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A review by paperbackstash
Batman Returns by Craig Shaw Gardner
4.0
I got this in 2013 for dirt cheap from a thrift store, and years it's sat ignored on my shelf. I figured it would be a so-so read one day that would be dry - but it surprised me by being so fun and carried humor stronger than the movie did.
I'm not the biggest fan of Tim Burton's Batman flicks, but the second has always been my favorite of the director's work. Selina and Bruce's relationship was the cat's meow. I loved the dance scene where Bruce tries to explain they are the same - split into two and in contrary nature to themselves. Good thing she's got nine lives after all.
While the penguin was a mean little monster with some annoying parts that drove me slightly batty - he mainly was an amusing villain. There is humor in the text that came through to me more clearly than it did in the movie. Sure we miss out on the music and the shiny celluloid effects the film had, but this one stayed faithful. It was an easy, smooth read with simplified writing that flew by.
And yeah, Batman totally did kill that one guy. Just sayin'.
Maybe it's not worth hunting down or paying much for, but it's worth a read if you have it lying around. We don't get deep emotions or characterization or anything, look into deeper original Batman books for that sort of stuff - this one was a playful companion to the film and doesn't steer from the course to spread any creative wings. As I said, worth a read if you have it close by and handy.
I'm not the biggest fan of Tim Burton's Batman flicks, but the second has always been my favorite of the director's work. Selina and Bruce's relationship was the cat's meow. I loved the dance scene where Bruce tries to explain they are the same - split into two and in contrary nature to themselves. Good thing she's got nine lives after all.
While the penguin was a mean little monster with some annoying parts that drove me slightly batty - he mainly was an amusing villain. There is humor in the text that came through to me more clearly than it did in the movie. Sure we miss out on the music and the shiny celluloid effects the film had, but this one stayed faithful. It was an easy, smooth read with simplified writing that flew by.
And yeah, Batman totally did kill that one guy. Just sayin'.
Maybe it's not worth hunting down or paying much for, but it's worth a read if you have it lying around. We don't get deep emotions or characterization or anything, look into deeper original Batman books for that sort of stuff - this one was a playful companion to the film and doesn't steer from the course to spread any creative wings. As I said, worth a read if you have it close by and handy.