Batman: Fortunate Son [Paperback]

Gerard Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1999

When the Dark Knight suspects a modern-day rock-and-roll icon of masterminding a nationwide crime spree using teenaged fans as his henchmen, Batman runs into unexpected opposition from an unexpected source: his own ward, Robin. Certain that his idol is not guilty, Dick Grayson sets out to uncover a bizarre and elaborate frame-up in this dazzlingly illustrated graphic novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 92 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563895900
• ISBN-13: 978-1563895906
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #589,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars BATMAN: FORTUNATE SON by Gerard Jones and Gene Ha, August 28, 2008

By 

thepaxdomini "The Book Review" (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batman: Fortunate Son (Paperback)

Batman: Fortunate Son, written by Gerard Jones and illustrated by Gene Ha, was originally published as a one-shot in 1999. The story concerns a rock and roll superstar who gets visited by a quasi-Elvis, then goes across the country committing crimes and fomenting rebellion.

Jones plays on the generation gap between Batman and Robin - Batman hates rock music, Robin is a brainless fanboy. Both characters come across as thoroughly one-dimensional. The dialogue throughout is terrible. It's unbelievably bad. Corny, too.

Ha's art is decent, although he runs into trouble communicating what's actually going on during some action scenes.

Batman: Fortunate Son is a silly, ridiculous hodge-podge of a story, riddled with clichés and puns. It cannot be taken seriously on any level, and it must rank with the worst Batman stories ever written.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Interesting art. BAD BOOK!, May 13, 2009

By 

Matt DL "Atarizot" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batman: Fortunate Son (Paperback)

Some Batman graphic novels are little more than entertaining, but this book lacks even the thinnest shred of fun, excitement, or creativity. Yes, the illustrations in the book are unique, and in some panels quite impressive. But this is still my least favorite Batman graphic novel ever. The dialogue is poor and the lyrics (which occur all too frequently) are horrible. But beyond poor writing, this story does worse things. It violates Batman/Bruce Wayne's history (and intelligence) by adding a ridiculous back-story about when he was sucked into the world of rock. It attempts to create tension between Batman and Robin that just makes them both look like morons. It insults rock fans. And it plays with mock versions of rock icons such as Elvis and Jimi Hendrix who deserve way more in terms of character and who should have been (out of respect) not included in this absolute waste of graphic literature. Awful.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars ....What?, August 19, 2006

By 

M. Miceli (Fairfield, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Batman: Fortunate Son (Paperback)

This really has to be the worst Batman book I've read. It's just plaing boring. The entire premise is ridiculous and there's a total lack of what makes Batman, Batman. The whole idea that Batman needs to learn about rock music to defeat evil is just plain stupid. Plus, Robin is going to leave Batman because they disagree on whether a rocker who blew up a music video studio did it of his own free will or not. The entire premise of the story is so unlike any Batman story that's come before it in a very bad way. The only intriguing part of this book is the artwork. Most of it is normal fair. What really caught my attention was the way the artist drew the eyes of the characters. The artwork on the masks of Batman and Robin really humanizes the characters as you can actually see their eyes, as opposed to the usual white slits. If you like pretty pictures get the book. If you're looking for a good story with a well thought out plot, character development, and a story that belongs in a Batman book, look somewhere else.