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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.
hskey's review against another edition
4.0
Something really different, and totally unexpected considering the end of Knightfall. Azrael/ Jean-Paul Valley is a fascinating character, at least for a comic-book it might not translate over very well to other mediums, but I really enjoyed how different he was compared to Bruce Wayne; totally violent, constantly justifying his actions, an intriguing inner monologue, etc. I don't think it's as good as Hush, or some other Batman Graphic Novels I've rated higher, but I'm giving it 4 stars because it's really refreshing, fun to read and, despite how stupid the new Batman suit is, I genuinely think it looks awesome.
apageinthestacks's review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5 actual rating.
Didn't at all live up to its predecessor, though to be fair, those were big shoes to fill.
There were a few great moments, but overall the whole thing just seemed far too dragged out--even the Joker issues weren't all that enjoyable.
That being said, I'm still looking forward to reading Vol.3 so I can see the story through to the end. Plus I did really enjoy the broad story itself--that being that Bruce was broken by Bane and Jean Paul took over as Batman, only to become sort of evil himself. It was great seeing Jean Paul's character and his interactions with some of the classic Batman villains, though I do wish there would have been more Bruce Wayne (as, besides the last comic, he only appears in one page), especially because the story was so long.
Didn't at all live up to its predecessor, though to be fair, those were big shoes to fill.
There were a few great moments, but overall the whole thing just seemed far too dragged out--even the Joker issues weren't all that enjoyable.
Spoiler
And then when Bruce Wayne finally returns, everything happens way too quickly--he wants to retire, then Robin tells him Jean Paul is dangerous, and suddenly he's completely changed his mind and before you know it yelling at Jean Paul. Granted, it wasn't the actions themselves that I really had a problem with--I mean, it makes sense he'd want to retire, and it'd make more sense he'd instantly change his mind upon learning Jean Paul is "evil", and it would make sense he'd be mad at Jean Paul at their first meeting, but everything seemed to just happen too quickly, so that Bruce became a sort of mindless brute, instead of calculating and intelligent as you've seen him before.That being said, I'm still looking forward to reading Vol.3 so I can see the story through to the end. Plus I did really enjoy the broad story itself--that being that Bruce was broken by Bane and Jean Paul took over as Batman, only to become sort of evil himself. It was great seeing Jean Paul's character and his interactions with some of the classic Batman villains, though I do wish there would have been more Bruce Wayne (as, besides the last comic, he only appears in one page), especially because the story was so long.
kaipitain's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Man this was strange.. the pace in the prelude was a bit slow and here it's just really odd.
I'd say it's paced somewhat slowly in terms of plot since nothing much happens except yapping about in Gotham. But in terms of character, the pacing is just WAY OFF THE LIMITS HERE.
I knew that Jean-Paul Valley would become Batman and drift off into being too violent and brutal, but it happened in like 5 minutes?!
He's just a student at the beginning of Sword of Azrael, becomes Azrael the Avenging Angel of Death, is taken under Batman's wing and trained not to kill as he did before, then Batman get's broken and Azrael has to take up the Mantal.
This is the perfect setup for depicting his character arc as a slow decent back into violence and a tragedy of him falling from grace. But instead he becomes a psychopath out of nowhere as soon as he picks up the mask. It's obvious from the first minute that this isn't going to work out and still everyone let's him do his thing as the new Batman? Why not start with him doing things by the book, making everyone trust this plan before slipping and going crazy.
Well anyway that pacing issue with the character arc of Jean-Paul Valley's Azrael/Batman aside, this was still brilliant. Much more tense and riviting than the prelude, but this other issue bumps it down from being as good as Knightfall Volume 1 was.
I'd say it's paced somewhat slowly in terms of plot since nothing much happens except yapping about in Gotham. But in terms of character, the pacing is just WAY OFF THE LIMITS HERE.
I knew that Jean-Paul Valley would become Batman and drift off into being too violent and brutal, but it happened in like 5 minutes?!
He's just a student at the beginning of Sword of Azrael, becomes Azrael the Avenging Angel of Death, is taken under Batman's wing and trained not to kill as he did before, then Batman get's broken and Azrael has to take up the Mantal.
This is the perfect setup for depicting his character arc as a slow decent back into violence and a tragedy of him falling from grace. But instead he becomes a psychopath out of nowhere as soon as he picks up the mask. It's obvious from the first minute that this isn't going to work out and still everyone let's him do his thing as the new Batman? Why not start with him doing things by the book, making everyone trust this plan before slipping and going crazy.
Well anyway that pacing issue with the character arc of Jean-Paul Valley's Azrael/Batman aside, this was still brilliant. Much more tense and riviting than the prelude, but this other issue bumps it down from being as good as Knightfall Volume 1 was.
daveburton's review against another edition
2.0
When I hear people complain about 'comics nowadays' or the illegitimacy of the New 52, I want to show them work like this. These days, comics of this quality wouldn't be put on sale. Especially not for Batman titles. Be warned: this is a collection of sub-standard reading. It's not even bad in a fun, nostalgic, we-were-so-naive-in-the-90s way. It's just not good.
Bruce Wayne is absent, bruised and broken by Bane. Bruce's journey is nowhere to be seen in this volume. Instead, we have the journey of Jean-Paul Valley as the Batman. DC were obviously aiming for a Fallen Angel arc. Jean-Paul's initial good intentions slowly become eroded and warped by the burden of the cowl and his own internal demons. But this is the first of many problems with the volume. Jean-Paul's journey is stagnant. His pretentious third-person narration reveals him to be a fundamentally unlikable character. This is made even more of an issue with his dismissal of Alfred, Robin and Gordon. While it's important to the story that Jean-Paul dismisses all help, it means he has no one to talk to, and so the reader feels just as alienated from him as everyone in Gotham. His occasional delusions provide a potential antidote, but even his dreams are boring and repetitive.
Even the writers get bored with Jean-Paul, as the villains he faces gradually become the most interesting part of this volume. Well, I say 'interesting'... The truly nightmarish possibility of Jean-Paul becoming a Batman-gone-wrong is never permitted the darkness such a plot line demands. This is in part due to the absurdly cartoonish villains, who - while entirely valid for other Batman stories - seem out of place in this volume, as if they were meant to pop into the Animated series, or even '66 Batman, but missed their cue. Joker wrangles money-hungry Hollywood to make a film titled 'The Death of Batman'. An overly convoluted hunt for a serial killer brings up three goons who are unashamedly ripped-off versions of The Three Stooges. Clayface's ferocity is undercut by a forgettable romantic plot line. There is a handful of very forgettable 90's 'tech-villains' too, who are compelling only in there sense of nostalgia for VCR level technology.
Tenants of good comic-book writing are fumbled. Cliff-hangers rarely have impact, often because the stakes for the story have been lost or confused. Location changes or big reveals will often happen mid-page, knocking the flow out of rhythm. Attempts to build tension to hold a big climax (especially true for the volume's final arc, in which Batman chases down 'Abattoir') is 'solved' by throwing bucket-loads of unnecessary and incomprehensible plot into the story. Bruce Wayne's FINAL return isn't played up at all. It's a mundane mid-page reveal. The ENTIRE arc is about Bruce Wayne being absent. We CRY for his return. It's a moment worthy of a splash page. Not here.
The hi-light of the volume is a three-issue arc involving Catwoman. But even here, Selina's suspicion that Batman isn't the same man she's dealt with in the past in never played past 'suspicion'. There's a similar arc to Gordon's relationship that's crafted better, but it just seems to take far too long for Gordon to come to any kind of action.
Read this book for Batman history. Don't read it for great comics-pleasure. I learnt a lot from this volume about what NOT to do with a Batman story. It's an important part of canon, but a forgettable part of the Batman mythos.
Bruce Wayne is absent, bruised and broken by Bane. Bruce's journey is nowhere to be seen in this volume. Instead, we have the journey of Jean-Paul Valley as the Batman. DC were obviously aiming for a Fallen Angel arc. Jean-Paul's initial good intentions slowly become eroded and warped by the burden of the cowl and his own internal demons. But this is the first of many problems with the volume. Jean-Paul's journey is stagnant. His pretentious third-person narration reveals him to be a fundamentally unlikable character. This is made even more of an issue with his dismissal of Alfred, Robin and Gordon. While it's important to the story that Jean-Paul dismisses all help, it means he has no one to talk to, and so the reader feels just as alienated from him as everyone in Gotham. His occasional delusions provide a potential antidote, but even his dreams are boring and repetitive.
Even the writers get bored with Jean-Paul, as the villains he faces gradually become the most interesting part of this volume. Well, I say 'interesting'... The truly nightmarish possibility of Jean-Paul becoming a Batman-gone-wrong is never permitted the darkness such a plot line demands. This is in part due to the absurdly cartoonish villains, who - while entirely valid for other Batman stories - seem out of place in this volume, as if they were meant to pop into the Animated series, or even '66 Batman, but missed their cue. Joker wrangles money-hungry Hollywood to make a film titled 'The Death of Batman'. An overly convoluted hunt for a serial killer brings up three goons who are unashamedly ripped-off versions of The Three Stooges. Clayface's ferocity is undercut by a forgettable romantic plot line. There is a handful of very forgettable 90's 'tech-villains' too, who are compelling only in there sense of nostalgia for VCR level technology.
Tenants of good comic-book writing are fumbled. Cliff-hangers rarely have impact, often because the stakes for the story have been lost or confused. Location changes or big reveals will often happen mid-page, knocking the flow out of rhythm. Attempts to build tension to hold a big climax (especially true for the volume's final arc, in which Batman chases down 'Abattoir') is 'solved' by throwing bucket-loads of unnecessary and incomprehensible plot into the story. Bruce Wayne's FINAL return isn't played up at all. It's a mundane mid-page reveal. The ENTIRE arc is about Bruce Wayne being absent. We CRY for his return. It's a moment worthy of a splash page. Not here.
The hi-light of the volume is a three-issue arc involving Catwoman. But even here, Selina's suspicion that Batman isn't the same man she's dealt with in the past in never played past 'suspicion'. There's a similar arc to Gordon's relationship that's crafted better, but it just seems to take far too long for Gordon to come to any kind of action.
Read this book for Batman history. Don't read it for great comics-pleasure. I learnt a lot from this volume about what NOT to do with a Batman story. It's an important part of canon, but a forgettable part of the Batman mythos.
indeedithappens's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
kaqueershi's review against another edition
3.0
Not a whole lot happened in this one? Mostly just the day to day goings on of Jean Paul. Hoping more happens in book three
onceandfuturelaura's review against another edition
2.0
Batman without Batman, fighting some pretty ridiculous villains. At least the Joker hit not-Batman with a pie. Also, Freddy Mercury has a walk on as a slightly hapless hero who nonetheless saves the day from Corrosive Man.
It filled in some gaps in my Bat-lore, but man, it was eyerolling at times. Seriously, twin cowboys come to Gotham to rob banks? Who does that?
It filled in some gaps in my Bat-lore, but man, it was eyerolling at times. Seriously, twin cowboys come to Gotham to rob banks? Who does that?
zoidberg684's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0