One of the best things about reading my comics on my Fancy Comic Book Reader (ipad) is the fact that I’m able to save a number of my favorite images without ruining the book. While I’ve said in the past that I love to read comics because I’m a story junkie, I would be lying if I said I didn’t read them for the art too. Fifty percent of comics is the art (probably more so but for me it’s a fifty/fifty thing… it’s probably more then fifty percent now that I think about it. The art enhances the story so maybe it’s a seventy-five/twenty-five type thing. I’m clearly rambling here) and one of my favorite things while reading a book is finding those panels that take your breath away. Sometimes it’s because of the imagery while other times it has to do with the dialogue, but using my Fancy Comic Book Reader allows me to screen capture those images thus preserving them without having to destroy the book. There is a whole generation of comic book readers who would have killed for that power when they were kids. You know that there’s some older person sitting in his office or den right now just thinking back, “man, I wish I hadn’t torn up that first issue of Superman to hang things on my wall. This office would be a much bigger house”. Technology, huh?

Now with all these screen captures it begs the question, what do I do with them?  Sometimes I use them as wallpapers on my various devices, but not often because I grow comfortable with my wallpaper choices. For example my ipad has had the same Miles Morales home screen and Rocket and Groot conversation lock screen since I got the thing. It’s almost like a superstition type deal there. Hard for me to change. My phone on the other hand is different. My lock screen always has to be a picture of Hudson the Cat (that’s my buddy) and the wallpaper tends to change based on the delightful things I’m able to find on the interwebs. Which means that most of these screen captures go on Instagram (you can follow me at @iamgeek32 if you’d like… you know you want to) or just sit in my albums. Over the course of the week I started to think that maybe I should do something about this. There are too many awesome comic book moments going unseen on my Fancy Comic Book Reader.

Which brings us to today. I’ve decided that I need to share some of these with the world and what better way then with a weekly column here on I Am Geek. How novel, right? Starting this week on Wednesday (New Comic Book Day felt like an appropriate day) I’ll be posting a column called Today In Awesome Comic Book Images and will feature a new image and an explaination why it’s been selected. Sounded kind of fun to me. For one thing, who knows, maybe someone will read this and go, “man, I’ve got to start reading this” and that would be awesome. Comics are meant to be shared and discussed so please allow me to open the door for you. And once you walk through please feel free to discuss and share whatever it is you’re reading.

Now I know that today is not Wednesday nor is it New Comic Book Day (although New Comic Book Day can be any day you want it to be I suppose), I would be remiss to start this column without sharing at least one image. You know, to jump start everything.

Today’s image comes from Tom King’s Batman Rebirth #12 with Mikel Janin as the artist and the “I Am Suicide” story arc. I’ve really started to enjoy Tom King’s run on Batman (getting used to a Batman world post Scott Snyder and Greg Cappullo) and find that Janin’s art has been gritty and so street level. Vast in scope but also grounded if that makes sense. When I first read this page it kind of took my breath away. It says so much about the character in such a profound way. Small background on what’s going on here, Batman is in pursuit of Bane and has just battled his way across Bane’s compound taking out his foot soldiers. That’s the long and the short of it really. Greatly outnumbered/odds stacked against him type deal.

But this page, this page, sums up everything you need to know about Batman. He’s tired. He’s injured. He hasn’t finished his quest. There is more to do on the horizon and despite all of that… he stands. Bloodied, bruised, and battered he still stands. This page is everything I love about Batman. That undying resolve and determination. Janin just kills it here which is why it was such an easy choice to make it our first ever Today In Awesome Comic Book Images.

There you have it Geeklings. Looking forward to re-visiting this column on a weekly basis. If nothing else it’ll allow me to clean up some of the things sitting on my Fancy Comic Book Reader and maybe get some of you to start reading comics. Sharing is caring. See you all back here tomorrow for a new Week In Geek. Unless I get super ambitious today and write another post. Who knows.