Batman: Gotham County Line [Paperback]

Steve Niles (Author), Scott Hampton (Illustrator), Jose Villarrubia (Colorist)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gotham City's tranquil suburbs are shattered by a string of murders that stumps the county sheriff. Batman steps in and realizes immediately that the murders are more than they seem. Solving them and nabbing the perp only begin clearing up the mystery. Sucked into ritualistic dark magic and pursued by zombies, Batman faces a puzzle that, defying logic, requires him to suspend disbelief. Niles' creepy psychological tale takes the Dark Knight down, if not new avenues, then some less-traveled roads. Scott Hampton's line work and Jose Villarrubia's coloring add hard edges and haunting shadows; this is stunning artwork. Tina Coleman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (October 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140120905X
• ISBN-13: 978-1401209056
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.2 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,074,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steve Niles (born June 21, 1965) is an American comic book author and novelist, known for works such as 30 Days of Night, Criminal Macabre, Simon Dark, Mystery Society and Batman: Gotham County Line.

He is credited among other contemporary writers as bringing horror comics back to prominence, authoring such works as 30 Days of Night, its sequel, Dark Days (IDW Publishing), and Criminal Macabre (Dark Horse Comics) with frequent artist collaborator Ben Templesmith.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A creepy Batman book!, March 20, 2011

By 

S. Penrose (Small Town, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Batman: Gotham County Line (Paperback)

Steve Niles and artist Scott Hampton create an eerie tale of death and beyond. I wasn't sure this book could work well, taking Batman out of Gotham, but it succeeded pretty well. The art was perfectly suited for this type of book. I also enjoyed one of the surprise guest stars. The other guest star served no purpose. My main problem was that Batman's reaction to what was happening was pretty fast and drastic especially for someone who has seen so many crazy things like Batman has. It just didn't ring true. A pretty good book that you should check out.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Story and Writing: C+, Art and Visuals: A, December 5, 2006

By 

Math Teach - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batman: Gotham County Line (Paperback)

Wow, the writing was ridiculously bad. This is supposed to be Batman vs. Zombies (by the writer of 30 Days of Night, which I like), but instead of being scary or suspenseful I actually laughed out loud at how bad the writing was. Batman's dialogue and internal thoughts were completely out of character, and he comes off like a whiny child. Instead of being a detective he basically just punches things throughout the entire book. It was funny in a bad way. Shame on you, Editor! You're supposed to do some editing, right?

Just to warn you, Batman has a jet pack and flies around every where in this book. Apparently, he's got a button that he can press to retract his cape to show the jet pack. That's weird. It was campy, and so, not scary. Also, he just kept punching things mindlessly. No sense of dread or suspense at all. The kept dialogue kept making me laugh. Batman sounded like an illiterate high school student. Steve Niles really just can't write. Just like in the 30 Days of Night series, he can come up with a decent story, but is really insufficient with the actual writing itself.

On the other hand, the art is beautiful to look at. I'm a big fan of Scott Hampton. His art is gorgeous, and Jose Villarrubia's coloring really sets the tone for the story. The art was the initial reason that I bought the book in the first place. Too bad that the writing was so, so bad. Still, if you're a fan of eitheer Scott Hampton or Jose Villabrrubia, it's worth picking up - but only if you can get it cheap.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Quick, Satisfying Read., October 26, 2011

By 

Dean. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batman: Gotham County Line (Paperback)

I grew up on Batman in the 80's/90's and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a short read (about 1 hour), and the art is FANTASTIC. The story is really unique, albeit individual lines of dialog can seem stilted. It is NOT Batman vs. Zombies, but a venture into dreams, consequences, and the abstract. It's dark, violent, gritty, and a worthy purchase.