Superheroes and Comic Book Club discussion

Discuss the March book of the month here!

Don't forget to use spoiler tags, so we don't spoil the story for anyone who hasn't finished it.

Batman: The Ultimate Evil is a book written with a purpose not only to entertain, but to educate. Child molesting is a deep and dark subject to write about, but Andrew Vachss did it with conviction and tact. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned from it.

This book is a good example of what in the trade we call Use Western Union. Like, if you have a message. The Important Message has to be carefully balanced with what the story and the work has to have (plot, character, action, and so on, you know), and if it slips out of true then the work becomes more of a sermon.
This book, I suggest, falls over that line. It is not as GOOD, as ENTERTAINING as it ought to be.

I really did enjoy this book; putting Batman into a realistic situation is a nice twist and dealing with child molestation and the harm it can cause is important to talk about. Also Vachss makes the book suspenseful.

I was a little torn about this book.

While I see what you're saying, Brenda, I thought the balance between message and story was more well-done.

But I do think it pulls him out of the fantasy superhero world he lives in, and puts him in the real world, facing the real ugliness that exists there, and that was a bit weird for me.

Ultimately (ha!) I did enjoy the story and thought it was well-written.

A little Martha Wayne depth was really fun.