Batman: Faces

Batman Post-Crisis #27

by Matt Wagner, Joe R. Lansdale (Introduction)

Harvey Dent - former friend of Bruce Wayne, now the deadly, duality-obsessed villain Two-Face - hatches a plot of horrifying proportions. As a series of plastic surgeons are killed, a real-estate agent is seduced into a plot of blackmail and murder, all to steal an island from Bruce Wayne.

Genres: Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Crime, Graphic Novels Comics

96 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1992

About the author

Matt Wagner is an American comic book writer and artist. In addition to his creator-owned series' Mage and Grendel, he has also worked on comics featuring The Demon and Batman as well as such titles as Sandman Mystery Theatre and Trinity, a DC Comics limited series featuring Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

So this was terrible!

Bruce is trying to buy an island from another rich guy for reasons. Some French doofus wants to buy the island instead. Two-Face has gathered together some carnival freaks, whom he feels an affinity for because of his deformed face, and wants to put them on a zeppelin to somewhere - maybe the island? Apparently this is a story - and it completely sucks!

The art looks like a bad David Mazzucchelli wannabe’s efforts. Even by Matt Wagner’s standards - the hack who gave us Monster Men and The Mad Monk - this is an awful Batman book. Don’t bother with Batman: Feces.

[Sud666 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an "oldie" from 1992. The interesting thing about this volume is that it is written and drawn by Matt Wagner. Wagner is an interesting guy having done work in a variety of comics as diverse as "The Sandman" to "Green Arrow" and "Green Hornet". But, he is best known for his "Grendel" series. His signature art style is on display, as is the more detective focus of the story.

Two-Face has escaped Arkham and is planning on turning everybody into an army of deformed slaves. Batman must stop him. Wagner's story revolves around Bruce Wayne's attempt to buy an island and the more detective aspects of Batman. The social/business side of Wayne mirrored by his alter ego batman, reminded me of the "Grendel" story with Wagner's focus on Hunter Rose's life. The art is certainly reminiscent of Wagner's hallmark style. It is not my favorite, but something about it is strangely attractive and works for the grim tales he pens.

This Batman is all to human. hardly the uber-hero with top of the line gear and tech. He reminds me of a Batman Year One and am surprised at how many people died before he was able to unravel the plot. That makes it different in tone to show Batman as fallible.

The story and art combined to make it an interesting read, though it never elevates itself to a great read. A good addition to the library of any Batman fan, but non-fans can skip this. Though people who like interesting art/story styles may appreciate Wagner's take.

[Mohamed Metwally · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short story, with Two Face as the main focus, his psyche, and his striving for acceptance below his apparent villainy.
Not much of space for Batman to spread his bat wings fully, he actually felt a bit clumsy or like this story takes place in the early days of Bruce taking on the Batman to the crime world...

Good variation on the art from what recent DC comics I've read, looks more fitting with the decade when this was written..

MiM

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting introspection into Harvey Dent / Two Face's physche. Wagner's Batman is solid, and the supporting characters are also engaging enough to warrant a space alongside The Bat. It's more grounded than expected, with very little superhero shenanigans, and a focus on corruption, societal rejection and acceptance instead. It can be a little too transparent in its message at times, but it's still a very decent Batman short.

[Sandee is Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

i love my batman books.
however, i did not love this.
the story just didn't grip me like most batman stories. i think one of the main reason was that i did not like two-face. i couldn't understand why he would want to exploit those people. the reveal towards the end was quite funny if you ask me.
moral lesson of the story is to always have an open communication with the people you would recruit to help you carry out your plans. lol.

[Lono · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wagner's freshman stab at the Dark Knight still held up pretty well for me after this reread. Hard to believe I bought this off the stands almost 25 years ago.



Two-Face takes center stage in this encounter that is set early in Batman's career. Wagner's Dent certainly seems a little more unhinged than some future incarnations of the character. He really comes off as pretty fuckin nuts in this one. That worked for me. His anger at his recent disfigurement, bizarre motives, and obsession with the freaks he now collects and surrounds himself with in this tale produced an interesting take on Ole’Harvey.



Batman's still something of a rookie and this story would probably fit in continuity nicely shortly after Miller's Year One storyline. Wagner’s Bats actually looks a little like Mazzucchelli's version. Bruce is still finding his way as a crime-fighter and gets in over his head a couple of times. I always liked this younger, more fallible version of Batman.



Wagner's uncomplicated and straight-forward story telling style that is present in many of his future Batman stories took root here. Nothing overly obscure or complicated. Appeals to a simple man such as myself. This combined with Matt's "art deco" style of illustration is great. Wagner's art is a little darker and rougher in this one and isn’t quite as polished as some of his more recent work, but is still really to my tastes. Also appreciated Steve Oliff's use of a limited color palette in this book as well. It compliments Wagner's art work perfectly. A lot of Wagner's Batman stuff reminds me of the Max Fleischer's Superman cartoons of the 1940's and the early Batman the Animated Series cartoons in writing and artistic style. Probably why Matt became an immediate favorite of mine.



Not as good as his future Batman stuff, but still a fun little story. While it may be a bit dated when compared to some of the more recent Batman collections, this is still a recommend for Batman enthusiasts and I would certainly give a hardy endorsement to any fan of Matt Wagner’s other works.

Get this review and more at:

[Mizuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman: Faces is a 96 pages short story about...you guessed it, Two Face and his evil scheme.

The artwork is well drawn and endearing, with a lace of gothic and crime-noir undertone, there are a few fine plot twists throughout the story, and there is also a meaningful message in the end (a person might be outwardly looking like a 'freak' but it doesn't mean they always have to be monsters). The ending with Two Face encountered another disfigured man who also had two faces but unlike Two Face, the man insists on having a law-obeying, normal life, and the guy actually called Two Face out on disgracing the other 'freaks'.

Still the main murder mystery plot line feels quite underwhelming. That's why this comic only gets 3 stars from me.

Batman and Robin by Peter Tomasi & Patrick Gleason Omnibus https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review: Batman: Red Hood - The Lost Days https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review: Red Hood: Outlaw vol. 1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review: Batman: Battle For the Cowl: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review: Batman: Life After Death: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review: Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Book Review: Batman: The Long Halloween https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review: The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told Vol. 1 (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)

[Ludwig Aczel · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.5/10
Visually, this is one of the best superheroes comic books that I remember to have seen. Wagner draws with minimalistic elegant lines and bold inking. Backgrounds are rendered with essential strokes of brush, and highlighted by a nice palette of colours. The composition of every panel is great, sometimes fantastic. Characters are quite expressive, Batman in particular: his eyes and mouth line change at almost every panel, providing us with a very cartoony yet very human version of everyone's favourite fascist hero. Wagner seems to have a lot of fun with Batman's cape, finding always interesting ways to make it hang, to make it wave. That is what I expect first and foremost from a Batman comic. So, from the art perspective I only have good things say.

The plot is not too bad. Silly, of course, as expected from a Batman comic: Two Face has conceived a convoluted scheme to still an island (!) and bring there a bunch of physically deformed people (!!). To do what exactly, once there, Harvey? How insane have you become?
The storytelling is overall fine within each scene: no verbosity and nice smooth transitions between panels. However, the transitions between scenes confused me too much. The story unfolds in a weird way, following a weird pace. More than once was I confused about how scenes were related together.
I still have questions. How exactly was the lawyer helpful to Harvey? He must have been, but I cannot tell exactly how. And what is the meaning of Batman leaving a money bill in the wall of one of the victims? Can someone explain me that, please, I really do not get it, at all.
Also, it took me 30 pages to understand that Batman was guessing the next victims of Dent's murderous rampage based on random connections they may have with the number two...but maybe this was just me being dumb.

[Ashly Lynne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Synopsis

Something about Two-Face and Batman. Things happen. They fight. Yada Yada Yada.

Batman: Faces by Matt Wagner and Joe R. Landsdale

★
Genre: Comic Book/Superhero/Sci-Fi
Release Date: July 2008
Source: Library – Borrowed
On My Shelf: No

I'll keep this short and sweet: Don't read this.

It's been awhile since I actually finished reading this, so I can't remember exactly what I disliked most about it, and honestly I can't even remember much of the plot. You know what that means? This comic is utterly forgettable and honestly deserves to be forgotten.

I picked this one up from the Library because I'm me, I love Batman, and I always jump when I see comics I love at the Library. This one should have stayed on the shelves. I wish I could say that there was at least one redeemable thing about this, but there wasn't.

I vaguely remember this being over-written, meaning there was too much writing in comparison with the action. It was a lot of telling and not letting each panel show what was happening. But, that was honestly the least of this comics problems, as I didn't much care what was in the panels anyway. The art was mediocre and unmemorable just like everything else. I wasn't a fan.

Finally, the last thing I need to say is that I vaguely remember this comic being pretty sexist, which was an automatic turnoff for me. Okay, that is all. Thank you and Goodnight.

Overall, I definitely recommend skipping this one. It's not even a little bit worth it.

Review originally published on my Wordpress blog Ashly Reads.

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Weird, and not in a way that was at least entertaining for some of the time. The lettering (especially in Two-Face's speech balloons) was a chore to read. I did not like the artwork, either. Then there are the circus freaks . . .

[Peter Looles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Batman: Faces

"Batman: Faces" is a three issue long story written and drawn by Matt Wagner. Two years after Two-Face escaped from Arkham, various plastic surgeons start getting murdered and Batman believes the two faced villain to be the killer. At the same time, as Bruce Wayne, he's trying to buy an island from another millionaire named Paul. Bruce's plans to get the island start getting interrupted when Two-Face blackmails Paul's real estate agent, Nelson and then Paul himself. The reason behind all this blackmailing being Two-Face's plan to build in this island a "paradise" for deformed people, like himself.
This was a very interesting Batman book. It's the first comic I've read by Matt Wagner, so I didn't know what to expect and I can confidently say that I was pleasantly surprised. Two-Face is one of Batman's most interesting villains, with great potential, but he's still often misused. Aside from "The Long Halloween" and maybe a few other stories, he's usually portrayed in a very bland way. Thankfully, this comics is a great exception. Matt Wagner writes Two-Face extremely well. He perfectly captures his twisted idea of justice, his duality and his unique personality in general. In this story, Two-Face does often act like a mobster, but he's not just that. He's not just robbing banks or killing people he deems to be guilty. He has a specific goal that makes complete sense with his character and his idea of justice. He wants to create a paradise for other deformed people like himself. To do that, he blackmails people, he kills and he takes other deformed people with him, against their will. To him, all these actions are justified. He never accepted his deformation, so he thinks that every deformed person feels the same way, so by putting them all in a private island, alone, without anyone else, he thinks that he's helping them. This is obviously wrong, but to him it makes complete sense and that's how it should be, because that's how his character works. I really loved this aspect of the story and I also liked the message. It's simple, but it's good. It's ok to be different. This has been said countless times, in countless stories, but this comic presents this message in a very unique and interesting way. Other than that, I really liked the parts with Nelson. I think they were very fun and enjoyable to read. Also, I liked the references to Tod Browning's 1932 masterpiece, "Freaks". Furthermore, I think that while this is a Batman story, Batman isn't really one of its most interesting aspects. The parts with Batman were good, but not as good as the ones with Two-Face and Nelson. That being said, I really liked seeing Batman just being Bruce Wayne. I think that there are many Batman stories who could benefit from having him be Bruce Wayne a bit more.
The artwork in this comic is amazing. Matt Wagner has an incredible style that fits very well with his writing. It reminds a bit of Eduardo Risso's style, but maybe with a few less thick shadows. Also, his style seems a bit cleaner. Furthermore, he's great at drawing both Two-Face and Batman and both the page structure and the panel composition are always incredible.
Overall, this was a very good and short Batman comic that I'd put amongst the best ones that feature Two-Face.
9/10

[Eddie B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

My third encounter with Matt Wagner; an artist I have learned to appreciate.

[Valéria. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn’t bad-bad, and story had a few nice moments, also the art was quite nice (except few panels that will be the cause of my next nightmares), but other than that, I can’t say anything that would make me like it as much as other Wagner’s work.

[Layton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just…not great. Matt Wagner’s art has never done much for me and it didn’t work in this volume, sometimes being almost incomprehensible. The story itself wasn’t very interesting and I doubt I’ll remember it in a few months. Wagner also doesn’t characterize Two-Face very well. Reading this sandwiched in between two other Batman stories that do (Dark Victory and Robin: Year One) it really is apparent.

[Aaron · Rating 1 out of 5]

This comic was extremely nothing. The story unfolds in big leaps and jumps without any real justification or rising tension. I didn't understand the motivations behind half of what Two-Face is doing in here (kidnapping a bunch of circus freaks to start his own island nation? not exactly something that screams "Two Face"), and the supporting characters are empty ciphers for the plot that behave like complete idiots the entire time.

Also, Batman is kind of a moron in this? He effectively does nothing to change the outcome of the story at all, and in fact boneheaded mistakes he makes lead to the deaths of multiple people. He literally does not save a single person who is in danger, but never really suffers for it. You never see him realize these deaths were preventable, so from the Wagner's viewpoint, I guess he thinks there was nothing Batman could've done to save these people. But, wrong. At one point Batman escapes Two Face only to instantly get captured again, while also leading Two Face directly to another man he was trying to catch. Then Two Face just kills the guy while Batman watches. Great work, Bruce!

It's also never explained why Two Face, a criminal mastermind who bases every decision on the flip of a coin, decided to make his own nation. It's... ridiculous. Also, it turns out that the circus freaks he got to join him, who we've been told are threats the entire story, don't even want to be there, and were only there because he made them be there. So the plot of this nonsense is that Two Face wanted to start a nation of freaks who didn't even want to join him, so he forced them to do so at gunpoint. What? What kind of plan is that? It gains him nothing, does nothing for anyone, and only sets him up to be seen as a massive threat by Gotham and/or the government. It's so stupid.

Anyway, the art in this is genuinely hard to look at, so there's no saving grace there. I can safely say to avoid this one at all costs.

[Tomás Sendarrubias García · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rostros es una de las historias que se publicó en la colección Legends of the Dark Knight, y que surgió a raíz del estreno de la película de 1989 para dar cabida a historias cortas escritas por grandes autores y que transcurrían fuera de continuidad, es decir, recurrían a un Batman icónico, de modo que lo que ocurría en la trama no tenía por qué repercutir en las colecciones regulares. EN este caso, Rostros es una obra que tiene a Matt Wagner, autor de Grendel o Sandman Mistery Theatre como guionista y dibujante. La historia que Wagner cuenta es un enfrentamiento entre Batman (por el uniforme que lleva es un Batman primigenio, anterior al cambio de imagen de Carmine Infantino y el óvalo amarillo en el pecho) y Dos Caras, que se escapa de Arkham para comenzar una serie de ataques y asesinatos en Gotham con la habitual mala baba que caracteriza a los villanos de Batman, completamente presos de sus fijaciones y sus delirios. Y en este caso, mientras Batman intenta encontrar a Dos Caras, Bruce Wayne litiga con el misterioso comprador de una isla, mientras el agente inmobiliario que trata la venta es seducido por una misteriosa mujer con acento francés... Wagner hace que las historias vayan confluyendo, y rodea a Dos Caras de una troupe de monstruos de circo (me ha recordado muchísimo en esta lectura a la cuarta temporada de American Horror Story, a Freak Show), y a estudiar cómo afecta su imagen a sus vidas, con Dos Caras como adalid... o quizá no tanto como el piensa.

Rostros es una historia que se lee fácilmente, y que está dotada de la gran personalidad que impone el dibujo de Matt Wagner... pero que realmente no es mucho mejor que otro millar de historias que se han escrito sobre Batman, y se pierde un poco en ese maremágnum de grandes cómics, donde queda bastante deslucido.

[S.E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a little surprised that this work is so thoroughly reviled. It's amusing (but also disappointing) that people have interpreted it as a Mazzucchelli ripoff as opposed to an homage. If it's even that; I've always enjoyed the styles of both artists. I like less-busy and/or rough-hewn artwork. Wagner definitely delivers economy of lines. The panels are moody. It's true that there isn't much "action," but that's clearly not the point of this work. I enjoy this story especially because it's more about psychology and intrigue than it is about punching people in the face and flinging batarangs.

People's negative reactions to this story evince the pitfalls of expectation. It seems clear that people expected, or at least wanted, something different and, since they didn't get it, they've concluded that the work is execrable. That's a facile conclusion. I find it evident that great care went into writing, drawing, and painting this book. It's a shame that people can't put their wish-fulfillment aside and recognize the effort that went into something that is not, by any sober measure of craft, crap. It's not incoherent. It's not poorly drawn. It's not slipshod. It's just not to the taste of many of these reviewers.

If you're interested in an almost anti-comic book take on a Batman versus Two-Face tale, check this one out. The villain himself isn't the only bad guy. There's a lot of moral ambiguity at play. Heaps of shame lay the foundation for the blackmail that—despite protestations that the plot is weak—underpins the quite clever story. It has so much subtext. It challenges convention. It eviscerates normalcy and engenders sympathy for the villain, but doesn't let him off the hook. It drives home the point that perception is not reality and that beauty is subjective, among other rich tropes that I won't belabor by listing. See for yourself.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wagner's exquisite painting made a this *** story a must-read. I've decided, with proper thought as I consulted my shelf housing only The Batman and Gotham, that his painted Batman (in this) is unequivocally my favorite! Paul Pope has the best design but I wouldn't want it painted- it's too perfect with his tools.

I am a HUGE fan of Wagner if you discount that boorish ponce Gren-Dilettante but his story had too many flaws. I always grant History's Greatest Detective absurd instinct but on top of the heap of that were coincidences that made me groan and situations that only make sense to "capes and tights" readers. Obviously The Batman, while having a cape and tight fatigues, does not belong with that crowd because they both have practical use and he's a man of skills that are all technically achievable.

Matt does moralistic stories well and I must concede that he succeeded, with flair, in portraying his chosen treatment with the utmost quality of character and dialog.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, that sucked.

This comic was...weird, and not in a good way. It was rushed and boring, also it was presented as a mystery but the reader is well aware of what is going on and the greatest detective in the world should have some sort of inkling as well. This was just stupid, I guess I get the point that being a 'Freak' isn't the same as being a monster and that just because Two-Face is deformed doesn't mean he should become a criminal, no kidding. HE IS FRICKEN INSANE! Hello, that's why he was locked up in Arkham at the beginning of the story.

I found this to be very poorly written, badly executed, and altogether pointless. This comic is supposed to be one of the most controversial Batman comics ever due to the portrayal of what would harshly be referred to as 'sideshow freaks'. I didn't find it all that scandalous and the art is done so poorly that every character looks misshapen.

Do yourself a favor and skip this one, not a single page of it is worth reading.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This hasn't aged that well, and feels weirdly like a retelling of the infamous cult classic film "Freaks" from the 1930s.

I like Matt Wagner's art, he has an almost silver-age quality to the work that suits the overall story. It's the kind of setting where you expect to see mooks with tommy guns shooting up the place.

The subplots involving characters born with deformities seems well intentioned but feels a bit antiquated now, and after a particular character gets blackmailed and reveals why, I immediately wondered how nobody noticed his issue and secondly why didn't he have corrective surgery.

I see I originally gave this two stars, upon re-reading it, I'm keeping that rating if only because I really like Wagner's art.

Notes for my DC Re-Read: There is no sign of Robin or Batgirl, so I assume this takes place before they appear. Gordon seems to be commissioner (or at least has grey hair) so I'm going to place this before "Dark Victory".

[Matt Shaqfan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think I can say that I'm not a fan of Matt Wagner. I've read a number of his books now and nothing's ever really moved me. I will say that I really like his art on this-- his Batman reminds me of Dave Mazzicchulli's (or whatver). But the story was weak, and pacing lacking impact. Maybe rushed? Whatever. Just kinda shrugged my shoulders atthe end of this.

[Kurt Rocourt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its one of the best Harvey "Two-Face" Dent stories. Along with the Long Halloween this shows why Two-Face is such a great Batman villain.

[Nate]

I’ll pick up any Matt Wagner book because I enjoy his art. Unfortunately, Faces is one of his weaker efforts. The plot: Two-Face gathers (read: forces) a group of circus “freaks” to populate a utopia where they can live free from society’s judgment and prejudice. To do so, he sabotages Bruce Wayne’s attempt to buy a French island. This book is only three issues long and I was bored for half of it. Wagner’s art shines (clearly influenced by Mazzuchelli and Mignola), but it’s not enough to save a less-than-gripping story. For Wagner books set in Batman’s early days, read Monster Men and Trinity instead.

[drown_like_its_1999 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Newly escaped from Arkham Asylum, Two-Face begins a campaign of murdering high profile individuals leading double lives. As Batman investigates these crimes, Dent works behind the scenes to acquire an island which he intends to migrate to alongside a collection of disfigured "freaks" he kidnapped.

This narrative was a mess. Not only are Two-Face's motivations ludicrous (absconding to a private island to live with a group of kidnapped circus freaks), but the more interesting "double life" murders barely play into the resolution except as a distraction for Batman. I did at least like the blocky art style and got a chuckle at how many ways Wagner could shoehorn the number two into the narrative.

[William Bainbridge · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5
A solid read but nothing special with some big flaws. The sentiment the plot is trying to show is nice and something I can get behind but i found the execution to be weak and full of plot holes. I was also not a big fan of the art style. I did like the detective side of batman it showed though.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodish story. I am not a fan of the style of artwork it is a little too vague. The story was good even if it was a little basic. I enjoyed the character of too face and how he conflicts with batman and the secrecy around d'urberville that is left till the end to be revealed.

[Kevin Duvall · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great-looking book with a pretty ok plot.

[Elijah · Rating 1 out of 5]

A short, standalone Batman tale, Batman: Faces leaves more to be desired. Running at only three issues in length (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #28-30), this story is a quick and easy read, however I think DC really could (and should) have included some more issues in this collection (like Legends of the Dark Knight #31-34, for instance) to make this paperback more worthwhile.

As the cover indicates, this is a Two-Face story. Personally, I was not a fan of Wagner's art and I didn't think much of the story. Although the story's overall message was good, the lackluster execution dimmed its impact.

There are definitely other Two-Face stories out there which are more enjoyable and meaningful ( The Long Halloween , Dark Victory , Batman and Robin Vol. 5 The Big Burn being some examples off the top of my head).

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wagner (the Grendel creator) fills in some Batman-TwoFace early encounters continuity with this weird story of TwoFace's scheme to build a "Deformity Nation" consisting of kidnapped circus freaks with him as their leader on an island. Super-cool, deco artwork with some odd play with the panel interiors and the movement within it. Great story improves on Wagner's other Batman books. Bats is much more the detective here, which is refreshing. Lots of weird Bond-like gadgets, too.

[Matej · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just bad, I believe this was one of the worst characterizations of Two-Face to date, his plans are just absurd and his motivation is weak. The story has no real twists or turns and ends up pretty anticlimactic.
I don't think I would recommend this even to the hardcore Batman or Two-Face fans.