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Batman by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones
Batman by Doug Moench & Kelley Jones, Vol. 1
In these moody 1990s tales, Batman emerges from the shadows to battle corruption in Gotham City, and to face foes including Killer Croc, The Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face and more. These tales by the classic Batman creative team of writer Doug Moench and artist Kelley Jones include guest-appearances by Nightwing, Robin, Deadman and Swamp Thing.
Collects BATMAN #515-525, 527-532 and 535.
Collects BATMAN #515-525, 527-532 and 535.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
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235 people want to read
About the author
Doug Moench
2,071 books122 followersDoug Moench, is an American comic book writer notable for his Batman work and as the creator of Black Mask, Moon Knight and Deathlok. Moench has worked for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics and many other smaller companies; he has written hundreds of issues of many different comics, and created dozens of characters, such as Moon Knight. In 1973, Moench became the de facto lead writer for the Marvel black-and-white magazine imprint Curtis Magazines. He contributed to the entire runs of Planet of the Apes, Rampaging Hulk (continuing on the title when it changed its name to The Hulk!) and Doc Savage, while also serving as a regular scribe for virtually every other Curtis title during the course of the imprint's existence. Moench is perhaps best known for his work on Batman, whose title he wrote from 1983–1986 and then again from 1992–1998. (He also wrote the companion title Detective Comics from 1983–1986.)
Moench is a frequent and longtime collaborator with comics artist Paul Gulacy. The pair are probably best known for their work on Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, which they worked on together from 1974–1977. They also co-created Six from Sirius, Slash Maraud, and S.C.I. Spy, and have worked together on comics projects featuring Batman, Conan the Barbarian and James Bond.
Moench has frequently been paired with the artist and inker team of Kelley Jones and John Beatty on several Elseworlds Graphic Novels and a long run of the monthly Batman comic.
Moench is a frequent and longtime collaborator with comics artist Paul Gulacy. The pair are probably best known for their work on Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, which they worked on together from 1974–1977. They also co-created Six from Sirius, Slash Maraud, and S.C.I. Spy, and have worked together on comics projects featuring Batman, Conan the Barbarian and James Bond.
Moench has frequently been paired with the artist and inker team of Kelley Jones and John Beatty on several Elseworlds Graphic Novels and a long run of the monthly Batman comic.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
September 5, 2015
Although I've read these stories many times before in single issues, I finally decided to sit down with the hardcover of what is to be a two-volume series collecting the mid-90's Batman run by Doug Moench, Kelley Jones, and John Beatty (affectionally called "Da Boyz" in the lettercols of the time).
Jones' Batman is, and always has been, what makes or breaks this classic collection for fans. Originally hired for Elseworlds stories and the covers of the Knightfall crossover, Jones is probably going to go down as one of the most unique artists to draw a regular Bat-series, much less to do so for 35 issues. Jones' work is heavily influenced by EC Comics such as Vault of Horror or Eerie, but he takes that foundation and pushes it to an otherworldly extreme, with pitched shadows, contorted bodies, and a feeling of doom that crawls in from the corners of each panel. Under his pen, Gotham City becomes a Victorian nightmare of cobbled streets and crumbling masonry. Batman himself is a hulking gargoyle whose ears are elongated, prehensile horns and whose layered, voluminous cape gains a similar sentience. The Batcave is an underground Lovecraftian tomb in which hundreds of computer screens and strange scientific instruments grow from the walls like fungi. The police mortician Mortimer Gunt dissects the city's victims with a morbid glee in order to aid Batman's sleuthing, and a shadowy, unnamed Bat-puppeteer stalks him through the alleyways.
Set against this background, Doug Moench's stories are a methodical exploration of Batman's rogues gallery, peppered with a smattering of new villains that speak to Jones' taste for the macabre. In the 17 stories collected here, Batman has a series of short, pulpy adventures with the Scarecrow, Mr Freeze, Killer Croc, Two-Face, and Poison Ivy, along with some guest heroes and new baddies that are all, in some way, either damned or weirdly arcane. Moench's dialogue takes a bit getting used to -- it's performative and lyrical, even campy, loaded with alliteration and strange syntax. It's never been my favorite style, but I think that there's something he's trying to achieve here in tandem with Jones' art -- something high-drama and unnatural that ultimately is probably a better fit than if he were write in a more realistic vein.
The 90's were a somewhat continuity-laden decade for Bat-comics, and as such these stories also juggle elements from both the crossovers of the time period, as well as an ongoing drama about a political campaign that re-explores some of Moench's plots from his Batman stories of the 1980's. Having read or skimmed most of the crossovers that this collection intersects with, I can understand that new readers might feel put off by the references to various storylines that don't see resolution here. But aside from one glaring example (the first story, "Troika," was the first part of a four-part crossover intended to jumpstart several new story arcs across various Bat-titles) the crossover elements don't really have much bearing on this collection. Despite the many offscreen references, these stories are, at their essence, self-contained gothic adventures -- like the animated series, but drenched in gloom.
Like many of the new artist-based Bat-collections that DC is releasing these days, a common complaint is that these sleek hardcover volumes don't feel epic enough. Modern superhero readers have been inundated with 'event' titles and multi-volume, orchestral bildungsroman, and DC especially is guilty of rewriting what a superhero comic is supposed to be in order to fit these parameters. In contrast, comics of the previous six or seven decades were an entirely other affair -- either one-and-done pulps or ongoing soap operas without definite endpoints -- and to a certain extent, they need to be evaluated on these terms.
All that notwithstanding, the "Da Boyz" run is still a peculiar beast. It hails from a unique period of transition, in which sprawling, intricately-planned crossovers like Knightfall and No Man's Land were leading the way toward long-form, single-title, creator-focused storylines like Hush, which arguably changed modern superhero stories in a somewhat permanent way. With this in mind, this couldn't-be-more-simply-titled Batman collection demonstrates a last hurrah for oldschool Bat-comics, not just from its creative team but also for Bat-editor Denny O'Neil, for whom this was one of the last big projects he helmed to completion.
But as I said when I began, what really makes this collection a singular artifact in the Batman ouevre is its dense aesthetic, the feeling I still get each time I read it that a book this gloomy and freakish and strange was allowed to represent the Dark Knight for four years, in the height of an all-ages fanaticism for Batman centered around the 90's films and cartoons. Today, Batman is synonymous with the grittiness and gore of Scott Snyder's storylines and the funereal weight of the Nolan trilogy. But the 90's were Bat-nipples, and Bat-lunchboxes! It wasn't quite Adam West dancing the Batusi, mind you, but it was remarkably close.
With all this in mind, the Jones/Moench/Beatty Batman is an unholy anomaly -- a stepchild of weird fiction, wearing capes and tights. It embraces the grimness of the Batman character, and then walks left into the surreal. It tells seemingly familiar stories under the auspice of a dark, strange star.
Jones' Batman is, and always has been, what makes or breaks this classic collection for fans. Originally hired for Elseworlds stories and the covers of the Knightfall crossover, Jones is probably going to go down as one of the most unique artists to draw a regular Bat-series, much less to do so for 35 issues. Jones' work is heavily influenced by EC Comics such as Vault of Horror or Eerie, but he takes that foundation and pushes it to an otherworldly extreme, with pitched shadows, contorted bodies, and a feeling of doom that crawls in from the corners of each panel. Under his pen, Gotham City becomes a Victorian nightmare of cobbled streets and crumbling masonry. Batman himself is a hulking gargoyle whose ears are elongated, prehensile horns and whose layered, voluminous cape gains a similar sentience. The Batcave is an underground Lovecraftian tomb in which hundreds of computer screens and strange scientific instruments grow from the walls like fungi. The police mortician Mortimer Gunt dissects the city's victims with a morbid glee in order to aid Batman's sleuthing, and a shadowy, unnamed Bat-puppeteer stalks him through the alleyways.
Set against this background, Doug Moench's stories are a methodical exploration of Batman's rogues gallery, peppered with a smattering of new villains that speak to Jones' taste for the macabre. In the 17 stories collected here, Batman has a series of short, pulpy adventures with the Scarecrow, Mr Freeze, Killer Croc, Two-Face, and Poison Ivy, along with some guest heroes and new baddies that are all, in some way, either damned or weirdly arcane. Moench's dialogue takes a bit getting used to -- it's performative and lyrical, even campy, loaded with alliteration and strange syntax. It's never been my favorite style, but I think that there's something he's trying to achieve here in tandem with Jones' art -- something high-drama and unnatural that ultimately is probably a better fit than if he were write in a more realistic vein.
The 90's were a somewhat continuity-laden decade for Bat-comics, and as such these stories also juggle elements from both the crossovers of the time period, as well as an ongoing drama about a political campaign that re-explores some of Moench's plots from his Batman stories of the 1980's. Having read or skimmed most of the crossovers that this collection intersects with, I can understand that new readers might feel put off by the references to various storylines that don't see resolution here. But aside from one glaring example (the first story, "Troika," was the first part of a four-part crossover intended to jumpstart several new story arcs across various Bat-titles) the crossover elements don't really have much bearing on this collection. Despite the many offscreen references, these stories are, at their essence, self-contained gothic adventures -- like the animated series, but drenched in gloom.
Like many of the new artist-based Bat-collections that DC is releasing these days, a common complaint is that these sleek hardcover volumes don't feel epic enough. Modern superhero readers have been inundated with 'event' titles and multi-volume, orchestral bildungsroman, and DC especially is guilty of rewriting what a superhero comic is supposed to be in order to fit these parameters. In contrast, comics of the previous six or seven decades were an entirely other affair -- either one-and-done pulps or ongoing soap operas without definite endpoints -- and to a certain extent, they need to be evaluated on these terms.
All that notwithstanding, the "Da Boyz" run is still a peculiar beast. It hails from a unique period of transition, in which sprawling, intricately-planned crossovers like Knightfall and No Man's Land were leading the way toward long-form, single-title, creator-focused storylines like Hush, which arguably changed modern superhero stories in a somewhat permanent way. With this in mind, this couldn't-be-more-simply-titled Batman collection demonstrates a last hurrah for oldschool Bat-comics, not just from its creative team but also for Bat-editor Denny O'Neil, for whom this was one of the last big projects he helmed to completion.
But as I said when I began, what really makes this collection a singular artifact in the Batman ouevre is its dense aesthetic, the feeling I still get each time I read it that a book this gloomy and freakish and strange was allowed to represent the Dark Knight for four years, in the height of an all-ages fanaticism for Batman centered around the 90's films and cartoons. Today, Batman is synonymous with the grittiness and gore of Scott Snyder's storylines and the funereal weight of the Nolan trilogy. But the 90's were Bat-nipples, and Bat-lunchboxes! It wasn't quite Adam West dancing the Batusi, mind you, but it was remarkably close.
With all this in mind, the Jones/Moench/Beatty Batman is an unholy anomaly -- a stepchild of weird fiction, wearing capes and tights. It embraces the grimness of the Batman character, and then walks left into the surreal. It tells seemingly familiar stories under the auspice of a dark, strange star.
July 24, 2017
This was a huge disappointment.
Kelley Jones' artwork is the only saving grace, ranging from good to phenomenal, yet occasionally bad or indecipherable. I really enjoyed the aesthetics of the gothic, horrific, pointy-eared Batman. It's reminiscent of Burton's film and terrifically rides the line between horror and camp. However...
Doug Moench's writing is downright boring or unreadable. Batman, for being so dark, is an emotion-less archetype. Bruce and the Wayne family, even Alfred, are worse. And the dialog is either cheesy or cringe-inducingly awkward. Several hundred pages in I was skimming. Honestly, I couldn't even finish this.
A Short Note on the "Deluxe" Edition...
To top it off, this edition is cheap shit. $40 retail buys you a standard-sized black paper over board hardcover, crazy thin paper, horrible gutter loss, and the tightest glued binding I've ever seen. Like snap your fingers, Venus flytrap tight. For a book that's 448 pages. The only nice thing is the bright dust jacket, which conceals the horror within. DC easily could have made this oversized, with decent paper and sewn binding, for the same price. But they're hawks. So I would highly recommend skipping this unless you're a Batman completist.
Kelley Jones' artwork is the only saving grace, ranging from good to phenomenal, yet occasionally bad or indecipherable. I really enjoyed the aesthetics of the gothic, horrific, pointy-eared Batman. It's reminiscent of Burton's film and terrifically rides the line between horror and camp. However...
Doug Moench's writing is downright boring or unreadable. Batman, for being so dark, is an emotion-less archetype. Bruce and the Wayne family, even Alfred, are worse. And the dialog is either cheesy or cringe-inducingly awkward. Several hundred pages in I was skimming. Honestly, I couldn't even finish this.
A Short Note on the "Deluxe" Edition...
To top it off, this edition is cheap shit. $40 retail buys you a standard-sized black paper over board hardcover, crazy thin paper, horrible gutter loss, and the tightest glued binding I've ever seen. Like snap your fingers, Venus flytrap tight. For a book that's 448 pages. The only nice thing is the bright dust jacket, which conceals the horror within. DC easily could have made this oversized, with decent paper and sewn binding, for the same price. But they're hawks. So I would highly recommend skipping this unless you're a Batman completist.
May 24, 2019
This was such a mixbag for me.
This is basically a bunch of one shots or two-part stories here. Batman going around beating up on Croc, criminals, scarecrow, freeze, and more. This is a darker Batman, after the events of Knightfall, so he ain't taking shit from no one. Longer horns, very angry with the world, and he looks more like a actual bat person.
I loved the hell out of some of these pages in terms of art. Kelley Jones draws Batman in a Gothic way but in the best way. Other designs I loved were Swamp thing and Mr. Freeze. I also thought this Batman had gone through some terrible shit and it was nice to see him deal with it. Oh yeah, and this batman is also a dick to everyone and it's funny sometimes.
On flip side besides the swamp thing story most of these stories are pretty forgettable. They feel like Saturday Morning cartoon wrap ups quick and done. I also think the art while interesting and cool the art is also very over the top and sometimes you gotta laugh.
Overall, a cool look into the late 90's batman. While not perfect I enjoyed what I read. A 3 out of 5.
This is basically a bunch of one shots or two-part stories here. Batman going around beating up on Croc, criminals, scarecrow, freeze, and more. This is a darker Batman, after the events of Knightfall, so he ain't taking shit from no one. Longer horns, very angry with the world, and he looks more like a actual bat person.
I loved the hell out of some of these pages in terms of art. Kelley Jones draws Batman in a Gothic way but in the best way. Other designs I loved were Swamp thing and Mr. Freeze. I also thought this Batman had gone through some terrible shit and it was nice to see him deal with it. Oh yeah, and this batman is also a dick to everyone and it's funny sometimes.
On flip side besides the swamp thing story most of these stories are pretty forgettable. They feel like Saturday Morning cartoon wrap ups quick and done. I also think the art while interesting and cool the art is also very over the top and sometimes you gotta laugh.
Overall, a cool look into the late 90's batman. While not perfect I enjoyed what I read. A 3 out of 5.
May 30, 2014
If you are irritated by overlong story arcs, confounded by continuity, or just new to comics, this is a volume you'll want to pick up if you are interested in Batman.
I remember reading Doug Moench's work regularly in books like Fantastic Four and Moon Knight when I was a kid in the seventies and early eighties. He is an old-school writer who still writes comics the old-fashioned way: by packing a solid amount of story into an issue and getting it done. Most of the stories in this collection finish in two parts; there are a few one-shots, and one three-parter that has no filler. There are two crossover issues, but one of them is effectively a standalone story in all respects; only the other feels like some parts are missing, but it's just one issue. You can read this book without any prior experience and never feel lost.
I'm also a big fan of Kelley Jones' artwork. It's highly stylized and not to everyone's taste, but I love his heavy use of shadow and contrast, dramatic flourishes, and creative (but always clear) panel design.
No universe-changing epics here, just good Bat-fun.
I remember reading Doug Moench's work regularly in books like Fantastic Four and Moon Knight when I was a kid in the seventies and early eighties. He is an old-school writer who still writes comics the old-fashioned way: by packing a solid amount of story into an issue and getting it done. Most of the stories in this collection finish in two parts; there are a few one-shots, and one three-parter that has no filler. There are two crossover issues, but one of them is effectively a standalone story in all respects; only the other feels like some parts are missing, but it's just one issue. You can read this book without any prior experience and never feel lost.
I'm also a big fan of Kelley Jones' artwork. It's highly stylized and not to everyone's taste, but I love his heavy use of shadow and contrast, dramatic flourishes, and creative (but always clear) panel design.
No universe-changing epics here, just good Bat-fun.
September 23, 2016
Kinda lame, but kinda awesome.
This is definitely from the period before Batgod, the time when Batman became not the ultimate man, not a masked crimefighter, but basically the most capable being in the universe.
On the one hand, it's kinda goofy. It's got this weird, very emo feel to it where Batman seems to be constantly shaking his fist at the sky and saying things about the darkness.
On the other hand, it's kinda goofy in a different way. Alfred leaves, and Bruce and Tim fuck up the laundry!
Kelley Jones' artwork is really interesting. It features that crazy Batman cape that's like a goddamn circus tent, but it still sort of works. It's a different take on the Batman, and there are times when his lips are pulled back and it looks like he's rocking a huge crap, but he's just sort of talking. My theory: Jones was a little bored here and there and decided to make his own fun.
My favorite moment from this volume, far and away, goes like this:
Batman sneaks his way into some mobster's house, as he's known to do, and is trying to intimidate the guy while he's in the shower. He succeeds, gets the information he needs, and then, on the way out of the bathroom, flushes the toilet and the guy says, "YAHHH! Freezing!"
This totally tickled me for two reasons.
One, I thought the shower was supposed to be hot when you flushed the toilet. This is based on some experiments I performed on my brother as a kid. I have one distinct memory of doing this on accident, where I had to piss while he showered because I couldn't wait, and he said, "Don't flush." I pissed, and on instinct, flushed. He came flying out of the shower, screaming, and it took all I had in me not to laugh my ass off before I got out of the bathroom.
It turns out that this CAN happen, the water can go cold when the toilet is flushed. It's actually a bit of a raging debate online. The best answer I can find, it depends on the plumbing. There's a thing called a Thermostatic Mixing Valve, and some are designed to keep the water pressure constant while others are designed to keep the proportion of hot and cold the same. So, if you have one that kept the proportions the same, when the toilet flushed, there'd be less cold water, and the amount of hot water would be reduced as well, resulting in a lower pressure and the same temperature. If you had the other kind, the type that keeps pressure constant, it would bump the temperature hotter when the toilet flushed because more hot water would flow to compensate for the lack of cold water, which is rushing to fill the toilet tank.
So why is this mobster's shower suddenly cold when Batman flushes? Looks like he's got a Thermostatic Mixing Valve installed, which he should as a man of means, but it's not functioning correctly.
Mystery solved.
But the second thing I loved about this toilet flushing incident was it was a real dick move on Batman's part. It wasn't like a bold move or anything, not like a sweet "Hasta La Vista, baby" or something like that. It was just a tiny fuck you.
Which made me think of a new character I call DickBatMan
This is a Batman who, instead of beating criminals unconscious, goes around and is kind of an asshole to them.
The advantage to this type of vigilantism is that you could do it in everyday life. There's no one to stop you from, say, following a criminal in your car, then when he parks, you pull into the spot next to him and park SUPER CLOSE. Or when he's on the treadmill, you stand next to him and time his treadmill use, demanding he gets off at the 30 minute mark because you want to use that specific treadmill. And then you walk your dog, let it crap on the monster's lawn, and you pick it up with a bag and everything, except you leave just a tiny nugget behind. Whoops!
It had never occurred to me, before reading this, that I could be a vigilante too. Fear, criminals! I am minor vengeance! I am the earlier part of the night!
I
am
BatDickMan!
This is definitely from the period before Batgod, the time when Batman became not the ultimate man, not a masked crimefighter, but basically the most capable being in the universe.
On the one hand, it's kinda goofy. It's got this weird, very emo feel to it where Batman seems to be constantly shaking his fist at the sky and saying things about the darkness.
On the other hand, it's kinda goofy in a different way. Alfred leaves, and Bruce and Tim fuck up the laundry!
Kelley Jones' artwork is really interesting. It features that crazy Batman cape that's like a goddamn circus tent, but it still sort of works. It's a different take on the Batman, and there are times when his lips are pulled back and it looks like he's rocking a huge crap, but he's just sort of talking. My theory: Jones was a little bored here and there and decided to make his own fun.
My favorite moment from this volume, far and away, goes like this:
Batman sneaks his way into some mobster's house, as he's known to do, and is trying to intimidate the guy while he's in the shower. He succeeds, gets the information he needs, and then, on the way out of the bathroom, flushes the toilet and the guy says, "YAHHH! Freezing!"
This totally tickled me for two reasons.
One, I thought the shower was supposed to be hot when you flushed the toilet. This is based on some experiments I performed on my brother as a kid. I have one distinct memory of doing this on accident, where I had to piss while he showered because I couldn't wait, and he said, "Don't flush." I pissed, and on instinct, flushed. He came flying out of the shower, screaming, and it took all I had in me not to laugh my ass off before I got out of the bathroom.
It turns out that this CAN happen, the water can go cold when the toilet is flushed. It's actually a bit of a raging debate online. The best answer I can find, it depends on the plumbing. There's a thing called a Thermostatic Mixing Valve, and some are designed to keep the water pressure constant while others are designed to keep the proportion of hot and cold the same. So, if you have one that kept the proportions the same, when the toilet flushed, there'd be less cold water, and the amount of hot water would be reduced as well, resulting in a lower pressure and the same temperature. If you had the other kind, the type that keeps pressure constant, it would bump the temperature hotter when the toilet flushed because more hot water would flow to compensate for the lack of cold water, which is rushing to fill the toilet tank.
So why is this mobster's shower suddenly cold when Batman flushes? Looks like he's got a Thermostatic Mixing Valve installed, which he should as a man of means, but it's not functioning correctly.
Mystery solved.
But the second thing I loved about this toilet flushing incident was it was a real dick move on Batman's part. It wasn't like a bold move or anything, not like a sweet "Hasta La Vista, baby" or something like that. It was just a tiny fuck you.
Which made me think of a new character I call DickBatMan
This is a Batman who, instead of beating criminals unconscious, goes around and is kind of an asshole to them.
The advantage to this type of vigilantism is that you could do it in everyday life. There's no one to stop you from, say, following a criminal in your car, then when he parks, you pull into the spot next to him and park SUPER CLOSE. Or when he's on the treadmill, you stand next to him and time his treadmill use, demanding he gets off at the 30 minute mark because you want to use that specific treadmill. And then you walk your dog, let it crap on the monster's lawn, and you pick it up with a bag and everything, except you leave just a tiny nugget behind. Whoops!
It had never occurred to me, before reading this, that I could be a vigilante too. Fear, criminals! I am minor vengeance! I am the earlier part of the night!
I
am
BatDickMan!
April 21, 2020
This was not a bad collection of Batman tales from writer Doug Moench. I agree with most fans that Kelley Jones' artwork is the highest part about this book. But I do not know if it is just me but for some reason the colors looked strange in this book. This might be because of the reprinting on this paper or maybe the aging of the original print. Another thing is that I thought Jones' artwork looks better in Swamp Thing: The Dead Don't Sleep & Batman: Kings of Fear. This may either mean Kelley Jones art has just gotten better with time or he just had better colorist on those books then this book. I did not think Moench's writing was bad but he has a few issues where the villains came across a bit cookie cutter and boring. My favorite stories were the ones with Poison Ivy and Swamp thing. I feel like the moody feel to this book worked better on those tales. This is my first time reading Batman stories post Batman Knightfall so it really feels like during Moench writing for the character DC editors were trying to get Batman back to his normal status quo. I got to say It was a plus reading a Batman story that feels like Batman since reading the lackluster volumes of Tom King's run. All in all these were okay Batman tales with good art and covers . I am really looking forward to reading Batman by Ed Brubaker Vol. 1. I just finished reading Batman: The Caped Crusader Vol. 1which I really enjoyed. It is always good to know there is so much Batman lore I still have not read.
February 22, 2024
3.5 stars. These really aren’t the greatest issues of Batman I’ve ever read, but they’re also not the worst. Jones joins the title as artist and really works at hitting a lot of the main villains as soon as he can and even works to create his own character with Moench, and because of that, there isn’t a ton of depth in really any of these stories. I will say that his art in these issues is some of my favorite Batman art that I’ve ever read. I know some people aren’t crazy about it, but I love the stylized way he draws all of these characters!
February 27, 2020
Una primera etapa bastante normal que va mejorando. Moench no es un gran guionista pero el arte de Kelley lo compensa todo
December 24, 2019
Collecting 17 issues of the mid-1990's (Feb'95 to Oct'96) from this all-star creative team, this book features good, intelligent writing*, paired with great art. Some story arcs are stand-alone, some span two issues, and one is three issues long. Featuring appearances by Black Mask, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, Deadman, and more. The timeline is Bruce Wayne's return as Batman, after the events of
Knightfall
, and following his recovery from a broken back.
This hardcover was first published in 2014, and the 'Volume 1' clearly implies a follow-up volume. On the strength of both the writing and the art, I would definitely pick up Volume 2, if DC Comics would only publish it. Here we are in (January) 2017, and still no sign of Volume 2.
*: By that, I mean that neither the plots nor the dialogue are silly. In fact, some of the plots are downright serious.
This hardcover was first published in 2014, and the 'Volume 1' clearly implies a follow-up volume. On the strength of both the writing and the art, I would definitely pick up Volume 2, if DC Comics would only publish it. Here we are in (January) 2017, and still no sign of Volume 2.
*: By that, I mean that neither the plots nor the dialogue are silly. In fact, some of the plots are downright serious.
August 6, 2017
Enredo: Histórias geralmente de 1 ou 2 edições, cada uma mais legal que a outra, inventivas, divertidas, ridículas e legais ao extremo, com vilões caricatos, situações maravilhosamente bizarras de alguém que entende muito tanto da cronologia quanto do personagem Batman em si.
E com pequenas pitadas de genialidade na escrita, de vez em quando ele faz uns poemas em falas que são muito bonitos, fora seu senso de humor que é do caramba.
Arte: Kelley Jones... não preciso falar mais nada.
Ele ta simplesmente pintando e bordando.
Com certeza uma das maiores duplas a passar pelo morcego e uma das fases mais bizarras e legais do mesmo, fora que a edição é maravilhosa, não tem do que reclamar aqui.
E com pequenas pitadas de genialidade na escrita, de vez em quando ele faz uns poemas em falas que são muito bonitos, fora seu senso de humor que é do caramba.
Arte: Kelley Jones... não preciso falar mais nada.
Ele ta simplesmente pintando e bordando.
Com certeza uma das maiores duplas a passar pelo morcego e uma das fases mais bizarras e legais do mesmo, fora que a edição é maravilhosa, não tem do que reclamar aqui.
Read
May 7, 2019Some edgy 90s Batman tales, when he had the foot-long pointy ears on his cowl.
June 14, 2025
Some dark and intense stories that is taken as a norm for Batman stories these days , with participation from various batman rogues . It all works really well and the stories are really quality but the art is awful for me . I just cant get my head around the creepy penciling and many instances where character are talking grave stuff but pencilled to be grinning their most creepy smile
August 2, 2018
These stories run the small range of not-too-bad to downright terrible. Two entire issues are spent with Killer Croc taking a train back to the swamp. Awful.
But Kelley Jones' take on the Batman elevates this above the mediocre writing. I can completely understand why someone wouldn't like this. It's exaggerated. Silly. Baroque. Impractical.
But I LOVE it. Jones' panels are a marvel. The cape of the Caped Crusader is a character unto itself. The inkwork is masterful. It's the best representation of Batman I've ever seen.
But you'd be fine just looking at the pictures and skipping these forgettable stories.
But Kelley Jones' take on the Batman elevates this above the mediocre writing. I can completely understand why someone wouldn't like this. It's exaggerated. Silly. Baroque. Impractical.
But I LOVE it. Jones' panels are a marvel. The cape of the Caped Crusader is a character unto itself. The inkwork is masterful. It's the best representation of Batman I've ever seen.
But you'd be fine just looking at the pictures and skipping these forgettable stories.
August 6, 2015
A nicely packaged collection, but it ended up feeling like a pretty generic set of 90s storytelling. There's the classic roster of villains here--Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, Two-Face--plus some overmuscled/bountily bosomed new additions, as was the style of the times. (Take the Sleeper for instance; the skull-shaped, gas-filled canisters at the end of her hair don't seem very practical, and her minder certainly didn't get his physique without a significant anabolic boost.)
Batman is reacclimating to his role here after some time away, trying to find the right balance between being the good kind of violent vigilante and "crossing the line" into darkness. Gotham has seen some changes as well; there's a mayoral election that Jim Gordon temporarily gets involved in, and his estranged wife even becomes the new police commissioner for a few issues! Batman also goes on the road, taking in the swamps of Louisiana with Killer Croc, visiting a murderous circus (is there any other kind in graphic art?) and discovering a classic Inca city that's been hidden from the rest of the world for hundreds of years.
Kelley Jones' art here isn't to my liking; it's pretty extreme, with lots of tortured poses and gritted teeth. It's a bit much, although I did enjoy how Jones makes Batman's silhouette more animalistic than I've seen it, all cape and ears.
In short, I didn't read these comics when they first came out, and they didn't do much to make me recommend them now. But if you have some nostalgia filtered in, they could probably be fun.
Batman is reacclimating to his role here after some time away, trying to find the right balance between being the good kind of violent vigilante and "crossing the line" into darkness. Gotham has seen some changes as well; there's a mayoral election that Jim Gordon temporarily gets involved in, and his estranged wife even becomes the new police commissioner for a few issues! Batman also goes on the road, taking in the swamps of Louisiana with Killer Croc, visiting a murderous circus (is there any other kind in graphic art?) and discovering a classic Inca city that's been hidden from the rest of the world for hundreds of years.
Kelley Jones' art here isn't to my liking; it's pretty extreme, with lots of tortured poses and gritted teeth. It's a bit much, although I did enjoy how Jones makes Batman's silhouette more animalistic than I've seen it, all cape and ears.
In short, I didn't read these comics when they first came out, and they didn't do much to make me recommend them now. But if you have some nostalgia filtered in, they could probably be fun.
June 3, 2015
One of my favorite periods in modern Batman comics, the team of Kelley Jones and Doug Moench holds a special place in my heart for those stories of a horror bend with impossibly long ears and impossibly long capes! This was a time in Batman's history after the aftermath of Knightfall when Bruce Wayne has taken back the mantle of the Batman and reinvested himself to be grimmer, more frightening Batman. Facing such old foes as Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow. Two-Face, Black Mask, Black Spider and more with guest appearances by the macabre Swamp Thing and Deadman this is a fun collection full of creepy nostalgia!
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June 12, 2016Kelley Jones' art has always fascinated me. It's a heady mixture of gothic dread, surreal, panel-busting ingenuity and horror-comics cartoony. His 90's run on Batman is an achievement for the artist, and this giant volume collects it beautifully. Unfortunately, the stories haven't aged well (and maybe were never that good to begin with). Writer Doug Moench is a very rote, by-the-numbers scribe, in keeping with the eras lack of ingenuity in core superhero comics. And while Kelley breaks through the usually vapid, and sometimes nonsensical, scripts, this collection acts more like a macabre art gallery than a cohesive collection of great stories.
September 4, 2016
Despite the highly stylized art, the first half of the collection was quite enjoyable. Unfortunately the writing began to falter and by the final 4-5 issues, the book was no longer enjoyable. Too much exposition and filler.
November 9, 2019
A defining gothic Batman run with distinctive art by Kelley Jones.
Moench's Batman stories are soaked in mystery and suspense. Batman faces many familiar foes and a couple of new ones and works mostly solo, although we do get appearances by Robin, Alfred and other Bat family members. There's an unlikely but very entertaining team up with Deadman. As far as character development goes, there is none. We don’t get to see a lot of Bruce Wayne in this volume, which makes Batman more of an enigma.
The real star of this run is the art by Kelley Jones. It's in a similar vein as Tim Sale's, Mike Mignola's and Eduardo Risso's - artists who excel in their use of blacks and negative space to create moody, expressionistic art, with Jones being the most extreme of them all in terms of the creative liberties he takes. Jones renders Batman as a truly horrifying creature with over the top theatrical poses (very Nosferatu) and nightmarish claws. Batman's ears are like elongated daggers, but his most dramatic feature is the extremely elongated heavy looking black cape. It's almost vampiric and a sight to behold. I highly recommend to read this run in Spooktober or on a long winter night.
A note about the reproductions. While this run *really* deserves an oversized format I was somewhat let down by the quality of the reproductions. A huge chunk of the book seems to have been printed from low resolution source files or scans. It's not a huge issue and definitely not a reason to skip this edition. I just happened to notice that the art in issue 518 is crispy clear, whereas in all following issues the art is slightly less crispy, whereas the lettering looks fine, which is why I noticed the difference. If DC doesn't have access to the original hi-res files it's unlikely they'll do an OHC edition of this run, unless they remaster the art work.
Moench's Batman stories are soaked in mystery and suspense. Batman faces many familiar foes and a couple of new ones and works mostly solo, although we do get appearances by Robin, Alfred and other Bat family members. There's an unlikely but very entertaining team up with Deadman. As far as character development goes, there is none. We don’t get to see a lot of Bruce Wayne in this volume, which makes Batman more of an enigma.
The real star of this run is the art by Kelley Jones. It's in a similar vein as Tim Sale's, Mike Mignola's and Eduardo Risso's - artists who excel in their use of blacks and negative space to create moody, expressionistic art, with Jones being the most extreme of them all in terms of the creative liberties he takes. Jones renders Batman as a truly horrifying creature with over the top theatrical poses (very Nosferatu) and nightmarish claws. Batman's ears are like elongated daggers, but his most dramatic feature is the extremely elongated heavy looking black cape. It's almost vampiric and a sight to behold. I highly recommend to read this run in Spooktober or on a long winter night.
A note about the reproductions. While this run *really* deserves an oversized format I was somewhat let down by the quality of the reproductions. A huge chunk of the book seems to have been printed from low resolution source files or scans. It's not a huge issue and definitely not a reason to skip this edition. I just happened to notice that the art in issue 518 is crispy clear, whereas in all following issues the art is slightly less crispy, whereas the lettering looks fine, which is why I noticed the difference. If DC doesn't have access to the original hi-res files it's unlikely they'll do an OHC edition of this run, unless they remaster the art work.
December 29, 2024
Mostly made up of two-issue stories by the team of writer Moench and artist Jones from December 1994 to August 1996, this is a striking and often odd collection of stories about a darker, harder edged Batman taking on some of his wackier rogues gallery.
None of the actual stories are exceptional, though the three issue 'Deadman Connection' (issues 530-32) is really fun in a supernatural Indiana Jones sort of a way with Batman teaming up with dead-and-rotting sidekick Boston Brand. Probably the best writing is in the two issue Killer Croc story, especially the second part (issue 522) where Swamp Thing gets involved.
I always enjoy Kelley Jones' wildly stylised vision of Batman (and his Deadman, for that matter) and he does a mountainous Killer Croc, too. Weirdly, he always seems to draw the Batmobile like something that's fallen off a children's fairground ride. And it never fails to make me laugh. Some of the action and background characters look a bit of a mess but you're never far away from great, highly individual panel with Jones.
None of the actual stories are exceptional, though the three issue 'Deadman Connection' (issues 530-32) is really fun in a supernatural Indiana Jones sort of a way with Batman teaming up with dead-and-rotting sidekick Boston Brand. Probably the best writing is in the two issue Killer Croc story, especially the second part (issue 522) where Swamp Thing gets involved.
I always enjoy Kelley Jones' wildly stylised vision of Batman (and his Deadman, for that matter) and he does a mountainous Killer Croc, too. Weirdly, he always seems to draw the Batmobile like something that's fallen off a children's fairground ride. And it never fails to make me laugh. Some of the action and background characters look a bit of a mess but you're never far away from great, highly individual panel with Jones.
September 12, 2017
There's something so deeply satisfying with seeing batman portrayed as an actual detective and not being so completely and thoroughly self sufficient. Seeing him need to consult with experts, collect and assess evidence just feels so much more batman than what we've been given for the past 10 years or more.
The art is nothing short of haunting if not inconsistent at times. As much as I just love Kelley's art I can't help but feel some panels he was pushing himself to do "just one more panel" before bed and he scribbled out a barely incoherent blob. Other times the panels are nothing short of imaculate perfection.
All told I thoroughly enjoyed this collection but just wish it was a sequential release of the issues. The retail asking price is just way too steep for this tome but if you happen to find a cheap copy somewhere, this is well worth it. This is the batman I long to return to. Dark, brooding and dripping with style. Detective Comics.
The art is nothing short of haunting if not inconsistent at times. As much as I just love Kelley's art I can't help but feel some panels he was pushing himself to do "just one more panel" before bed and he scribbled out a barely incoherent blob. Other times the panels are nothing short of imaculate perfection.
All told I thoroughly enjoyed this collection but just wish it was a sequential release of the issues. The retail asking price is just way too steep for this tome but if you happen to find a cheap copy somewhere, this is well worth it. This is the batman I long to return to. Dark, brooding and dripping with style. Detective Comics.
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January 16, 2020Doug Moench is not a good writer. Or at least he’s not an exciting writer, because I glazed over most of these stories and can’t remember half of them now. The issues here fill the gaps between two post-Knightfall crossovers, Troika and Contagion. There are some plot threads, such as the mayoral election and Jim Gordon and Sarah Essen’s relationship problems, but most stories are throwaway one-and-dones with predictable fighting and tired villain motivations. Moench writes some truly awful, pun-laden dialogue. Still, I do appreciate the episodic nature of this run, as it’s a welcome break from continuity-heavy crossovers. As for Kelley Jones’ art, I liked it in Sandman and I like it here. I know some people hate his exaggerated gothic style, but I find his use of shading and stark close-ups effective for Batman stories. If only the stories were good.
April 9, 2021
Jones is an artist I'm very much on the fence about. His style is distinctive; wonderfully dark and twisted, and he draws Batman almost as a dark, primal force of nature. But literally every panel is surreal-looking, with no connection to reality, and so sometimes it doesn't work well with certain stories. Also, it's much more suited to covers rather than sequential art; the stylised poses and constantly-grimacing and weird faces don't make much sense in interiors. The writing is very 90s and cheesy, though thankfully we are spared sprawling crossovers for the most part (2 chapters of Contagion are included).
June 15, 2019
This collection, which highlights Kelley Jones, is not a highlight for Batman. First off is the obvious hatred I have for Kelley Jones' version of Batman and his ears. After that there are some really cool things he does. His Killer Croc, Swamp Thing, and Scarecrow were all very cool. The stories around them, not so much. Doug Moench does better dealing with creepy not corny and there was a lot of corny here. Overall, this collection just isn't for me.
September 16, 2018
This volume collects Moench and Jones' Batman stint. The things that I liked the most, aside from the art, are the GCPD and Jim Gordon's backstories. As for the art, Jones' style is really unique and is really something to behold once you get used to it (didn't like how he drew Batman at first). My only gripe is they included an issue that they shouldn't have (Troika) and omitted an issue that they should have included, albeit it wasn't drawn by Jones (the last issue of the Black Spider arc).
March 15, 2022
I hated Kelley Jones' art for the first two uses. However, the more I read and saw his art, the more I actually enjoyed it and appreciated it. It's in perfect combination with Doug Moench who gave us a lot of small stories about Batman.
My favorites were the one with Swamp Thing and Deadman. I will probably pick up Volume 2 later on to read more about their comic materials.
My favorites were the one with Swamp Thing and Deadman. I will probably pick up Volume 2 later on to read more about their comic materials.
September 21, 2022
I loved it. Back in the 90s, I read some of those stories from this wonderful team: Jones and Moench. And since I knew their work, became in my favorite team regarding the Dark Knight.
If you have read some of their additional work such "Batman: Unseen", "Batman: Gotham after Midnight" or the Batman-Dracula trilogy, You'll love this one.
Trust me.
If you have read some of their additional work such "Batman: Unseen", "Batman: Gotham after Midnight" or the Batman-Dracula trilogy, You'll love this one.
Trust me.
November 9, 2020
The Murder of the Rue Morgue themed story that concludes this volume is the only story in the collection where the art and writing seem to match the character best. The earlier stories are all over the place with some very good and others unpleasantly strange versions of the dark knight.
August 16, 2024
Maybe one of my biggest Batman hottakes: I refuse to let the Batman fandom gaslight me into thinking Kelley Jones is anywhere near a decent Batman artist. The art's abysmal. And the writing isn't enough to make me power through how distractingly bad it is.
April 26, 2019
Best read in small doses which makes sense as they were published monthly. Kelly Jones' stylization makes for a moody, dark Batman but an oddly stationary one.
August 26, 2019
Estoy escribiendo mis reseñas sobre los comics que leo en twitter, si me quieren seguir es @koga98
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