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albertico66's review against another edition
2.0
It's a good collection of Vaughan's early DC works. I really enjoy the one issue with Rick Burchett's artwork --- reads like an episode of Batman the Animated Series.
unladylike's review against another edition
4.0
Aside from the rather weak Joker story at the end of this collection, I was quite impressed by these early Brian K. Vaughan Batman and Wonder Woman stories.
captwinghead's review against another edition
4.0
I quite enjoyed this, to be honest.
Vaughan does that thing I love (and don't see enough in the Batsy books I've read) where, instead of just telling a story, he actually delves into who Bruce is as a person. It's quite a crazy thing for someone to decide, their best course of action would be to dress up as a giant bat and fight crime. The psych major in me desperately wants to pick his brain to understand what years of that work has done to his brain.
The first story is mostly about Dick chasing Bruce who's devolved into more of Matches Malone's personality than is entirely healthy. Dick wants to make sure that he won't break his one rule and kill Scarface. It's interesting and I like seeing more of Dick worrying about his father.
There's a story about Man Bat that really just made me wonder about Bruce's philosophy on mental illness. Some writers write him with more sympathy and compassion for his enemies. Those stories are mainly Bruce trying to get them back in Arkham where they can get the help they need. Some writers write him as a bit merciless. In this one, Bruce basically admits that he doesn't have the patience and temperament that his father had. It's interesting, if a bit sad.
I didn't really like the Wonder Woman story. But, that's okay. I very much enjoyed the rest of this book.
Vaughan does that thing I love (and don't see enough in the Batsy books I've read) where, instead of just telling a story, he actually delves into who Bruce is as a person. It's quite a crazy thing for someone to decide, their best course of action would be to dress up as a giant bat and fight crime. The psych major in me desperately wants to pick his brain to understand what years of that work has done to his brain.
The first story is mostly about Dick chasing Bruce who's devolved into more of Matches Malone's personality than is entirely healthy. Dick wants to make sure that he won't break his one rule and kill Scarface. It's interesting and I like seeing more of Dick worrying about his father.
There's a story about Man Bat that really just made me wonder about Bruce's philosophy on mental illness. Some writers write him with more sympathy and compassion for his enemies. Those stories are mainly Bruce trying to get them back in Arkham where they can get the help they need. Some writers write him as a bit merciless. In this one, Bruce basically admits that he doesn't have the patience and temperament that his father had. It's interesting, if a bit sad.
I didn't really like the Wonder Woman story. But, that's okay. I very much enjoyed the rest of this book.
blairconrad's review against another edition
2.0
Pretty skippable, but I did like the humour in the Jabberwocky story, and the art was the most interesting of the batch.
tmwebb3's review against another edition
3.0
Expected more from Brian K. Vaughn, and was disappointed with the back half of the book. The saving grace was the Matches Malone story, which was pretty thought provoking about the psyche of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
bryce_is_a_librarian's review against another edition
3.0
Brian K. Vaughn is the Tarintino of Comic Books. A writer with a sharp ear for dialogue, a pungent sense of style, and an almost preternatural skill for subverting genre tropes while still paying them off.
This is his Four Rooms.
It's not that it's bad, just a bit uninspired. And it definitely counts on the reader knowing a shitload about The DCU which is something of a stumbling block for a casual reader like myself. The one story that is the exception to the rule is just well, kind of fucking silly. Involving the Mad Hatter suddenly during into a geneticist (huh), to transform a doctor into an actual Jabberwocky (buh?), to teach him a valuable lesson about Mental illness (guh?).
Disappointing.
This is his Four Rooms.
It's not that it's bad, just a bit uninspired. And it definitely counts on the reader knowing a shitload about The DCU which is something of a stumbling block for a casual reader like myself. The one story that is the exception to the rule is just well, kind of fucking silly. Involving the Mad Hatter suddenly during into a geneticist (huh), to transform a doctor into an actual Jabberwocky (buh?), to teach him a valuable lesson about Mental illness (guh?).
Disappointing.
mjthomas43's review against another edition
4.0
June 2013 review: n/a
June 2018 review: Just as good as when I read it before. Great and varied collection of stories about "false faces". I was surprised by the Wonder Woman story at the end. I've added this to my wish list.
June 2018 review: Just as good as when I read it before. Great and varied collection of stories about "false faces". I was surprised by the Wonder Woman story at the end. I've added this to my wish list.
bencole's review against another edition
5.0
I was originally introduced to BKV through is work on “Saga” and “Y: The Last Man.” Knowing that he took on Batman makes so much sense, because he can take a story and leave you stunned at the finale. He definitely builds that suspense, taking it into the Wonder Woman story as well.
dawnoftheread's review against another edition
2.0
Ok, but not great. I had higher hopes for this author.