Jeez, who switched lettering duties on those pages with Bruce tripping on Fear Gas? It looks like the dialogue balloons came from some terrible B&W independent comic book from the 90's.
Yeah, it's weird, right? I couldn't find an opportunity to mention it, but man, half the time, the lettering here looks bizarrely amateurish. I don't mind because I've kind of accepted it as part of the whole story's overall weird tone, but still, I'm not sure what's up with John Workman's lettering at times.
If it's the *thought* balloons on the page where Scarecrow's head is transplanted on the would-be killer's, I take it that it's supposed to reflect either Bruce being immature or tripping badly.
I dunno, the author is clearly a fan of Batman comics from the era I grew up reading them, throwing in everyone from Lady Spellbinder to Scarface's gallows origin to Mallory Moxon, so I appreciate how he's drawing in all sorts of different canon. But man oh man, what he did with Thomas Wayne... Jesus!
By the by, are you and Henchgirl planning on going to the 'Batman Live' stage show? I'd love to read your review of that!
I wish! Oh man, how I do wish! But it ain't gonna happen. For one thing, the tour is pretty much entirely sticking to the West Coast with some Midwest stops, whereas I'm out here on the East Coast. On top of that, we can't afford such a splurge. I'm pretty much having to resist making any major fandom purchases for the next few months at least, if not way longer. At the very least, 1mercystreetreviewed it for me about a year ago! Besides that, I'll just have to count on the reviews of others as well as whatever bootleg videos make their way to YouTube.
-Forget Harley. Fluffy the stuffed cat should be the Joker's permanent sidekick.
-You know what would have made the clone thing more poignant? If it had lived but ended up with amnesia, but Two-Face decided to leave it alone to live the life he never could. Still, I gotta say, it's a great surreal moment.
-Out of place as I've always found him, I kinda like Dr. Double X here. Villains who stay under the radar are indeed the smartest.
-I actually like the idea of Crane as a paranoiac. It ties in all the other versions; the cold man of science obsessed with his work, the bullied kid, etc. It actually makes him tragic without becoming sympathetic, because he COULD have been a great scientist and pscyhologist if he wasn't so paranoid and insecure.
Also, yay! Someone remembered that Crane sees himself as a symbol of poverty as well as fear! That's an aspect which should be played up more.
By the way, if Crane laughs like Beavis, does this mean Jervis laughs like Butthead? Joke potential for a TLH review.
You know what would have made the clone thing more poignant? If it had lived but ended up with amnesia, but Two-Face decided to leave it alone to live the life he never could. Still, I gotta say, it's a great surreal moment.
Oh man, that would have been fantastic! I'm actually really sad that's not what happened! Of course, that opens up the possibility of Clone!Harvey meeting Gilda and the subsequent drama fallout that would follow...
By the way, if Crane laughs like Beavis, does this mean Jervis laughs like Butthead? Joke potential for a TLH review.
Ugh, don't remind me, I still have that looming ahead for a Halloween deadline, if I can manage it.
I ... I love this story! There's more character here than almost every other place I've looked! Damn, for a moment, I was even close to liking Silver here! I want this saga! ... but I should probably not say that for certain until I've seen the last part. For now, I'm digging every moment, every single (silly) detail.
Also, I'm not gonna lie, I kinda like Two-Face best when his suits aren't that fancy-lookin'. I think it makes sense that he, who hates himself for what he's become plus kinda-sorta being the most down-to-earth of the Batman-villains (in my opinion, at least), wouldn't wear something that screamed as much of super-villainy as Joker, Penguin or the other rogues.
I promise that I will not leave a strain of pointless comments this time around. Of that, you have my word.
If you've been liking this so far (and YAY for that!), I think you'll still want the whole collection once you see what happens in the final part. There's some great stuff there, even if the ending is--by necessity, as you'll see--a bit lacking. I'm really glad you've been digging this! I wasn't sure what people who hadn't read it (and there are many) might think about it!
Y'know, you do have a point, with the shabbiness playing into his own sense of self-loathing and poor self-esteem instead of him flaunting it in a fancy, tailored, loud split suit. Maybe that's what Englehart and Rogers were going for there.
I just wanted to add that I'm not completely new to Roger/Englehart; bought The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told earlier this year. I think I might like this story a bit better. (In The Laughing Fish, it wasn't the Joker-stuff or the Batman-stuff who I loved the most, but rather the subplot about Strange hauntig Thorne.) That is all.
Ooh, which volume did you get? Was it the old late-80's one, or the recent collection with the Alex Ross cover that also includes stuff from The Long Halloween and Hush? I hope it was the older one, as it's the superior collection by far. That book was one of my earliest comic collections, and I still treasure my old, ratty, dog-eared copy.
Oh-ho, you actually preferred the Hugo/Thorne stuff? Hey, god knows I'm not going to complain about that! I know I've mentioned it before in these reviews, but just in case, I actually gave an in-depth look to that entire subplot, as well as thesequel from the early 80's! I'm not sure if you knew about that, but just in case you didn't, oh, do check those out! I love those stories and that character so much!
I've got to say, smoking right on top of a hay bale with a cup of alcohol, while wearing a suit stuffed with hay, is just begging for the fire department's eventual attention.
Yeah, for a brilliant scientist, he's not too smart there, is he? Clearly, the Joker hasn't teased Crane with enough Wizard of Oz fire jokes, or else he'd already know why this is a bad idea.
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Sounds we had very similar takes on Wayne of Gotham. Here's my review in case you haven't heard it yet!
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Oh, it's audio? Nuts, I can't listen to it just now. I'll try to get to it sometime this week! Short version, though, what'd you think?
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By the by, are you and Henchgirl planning on going to the 'Batman Live' stage show? I'd love to read your review of that!
Reply
By the by, are you and Henchgirl planning on going to the 'Batman Live' stage show? I'd love to read your review of that!
I wish! Oh man, how I do wish! But it ain't gonna happen. For one thing, the tour is pretty much entirely sticking to the West Coast with some Midwest stops, whereas I'm out here on the East Coast. On top of that, we can't afford such a splurge. I'm pretty much having to resist making any major fandom purchases for the next few months at least, if not way longer. At the very least, 1mercystreet reviewed it for me about a year ago! Besides that, I'll just have to count on the reviews of others as well as whatever bootleg videos make their way to YouTube.
Reply
-You know what would have made the clone thing more poignant? If it had lived but ended up with amnesia, but Two-Face decided to leave it alone to live the life he never could. Still, I gotta say, it's a great surreal moment.
-Out of place as I've always found him, I kinda like Dr. Double X here. Villains who stay under the radar are indeed the smartest.
-I actually like the idea of Crane as a paranoiac. It ties in all the other versions; the cold man of science obsessed with his work, the bullied kid, etc. It actually makes him tragic without becoming sympathetic, because he COULD have been a great scientist and pscyhologist if he wasn't so paranoid and insecure.
Also, yay! Someone remembered that Crane sees himself as a symbol of poverty as well as fear! That's an aspect which should be played up more.
By the way, if Crane laughs like Beavis, does this mean Jervis laughs like Butthead? Joke potential for a TLH review.
Reply
Oh man, that would have been fantastic! I'm actually really sad that's not what happened! Of course, that opens up the possibility of Clone!Harvey meeting Gilda and the subsequent drama fallout that would follow...
By the way, if Crane laughs like Beavis, does this mean Jervis laughs like Butthead? Joke potential for a TLH review.
Ugh, don't remind me, I still have that looming ahead for a Halloween deadline, if I can manage it.
Reply
... but I should probably not say that for certain until I've seen the last part. For now, I'm digging every moment, every single (silly) detail.
Also, I'm not gonna lie, I kinda like Two-Face best when his suits aren't that fancy-lookin'. I think it makes sense that he, who hates himself for what he's become plus kinda-sorta being the most down-to-earth of the Batman-villains (in my opinion, at least), wouldn't wear something that screamed as much of super-villainy as Joker, Penguin or the other rogues.
I promise that I will not leave a strain of pointless comments this time around. Of that, you have my word.
Reply
Y'know, you do have a point, with the shabbiness playing into his own sense of self-loathing and poor self-esteem instead of him flaunting it in a fancy, tailored, loud split suit. Maybe that's what Englehart and Rogers were going for there.
Reply
That is all.
Reply
Oh-ho, you actually preferred the Hugo/Thorne stuff? Hey, god knows I'm not going to complain about that! I know I've mentioned it before in these reviews, but just in case, I actually gave an in-depth look to that entire subplot, as well as the sequel from the early 80's! I'm not sure if you knew about that, but just in case you didn't, oh, do check those out! I love those stories and that character so much!
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