turns you can eat. Oh, and he's a gangster in Brooklyn. And his wife's pregnant. Powers: boots that allow him to fly, and invisibility so long as he holds his breath.

He's gotten a lot more powerful since Bendis got his hands on him. But back in the good ole days, he was just as down on his luck as Spidey, just on the other side of things.

They've just re-released the collection in hardbound, and you'd be an idiot not to add it to the library.

HAVE YOU HEARD? BRUCE WAYNE IS DEAD!

So Batman bites the big one. Bruce Wayne takes the ultimate dirt nap. At least we think so. So far, I've read BATMAN R.I.P three times and I still can't figure out A) How he actually died and B) If he actually did. But according to everyone else in the DC verse, even Big Blue, he's gone.

Of course, Bruce Wayne might be gone, but Batman has to live on right? At least the spirit of Batman, otherwise Gotham City is toast. You might as well just throw open the doors of Arkham Asylum and let everyone have at it.

So, in order to keep Gotham under the watchful eye of the Urban Legend that is the Dark Knight, DC has given us the Battle for the Cowl. If you have not read the Battle For The Cowl, it's kind of fun and basically has a bunch of pretenders vying for the throne of the Caped Crusader. No spoiler alerts here, but if you're a betting man, you'd know that if the Bat were to go down the smart money would be on Nightwing as the logical replacement.

And so that brings us to Batman & Robin #1 as told by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. And it's a good story. We watch Dick Grayson struggle with the very audaciousness of replacing his mentor. He knows the world needs Batman. But does the world need Dick Grayson as Batman? And more importantly does Dick Grayson need Dick Grayson as Batman?

You knew that DC would turn the 'succession' story over to a writer as gifted as Morrison, but one of he problems he, like all comics writers face, is there is very little you can do in the vein of character development. The characters you are writing are created and iconic all you can do is tell the story. And Morrison does that well.

However, when it comes to Robin, the choice of Damian is one that sets the teeth on edge. Sure you're the illegitimate son of a billionaire and the grandson of the founder of the League of Assassins. Boo freakin' hoo. Stop acting like a little punk and get over yourself. No one is going to buy you as Batman, you're barely a passable Robin. So just shut up and learn. And if you call Alfred "Pennyworth" one more time, here's hoping he takes one of his crepes pans upside your little punk ass head.

It will be interesting to follow this story where it leads, but there is a part of us that wants to say to DC "okay, you did the dead Batman thing, now please bring him back to life and let's get on with it."

Until then Batman & Robin #2 awaits.