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bigbear73's review against another edition
2.0
Comic retelling of the novel...and frankly, its a little boring at times in comparison. If you've never read the arc, though, its worth checking out.
ferzemkhan's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-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
2.0
Jean Paull Valley continues to be both Batman and the most annoying superhero you will ever read. Even the art is just always extra all the time and borderline ugly. Notable arcs are with Catwoman and with Joker, which are somewhat okay, but only because you actually focus on someone other than Jean Paul Valley. In fact, the only good parts about this run is when you see other characters - Catwoman, Joker, Renee Montoya, Clayface, because every panel Jean Paul Valley is in is a slog to go through
babyfacedoldsoul's review against another edition
3.0
I really didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed the first volume. Bruce Wayne will always be Batman, and I can understand the motifs and psychological standpoints they were going for, but I just wasn't sold. Hopefully volume three will redeem itself for me, it certainly looked that way towards the end.
blackbird9805's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
library_jones's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
gothicteletubby's review
3.75
Really well written, even though there were many different writers I was interested the whole time. The art was great too, very well colored throughout. You really get to see how vast the differences are between Jean Paul and Bruce, and how badly Jean Paul was brainwashed. I will say, I wish this collected what Bruce and Tim were doing that whole time rather than Jean Paul trying and failing again and again.
buer's review against another edition
4.0
Knightquest is a fun read. The description of Jean-Paul Valley's inner-life paints him in a much more sympathetic light than we saw in the first book. Although he continues to be overly brash in his reactions to criminals and deviate from the moral structure that Bruce Wayne put in place for Batman, we also finally get to see what inner demons (or angels) drive him to act as he does.
One of my favorite aspects of the storyline is that Valley seems to develop an affinity for Wayne's style of vigilantism. Although he weaponizes the batsuit more than Wayne ever had(which makes for some really great art) he also realizes the importance of doing the detective work that he despises and chooses to save the lives of bystanders before capturing criminals with increasing regularity.
Criticizing storytelling is always a little difficult with comic books turned into a larger tome. Robin was the most common manifestation of this. He would pop up every third comic book or so and remind us that he's not around because Valley would strangle him if he was. One kind of cool element was that there were villains who Avery hadn't encountered and were, therefore, just as fresh to him as they would be to the novice reader. He underestimated the Joker, misinterpreted Cat Woman's motives, and was unnecessarily violent with Mr. Freeze. The novelty of a novice Batman interacting with classic villains made for great moments.
It was also interesting to see Bruce Wayne musing about retirement and Tim Drake realizing that a better home life for him might damage his life as a super hero. How far down the rabbit hole of superherohood does Drake have to be for a better home life to seem like a curse instead of a blessing?
One of my favorite aspects of the storyline is that Valley seems to develop an affinity for Wayne's style of vigilantism. Although he weaponizes the batsuit more than Wayne ever had(which makes for some really great art) he also realizes the importance of doing the detective work that he despises and chooses to save the lives of bystanders before capturing criminals with increasing regularity.
Spoiler
Of course, much of this character development is eradicated in the moment that he faces off with Abattoir and allows him to die. This in itself was a fascinating moment because in a lot of ways not making a decision was the only way that he could be sure that he wasn't following his programming. He was not true to the mantle of the bat, but he avoided making a pre-ordained decision, which is an extraodinary moment of strength of Valley even as it is an awful moment of immorality for the Batman.Criticizing storytelling is always a little difficult with comic books turned into a larger tome. Robin was the most common manifestation of this. He would pop up every third comic book or so and remind us that he's not around because Valley would strangle him if he was. One kind of cool element was that there were villains who Avery hadn't encountered and were, therefore, just as fresh to him as they would be to the novice reader. He underestimated the Joker, misinterpreted Cat Woman's motives, and was unnecessarily violent with Mr. Freeze. The novelty of a novice Batman interacting with classic villains made for great moments.
Spoiler
I would also argue that there was a definite lack of punch in the storytelling surrounding Abattoir. The fact that Valley let him die was deplorable, but understandable. It did not make sense that Abattoir's cousin was still left to die. Neither Valley nor Robin (who happened to be on site as well and had researched Abattoir and his hide-out more thoroughly) found or saved Abbatoir's victim. It made for an interesting plot point since Valley also reacted with an eerie nonchalance upon hearing that the man he had been trying to save had died, but the fact that no one looked for him in what I believe was the exact same building made very little sense. It was a poor storytelling moment.It was also interesting to see Bruce Wayne musing about retirement and Tim Drake realizing that a better home life for him might damage his life as a super hero. How far down the rabbit hole of superherohood does Drake have to be for a better home life to seem like a curse instead of a blessing?
manuphoto's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
literarygoblin's review
4.0
• the moody atmosphere is very strong
• following Jean-Paul's descent into a sort of madness is very engaging
• the return of Bruce and the ending felt too abrupt
• interesting use of both new and old villains
• some art styles were unpleasant for me personally
• really sets up the third installment of the series well, makes me excited to keep reading more
• following Jean-Paul's descent into a sort of madness is very engaging
• the return of Bruce and the ending felt too abrupt
• interesting use of both new and old villains
• some art styles were unpleasant for me personally
• really sets up the third installment of the series well, makes me excited to keep reading more
levibaus's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars...at the high points.
This one was a good read as well. I'm interested to see how the third volume ends, but this volume seemed a little lacking in story throughout. The Knightquest arc made sense, but it just seemed a little "run-of-the-mill" to me. Overall, it was still a good story, but not nearly as enthralling as the first volume.
This one was a good read as well. I'm interested to see how the third volume ends, but this volume seemed a little lacking in story throughout. The Knightquest arc made sense, but it just seemed a little "run-of-the-mill" to me. Overall, it was still a good story, but not nearly as enthralling as the first volume.