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raaachoo's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
just going to ignore everything about this except duke tbh
unladylike's review
4.0
As I said in my review of [b:Batman & Robin: Eternal, Vol. 1|27246000|Batman & Robin Eternal, Vol. 1|Scott Snyder|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1447731837s/27246000.jpg|47294490], I must have slept through, forgotten about, or somehow skipped the final events of Endgame that led to Bruce Wayne essentially losing his memory and leaving a Bat-shaped vacuum in Gotham. This volume does a good job of re-capping the details I was foggy on, while focusing primarily on the new Mecha-Batman: Jim Gordon! I would never have expected Scott Snyder to end his masterful 7-year run of writing Batman with a total switcheroo of the titular Caped Crusader, but he somehow did it really well. Gordon trying to be a new kind of Batman allows for some jokes that he would otherwise never be able to make. Snyder captures our sometimes-daft, sometimes-cavalier, sometimes-boyscoutish former Commish with the perfect voice and trajectory.
But let's talk about Batman #44, which seems to have been led by a different creative team made up primarily of [a:Brian Azzarello|17029|Brian Azzarello|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1314572772p2/17029.jpg] and the distinct art of Jock. This was the issue that blew me away and had me searching for copies of the single issue to own (and I am decidedly *not* a collector of single floppy comics). The subject matter is dense and confusing at times, but more relevant and courageous than almost any storyline I've seen touched on in superhero comics. It's basically the murder mystery of Trayvon Martin, but in Gotham.
I live in a U.S. city that has long been ranked as having the 2nd most violent, murderous police force in the nation. Every year, cops kill handfuls of people and are acquitted without charge 100% of the time. Almost all of the murder victims are young, unarmed black and brown folks. Azzarello writes actual statistics into his script that are both necessary and bold, but then he goes further than most white anti-racists wishing to demonstrate solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter etc. He forces both Batman and the reader to look at the cause-and-effect of nice, well-meaning, white, wealthy capitalists, and how phases of gentrification can play out. Bruce Wayne is put on the metaphorical stand and all but breaks down in guilty, white tears.
All the Brian Azzarello books I've read published by DC have been top notch, and I would love to see him take these challenging topics on more fully in a Batman title. Scott Snyder has already been paving the way, focusing so much on the economic disparities found in The Narrows of Gotham, and minorities taking exponentially greater hits whenever the city faces a massive threat. But based on their track record, DC will probably throw out all the things that made Batman so great in recent years when they launch their Rebirth in a month or two. [fingers crossed]
But let's talk about Batman #44, which seems to have been led by a different creative team made up primarily of [a:Brian Azzarello|17029|Brian Azzarello|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1314572772p2/17029.jpg] and the distinct art of Jock. This was the issue that blew me away and had me searching for copies of the single issue to own (and I am decidedly *not* a collector of single floppy comics). The subject matter is dense and confusing at times, but more relevant and courageous than almost any storyline I've seen touched on in superhero comics. It's basically the murder mystery of Trayvon Martin, but in Gotham.
I live in a U.S. city that has long been ranked as having the 2nd most violent, murderous police force in the nation. Every year, cops kill handfuls of people and are acquitted without charge 100% of the time. Almost all of the murder victims are young, unarmed black and brown folks. Azzarello writes actual statistics into his script that are both necessary and bold, but then he goes further than most white anti-racists wishing to demonstrate solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter etc. He forces both Batman and the reader to look at the cause-and-effect of nice, well-meaning, white, wealthy capitalists, and how phases of gentrification can play out. Bruce Wayne is put on the metaphorical stand and all but breaks down in guilty, white tears.
All the Brian Azzarello books I've read published by DC have been top notch, and I would love to see him take these challenging topics on more fully in a Batman title. Scott Snyder has already been paving the way, focusing so much on the economic disparities found in The Narrows of Gotham, and minorities taking exponentially greater hits whenever the city faces a massive threat. But based on their track record, DC will probably throw out all the things that made Batman so great in recent years when they launch their Rebirth in a month or two. [fingers crossed]
daileyxplanet's review
4.0
Nothing involving Batman using a great white shark with devil horns as cover can be less than four stars. Fun read.
olikidsley's review
4.0
A new look at Batman is what Snyder does best, it worked with Court Of Owls, Zero Year and now Gordan as Batman. Hoping to see where the two storylines take us next. I did feel that the standalone issue, Batman #44 (A Simple Case) by Snyder, Azzarello and Jock took steam out of the main story for me.
murphyc1's review
4.0
Short but sweet review forthcoming.
Whoops! I nearly forgot to write my review! I was wary going into this volume (I've noticed that lots of readers were less than pleased with these issues), but I found that actually I liked it quite a lot. The biggest sticking point for me is the rather extreme degree of suspension of disbelief that Snyder asks of readers in Comissioner Gordon's drastic physical and spiritual evolution--from harried top-cop to capable Batman in 3 months?!! Yeah, right
Whoops! I nearly forgot to write my review! I was wary going into this volume (I've noticed that lots of readers were less than pleased with these issues), but I found that actually I liked it quite a lot. The biggest sticking point for me is the rather extreme degree of suspension of disbelief that Snyder asks of readers in Comissioner Gordon's drastic physical and spiritual evolution--from harried top-cop to capable Batman in 3 months?!! Yeah, right
michellewords's review
3.0
I get it. Different Batman, different suit, different everything. At the heart, it's still Batman and I can appreciate the differences.
dantastic's review
3.0
So Bruce Wayne is on the sidelines and James Gordon is the new Batman, complete with a big robotic battle suit and new gadgets. This was actually better than I thought it might be. They needed a Batman while Snyder and Capullo got the pieces for the next story in place and Gordon fit the bill. I'm curious about the final two volumes in this run. Good thing I have them!
katieb94's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0