Batman #625

March 30, 2004

Quick Rating: Below Average
Title: Broken City Part Six

Azzarello and Risso leave Batman with a cap to the mystery of Angel Lupo.

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Art: Eduardo Risso
Colors: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis and Bob Schreck
Cover Art: Eduardo Risso
Publisher: DC Comics

And the “Broken City” arc comes to its conclusion, with some fans sorry to see it end and others, myself included, relieved that another creative team will be taking over this title with the next issue. I’m sorry, folks, but “Broken City” just didn’t deliver for me. This issue gives us a clichéd cap to a clichéd “hardboiled” mystery, an inexplicable appearance by the Joker (this isn’t a spoiler, he’s right there on the cover) and an overwhelming feeling that I’m just glad its done.

Aside from the fact that the mystery of the arc never really grabbed me, the sudden inclusion of the Joker feels entirely superfluous, as though he’s only there so that Azzarello can say he wrote a Joker story. Plus, with him running around on the loose over in Batman: Gotham Knights but laced up in Arkham here, it’s no wonder some fans feel intimidated by so many bat-books. I don’t mean we should necessarily keep a chart somewhere showing where villains are at all times, but especially in the Batman books I don’t feel like there’s any effort at reason with them at all anymore – a villain is incarcerated when the writer needs him to be and on the loose when he needs him to be, rarely if ever showing him escape and rarely if ever showing him actually getting captured. There’s no sense there.

Risso for all the skill he’s shown in 100 Bullets, sacrifices more and more of his style to a Frank Miller pastiche in this issue. From body type to facial structure to the weird “chapped lips” look Batman has in come panels, it’s like looking at something Miller drew 20 years ago instead of something Risso drew in the here and now.

I’m sorry to the fans who enjoyed this run, but I simply don’t see what the appeal was. “Broken City” never felt fresh or original to me, it felt like a halfhearted attempt to pay homage to the Miller days and never quite lived up to it.

But at least we’ve probably seen the last of the Killer Croc’s ‘fro.

Rating: 4/10

Batman #623

January 27, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Broken City Part Four

Batman tracks down some new hoods in Gotham town.

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Art: Eduardo Risso
Colors: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis & Bob Schreck
Cover Art: Dave Johnson
Publisher: DC Comics

It took getting halfway into the “Broken City” story arc, but I finally feel like Brian Azzarello is starting to get a feel for Batman. But just starting. For the first three issues, this hasn’t felt right, and I think I’ve figured out why. It isn’t so much a matter of things being wrong (although there are some things that are wrong, but more about that in a minute), but it’s a matter of things being out of place. Batman is a character with many interpretations, and DC, for some time, has wisely split those interpretations among his various titles. This feels more like a story arc for Detective Comics than it does for Batman, which has traditionally focused on the more superheroic elements of the character.

Even when he’s being a superhero, Batman is still a detective, of course, but different stories can focus on different aspects of this character. That said, I enjoyed this fourth installment of “Broken City” better than the previous three — Batman seems a little less smarmy than he has before, and the inclusion of the new hoods Fatman and Little Boy adds a lot. These two characters feel like they could have stepped out of a great pulp novel or film noir, and they fit in the universe that Azzarello is creating quite well.

There are still some things that don’t work for me, though. This is still hands-down the worst interpretation of Killer Croc I have ever read, and the Batman in the fight scenes doesn’t feel right. Batman has always been, to me, a character who knows how to be violent and uses it as a necessary too. This Batman seems to relish in it, goad it on, and that doesn’t sit right with me, even if I accept this as a “detective” story rather than a Batman story.

Risso’s art, however, remains very good and very suited to the character. It looks like a great old-fashioned crime movie, and that’s definitely the feel the writer is going for. These two make a very good team and have for some time on 100 Bullets.

People are still enjoying this story arc, and more power to you if you are. It’s still not totally working for me, though, and with two issues left, I feel like I’m just sort of marking time until the next creative team comes on.

Rating: 7/10

Batman #621

November 23, 2003

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Broken City Part Two

Batman continues to seek a murderer whose most recent crime strikes too close to home.

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Art: Eduardo Risso
Colors: Patricia Mulvihill
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Will Dennis & Bob Schreck
Cover Art: Dave Johnson
Publisher: DC Comics

This issue is a step up from the first part of “Broken City,” but I’m still not in love with the arc. Batman is looking for a killer who slaughtered a mother and father, but left their young son alive. The hero is written more in-character this issue than last issue, but some scenes still strike me as odd at best. As nice as it is to see the Gotham City PD being put to good use in a title beyond their own excellent Gotham Central, I have a very difficult time swallowing a scene where Batman calls up Det. Crispin Allen to discuss the crime and winds up swapping grilling tips. I just kept asking myself, “This is Batman?”

Killer Croc is another big problem – while some people complained about his mutated form in the “Hush” story arc, I found that preferable to the current hairy, sleazy pimp incarnation that we’re treated to in this story… which brings us to the story overall. How many times, over the past 60 years, have we had a story where Batman sees parents get murdered and broods over his own origins?

Azzarello does have a good writing style, I’d never deny that. His captions and dialogue read like an old Raymond Chandler potboiler novel, which is to say, like a classic detective story. It just doesn’t feel like a classic Batman story to me.

Risso is a much better fit for this book, fortunately. He draws a wonderful, shadowy Gotham City, essential for a town that is a character in its own right. His Batman, while clearly inspired by Frank Miller, looks very good. The character looks tough, but not superhuman. The fight scenes are good and detailed.

This is a book that looks better than it reads these days. Fortunately, we’re only two stories into the six-issue arc. There’s still time for it to get better.

Rating: 7/10