Batman #621
Originally Presented at Comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Broken City Part Two
Batman continues to seek a murderer whose most recent crime strikes too close to home.
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Art: Eduardo Risso
Colors: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis & Bob Schreck
Cover Art: Dave Johnson
Publisher: DC Comics
Review: This issue is a step up from the first part of “Broken City,” but I’m still not in love with the arc. Batman is looking for a killer who slaughtered a mother and father, but left their young son alive. The hero is written more in-character this issue than last issue, but some scenes still strike me as odd at best. As nice as it is to see the Gotham City PD being put to good use in a title beyond their own excellent Gotham Central, I have a very difficult time swallowing a scene where Batman calls up Det. Crispus Allen to discuss the crime and winds up swapping grilling tips. I just kept asking myself, “This is Batman?”
Killer Croc is another big problem - while some people complained about his mutated form in the “Hush” story arc, I found that preferable to the current hairy, sleazy pimp incarnation that we’re treated to in this story… which brings us to the story overall. How many times, over the past 60 years, have we had a story where Batman sees parents get murdered and broods over his own origins?
Azzarello does have a good writing style, I’d never deny that. His captions and dialogue read like an old Raymond Chandler potboiler novel, which is to say, like a classic detective story. It just doesn’t feel like a classic Batman story to me.
Risso is a much better fit for this book, fortunately. He draws a wonderful, shadowy Gotham City, essential for a town that is a character in its own right. His Batman, while clearly inspired by Frank Miller, looks very good. The character looks tough, but not superhuman. The fight scenes are good and detailed.
This is a book that looks better than it reads these days. Fortunately, we’re only two stories into the six-issue arc. There’s still time for it to get better.
Rating: 3.5/5
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Broken City Part Two
Batman continues to seek a murderer whose most recent crime strikes too close to home.
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Art: Eduardo Risso
Colors: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis & Bob Schreck
Cover Art: Dave Johnson
Publisher: DC Comics
Review: This issue is a step up from the first part of “Broken City,” but I’m still not in love with the arc. Batman is looking for a killer who slaughtered a mother and father, but left their young son alive. The hero is written more in-character this issue than last issue, but some scenes still strike me as odd at best. As nice as it is to see the Gotham City PD being put to good use in a title beyond their own excellent Gotham Central, I have a very difficult time swallowing a scene where Batman calls up Det. Crispus Allen to discuss the crime and winds up swapping grilling tips. I just kept asking myself, “This is Batman?”
Killer Croc is another big problem - while some people complained about his mutated form in the “Hush” story arc, I found that preferable to the current hairy, sleazy pimp incarnation that we’re treated to in this story… which brings us to the story overall. How many times, over the past 60 years, have we had a story where Batman sees parents get murdered and broods over his own origins?
Azzarello does have a good writing style, I’d never deny that. His captions and dialogue read like an old Raymond Chandler potboiler novel, which is to say, like a classic detective story. It just doesn’t feel like a classic Batman story to me.
Risso is a much better fit for this book, fortunately. He draws a wonderful, shadowy Gotham City, essential for a town that is a character in its own right. His Batman, while clearly inspired by Frank Miller, looks very good. The character looks tough, but not superhuman. The fight scenes are good and detailed.
This is a book that looks better than it reads these days. Fortunately, we’re only two stories into the six-issue arc. There’s still time for it to get better.
Rating: 3.5/5