Jayaprakash Satyamurthy
Knivesout no more
Here's a thread to talk about comics or graphic novels you've read and don't feel like posting a seperate thread about.
For me, that would be the Batman: Contagion tpb. I pretty much stopped reading Batman comics after the whole KnightFall saga, although I did follow the occasional Moench/Jones story. I've also read a few more recent storylines - Jeph Loeb's Hush and Long Halloween, both of which were more memorable for art than for their vastly overrated, gimmicky and ultimately incoherent 'mystery' stories. Contagion seemed a good place to start tracing the various bad things that have happened to Gotham recently, culminating in the whole No Man's Land blowout.
Well, if it's any indication of the quality of later tpbs, it bites! There's way too much of Batman's extended family (although Huntress and Robin are at least developed interestingly), too much muddled action and obvious devices. The art and writing is terribly variable, since you have crossovers from every Bat-title. The whole thing is bloated, incohesive and ultimately, weak and confused. Batman confronting a new sort of threat to GOtham - not a supervillian or a gangster but a deadly virus could have been a great detective story. Instead it's a muddled mess of obvious character moments, gratuitous punch-ups and generally bloated storytelling. Even the 60s Batman was amore convincing detective and vigilante than this one-dimensional grim-and-brooding fellow. I wouldn't bother following up on Cataclysm and No Man's Land if they have the same plethora of mediocre writers (most of whom have seen better days) and often just downright awful artists.
On the other hand, Don Rosa's The Life & Times of Scrooge McDuck is just brilliant. I wish there was more fun, exciting non-superhero adventure in US comics, and it's odd that Disney, of all the franchises around should fill that gap. I'll probably do a seperate, detailed post on this excellent, excellent collected edition that is definitely a must-buy among thisyear's releases.
For me, that would be the Batman: Contagion tpb. I pretty much stopped reading Batman comics after the whole KnightFall saga, although I did follow the occasional Moench/Jones story. I've also read a few more recent storylines - Jeph Loeb's Hush and Long Halloween, both of which were more memorable for art than for their vastly overrated, gimmicky and ultimately incoherent 'mystery' stories. Contagion seemed a good place to start tracing the various bad things that have happened to Gotham recently, culminating in the whole No Man's Land blowout.
Well, if it's any indication of the quality of later tpbs, it bites! There's way too much of Batman's extended family (although Huntress and Robin are at least developed interestingly), too much muddled action and obvious devices. The art and writing is terribly variable, since you have crossovers from every Bat-title. The whole thing is bloated, incohesive and ultimately, weak and confused. Batman confronting a new sort of threat to GOtham - not a supervillian or a gangster but a deadly virus could have been a great detective story. Instead it's a muddled mess of obvious character moments, gratuitous punch-ups and generally bloated storytelling. Even the 60s Batman was amore convincing detective and vigilante than this one-dimensional grim-and-brooding fellow. I wouldn't bother following up on Cataclysm and No Man's Land if they have the same plethora of mediocre writers (most of whom have seen better days) and often just downright awful artists.
On the other hand, Don Rosa's The Life & Times of Scrooge McDuck is just brilliant. I wish there was more fun, exciting non-superhero adventure in US comics, and it's odd that Disney, of all the franchises around should fill that gap. I'll probably do a seperate, detailed post on this excellent, excellent collected edition that is definitely a must-buy among thisyear's releases.
