Batman: Secrets

Batman: Secrets #1-5

by Sam Kieth

When Joker is yet again released into an unsuspecting world, he hatches perhaps his most damaged plan yet - to frame Batman for murder and for 'victimising' him, with the help of a blackmailed journalist and DA-turned-bad Terry Ammons! But what secrets are they hiding? And what darkest of secrets still haunts Batman?

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Batman, Comic Book, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 30, 2007

About the author

Kieth first came to prominence in 1984 as the inker of Matt Wagner's Mage, his brushwork adding fluidity and texture to the broad strokes of Wagner's early work at Comico Comics. In 1989, he drew the first five issues of writer Neil Gaiman's celebrated series The Sandman, but felt his style was unsuited to the book (specifically saying that he "felt like Jimi Hendrix in The Beatles") and left, handing over to his former inker Mike Dringenberg.

He acted as illustrator on two volumes of writer William Messner-Loebs' Epicurus the Sage and drew an Aliens miniseries for Dark Horse Comics, among other things, before creating The Maxx in 1993 for Image Comics, with, initially, writing help from Messner-Loebs. It ran for 35 issues and was adapted, with Kieth's assistance, into an animated series for MTV. Since then, as a writer-artist, he has gone on to create Friends of Maxx, Zero Girl, Four Women and Ojo.

Ojo comprises the first and My Inner Bimbo the second, in a cycle of original comic book limited series published by Oni Press. Loosely connected, the cycle will concern the intertwined lives of people with each other and sometimes with a supernatural entity known as the Mysterious Trout. Kieth has stated that other characters from The Maxx series will appear in this cycle of stories. My Inner Bimbo #1 was published in April 2006. Issue #2 was delayed past its original release date; It was finally resolicited in "Previews" in 2007 and hit the store shelves in November 2007.

DC Comics' Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious, a two-issue prestige format mini-series that started in August 2007, was written and drawn by Kieth. This was followed by 2009's two-issue prestige format mini-series Lobo: Highway to Hell, written by Scott Ian and featuring art by Kieth.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It all begins with a secret that Batman has kept close to his heart since his childhood and which the Joker wants revealed because the latter believes an exposed secret can be used against the former. The tale in of itself is the Joker manipulating photographs to show that Batman murdered a couple and then brutally beat the “clown prince of crime” to a pulp. Joker picks up a girlfriend who is not so surprisingly easily manipulated and mentally imbalanced.

The story is hit or miss at times but it's the artwork presentation you really need to witness (by the way this tale was written by Sam Keith who also did some of the artwork) even though it sometimes doesn't add much to the story and in smaller instances even takes away from the tale. There are intermissions in which Batman and the Joker are side by side talking even if in a hostile fashion. Sometimes it's fantasy and other times you wonder if was before or after certain panels. One thing the artwork does quite nicely is showing the madness in the Joker with close up angles and other focused panel presentations.

Batman: Secrets was a five-issue superhero comic book limited series published by DC Comics in 2006. It was re-released as a compilation in early 2007. The book was awarded "Best Selling Comic Novel of the Year" in 2006 (Wiki).

Other contributing artists were Alex Sinclair, Rob Leigh, Phil Balsman and Travis Lanham.

ARTWORK PRESENTATION: B to B plus (higher when it's done correctly); STORY/PLOTTING/EDITING: B minus to B; CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B to B plus; JOKER PRESENTATION/FRESHNESS: B plus to A minus; OVERALL GRADE: B to B plus.

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sam Keith has a lot of good ideas. He's just ... well, not a very good writer. His dialogue tends toward the clunky, and he needs an editor like nobody's business. (I had more than a few instances of "huh? who?" in these ~120 pages, as characters morphed from Mooley to Dooley, Deborah to ... Dinah, maybe?)

In this particular story, Batman and the Joker reminisce about old times--particularly, about The Killing Joke and Batman's biggest secret, revealed a little at a time throughout the original five issues--passing the time between flashbacks to Joker's parole from prison and his subsequent framing of Batman-as-villain in the court of public opinion. It's an interesting idea, but it doesn't work. Keith's pacing doesn't gel with the Batman universe and he seems to have only a cursory idea of how the characters speak.

While he tries to keep his art style close to the gritty noir Batman requires, there are occasional bursts of Maxx-esque bright, bold colors--yellows, hot pinks, the occasional electric blues. It throws off the visual rhythm of the page, with all the focus going to (say) a blanket, instead of the action happening in the shadows.

Where this book does shine, though, is Keith's depiction of The Joker. While Keith's Batman looks almost cartoony, his Joker rivals Dave McKean's in pure creepiness. Yikes, this is a scary-looking Joker--even when he's just sitting around at home doing nothing.

[Rodrigo Tello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Otro crossover Batman/Joker con argumento pobre, le pongo 3 estrellas sólo por el arte oscuro de Kieth, que me encanta

[D.L. Holmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up after watching a video on YouTube about "The worst things the Joker has ever done." I love the art style. To me it gives that skewed view of what Batman sees of Gotham and it's inhabitants. More caricatures than actual people.

The character's were interesting, but the tory itself was a bit different from what I've become used to in Batman stories, which was actually a bit refreshing, while also leaving me wanting a bit more in the end.

[John]

good

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art was sometimes memorable but nothing else was.

[Nfnt-robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kind of agree with whoever said this is Batman cosplaying as the Maxx...because it totally is. I do very much admire Keith's art, and the odd relationship between the Joker and Batman has always fascinated me. They're like a really screwed up old married couple at this point. But...the denouement (which is where it really strongly echoes the Maxx) is kind of silly, and I just don't buy it. So I'm kind of on the fence about whether it fulfills its promise.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a great book. Reminds me of the brooding darkness and disturbing insanity of "The Killing Joke" and a little bit of "Arkham Asylum," but for that same reason it didn't feel as fresh or original. Even still, the story really had me captivated, and the characters were certainly interesting. And it had me chuckling a few times as well! I'd definitely recommend this one.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the art style of this book. The story jumped around a lot, from "2 hours prior" to "five minutes after," for really no good reason...the gimmick didn't serve the story. But again, great art, thus it's worth a read.

[Colin Bruce Anthes · Rating 3 out of 5]

To its credit, it wraps up well. But the story is contrived with poor writing and no build or climax. The ending comes as a pleasant surprise.

[Joansie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't overly fond of the pacing of this. The timing alters from 45 minutes prior, to 5 minutes after, then 2 hours later. It was super jumpy and kind of all over the place but I think that's mostly because it was full of too many ideas which were slightly poorly executed. Ironically, I did love the dialogue between Joker and Batman at the transition periods which wouldn't have even existed had the story not been set up like this.

I loved the bold colouring but wasn't overly impressed by the line work. There were periods of dialogue were the charecters felt very authentic but this wasn't the case for at least half of the story.

I enjoyed this, I just could have enjoyed it more. I'll still give it 4 stars instead of 3 as I appreciate the creative flare and Sam's attempt. Probably not for everyone but definitely contained elements I sincerely appreciate. I'll definitely be sussing out more of his work.

[Valzebub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up since I love Sam Keith's art. This book definitely gets a five for style. Really captures the insanity of the joker. But the story is pretty weak. It had hints of being stronger but then went a different path. I'll give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume the publisher wanted to tone things down.

Most Batman books don't live up to my high expectations. If the joker is going to frame Batman, I'd like to see something more believable. And accidentally shooting a duck when they were going hunting?? What did he expect to do? Pretty weak for a reason for Batman to hate guns.

Beautiful to look at, but the story just doesn't quite cut it.

[Sheldon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman Secrets is a psychological tale set shortly after the Joker is released from Arkham supposedly a changed man.. it's not long before Joker is back to his old ways and tries to frame Batman. The art is dirty, disgusting and grimy all in a good way. The to-and-fro between Joker and Batman is brilliant and well paced (and often funny).

It isn't the longest graphic novel at 124 pages but you can pick this up cheap it'll be madness not to.

"How touching - you keeping me company. Kinda nice, You and I just sitting on a hillside...Course, I'm in a strait jacket..and you're free.."

[Sotofunkdamental · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curiosa historia, con el arte característico, oscuro y loco de Sam Kieth, que involucra otro enfrentamiento entre Batman y Joker. Argumento: "El Joker sale de prisión y emprende una campaña mediática de acoso y derribo contra la figura de Batman. La operación incluye fotografías, acusaciones de agresión, asesinatos y todos los golpes bajos que los medios de comunicación le permitan. Para desbaratar el montaje, el guardián de Gotham tendrá que hacer frente a uno de los secretos más remotos y dolorosos de su pasado".

[Seth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reads like a first draft that no one edited.

[Sohrab Rezvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great art and story from Sam Kieth. Nice companion piece to The Killing Joke.

[Matthew Ernst · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam Kieth's art is the main attraction here. Lots of trauma focus which is one of his trademarks. His composition is simply incredible. Happy this exists.

[Michael Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the worst Batman story that I've ever read but far the best one either.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

not interested in the story, but the art was incredible. five stars for the art, one and a half for the story.

[Edward Cheer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read and watched a lot of Batman in my life. I've seen his origins and those of all his villains. I've seen Gotham's darkest crevice, Arkham Asylum's lowest lair. What possible secrets could this comic possibly have that I wouldn't know? Well... To start, the art in "Batman: Secrets" is pretty neat. Very stretched out and abstract (Similar to "Arkham Asylum" (The one that came out before the video game)), creating a sense of fear and insanity. But unfortunately, the story and characters are very... deja vu, when it comes to the Batman universe. It pokes at the end of "The Killing Joke", which makes me roll me eyes. That was Moore's story, and had it's own place in the universe. The obscure ending was nice. Don't try to explain it, Kieth. Work on your own story. Speaking of the story, it wasn't overtly horrible. It was like a throwback to the old 60's plots (The Joker frames Batman!), with a much darker tone to it- Joker actually killing people, and even beating himself and his girlfriend with a lead pipe to frame Batman. There are two new characters in this story Terry and Mr. Mooley, and honestly, they're not really interesting. You could've made Terry Dr. Quinzel, and nothing would've changed. And Mooley was Mooley. He didn't really do anything for the story, in my opinion. Just sort of a boring media mongrel that keep fretting over his mistakes. And Batman? What's his big secret? Ho-boy... I can understand people not wanting me to spoil this story, so I won't. But I will tell you, it's nothing to scream and shout about. It's actually pretty lame, once you find out how inconsequential his secret turns out to be, and I end up having the Joker's reaction at the end of the story. A decent read, but not a very good read as far as Batman stories go.

[Boots LookingLand · Rating 2 out of 5]

here's another one that totally overreaches. the art style is definitely not my thing, but i was hoping at least for a story that was compelling enough to make looking at all those weird flyaway hairdos worth my time. but the story is just okay at best and really lame at worst.

let's forget the silly premise of joker being paroled out of arkham as being declared "sane" for a moment; everything he does after is just silly (and not joker-silly, just silly-silly). his relationship with the a.d.a. is absurd (and kind of creepy ~ but not in a good way), and his plot to frame batman is amateur. meanwhile it's hard to imagine batman taking any of it seriously, though the story wants you to think he is ~ on account of some further silly childhood trauma (because the whole dead parents thing isn't enough, right?).

the best moments in this are the interludes in which batman and joker talk to each other in the dark. despite some unfortunate graspy references back to the killing joke (yet again), there is some interesting dialogue.

subplots about a corrupt journalist and the nature of the news are just window dressing on a story that otherwise reads like it's barely avoiding being weird batman/joker torture porn. and not even in a provocative/intelligent way.

i give it two stars because i finished it, but i fear that's due more to some voyeuristic propensity on my part.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sam Keith pulls double duty as both writer and artist of the graphic novel Batman: Secrets. Free on parole, the Joker finds himself in Batman's crosshairs after murdering a top level District Attorney. During their scuffle, a photograph showing the Clown Prince of Crime being brutally beaten makes its way into public news. As the populace begins to show disdain for Batman's actions, the Joker decides to continue the smear campaign through faked photos and self-harming actions. The Dark Knight must find a way to end the Joker's current reign of blackmail and terror in order to reclaim his post as Gotham's protector. The five-issue miniseries puts forth an interesting idea of defeating Batman through controlling the news cycle, but unfortunately gets bogged down in the idea of hidden secrets and conspiracies. Keith's art remains the highlight of the book, using exaggerated poses, odd facial features, and unique distortion to excellent effect. However, the plot suffers from the "secrets" subplot, trying to cash in on another unknown childhood friend of Bruce Wayne's and another infatuated female love interest for the Joker to no avail. Batman: Secrets sadly puts all its cards out on the table, spoiling the set-up with a sub-par mystery.

[Leena · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only reason I randomly picked this up at the library one day was because I flipped through it and absolutely loved the art style. It's this weirdly colourful, yet dark and messily abstract style and I love it so much. The art in this is amazing. I wish I could say the same about the rest of it.

The story line itself at surface value is fine. The Joker wants to frame Batman and turn the public's perception of him against him. Okay, cool, that sounds decent to me. The execution is so, so terrible. The characters constantly did things that made me roll my eyes and go, "really?". If the writing in this was half as good as the art, I think this would make a fairly decent comic, but instead, the writing dragged it waaaaayyy down. The whole thing felt like one big joke, honestly.

[Aurora · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kept going back and forth on this, but I think I've decided. It really sucks. Some of the ideas are good, but I feel like I've read this story before with other characters. And this Joker doesn't make any sense to me, plot elements seem really random. I guess my main complaint is I feel like it's trying to play heavy emotional notes it doesn't earn.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Secrets is a pretty cool Batman comic featuring Batman and the Joker. The Joker uses a picture of him and Batman that makes it look like Batman is trying to kill him to try and turn the public against Batman. It's an interesting story about the secrets people keep and what people are willing to believe.

[Joel Griswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific work by Kieth. Fantastic story, absolutely gorgeous and disturbing artwork, I haven't seen many artists who make the entire page come alive like this, and break free from the traditional panel restrictions, both highly stylized and very painterly at the same time (reminds me of Dave McKean somewhat). This is a savage, and very dark story.

[H. Givens · Rating 3 out of 5]

05/06/09: I loved the story, it captured a certain essence of the perennial Batman/Joker battle, but did not appreciate the art.

05/14/10: Enjoyed the art more this time, or at least the framing -- the occasional Joker/Bats talking heads make it sort of an in-their-heads story, a dreamlike sequence that's real but never happened.

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Batman and the Joker reminisce about The Killing Joke, Bruce Wayne recalls a secret he shared with his boyhood friend Mooley or Dooley (depending on the issue), and the Joker practices the expression he wore in Arkham Asylum.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another case of the artwork being better than the story. Joker tries to blackmail a few people and convince the world that he is reformed while trying to frame Batman. One of the artists worked on The Maxx, so a pretty cool and expressive style of drawing.