I really wanted to be into this, because Garth Ennis always inspires strong reactions in me one way or the other and because I like standalone Batman stories. I liked the hardback format of this one; going in it felt like a quality read given special care in the printing. As soon as I opened it I was sucked in by the art, which is gorgeous - some people have called it messy or difficult to read, and it can be, but I took that as a representation of the murkiness of Gotham and this version of Batman. There are obvious comparisons to be made to Dave McKean and Sam Kieth but they're no bad thing.

Batman's characterisation has also drawn a lot of comment. Ennis has implied before that he doesn't like Batman or what he stands for, and that does come across here. I didn't mind it too much. There is space for wide and varying interpretations of these characters and they don't all have to be the ones I agree with. Unfortunately the story just wasn't good enough. It was messy and a bit consciously edgy. I also wasn't keen on the version of Croc that makes him extra-terrestrial in origin, although, like I say, there's room for plenty of interpretations.

Overall this was a disappointment. I didn't like it in style or content. But I'm glad it exists.