The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

by **Punchy** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 6:18 pm

Is it any good?

by **rdrsfn82** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 6:28 pm

Yeah, I saw this on the shelf and was curious as well. I thought about buying it, but decided to wait and see some reactions.

by **xshane666x** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:54 pm

Also curious about the worth.

by **BlueStreak** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 8:13 pm

Just finished reading it.

Pros:

Definitely a different Batman. He's raw and inexperienced and it shows. It's a great contrast to the Batgod and a welcome one.

The characterization is pretty solid. Alfred, Gordon and Bullock are all pretty nuanced characters. Alfred in particular is given more personality than every Batbook book I've ever read combined.

The Penguin is more evil than usual. Great villain for the debut. Just wish he would have gotten more time.

If you like Gary Frank, you'll love the art here.

Cons:
Johns tries to do too much. At the end of the book, there's four plot points jammed in for the sequel. Some (like Barbara's) are natural. Others just feel forced (the secrets of the Arkhams or the end reveal for example). I think Johns is physically unable to tell a good story with one door open for the next one.

There's a bit too much of the "Look how different this world is!", which was my major complaint with Superman: Earth 1. Alfred's sooooo different, Gordon's sooooo different, Harvey Bullock is sooooo different. And since it's Johns, he rubs your face in it just to make it absolutely clear that these characters are sooooo different.

The main physical adversary is kind of blah. The fight scene is great, but the build up is meh, at best. Johns put no effort into coming up with an interesting or creepy design for the character at all.

The resolution to the main plot is a little too clean for my tastes.

All in all, I'd give it a solid 7 or an 8. It's a tighter story than Superman: Earth One and the world Johns built is certainly intriguing once you get over the "It's sooooo different" factor. Probably not worth $22.99, but if you can get on discount, it's a perfectly satisfactory read.

by **Victorian Squid** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 8:30 pm

"How much more money can we make off of the same people telling you a slightly different version of the same story?"

by **alaska1125** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 9:59 pm

McDarkseid wrote:"How much more money can we make off of the same people telling you a slightly different version of the same story?"

Yeah, this is what I've been thinking. I get that they're shooting for a new audience, and I applaud that. But $23 ain't an impulse buy, and you pretty much have to actively seek this out if you're picking it up at B&N, so the strategy here is lost on me.

by **Punchy** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 2:55 am

I really think they should have made the Earth One origins part of the DC Reboot Continuity.

by **fieldy snuts** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 5:57 am

Someone told me that in the end Batman is a failure and Alfred bails him out with a shotgun making Bats totally look like a fool for not listening to him when he suggested he carry a gun.

Is that about accurate?

by **BlueStreak** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 7:01 am

fieldy snuts wrote:Someone told me that in the end Batman is a failure and Alfred bails him out with a shotgun making Bats totally look like a fool for not listening to him when he suggested he carry a gun.

Is that about accurate?

Sort of.

Batman arrives at the Penguin's house and confronts him. Penguin stabs him with a secret umbrella knife before Alfred shows up and pops him. I doubt that Batman carrying a gun would have prevented him from being stabbed.

However, it's not exactly the most satisfying of endings, but it does keep the tone of the rest of the book in that Batman isn't very good at Batmanning.

by **Grayson** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:47 am

Well, I was going to pick this up but now I am a little hesitant. Perhaps I will wait and pick up some Irredeeamable and/or Incorruptible trades instead.

by **avengingtitan** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:53 pm

I fucking loved it. Bats is kind of a punk that needs a good ass kicking though. Alfred and Penguin are fucking awesome. This is kind of like the alfred from the Red Claw episodes of BTAS, only a little younger and with a limp. I liked his backstory with Thomas Wayne.

Gordon is kind of a sellout to a point at the start. Afraid of his own shadow while Babs is the exact opposite. I like that babs is friends or at least works with a certain bird of prey. :-D

I liked all the little openings for a second book.

The real star of this book however is Harvey Bullock. Its really his book in my mind and his story is by far the best and most interesting of all the characters. He is so unlike any other version of himself that I've ever seen.