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55 reviews for:
Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham
Troy Nixey, Dennis Janke, Mike Mignola, Richard Pace, Bill Oakley, Dave Stewart
3.58 AVERAGE
55 reviews for:
Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham
Troy Nixey, Dennis Janke, Mike Mignola, Richard Pace, Bill Oakley, Dave Stewart
3.58 AVERAGE
Batman + Lovecraft? Yes all around! And the art is superb. Really captures the feel of the mythos and noir vibe. A must for Batman and Lovecraft fans.
Mignola takes on Gotham! It's set in old-timey times! There are pirate-y looking ships! This should have been a slam-dunk for me, but...idk, maybe it was the art (not bad by any means, and great at atmospheric stuff and the creepy-crawlies, but the faces felt a little knock-off Paul Pope to me, and there's always a slight awkwardness of Mignolaverse artists kind of copying his style to fit into the general "look"). Maybe I was just in a bad mood when I read this? But I was kind of super bored by the last...80% of this book. And when people are being taken over by plants/lizards/weird fire monsters (spoilers I guess but this happens on like every other page, so), that should probably not be the case.
Edited to add: just noticed Mignola is only a co-writer on this, and I wonder if maybe he sort of sketched out an outline for the story and Pace filled in the dialogue/specific story beats?
Edited to add: just noticed Mignola is only a co-writer on this, and I wonder if maybe he sort of sketched out an outline for the story and Pace filled in the dialogue/specific story beats?
Everything seems to have a Lovecraft/Cthulhu version now, so why not Batman? And who better to do it than Mignola?
Unfortunately, the concept is much better than the execution. While the art is extraordinary (though it's not done by Mignola it does mimic his style), the narrative moves at such a breakneck pace that at times this feels like a loosely organized collection of (beautiful) concept art more than a graphic novel. At its worst, it feels like something you might find under a clickbait title: "You won't BELIEVE how this person introduced Lovecraft to the Batman universe!" Still, the different takes on various iconic Batman characters- Oracle, Freeze, Penguin, Croc, Batman's costume itself - these are all really interesting and mesh really well with the Lovecraftian feel. On the other hand, this also stops it from feeling anything like Batman and makes it feel like a Cthulhu story with a Batman skin stuck on top of it. The most damning piece of this is Batman using a gun in one early scene - and while it works here, it does still expound the issue of not actually feeling anything like Batman.
2.5, mostly for art and concept.
Unfortunately, the concept is much better than the execution. While the art is extraordinary (though it's not done by Mignola it does mimic his style), the narrative moves at such a breakneck pace that at times this feels like a loosely organized collection of (beautiful) concept art more than a graphic novel. At its worst, it feels like something you might find under a clickbait title: "You won't BELIEVE how this person introduced Lovecraft to the Batman universe!" Still, the different takes on various iconic Batman characters- Oracle, Freeze, Penguin, Croc, Batman's costume itself - these are all really interesting and mesh really well with the Lovecraftian feel. On the other hand, this also stops it from feeling anything like Batman and makes it feel like a Cthulhu story with a Batman skin stuck on top of it. The most damning piece of this is Batman using a gun in one early scene - and while it works here, it does still expound the issue of not actually feeling anything like Batman.
2.5, mostly for art and concept.
Two of my favorite settings combine and although Mike Mignola only did the cover art the different artists recreates that special Mignola art style from Hellboy with its deep shadows. Although the story seems rushed sometimes and some characters hardly show up, it works out. This Elseworlds tale just hits me in the right spot.
Not much to say about this. It's Batman meets Mignola which is a match made in heaven, and it works wonderfully.
There's a lot of mysticism and magic in the long history of Batman for Mignola to play with, Gothams roots for example. Whatever powers any of the villains had is now explained away by (you guessed it) Mignolas favourite things from beyond, unspeakable Lovecraftian horrors. It definitely feels more Mignola than classic Batman though, mostly because its a reimagined 1920's Batman that is so elseworlds that death and disfiguration is pretty run of the mill. I think I would have liked to see a modern Batstory written by Mignola, maybe even one that is in main continuity so it wouldn't be too crazy but this is still a fun read.
The art is fantastic here. It's not as dark and shadowy as the usual Hellboy fare which I think is a missed opportunity. It's actually technically and traditionally 'better art', more details and colors beyond what you'd find in Hellboy, but I still think it would have been better if this was more in Mignolas typical style. The heavy use of shadows and darkness would have been perfect for Batman.
I think all in all I wished the story was less Mignola and the art was more Mignola and I have used the name Mignola far too much I now have semantic satiation. Recommended if you like elseworlds tales, Lovecraft, and Batman.
There's a lot of mysticism and magic in the long history of Batman for Mignola to play with, Gothams roots for example. Whatever powers any of the villains had is now explained away by (you guessed it) Mignolas favourite things from beyond, unspeakable Lovecraftian horrors. It definitely feels more Mignola than classic Batman though, mostly because its a reimagined 1920's Batman that is so elseworlds that death and disfiguration is pretty run of the mill. I think I would have liked to see a modern Batstory written by Mignola, maybe even one that is in main continuity so it wouldn't be too crazy but this is still a fun read.
The art is fantastic here. It's not as dark and shadowy as the usual Hellboy fare which I think is a missed opportunity. It's actually technically and traditionally 'better art', more details and colors beyond what you'd find in Hellboy, but I still think it would have been better if this was more in Mignolas typical style. The heavy use of shadows and darkness would have been perfect for Batman.
I think all in all I wished the story was less Mignola and the art was more Mignola and I have used the name Mignola far too much I now have semantic satiation. Recommended if you like elseworlds tales, Lovecraft, and Batman.
This started off so strongly. Mignola's style blends beautifully with Batman's Gotham but the story doesn't really live up to the artist's promise.
Take the Batman universe and mixed it with some Lovecraft mythos and then you got this book! Not the best Batman, not a very close adaptation of the Lovecraft universe, but a fun and entertaining comic. Just don't take it too seriously, enjoy the ride and the many reference! Have fun! I did!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A