Batman: Engines

Legends of the Dark Knight (1989) #74-75

by Ted McKeever

Originally published in: Legends of the Dark Knight #74-75

Genres: Dc Comics, Comic Book

Comic

Published January 1, 1995

About the author

Theodore Paul McKeever is an American artist known for his work in several comic book companies. McKeever has written and also fully painted many comics. He is known for his distinct graphic style.

Reviews

[Ludwig Aczel · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10
I do not like pompous first person narration. Especially in the medium of comics, where words are just subsidiary tools and not the core of the language. (I am talking to you, Emil Ferris!) Especially especially in superheroes comics, where I want to see punches and shooting, not cheap existentialist lucubrations. Especially especially especially in Batman comics, because...I don't even know...because fuck Frank Miller, there you go, that's why.
And of course, what do I do? I unknowingly search for the the most pompous first person narration ever in the history of the dark knight. Ted McKeever, you are such an amazing artist, why the need to burn in our mind that writing actual prose is not your job?
Beside that (but that's a big 'beside'), I kinda liked this 50-pages long story.
From what I could understand, this is the tale of an absolute loner, unloved by his own parents, and grown with the perception that he did not even exist, socially, hence somehow physically. Obsessed with the notion of decay, and haunted by the voices of the billions who died of a violent death without getting a chance to get old and decay, our loner turns into a vigilante-serial killer. Batman's intervention takes an allegoric turn in more than one way, so much that we, just like the protagonist, are left without knowing what in this story is supposed to be facts and what is the production of a deranged mind abandoned by a cold society.
The idea is overall cool, and in the end the first person narration inevitable. But maybe a bit less of Shakespearean yearning would have served the cause.
The strong point of this story is the art, just breathtaking at every panel. McKeever goes full German expressionist on this two issues of Legends of the Dark Knight: everything, from the characters to the industrial background, is creepily cartoony, and supported by the boldest brush strokes I have ever seen in a comic book. An unapologetic use of the airbrush and vivid colours add a lot to the whole. (I now wonder if such an art, which I perceive as beautiful, may not appear to a comic artist as pompous as the corresponding prose.)

In the end, one of the most beautiful Batman that I have ever read. Batman's fans must not share the same view, though: this story seems not republished anywhere, and I could easily find the original two single issues for a couple of £'s on eBay. Not to mention a complete lack of comments on the story on the web, not just here on Goodreads! Well, to each their own, I guess.

[Kormak · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Engines" was one of my first encounters with a Batman comic that transcended mere pulp entertainment (I tip the hat to my fellow Polish readers of TM-Semic).

Suddenly, the Dark Knight was not just a masked detective in a world of grandiose villainy, but a figure tangled in psychological complexity, his story laced with existential weight -quoting Kafka, no less. And then there was the art. Ted McKeever’s jagged, nightmarish visuals weren’t just illustrations; they were manifestations of unease, twisting Gotham into something raw, spectral, and utterly hypnotic.

Revisiting it decades later, I’m relieved - and exhilarated - to find that it has lost none of its power. The impact remains, undimmed.

[drown_like_its_1999 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eustace Marker is a troubled Gotham slaughterhouse worker that spends his days ruminating over the virtues of physical and spiritual decay. He marvels at the ability of Gotham to foster degradation and launches a violent crusade against those citizens that look to make the metropolis a "better" place. His psychopathic endeavor soon puts him in conflict with Batman, fueling a deeper dive into psychosis that reframes how the madman sees the caped crusader, himself, and the city they occupy.

I love crime stories delivered from a psychopath's perspective and this is perhaps my favorite execution of that setup within a Batman shell (with a second place shout out to "An Innocent Guy" by Bolland). While I'm sure some will find the poetic prose pretentious, I found it convincingly conveyed the misguided righteousness of the villain and added some nice texture to the exposition. The writing and visual presentation also strikes an intriguing balance between exaggerated and sober, where it's often ambiguous whether the events displayed are actually happening or if they're just delusions / hallucinations. Art throughout is also quite expressive and full of personality, reminiscent of Kindt or Lemire but more morbid.

[Renan Fontes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, stylish art. Great mix of action and philosophy. I love the stream of consciousness narration that gets more chaotic as the narrator's mental state breaks down. A good read that's hard to put down.

[Jeff Lorentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cerebral indie comix about the caped crusader. Ted McKeever does what he does best here: lay down big lines and outside-the-box stories. It doesn't hit quite the highs he's hit before, but it's pretty cool to see him tackling this nonetheless.