bengriffin's reviews
2676 reviews

I don't normally venture into the realm of superhero comics but I'm glad I did for this one. The writing is very entertaining and packs in a lot of action and mystery, as well as the stuff that makes Batman slightly more appealing than most heroes, including his somewhat flawed character and dark nature. The art is crisp, sharp and dynamic with some creative use of the panels and plenty of memorable and striking images and some great covers. I don't know what long time Batman fans would make of the reboot but I was pleasantly surprised.

Having really enjoyed volume one, somewhat to my surprise, volume two doesn't disappoint and concludes the story arc well. The writing maintains the entertaining, page-turner quality of the first and also adds some good back-story and depth to existing characters and introduces some interesting new ones. The art is just as vibrant and impactful as volume one too with some great beats and scenes. If you'd told me at the start of the year I'd be this entertained reading a Batman comic I wouldn't have believed you, still, it's nice to be wrong sometimes.

One of the few superhero comics I'd bothered with before, it still holds up and it's clear to see why. It delves into the characters of Joker and Batman and the dynamic between them like nothing had previously. The writing is excellent to the point where no word is wasted,and he isn't afraid to let the panels speak for themselves with some great use of silence. There's a good mixture of humour and tragedy on display and it does an excellent job of balancing out and humanising what could otherwise be very cartoony characters. Combined with Bolland's powerful illustrations and beautiful colouring work it's no surprise that this is one of the go to recommendations in the Batman universe.

This is probably the strongest Ellis work I've read to date. All his characteristic darkness is here but the condensed nature of the structure imposes some restraint on him that really works in his favour. Templesmith's art is stunning and complements Ellis' style perfectly with its scuzzy beauty giving it a Se7en-esque vibe and bringing the grimy, run down city to life, whilst still allowing some hope and light to bleed through the cracks. Each individual story works well, but it's the bigger picture that's most intriguing, which is why it's such a shame that it's still on hiatus. I definitely want to read more so here's hoping they eventually deliver.

I'm not quite sure what I made of this. It was a compelling read and once I started I couldn't stop, but at the same time it made very little impact on me. The concept and gender theme is fairly interesting, but the sci-fi conceit is lacking and seems solely to exist to pit the genders against each other and lacks any big pay off. Perhaps that's intended as part of the commentary on the nature of life, but it came off as feeling like the writers didn't really know what they were doing with it. Other reviewers seem to have sided with either the men or the women, however I found it hard to relate to any particular character, let alone a gender, and didn't much care what happened to anyone involved, which is probably part of the reason it fell a little flat. That said, some interesting dilemmas, situations, and moral problems arise, and it does keep you entertained throughout. As long as you aren't expecting to be blown away, the skilled artwork, film-like pacing, gore, humour, and unusual premise make for an enjoyable enough experience.

A beautifully illustrated and powerful read which sensitively handles mental illness. I'm not sure I fully understood what was going on at all times and may need a few more reads to get the most out of it, but I appreciated that it focused on the often neglected quiet moments and minutiae of growing up rather than the drama and angst. It's a haunting, elegiac story that utilises the medium to great effect and will stay with you long after you put it down.

Apologies to all the die-hard fans of this that worship it like it were the revolutionary messiah of the comic world, but this didn't do a great deal for me. It's a nice idea "what if Batman got old" but that's as far as it goes. It's still just a big, dumb super-hero outing at the end of the day, and lacks any of the charm that usually makes Batman to be quite an endearing/interesting character. The characters are shallow, the text is bloated and repetitive, the art-work can be quite messy and confusing, and the pacing is way off. When this was first released, I imagine it was a refreshing change from the usual fair, and credit to it for helping usher in a new breed of comics but, ultimately, it lacks the depth and refinement of anything truly great.

I was slightly dubious picking this up because I thought it may just be capitalising on society's new found love of all things facial hair related. Thankfully my fears were misplaced. The story itself comes across like a dystopian parable and is laced with some scathing satire and an excellent Britishness. The tone reminded me both of Raymond Briggs' work and also Sylvain Chomet's animations, and the intricacies of the pencil work and illustrations create something truly beautiful. Particular highlights for me were the newspaper front-pages, but the whole thing is pitched perfectly so that pretty much any age group will find something to enjoy here. Highly recommended.

An intriguing start to a series with some strong moments and a nice sense of style. Not in a hurry to read any more but I would like to know how the separate stories all tie together as they start to towards the end of this volume.

I wish I had a few more volumes of this so I could make a better judgement on it but unfortunately I currently only have the one, and that one made very little impact on me. The approach is interesting having two different authors write the two different eras, and I found the character of Pearl to be strong and interesting enough to care about, but the majority of the writing, the story, and the art didn't grab me very much at all. As I said, it's hard to judge this early in the story what it will become, but unless someone insists I read more or provides me with the other volumes for free, it will be a good while before I find out if it gets any better.