World Famous Comics: Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?
Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?
By: Neil Gaiman Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 128 Publication Date: August 03, 2010 Release Date: August 03, 2010 Studio: DC Comics
Best-selling author Neil Gaiman (The Sandman) joins a murderer's row of talented artists in lending his unique touch to the Batman mythos for this Deluxe Edition hardcover! Spotlighting the story "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" from Batman #685 and Detective Comics #852, Gaiman joins artist Andy Kubert and inker Scott Williams for a story that shines a new light on the Batman mythos. Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? also collects Gaiman stories from Secret Origins #36, Secret Origins Special #1, and Batman Black And White #2. This collection is not to be missed!
A Look Inside Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?
Product Description: Best-selling author Neil Gaiman (The Sandman) joins a murderer's row of talented artists in lending his unique touch to the Batman mythos for this Deluxe Edition hardcover! Spotlighting the story "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" from Batman #685 and Detective Comics #852, Gaiman joins artist Andy Kubert and inker Scott Williams for a story that shines a new light on the Batman mythos. Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? also collects Gaiman stories from Secret Origins #36, Secret Origins Special #1, and Batman Black And White #2. This collection is not to be missed!
Surprising, thought-provoking, ingenious, wonderful ^ Neil Gaiman and Batman. My favorite author and the most human and interesting of all superheroes. It sounds like a winning combination, and it is.
In the titular story, Batman is no more, and as his friends, acquaintances, and enemies gather to say goodbye, they share their very different stories about how the Caped Crusader met his end. Most of the stories are thought-provoking, some are contradictory, and some are downright shocking...and there's no way of knowing which--if any--are true.
The rest of this book is comprised of past Batman stories penned by Gaiman, a longtime writer of comics and graphic novels.
This book has some really fascinating ideas about Batman. It has kind of changed the way I see the character. Not that I know anything new for sure, but...there's that possibility.
Pretty but too damn short ^ The real run of "Whatever Happened..." is only two issues. I think nobody on these reviews said it. That's a pretty touching story. More than a good-bye for Batman is a good-bye for "Detective Comics" or the "Batman" titles that are no longer on the market. All in all, the two issues are pretty good, but I have the sense that you'll get the most of it if you have follow Batman since the 40's. If not you'll still have some fun but on another lower level.
The rest of the book have 3 different stories: The first is a black and white one were Batman is "backstage" before entering a scene for a comic issue. This one is a DAMN good, original and fun story, but again is a very short story.
The third and fourth story are a waste. The first is about a whatever guy checking is Poison Ivy should stay in jail or go to Arkham. The other story is about a group of reporters who seek the villains to have their part of the story regarding crime. Both stories have a low class art and, except for a speech given by The Riddler (that was pretty touching), the stories are a waste of time and money.
I'll be selling my copy because I thought this was going to be a bridge from RIP to Battle for the Cowl. IS NOT!.
This book is not relevant for the Batman run, so I'll recomend it only if you are a nostalgic one, and even though, I still think is too damn expensive for such a short book.
Gaiman and Kubert succeed in this tribute without tying themselves helplessly to the history ^ Along with Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, Neil Gaiman's Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? gets the Deluxe Edition treatment from DC, with a similar black hardcover--this time imprinted with the Batman logo--and a similar design of dustcover, making it all but irresistible to buy this 2009 effort along with Alan Moore's classic from the 1986.
Gaiman's work follows the same idea, conceptually, as Man of Tomorrow. Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? is designed as a sort of "what if" scenario, giving readers Batman in his final days. But from there, Gaiman departs, making the idea his own for the Dark Knight.
Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? plays like an out-of-body experience for Batman. During the opening panels, Batman is confused about his whereabouts, but is reassured he's in Gotham. Then he's looking down on what appears to be, but cannot possibly be, his own funeral.
Unlike Moore's "imaginary story," which somehow feels a bit more "realistic" in the comparison to Gaiman's take, Caped Crusader is somewhat based in the continuity of Batman. It takes place shortly after Batman's psychological breakdown in Grant Morrison's Batman R.I.P. run, and following the hero's fate in Final Crisis. Gaiman uses this psychological breakdown and questions of his death to set the stage for Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?
The wake takes place at the small Gotham City bar called the Dew Drop. As the story opens, classic villains like Catwoman, Two-Face, and The Joker park their vehicles in the alley. They enter the back room of the bar to find several other villains already enjoying the free refreshments, and the other side of the room filled with Batman's less questionable company.
At the front of the room is a casket, and in it is the Batman. But despite the series being tied to recent events, he's not necessarily the Batman from the current continuity, but one who spans roughly 70 years of Batman history. It's in this that Gaiman's work is a success. Both the villains and fellow heroes stand at the wake over the course of the two-part story to tell tales of Batman and his ultimate demise, but each story, each conclusion to the tale of Batman, is different save for a few common elements.
Andy Kubert's art plays into these conflicting tales in a big way. The pages are big, colorful, and glossy, and Kubert's own touch is present throughout. But he somehow also manages to evoke the styles of Batman artists throughout the character's history, tracing all the way back to creator Bob Kane. It helps enhance each contradictory recounting of Batman's final moments, and also serves as great fan service in what is designed as a farewell to the Caped Crusader. And Gaiman and Kubert succeed in this tribute without tying themselves helplessly to the history. In it, they find an original tale.
But it's hard not to think the purpose of Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? is slightly lost in the mix. It is teetering somewhere between high concept and keeping it simple for the readers. And while its conclusion ultimately works, it's hard not to think it is a bit ham-fisted, for Gaiman at least. The book also seemingly suffers from its ties to recent events. What made Moore's Superman work particularly special is that in being an "imaginary story" it found separation and the ability to work outside of current continuity. The Caped Crusader doesn't have that luxury, but Gaiman still finds a way to make it, at the very least, a hell of a lot of fun.
The Deluxe Hardcover also includes pages from Kubert's sketchbook, alternate covers and four other Batman stories written by Gaiman during different eras. The gem of the bunch is "A Black and White World," treating Batman like a stage play, in which the actors playing the Batman and The Joker talk backstage while waiting to go on in the comic to do their parts. -- William Jones
"Do you know the only reward you get for being Batman?" ^ I decided to read this book because I love almost everything Gaiman writes. I was skeptical of his ability to do super heroes until I read Marvel 1602, which gave me faith that he could handle Batman and make it Gaiman-esque, and I wasn't disappointed. In most of this volume, Batman is observing his own funeral as friends and enemies (mostly the later) share memories of his life and his death. It takes a number of unexpected and interesting turns and twists and was a very enjoyable read. The artwork is awesome, really adding to the experience. Also in this volume is a short piece of comedy in which Batman and the Joker are talking off-camera, a story about a man talking to Poison Ivy in prison, and a story about some documentary television producers interviewing The Riddler. All of the stories were enjoyable and all very different from anything else I've read about Batman. If you like Batman, Neil Gaiman, or both, this volume is worth reading.
Beautiful two-issue elegy for Batman, plus three more unrelated Gaiman Batman stories ^ In the introduction, Neil Gaiman describes his goal of writing "the last Batman story": his effort seems like a resounding success. The beautiful, touching two-part 2009 story from Batman #686 and Detective Comics #853 shows both allies and nemeses sharing their impressions of Batman at a memorial service. Artist Andy Kubert pays homage to previous DC artists by showing different versions of Batman in the flashback sequences. The page count is padded by a ten-page Andy Kubert sketchbook and three unrelated short Batman stories written by Gaiman featuring The Joker, Poison Ivy and The Riddler. The outstanding two-part "Whatever Happened..." story merits five stars, but the remainder of this volume underwhelms for the price, hence the four star rating.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
