Scan barcode
rick_gardens's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
thecommonswings's review against another edition
3.0
A proper slog, but kind of fascinating for that: it’s indicative of the nineties comics mentality that has created things like Comicsgate and that modern comics constantly feel like they’re reacting against either ironically or with full conviction. The main plot is Bruce Wayne is out of action because of Bane - from the third Nolan Batman film if you aren’t aware of him - and the mantle has been taken by Jean Paul Valley who appears to be a bit insane and driven by the ghosts of his dead dad and a Knight Templar. So far that could be almost any era of comics
But what we get is a character who’s a lot less self questioning than Wayne is, and who’s frankly a bit of a bastard. This means the best writers - Chuck Dixon mostly - can use this as a stealth way of looking at the state of mainstream nineties comics and add their despair into the characters themselves. The new Batman looks ridiculous, like they got drunk one night and tried to find the most absurd and daftly edgy outfit they could (he literally has no hands but weird curved spike things) to see if they could get away with it. The best writers and artists here definitely are sending up the grotesqueries of the genre, because what else can you do if you don’t want to embrace it?
The worst writers and artists here are... kind of more fascinating because they don’t spot the absurdity or irony, or in the case of Alan Grant - whose work on Dredd pretty much defined this trait in mainstream comics - just phones it in with deliberate schlock. The stories lurch about in tone. Villains have names and designs that a 13 year old high on felt tip fumes would have come up with. There’s no logic or sense of a real world that this is reacting against or embracing. It’s incredibly silly. And it’s only those who are in on the joke - surely boggling that others really are not also in on it - that makes this as fun as it does. Really and truly: very strange
But what we get is a character who’s a lot less self questioning than Wayne is, and who’s frankly a bit of a bastard. This means the best writers - Chuck Dixon mostly - can use this as a stealth way of looking at the state of mainstream nineties comics and add their despair into the characters themselves. The new Batman looks ridiculous, like they got drunk one night and tried to find the most absurd and daftly edgy outfit they could (he literally has no hands but weird curved spike things) to see if they could get away with it. The best writers and artists here definitely are sending up the grotesqueries of the genre, because what else can you do if you don’t want to embrace it?
The worst writers and artists here are... kind of more fascinating because they don’t spot the absurdity or irony, or in the case of Alan Grant - whose work on Dredd pretty much defined this trait in mainstream comics - just phones it in with deliberate schlock. The stories lurch about in tone. Villains have names and designs that a 13 year old high on felt tip fumes would have come up with. There’s no logic or sense of a real world that this is reacting against or embracing. It’s incredibly silly. And it’s only those who are in on the joke - surely boggling that others really are not also in on it - that makes this as fun as it does. Really and truly: very strange
cjordahl's review against another edition
4.0
This is a massive book. Taken as a whole, it's a compelling story. Some of the chapters are damn good and others are god-awful... overall worth 4 stars for me. I enjoyed Jean-Paul Valley as Batman -- obsessed, confused, tortured, bad-ass. His newfangled bat-costume is mostly ridiculous though.
cjordahl's review against another edition
4.0
Good stories and action, generally good dialog. Solid art throughout. I suppose it's not surprising that some of the individual issues were better than others. At their best they were some of the best Batman comics I've read. There are a few pages of extras in the back like character designs and variant covers, but there's less of this extra material than I've seen in other "omnibus" collections. It's a nice hardcover book with a flexible spine that lets the pages open fully so you can see all the art.
librarimans's review against another edition
4.0
I still love this story as much as I did when it was originally coming out. I think the Knightfall Saga is the only big 90s comic event that still holds up today.
akodoken's review against another edition
4.0
Bruce has fallen. Can someone else really take up the mantle of the "Batman"? This story is a really interesting look into what it really means to be the Caped Crusader and what it means to those who support him.
More...