Batman #28 preview

[Caivu]

http://www.adventuresinpoortaste.com...iew-batman-28/

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

Art looks good. Writing looks bland.

Also dont like how they're trying to make Deathstroke into a Batman villain. He's not a Batman villain. The latest was that he wasn't even going to be in the movie, so I dont know who they're trying to please here.

[millernumber1]

Oh, man. I love Gordon so much. It feels like King is firmly putting Gordon's voice in Frank Miller's Year One territory here. I love just how heroic he is - and Janin doing the art makes me think of Janin's issues of Batman Eternal, with Gordon in jail.

[darkseidpwns]

Art looks good. Writing looks bland.

Also dont like how they're trying to make Deathstroke into a Batman villain. He's not a Batman villain. The latest was that he wasn't even going to be in the movie, so I dont know who they're trying to please here.

I hate that he's wearing a question mark band on his arm, wtf.

[millernumber1]

I hate that he's wearing a question mark band on his arm, wtf.

I hope Slade charged extra for that.

[Frontier]

So we're getting Jim without his clothes on too I see .

So do Riddler's villains have to answer his riddles all the time? That's got to be annoying.

[Nick Miller]

So we're getting Jim without his clothes on too I see .

So do Riddler's villains have to answer his riddles all the time? That's got to be annoying.

We got a naked Bane, what's next?

Leslie Tompkins in her underwear?

Whatever

[millernumber1]

We got a naked Bane, what's next?

Leslie Tompkins in her underwear?

Whatever

Why are you going for that? It's clearly going to be Gotham Girl...

[CryNotWolf]

Wow, Deathstroke looks terrible. What the hell is with those t-rex arms? Also the idea of people like Two-Face and Deathstroke wearing "Riddler" insignias...it just seems so uncharacteristic.

Also, how damn long is King going to go the "tell, don't show" route with the war? Apparently the the city is COMPLETELY ravaged now, on the brink of complete destruction, with droves of dead bodies...yet we still haven't seen a damn thing. God it's so infuriating...

That's a wicked Neal Adams variant, though. I will definitely be copping that.

[Caivu]

Anyone read it yet?

[millernumber1]

Yup. I thought the opening was fantastic, the battle that Batman is caught in the middle of at the end was heartbreaking, but it's still not going anywhere. And King's habit of dropping major events like the Feds coming in and failing miserably is completely in off panel land, which doesn't help anything.

[Rakzo]

The issues with this story are starting to get evident.

Let's start with the positives though. The presentation that King brings to the table is creative in and of itself due to how the characters are integrated into the story. Both the Joker and the Riddler show interesting ways of executing their ideas while other villains who make quick appearances here demonstrate compelling enough scenes.

On the other hand, the fact that this story is being told in flashbacks as part of the overall theme is hurting the way how is executed. For one, everything comes from Batman's perspective and narration and if you know something about King's narration is that is hardly natural which affects the read in many instances. Not to mention that this being a clear example of "tell, don't show" makes the execution of the action scenes and big moments fell flat with not enough weight to make them actually remarkable. Plus, and this is a nitpick from me but, I wish that Deathstroke wasn't presented as good as a gunner as Deadshot since Slade already has enough abilities over Floyd.

Janin's artwork is fantastic though, a great sense of style and storytelling that makes the script bigger than it actually is and in some cases, even salvages it.

That being said, I'm not sure what to expect at this point and considering King's track record, I better not expect much from the conclusion.

[millernumber1]

Well said, Rakzo. I really like the tone of the story, but it's like King refuses to actually let us know what's happening.

[godisawesome]

It's still fun spectacle, and I still enjoy the high concept of the story, but the pacing and monologue is throwing me off a bit, though I enjoyed having Bruce finally express some raw emotion for once during it.

And I have to admit that I hope Catwoman returns in the story and is recruited by Batman as an ally for sanity's sake; that's how I was hoping that scene would go, and I do love the way her purple suit looks.

[millernumber1]

I really like the ideas being explored, which surprises me, because I thought I was going to hate this since I loathe the Joker - but King seems to be focusing on the cost of the Joker, which is exactly what I think should be focused on. However, all this seems to be at the expense of a story. It's more someone living through things, rather than any kind of beginning middle end narrative structure. I mean, there's a beginning, all right, but the middle is mostly in off-panel land.