Batman: Bloodstorm [Paperback]

Doug Moench (Author), Dennis O'Neil (Author), Kelly Jones (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (July 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563891859
• ISBN-13: 978-1563891854
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.2 x 10.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #792,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Angst, Pathos, Craving, Alienation and Power, January 16, 2003

By 

Christian E. Senftleben "christian__s" (Costa Mesa, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Batman: Bloodstorm (Paperback)

This is the best book of the trilogy (I bought the other books because of this one). This book summarizes the personal hell of one man, addicted and alone, unable not to bring death to those he loves. It is about conflict, guilt, isolation, alienation ...about heroism in its rawest, truest form.

I first read this over five years ago, and it continues to fascinate me to this day. I don't care about the vampire monsters, per se, for to me they are only a necessary plot device. The same can be said for Selina's character. They only exist to further the true story, which is Batman's struggle with his own nature ...the horror of recognizing we receive pleasure from another's harm, the helplessness of an addiction to things we've not necessarily even experienced -- the overwhelming urge to satiate a thirst at the cost of our own soul. That is the heart and soul and core of this book for me.

What would we do, given his power, his isolation, and his horrible thirst? At one point he narrates this for us:

"Thirst haunts me,
Life tempts me,
Death mocks me.

Together, the three, they curse me."

That moment for me, sitting in that bookstore, galvanized an experience I had never been able to put words to ...his isolation, his thirst, his utter loneliness and despondency -- they were so real! Deep calls out to deep, as I've read elsewhere, and in spite of this book's gore and melodrama, that moment called out to me and still does to this day. I felt connected to his guilt, his shame, to his sinful pleasure and self-disgust in a way that no media ever has before or since. Selina's character, the strength and nobility she provides, and the heartbreak of her loss, bring the entire story to an unstoppable head between the maniacal Joker and a Batman now drenched in the blood of his lover.

The authors deserve top credit for making a Batman that is, ironically, more human as an undead vampire than he ever was in life. May he rest in peace...

Get this if such things interest you.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Elseworlds tale - so not "canon" - but essential Bat lore just the same, October 16, 2005

By 

Eric Krupin (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Batman: Bloodstorm (Paperback)

In a pitch meeting, this might sound like one of the dumbest ideas ever: What if Batman turned into a vampire? [A vampire *bat*, get it?!] But writer Doug Moench actually manages to create a powerful and affecting tale from this premise - one whose Edgar Allan Poe-like meditation on guilt and monstrousness ends up rivalling "Arkham Asylum" and "The Killing Joke" as one of the most penetrating psychological studies ever drawn of the Dark Knight. And if there has ever been more dynamic and expressive pencilling in a Batman story than Kelley Jones's outstanding work here, I haven't seen it.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bloodstorm is a worthy sequel to Red Rain., June 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Batman: Bloodstorm (Paperback)

As a follow-up to the awesome Red Rain, Bloodstorm succeeds. It is set prior to the time when, in modern continuity, Batman discovered Dick Grayson. Incidentally, there is no Robin, and it's a good thing, as Batman must struggle with his lust for blood, hating what he has become, but not wanting to leave Gotham unprotected. The iussue is: By sticking around in his present state, is Batman actually damning Gotham rather than saving it? Batman has to put that question on the backburner,however, when the Joker takes over the remnants of Dracula's undead legion. It's an awesome battle, believe me, and Catwoman is even along for the ride! Bloodstorm also succeeds quite nicely in creating a parallel universe; this story seems like it could be another storyline in a monthly comic. Of course, we know this isn't so because our Batman isn't a vampire, but it still has that feel to it. Finally, with the team of Doug Moench, Kelley Jones, and John Beatty, how can you lose?