amelierawr's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
still one of my fav Batman stories, the characterization of both pro- and antagonist are just great
Hugo Strange is such an underrated Batman villain oml, top 5 villain from his rogues gallery imo
Hugo Strange is such an underrated Batman villain oml, top 5 villain from his rogues gallery imo
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Sexual assault
gothicteletubby's review against another edition
3.0
This was pretty alright. We get to see the origins of Hugo Strange and the Bat Signal, the former being much weirder and basically continuing the previous characterization of "what if psychologists are all crazy weirdos." Strange's more recent iterations are more subdued so it's so interesting to see him written this way. We also get to see the beginning of the Bat and Cat relationship, I love the idea of them really meeting the first time on a rooftop. Batman: Terror also gives one of my favorite Bruce quotes, about him being more for rehabilitation than punishment, and him starting the Wayne Foundation up again, that poverty is the reason many go to crime.
lorddagon2022's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
goodxgirl9238's review
4.0
A dark and intriguing entry into the modern Batman chronology, this collected edition of the Hugo Strange focused 'Legends of the Dark Knight' (1989) comics is an interesting look at the early psychology of Batman and the difference between criminals and villains.
Batman: Prey takes place in the earliest days of Batman, specifically showing the creation of the Batmobile and a more human Batman who is still in the process of separating the Bat from the Man and what it means to be a symbol, to be something more than man which connects very well to the story built up in 'Shaman'.
Dr. Hugo Strange, the creepiest of psychologists is offering the GCPD his profiling skills to help catch 'The Batman' as part of an Anti-Vigilante Taskforce alongside an arrogant cop, much to the chagrin of Captain James Gordon who has been assigned to lead, even as he helps the man he is charged with catching. While Strange's analysis of the Bat are explosive, a truth is reflected in them that gives Bruce Wayne pause as he must learn to master himself and prove himself to the city as a new, more violent vigilante stalks the streets and Dr. Strange unravels with his growing obsession.
Batman: Terror takes place some months, possibly even a year later with both Gordon and Batman, now more secure in his place in the city musing about earlier events. A stronger story, with more of the villains of classic Batman referenced, Terror works specifically to cover new facets of the Crusade. It can be easy to see Bruce Wayne as merely a mask, but Terror does the work of showing that the Crusade must be fought on multiple fronts.
It also is a tour de force for the Scarecrow, giving Crane the formula for Fear Gas we are all familiar for and continuing the build up of the unique relationship between Catwoman and Batman. Whereas Year One focuses a lot on the standard criminal elements of mobsters, Terror picks up where Prey left off with giving us a strong story of a 'villain' whose crimes are about desire rather than desperation.
The art styles of each story are different, with Terror feeling more polished, almost shiny in comparison with the sketchier style of Prey. Both styles work very well for their respective stories, with Scarecrow nearly popping off the page in Terror with its strong use of color.
Overall, I would give this collection 3.5 stars, rounded up to four.
Batman: Prey takes place in the earliest days of Batman, specifically showing the creation of the Batmobile and a more human Batman who is still in the process of separating the Bat from the Man and what it means to be a symbol, to be something more than man which connects very well to the story built up in 'Shaman'.
Dr. Hugo Strange, the creepiest of psychologists is offering the GCPD his profiling skills to help catch 'The Batman' as part of an Anti-Vigilante Taskforce alongside an arrogant cop, much to the chagrin of Captain James Gordon who has been assigned to lead, even as he helps the man he is charged with catching. While Strange's analysis of the Bat are explosive, a truth is reflected in them that gives Bruce Wayne pause as he must learn to master himself and prove himself to the city as a new, more violent vigilante stalks the streets and Dr. Strange unravels with his growing obsession.
Batman: Terror takes place some months, possibly even a year later with both Gordon and Batman, now more secure in his place in the city musing about earlier events. A stronger story, with more of the villains of classic Batman referenced, Terror works specifically to cover new facets of the Crusade. It can be easy to see Bruce Wayne as merely a mask, but Terror does the work of showing that the Crusade must be fought on multiple fronts.
It also is a tour de force for the Scarecrow, giving Crane the formula for Fear Gas we are all familiar for and continuing the build up of the unique relationship between Catwoman and Batman. Whereas Year One focuses a lot on the standard criminal elements of mobsters, Terror picks up where Prey left off with giving us a strong story of a 'villain' whose crimes are about desire rather than desperation.
The art styles of each story are different, with Terror feeling more polished, almost shiny in comparison with the sketchier style of Prey. Both styles work very well for their respective stories, with Scarecrow nearly popping off the page in Terror with its strong use of color.
Overall, I would give this collection 3.5 stars, rounded up to four.
dozmuttz's review
4.0
Continuing the 'Legend of The Dark Knight's' reading we have a story that feels really important for the Batman. 'Batman: Prey' sees Batman in his early years (as all story's from this series do) facing Dr. Hugo Strange. It's a modern take on the character as he was actually introduced very early on in the original 'Detective Comics'. So it's kinda a reintroduction. He helps push a media narrative on the Batman causing more harm than good and even breaks down the psychology of the Batman. Pushing to figure out who he really is. Strange is a scary foe in this story. He's able to challenge Batman on a psychological level and even gets the police to do a manhunt for the Batman. Doug Moench does great with the pacing of the story and makes the plot engaging through and through. Paul Gulacy's artwork is great too, shining especially with his action shots. He has great choreography with his fight sequences and just in general has a good flow to his artwork. Terry Austin on inks also adds greatly to the finished work. AND FINALLY IN THIS SEREIS, WE HAVE GOOD COLOR! And by one of the best at the time, Steve Oliff! The colors in the previous volumes (Batman: Shaman & Batman: Gothic) were terrible in my opinion. This time around it really helped improve the story.
luana420's review
4.0
Prey is a solid take on the appearance of Hugo Strange onto the Gotham scene, utilizing a Year One aesthetic and themes wherein the good doctor takes advantage of police ambiguity toward the Batman.
This collection also adds "Terror", a Moench-penned sequel to Prey from about a decade later. Definitely a weaker work, with the mid-story upgrade Scarecrow receives never quite working as his original beef with Batman happens in flashbacks (to an earlier story? or a flashback to a vague "first encounter" as the Legends of the Dark Knight series has no more continuity than "in Batman's early days"??? man, comics), whereas Strange and Max Cort's mounting lunacy in the original all stemmed from in-book conflict.
Terry Autin also seems to be a far stronger inker than Palmiotti (to my taste at least) cuz oh boy Gulacy's art suffers in the second arc, going from "amazing" to "alright". Digital coloring maybe to blame as well?
This collection also adds "Terror", a Moench-penned sequel to Prey from about a decade later. Definitely a weaker work, with the mid-story upgrade Scarecrow receives never quite working as his original beef with Batman happens in flashbacks (to an earlier story? or a flashback to a vague "first encounter" as the Legends of the Dark Knight series has no more continuity than "in Batman's early days"??? man, comics), whereas Strange and Max Cort's mounting lunacy in the original all stemmed from in-book conflict.
Terry Autin also seems to be a far stronger inker than Palmiotti (to my taste at least) cuz oh boy Gulacy's art suffers in the second arc, going from "amazing" to "alright". Digital coloring maybe to blame as well?
ayaa's review
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lindakat's review
5.0
I love most issues that delve into the psyche of Batman - is he crazy, is this fantastical world actually of his own delusion - and this issue was no different.
At its core Prey was about Bruce coming to the decision about being Batman or if he, to dress up as the Caped Wonder, was a sign of instability. My prognosis? Hell maybe it is but Gotham still needs him.
The cast of characters chosen to host Bruce/Batman's internal debate was genius: Dr. Hugo Strange a veritable madman himself and the warped reflection of Night Scourge - just fantastic - not to mention we had the first appearance of the very lovely Catwoman.
I really appreciated the lyrical writing style (really looking forward to more Doug Moench) not my favourite artwork but this graphic novel met all my criteria for Batman.
At its core Prey was about Bruce coming to the decision about being Batman or if he, to dress up as the Caped Wonder, was a sign of instability. My prognosis? Hell maybe it is but Gotham still needs him.
The cast of characters chosen to host Bruce/Batman's internal debate was genius: Dr. Hugo Strange a veritable madman himself and the warped reflection of Night Scourge - just fantastic - not to mention we had the first appearance of the very lovely Catwoman.
I really appreciated the lyrical writing style (really looking forward to more Doug Moench) not my favourite artwork but this graphic novel met all my criteria for Batman.
ladydewinter's review
4.0
A rather good story about Batman's early days and particularly his difficulty to work when the police are still against him (apart from Gordon).
allonsyalexa's review
4.0
Originally posted here!
I have been meaning to follow the Batman chronology for a while now, but I've only really come round to doing it fairly recently (this year, in fact). I love how, with every Batman story I read, I learn something new about him! Reading chronologically really helps, but I've been using this as my guide. As far as I know, there are no official DC listings for a Batman chronology, despite the wealth of comics about the Dark Knight that have been around for more than seventy years (Batman was first introducted in 1939). It suggested that after Batman: Year One (review here), I read Batman: Prey, so I dutifully obeyed.
Prey is estimated to occur shortly after Year One, so it is no surprise that we still see Batman as the dark, brooding hero coming to terms with his new mission as protector of Gotham City. Despite his best efforts to prove that he is actually one of the good guys, he is still a highly targeted vigilante for many of its citizens, particularly the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD). At the moment, his only friends (and the only ones who know his real identity as Bruce Wayne) are the ever-loyal butler, Alfred, and the detective-turned-captain James Gordon.
Prey begins with a police sting operation designed to catch a drug dealer who could reveal the syndicate behind it all. Before the GCPD could close in on the guy, though, Batman has shaken the guy and disrupted the whole operation. One of the officers, Max Cort, gets thoroughly infuriated by this and reports to an indifferent Gordon, who defends Batman by insisting that he is actually good for morale. In the next scene, Gordon is shown at a television show, being interviewed along with Gotham City Mayor Kauss and Dr. Hugo Strange, a well-known psychiatrist. Dr. Strange offers some insight against Batman, analyzing why he wears a costume, etc. The Mayor is very much impressed with him that he hires the man for his services in a newly-enforced "Task Force Vigilante" against Batman, unbeknownst to anyone in GCPD prior to Kauss's announcement on-air. Against Gordon's wishes, the Mayor assigns him as the head of said task force. As the story unravels, we get to see different sides of this Hugo Strange, as well as Max Cort, and even glimpses of Catwoman in between.
Even though I did not finish Prey in a day as planned, it stuck with me long enough for me to really get a kick out of it. I especially liked the latter parts, where the climax of the story is. The characters seemed very real, and were very convincing in their roles. Dr. Strange was, well, really strange, but more than that, he was downright creepy with his obsession and, to say the least, he was insane in the worst sense of the word. Max Cort proved to be as idiotic as Gordon thought he would be, all brawn with little brain, believing he could actually beat Batman! Tsk. As if. A thing that I would have liked to see more of was Catherine, the Mayor's daughter. She was established at the beginning to be a very opinionated woman, but later on she just served as a pawn in the power play between Dr. Strange and Batman. Her faith in the Dark Knight was pleasantly unexpected, which naturally made me want to see more of her in a setting that gave her freedom to do whatever she liked.
On the other hand, the art was, for me, exquisite. The illustrations by Paul Gulacy and Terry Austin and the coloring by Steve Oliff were brilliantly done, and the fact that it was made in the 90's made it even more impressive. I was rereading some parts of Prey for this review earlier and I thought, 'This is what comics should look like'. Probably part of what made me gush about the art was how I really love vintage style comics, especially from genuinely vintage comics. They just look so fine! Anyway, I really loved Prey. I was already dead set on loving Batman anyway, but reading stories like this made me remember why I love him so much. Really.
I have been meaning to follow the Batman chronology for a while now, but I've only really come round to doing it fairly recently (this year, in fact). I love how, with every Batman story I read, I learn something new about him! Reading chronologically really helps, but I've been using this as my guide. As far as I know, there are no official DC listings for a Batman chronology, despite the wealth of comics about the Dark Knight that have been around for more than seventy years (Batman was first introducted in 1939). It suggested that after Batman: Year One (review here), I read Batman: Prey, so I dutifully obeyed.
Prey is estimated to occur shortly after Year One, so it is no surprise that we still see Batman as the dark, brooding hero coming to terms with his new mission as protector of Gotham City. Despite his best efforts to prove that he is actually one of the good guys, he is still a highly targeted vigilante for many of its citizens, particularly the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD). At the moment, his only friends (and the only ones who know his real identity as Bruce Wayne) are the ever-loyal butler, Alfred, and the detective-turned-captain James Gordon.
Prey begins with a police sting operation designed to catch a drug dealer who could reveal the syndicate behind it all. Before the GCPD could close in on the guy, though, Batman has shaken the guy and disrupted the whole operation. One of the officers, Max Cort, gets thoroughly infuriated by this and reports to an indifferent Gordon, who defends Batman by insisting that he is actually good for morale. In the next scene, Gordon is shown at a television show, being interviewed along with Gotham City Mayor Kauss and Dr. Hugo Strange, a well-known psychiatrist. Dr. Strange offers some insight against Batman, analyzing why he wears a costume, etc. The Mayor is very much impressed with him that he hires the man for his services in a newly-enforced "Task Force Vigilante" against Batman, unbeknownst to anyone in GCPD prior to Kauss's announcement on-air. Against Gordon's wishes, the Mayor assigns him as the head of said task force. As the story unravels, we get to see different sides of this Hugo Strange, as well as Max Cort, and even glimpses of Catwoman in between.
Even though I did not finish Prey in a day as planned, it stuck with me long enough for me to really get a kick out of it. I especially liked the latter parts, where the climax of the story is. The characters seemed very real, and were very convincing in their roles. Dr. Strange was, well, really strange, but more than that, he was downright creepy with his obsession and, to say the least, he was insane in the worst sense of the word. Max Cort proved to be as idiotic as Gordon thought he would be, all brawn with little brain, believing he could actually beat Batman! Tsk. As if. A thing that I would have liked to see more of was Catherine, the Mayor's daughter. She was established at the beginning to be a very opinionated woman, but later on she just served as a pawn in the power play between Dr. Strange and Batman. Her faith in the Dark Knight was pleasantly unexpected, which naturally made me want to see more of her in a setting that gave her freedom to do whatever she liked.
On the other hand, the art was, for me, exquisite. The illustrations by Paul Gulacy and Terry Austin and the coloring by Steve Oliff were brilliantly done, and the fact that it was made in the 90's made it even more impressive. I was rereading some parts of Prey for this review earlier and I thought, 'This is what comics should look like'. Probably part of what made me gush about the art was how I really love vintage style comics, especially from genuinely vintage comics. They just look so fine! Anyway, I really loved Prey. I was already dead set on loving Batman anyway, but reading stories like this made me remember why I love him so much. Really.