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Batman: Knightfall, Part One: Broken Bat

Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 48 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Off to a good start 4 out of 5 stars.
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PART 1

I had heard mixed things about this trilogy. It's hard to ignore, because its one of Batman's most intense trials and it was also a pretty big stunt to undertake. However, you can't deny the importance of such a story and the impact that Bane had on the Bat mythology. Now it's hard to judge the story overall with just part 1 of 3, but I'll stick to the highlights.

Bane has a master plan and it involves pushing Batman to his ultimate limit. He starts by releasing all of the worst prisoners from Gotham and suppling them with weapons. From there its just a matter of Batman doing his best to save the city and fighting exhaustion with little to no sleep. He takes on the Hatter, Zsasz, Film Freak, Amygdala, Firefly, Poison Ivy, the Riddler and a few other minor characters in here and manages to put them away. Before he can catch his breath he has to face Bane in a showdown which leads us into part 2.

Doug Moench and Chuck Dixon are both excellent Bat writers and they do a good job keeping things moving along at a good pace. I recognized Jim Aparo and Norm Breyfogle's artwork, and the guest artists include Graham Nolan and Jim Balent, who are both adequate. The stand out moments in here are when the Ventriloquist and Scarface are reunited, when Joker gets beat down for 2 pages by Bats in retaliation for killing Jason, and of course the final confrontation between Batman and Bane.

Looking very forward to part 2 as I want to see what the other villains are up to as well as Nightwing and Catwoman who have yet to play a role but I know are a part of this. I'm excited to see what they have planned for Scarface since Alan Grant is being added for part 2 and he always writes the best Scarface stories. Other than that, this is only the beginning.

PART 2

Part 1 of Knightfall ended on an exciting cliffhanger that left the reader feeling anything could happen next. Bane broke the Batman, and things might never be the same again. So Part 2 picks up right where we left off, with Bane dropping Batman's shattered body from a building and declaring himself Gotham's new ruler.

So now Bruce needs to recover, but in the meantime Gotham still needs a Batman. Jean Paul Valley, or Azrael as you might know him, takes up the mantle of the Bat upon Bruce's request. Things are going pretty good until Jean Paul goes crazy with power, dishing out his own brand of brutal justice.

Scarecrow returns to wreak havoc on some university students (and we are given a brief back story of him for the dozenth time.) I was disappointed that Scarface and the Ventriloquist weren't as featured here, but that's just me. Bruce is confined to a wheelchair with Alfred at his side and tries to save his doctor and Tim Drake's father who have been abducted by Bane's men. Most of the action revolves around the new Batman and his decline into madness. Jean Paul is haunted by visions of St. Dumas and his failings as Azrael. He also makes Robin feel completely alienated by his wreak less behavior and complete lack of concern for human life.

This is definitely Act II. A necessary midway point to lead us into the final act, but I was pretty anxious to hurry up and get to Part 3. I also felt that Jean Paul took a turn for the worse a little too abruptly and it was hard to believe that Robin put up with it for so long without getting help sooner. My least favorite part, but if you're reading Knightfall, its necessary to get you from the beginning to the conclusion.

Editorial Review:

This riveting book sets Batman on a path that will change his life forever. A mass escape from Arkham Asylum and the emergence of Batman's most threatening foe, Bane, sends Gotham City spinning into chaos and takes Batman to the limits of human endurance! These volume is required reading for every Batman fan. Graphic novel format.

Absolute Batman: Hush

Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 46 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Must for Jim Lee fans 5 out of 5 stars.
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A great quality book in the Absolute edition series. Much care was given to this book being the first Absolute Batman series (Dark Knight Returns and Long Halloween followed after). The book has many sketches and designs from Jim Lee as well as commentary. The story is pretty interesting and will keep you hooked until the end. It's not Loeb's best but still good. The art by legendary Jim Lee is of course, unbelievable. If you're a Jim Lee or Batman fan, you can't go wrong with this amazing book.

Editorial Review:

The complete best-selling saga written by Jeph Loeb (SUPERMAN/BATMAN, Smallville) with art by fan-favorites Jim Lee & Scott Williams (SUPERMAN, Uncanny X-Men) collected together for the first time in the oversized slipcase format! This slipcased edition features the two books "Hush"— an epic tale of friendship, trust and betrayal that spans the Dark Knight’s lifetime. This Absolute edition includes an all-new cover by Lee & Williams, a Jim Lee Sketchbook and issue-by-issue commentary by the creative team.

Batman: A Death in the Family

Jim Starlin, Jim Aparo, Mike DeCarlo

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 50 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Graphic SF Reader 4 out of 5 stars.
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Here we are again lucky enough to have the fantastic talents of Jim Aparo drawing Batman. Yet another DC comics publicity stunt in part, though, as the latest incarnation of the Robin character was not too popular with readers. So, they decided to do a storyline where the Joker captures him, and the readers could vote on whether he died or not.

Pretty clearly from the title, it is thumbs down for the Bird Boy.

Excellent story line 4 out of 5 stars.
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anyone looking into this book should buy it. It's an excellent read very easy to follow, and is one of the most defining moments in the batman universe

Another Batman Classic! 5 out of 5 stars.
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Okay,when DC was planning this storyline they knew they were treading into new territory.It would be a controversial time in the comics industry where the companies wanted to get more mature with their readers.DC lead a campaign in whicn the fans would vote to either kill Robin(Jason Todd,Dick Grayson's predecessor)or to let him live at the end of the story.Long story short,the Joker ends up beating Jason within an inch of his life with a crowbar.Batman was elsewhere at this time.Jason discovered that his mother was alive but under the Joker's fearful leadership.They met briefly before they were locked in a shipping crate.Jason was laying on the floor bleeding to death when the Joker placed a bomb with a timer in the crate.The Joker preceded to beat Jason's mom up pretty bad too.Just before the bomb went off,Jason shielded her from the blast.Jason died in her arms.Batman found the two,then Jason's mom dies and the last image you see is Batman carrying Robin's lifeless body away from the scene.It was a very gritty story for it's time but it was necessary for DC to evolve into the '90's.A new or old Batman reader or fan should own this story.Not only is it gripping, but it's comic book history just like the Death Of Superman and Knightfall.Excellent DC Comics read!

Editorial Review:

This contoversial bestseller decided the fate of the second Robin! As Robin, a.k.a. Jason Todd, attempts to find his birth mother, Middle Eastern terroristd and the Joker conspire to wreak havoc of global proportion. After being captured by the Joker, Robin pr.

Batman: Joker's Asylum

Joe Harris, Jason Aaron, David Hine, J.T. Krul, Arvid Nelson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Tales from the Asylum 4 out of 5 stars.
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Joker's Asylum is a faithful and well conceived homage to Tales from the Crypt, a show remarkably reminiscent of the legendary Twilight Zone. Both shows centered on short stories featuring eerie irony and moral messages, a premise ideally suited for a limited series featuring some of Batman's already eerie and immensely immoral adversaries. Taking the place of the crypt keeper as our heinous host is the irrepressible and irredeemable Joker, with the devilish detour into the macabre appropriately beginning with the main man himself.

The Joker commandeers a television game show, where the stakes may be life and death itself. What happens when the show's not so altruistic producer ominously proclaims "The show must go on?"

A leopard can't change its spots, but can a bird change its feathers? The Penguin never has been lucky in love, so can he turn over a new leaf for amore?

Once again Poison Ivy decrees "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature", as three unprincipled and unsuspecting businessmen are about to find out.

The Scarecrow teaches a frightened yet fervent pupil the fine lessons in the art of fear, and her cruel classmates will never be the same again.

Harvey Dent believes that life's vile vagaries come down to fate, not choice, so what does fate have in store for a fellow two-face when forced to choose between life and death?

This collection of one-shots has some stronger stories than others, but overall blends effectively into an enjoyable and cohesive reading experience that leaves one considering the possibility of trying this format again in the near future. Joker, keep those tales of the unexpected coming.

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (Elseworlds)

Brian Augustyn

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Batman of the past 3 out of 5 stars.
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An interesting take on Batman for sure, this story sets Bruce Wayne and his collegues in the Victorian era Gotham. It was cool to see what the city looked like 100 years ago and how the people of that time would have reacted to the dark knight.

There are two seperate stories in here, both written by Brian Augustyn. The first finds Bruce returning home from London after his travels and resuming the role of Batman. It is at this time that a serial killer known as Jack the Ripper appears in Gotham and is continuing to murder women in the same fashion as the murders in London. It is assumed by the commishioner that Batman is the man behind this. Wayne is framed for the killings and has no alibi, since by revealing how he really spends his nights would most likely further incriminate him. It is a pretty interesting story, however I caught the killer long before the trained detective which always dissapoints me. Batman should always have it figured it out before the reader in my opinion otherwise it ruins the suspense.

The second story surprised me because I doubt I would have picked this up seperately if they weren't collected together in this edition, but it turned out to be better than the first. The villain is more interesting and the whole story and villain could have easily been an adventure of Zorro. In the first story after Bruce has found the man responsible for his parents murder he quits his crusade. This seems very out of character for him. The newly appointed Commishioner Gordan knows there is a need for Batman still and when a new villain pops up to terroize the city, Bats answers the call. Julie Madison also makes an apperance as Bruce's love interest.

After reading the second story "Master of the Future", I wouldn't be opposed to picking another copy of this version of Batman. Although this Batman of the past won't ever top the Batman of the future for me, it's still a worthy attempt and a good spin on the character.

Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?

Neil Gaiman

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Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul

Grant Morrison, Paul Dini

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Poor! 1 out of 5 stars.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Why does DC continue to publish these mega crossovers? Since the early 90's Batman has been subjected to overstreched storylines which run through Detective Comics, Batman, Robin, Nightwing and whatever other monthly Batman comic being published at the time.
The problem with this form of "pass the batton" storytelling is it inevitably streches the story too thin and the artwork ussually suffers at the hands of artists rushing to meet impending deadlines.
The writing on the book is a mishmash. Heavy weight writers Grant Morrison and Paul Dini have written some of the best Batman material, but their work does not come through over the pencil work of so many different artists. The fact that they only wrote four of the seven or so chapters does not help the flow of the storyline either. To get around the crossover story format, Dini and Morrison focus on the story of Batman's search of Ra's Al-Ghul, while other writers focus on Robin and Nightwing's individual dilemma's. This approach only helps to fracture the story into two, hindering momentum.
It should be stated that readers looking for the "realistic" approach of the Christopher Nolan Batman films will be dissapointed with the over-the-top action. The fight between Robin, Nightwing and 200 ninjas in the Batcave, where the ninjas are held at bay while Nightwing and Robin exchange witty banter is paticularly cringeworthy and borders on slapstick. For protege's of a master strategist like Batman, the decision to stand and fight an army of sword weilding assassins seems out of character and works againt the notion of Batman being the most plausable of the DC superheroes. It also diminishes the villains of the story if they cannot win with the odds stack so high in their favor.
The artwork is a mixed bag of good and bad. Fill-in artist David Baldeon and departing regular Robin artist Freddie Williams II do a great job on the Robin Chapters, while departing Detective Comics artist Don Kramer does his usual substandard job on the Nightwing chapters.
Ryan Benjamin and Saleem Crawford draw the Detective Comics chapters and do an above average job, assuring that DC will never hire them for a regular stint on the Batman monthlies; that honour goes to Tony Daniel and Jonthan Glapion, whose extemely sloppy, Jim Lee knockoff style artwork has been deemed worthy of "gracing" Grant Morrison's future issues of Batman by the powers that be at DC Comics.
Although we don't see as many of these mega crossovers anymore, when they do appear they are ussually disruptive to the momentum regular writers of the monthly comics try to build, and this story is no different. New readers looking for the best of Batman should look at some of the classic Batman tales of the 80's such as Year One, the Killing Joke, or Morrison's own Arkham Asylum, as well as more recent classics such as Ego, long Holloween, Batman Black & white, or Paul Dini's current run with artist Dustin Nguyen. The Ressurection of Ra's Al Ghul should be buried in the "soon to be forgotten" pile.

Editorial Review:

Batman's immortal foe, Ra's Al Ghul, should be dead at last -- so how has he returned to haunt The Dark Knight?

And what does his return have to do with Batman's teenaged son, Damian -- whose mother is Ra's Al Ghul's daughter, Talia? It will take the combined skills of Batman, Robin and Nightwing to get to the bottom of these mysteries and stop Ra's Al Ghul's insidious plans!

The Dark Knight: Batman's Friends and Foes (I Can Read Book 2)

Catherine Hapka

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Editorial Review:

There are lots of bad guys in Gotham City and Batman has to fight them all. But with his friends by his side, Batman is much stronger than his enemies will ever be!

Absolute Batman: The Long Halloween

Jeph Loeb

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

One Amazing Book 5 out of 5 stars.
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Very well made book, although it does feel a bit fragile; the pages are beautifully made. The pictures look great and it looks like a great read from the story that inspired Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins and The Dark Knight movie. I have yet to read it all, but it is a really good Batman novel so far. Its even got a neat interview with the director himself. Interested in Batman and the Absolute line? You gotta buy this book.

The Long Halloween 5 out of 5 stars.
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Hmm, i bought the Absolute Hush from Amazon not the Long Halloween but i did read the long halloween and the story is amazing, the second book Dark Victory is a good follow up as well, if you're a batman fan and haven't read this book you should, it almost like not owning your own copy of Blonde on Blonde.

good book 5 out of 5 stars.
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This is one of my favorite Batman stories. A must have for any Two-Face fan. Features all the best Batman villians in one story.

Great Read! 5 out of 5 stars.
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This is a great Batman story! And the Absolute Batman edition is a great addition (or start) of a Batman collection. Great read and a must have for any Batman fan.

Batman: Knightfall, Part Three: KnightsEnd

Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, Alan Grant, Jo Duffy

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Excellent Story 4 out of 5 stars.
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Other reviewers are correct: you do need to purchase some of the original comics of Knightquest to find out what happens in between the end of Knightfall and this story. Alternatively, there are novelizations by Dennis O'Neill and Alan Grant you could read. In short, Bruce's back heals and intends to retire to his civilian life, but Robin informs him of Azrael's violence as Batman. Bruce then vows to reclaim the mantle of the Bat, apparently scaring Alfred (his longtime butler) away because he fears Bruce will be seriously injured again. In our real-time, Alfred doesn't return for over a year. Azrael 'shoves' Bruce away when he returns to the Batcave, and Bruce realizes that he must go into training if he is to have any chance of defeating Azrael.

The story itself picks up at the beginning of Bruce's training to restore his physical strength and instincts. The writing is psychologically intense, and the fight scenes are mostly fun entertainment that would not be out of place on the 1960s TV series.

In the end, we see all that makes the Batman great and everlasting. A fitting close to arguably the biggest Bat-story ever done to that point.