Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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

I really don't know where to start on how bad this book is. It feels slapped together, by both writer and artist. If I ever see Doug Moench's name on another Batman book I won't walk, run, I'll flee from it. Moench has made a mockery of everything that Batman is supposed to be. There is no Bruce Wayne, and the Batman is nothing more than a Robin who's lost his feathers. The art, though stunning on the cover, is mismatched throughout the book. Some panels are painted, while others are penciled and colored differently. In one instance, a Hong Kong cop informs his police commissioner a white limo has arrived--and it's black! There's also the typical overreaction of clothes, people, and basically everything we come to expect from Asian artists in this genre. I'm embarrassed for everyone involved...too bad really.

Title: Batman: Hong Kong
Publisher: DC
Writer: Doug Moench
Artist: Tony Wong
Inker: Tony Wong
Collects: This book is an original graphic novel.
Price: $17.95


Well, I really wonder which came first on this book: the artist or the writer. I can see the novelty of having a manga artist on a book whose primary setting is Hong Kong. That makes sense, I guess. But was the story written first and then the artist selected, or was the artist selected and then a story written up for him? I don't know, but I'd like to. For me, it seems like something didn't quite work out right. The way the artwork leaps from purely pencils to all-out painted work was also a little jarring. Was this the plan from the get-go? Did the artist not have enough time to finish his work the way it was intended to be? Again, I don't know, but I'd like to.

In this story, Batman travels to the gateway of the orient in pursuit of a murderer who has left the scene of his Gotham crimes and headed back to where he came from. Batman certainly loses much of his home turf advantage in this new locale, and he ends up over his head without allies in the city. He gains an ally in the form of a young man who is also on the trail of the murderer. This man manages to secretly watch and track Batman's actions and then decides to model his own vigilante activities on Batman's. He dons a new costume (where did he get his from in a single afternoon?), grabs a bunch of martial arts weapons (where, again, did these come from?), and continues to follow Batman's trail (highly unlikely) to a point where he jumps in and saves Batman's life from a crowd of heavily armed thugs. Hmm... am I the only one who finds this hard to swallow?

Anyway, Batman readily teams up with this person whom he knows nothing about (totally out of character), endorses his actions (without any reservations - again, totally out of character), and the two set off to find the mastermind behind the murders. At the same time, the two heroes get mixed up in an internal war between Hong Kong Triad gangs and the Hong Kong police forces.

While the story may not be compelling to me, it wasn't entirely pathetic. It had some OK moments, but they were few and far between. This is probably the weakest story I have read from Doug Moench, and it's painful for me to say that. I have read some really good stuff from this guy, so this was pretty disappointing. It seemed either very amateurish or very rushed and didn't enthrall me at all.

The artwork was OK in places, but this "manga superstar" did little to win me over. I know I mentioned this several times before, but I'm going to say it again: I don't like Manga artwork. It lacks the realistic look you see in many western comics and makes all women look like doe-eyed little school girls with a sharp point for a nose. I read this book in spite of the manga artwork, not because of it. After reading the book, my overall opinion of manga work is unchanged. It's OK if it's in a story for kids, about kids, but, like sushi, I don't want it in my regular diet.

I pretty much found this book to be below average in most every respect. Right after reading it, I thought it was merely OK, but know that I sit down to write about it and think about it some more, I realize that I really didn't care for it, and would have been extremely disappointed had I spent the exorbitant cover price for the book. I really can't recommend this book to anyone who isn't a die-hard Batman or manga fan.


Writing: 4/10
Artwork: 5/10
Cool Factor: 6/10
Overall: 5/10

I enjoyed this. Forgive me for not being to descriptive but it was a very fun detective story with beautiful art.
A nice long book too, that helps me feel good about shelling out the money.
If you're more interested in Batman then you are criticizing comic books I think you'll like this.

Why did I pick up this comic up? The art apeared to be amazing, and it is, don't get me wrong. I was dissapointed with this graphic novel though, and I'll tell you why.

The art that is painted is wonderful, but the problem is: less then half the comic is actualy painted. You'll find that only one panel every two pages is painted. The rest is pen and ink with bland pastel coloring.

To say the least, the story is a bore. I love batman, if written well, but this story shouldn't have even left the thought process. I won't even bother to explain it. It's not a painful read, but it's deffinatly not enjoyable.

Ending on good note, the painted art is amazing, and I'd love to see more of it.