Assembling The Female Super Hero Team: Black Canary/Oracle/Huntress: Birds Of Prey Still Underwhelms!

The Good: Social conscience, Decent initial characterizations
The Bad: Unextraordinary artwork, Characters repeat their characterizations in inorganic ways, No larger statement.
The Basics: Black Canary/Oracle/Huntress: Birds Of Prey is the origin story of the Oracle’s superhero team . . . and what an underwhelming beginning it is!


As my She-Hulk Year begins, I actually find myself cleaning house of a few other graphic novels I have read lately. The first in my cache is Black Canary/Oracle/Huntress: Birds Of Prey. I’m not sure why I was reticent to sit down and read this trade paperback anthology; I like Birds Of Prey. I can only assume that I still have a negative association with Chuck Dixon based on the G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra Prequel book he wrote (reviewed here!) and that seeing that he wrote Black Canary/Oracle/Huntress: Birds Of Prey, I was just not excited.

As it is, Black Canary/Oracle/Huntress: Birds Of Prey is the apparent beginning to the modern Birds Of Prey team and the problems with it are what, if it were a television show I would call “pilot problems,” could easily be written off as starting franchise issues. Black Canary/Oracle/Huntress: Birds Of Prey is a decent initial idea, but it does not have a strong sense of what it wants to be or where, exactly, it is going with it.

The Oracle contacts Dinah Lance, who is behind on her payments to all of her bills following an aimless period after her leadership of the Justice League Of America and her breakup with Oliver Queen (Green Arrow), to help her discover what is going on with a series of terrorist attacks against financer Nick Devine. The Oracle uses Black Canary to get information on the dam project Devine has in the works that she fears will be attacked by the same terrorists. In combating the one-eyed Lynx, Black Canary enforces Oracle’s sense of justice and exposes the business plans of Devine in an unlikely way.

Following that, Black Canary breaks up a white slavery ring, a mission that leads her to come into conflict with Braun, a villain whose mundane life has intersected with the Huntress and Catwoman as well. When trying to fight Braun, who is able to effectively take on the formidable Lady Shiva, Black Canary and Huntress begin to bond and the Oracle realizes the three have potential to work well together.

Most of Black Canary/Oracle/Huntress: Birds Of Prey is focused on the budding relationship between the Oracle and Black Canary. Perhaps it is a lack of patience on my part given that I know how the dynamic develops later on and I am eager, as a reader, for it to get there already, but so much space in Black Canary/Oracle/Huntress: Birds Of Prey seems to be spent with asserting the initial characterizations of the two main protagonists. Barbara Gordon, the Oracle, is still reeling from the events of The Killing Joke (reviewed here!), which left her paralyzed from the waist down. Similarly, Dinah Lance is characterized as headstrong, but for someone who has been living in deep debt for a while, she does not seem to show a realistic sense of appreciation for how the Oracle is offering her a chance at stability and financial security. The result is that Lance reads as incredibly ungrateful and more foolhardy than compellingly strong-willed.

Dixon’s gag that Lance and Helena Bertinelli (the Huntress) recognize their common womanizing adversary from their appreciation of his butt is a cute idea that is well-executed. However, most of the artwork in Black Canary/Oracle/Huntress: Birds Of Prey is mediocre. The colors lack realistic subtlety or shading, though they are bright. Moreover, most of the panels feature surprisingly static shots, with little sense of movement within each frame and a choppy transition between frames. The art is not terrible, but it is not one of the key selling points of this particular book.

Black Canary/Oracle/Huntress: Birds Of Prey is a beginning, a beginning muddied by the insertion of Catwoman, an interesting and compelling character in her own right, but a distraction when trying to establish the group dynamic between the characters who are in the process of forming the Birds Of Prey. That the Huntress, Oracle, and Black Canary reluctantly accept her participation in their mission in Black Canary/Oracle/Huntress: Birds Of Prey, yet show her no loyalty at the conclusion of the adventure is somewhat problematic; it seems like they are happy to use her, complain about her, and then ditch her or let her go her own way when the threat of Braun is neutralized.

Black Canary/Oracle/Huntress: Birds Of Prey is an uninspired, though well-intentioned, start to the Birds Of Prey team.

For other Birds Of Prey books, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Between Dark And Dawn
Perfect Pitch
Blood And Circuits
Dead Of Winter
Metropolis Or Dust
Club Kids
Platinum Flats

3.5/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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An Annoying Current Trend, G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra Movie Prequel Is A Substandard Anthology.

The Good: Decent art
The Bad: Blase storyline, No real character development, Expensive for what it is.
The Basics: Despite having a generally high quality of artwork, G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra Movie Prequel fails because the stories are fractured and the characters to not truly develop.


In the summer of 2009, with the advent of Summer Blockbuster Season came the rise of "graphic novels" for movie tie-ins. In fact, the prequel anthology Star Trek: Countdown (reviewed here!) for that year's film Star Trek (reviewed here!) even made it to a respectable position on the Bestseller's list! Since then, other franchises have been attempting the movie tie-in graphic novel - more accurately trade paperback anthology as the books collect issues of previously-published comic books for their material. One of the offerings in that trend was released in anticipation G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra film (reviewed here!). It is, imaginatively enough, called G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra Movie Prequel.

As the title suggests, the only real purpose of the G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra Movie Prequel is to prepare readers for the film. Like Star Trek: Countdown, this graphic novel seems to be establishing the fundamental backstory of four of the key characters in G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra. As such, the final pages of the trade paperback anthology lead into what most assume will be the opening of the film. However, as far as that goes, this is a pretty weak collection of comics and the overall feel of them is that they are simplified stories for those who share traditional military values and look at the world in very black and white terms. As such, the stories establish core characters - two heroes, two villains - but the four stories do not directly relate to one another. As a result, this anthology reads like exactly what it is: a collection of four comic books.

Because the book, written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by SL Gallant, is more a collection of comic books, it makes sense to look at the chapters, as opposed to the overall book. The only thing the various chapters have in common is the artwork and Gallant does an excellent job with that. The characters look good and the coloring actually has some decent shading . . . for the most part. In the third chapter, there are some moments with a great sense of movement even, but that is not as consistent as I would usually like. That said, the writing and the level of character and storytelling is variable from chapter to chapter.

In the first chapter, a United States military operation being led by Wallace Weems parachutes into the jungle on an off-the-books op. The covert Army Rangers disappear into the jungle to find guerrilla forces and their arsenal of weapons. Weems leads his team into the heart of the enemy's camp where they steal technical information and lay waste to the arsenal, ostensibly to protect innocent lives elsewhere in the jungle and crush the movement's ability to harm others. In the process, Weems' team takes fire and Sgt. Hansen has to rescue his comrades and complete the op.

At its resolution, Weems is met by a mysterious military official who offers him a position in a secret organization within the military. Because I've seen the previews for G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra, I know that character is Hawk because the artwork by Gallant looks like Dennis Quaid. This first chapter is a real tough sell for me; military stories are not my bailiwick and the jargon is very heavy in this vignette. I understand by context what phrases like "We bush hog from here" (7?, there are no page numbers in the anthology) but having to decipher lines like that almost every line makes for slow reading. In true form, though, the story quickly degenerates into a shootout and the dialogue stops.

A far less dialogue-driven (or hampered) story comes in Chapter 2 where the origins of Destro are explored. Destro, a weapon's manufacturer and dealer comes from a long line of arms merchants and he has taken up the cause. As a deal in France goes badly and Destro looks to be compromised, he recalls advice from his father (another arms merchant) about the principles of the business. While Dixon is creative with the narrative technique here - the flashbacks to kid Destro getting advice from Papa are more imaginative than most comic books - the net result is still the same. This is a very straightforward and surprisingly bland comic book type story.

Similarly, the third chapter, which focuses on the Baroness, is a very simple story. The Baroness Anastasia DeCobray flirts with and then incapacitates Sheik Mommar al Rhazidh. Loose in his house, she finds herself trapped in confrontation with a live tiger. As the sheik's personal security forces close in on her, she uses her wits to survive and she obtains information embedded in a mural that she sends to Mars Industries to help fund their deeds.

The Baroness chapter seems to most directly link to the forthcoming film. Knowing only that the new movie will have evil forces, linked to Mars Industries, the obtaining of capital to fund their dark deeds is necessary. Whether or not the movie will actually begin or include the stealing of the gold reserves based on the Baronness's information becomes inconsequential to those who read this anthology. For us, the suspension of disbelief over how an organization like Mars Industries (or COBRA, if it is directly related) is unnecessary; we've seen the lengths the operatives go to to get the billions needed to become international criminals.

The final chapter seems to set up a subplot (at the very least) for the new movie, when an environmental terrorist from Russia, the Skorpion, takes hostages at an environmentally unfriendly dam erected by the United States. One of the hostages is the Vice President and to get him back safely a single special operative is sent in. That operative is Snake Eyes and he takes out Skorpion's support and helps to rescue the Vice President. This story sets up a rift between the president and vice president in the G.I. Joe America. There is little dialogue in this chapter as well, as Snake Eyes works alone and he clunks heads and slithers through the background of frames unseen by his enemies.

The fundamental problems with G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra Movie Prequel are that the stories are obvious and there is no real character development. The villains are monolithically evil either from heritage (Destro) or affiliation (the Baroness is in league with the sinister Mars Industries) or their over-the-top actions (Skorpion). The heroes are just that. The first chapter is full of butch American soldiers who leave no man behind and are ready to sacrifice themselves for the op. The thing is, even those who do not follow this genre know that coming in. We get it; the U.S. Military has those values, so to see them simply executed without commentary or individualization. In other words, Weems, Hansen and their team are types more than characters, at least in this comic book. Even the resolution between Hansen and Duke is part of that sense of values; "I don't leave my team." The only special skill here is from Snake Eyes who is a master of martial arts and is clearly a more special op part of the military.

But none of the characters develop, grow or change, they simply are established and unfortunately what they are established as is primarily "types" as opposed to viable, interesting characters. The result is that this trade paperback anthology does little but generate enthusiasm among those who were already psyched about the forthcoming film. For those who were not, well, G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra Movie Prequel does not sway us to be first in line by any means.

For other anthologies with movie tie-ins, please check out my reviews of:
The A-Team: War Stories
Legion: Prophets
Heroes - Volume 2

4.5/10

For other graphic novel and book reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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Repetitive Batman Outing Finishes The Fall With Simplicity Over Violence: Knightfall: Knightsend

The Good: Wraps up the story nicely, sort of.
The Bad: Very simplistic ending, Missing a huge chunk of storyline, Overly simple, Lame villains, No Character!
The Basics: Wrapping up the essential conflict of having two Batmans running around Gotham City, Knightsend resolves the story, but does not satisfy.


The only comic book I bought, for a long time, as an adult was the three graphic novels comprising the Knightfall saga, a Batman comic endeavor. My reasons were explained in my reviews for Knightfall: Part One - Broken Bat (click here for that review!) and Knightfall: Part Two - Who Rules The Night (click here for that review!) and I am glad to be done with the series with Knightfall: Part Three - Knightsend. The problem here is that it is not the end of the series. In the prologue to this volume, the graphic novel declares that a portion of the story, detailing Bruce Wayne's recovery and the new Batman's (Jean-Paul) descent into madness, is missing from the anthologies. I picked up Knightfall because I was intrigued by the idea that all of Batman's enemies were released from Arkham Asylum and Batman became so exhausted retrieving some of them that he was thwarted by Bane and had to be replaced. The idea of having to round up his many nemesi was a cool idea to me. The first volume delivered on that, the second dealt with two more villains being apprehended and this volume, missing the important step as it is is completely devoid of the other enemies of Batman.

Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City miraculously healed, but afraid of literally taking a leap to return to his duty as the Dark Knight. He encounters a fearsome warrior named Lady Shiva who kills a master of martial arts while wearing the Mask of Tengu. She then gives Wayne the mask and lets him fall prey to the apprentices of the master she just killed, hoping she can get him to kill one of them and betray himself. While Wayne defeats these apprentices using non-lethal methods and walks out to the abyss he intends to jump into without doing so, Batman - now seriously armored - goes completely insane and goes on a bit of a killing spree in search of the guy who apparently killed his father. Haunted by the Ghost of Saint Dumas, Batman is hunting a man who is likely already dead and burning through most of Gotham City to do it.

The truly disappointing thing here is not only that a potion of the story is missing (why wasn't this Part Four with Part Three being Knightquest?!), but rather that so much of the missing part of the story seems vastly more interesting than what is presented here. While Batman worked to regain control of the streets of Gotham City in the first chapter of Knightfall, the reader was engaged. Here, Wayne goes through repetitive physical conflicts, fights adversaries who seem obvious and simply physical obstacles, then he stands atop a giant building refusing to leap off. We get it, it gets old quickly. Sadly, it keeps repeating.

Moreover, the character of Jean-Paul Valley, the new Batman is simply dull and a one-trick pony. Any potential Wayne saw in him is gone now and he's a mindless psychopath, as bad as any villain in the Batman pantheon. Indeed, much of the book revolves not around Batman and his insanely burning through gun runners to try to find his father's assassin, but with Robin and Nightwing following him and witlessly trying to determine if he truly is insane.

Indeed, the only truly enjoyable elements in Knightsend are the climactic moments when Wayne, Catwoman, Robin and Nightwing confront the impostor Batman atop a bridge and the end of the book. I don't mean "the end" as in "that it ended," but rather in the resolution. I find the resolution to be ridiculously simple, but as a fan of Star Trek (yes, I know there is a difference between Trek and Batman) I appreciate the philosophical ending to Knightsend.

In short, like all his villains that he must defeat, Bruce Wayne as the returning Batman eventually uses his brains, not his brawn to overcome Valley's Batman. Wayne realizes Valley has gone completely delusional and his solution is to break him by stripping him of his armor (literally and figuratively). It's a smart and intriguing resolution that relies on brains.

But more than the prior two outings, Knightfall reads like a comic book. The characters barely move the story, much of it being very plot centered and reading it becomes a waiting for the end. We thumb through the pages desperately hoping for decent dialogue (most of the conversations in this trade paperback are between Robin and Nightwing and some reference events in the missing chapter) and end up disappointed. We end up waiting for the ultimate resolution and when it comes, we set aside this volume with the full understanding that we will never pick it back up again.

Even if I reread Knightfall Parts I and II, I will not pick Knightsend up again.

The artwork is nothing to write home about with much of it being sloppy and underdeveloped until the final chapters when the two Batmen are going at it. In short, even the spectacle aspect fails. Lacking a solid, interesting plot, genuine character development and reasonable dialogue and failing to be visually interesting, Knightsend falls flat.

But more than that, key Batman villains are still on the loose at the end of Knightsend, most notably the Joker. Given that this was one of the engaging concepts of Knightfall for me, that one of the greatest villains is still at large is just shoddy to me.

That's the curse of Knightsend, though, it wraps things up and restores a status quo to the Batman universe. Sadly, that's all it does.

For other DC graphic novels, please check out my reviews of:
Absolute Justice
Wonder Woman: Challenge Of The Gods
Green Lantern: Agent Orange

3/10

For other book reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2010, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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With Batman Broken, Another Must Take His Place. Naturally, It's A Psychopath: Knightfall Volume 2.

The Good: Excellent continuation of the previous stories, Tone, Characters
The Bad: Very basic plot, Issues with the story's timeline, "Middle Act" quality, Peripheral characters
The Basics: In a disappointing follow-up to Broken Bat, a new Batman emerges to fight Gotham's new crimelord while Bruce Wayne wheels away.


In my review of Knightfall - Part One: Broken Bat (click here for that!), I explored the cultural prejudice against comic books (and by extension graphic novel anthologies of their extensive stories). I will, therefore, not repeat myself and have this review follow with the unstated premise that reading Knightfall - Part Two: Who Rules The Night is an acknowledgment that while the prejudice exists, it is somewhat silly, but at the same time nothing takes the place of genuine literature and this is not it.

Following the release of all of Gotham City's greatest villains and Batman's draining attempt to return them to Arkham Asylum, the villain responsible for the breakout, Bane, destroys Batman by breaking his back. Confined to a wheelchair, Bruce Wayne turns to Dr. Shondra Kinsolving for medical help and potential romance. Wayne turns the crimefighting over to Robin and Jean-Paul Valley (previously known as Azrael, before the first Knightfall began).

Valley assumes the cape and outfit of Batman and begins to set order back to the streets of Gotham. This new Batman takes out the Scarecrow, albeit violently, and begins a hunt for Bane. (The villainous Ventriloquist, featured prominently in the first book, appears to take himself out and in a flashback sequence we learn that Batman dealt with Two-Face shortly before being crippled by Bane.) Leaving Robin behind, the new Batman fights Bane to a draw, returns to the Batcave under the influence of a subconscious programming from the mysterious Order of Saint Dumas to design a new suit for Batman.

Who Rules The Night is essentially a middle act that is necessary in order to make the near-death of Batman realistic and consequential. Bruce Wayne is last seen flying off in a jet, still bound to his wheelchair. He is very much broken and damaged, with no immediate prospects for getting better. Bane consolidates his hold on Gotham City and this graphic novel explores how he begins to take control of all of the corrupt institutions.

The main thrust is very much the function of a middle act; Jean-Paul Valley taking up the mantle of the bat to become the new Batman. While it does not take much convincing from Bruce Wayne and Robin for him to agree to become the new Dark Knight, what is far more problematic is that he is more "dark" than "knight." He has no apparent code of ethics he is following and his level of force immediately begins to upset Robin.

This creates a very real character conflict between the two primary characters in Who Rules The Night. Robin - and his non-superhero persona Tim Drake - pleads with Azrael to fight for good and fight by a code that does not perpetuate the darkness that evil lives within. Jean-Paul's view is that the evils are bigger and badder than Batman had to face and as a result, he must be even more extreme than they are. One might not think it possible in a comic book, but this results in a very real level of tension that permeates the dialogue and body language of the characters in these pages.

Who Rules The Night is FAR less cohesive than Broken Bat. The tale begins to splinter, with a sidestory of how Batman and Robin defeated Two-Face before Bane took out Batman, the wandering threads of Bane's power consolidation, Wayne's beginning the road to recovery and the change of power, which culminates in the Scarecrow sidestory with the appearance of another superhero called the Anarchist. It's only after Scarecrow is taken out that the story becomes devoted to its new purpose; finding and eliminating Bane. That's when the story is at its best.

The problem is, on the way, as the story wanders, so does the animation. In the flashback episode dealing with the reappropriation of Two-Face, the comic panels are terrible. The artwork is sloppy and that distracts from the quality of the story dramatically. Conversely, during the Scarecrow series and the culmination of events leading to the face-off between Bane and the new Batman, the animation is wonderful. The pencillers there create clear, vivid pictures that do what a book like this ought to do; it conveys the physical sense of what is happening without having to use words to describe it.

The strength of any graphic novel comes in the balance between the dialogue and the physical action. Who Rules The Night is unbalanced here, as well. The book has extensive dialogue between characters, with a lot coming in villains providing backstory in the beginning. After the Scarecrow episode, the book thins out considerably, with most of the dialogue being Robin's repeated arguments to Jean-Paul Valley over the ethics of combating violence with violence. The book degenerates into a slugfest, which makes some sense, but the overall effect is this is a very unbalanced work.

The things that attracted me to the Knightfall saga was the concept of Batman being broken, but even more the quest to reincarcerate the villains in the Batman world. This book deals with that very little as only three villains (only two of which I had even heard of before this series) are dealt with outside Bane. In fact, one of the first things to occur in Who Rules The Night is the Joker simply walks away.

While this might be a necessary chapter in the overall story, the inconsistency of the artwork and the subplots being explore make it difficult for a casual reader of the series - or, indeed, someone who only picked up this series - to enjoy. Will I still see how the saga ends? Yes. But had I not already bought it, I might have just been content with the first part and left the Batman in Bane's hands.

For other graphic novels, please check out my reviews of:
Wonder Woman: Gods And Mortals
Kingdom Come
Green Lantern: Agent Orange

5/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2010, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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A Layman's Guide To The Villains of Batman Through A Break From Arkham Asylum With Knightfall Volume One: Broken Bat!

The Good: Clever concept, Especially strong execution of plot, Decent characters, Good artwork, Good dialogue
The Bad: References events that precede this series, No issue cover galleries or series advertisements
The Basics: In the early 90s, Batman's greatest villains were released by a new and powerful enemy named Bane and Batman's quest to get them back into Arkham puts him in jeopardy.


[As I move my massive library of reviews into my new blog, I occasionally find one that I don’t want to alter much because I love the flavor of the original language. As I re-read my Knightfall Volume 1 review, I felt that way. So, despite the fact that I have fallen for the film The Dark Knight and read and reviewed a lot of graphic novels, including a brand new guide on how to read the Blackest Night saga (click here for that!), I wanted to maintain the original feel of this review. I hope you enjoy it!]

Back in the days when I used to read comic books (actually, I was such a geek, I only read the Star Trek comics!), I was intrigued for a while by Batman. I never picked up Batman comics, but I was intrigued by them. The truth is, I didn't care much about the Batman comics (I liked Tim Burton's Batman and LOVED Batman Returns, but one day in one of my Star Trek comics, there was an advertisement. The advertisement was for the beginning of a Batman comic series called Knightfall and the ad said it all: All of Batman's enemies are released from Arkham Asylum and he has to hunt them down. The ads had great artwork and the thing that continued to intrigue me as the ads continued throughout my comics was the running thread that Batman was getting more and more exhausted. I like superheroes who are not invincible. Those ads stuck with me and recently, when I was replacing a number of books, I stumbled upon the collected Knightfall series in a trade paperback (actually three) and I decided I had to have them. In Knightfall, Part One: Broken Bat I've finally seen what was backing all of those compelling advertisements.

Bane, a dangerous brute whose motivations are largely unknown - though he has an apparent vendetta against Batman - arrives in Gotham City with his henchman with a rather ingenious plan. Bane's lackeys knock off the local armory and deliver Gotham's military arsenal to . . . Arkham Asylum, the local mental institution. Arkham is the residence of all of the psychopathic killers Batman has put away over the years. Enemies as recognizable as The Joker, Scarecrow and Two-Face are unleashed on the city, along with more obscure enemies such as Killer Croc, Firefly, Amygdala and Zsasz.

Batman begins to push himself to the limits of his endurance over the few days that follow. He makes some quick victories, capturing the Mad Hatter and Amygdala almost immediately. Bane himself takes out one of the villains and Batman proceeds to confront the notorious (though completely obscure to anyone but a Batman fan) serial killer Zsasz. That confrontation is critical as it seriously weakens Batman both physically and emotionally. It also distracts Batman from some of the most notorious killers in his past and while Batman is stuck cleaning up the little messes, Scarecrow and the Joker team up and kidnap the mayor. Refusing Robin's help, Batman works past exhaustion as he becomes the prey Bane has come to destroy.

You certainly don't have to be a Batman fan to get a kick out of this story. This is like the Greatest Hits of Batman all in one place and as someone who had not read a single Batman comic before this graphic novel, I have to say it was remarkably accessible.

No one knows the prejudice against comic books like a novelist. I generally don't consider comics a real legitimate form of writing or art, but Knightfall is turning me around. Sitting down and reading this graphic novel opened me to the reality of what good writing (in comic books) can do; it allows the imagination to create without wasting words on the ridiculous. It occurred to me, about halfway through Broken Bat, that this would be especially boring or silly as a novel because there was so much fighting. To read "Batman lashed out as Amygdala put his full weight into a crushing blow" would get tiresome as the book continued. Instead, because the battles are illustrated, the words that are printed on the page are all of the essential things that cannot be seen; what is said, heard and any relevant backstory or movement off page.

And what surprised me, again, about the quality of this volume was in the illustrations. Not because these are pretty pictures or fine art, but rather that those charged with producing this story have an impressive attention to detail. As a result, almost every panel is expressive, with characters emoting genuine (and appropriate) emotions for their circumstances. And the team involved here is so clever that looking at panels with Batman and the lines are sharp and strong, at the book progresses, the jawlines curve more as Batman becomes exhausted. It's details like that that are brilliant.

What attracted me to Batman (of all comics) was this: 1. He's just a man and 2. His main weapon is cunning. He needs to outsmart his enemy and to do that, he analyzes information and creates defenses (gadgets) to save himself.

In Knightfall, he does some of that, mostly in the form of saving himself from toxins from the likes of Poison Ivy and approaching Firefly with a suit that is fireproof, but it is not as extensive as I anticipated. Then again, the situation here is rather dire for Batman. The psychopaths who are released from Arkham are the most dangerous characters in the Batman series, so the body count begins to rack up pretty quickly. As a result, much of Broken Bat is spent simply meting out justice in the form of stopping the villains who use brute force with Batman using brute force in return.

There is a clever aspect to this whole design and that is in the form of Bane. Bane seems to have no extensive powers, he's just a mountain of a man who responds to everything by punching, smashing and destroying. His tactic is to wear Batman out and then kill him. What better way to do that than to physically exhaust Batman on those who are inferior to him?

This is essentially a death by a thousand blows and writers Doug Moench and Chuck Dixon wisely keep the action focused on the cumulative effect of these attacks. Batman becomes short-tempered from lack of sleep, lashing out at Robin. Moreover, the villains have some clever aspects to them as well; Scarecrow and the Joker team up and basically synergize their evil and the Riddler - the lone villain Robin is left to deal with - resolves his conflict in the most simple way possible (actually, I was amused quite a bit by the Riddler's reaction to Robin).

My point here is that I understand the prejudice against comic books and while Broken Bat does not solve all of the problems with comic books, this is an impressive collection and it's clearly - based on the psychological aspects and attention to strategy as well as the level of violence and the discussions of what all that violence means - intended for an adult audience. And, for the most part, it's satisfying.

What is problematic are the references to what comes before Broken Bat. Two characters are present in this volume that are relatively new. Jean-Paul, who also goes by Azrael, is an associate of Batman and he spends his presence in Broken Bat sitting it out while Batman does his thing, with Robin keeping him updated. He seems to be an adversary turned ally (as I understand it, there was an Azrael series shortly before Knightfall to set up his role in this). The other big addition is Bane. Bane utilizes a poison for his tremendous strength and it is alluded that Bane has been on his way for a little while. Apparently, he nearly killed Killer Croc - whose vengeance for that becomes a motivator for him - and he tested his poison on the Riddler, making the Riddler temporarily into a ridiculously strong brute. These basically are mentioned in passing to connote that even before Knightfall, Bruce Wayne and Batman are exhausted.

As well, at one point in the book, a female superhero pops up to dispatch some thugs for a few panels (it's so short that skimming through now for a page reference I could not find her!). Is it enough to detract from a good read? No. Most of it can be figured out by the clever reader. And for those who are only familiar with Batman from the movies, there is a lot to enjoy here; characters like Two-Face are evident escaping from Arkham, but are not captured in Broken Bat.

This is likely to be enjoyed by anyone who likes a good action-adventure story and the climax is impressive. It's not likely to be enjoyed by those who can't read something just for fun. This is fun and in the weirdest way, it becomes so engrossing with the characters that it gets the blood pumping. Seriously. This is a hunt and the hunter is preyed upon by villains horrible, lame and powerful. But it's entertaining and it's a great read for a rainy afternoon when you want something exciting and quick to read.

Note to DC Comics: Whoever created that ad campaign ought to be promoted. It may have taken over a decade, but I bought this!

For other graphic novel reviews, please check out my takes on:
Wonder Woman The Circle
Watchmen
Lost Girls

7/10

For other book reviews, please check out my index page!

© 2010, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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