All I can say is . . . Wow!! What a great book. Frank Miller and Jim Lee have really taken a hold of this one, and really seem to be having fun with it. I especially like that they seem to be back on a regular schedule now. I really can't over-emphasis how important I feel that is. But anyways, the Jim Lee cover that's pictured at the right, looks 100% better with the finished product. The actual cover still has the red background, but Joker is much more vibrant, and he has this really cool, and colorful, dragon tattooed across his back and down his arm. Unfortunately in this instance, you can't see it. And I gotta say, the variant cover, by Neal Adams . . . . one of my all time favorite artists . . . is really not one of my favorite covers. I get what he's trying to do. He's trying to show how the Batman, and the Joker are connected . . . essentially opposite sides of the same personality. But the construction, and end result, looks a bit . . . muddled to me. Definitely not
one of my favorite covers from Neal. It just looks to me like it's rushed. Or maybe not completely thought out. But, that's just my opinion. And really, it's the only complaint I have about this whole book. Batman seems a little less . . . psychotic this issue. He seems a little more in control of himself. And we finally get to expound on the Dick Grayson character a bit. I was beginning to think that he only took him in to keep him secluded in his cave for all this time. But he finally tasks him with the challenge of finding a costume and an identity this issue. And I finally see what I think Batman saw in this character. Dick is someone who's almost as driven and psychotic as he himself. But, the best part about this issue is Batman's interaction with Hal Jordan. He comes to Gotham for some reason, and shines his ring as a beacon in to the sky. He asks Batman, " . . how the heck do you know my name?", to which Batman replies, "I know everything. What do you want?" They do a little verbal volleying, but the crux of their conversation is going to be next issue. And as you can tell from the cover, we get a glimpse of the Joker this issue, but we also get to see Catwoman. Meowww! Anyways, this really is a fantastic book. And, if Grant Morrison wasn't writing the regular title, it would be easily the best Batman book out there. Now, honestly, I think the 2 of them bounce back and forth between my favorite and second favorite. But, with the creators involved with both books, that really is a happy place to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment