Dark Moon Rising
Batman & The Monster Men
"Batman & The Monster Men" is quite alright. It's a bit slow at times but is a must for any Batman fan. It keeps up with the look of the 'Year One' art, but adding a modern take on a vintage comic look presenting as quite noir.
The story takes place not long after 'Year One.' Batman is still a myth and only really known to Jim Gordon and the absent but mentioned Harvey Dent. Things are going well for Bruce Wayne, who now has a girlfriend who's father is in debt to Sal Maroni. When Hugo Strange comes along, he too needs funding from Maroni so he can experiment on human mutation. Now everything isn't normal and Bruce has to adapt to dealing with foes that aren't just the mob.
Although I personally enjoyed it and find it a fitting gap between 'Year One' and the 'Man Who Laughs,' it is still came off as a pre-Frank Miller Batman, however it was good to see a Batman using his detective skills. The positives is that it sets up Hugo Strange's obsession with Batman and also hints at the Joker's origin in a news paper article.
RATING:
Batman Story - 8/10
Art - 8/10
Continuity - 10/10
Badassness - 6/10
OVERALL - 8/10
Continuity Notes:
The story takes place not long after 'Year One.' Batman is still a myth and only really known to Jim Gordon and the absent but mentioned Harvey Dent. Things are going well for Bruce Wayne, who now has a girlfriend who's father is in debt to Sal Maroni. When Hugo Strange comes along, he too needs funding from Maroni so he can experiment on human mutation. Now everything isn't normal and Bruce has to adapt to dealing with foes that aren't just the mob.
Although I personally enjoyed it and find it a fitting gap between 'Year One' and the 'Man Who Laughs,' it is still came off as a pre-Frank Miller Batman, however it was good to see a Batman using his detective skills. The positives is that it sets up Hugo Strange's obsession with Batman and also hints at the Joker's origin in a news paper article.
RATING:
Batman Story - 8/10
Art - 8/10
Continuity - 10/10
Badassness - 6/10
OVERALL - 8/10
Continuity Notes:
- Batman gets his first Batmobile
Batman & The Mad Monk
Honestly, this was much more enjoyable than 'The Monster Men,' especially in the climax. There are more nods here to 'Year One' than the previous, showing the same overdone panel of a young Bruce kneeling at the dead bodies of his parents, and more intriguing, the first encounter with Catwoman since she scarred Falcone.
While the Mad Monk character is suspected as a Vampire and meant to be Batman's first encounter with a supernatural foe just as the Monster Men were meant to be his first encounter with super human foes, writer Michael Wagner at least mentions that the Monk could be a human, just bat-shit insane because he drinks blood. At least this is rested at ease with the mention that it could be possible as there is a 'flying man in metropolis who dodges bullets and bends steal.'
While it didn't have the same vintage or noir feel as 'Monster Men,' together they serve as a great bridge between 'Year One' and 'The Man Who Laughs' with Batman's gradual experience from fighting mobsters to freaks, sometimes blaming himself for inspiring these people with the 'taste for the theatrical.' Just as Jim Gordon said in 'Batman Begins;' "We buy semi-automatics, they buy automatics. We start wearing kevlar, they start using armour piercing rounds. Then you wear a mask and jump off roof tops..."
Bring on the Joker!
RATING:
Batman Story - 8/10
Art - 7.5/10
Continuity - 10/10
Badassness - 7/10
OVERALL - 8/10
Continuity Notes:
While the Mad Monk character is suspected as a Vampire and meant to be Batman's first encounter with a supernatural foe just as the Monster Men were meant to be his first encounter with super human foes, writer Michael Wagner at least mentions that the Monk could be a human, just bat-shit insane because he drinks blood. At least this is rested at ease with the mention that it could be possible as there is a 'flying man in metropolis who dodges bullets and bends steal.'
While it didn't have the same vintage or noir feel as 'Monster Men,' together they serve as a great bridge between 'Year One' and 'The Man Who Laughs' with Batman's gradual experience from fighting mobsters to freaks, sometimes blaming himself for inspiring these people with the 'taste for the theatrical.' Just as Jim Gordon said in 'Batman Begins;' "We buy semi-automatics, they buy automatics. We start wearing kevlar, they start using armour piercing rounds. Then you wear a mask and jump off roof tops..."
Bring on the Joker!
RATING:
Batman Story - 8/10
Art - 7.5/10
Continuity - 10/10
Badassness - 7/10
OVERALL - 8/10
Continuity Notes:
- The Batmobile is designed as we know it now, and the Joker has finally made a move