Customer Reviews

Batman: Inferno (DC Comics) (A Movie in Your Mind)

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

 

 

I will have to admit the main reason I picked up this book is the cover picture. I had heard nothing about the story, the author or where in the mythos of the Dark Knight the story fell. All I knew was it had the Joker. Add to my "Cart" and ring me up please.

I have to admit after reading the book I still am a little unclear where it falls in continuity. It appears to take place in the "Batman Begins" world but I was taken aback by the fact that Dr. Crane (Scarecrow) was still heading up Arkham in this story.

Putting that aside the story flows quite well. The new villain, Enfer, is not just a throw away created to die. He has a great back-story that works and I hope we will see him again. The story also mentions a prior encounter between Batman & Joker and, without giving too much away, the Joker is already an inmate at Arkham at the beginning of the book. Could elements from this book be foreshadowing of what's to come in the next movie??? I have to admit I have been a fan boy since the Adam West days and have yet to really hate a portrayal of the Dark Knight.

Ok, maybe I hated Clooney.

A good read and highly recommended over John Shirley's Batman: Dead White.

This Batman book actually feels like it belongs - it has all the elements you expect and as with anything the Joker is involved with - a few sick laughs.

Set in what seems 50% post-Batman Begins and 50% post-The Man Who Laughs(from comics continuity) - it includes Lucious Fox in the same capacity Batman Begins does as well as sets a small familiar origin and first caper from the Joker reservoir incident from The Man Who Laughs. Arkham Asylum is seemingly within the city limits as it is in Batman Begins. What I can't place is the use of Jonathan Crane and few references to Falcone. Jonathan Crane works at Arkham Asylum and is a public figure and very much resembles Batman Begins - but no mention of incarceration - just strong pointing to the fact that he, like the people he treats, just isn't right in the head. His dialogue even sounds like the Batman Begins interpretation and the use seems appropriate.

Enfer isn't half bad, he's a little above average for a book original villain - he's well explained and has the kind of Gotham villain flair we've come to love (or hate).

A hefty dose of involvement and mention of Gordon is a welcome addition to the book and would make your mouth water at the possibilities if the new Batman sequel continues to devote some time to the character.

After reading the plot summary for the book I was skeptical - but it is executed quite well and will keep you interested. The Joker's dark humor and his relationship with Enfer is very entertaining. After all the material that's out there on the Joker it really is surprising how well he's represented in the book - so Joker fans will not be disappointed at all.

The only downside and element that didn't seem to fit was Enfer's use of technology late in the book - seemed more like Lex Luthor than a vengeful pyromaniac.

Satisfying above average book and is definitely worth a read for Batman fans. I hope they keep turning these out.

Definitely the creepiest cover for a Batman novel.

Another book with some small ties to the Beyond Beyond milieu, as here, Lucius Fox is a technologist at Wayne, not a financier. Gordon is a Captain. Ducard was one of Batman's trainers.

Batman has problems with two supervillains, one an arsonist that was transformed into a metahuman during some mercenary work, and has a grudge against the GCPD, and also the Joker, who, after the firebug Enfer toasts Arkham, stumbles across the Batcave and steals a Batsuit.

Luckily for the Batman, Enfer and the Joker don't get along, and spend some time in opposition.

After every chapter in this book is a press clipping from a Gotham newspaper, which is done quite well.

Batman has two supervillains, one burning down quite a few parts of the city, and one his usual crazy self, as well as a loss of trust from the media, the police, and the general population.

I'm a big fan of audiobooks. The radio doesn't work for me during a commute or while running errands anymore. Since I acquired the iPhone, I've got even more reason to enjoy audiobooks every day. The connection in the car is great, and all it takes is a set of earbuds to get me mobile.

Over the years, I've learned to tell good readers from lesser ones in only a matter of minutes. Sometimes the book suffers from the experience of a weak reader that's just not capable of doing a good job of keeping all the various characters separate with only one voice.

However, GraphicAudio is a great little company whose slogan guarantees "a movie in your mind." After listening to Batman: Inferno, I have to agree. They have a full ensemble cast and provide myriad background noises and sounds that pull listeners into a scene the way that Old Time Radio does. They also restructure the story to take advantage of those aural anchors that keep that imaginary world sounding so real. I'm looking forward to more of their books.

But onto the book review. I really enjoyed Alex Irvine's take on a Batman novel. I thought he kind of overplayed the whole "Batman's gonna kill the Joker" mantra, but the Joker parts were totally entertaining. They were also a mix of the recent movie Joker played by Heath Ledger and the Clown Prince of Crime from the early Batman issues. The Joker's really not tied into the real world, and brings real menace to anyone that lives there.

The plot in this book also offers a new villain that I hadn't before encountered in Batman mythos. His name is Enfer and he's an ex-fireman turned pyromaniac with delusions of grandeur. As it turns out, he's one of Dr. Crane's (Scarecrow) pet projects. With all the psychological "care" he's given Enfer, the patient becomes dedicated to the destruction of Batman and Gotham City.

The book moves around through the different hero and villain viewpoints. Irvine did an excellent job of making the Joker's insanity come to life as well as James Gordon's walk along a knife edge of uncertainty as he serves as Gotham's most honest cop and Batman's confidante. It's those subtle understandings of these characters that pushed this novel into a great read. The plot spins well, and I liked the way Gotham's deadlier populace was explored.

I cringed when the Joker "accidentally" discovered Batman's Batcave and decided not to unmask who Batman really was. That somehow didn't make sense to me no matter how hard the author tried to sell that. I also had to severely suspend disbelief when the Joker stole the Batmobile. Wouldn't Batman have had it locked up so that only he could start it and drive it? Especially with all the technology he had? Couldn't he have installed a GPS unit to track the stolen Batmobile? One Lo-Jack and the plot would have cratered regarding the Batmobile's theft. And barring that, couldn't Batman have hacked into street cameras and tracked the Batmobile?

Still, there are a lot of good bits in this book. GraphicAudio makes the most of them, and the "read" only lasts about seven hours, so a few long commutes will get you through this one. During that time, you'll swear you were in Gotham City, hugging the shadows and looking for villains.

if i had to choose between batman: INferno or Dead white, i'd go with dead white, but that doesnt mean this book wasnt good, id recommend it to any batman fans, it's worth picking up

This book is one of the better Batman books I've read; Irvine's take on The Joker is unique and hilarious (the wordplay!) and the plot is engaging. As other reviewers here have mentioned, "Inferno" takes place early in Batman's career. This allows Irvine to avoid some of the pitfalls of continuity-heavy storytelling: too many characters, confusing back stories, etc. I suggest any fan of the Dark Knight, casual or die-hard, give "Inferno" a read.

Someone is setting fires throughout the city of Gotham and in the midst of all the fires, the Joker escapes from Arkum Asylum. During his escape, the Joker stumbles upon the Batcave and decides to have some fun.

The main thing that I did not like about this book is the fact it's written in the present freaking tense!!!!!!!!!!! The book might have actually been better if it had not been written in the present tense. Why? I didn't much care for the characterization of Doctor Crane, but the characterization of Batman was acceptable.