Batman: Hong Kong (Batman (DC Comics Hardcover)) [Hardcover]

Doug Moench (Author), Tony Wong (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

West meets East as Batman travels from the dark streets of Gotham City to the flashy world of Hong Kong on the trail of a serial killer who uses streaming video to prove his kills. A hapless computer nerd hacks into the assassin's Web site, attempting to report the crime to Commissioner James Gordon. Although Gordon is initially dismissive, when the witness becomes the next victim, he realizes there was nothing fake about the report. When Gordon learns of a Hong Kong connection to the crime, Batman comes to the rescue, traveling abroad to put an end to the spree. Discovering the identity of the murderer and his motives plunges Batman into the middle of a gang war among crime families. The case also introduces him to Hong Kong's newest hero, The Night-Dragon, a man filled with secrets all his own, including a very personal stake in this tale's outcome. When the true mastermind is revealed, along with his plans to release a biological weapon that will devastate Hong Kong, Batman and Night-Dragon team up and tackle an army of gangbangers without police sanction to save the city. This original graphic novel is a fantastic juxtaposition of Asian and American elements that bridges the gap between comics and manga. Wong, a legendary comics artists in his native Hong Kong, displays art that explodes off the page with an electric mix of painted and hand-drawn images. Although the story is somewhat trite, it resembles a Jet Li or Jackie Chan movie, with superheroes who should appeal to a broad range of readers and interests.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401200575
• ISBN-13: 978-1401200572
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 6.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,698,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Simply boring, December 9, 2010

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Batman: Hong Kong (Paperback)

When a hacker cracks a site showing a man being killed by a snake, he tells Commissioner Gordon. But, when the hacker is consequently killed, Gordon and Batman realize that there is something serious going on here. When a similar murder occurs in Hong Kong, Batman takes off for the East to find out just what is going on. His very presence encourages a young martial artist to create a new persona for himself, that of the Night Dragon. And now, Batman and Night Dragon must walk between the Triads and the police to get to the bottom of just what is going on.

Overall, I must say that this graphic novel was a disappointment. The action was OK, but the storyline seemed to never take on a real sense of urgency. Instead, you are left with Batman walking around, clueless as to what is really going on around him, unable even to speak the language. To make matters worse, the illustration work is a little off. Batman's cape moves around, looking like an octopus on his back that is continuously trying to grab the passing walls. Also, there are some silly errors, like the black limousine that is called a white limousine, and the TV executive that walks into the room and immediately announces, "Yes, I do speak English..." for no apparent reason. (The secretary had announced him in Chinese.)

But, when you come down to it, the biggest problem with this Batman story is that it is simply boring. The story has no real sense of suspense or drama, and the fight scenes are not enough to carry it along. I did not enjoy the time I spent reading this book, and I wish I had spent them on a better book.

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Batman betrayal story since BATMAN HUSH!!!!!!!, January 13, 2009

By 

Sylvia T. Bosarge "black raven" (Mobile,AL. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Batman: Hong Kong (Paperback)

I know that many of the other comic book critics thought that this one
was lame,but I on the other hand did not!As a matter of fact,I found
this comic book story to be the best betrayal story since BATMAN HUSH!
The artwork by TONY WONG is gorgeous,and the well-woven plot by DOUG
MOENCH is for the most part well-written!And not only that,I have just
found my second favorite BATMAN villain in this story!CLAYFACE is#1 and
(I won't tell you because it would spoil all of the plot in this one)is
#2!I'm sorry about not talking about too much of the story,but if I did,
then it would RUIN YOUR ENJOYMENT OF READING IT.There are that many
surprises that await you with this one!Don't miss out.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but not quite as good as hoped..., September 10, 2003

By 

Alexander Keefe (Puyallup, WA U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Batman: Hong Kong (Batman (DC Comics Hardcover)) (Hardcover)

When I first saw that Tony Wong was going to do a Batman comic, I just about flipped. I love his artwork, I love his storytelling abilities. He doesn't write this one but someone that's probably just as good does: Doug Moench. So then I read the book and I feel a bit let down. The artwork is of course gorgeous but, the storyline does feel thin. I realize that the point to this joint project was to bring a Hong Kong feel to Batman, to try something new. We'd already seen Kia Asamiya on Batman: Child of Dreams, already seen Katsuhiro Ohtomo on Batman: Black and White and of course already seen just about every other capable American artist on Batman...hell we'd seen Jim Lee do Batman so it was only natural that we'd get to see Tony Wong on a Batman comic. With the popularity of Hong Kong comics and films on the uprise, it was a definite step in the right direction. The storyline has been explained above so I won't go into it. Don't get me wrong, it was a good read but the dialogue feels like a bare bones translation of a Hong Kong comic and it's not even translated. The action flowed oh so well but, the dialogue was really stilted. The Editorial review by one of the staff members of this page said that it felt like a Jackie Chan or Jet Li flick and that's exactly right. Not too heavy on plot but good on the action. All in all, the artwork was great, the actual plot line was original but the dialogue was kinda corny in some parts and just ok in others. I expected better from Doug Moench but hey, everyone has their ups and downs.

-Alex Keefe