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unladylike's review against another edition
2.0
This was the first of seven large collections of old Elseworlds stories I checked out via Inter-Library Loan (meaning it took some time and effort, and with more strict due dates). By the time I finished this one and got a few issues in to Crisis on Infinite Earths: The Team-Ups (because I wanted to read some good Flash comics, if they exist - I really just wanted a collection of "Flash Facts" that I've heard people talk about), I was pretty burnt out on 70s/80s/90s DC comics.
I recorded my rating of each of the 8 stories within this collection that I read (I skipped pt. 2 of Robin 3000 because the first was so bad.), in case people want to cherry pick from these collections, or seek out other printings of particular stories. Like my ratings Elsewhere on Goodreads, these are out of 5 stars, with half-stars allowed.
Holy Terror: 4 stars
The Blue, Grey, and the Bat: 2.5 stars
Robin 3000 pt. 1: 2 stars
Dark Joker: 3 stars
Batman/Houdini - Devil's Workshop: 3 stars
Castle of the Bat: In Darkest Knight: 2 stars
In Darkest Knight: 2 stars
Dark Allegiances: 2.5 stars
I liked the truly unexpected setup of Holy Terror (not to be confused with Frank Miller's unholy abomination of the same name!) and the anti-state, anti-authoritarian vibes. Dark Joker was better than I expected, and the pairing of Batman with Houdini was smart. But other than those things, these Elseworlds comics are a lot of decent but half-cooked ideas. Reading these older Batman stories - all written by writers I've never heard of - really just makes me grateful for everything Batman+ comics have become since Grant Morrison's All-Star Batman [and Robin], continuing through Scott Snyder's lengthy run, and through to the most recent, fantastically conceived and executed stories by Tom King (I'm pissed at DC for firing him!). Honorable mention to James Tynion IV for having shadowed Scott Snyder and so quickly picked up various important duties in creating scripts for Gotham's rich cast of characters.
I'm mostly convinced that the old-timers (including some of my personal favorite writers) only cast so much praise at the feet of the silver and (bronze?) age of superhero comics out of nostalgia and brand loyalty for the sake of their careers.
If anyone reading this really loves some particular Batman or Justice League Elseworlds stories, leave them in the comments and I'll try to track them down again.
I recorded my rating of each of the 8 stories within this collection that I read (I skipped pt. 2 of Robin 3000 because the first was so bad.), in case people want to cherry pick from these collections, or seek out other printings of particular stories. Like my ratings Elsewhere on Goodreads, these are out of 5 stars, with half-stars allowed.
Holy Terror: 4 stars
The Blue, Grey, and the Bat: 2.5 stars
Robin 3000 pt. 1: 2 stars
Dark Joker: 3 stars
Batman/Houdini - Devil's Workshop: 3 stars
Castle of the Bat: In Darkest Knight: 2 stars
In Darkest Knight: 2 stars
Dark Allegiances: 2.5 stars
I liked the truly unexpected setup of Holy Terror (not to be confused with Frank Miller's unholy abomination of the same name!) and the anti-state, anti-authoritarian vibes. Dark Joker was better than I expected, and the pairing of Batman with Houdini was smart. But other than those things, these Elseworlds comics are a lot of decent but half-cooked ideas. Reading these older Batman stories - all written by writers I've never heard of - really just makes me grateful for everything Batman+ comics have become since Grant Morrison's All-Star Batman [and Robin], continuing through Scott Snyder's lengthy run, and through to the most recent, fantastically conceived and executed stories by Tom King (I'm pissed at DC for firing him!). Honorable mention to James Tynion IV for having shadowed Scott Snyder and so quickly picked up various important duties in creating scripts for Gotham's rich cast of characters.
I'm mostly convinced that the old-timers (including some of my personal favorite writers) only cast so much praise at the feet of the silver and (bronze?) age of superhero comics out of nostalgia and brand loyalty for the sake of their careers.
If anyone reading this really loves some particular Batman or Justice League Elseworlds stories, leave them in the comments and I'll try to track them down again.
ogreart's review against another edition
4.0
Sort of an uneven mix. I liked most of the stories, but there were a few that left me pretty flat. I have to admit, I do love these alternate universe types of ideas.
gothicteletubby's review against another edition
3.0
Most of these stories are actually batshit, weird, and make no sense it's hilarious. The best story here, by far, is Holy Terror, Batman as a Catholic Priest fighting an evangelical, puritan society who killed his parents is wild, and so funny yet had such heart.
The other stories were mostly fine. The Blue, The Grey, And The Bat was so boring and the story didn't make a lick of sense. Robin 3000 wasn't even a stand alone story, the art is amazing but I had such a hard time caring because "Robin" wasn't even a real Robin, just a random character with the title of Robin. Batman/Dark Joker was one of the better stories, very weird and medieval. Batman/Houdini was also fine, I liked the art but some panels were so confusing and I didn't understand what was going on, and some of the characters were so similar looking I didn't know who was who. Castle Of The Bat's story was okay, but I loved the idea of instead of Frankenstein being a story of a Monster being rejected by their creator and Mary Shelley dedicated the story to her father, it's about a son creating a Monster because of his love for his father. In Darkest Knight being such a wacky story about Green Lantern Bruce Wayne is hilarious, the absurdity of the characters antics to beat the other steadily increasing page after page and not knowing where the hell the story is going to go is so stupid and I'm obsessed. Dark Allegiances was so weird, I still don't know how I feel about it, Batman fighting KKK Nazis and then later having to shake hands with Hitler, then saving FDR and Hitler from an assassination attempt by the Joker, like I don't know what to say.
The other stories were mostly fine. The Blue, The Grey, And The Bat was so boring and the story didn't make a lick of sense. Robin 3000 wasn't even a stand alone story, the art is amazing but I had such a hard time caring because "Robin" wasn't even a real Robin, just a random character with the title of Robin. Batman/Dark Joker was one of the better stories, very weird and medieval. Batman/Houdini was also fine, I liked the art but some panels were so confusing and I didn't understand what was going on, and some of the characters were so similar looking I didn't know who was who. Castle Of The Bat's story was okay, but I loved the idea of instead of Frankenstein being a story of a Monster being rejected by their creator and Mary Shelley dedicated the story to her father, it's about a son creating a Monster because of his love for his father. In Darkest Knight being such a wacky story about Green Lantern Bruce Wayne is hilarious, the absurdity of the characters antics to beat the other steadily increasing page after page and not knowing where the hell the story is going to go is so stupid and I'm obsessed. Dark Allegiances was so weird, I still don't know how I feel about it, Batman fighting KKK Nazis and then later having to shake hands with Hitler, then saving FDR and Hitler from an assassination attempt by the Joker, like I don't know what to say.
drdena's review against another edition
4.0
I'm really glad DC has decided to collect these stories. I'm a big Elseworlds fan, simply because each story takes familiar characters and puts them somewhere, or somewhen, else. Good for the casual and for the hardcore reader; most of the stories are just "fun".
Some stories are hits: Darkest Knight, Dark Allegiances (poignantly self-aware, pulpy, and current), Castle of the Bat...
Others are misses: Robin 3000, Holy Terror, The Blue The Grey and The Bat..
Other lines up somewhere in the middle.
Collection as a whole: Good for one at a time reading, but I don't think I'd want to binge these.
Some stories are hits: Darkest Knight, Dark Allegiances (poignantly self-aware, pulpy, and current), Castle of the Bat...
Others are misses: Robin 3000, Holy Terror, The Blue The Grey and The Bat..
Other lines up somewhere in the middle.
Collection as a whole: Good for one at a time reading, but I don't think I'd want to binge these.
lord_petros's review against another edition
2.5
I admit, I picked this up mainly for the Green Lantern story, as the idea of Batman wielding a green ring seemed like it would work. It did, but it was one of the few stories in this collection that did. Some of the concepts were good, but the execution was off. Individual stories in this collection range from 1 to 4 stars, but as a whole, 2.5 stars is the most fair.
kaqueershi's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the stories with Houdini and the god of the wilds but the rest of this book seemed to be an excuse for folks being weirdly racist while writing historical fiction
tiedyedude's review against another edition
2.0
A huge disappointment, as it seems like they took all the terrible Elseworld stories that wouldn't sell on their own and jammed them together. Only the Houdini and Green Lantern stories even touched on the Batman mythos; the rest just happened to have a character dressed as a bat.
argaen's review against another edition
3.0
Holy terror 4/5
The blue, the grey and the bat 3/5
Robin 3000 1/5
Dark Joker 3/5
The devil's workshop 3/5
Castle of the bat 5/5
In darkest knight 3/5
Dark allegiances 2/5
The blue, the grey and the bat 3/5
Robin 3000 1/5
Dark Joker 3/5
The devil's workshop 3/5
Castle of the bat 5/5
In darkest knight 3/5
Dark allegiances 2/5
tiedyedude's review
2.0
A huge disappointment, as it seems like they took all the terrible Elseworld stories that wouldn't sell on their own and jammed them together. Only the Houdini and Green Lantern stories even touched on the Batman mythos; the rest just happened to have a character dressed as a bat.