Customer Reviews

Batman: Shaman

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

 

 

This story begins just a few weeks before Miller's Batman: Year One. The two stories begin as a linked entity, the split into separate directions.

As a young Bruce Wayne that is not yet Batman tracks a killer in Alaska, he is nearly killed himself. Brought back to life by an Alaskan Shaman with a story of the Bat, Bruce is saved. He returns to his native Gotham to find the town plagued by a mysterious serial killer, taking lives in the name of Chubala, a religion of South Africa.

To complicate things further, a museum is broken into a several relics of the tribe that saved Bruce Wayne are stolen. People linked with the tribe are dying, being murdered by some mysterious foe that wears the mask of the bat.

A newly created Batman must learn what the Legend of the Bat from Alaska has to do with an African religion and a glut of murder and drugs in Gotham.

This graphic reprints Legends of the Batman #1-5. A solid addition to any Batman collection.

Batman's beginnings--he received a message from beyond in the form of a bat and thereby became the Batman. This story is written excellently and the man behind the cowl came alive as I read this tale. One of the most dramatic parts is where Batman, directly in the face of a frightened thug, declares menacingly,"The streets belong to The Batman." If anyone wants to see Batman in true form, you must read this book.

This is perhaps the best Batman miniseries ever created. The story is chilling, featuring many twists that make you want to keep going till you're finished. If you ever get the chance, buy this book!

This story takes place in the beginning of Batman's career. I would say it is a bit of an alternative story to Frank Miller's, Batman: Year One. You first find Bruce Wayne in Alaska, trying to find a man who goes by Whooley, for reasons unknown. Bruce is accompanied by a bounty hunter, they are attacked by the Whooley and the bounty hunter is killed, Bruce and Whooley get into a tussle and Bruce emerges victorious. Though with his victory, Bruce loses his survival items, leaving him stranded on top of a mountain in the cold winter Alaska. He passes out and is later saved by an old Shaman, who tells him a story of a Bat and a Raven. Bruce gets better and goes home, there are a few frames that look familiar from Batman: Year One (Where Bruce goes to the east-side of Gotham and fights a pimp and the early Selina Kyle.) The story quickly shows Bruce's epiphany of what he should become, when a bat crashes through his window. Immediately onto the next page he becomes Batman...To not ruin the full story I will give word on what I thought of the story.

The narration is done in third-person which I did not prefer. The storyline felt cheap, as if it was a more "physical" Scooby-Doo mystery. In my opinion it comes no where in comparison to Frank Miller's, Batman: Year One. To say the least, I was disappointed. It was a story that I Wanted to end. For me, this Trade Paperback will only make for a great collectors item, the story I don't believe I will read again. So if you are looking to have a story filled with suspense and emotion, I would not recommend this story in particular. But, I do see this as a must, for any serious collectors!

This review is for: Batman: Shaman (Legends of the Dark Knight #1-5)

I own many Batman graphic novels and own even more Batman stories. I must say for all the similarities that this has with Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, this is a better story in many respects. This is superbly written by Denny O'neil and deals with a young Bruce who tracks a killer to Alaska. Bruce nearly dies of pneumonia and is saved by a Shaman who teaches Bruce the meaning of the bat as a symbol. As he returns to Gotham, the encounter with the Shaman and the trademark bat crashing through a window gives Bruce an omen... he shall become a bat! He discovers a serial killer on the loose and must find out what this has to do with the Shaman and a recent drug craze in Gotham. This is quite possibly one of the best Batman stories to ever have been written (by Batman's second father in comics, Denny O'neil.) I was surprised to see Amazon had this book and it was relatively cheap because this book used to be rare and very hard to find!

A must own if you are a Bat-fan!

So in search of more early year Bat tales after the dissapointing "Gothic", I picked up Shaman. This was the very first story printed under the Legends of the Dark Knight title and what a great way to kick it off. Dennis O'Neil definitely knows Batman inside and out having been editor for the character for so long. This story had everything you could want in a Batman story. A mystery with plenty of suspects, traveling to exotic locations (a good majority takes place in Gotham but O'Neil likes to take him around the globe a little), plenty of interaction from supporting characters, Alfred and Gordan, plus Bruce actually does some detective work in disguise(something that they need to incorporate into the movies)!

Having said all that, Shaman features an "off villain" who we have no prior knowledge of but still manages to pose an imminent threat that Bruce must do everything in his power to stop. He's still new to this hero business but as he gets closer with every clue and angle you can really get a sense of him coming into his own as Batman, full of self doubt and trying to right wrongs in the name of justice. That aspect of the story, and being able to observe Bruce along his journey of discovery is one of the best things about Shaman.

The artwork is also something I really enjoyed and I don't know why Ed Hannigan doesn't work on more Batman stuff. His style was really well suited for it and all the characters looked great and unique. Would definitely love to see what his interpretations of some of Batman's sidekicks and rogues gallery would look like.

I haven't read too much of Dennis O'Neil's work on Batman but after this I will more than likely seek it out sooner than later. I didn't enjoy Sword of Azrael nearly as much as this, but it was probably for the wrong reasons, as I felt it was more of an Azrael story. The way he writes Batman and involving the reader in the solving of the mystery as well as showing Batman using his detective skills is particuarly satisfying. Plus his Alfred dialogue is some of the best from any author. Shaman is definitely worth checking out.

A story that makes extensive use of the bat as animal image and theme. Batman tries to track down a bad guy in Alaska, and comes off rather the worse for wear.

While recovering, he undergoes one of those Shaman vision quest type things. Bad guys remain to be defeated before the end.