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A review by just_fighting_censorship
Batman, Volume 8: Superheavy by Scott Snyder
1.0
Unbearably dull.
Jim Gordon is now the new Batman...is anyone actually buying this?
So this is basically an origin story. The origin of Gordon Batman. It is painful, didn't we just go through an origin of the real Batman?
Secondly, is it just me or was this story lacking in any and all subtleties? First there is the repeated scene of children playing with Batman figures, a real one and the new and outrageously ugly Jim Gordon variant. Clever fourth wall breaking is always fun but trying to shame your reader into accepting your ridiculous plot twist is just obnoxious.
Then there was the flashback story with it's artsy illustrations. It was long and boring and trying way too hard to be meaningful. It was basically a Black Lives Matter allegory except instead of allowing for metaphor and interpretation it bitch slaps you in face.
My problem with this is that I didn't care about the boy, I couldn't. He didn't feel like a real character but rather a stand in for a political agenda. Yes, tell the story but do it in a way that allows the reader to make a connection with the character and feel at least a little bit invested. The entire flashback is confusing, boring, and feels very distant with its strange 3rd person narration. What a missed opportunity.
Thirdly, the overwhelming soap opera feel. Warning, this could be considered a spoiler....so if you are completely clueless about the plot of this book stop reading. However if you have a hunch that the caped crusader isn't actually dead...
...of course he isn't actually dead. Bruce Wayne is alive but has complete and total amnesia...
Absolutely ridiculous. Alfred explains everything to Bruce except the part where he is FRICKEN BATMAN! So instead we see Bruce working at a school and romancing some chick...who gives a shit! I mean really! Then we get the lamest Superman cameo...Clark Kent talks to Alfred. Their conversation is a complete and total info dump to catch the reader up on why Bruce is alive but NOT out fighting crime. LAME!
Overall, this was boring, melodramatic, and boring.
Jim Gordon is now the new Batman...is anyone actually buying this?
So this is basically an origin story. The origin of Gordon Batman. It is painful, didn't we just go through an origin of the real Batman?
Secondly, is it just me or was this story lacking in any and all subtleties? First there is the repeated scene of children playing with Batman figures, a real one and the new and outrageously ugly Jim Gordon variant. Clever fourth wall breaking is always fun but trying to shame your reader into accepting your ridiculous plot twist is just obnoxious.
Then there was the flashback story with it's artsy illustrations. It was long and boring and trying way too hard to be meaningful. It was basically a Black Lives Matter allegory except instead of allowing for metaphor and interpretation it bitch slaps you in face.
My problem with this is that I didn't care about the boy, I couldn't. He didn't feel like a real character but rather a stand in for a political agenda. Yes, tell the story but do it in a way that allows the reader to make a connection with the character and feel at least a little bit invested. The entire flashback is confusing, boring, and feels very distant with its strange 3rd person narration. What a missed opportunity.
Thirdly, the overwhelming soap opera feel. Warning, this could be considered a spoiler....so if you are completely clueless about the plot of this book stop reading. However if you have a hunch that the caped crusader isn't actually dead...
...of course he isn't actually dead. Bruce Wayne is alive but has complete and total amnesia...
Absolutely ridiculous. Alfred explains everything to Bruce except the part where he is FRICKEN BATMAN! So instead we see Bruce working at a school and romancing some chick...who gives a shit! I mean really! Then we get the lamest Superman cameo...Clark Kent talks to Alfred. Their conversation is a complete and total info dump to catch the reader up on why Bruce is alive but NOT out fighting crime. LAME!
Overall, this was boring, melodramatic, and boring.