| Batman: Knightfall / Broken Bat (Batman (DC Comics Paperback)) | 
 enlarge | Author: Doug Moench
Publisher: D C Comics (a division of Warner Brothers - A Time Warner Entertainment Co.)
Category: Book
List Price: £17.99
Buy Used: £9.58
You Save: £8.41 (47%)
Used (11) from £9.58
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 241108
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 10.2 x 6.6 x 0.5
ISBN: 1563891425
Dewey Decimal Number: 741
EAN: 9781563891427
ASIN: 1563891425
Publication Date: October 1, 1993
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 A Classic, Famous Batman Graphic Novel September 28, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the first part in the trilogy that charts the conflict between Batman and Bane - a criminal powered by direct feeds of Venom to his body, which gives him huge amounts of strength.
Without spoiling the plot, this first part of the trilogy deals with Bane wanting to take complete control of Gotham City, and to run it with an iron fist. The problem he has is that the Batman watches over the city.
He devises a plan to bring Batman to his knees, by blowing up Arkham Asylum and releasing all the lunatics that Batman has captured in the past. Bane's theory is to let all the insane criminals seek Batman for revenge and ultimately wear him down, physically and emotionally before Bane steps in to claim Gotham as his prize.
I liked this aspect of the first part of the trilogy. It is almost like Bane is out-foxing Batman, and being very tactical about bringing him down. It is almost a role reversal, in that Batman is REacting to what is thrown at him, rather than stepping back and coming up with a strategy to turn the tables on Bane.
Batman is already weary at the start of the book, but after fighting wave after wave of criminals, he becomes weaker physically and Robin is pushed to one side whilst he blindly pushes on through the pain barrier. In this book we get to meet all the bad guys from Batman's past. They include the Joker, Scarecrow, Zsaz, the Human Firefly, Killer Croc and many more! It is almost a who's who of Batman criminals!
So all the pieces are here for you to enjoy - a really good plot, real emotional involvement, excellent characters and a good amount of care with the way all the characters are treated.
The only real flaw in my opinion is the artwork. This book is quite old now - it came out originally way back in 1993, so the comic version would have preceded this. Batman is in his blue and grey outfit, and not the darker suits we have seen in later comics, or in the Tim Burton films or the recently filmed Batman Begins. In places the drawing looks quite dated, and with some of the standards being set now, this looks really poor in places. That said, there are some genuinely good sections too.
I really enjoyed this graphic novel, it is certainly one of the better Batman collections, and i would recommend this to anyone who likes the character, or has followed his exploits for years through the comics, or to someone who has been away from the scene for a while. It is a good re-introduction to one of the best DC characters.
I picked this up again after a long break, and found that i still enjoyed it immensely. The problem for you - is getting hold of this! It is getting harder and harder to find now, so my recommendation is snap it up now, while you can - you won't be disappointed!!!
SPOILER ALERT - volume two ahead. Amazon put this book and volume 2 together when ataching reviews!
VOLUME 2
This is the second part of the Knightfall trilogy : He Who Rules the Night. As those of you who have read the first part will know, Batman (and more importantly, Bruce Wayne) was defeated by Bane. He was publicly defeated and suffered huge internal injuries and a broken back. This volume picks up where the first left off....
A young trainee takes up the cowl of the Batman, as charged by Bruce Wayne. But all is not well with this new incarnation of the Batman. Jean Paul Valley is the young student, but he is part of a secret society called the Order of Dumas (reference to Alexander Dumas, and the Count of Monte Cristo's mission of revenge?) which has at some point in his past, brainwashed him. Even Jean doesn't know what lurks in the corners of his mind..........
In the story we have a flashback to the first part of the series, where Batman (Bruce Wayne's version) fought against Two Face, and further highlights why he failed in defeating Bane. In this volume, Bane rules supreme over Gotham and is pulling all the strings. Robin has to come to terms with his new partner, who he discovers doesn't really want/need a partner. And in this plotline, there is much to enjoy. The isolation and helplessness Robin feels at being effectively dumped to one side are really good.
Without spoling the entire volume, the story arc deals with Batman (Jean Paul) trying to remove Bane from his position as ruler of Gotham. We see unnerving actions from the new Dark Knight and as the reader, i felt distanced from him, and more in tune with Robin. We see the new Batman prepared to go to lengths even Bruce Wayne would not go too and the over-riding question throughout the graphic novel is ' How far are you prepared to go to get the job done? '.
I enjoyed this graphic novel a lot. But in places it feels a little bit padded. We certainly didn't need the Two Face flash back in my opinion, as it just doesn't sit with the story arc of volume two. There is also a nice section with Nightwing , that could have been developed more. And there is a really long piece on the Scarecrow that does very little to drive the story forward. I liked the change in the costume, as Jean Paul tries to make the cowl and cloak his own. And generally the artwork s better than the first volume.
The final piece of action where we see the new and supposedly improved Batman, going up against Bane is very good too, and is an excellent climax to this volume.
I read through this volume much quicker than the first book, and in many ways it is more of a page turner. I will now start the final installment of the trilogy - so watch this space!!
Again, this is a fairly rare collection now, so snap it up whilst you can!The story is nearly 15 years old now, but still feels like part relevant in this new era of comics!
Enjoy!
 Extremely good. September 20, 2000
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is a very good start to the 'Knight' series. Altough not as good as the second installmaent. It is well worth reading and I would recommend it to anyone! Batman against all the members of Arkham Asylum!
Superb March 8, 2000
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is a excellent, the way Jean Paul transforms the bat into a killer and the new costume is just fantastic!
|
|
|
