iainkelly_writing's review against another edition
4.0
A second helping of Joker in the Snyder run. The art is amazing and some nice twists and turns in the plot.
19lindsey89's review
3.0
3.5 Stars
Sometimes I take Batman for granted. But then he does things like take on Wonder Woman after he's been injured and am reminded how awesome he is.
Poor Alfred. He's had a really rough couple of years.
This Joker story wasn't quite as good as the death of the family. His motives were almost commonplace.
Overall, I liked that this volume more or less had a self-contained story arc. The only thing I didn't understand was Alfred's daughter. Where did she come from?
Sometimes I take Batman for granted. But then he does things like take on Wonder Woman after he's been injured and am reminded how awesome he is.
Poor Alfred. He's had a really rough couple of years.
This Joker story wasn't quite as good as the death of the family. His motives were almost commonplace.
Overall, I liked that this volume more or less had a self-contained story arc. The only thing I didn't understand was Alfred's daughter. Where did she come from?
dorianfungi's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
FUCKING INSANE!!!! the art is beautiful and expressive and i love the colors and the way they contrast with the gloom of gotham. snyder's writing is incredible and he portrays the characters so fantastically. guy knows his shit!
Spoiler
the ending is so perfectly fitting and tragic and just brilliantly written. of course batman is a tragedy. of course they kill each other. this is the only way the story could end.stewreads's review
4.0
I've been waiting for this one to come out ever since I read the fantastic third volume, Death of the Family. Scott Snyder's Joker is a force to reckon with, and let's be honest, I'd read this series even if Batman fought puppies.
I've seen a lot of love for this one, but surprisingly I've also seen a lot of hate. As far as I was concerned, this series is immortal, so I was concerned about the negative reviews. But I try to always keep an open mind anyway.
The true brilliance of this book is the art. Greg Capullo and co. have gradually evolved as the New 52 Batman has progressed, and Endgame might be their best work yet. I noticed that starting with the Zero Year storyline, these comics have featured some wildly colorful scenes amidst the usually dark and gray Gotham setting. In the linear notes for Volume 4, Snyder wrote to the illustrators that he wanted Zero Year to look unique, and almost sci-fi in contrast to other origin stories. Since then, the art has been even more phenomenal with each subsequent storyline, and it just keeps getting better. 5/5.
The main issue I have with this one is the same issue I had with the last one: there are too many things from other series that we are expected to know. I can't stress this enough. This volume opens up with Batman recovering from the Scarecrow's fear gas (must have missed that issue?). He interacts with Alfred's daughter (must have missed...that one too...) in some brand spanking new fortress that I've never seen before! I'm starting to think I didn't miss any issues, and that DC wants me to buy everything they put out! I absolutely hate this, but I was able to look past it and enjoy the story for what it was worth.
And it was worth a lot. I'm not going to complain about how convoluted it was, or the ending, or anything that others have complained about. My response to them is simple: it's a comic book! It's incredibly well-thought out and written, so what do you expect? Pynchon? Dostoevsky?
In conclusion, the success/failure of this storyline will largely depend on what comes next. But for now, this one was a lot of fun.
I've seen a lot of love for this one, but surprisingly I've also seen a lot of hate. As far as I was concerned, this series is immortal, so I was concerned about the negative reviews. But I try to always keep an open mind anyway.
The true brilliance of this book is the art. Greg Capullo and co. have gradually evolved as the New 52 Batman has progressed, and Endgame might be their best work yet. I noticed that starting with the Zero Year storyline, these comics have featured some wildly colorful scenes amidst the usually dark and gray Gotham setting. In the linear notes for Volume 4, Snyder wrote to the illustrators that he wanted Zero Year to look unique, and almost sci-fi in contrast to other origin stories. Since then, the art has been even more phenomenal with each subsequent storyline, and it just keeps getting better. 5/5.
The main issue I have with this one is the same issue I had with the last one: there are too many things from other series that we are expected to know. I can't stress this enough. This volume opens up with Batman recovering from the Scarecrow's fear gas (must have missed that issue?). He interacts with Alfred's daughter (must have missed...that one too...) in some brand spanking new fortress that I've never seen before! I'm starting to think I didn't miss any issues, and that DC wants me to buy everything they put out! I absolutely hate this, but I was able to look past it and enjoy the story for what it was worth.
And it was worth a lot. I'm not going to complain about how convoluted it was, or the ending, or anything that others have complained about. My response to them is simple: it's a comic book! It's incredibly well-thought out and written, so what do you expect? Pynchon? Dostoevsky?
In conclusion, the success/failure of this storyline will largely depend on what comes next. But for now, this one was a lot of fun.
hduc's review
5.0
Probably the best Batman ark ever? Even Joker has a scheme, a briliantly insane scheme.
emilyyjjean's review
5.0
I loved this Batman story! I really think it'd be a great storyline for a video game. Too bad it seems like they're done making the Arkham games.
geewhizabbygee's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
booksnarks's review
2.0
"The story of Batman is, and always will be, a tragedy."
Well let's start with that statement shall we?
Sigh. It's sad that so many writers chose that approach to Batman. I really thought in his run Snyder might deviate from that, especially since we had the introduction of Damien, and having Bruce form a strong bond with his son. Although he did take his son on as a sidekick while fighting crime so maybe the 'happy ending' ship sailed a long time ago.
My 'happy ending' want for Batman aside, that really wasn't even the true problem with this volume. The true problem with this storyline was the Joker! And just how much the storyline appeared to get away from Snyder.
And Yes, there will be some spoilers in the discussion below. No, I won't put them under a tag. Why? Because I need to vent and rant. You have been warned.
So, it turns out that the Joker is a super healing... person with powers, who has always had powers and who has been around since the beginning of Gotham. Oh, and he can't die apparently. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What has always made the Joker such a great character and villain was that he was simply a man. An insane, broken man who illustrated just how how miserable and terrifying human nature can get to be. That's what made him so scary; the fact that being human he was capable of so much evil. Take that away and you take away the essence of who the Joker is as a character. It's unfortunate that this volume turned out the way it did, because Snyder had such a great handle on the character in Volume 3.
The silver lining though of the volume was the writing, and by that I mean the actually dialogue between the characters, which was as great as always. Snyder could always convey great emotions through the actual written word on the page itself, so even if the story got away the way it did, we were at least left with that.