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A review by hobbes199
Batman, Volume 8: Superheavy by Scott Snyder
2.0
This review was previously published as part of Saturday Scribblings over at If These Books Could Talk
After the cataclysmic events of Batman Vol 7: Endgame, Gotham is a mess: many are dead or missing thanks to Joker’s virus, including Batman himself, plunging the city into chaos as it mourns it’s finest child. To combat this, and give the citizens a new beacon of hope, Powers International, the new owners of Wayne Enterprises, create a ‘RoboBat’ suit and recruit a Gotham stalwart to fight inside it. Meanwhile, the mad and bad of Gotham are falling foul to a deadly seed that’s been planted under their skin. Who is Mr Bloom, and can the new regime cope with what’s about to hit it?
(It’s difficult to review this without giving any of the ‘surprises’ away, but for those who don’t religiously follow the comic world, and will be coming to this blind, I’ll just allude to events rather than flat out spoil it.)
I really wanted to love this, but Snyder doesn’t make it easy. The premise itself (if a little RoboCop) is fine, but the execution is incredibly flawed. Characterisation is almost non-existent, the narrative rambles, and the plot is contrived. Little makes sense here, as characters make ridiculous choices, and by the time we’ve reached the end of the five issues that comprise ‘Superheavy’ it feels like we’ve gone full circle, with little or no progression. The fact it ends on a daft cliffhanger as well doesn’t help. It’s not like DC to send their arcs out with no back pages or alternate cover art, so the published edition may be less ‘abrupt’, but it didn’t help what proceeded it in any way.
Artistically, this doesn’t feel like Capullo’s best work, especially compared to his art on earlier Batman collected editions such as the terrifying ‘Death Of The Family‘ or the atmospheric ‘Court Of Owls‘ with only a few pages jumping out at you. Ironically, possibly the most boring and tedious part of the story (a sub-plot involving The Penguin) is redeemed only by some imaginative placement and collage work.
This isn’t a graphic novel you can skip due to some vital plot points for further issues, so if you’re a fan you’ll just have to grin and bare it.
After the cataclysmic events of Batman Vol 7: Endgame, Gotham is a mess: many are dead or missing thanks to Joker’s virus, including Batman himself, plunging the city into chaos as it mourns it’s finest child. To combat this, and give the citizens a new beacon of hope, Powers International, the new owners of Wayne Enterprises, create a ‘RoboBat’ suit and recruit a Gotham stalwart to fight inside it. Meanwhile, the mad and bad of Gotham are falling foul to a deadly seed that’s been planted under their skin. Who is Mr Bloom, and can the new regime cope with what’s about to hit it?
(It’s difficult to review this without giving any of the ‘surprises’ away, but for those who don’t religiously follow the comic world, and will be coming to this blind, I’ll just allude to events rather than flat out spoil it.)
I really wanted to love this, but Snyder doesn’t make it easy. The premise itself (if a little RoboCop) is fine, but the execution is incredibly flawed. Characterisation is almost non-existent, the narrative rambles, and the plot is contrived. Little makes sense here, as characters make ridiculous choices, and by the time we’ve reached the end of the five issues that comprise ‘Superheavy’ it feels like we’ve gone full circle, with little or no progression. The fact it ends on a daft cliffhanger as well doesn’t help. It’s not like DC to send their arcs out with no back pages or alternate cover art, so the published edition may be less ‘abrupt’, but it didn’t help what proceeded it in any way.
Artistically, this doesn’t feel like Capullo’s best work, especially compared to his art on earlier Batman collected editions such as the terrifying ‘Death Of The Family‘ or the atmospheric ‘Court Of Owls‘ with only a few pages jumping out at you. Ironically, possibly the most boring and tedious part of the story (a sub-plot involving The Penguin) is redeemed only by some imaginative placement and collage work.
This isn’t a graphic novel you can skip due to some vital plot points for further issues, so if you’re a fan you’ll just have to grin and bare it.