Batman: Damned #3

Batman Damned #3

by Brian Azzarello, Lee Bermejo (Illustrator)

The stunning conclusion to the groundbreaking miniseries by the critically
acclaimed team of writer Brian Azzarello and artist Lee Bermejo is here! Batman’s most baffling case brings him face to face with his worst nightmare in this highly anticipated finale!

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

51 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 26, 2019

About the author

Brian 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...

Reviews

[Димитър Цолов · Rating 4 out of 5]

Чинно си препрочетох предните два албума, в опит да уловя всички неясни моменти към финала на историята, но пак не смятам, че я разбрах на сто процента. Яко оплетена работа в духа на, да речем, Ангелско сърце. Както и да е, изключително доволен съм от раздвижването на комикс-нишата у нас и ще продължа да подкрепям обичайните заподозрени от Артлайн Студиос.

[Etienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5. The art was absolutely amazing for this short series. Unfortunately this ending wasn't as good as I was hoping/expecting. It was good, but it wasn't great. Even a bit confusing, trying to hard maybe... I would love to have more often those kind of darker Batman series. A series worth it for sure, but... again... it could have been so much more...

[Václav · Rating 2 out of 5]

Azzarello and his Batman on a trip (and I do not mean a vacation in Paris, but some delusional deep ayahuasca hallucinations). Actually, I do not know what I should think about this miniseries. I like the cameos, but they actually don't have any real significance. Well, nothing has any significance here. I don't know what's actually going on here and I realized I actually do not care. The art is nice, dark and rich, but I eventually lost all enthusiasm and interest in it. And I realized that Bermejo's massive Batman does not fit my idea of a strong but very agile fighter. This Batman looks he can punch a guy through three walls but can't run through a warehouse in a decent time. The "WOW effect" wore out and I had a hard time to finish this last issue.

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mini series would have been better had they marketed it for what it really is: a Constantine story. Ghosts, magicians, demons, other worlds, Swamp Thing...They should have just had Constantine helping a random person, but Batman sells so... Honestly, it felt like early Vertigo Hellblazer with Batman forced awkwardly into it.

Also, don't ask me what this story is about or what the major plot points are, because I read the thing and still can't tell you.

All the stars go to the art, which is consistently amazing. Maybe the best I have ever personally seen in a series. Every single panel is an absolute work of art. I wish the story was better, because this art deserves to be in a five star book.

[Andrada · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received the german edition of this comic as a free review copy, nevertheless my opinion is my own. Okay so let's talk about this ending of a comic book series that kinda stole it's way into my heart in the first place with it's amazing drawings and the way it has been designed overall. I love the DC Black Label in general, through it we get to experience new paths in the life of our favorite heroes (our villians) without getting everything else out of context. Batman Damned started as an amazing journey, I mean it's a story in which the Joker seems to be dead and Batman looses his mind while Constantine is trying to help him and meanwhile narrating the whole story. Even though it's always been very short it is just amazing to see this REALLY dark side of the dark knight. Therefor, I was excited to see what is going to happen at the end of it. Regarding the art by Bermejo: Like I already mentioned, there is not much to say except that it is amazing. It is dark, detailed and powerful and I really loved that. The story writing and character writing of Azzarello was great in the first comic but sometimes kinda got lost throughout the series. The tone of the characters is always the same, something in which Azzarello succeeded. I don't know if I have been too confused to read between the lines but still it kinda felt unfinished and even though it may have been the intention of the author to leave the reader without answers regarding certain parts it kinda felt a bit like a dead end when I reached the last pages of the comic, which made me turn around on my heels and so I can start again just to make sense out of this mess. It would be wrong to say that it is the main problem of the comic. The main problem would be: This could have been so much more and my exceptions were way too high. To say that it is bad that we have not gotten answers for every aspect of it for example how Batman did end up in that coffin at the beginning of the story or the more important question: Which part of the story did really happen and which part has been just an illustration of a wild illusion. I think that it has been the intention that the reader needs to find out which parts have been real and which were not, especially since the narrator portrait by Constantine (something I really enjoyed by the way) already kind of mentioned that but still I needed some kind of conclusion which was missing. I did my research and many said that Damned felt like an addition to "Joker" by the same authors. I think this is problematic since I have not read it and do not know if it would have been clearer for me. Overall I really enjoyed the Damned trilogy as a huge Batman and Joker fan but I hoped for more and this left me a bit disappointed.

[Walome · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pfff já nevim, tohle bylo trochu zklamání. Nakreslený je to skvěle, Swamp Thing je parádní (konečně jeho huba nevypadá jako chladič od starýho auta) a atmosféru to pořád má. Ale NIC SE TAM NEDĚJE. Celý tři sešity se nestane vůbec nic, vše se stane jen skoro. Skoro se Batman vyspí s Harley, skoro Batman zabije Jokera... chybí tomu cokoli, co by se vepsalo do mojí paměti na delší dobu než pár hodin.

Ale aspoň to dává smysl, což je u Azzarella dycky bonus.

Podle mě by měl ten komiks mít každý fanoušek Batmana kvůli kresbě, jinak je to fakt slabší.

[Olly · Rating 3 out of 5]

La lettura di questa run ha messo alla dura prova la mia conoscenza della lingua inglese, in generale non quando il paranormale si mischia con le storie di Batman, e temo di non aver compreso quello che l'autore mi volesse dire. Bellissimi i disegni e i flash back!

[Siona Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story didn’t end really well for me but the art was bloody amazing. Truly, one if the best pieces of art I’ve ever seen.

[Nahid Hasan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This issue could be more thrilling. Though this was an absolute entertainment.

[Derek Neveu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a delayed release on these books took whatever joy could come out of them away. Outside of the whole “ Bat-a-wang” controversy in book one, this title squandered potential and ended up being very pedestrian at best.

[deniz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Çizimlerine bayıldığım bir çizgi roman serisi oldu bu. Buradan sevdiceğime teşekkürler.
not: son kısım...

[Drew Ames · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the first two issues of this three-issue series. Then the third issue was delayed and delayed again, and then it came out and the ending didn't actually make any sense. That is, until I read this: https://www.bleedingcool.com/2019/06/...

There are spoilers all over that link.

So, the ending of this series is a direct tie-back to the author's and artist's previous "Joker" graphic novel. Having never read the Joker graphic novel, I had no idea who the character was that Batman meets in the morgue, nor his significance. Ugh. I thought about picking Joker up to get the backstory, but a review/summary mentioned a rape scene and that's a turn-off. The rest of the sub-plot with Enchantress and Bruce Wayne's parents never got resolved, so I guess there's going to be a follow-up. Maybe?

The first two issues laid a very interesting groundwork. The art was really good, and then the third issue hit with a whimper instead of a bang.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

My nephew got this so I decided to check it out. Not really my thing, but the artwork was cool. Hard to follow the story as it was really vague on details

[Katrine Austin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brilliant artwork making horror out of this gothic Gotham. Plot had little to do with book 2? Constantine also seems randomly inserted. Am I curious for book 4? Absolutely.

[Martin Doychinov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Не ми хареса нито финалът, нито историята. Опитът са по-сложен сюжет е неуспешен, защото изпада в алогизми и хаос. Артът е нелош.

[Christl Bücher NewsWelt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was habe ich Band 3 entgegen gesehnt! Ich LIEBE diese Reihe und bin ihr total verfallen. Noch nie fand ich einen Batman so toll. Der Zeichenstil gefällt mir so unglaublich gut! Er ist düster, spannend und einfach genial! Ich find auch das dies kein einfacher Comic ist, sondern Kunst! Nicht nur vom Cover sondern auch vom Inhalt! Die Story ist vielleicht ein bisschen Konfus/Irre aber irgendwie macht es das für mich auch gerade so interessant!

Für alle Fans von Band 1 und 2 ein absolutes muss. Ich bin auf jeden fall gespannt ob noch mehr von DC Black Label kommt!!!

[Rolando Marono · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estaba entre darle tres estrellas o cuatro. La verdad es que Azarello escribió una historia muy compleja, y no se esmeró por hacerla más simple. Lo que tampoco está mal, a veces como lectores esperamos que todo esté digerido, en esta historia no, hay que masticarle para poder entender que está sucediendo.
El problema es que aún después de masticarle un rato, entendí algunas cosas pero muchas otras están confusas. En el primer volumen Azarello nos muestra que Bruce era testigo de las infidelidades de su papá, lo que aparentemente no evoluciona a ningún lado. Las apariciones de Enchantress tienen una explicación pero tampoco es clara, porque en el mero final, Azarello introduce a Spectre y le da otro giro a la historia, haciéndola aún más compleja y poniéndome en un dilema. O lo que sucedió con Enchantress es real y entonces nada tiene sentido, incluyendo Joker la obra anterior de Azarello y Bermejo, o lo de Spectre es real y entonces no tenía ningún sentido meter los sucesos con Enchantress.
Hay rumores de que falta una obra más en esta trilogía compuesta por Joker y Batman Damned. Quizá ahí terminemos de obtener respuestas.
Como conclusión de Batman Damned, el tomo tres me dejó con un sabor agridulce. Algunas de las cosas que entendí después de meditar y releer esta obra me gustaron mucho. Azarello se arriesgó con un concepto interesante y nos muestra facetas interesantes del personaje. Por otro lado hay cosas que no me quedan claro y me impiden tener una imagen completa de la obra, causándome frustración.
Esperaré a la tercera parte de esta trilogía y trataré de leer todo junto para poder editar mis reseñas y ofrecer, quizá, una mejor crítica en un futuro.
Lo que sí no cambiará seguramente es el arte de Azarello. Impresionante. Su dominio del ritmo narrativo a través de ilustraciones es enfermizo. Un verdadero genio del híper realismo en cómics.

[Rae]

I don't even know how to rate this.
Incredible art, no doubt. Dark and captivating. (to be fair I'm not a huge fan of how Batman is portrayed but you can't fault the gorgeous work at play). The story? Confusing and ultimately overdone. I really enjoyed the first issue and felt it had promise, but 2 and 3? Not so much and I almost feel like they lost their mojo after #1. Was it the Batawang controversy?

[Petr Nakasharal Fabián · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naprosto chápu, proč to vzbuzuje tak rozpolcený reakce. Azzarello se zase tváří jako filosof a megapřísnej husťák ačkoliv nic z textu mimo bubliny není relevantní a většinu času nedává smysl. Ale zároveň je to naprosto ryzí devadesátkový Vertigo - speciálně Hellblazer a Lucifer a to mě baví. Já si Damned strašně užil plus art Bermeja je neskutečnej a jeho stylizace mi fakt sedí.

[Jayda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was a letdown but that art is so freaking stunning. Zatanna looked great and Swamp Thing looked so awesome. This art with a more engaging story would be a thrill.

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spectacular art, incredible characters, but a total waste of them both. This "end" simply isn't one. And it's utterly incomprehensible and disappointing and worthless without reading some other series which we were never told had anything to do with this in the first place (https://www.bleedingcool.com/2019/06/...). 5 stars for Bermejo's art but a mere 1 for Azzarello's belabored, pretentious waste of potential. Ugh. I won't be buying that first story and I definitely won't be buying the next. This team has lost my interest and my respect.

[Jeremy Whetzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic End

Batman: Damned has been an incredible journey. The story snakes it's way through the darkness behind the Dark Knight and through the city he fights so hard to protect. Yes, it was a frame of artwork that out this title on the map for most readers, but it's the brilliantly told story and gritty gorgeous artwork that has kept out interest piqued for the end of this bloody, bold, deeply dark, insightfully intense storyline. My only hope is that DC Black Label keeps the standards this high for all future titles.

[Ricardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have to say, I didn’t expect that ending. But I think it was a good thing it didn’t finish with a happy ending. Yes, many of the things that happened came out of nowhere and without solid explanation, but I guess that’s what you get when Constantine is the one who tells the story. The art was stunning as always and the one thing that kept me glued to the comic, because if we’re being honest the story was kind of bland, especially if you consider the fact that it’s part of the black label. For that I’m giving this last entry 3.5/ 5 stars.

[Philmore Olazo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book kind of reminds me of the Justice League: Dark movie.

Not in a good way mind you, like with that movie, I feel that the story would be much better if it didn’t have Batman shoved into a story where he doesn’t really work.

In the end we get a terrible conclusion and no resolution to anything. It’s just Batman lost control and supernatural forces were punishing him. The only good thing I can see in this book is the art, when it’s not unnecessarily edgy.

What a let down and what a terrible way to showcase your mature printing.

[José Miguel (TheHudson) · Rating 3 out of 5]

El arte de este arco sigue siendo fenomenal, a pesar de que la historia es confusa.

Una pesadilla de Batman hecha dibujos de una forma sublime y con una trama por ratos inentendible, pero que atrapa.

Al terminar este tercer y último tomo, me enteré que es necesario leer "Joker" de los mismos autores, para entender el hilo de la historia.

Lo anterior no quita la majestuosidad para cerrar este arco de tres actos.

[Adhit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Endingnya, duh kalau dibilang kentang (kena tanggung sih nggak ya), cuma kan si John Constantine ini bisa macam malaikat gitu yg bawa roh orang kemana2 terus dibalikin ke tempat awalnya lagi, jadinya kek gimana gitu.

Disini aku mau kasih 5 bintang buat Lee Bermejo si Illustrator, yg udah bikin illustrasi dari buku 1 s.d 3 ini keren banget. Patut dibaca sih ini buku buat penggemar Batman. Soalnya gambarnya nyenengin mata...haha

[Yahya Baş · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conclusion that successfully sums up and concludes the mini story. To be honest, it was not so easy to get the point about Joker in this story arc until the very latter pages of episode three. I think it tied the fact about Joker to a satisfying conclusion. And to a nod about a possible spin-off story, of course.

[Димитър Йосифов · Rating 3 out of 5]

Определено не много силен финал на една инак интересна история, която има адски много потенциал. Жалко, че финала е ялов, пак се връщаме към слабото начало от книжка едно. Това което ме зарадва страшно много беше появата на “блатното нещо” в началото. Не ми хареса ретроспекцията, на нея се отдели прекалено много време, а нямаше нужда, всички знаем историята на Брус и как той става Батман.

[Bo Kuhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeply weird little book, gorgeous art and paneling, but Constantine makes for a horrible narrator in a book where he basically does nothing of consequence for most of his time on panel. Some weird implications in part 2 that I thought would be addressed more clearly here, but they really are not. I think the art truly holds this up even with its mid and muddled writing

[Mikhael · Rating 2 out of 5]

И вот он закономерный финал - очевидная концовка очень невнятного сюжета окончательно запорола просто шикарнейшую графическую работу. Как, почему, зачем? Неизвестно.
Рисовка попрежнему 4,5 \ 5
Сюжет (и очевидная концовка) 2\5
Минус балл за то, что умудрились запороть отличный потенциал.