Scan barcode
cryo_guy's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This wasn't all bad, but it wasn't exactly great either. I had a fun enough time with it, but I think there are plenty of other Batman collections worth reading first.
The art was retro and cool at first but it seemed less refined and got a little boring as I read more. The same applies to the stories. They play a little with the idea of Batman at the beginning of his career trying to balance his desire to fight crime as a vigilante and live a normal life-mostly argued by Alfred-but its really not all that nuanced. Still, its not utterly horrible and its kind of a fun look back at an older version of Batman in these three tales.
The art was retro and cool at first but it seemed less refined and got a little boring as I read more. The same applies to the stories. They play a little with the idea of Batman at the beginning of his career trying to balance his desire to fight crime as a vigilante and live a normal life-mostly argued by Alfred-but its really not all that nuanced. Still, its not utterly horrible and its kind of a fun look back at an older version of Batman in these three tales.
gothicteletubby's review
2.5
This was alright. Werewolf was the best story of the three, but even that was okay. I don't really like this origin story for Clayface, either, to be honest. Just a random guy that so happened to come across a mysterious goo that he literally fell on is kind of boring for a villain like him. Infected was just gross, I liked the idea that these guys were just victims of the American government that took advantage of their soldiers, but that's where the interesting parts ended. I had to force myself to finish it because the art was plain old ugly to look at.
crookedtreehouse's review
4.0
A few years ago, I made a chronology for how to read modern Batman. I was focused quite a bit on creating the order, as opposed to just reading the books for enjoyment, so now I'm going back to see how the chronology holds up.
This collection wasn't available when I first created the chronology. But it's a fun run of stories from the 90s Legends Of The Dark Knight series by some of the more famous writers currently in comics.
I find much of [a:James Robinson|28055|James Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1305435500p2/28055.jpg]'s work to be uneven, at best. But his Werewolf story is better than I imagined it would be. Not great, but a solid read. Unfortunately, it's a bit hampered by [a:John Watkiss|2568404|John Watkiss|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s art, which starts off as perfectly adequate 90s Batman art, but degrades into a style that just doesn't work with the story.
[a:Warren Ellis|12772|Warren Ellis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1447009436p2/12772.jpg]'s "Infected" fares much better, not just because of [a:John McCrae|14815699|John McCrae|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] weirdly engaging choices in warping human anatomy, but because Ellis has always been a solid writer. His minor callbacks to [b:Batman: Year One|59980|Batman Year One|Frank Miller|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327940389s/59980.jpg|2501570] are also fun little Easter eggs.
The story closes with [a:Alan Grant|28712|Alan Grant|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1308066287p2/28712.jpg]'s take on Clayface's origin. It's not spectacular, but it's a charming read and Quique Alcatena's art falls in-line with the McCrae art in the previous story.
I'm going to add this to the chronology, as the fifth book, following Year One, [b:The Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper|1063425|The Catwoman Her Sister's Keeper|Mindy Newell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1180669266s/1063425.jpg|1050065], [b:Batman and the Monster Men|107036|Batman and the Monster Men|Matt Wagner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347442884s/107036.jpg|103167], and [b:Batman: Dark Legends|2125905|Batman Dark Legends|Bryan Talbot|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1318867509s/2125905.jpg|2131345].
I recommend this for Clayface fans, Warren Ellis fanboys, people who prefer their Batman stories with an air of the supernatural, and people looking to flesh out their Batman collections with well-told but lesser-known stories from the pantheon.
This collection wasn't available when I first created the chronology. But it's a fun run of stories from the 90s Legends Of The Dark Knight series by some of the more famous writers currently in comics.
I find much of [a:James Robinson|28055|James Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1305435500p2/28055.jpg]'s work to be uneven, at best. But his Werewolf story is better than I imagined it would be. Not great, but a solid read. Unfortunately, it's a bit hampered by [a:John Watkiss|2568404|John Watkiss|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s art, which starts off as perfectly adequate 90s Batman art, but degrades into a style that just doesn't work with the story.
[a:Warren Ellis|12772|Warren Ellis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1447009436p2/12772.jpg]'s "Infected" fares much better, not just because of [a:John McCrae|14815699|John McCrae|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] weirdly engaging choices in warping human anatomy, but because Ellis has always been a solid writer. His minor callbacks to [b:Batman: Year One|59980|Batman Year One|Frank Miller|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327940389s/59980.jpg|2501570] are also fun little Easter eggs.
The story closes with [a:Alan Grant|28712|Alan Grant|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1308066287p2/28712.jpg]'s take on Clayface's origin. It's not spectacular, but it's a charming read and Quique Alcatena's art falls in-line with the McCrae art in the previous story.
I'm going to add this to the chronology, as the fifth book, following Year One, [b:The Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper|1063425|The Catwoman Her Sister's Keeper|Mindy Newell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1180669266s/1063425.jpg|1050065], [b:Batman and the Monster Men|107036|Batman and the Monster Men|Matt Wagner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347442884s/107036.jpg|103167], and [b:Batman: Dark Legends|2125905|Batman Dark Legends|Bryan Talbot|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1318867509s/2125905.jpg|2131345].
I recommend this for Clayface fans, Warren Ellis fanboys, people who prefer their Batman stories with an air of the supernatural, and people looking to flesh out their Batman collections with well-told but lesser-known stories from the pantheon.
More...