Confessions of a Comic Book Guy is a weekly column by Steve Bennett of Super-Fly Comics and Games in Yellow Springs, Ohio. This week, Bennett looks at the Batman-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover, the Brazilian comic Vincent, the upcoming She-Ra graphic novel, and more.
Well, I've seen it and amazingly enough, it's just as odd and fun as the comic; it even includes the pivotal Michelangelo/dinosaur scene. It is overstuffed with characters from both franchises (Batgirl, Robin, Ra's al Ghul, Bane) and sometimes it does get to be too much of a weird thing. I really could have done without seeing the Arkham Asylum gang mutated into animals, though seeing Mr. Freeze as a polar bear is legitimately kind of wonderful.
But it is somehow strangely satisfying to see Batman beating the crap out of both the Turtles and the Shredder, though admittedly I’m not that big a fan of the franchise. And I was impressed with how Batgirl, voiced by Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) distinguishes herself here as the smart, agreeable member of the Bat Clan. When Bloom’s casting was first announced it seemed like an odd, random choice, but I was caught off guard by how much I liked her version of the character, especially when she understandably refuses to say the word "Ooze."
Editor Jeff Whitman (who also translated the series) was good enough to send me copies of both volumes, and after reading them it was easy enough to see why the comic and its creator are so popular in Brazil. As the layout and pacing would suggest, Vincent started life as a newspaper comic strip and concerns the unlucky love life of an awkward anthropomorphic dog who's a hopeless romantic that just wants a girlfriend. It’s a standard enough scenario, but along with being a talented artist with a distinct style (all his animal characters are quite frankly adorable) he’s also gifted at characterization. His Vincent is a nice guy nerd in the best sense; he doesn’t feel "entitled" to a relationship and does his (limited) best to be his best self, someone a girl would want to be with.
I’ll miss it, but the series came to a proper conclusion while setting up a new status quo that’s rife with new story possibilities, and as will all things which bear the Disney brand, it can and most likely will be back at some point. Last month they announced a new Phineas and Ferb movie, Candance Against the Universe, would premiere on Disney Plus this year or next, so a SVTFOE movie is hardly out of the question. Me, I’d like to see a Star Vs. The Forces of Evil/Gravity Falls crossover, and from the amount of fanart I’ve found on Pinterest that crossover the characters, it seems that a lot of other people would as well.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
