Customer Reviews

Batman: Gothic (New Edition) (Batman): Gothic (New Edition) (Batman)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a tradepaperback of issues that appeared in Legends of the Dark Knight. Someone is killing mobsters in particularly inventive and vicious ways. It turns out that all of them were involved in a killing many years ago and their victim is back to claim revenge. However, that revenge is just a digression of a plot that stretches back to an Austrian monastery at the time of the Black Death. Batman has to solve this mystery before Gotham dies screaming. Grant Morrison does a good job with Batman; nothing as arcane and twisted as Arkham Asylum but some interesting glimpses into Bruce Wayne's childhood and his feelings towards his father. Klaus Janson does the art and it's very good in a Neal Adams style. Very tight and moody. Recommended.

Though Grant Morrison is best known for his wonderful multi year rampage on New X-Men, or the dark masterwork Arkham Asylum, Gothic is a match for either one of these. With gritty, haunting art by Klaus Janson, Morrison tells a remarkable tale of Batman, Mr. Whisper, and sinister evil that has burned across continents for more than 300 years.

Batman is still at the beginning of his crime fighting career, still coming into his own, when a mysterious madman named Mr. Whisper begins killing off mob bosses using poetry as a clue. Meanwhile, Batman is plagued by nightmares of his father with his lips sewn shut, trying to pass on some manner of clue to his son.

Soon Batman is horrified to learn that Mr. Whisper is actually his old headmaster from an all boys school that nearly killed him as a child, and the madman might be older than that.

Filled with occult lore, and mature topics, this Batman volume is more suited to older audiences, and parents might want to screen it before letting their children read it, but for those of us who have been Grant Morrison fans for a long time, please take the time to read and enjoy this lost treasure.

This volume collects Legends of the Dark Knight #6-10.

Some people are of the opinion that the Batman genre, one that exemplifies modernism in so many respects, should never mix with anything of the superstitious or supernatural. I am not one of those. Even if I was, "Gothic" would have probably changed my mind.

Batman is drawn to a place from his past when men are murdered in a chapel. From this trail of destruction Batman is led to confront a terrifying evil that has existed for nearly 300 years.

Batman is himself the stuff of many legends and superstitions. He preys on the fear of criminals that he might be some monster or demon. How will he fare when he faces a being that is worthy of such fear?

Batman "Gothic" is actually an intriguing piece that is inspired by literary greats like "Faust." Morrison's title is very appropriate and for once, I actually enjoyed the foreword that explained the reasoning behind the storyline. This is good stuff.

Batman: Gothic collects Grant Morrison and Klaus Janson's excellent 5-issue run on Legends of the Dark Knight. Morrison and Janson are of course no strangers to this character. Morrison gave us the acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum graphic novel, and Janson provided inks for Frank Miller's epic the Dark Knight Returns.

What the pair achieves with Gothic is perhaps the scariest Batman story you'll ever read. An undying evil with roots in Bruce Wayne's past is stalking Gotham's underworld, and has dark designs on the entire city. The term "villain" seems painfully inadequate to describe the ghoulish Mr. Whisper, a character so steeped in evil that he makes the rest of Batman's rogues' gallery look like amateurs.

Morrison is brilliant as always, and his Batman has never seemed so dark and terrifying. Janson's artwork takes some getting used to. He obviously learned much about visual storytelling from his long association with Frank Miller, but I think he is a far stronger inker than he is a penciller. He does an admirable job, particularly with the Gothic architecture that plays such a key role in the story. Still, you can't help but wonder what such a dark and creepy story would look like with someone like Mike Mignola providing the artwork.

Overall, this is one of the better Batman tales, and certainly one of the most frightening. I highly recommend it to all Batman fans, though it's not appropriate for children. I wouldn't be surprised if some adults started sleeping with the lights on after reading this one!

I personally consider the earlier stories in the "Legends of the Dark Knight" ongoing series the better ones, and this one (which collects #6-10) is no exception. Bruce Wayne is being plagued by a lot of nightmares about when he was a young boy lately. Each night he wakes up from a nightmare about his father to which he can relate no meaning. Meanwhile a man who calls himself 'Mr.Whisper', a man with no shadow, is rapidly killing off underworld members in brutal ways. The crime-leaders are heavily frightened and ask Batman for help, trying to make a deal. Batman refuses and tells them they're getting what they deserve. Back home he puts some things together for himself and realizes there may be a connection between Mr.Whisper and his nightmares. Because of that he decides to do some detective work after all to find out who this Mr.Whisper is. From there on a highly paranormal (which is quite extraordinary for a Batman book, but quite a trademark of Grant Morisson) story unfolds which leads Batman through memories of his days in private school and even to an eerie Austrian monastry, which he learns is the subject of an occult Austrian legend.

People who are into listening to scary 'true' stories by the campfire will probably like this a lot. It's like one of those stories you heard of which you just KNEW they weren't real, but gave you the chills anyway. That's also the case here. You go through the story asking yourself if what's going on is the legend being forfilled or if there's a more down-to-earth thing going on. Grant Morisson does what he does best, he's giving clues without giving it away, keeping the reader on his toes. Klaus Jansons art is suitable for the story and especially the way he draws the architectural backgrounds deserve some credit. I don't think many people who are into Batman comics will feel disappointed after reading this.

Comic visionary Grant Morrison (The Filth, JLA, New X-Men; c'mon already, you know the list) came up with this Batman tale, taking place in Bruce Wayne's early part of his career as Batman. Gothic follows Batman investigating just who is picking off mobsters in Gotham City, one of which claims that it's a man who won't stay dead. What this spells for Batman is locked in his own past, as he has nightmares about his father with his lips sewn shut, trying to warn him of something purely evil. While not nearly as visionary or defining as many of Morrison's other superhero tales, Gothic is an often gripping and even shocking tale of the Dark Knight that doesn't fail to impress. Frequent Frank Miller and John Romita Jr. partner Klaus Janson provides the artwork, which leaves a little something to be desired, but it serves its purpose regardless. All in all, Gothic is a more than worthwhile Batman tale, and definitely worth checking out for fans of both Batman and Morrison alike.

The story is a rather straightforward telling of gang murders and Batman solving the crimes. Some violence, but little complexity. I apologize for the mediocre rating -- it reflects my personal tastes but doesn't lessen the fact that I'd recommend this to Batman fans and fans of the medium. Grant Morrison writes a tight plot here, but there's really nothing new. As for the art, Klaus Janson has a jerky, rough style, but I really admire his composition if not his rendering. I had him as an instructor for graphic storytelling, and this guy really has depth to his storytelling -- every pane is a thoughtful and complex solution to a communication problem. Also - an inside scoop - in one of the panes, Batman appears with 6 fingers!

The Caped Crusader faces pure evil in this thriller by Grant Morrison. I couldn't put this one down! When Gotham's mob scene members start getting wacked, they look to Batman for help! Why should the Dark Knight even care? Well, for one, there may be a connection to his childhood involved here and Batman has been having some very odd nightmares as of late. The story takes our hero from the hellish streets of Gotham City, to a Monastary in Austria, to an amazing climax where Batman comes face to face with a devilish villain of the highest evil! Highly recomended!

This is one of Grant Morrison's lesser works. The story seems conventional on the surface level, but each new plot point is more fantastical than the last. Morrison infuses magic and the Devil into a suspenseful crime noir. This is the first Batman story I've seen in a while to have supernatural elements. Some scenes strech the mature, horrific, grittiness to unnerving levels for a Batman comic.

For all the new stuff Morrison injects into this story, he has equal amounts of unoriginality. Within the story, he borrows two different scenes from two different stories, (the book) 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis De Sade, and (the film) M by Fritz Lang. Mix that in with your standard selling-your-soul-to-the-Devel story, and Gothic doesn't feel that big or groundbreaking.

The writing isn't boring or anything, it just lacks that special Morrison-feel. The art by the infamous Klaus Janson (Daredevil, Dark Knight Returns) is pretty cool and original. All the lines and contours are sharp and defining.

writing: [7/10]

art: [8/10]

And long live Grant Morrisson....Although this is not his best- there's something old fashioned about this story , a detective story which takes the hero to an exotic location...Nice and old school