Now here's a comic book that defies conventional thinking. Turning Frank Miller and Jim Lee loose on the story of how Batman and Robin first became a team sounds like a license to print money. They're both incredibly talented creators, and they've done some amazing work in the past.
And certainly the art delivers. Jim Lee is at the peak of his game, and he's doing some stunning work here, along with inker Scott Williams. (Granted, it would be nice if they could do it faster...) This issue gives Lee two double-splash pages to work with, and he fills them with energy and loads of detail. The same is true of the rest of the comic - it's strong, striking work.
It's the writing by Frank Miller that seems off - until you remember that Miller has, throughout his long career in comics, never taken the safe path, never followed the normal route, never done the expected.
With this book, he's pushing the boundaries of "grim and gritty" and making jokes about it at the same time. His Batman is exactly the kind of creation Bruce Wayne would have to craft in order to strike fear into the hearts of criminals. He's brutal, nasty, vulgar, violent and completely unpredictable.
He's also smart, ruthless and in control virtually every step of the way. He's a womanizer, and between Catwoman and Black Canary, he keeps busy, if you get my drift. But he does seem to be hiding a heart under all that attitude.
When it comes to training Robin, he's the most vicious drill sergeant imaginable. This is where Miller really goes over the top, as Batman could easily be charged with child abuse (and probably should be).
Another thing Miller is known for is terse writing - he was one of the first to eliminate thought balloons and captions, and allow the story to unfold with sparse but sharp dialogue. Not this time - again, he turns the medium on its head. This issue is written like a crime novel, with lots of descriptive passages, and we really hear what's going on inside the minds of the cast. In fact, Miller gets so carried away with the text that we often lose the artwork behind it. Page 21 is a sea of words, and we can barely spot Barbara and Jim Gordon peeking out in panel 4.
This comic is famous because the first printing had to be pulped because the numerous instances of profanity were not properly blacked out. And hoo boy, does Batgirl have a potty mouth in this one. It's actually comical to read a word balloon that says, "(Blank) you twice, (blank) you let a (blank)ing little piece of jailbait (blank) steal your wheels..." You could kill lots of time just figuring out different curse words to insert in this comic.
This issue is mostly putting the story pieces in their place, setting up the next chapter, so there's lots of motion but not a lot accomplished. Still, the story keeps moving forward, and it's loaded with colorful (if barely recognizable) characters. Can a book be fascinating and infuriating at the same time? Apparently so.
So what we have here is a completely different take on the Batman (and Robin), and one that some readers may really enjoy - but others will hate. Me, I don't hate it - it's just... different, that's all. Your (blank)ing mileage may (blank)ing vary.
Grade: B-
No comments:
Post a Comment