Comic Review- Batman: Damned #1

Batman Damned: Book One by Brian Azzarello

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I’m never been an Azzarello fan but have to admit this looked cool and my comic shop guy thought it might be down my alley.

How do the Big Two get adults to read comics? Well point of fact, they already do, though probably in spite of themselves since graphic novels and online reading does well. Marvel has been laughably bad at it for as long as I remember. DC has a storied history but it is almost inconceivable now that they would take a chance on something new. So Vertigo exists, yes, but it is all Wildstorm:Deep Space Nine, the Great Lakes Watchmen, and Sandman’s Bogus Journey. No surprise then that DC Black Label is Batman heavy.

DC s fancy new product is wider and shorter than a typical American comic. It probably won’t fit in your log box and yet like Kyle Baker would likely say, if you are taking the train, it still looks like a comic book.

Anyway, that was how I was going to start the review, but instead “OMG! Batschlong! Full frontal nude Dark Knight!” DC coyishly acting like no one is going to notice when they release this and then advising that it will not be republished with the offending panels, thus creating an instant secondary market.

That scene probably isn’t necessary but helps sell the R-rated Black Label.

The book clearly owes a debt to the trinity of great Batman books - The Killing Joke, the Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum. It is to Lee Bermejo’s credit that it instantly feels like those books but doesn’t really feel derivative. The art is top notch.

It’s actually a pretty attention-grabbing plot. The Joker is dead, and did Batman kill him? It features some of the coolest characters in the DC Universe in cameos as well. I am sold

So how was it? To me, as in the past, I am still not sold on Azarello. His overly gritty sub- Frank Miller style makes it a tedious read. Yes, it’s supposed to be dark, but Miller (at his best) knew that less can be more.

Even at that, I might be able to tolerate this, but the whole thing is that it is bound together with a John Constantine narrative that recalls all of the worst Grant Morrisonisms and none of the best.

I know, I know, I have seen the reviews and know I am in the minority (and the art is almost enough alone to pick this up) but I will probably pass.

DC also screws this up by doing one of the things that they have gotten right lately (less wait-time between issues) and goes the other way, making this a bimonthly. Probably will help cool the momentum quite a bit for the non-graphic novel types.



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