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Batman
Batman Noir: Eduardo Risso: The Deluxe Edition
BATMAN NOIR: EDUARDO RISSO spotlights the art of 100 BULLETS illustrator Eduardo Risso, which casts the Dark Knight in deep shadow on every page. With stories written by his frequent collaborator, Brian Azzarello, this title includes tales from a variety of Batman projects. The centerpiece of the book, a six-issue run of BATMAN called "Broken City," presents a profound examination of the Dark Knight Detective and the grim metropolis that he protects. While hunting the murderer of a small boy's parents, Batman is caught up in his own investigation and ruminations, only to fall prey to a deadly new pair of killers who have been stalking him.
Collects BATMAN #620-625, FLASHPOINT: BATMAN - KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE #1-3 and stories from WEDNESDAY COMICS #1-12 and BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #8.
Collects BATMAN #620-625, FLASHPOINT: BATMAN - KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE #1-3 and stories from WEDNESDAY COMICS #1-12 and BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #8.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
28 people are currently reading
678 people want to read
About the author
Brian Azzarello
1,288 books1,105 followersBrian Azzarello (born in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American comic book writer. He came to prominence with 100 Bullets, published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo. He and Argentine artist Eduardo Risso, with whom Azzarello first worked on Jonny Double, won the 2001 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story for 100 Bullets #15–18: "Hang Up on the Hang Low".
Azzarello has written for Batman ("Broken City", art by Risso; "Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire", art by Lee Bermejo, Tim Bradstreet, & Mick Gray) and Superman ("For Tomorrow", art by Jim Lee).
In 2005, Azzarello began a new creator-owned series, the western Loveless, with artist Marcelo Frusin.
As of 2007, Azzarello is married to fellow comic-book writer and illustrator Jill Thompson.
information taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Az...
Azzarello has written for Batman ("Broken City", art by Risso; "Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire", art by Lee Bermejo, Tim Bradstreet, & Mick Gray) and Superman ("For Tomorrow", art by Jim Lee).
In 2005, Azzarello began a new creator-owned series, the western Loveless, with artist Marcelo Frusin.
As of 2007, Azzarello is married to fellow comic-book writer and illustrator Jill Thompson.
information taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Az...
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
February 4, 2018
I think it's really cool when authors and illustrators work together to revamp well established characters, settings, and the motifs that drive them forward. It can breathe freshness into otherwise stale ideas and their stories that could use a little more than a new coat of paint. However, as this comic proves, too much of a good thing can be bad and the over-bloated result that is Batman Noir surprisingly enough is born of a proverbial kitchen with not enough cooks cooking the pot.
Since, as the title would suggest, while certainly not bereft of colors, this one is indeed for all intents and purposes, colorless. A simple simple palette of blacks and whites suffice alongside an equally paper-thin team of workers that include a writer, Azzarello; an illustrator, Risso, and a random assortment of letterers and editors that pepper each story. The former certainly did their jobs to the best of their abilities resulting in stunning visuals and equally formidable verbiage that feels directly replicated from the very black films that influenced them. The latter, however, allowed the stories to bulge further at the seems than the trousers of their individual narratives would allow. Buttons burst and superfluous action, characters, and the excess of chapters that ensconce them could definitely have been cut down significantly.
The stories are certainly overwrought as are their homages and references that sparingly pepper them. As any comic aficionado would realize, this Batman tale (in each of its variations in this deluxe edition) explicitly overlaps with another seminal series and his creation, the ever controversial Frank Miller and his Sin City. While Miller's work is a fantastically original work that builds upon noir sensibilities to create own its own unique universe with fresh characters and exceedingly nasty villains that populate it, the architects of Batman Noir had to work with already immutably established characters and tropes. The levels of experimentation were restricted and a story already bloated to begin with, could have gained significantly from more artistic leeway.
This lack of openness is strongly contrasted with the third story in this collection, Batman Knight of Vengeance. Again, I highly welcome the experimental in art in all forms, especially the sonic and written varieties. However, what the third offering sacrifices in Batman Dogma (as it were) it revels in utter blasphemy akin to a spawning of Beelzebub. Surely Baphomet's touch can be seen behind every single perversion and inversion of the established Batman Canon. The devoted will be enraged and even the casuals, I'm sure, will be a little unhappy. If the story had been more coherent I might have enjoyed it but, since its lacking in the making sense department, I'll have to share their revulsion.
Penultimately, the micro-story at the beginning, and the faux-Sunday strip editions that bookend it are meh at best, and forgettable at worst. Instead of legit apertifs and digestifs that add to our reading experience, they reduce to a mediocre appetizer and an even more disappointing dessert.
All in all, Batman Noir is a welcome yet disappointing experiment that fell short of its potential vision. Stunning visuals and otherwise excellent writing could not cover up the sins of convolution and in-cohesion with a vision as constricted as it could have been something brand spanking new.
One duo-chromatic thumb up.
Since, as the title would suggest, while certainly not bereft of colors, this one is indeed for all intents and purposes, colorless. A simple simple palette of blacks and whites suffice alongside an equally paper-thin team of workers that include a writer, Azzarello; an illustrator, Risso, and a random assortment of letterers and editors that pepper each story. The former certainly did their jobs to the best of their abilities resulting in stunning visuals and equally formidable verbiage that feels directly replicated from the very black films that influenced them. The latter, however, allowed the stories to bulge further at the seems than the trousers of their individual narratives would allow. Buttons burst and superfluous action, characters, and the excess of chapters that ensconce them could definitely have been cut down significantly.
The stories are certainly overwrought as are their homages and references that sparingly pepper them. As any comic aficionado would realize, this Batman tale (in each of its variations in this deluxe edition) explicitly overlaps with another seminal series and his creation, the ever controversial Frank Miller and his Sin City. While Miller's work is a fantastically original work that builds upon noir sensibilities to create own its own unique universe with fresh characters and exceedingly nasty villains that populate it, the architects of Batman Noir had to work with already immutably established characters and tropes. The levels of experimentation were restricted and a story already bloated to begin with, could have gained significantly from more artistic leeway.
This lack of openness is strongly contrasted with the third story in this collection, Batman Knight of Vengeance. Again, I highly welcome the experimental in art in all forms, especially the sonic and written varieties. However, what the third offering sacrifices in Batman Dogma (as it were) it revels in utter blasphemy akin to a spawning of Beelzebub. Surely Baphomet's touch can be seen behind every single perversion and inversion of the established Batman Canon. The devoted will be enraged and even the casuals, I'm sure, will be a little unhappy. If the story had been more coherent I might have enjoyed it but, since its lacking in the making sense department, I'll have to share their revulsion.
Penultimately, the micro-story at the beginning, and the faux-Sunday strip editions that bookend it are meh at best, and forgettable at worst. Instead of legit apertifs and digestifs that add to our reading experience, they reduce to a mediocre appetizer and an even more disappointing dessert.
All in all, Batman Noir is a welcome yet disappointing experiment that fell short of its potential vision. Stunning visuals and otherwise excellent writing could not cover up the sins of convolution and in-cohesion with a vision as constricted as it could have been something brand spanking new.
One duo-chromatic thumb up.
June 13, 2013
Loved it. I will not get into specifics because, well, spoilers. Contains some of the better Batman stories I've read in a while, and the black & white art is to die for. The writing is nothing exceptional, but it has this unnerving coldness to it that attempts to - and arguably succeeds in - presenting Bruce Wayne as the irrevocably damaged man that he is in a way that is believable without (and this is important) forgetting that the Dark Knight is, after all, a larger than life figure of mythic proportions. It's never easy to strike that all too necessary balance, and the combined efforts of Brian Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso achieve just that. Brilliant stuff.
May 12, 2021
In the school of Jeph Loeb’s Long Halloween and Frank Miller’s Batman Year One, Azzarello & Risso’s Batman is fantastic gritty neo noir. While not quite a masterpiece, the artwork is masterly and the story hooks. Surprisingly, unknown criminals are the focus in Broken City, and Killer Croc and Ventriloquist / Scarface as secondary anchors. This villain change up is both different and perhaps somewhat anticlimactic, because we’re less invested in these villains, which puts more focus on Batman himself. From Flashpoint, Batman Knight of Vengeance is fascinating, with Thomas Wayne as a Batman searching for Harvey Dent’s kidnapped kids.
The takeaway? I lurked for several years considering to buy this. Just buy it, if you’re a Bats fan. It’s noir and fantastically illustrated.
The takeaway? I lurked for several years considering to buy this. Just buy it, if you’re a Bats fan. It’s noir and fantastically illustrated.
September 16, 2013
Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso make up one of comics’ most enduring partnerships. Starting in the late 90s with Jonny Double and moving on to their career-defining Vertigo series 100 Bullets, the pair have created a tremendous comics legacy together. They’ve also done a lot of Batman stories together, all of which are collected together in one “deluxe” hardback edition, stripped of colour, in Batman Noir.
Collected in this book is a Batman/Zsasz short story called Scars from Batman Gotham Knight #8; the graphic novel Batman: Broken City; the Flashpoint mini-series Knight of Vengeance; and the 12-part/12 page Batman story from Wednesday Comics. This last one is a nice addition as Wednesday Comics is unfortunately out of print (at the moment) so this is the only place you can read this story without shelling out a fortune on eBay.
The focus in this book is Risso’s art which is well suited to blacks and whites as his art utilises very heavy black inks and high contrast whites to tell Azzarello’s noir-ish stories, so its a smart move from whoever at DC thought of reissuing the pair’s work as a black and white edition.
The problem is that besides Knight of Vengeance, the stories themselves aren’t very good. The Scars story is very dull and doesn’t give much into Zsasz’s character, while Broken City is a very dreary, overly complex gangster story, a pale shadow of the better kind Azzarello and Risso were telling in 100 Bullets - though Broken City actually works better in black and white to suit the noir-ish tone of Azzarello’s tale. Wednesday Comics’ story is your average noir/femme fatale tale that’s too predictable to be very interesting.
The winner of this collection by a mile is Knight of Vengeance, which was also the only mini-series worth reading in the whole of DC’s Flashpoint nonsense. The story is simply, what if Joe Chill killed Bruce that night instead of his parents Thomas and Martha - would Gotham still have a Batman and what would that Gotham look like? It’s a fascinating story with an excellent twist on who the Joker turns out to be, and well worth reading for that alone, but in black and white? I didn’t find it as effective. Dave Stewart’s sharp colours actually complimented Risso’s art and made the story much more haunting, especially with regards to Joker’s blood-red smile in the shadows, which you don’t see in this edition, just a stark white instead.
And let’s talk about the “deluxe” of the title - a glossy hardcover with a nice dust cover and high quality paper, yes, but glue binding? Not what I’d call deluxe given that all graphic novels are bound by glue these days. And what about the extras - one page featuring an unpublished pin-up of Bane. That’s it. No artist’s sketchbooks or commentary from the artist on how he came about designing certain characters or presenting certain scenes, which is really weird given that this book is all about celebrating Risso the artist. So no, not very deluxe, DC.
Obviously if you’re not a Risso fan or you’ve read Broken City and Knight of Vengeance you can skip this one but if you’ve not read either, this is worth a look if only to save money on buying one book instead of two. But only if you really like Risso’s stuff because I’d still recommend the Dave Stewart coloured Knight of Vengeance story over the one in this book. In the end Batman Noir is a somewhat successful experiment that really should’ve had more for Risso’s fans given that this is supposedly a deluxe edition of his Batman work.
Collected in this book is a Batman/Zsasz short story called Scars from Batman Gotham Knight #8; the graphic novel Batman: Broken City; the Flashpoint mini-series Knight of Vengeance; and the 12-part/12 page Batman story from Wednesday Comics. This last one is a nice addition as Wednesday Comics is unfortunately out of print (at the moment) so this is the only place you can read this story without shelling out a fortune on eBay.
The focus in this book is Risso’s art which is well suited to blacks and whites as his art utilises very heavy black inks and high contrast whites to tell Azzarello’s noir-ish stories, so its a smart move from whoever at DC thought of reissuing the pair’s work as a black and white edition.
The problem is that besides Knight of Vengeance, the stories themselves aren’t very good. The Scars story is very dull and doesn’t give much into Zsasz’s character, while Broken City is a very dreary, overly complex gangster story, a pale shadow of the better kind Azzarello and Risso were telling in 100 Bullets - though Broken City actually works better in black and white to suit the noir-ish tone of Azzarello’s tale. Wednesday Comics’ story is your average noir/femme fatale tale that’s too predictable to be very interesting.
The winner of this collection by a mile is Knight of Vengeance, which was also the only mini-series worth reading in the whole of DC’s Flashpoint nonsense. The story is simply, what if Joe Chill killed Bruce that night instead of his parents Thomas and Martha - would Gotham still have a Batman and what would that Gotham look like? It’s a fascinating story with an excellent twist on who the Joker turns out to be, and well worth reading for that alone, but in black and white? I didn’t find it as effective. Dave Stewart’s sharp colours actually complimented Risso’s art and made the story much more haunting, especially with regards to Joker’s blood-red smile in the shadows, which you don’t see in this edition, just a stark white instead.
And let’s talk about the “deluxe” of the title - a glossy hardcover with a nice dust cover and high quality paper, yes, but glue binding? Not what I’d call deluxe given that all graphic novels are bound by glue these days. And what about the extras - one page featuring an unpublished pin-up of Bane. That’s it. No artist’s sketchbooks or commentary from the artist on how he came about designing certain characters or presenting certain scenes, which is really weird given that this book is all about celebrating Risso the artist. So no, not very deluxe, DC.
Obviously if you’re not a Risso fan or you’ve read Broken City and Knight of Vengeance you can skip this one but if you’ve not read either, this is worth a look if only to save money on buying one book instead of two. But only if you really like Risso’s stuff because I’d still recommend the Dave Stewart coloured Knight of Vengeance story over the one in this book. In the end Batman Noir is a somewhat successful experiment that really should’ve had more for Risso’s fans given that this is supposedly a deluxe edition of his Batman work.
May 22, 2022
I got this book a while ago and wanted to get broken city but considering this was the same price but with extra stories thrown in I figured I’d get this instead.
So this is a collection of stories and I think as a pair I liked all of their works here, especially the art it was all very nice to look at in the deluxe hardcover format. I’ve got all of the separate thoughts for each part below:
Scars ⭐️⭐️
Only a few pages long, kind of irrelevant
Broken City ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I thought this was a very good story. I liked the style of it and appreciated that it was a Batman detective story but I felt it didn’t come together at the end that cleanly, didn’t hate the ending just wasn’t completely satisfied.
Knight of Vengeance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I knew I wanted to read this at some point and it being in this collection was just a nice coincidence but it ended up being the highlight of this book for me! It’s just a really great story and a very interesting concept and I remember I read this part of the book before I read the flashpoint and it added a lot to that story and my enjoyment too.
Batman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pleasantly surprised by the last but if the book. I think it was meant to be printed larger which was a bit annoying but as far as short stories go it had me hooked and I enjoyed it
So this is a collection of stories and I think as a pair I liked all of their works here, especially the art it was all very nice to look at in the deluxe hardcover format. I’ve got all of the separate thoughts for each part below:
Scars ⭐️⭐️
Only a few pages long, kind of irrelevant
Broken City ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I thought this was a very good story. I liked the style of it and appreciated that it was a Batman detective story but I felt it didn’t come together at the end that cleanly, didn’t hate the ending just wasn’t completely satisfied.
Knight of Vengeance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I knew I wanted to read this at some point and it being in this collection was just a nice coincidence but it ended up being the highlight of this book for me! It’s just a really great story and a very interesting concept and I remember I read this part of the book before I read the flashpoint and it added a lot to that story and my enjoyment too.
Batman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pleasantly surprised by the last but if the book. I think it was meant to be printed larger which was a bit annoying but as far as short stories go it had me hooked and I enjoyed it
September 11, 2019
Převažujou pozitivní dojmy. Azzarellovo Batman je tu totální edgy emo, co se pořád rochní ve smrti rodičů. Přesně takovýho batmana mám rád. Příběhy jsou celkem zajímavý a s dobrym nápadem ale to provedení chvílema těžce kulhá. Azzarello občas píše hrozně zmateně, hlavně dialogy a Risso tomu vůbec nepomahá. Art je koneckonců to samý jako psaní v bleděmodrym. Risso má některý neuvěřitelný okna, když je to postavený jenom na tmě a světle. Jakmile má kreslit něco za denního světla s detailama, tak to je jako kdyby si z toho dělal prdel.
Jestli někde uplně přesně sedí tři hvězdy, tak tady.
Jestli někde uplně přesně sedí tři hvězdy, tak tady.
August 24, 2019
Spectacular volume from Azarello and Risso. Starkly illustrated in sharp b&w, Risso's artwork excellently reflects Azarello's brutal stories of Batman's thirst for (often) brutal vengeance and justice. I liken the approach to Frank Miller's Sin City. Many of our favorite "baddies" are included here, lurking in the shadows and rainy grime infested streets and alleyways of Gotham. Most of this volume is comprised of the five part story Broken City. A must read for fans of the Dark Knight.
December 25, 2020
Pretty good if all you're looking for is a Brawler Batman who beats everyone up. If you liked the Batman from Batman V Superman, you will probably like this.
April 25, 2020
What I liked about this collection: (1) the overall presentation of the book, including good paper stock and the deluxe-sized format, (2) the fact that you get the Flashpoint Batman story and the Wednesday Comics Batman story without having to buy those books separately, especially when the quality of the other stories included in those collections is debatable.
Included are:
A short story from Batman: Gotham Knights #8
Featuring Mr. Zsasz, a killer who has a scar on his body for every one of his victims, each scar a memory of his kill. Zsasz argues that the best moment with another human being is when that person knows you hold their life in your hands, just before you take it away. Batman argues that no, the greatest moment is when you save their life and they know they owe you. Yawn. This "story" was the weakest of the bunch. 2 stars.
Batman: Broken City
A Batman "noir" story if there ever was one. Originally published as the follow-up to Loeb & Lee's Batman: Hush storyline, this is one depressing story. It really makes you feel that Gotham is a broken, hopeless place. The actual mystery has a number of twists, par for the course in any noir story, and the ending itself is less than satisfying. 3 stars.
Flashpoint: Batman
By far the jewel of this collection, and tricky to review without spoiling it, this 3-parter tie-in to the DC Comics Flashpoint event gives us a brief, albeit very thorough, look at this alternate Gotham City and the Batman that protects it. Along the way we're witness to some pretty powerful moments. 4 stars.
Batman from Wednesday Comics
The story itself is only 12 pages long (imagine having to read that at a rate of one page per week! - as they were originally released) and, considering the length constraints imposed on the creative team, manages to be good, but not much more. 3 stars.
Included are:
A short story from Batman: Gotham Knights #8
Featuring Mr. Zsasz, a killer who has a scar on his body for every one of his victims, each scar a memory of his kill. Zsasz argues that the best moment with another human being is when that person knows you hold their life in your hands, just before you take it away. Batman argues that no, the greatest moment is when you save their life and they know they owe you. Yawn. This "story" was the weakest of the bunch. 2 stars.
Batman: Broken City
A Batman "noir" story if there ever was one. Originally published as the follow-up to Loeb & Lee's Batman: Hush storyline, this is one depressing story. It really makes you feel that Gotham is a broken, hopeless place. The actual mystery has a number of twists, par for the course in any noir story, and the ending itself is less than satisfying. 3 stars.
Flashpoint: Batman
By far the jewel of this collection, and tricky to review without spoiling it, this 3-parter tie-in to the DC Comics Flashpoint event gives us a brief, albeit very thorough, look at this alternate Gotham City and the Batman that protects it. Along the way we're witness to some pretty powerful moments. 4 stars.
Batman from Wednesday Comics
The story itself is only 12 pages long (imagine having to read that at a rate of one page per week! - as they were originally released) and, considering the length constraints imposed on the creative team, manages to be good, but not much more. 3 stars.
May 10, 2016
Qual a melhor maneira de reinventar um universo mil vezes mastigado por gerações de desenhadores e argumentistas? Com um estilo neo-noir cheio de pinta, com um conjunto de histórias em que o thriller psicológico se mistura com a dor emocional de Batman, tons negros que, apesar do que nos querem impingir, nenhuma das adaptações de Nolan conseguiu captar, ficando-se apenas pelo mais simplista espectáculo visual. "Batman Noir" é uma obra marcante para os conhecedores e os curiosos da personagem, aproximando-se das investidas de Frank Miller ao universo do homem morcego-
March 13, 2018
In every way that the Knight of Vengeance story is great, Broken City isn't. Too much a hardboiled caricature with no real heart. Very Frank Miller. The Wednesday Comics pieces are excellent, but need to be in their full size format to really have the impact they deserve. I'll be keeping this just to have a nice copy of the Flashpoint story, but the rest I'll likely never read again.
December 24, 2018
This was an ok collection.
Read
August 9, 2022I didn't realize most of this collection is Batman: Broken City, which I've read before.
There's an alternate universe Batman after that. I don't want to even describe the premise because it spoils the fun of reading it. I didn't like parts of it- way too violent. The last part reimagines batman as a newspaper comic. It's a good detective story. I still think Azzarello and Risso's best stuff was 100 Bullets, but this was good.
There's an alternate universe Batman after that. I don't want to even describe the premise because it spoils the fun of reading it. I didn't like parts of it- way too violent. The last part reimagines batman as a newspaper comic. It's a good detective story. I still think Azzarello and Risso's best stuff was 100 Bullets, but this was good.
February 28, 2019
It has everything in it: Sin City-esque noir style, Batman, violence, drugs - it's the perfect recipe.
So when it fails this badly, the dissapointment hits that much harder.
I was ready to love this from the get-go. I love Sin City, it's art style is breathtakingly gorgeous and made me stop almost every second page to marvel it. The gritty stories, the hardboiled brutes, all of them just breathe coolness. If you were to add Batman to all of this, it should be the perfect story. There's no reason why it wouldn't be. But it just isn't, not in these hands.
Risso's art is most of them merely okay, all too often does it make you wince, way more often than it makes you appreciate the beauty of it. It is heavily inspired by Frank Miller's Sin City and at times it does succeed imitating it, but unfortunately most of the time it just looks silly or wrong, taking you away from the story and the mood of it.
And then there's the stories. Azzarello is just not a good writer. Sure, there are some laughably bad lines here and there ("Dawn. For an OPTIMIST, it's the start of a new day. For a PESSIMIST? SAME THING.") but that's not the worst thing about this. Worse, in my view, is how first of all the stories are quite difficult to follow and uninteresting. I was not sure what was going, who we were chasing, or why in these stories. I did not understand why Batman wanted to kiss the lady or kill so many criminals. I have no idea what Killer Croc is doing here.
Azzarello attempts something really cool, he is making a real noir-Batman, but he fails miserably. In order to do something like that, you have to go beyond "Batman kills and tortures everyone he meets" because we already know so much about Batman. You have to explain this version, WHY does he do that, WHAT would drive him to such a desperate actions. I have no trouble imagining him acting like that, but I need a reason, I need to have some context, because now it just disturbed me why Batman was doing the things he was doing.
Spoilers, but - what was the last long story in the collection? I mean, it was cool and all - I don't know if there have been other "real" versions of this timeline, where Bruce is shot instead of his parents (I've only read some Internet fan-stuff), and it is a damn fun concept but yeeeeesh. If something can truly fall to its face it was this. I kept saying out loud "what" so many times.
So yeah, I really wanted to love this collection so I hate to say that it ended up being a major disapointment. Perhaps one day someone could do justice to a noir-Batman.
So when it fails this badly, the dissapointment hits that much harder.
I was ready to love this from the get-go. I love Sin City, it's art style is breathtakingly gorgeous and made me stop almost every second page to marvel it. The gritty stories, the hardboiled brutes, all of them just breathe coolness. If you were to add Batman to all of this, it should be the perfect story. There's no reason why it wouldn't be. But it just isn't, not in these hands.
Risso's art is most of them merely okay, all too often does it make you wince, way more often than it makes you appreciate the beauty of it. It is heavily inspired by Frank Miller's Sin City and at times it does succeed imitating it, but unfortunately most of the time it just looks silly or wrong, taking you away from the story and the mood of it.
And then there's the stories. Azzarello is just not a good writer. Sure, there are some laughably bad lines here and there ("Dawn. For an OPTIMIST, it's the start of a new day. For a PESSIMIST? SAME THING.") but that's not the worst thing about this. Worse, in my view, is how first of all the stories are quite difficult to follow and uninteresting. I was not sure what was going, who we were chasing, or why in these stories. I did not understand why Batman wanted to kiss the lady or kill so many criminals. I have no idea what Killer Croc is doing here.
Azzarello attempts something really cool, he is making a real noir-Batman, but he fails miserably. In order to do something like that, you have to go beyond "Batman kills and tortures everyone he meets" because we already know so much about Batman. You have to explain this version, WHY does he do that, WHAT would drive him to such a desperate actions. I have no trouble imagining him acting like that, but I need a reason, I need to have some context, because now it just disturbed me why Batman was doing the things he was doing.
Spoilers, but - what was the last long story in the collection? I mean, it was cool and all - I don't know if there have been other "real" versions of this timeline, where Bruce is shot instead of his parents (I've only read some Internet fan-stuff), and it is a damn fun concept but yeeeeesh. If something can truly fall to its face it was this. I kept saying out loud "what" so many times.
So yeah, I really wanted to love this collection so I hate to say that it ended up being a major disapointment. Perhaps one day someone could do justice to a noir-Batman.
April 11, 2017
La pareja de Jhonny Double y 100 Balas se reúne en este espectacular tomo y nos muestran un Batman oscuro, de nudillos cansados pero duros, un detective con muy mala leche que recorre una Gotham que no s ele recomienda a nadie. En la primera historia;CIUDAD ROTA ,el hombre murcielago busca con desesperación a un maleante de baja calaña, pero todos quieren encontrarlo al tiempo, la mafia de Gotham, un par de villnosde Arkham y la policía, mientras EL CABALLERO DE LA VENGANZA nos lleva al mundo de Flashpoint, mostrando una historia de tipo elseworld, que en tres tomos nos crea un mundo de Batman totalmente distinto y reconocible a su vez, con unos giros y detalles muy agradecibles para los fanaticos que lleven algún tiempo siguiendo al encapuchado, mientras en WEDNESDAY COMICS, Azzarello y Risso salen muy bien librados al contar una historia de Batman de manera semanal, utilizando una pagina para crear una tira oscura y con un aroma a noir que intoxica, mientras que en la historia de Blanco y Negro, muestran de que están hechos los dos y nos regalan un relato corto pero intenso,con Victor Zsas como protagonista. Azzarello es el de 100 balas, llenos de dialogos de novela negra, calles estrechas y sucias, mujeres sensuales y malos muy malos, mientras Eduardo Risso nos recuerda porque tiene 4 premios Eisner en su estudio, dándonos una Gotham City que parece la Londres a la que llego Dracula, mientras sus puños son violencia pura, sus mujeres sexys, sus heridas hieden, y los ojos...por favor, dedícale un momento de tu vida a ver como es que este señor dibuja los ojos.ES UNA MAQUINA.
June 3, 2018
we need more flawed batman
on a side note, this deluxe edition was put together beautifully
on a side note, this deluxe edition was put together beautifully
August 9, 2015
One of the grittier, harder-edged Batman stories, "Noir" is a no-holds-barred take on the Gotham's darkest knight that is not for the faint of heart. Reminiscent of Frank Miller's work on "Sin City," this is a study of the Batman done in the sharp contrasts of black and white. Recommended.
April 27, 2022
A noir detective story. Masterful art compliments the storytelling.
November 4, 2019
2 stars for first Gotham Knights #8 and main Broken City arc
4 stars for Flashpoint: Knights of Vengeance and Wednesday Comics #1-12
This edition is three, wait, no, four stories, according to the back cover, though the first feels more like a prologue to set the tone, more than its own story. All with the same writer and artist, all in black and white.
First there's a single issue focusing on Zsasz, which I was not fond of.
The bulk of the book is called Broken City, and it is mostly an attempt at emulating Frank Miller's Sin City books. Certain panels look like they were Xeroxed from those pages! I didn't *hate* the gritty noir style, but it felt forced, and I did not like the characterizations of various well-known and beloved people like Batman, Croc, and Penguin. Bruce narrates the whole thing in a voice like classic noir detectives, and the villains even address him as "detective," but why? He doesn't do any quality detecting. Most of these issues is just watching Batman beating people to a pulp with little to no reason. In fact, the most interesting thing about the story is examining his failure and how easily he's misdirected. He projects his ego and pain onto situations and then lashes out in anger, looking for targets in the wrong places.
I'm glad I stuck with it though, because the second two stories are where the quality writing's at. Brian Azzarello has written some really great comics, and the weekly miniseries is a great example of how a whole arc can be told in one-page chapters. The panels and art are really stellar here (I know, I use that word a lot when I like something.)
The best part of this collection is the Flashpoint arc, told in an alternate earth of the multiverse that we see encountered in other titles, where it was Bruce who was slain in Crime Alley and Thomas Wayne goes on to become a more brutal - and criminally entangled - version of Batman. The story has good twists and drama that elicited a variety of emotions from me while reading it.
4 stars for Flashpoint: Knights of Vengeance and Wednesday Comics #1-12
This edition is three, wait, no, four stories, according to the back cover, though the first feels more like a prologue to set the tone, more than its own story. All with the same writer and artist, all in black and white.
First there's a single issue focusing on Zsasz, which I was not fond of.
The bulk of the book is called Broken City, and it is mostly an attempt at emulating Frank Miller's Sin City books. Certain panels look like they were Xeroxed from those pages! I didn't *hate* the gritty noir style, but it felt forced, and I did not like the characterizations of various well-known and beloved people like Batman, Croc, and Penguin. Bruce narrates the whole thing in a voice like classic noir detectives, and the villains even address him as "detective," but why? He doesn't do any quality detecting. Most of these issues is just watching Batman beating people to a pulp with little to no reason. In fact, the most interesting thing about the story is examining his failure and how easily he's misdirected. He projects his ego and pain onto situations and then lashes out in anger, looking for targets in the wrong places.
I'm glad I stuck with it though, because the second two stories are where the quality writing's at. Brian Azzarello has written some really great comics, and the weekly miniseries is a great example of how a whole arc can be told in one-page chapters. The panels and art are really stellar here (I know, I use that word a lot when I like something.)
The best part of this collection is the Flashpoint arc, told in an alternate earth of the multiverse that we see encountered in other titles, where it was Bruce who was slain in Crime Alley and Thomas Wayne goes on to become a more brutal - and criminally entangled - version of Batman. The story has good twists and drama that elicited a variety of emotions from me while reading it.
January 8, 2018
The book has 3 stories in it. The first and longest of them is Broken City. It started out interestingly but was not able to hold my interest. The central mystery became more and more convoluted for me to enjoy. The art was decent and fit the mood of the story perfectly. The characters had nothing new in them, I felt like I have already read them 100 times.
The central idea of Flashpoint: Batman: Knight of Vengeance (second story of the bunch) was cool and it had taken a fresh perspective on the Batman story line. In this universe, Bruce dies on the fateful night and Thomas and Martha Wayne. Here we see what would have happened if Bruce was not the batman and the mantel would have been taken up by a vengeful adult rather than a tortured/melancholy kid. We also see the effects of Bruce's death on the Wayne family. I would not go deeper into this, since that can spoil some of the surprises and enjoyment for a new reader. This story had potential, but the short run made sure that it is executed hastily and could not dive into deeper character development.
The final story was material from Batman: Gotham Knights and is nothing special. It was another run off the mill semi-suspenseful story I did not care about.
All in all, the only bright spot in this otherwise average book was the Flashpoint storyline. Because of that, I considered raising it to a 3 star but decided to settle for a more deserving 2 stars (may be 2.5). This is a perfect average Batman comic, while I had hoped that it will be so much more.
The central idea of Flashpoint: Batman: Knight of Vengeance (second story of the bunch) was cool and it had taken a fresh perspective on the Batman story line. In this universe, Bruce dies on the fateful night and Thomas and Martha Wayne. Here we see what would have happened if Bruce was not the batman and the mantel would have been taken up by a vengeful adult rather than a tortured/melancholy kid. We also see the effects of Bruce's death on the Wayne family. I would not go deeper into this, since that can spoil some of the surprises and enjoyment for a new reader. This story had potential, but the short run made sure that it is executed hastily and could not dive into deeper character development.
The final story was material from Batman: Gotham Knights and is nothing special. It was another run off the mill semi-suspenseful story I did not care about.
All in all, the only bright spot in this otherwise average book was the Flashpoint storyline. Because of that, I considered raising it to a 3 star but decided to settle for a more deserving 2 stars (may be 2.5). This is a perfect average Batman comic, while I had hoped that it will be so much more.
January 15, 2022
Loved this collection!
Broken City is the main reason for the high rating, this story shows a gritty Dark Knight, a different kind of batman story than you might be used to as batman seems angrier here, more ruthless, more desperate and more broken. As does Gotham City around him, hence "broken city". Despite this it still encapsulated the world of Gotham incredibly well and portrayed the characters interestingly.
Knight of vengeance was also quite interesting, a dreadful and almost cruel tale of the world flashpoints Thomas Wayne has to live in.
The black and white short story is a lovely little look at an altercation between batman and zsaz, its specifically one I remember liking from the black and white collections so it was nice to see here.
The weakest part was probably the Wednesday comics part at the end, while still good I feel it wasn't as well put together as the other sections, still a decent read though.
Altogether its an awesome collection of batman stories from a team that have an interesting way of doing batman, a different interpretation that I appreciate.
Broken City is the main reason for the high rating, this story shows a gritty Dark Knight, a different kind of batman story than you might be used to as batman seems angrier here, more ruthless, more desperate and more broken. As does Gotham City around him, hence "broken city". Despite this it still encapsulated the world of Gotham incredibly well and portrayed the characters interestingly.
Knight of vengeance was also quite interesting, a dreadful and almost cruel tale of the world flashpoints Thomas Wayne has to live in.
The black and white short story is a lovely little look at an altercation between batman and zsaz, its specifically one I remember liking from the black and white collections so it was nice to see here.
The weakest part was probably the Wednesday comics part at the end, while still good I feel it wasn't as well put together as the other sections, still a decent read though.
Altogether its an awesome collection of batman stories from a team that have an interesting way of doing batman, a different interpretation that I appreciate.
October 9, 2017
This volume conprises of two stories - "Broken City" and "Knight of Vengeance", both written by Brtian Azzarello and with artwork by Eduardo Risso. "Broken City" is a somewhat effective, but not amazing noir-esque Batman tale (it hits almost every noir cliché and staple, thus resulting in a enjoyable, but not particularly amazing story). The second story is much more interesting, presenting us with an alternative universe in which Bruce Wayne is murdered instead of his parents. It features a pretty cool take on the Batman añd a pretty good end twist. The real highlight in this book is Risso's artwork, who palys masterfully with shadows and light. Visually, the book is spotless. Sadly one of the stories fails to live up to such an impressive artwork since, while it sets the right noir tone, it fails to surprise or present a new or worthwhile twist in the noir genre by following its formula too close .
September 8, 2017
I loved the Flashpoint story line. That was awesome and totally worth the read by itself.
However, the other stories were too noir for my taste. I really don't care for Batman struggling to solve a crime that any beat cop should have been handling. It was okay, but Long Halloween did it better, and I'm not a huge Long Halloween fan.
When I read Batman, I want his Rogues gallery. I want him to meet up with as many of his villains as he can and slice through them one-by-one. Each requiring Batman to excel at a new task. Whether it is beating the pure power of Bane, the intelligence of Riddler, or the total madness that is the Joker. I think we saw three rogues and Batman never really squares off against any of them.
I want the opening of Lego Batman. Pure action at its finest with Batman leading the way kicking butt and being awesome.
However, the other stories were too noir for my taste. I really don't care for Batman struggling to solve a crime that any beat cop should have been handling. It was okay, but Long Halloween did it better, and I'm not a huge Long Halloween fan.
When I read Batman, I want his Rogues gallery. I want him to meet up with as many of his villains as he can and slice through them one-by-one. Each requiring Batman to excel at a new task. Whether it is beating the pure power of Bane, the intelligence of Riddler, or the total madness that is the Joker. I think we saw three rogues and Batman never really squares off against any of them.
I want the opening of Lego Batman. Pure action at its finest with Batman leading the way kicking butt and being awesome.
December 21, 2021
Brian Azzarello can do no wrong.
Picking this up, I thought this was going to be like what Marvel did with their 'Noir' series of books. Instead, I got a detective mystery with Batman. No alternate universe. No multiverse. Just a good old-fashioned Batman story. In black in white - which for batman, do those books really need the color? This is the essence of a good Batman story. A mystery at its core. Some excessive beatdowns. A damsel in perhaps some distress.
The artwork was reminiscent of Miller's Sin City, but with more detail. Brilliant to look at. I could reread the book again, not to read it, but to go back and just enjoy the amazing artwork. I loved Risso's work in the 100 Bullet series; however, compared to what he did with this book, 100 Bullets is trash art (okay, no, it's really really not).
Picking this up, I thought this was going to be like what Marvel did with their 'Noir' series of books. Instead, I got a detective mystery with Batman. No alternate universe. No multiverse. Just a good old-fashioned Batman story. In black in white - which for batman, do those books really need the color? This is the essence of a good Batman story. A mystery at its core. Some excessive beatdowns. A damsel in perhaps some distress.
The artwork was reminiscent of Miller's Sin City, but with more detail. Brilliant to look at. I could reread the book again, not to read it, but to go back and just enjoy the amazing artwork. I loved Risso's work in the 100 Bullet series; however, compared to what he did with this book, 100 Bullets is trash art (okay, no, it's really really not).
June 27, 2022
-Loved the art style, black and white seem like a setting made for batman. It works so well not just with his character but also for gotham as a city, gotham is considered a crime-ridden mess that's beyond saving and the B&W setting really nails that part.
-Writing for each volume was really good. Broken City volume was the main story and it was written very well, it showed batman's strengths as well as his mistakes, particularly due to his family trauma. It was one of the fewer new comics where showing batman's origin again makes sense for the story and isn't merely a recap. The other 2 stories were also pretty good but they were probably there to increase the number of pages and make the book look like a better package. They were rather rushed and unnecessary
-I would love a continuation of this series, B&W Batman comics have a lot of potential
-Writing for each volume was really good. Broken City volume was the main story and it was written very well, it showed batman's strengths as well as his mistakes, particularly due to his family trauma. It was one of the fewer new comics where showing batman's origin again makes sense for the story and isn't merely a recap. The other 2 stories were also pretty good but they were probably there to increase the number of pages and make the book look like a better package. They were rather rushed and unnecessary
-I would love a continuation of this series, B&W Batman comics have a lot of potential
June 3, 2021
The 'noir' of the title is most evident in the striking black and white artwork: rim-lit silhouettes, rainy cityscapes, bulging forearms, and intense scowls. This iteration of the Dark Knight solves crime by simply beating answers out of his suspects rather than relying on gadgets or super friends. The sequencing from one panel to the next made the story a little hard to follow and the writing is a mixed bag. The noirish tough guy talk doesn't always hit that mark, and it's a little off-putting to hear Batman discuss grilling steaks. His fixation with God seems out of character also. Broken City was convoluted and unengaging, but Knight of Vengeance was one of the more insane and disturbing Batman stories I've read.
October 5, 2022
3.5 stars
Would've been a 4-star read but I couldn't get past the continued use of the shallow femme fatale noir archetype that was omni-present in all of Azzarello's storylines. There was just no depth to the female characters written, they were there to be objects of desire, victims to be avenged, or that which was made to be brutalized. And with such objectification, Azzarello dulls Batman's sharpness as he falls for the trappings of shallow beauty and the supposed innocence that is falsely associated with a pretty face like any other schmuck. However, fantastic art from Risso; very atmospheric and gritty with highly dynamic fight sequences.
Would've been a 4-star read but I couldn't get past the continued use of the shallow femme fatale noir archetype that was omni-present in all of Azzarello's storylines. There was just no depth to the female characters written, they were there to be objects of desire, victims to be avenged, or that which was made to be brutalized. And with such objectification, Azzarello dulls Batman's sharpness as he falls for the trappings of shallow beauty and the supposed innocence that is falsely associated with a pretty face like any other schmuck. However, fantastic art from Risso; very atmospheric and gritty with highly dynamic fight sequences.
January 10, 2023
I found this to be an entertaining and quick read. Azzarello and Risso make an excellent team. I mainly wanted this book for the Flashpoint story, which, for the sake of the flow of the book I kind of wish was the last story, especially since it’s a different Batman all together. Ending it on the Wednesday Comics was on odd choice. That being said, I enjoy each story for what they were. The Flashpoint story was definitely the star of the show. Azzarello’s take on Batman, had the alley scene gone differently, is fantastic and heartbreakingly intriguing. I definitely want to read more by this creative team.
December 11, 2018
This is maybe the darkest Batman book you'll ever read. The Broken City storyline was okay, but it really just felt like Batman inserted into a 100 BULLETS story. The FLASHPOINT storyline though shook me. It's like an Elseworld's story where Thomas Wayne becomes Batman after Bruce was murdered that night in the alley behind the theater. It's crazy and very well put together, but really dark. The mini-comics included before and after these story arcs are also very well done. Very highly recommended.
March 30, 2020
I didn't realise it, but I'd actually read this book before in a Noir edition. Well, I have to say, the original colour version works better, giving different moods and shades (ha!) to Risso's gorgeous artwork. It also makes it much clearer just what is being depicted, since his art can be quite stylised and is sometimes hard to decipher in just black and white. For the most part, Azzarello's stories are on point, with a fantastic film noir vibe. The opening and closing stories are just middling, but everything in-between is great.
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