Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The mystery deepens..., September 18, 2008
When brilliant comic writer Grant Morrison (Final Crisis, The Filth, New X-Men; c'mon, you know the list) took over duties on Batman, readers knew we were going to a get a bit of a different take on the classic character. The Batman & Son storyarc proved that, and also served as a set up for The Black Glove, which finds the mystery that began in the pages of Batman & Son getting even deeper. The Black Glove picks up with Batman and Robin taking a trip to a secluded island and meeting up with a group of international Batman-inspired heroes, only to have a murder mystery in their midst. Later on, Batman makes it back to Gotham City, and has another run-in with the Batman impersonators that were once Gotham City cops, which leaves more questions than answers naturally. If you've read anything from Morrison, then you should know that a majority of his work is structured like a tree, and typically pretty cryptic. His run on Batman is no different, and he writes the character wonderfully. Sadly though, and this may be a put off for a number of fans, Morrison is gleefully pulling a good amount of material from Batman's silver age past, which he does do a good job putting to use here, but for newer or younger readers, many of the references may be a little over their heads. That aside though, The Black Glove is a solid read that will keep you entertained, and the great artwork from Tony Daniel and J.H. Williams III (Ryan Benjamin's pencil work in the closing chapter features some odd-looking facial expressions however) is a joy to look at as well. All in all, if you've been following Morrison's run at all, The Black Glove is a worthwhile pickup, and will leave you salivating for Batman R.I.P.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Batman falls into the trap of the Black Glove!, September 23, 2008
When Grant Morrison works with J.H. Williams III, you know only magic can happen. I mean, look at Seven Soldiers #1. In this volume's first arc, Batman and Robin travel to a remote private island for a reunion of the Club of Heroes, a gathering of international superheroes inspired by Batman (their names are just too awesome to not mention--El Gaucho, Man-of-Bats and Raven Red, The Knight and Squire, The Musketeer, The Legionary....). The revelry is soon ended when one of them is found murdered and a taped recording claims "the Black Glove" is responsible.
After barely escaping from the island, Batman is thrown headfirst into another crazy case--that of the third replacement Batman, the mysterious figure hinted at in the previous volume. After suffering a heart attack, Batman has flashbacks to great periods of distress in life--the murder of his parents; his first confrontation with Joe Chill, his parents murderer, as Batman; an isolation experiment he participated in that left him believing Robin was dead; and a Buddhist meditation ritual he underwent in Nanda Parbat where he was sealed off from the world in a cave for 49 days. When he awakes, Batman finds himself the captive of the his impostor, who warns him of the Black Glove and the mysterious Dr. Hurt, the man who oversaw the isolation experiment Batman so many years ago--a man who just may be the embodiment of the Devil himself.
Morrison, Williams, and artist Tony Daniel really take charge here. Williams' layouts and stylistic approach is, as always, revolutionary. Daniel, though not nearly as inspired, still provides solid work. And Morrison unites Batman's history and psyche in ways previously unseen. I can't wait to see where he goes next. I'll be looking out for the ominously titled "Batman R.I.P."
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
More uneven Batman fair., December 7, 2008
Had this collection only included the outstanding Black Glove storyline from Grant Morrison and JH Williams, I would have purchased it. This is a handsome hardcover volume with a beautifully rendered cover with contents worthy of the deluxe treatment.
The downside is that after the 3 issues illustrated by Williams, the art chores for the remainder of the book fall to Tony Daniel, who's usually good pencil work is ruined by inker Jonathan Glapion.
The editors seem to be trying to create a "Jim Lee-a-like" art style here, but what they end up with is a mess the reader will have to endure rather than enjoy. Check out Tony Daniel's online Batman pencil work without inks and you'll see what a botch job this is. While William's work is fluid, consistant and clean, Daniel & Glapion's work is scruffy, uneven and messy. They don't belong in the same book.
I wish DC would clean up their act when it comes to Batman. It is hard to believe they can't find a consistantly good art team to handle their most popular character.
Why bother bringing in big name writers like Morrison if his scripts are butchered by poor artwork. Can we get this series back on track please?
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