dcommet's review against another edition
4.0
Good book, but I was much more into the idea of Bruce dehumanizing the criminals of Gotham and having the end result of that dehumanization - the very real destruction of human lives at his own hands in his quest for revenge - hitting him head on with the murder/suicide of one of the petty criminals he looks down on so much. Sadly like 3/4 of this becomes like a ghost story with Batman arguing with Bruce about the necessity to kill criminals like the Joker. I think the introspection about the damage Bruce himself has caused is much more interesting than another discussion over the morality of a hero's right to kill. Especially since the answer in my mind is always pretty obviously that if an evil clown man keeps killing people and cannot possibly be contained because he will enevitably escape because its a never ending comic book then, yeah, the clown should probably be killed.
dreamshamy's review against another edition
4.0
Comic/novela gráfica de estilo clásico en el que vemos a Batman enfrentarse a sus demonios internos ahondando mientras tanto en la psique del personaje. La historia no necesita de haber leído nada más para entenderse y funciona de forma independiente. El dibujo es de estilo claramente clásico, con una utilización de colores bastante estridentes para remarcar ciertas cosas. Recomendable.
jaziles's review against another edition
3.0
I read this because Matt Reeves cited it as an inspiration for The Batman, and it was a nice trip into Batman's psyche, but too short to deliver anything of note. On a side note, the font made it harder to read for me.
jadejade's review against another edition
1.0
My comic book club pick this one-shot, as the new Batman movie was coming out. The following is adapted from the discussion I had with my comic book club members:
Watch out – incoming rant re: Batman EGO!
Trigger warning for domestic violence cos it clearly triggered me FARK.
I could have really liked this but literally one page made me so angry that I couldn't just sit back and enjoy it. The bit where the guy at the start says “I couldn't bear the thought of my wife and daughter in the hands of that maniac—so I killed them myself!” Batman makes Pikachu GASP face.
I'm sorry, are we supposed to feel sympathy for this arsehole? I don't want to be rude but geeze you can tell a man wrote this comic.
What he's describing is not a fridging per se (note the wife and child don't even have the dignity of being shown or named). What that guy tried to do (and succeeded in doing) is a murder-suicide. IRL the media spins stories of tragedy around actual murder-suicides but what I see is glorified domestic violence. Why are we being asked to feel sorry for a person who murdered multiple people?
To be clear, the loss of any life is tragic, and this comic is dancing around the topic of maybe taking a life might save others. BUT it did not even bother to try to deconstruct what a heinous act a murder-suicide is. Instead it treats the guy's situation as a tragedy – oh boo hoo he was so terrified of the Joker that he had no choice but to MURDER the women in his life, how noble and brave of him! You know, like a pharaoh being buried with his property.
And the worst thing of all was that this added absolutely nothing to the comic. Imagine the same scene playing out but the guy instead just 1) expresses distress that he has been rescued; 2) expresses despair that the Joker knows he was the leak; 3) expresses anger that the Batman has driven him to do this – then the guy shoots himself. The rest of the comic can play out exactly the same and you still get Pikachu-face. Comic just as good, right? Which tells me the writer threw in a line about the guy murdering his own wife and daughter for shock value only, never mind that it added zero to the story and the way murder-suicides are portrayed in the media is extremely problematic.
Don't forget, skilled writers/artists can effectively work with limited real estate. It comes across as callous here because I'd put money on the writer not even considering the DV angle, and the treatment of mental health in media is a whole thing as well ahhhh.
I think the writer here is focussed on the dialogue between the Batman vs Bruce Wayne, which tbh I liked in concept: it gave me Scrooge vs the ghost of Christmas past/present/future vibes. That is to say, the writer had a particular direction in mind and almost certainly didn't consider the implications of throw-away lines. In my limited experience, a lot of people of the writer's generation genuinely treat murder-suicide as though it is group-suicide, if it involves a family unit (i.e.: “oh how sad for that family” rather than “that arsehole murdered those innocent people”). The writer could have even chucked in a line about “I discussed this with my wife and we agreed this was the only way out” to emphasise the despair, to make it clearer that this wasn't just a person disposing of property he controlled. But the writer didn't, and that page really lands flat for people who have lived through DV.
Soz that I'm wearing my grumpypants. I really wasn't the right reader for this one.
Watch out – incoming rant re: Batman EGO!
Trigger warning for domestic violence cos it clearly triggered me FARK.
I could have really liked this but literally one page made me so angry that I couldn't just sit back and enjoy it. The bit where the guy at the start says “I couldn't bear the thought of my wife and daughter in the hands of that maniac—so I killed them myself!” Batman makes Pikachu GASP face.
I'm sorry, are we supposed to feel sympathy for this arsehole? I don't want to be rude but geeze you can tell a man wrote this comic.
What he's describing is not a fridging per se (note the wife and child don't even have the dignity of being shown or named). What that guy tried to do (and succeeded in doing) is a murder-suicide. IRL the media spins stories of tragedy around actual murder-suicides but what I see is glorified domestic violence. Why are we being asked to feel sorry for a person who murdered multiple people?
To be clear, the loss of any life is tragic, and this comic is dancing around the topic of maybe taking a life might save others. BUT it did not even bother to try to deconstruct what a heinous act a murder-suicide is. Instead it treats the guy's situation as a tragedy – oh boo hoo he was so terrified of the Joker that he had no choice but to MURDER the women in his life, how noble and brave of him! You know, like a pharaoh being buried with his property.
And the worst thing of all was that this added absolutely nothing to the comic. Imagine the same scene playing out but the guy instead just 1) expresses distress that he has been rescued; 2) expresses despair that the Joker knows he was the leak; 3) expresses anger that the Batman has driven him to do this – then the guy shoots himself. The rest of the comic can play out exactly the same and you still get Pikachu-face. Comic just as good, right? Which tells me the writer threw in a line about the guy murdering his own wife and daughter for shock value only, never mind that it added zero to the story and the way murder-suicides are portrayed in the media is extremely problematic.
Don't forget, skilled writers/artists can effectively work with limited real estate. It comes across as callous here because I'd put money on the writer not even considering the DV angle, and the treatment of mental health in media is a whole thing as well ahhhh.
I think the writer here is focussed on the dialogue between the Batman vs Bruce Wayne, which tbh I liked in concept: it gave me Scrooge vs the ghost of Christmas past/present/future vibes. That is to say, the writer had a particular direction in mind and almost certainly didn't consider the implications of throw-away lines. In my limited experience, a lot of people of the writer's generation genuinely treat murder-suicide as though it is group-suicide, if it involves a family unit (i.e.: “oh how sad for that family” rather than “that arsehole murdered those innocent people”). The writer could have even chucked in a line about “I discussed this with my wife and we agreed this was the only way out” to emphasise the despair, to make it clearer that this wasn't just a person disposing of property he controlled. But the writer didn't, and that page really lands flat for people who have lived through DV.
Soz that I'm wearing my grumpypants. I really wasn't the right reader for this one.
leodanbrock's review against another edition
5.0
been a long time since i first read this oneshot and it will always be a nice little character study, even if it does feel a little gimmicky at times, i am always a sucker for introspection. didn't need to be anything longer than a oneshot. both robert pattinson and matt reeves listed it as one of their biggest inspirations for the batman (2022) so i just had to read it after seeing the movie. i'm surprised that people dislike cooke's artwork because i find it's very fun and punchy in a 90s animation way and i'll always feel saddened about his death.
apblaidd's review
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mattajc's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
More...