batman ^ i had this series as a kid and was delighted when i found it for my nephew who couldnt put it down either!!
A Decent End to a Great Series ^ Part III, which details Bruce Wayne's comeback and his efforts to take the mantle of Batman back from a renegade John Paul Valley. Unfortunately, Part III picks up at issue Batman #506, which creates a sizable hole between parts II and III, especially since in the interim J.V.P. lets two men die, driving Bruce, Time, and Dick (Batman, Robin, and Nightwing) to wage their quest against him. The story does a great job of creating a distinction between Valley's armor and weapons and Wayne's belief in Ninjisu, Gymnastics, and Martial Arts. For a comic fan, the progess of Bruce back to top form is truly enjoyable in the vein of Batman Begins. With an exceptional final battle between Bruce and J.P.V., this is a good conclusion to the story Knightsend; the only drawback is the frustration over the missing parts of the story.
The Comic Book Equivelent of a Summer Blockbuster! ^ At the end of the two volume Knightfall story, Batman is left in a wheel chair and Jean Paul Valley is left in the role of Batman. At the beginning of KnightsEnd, the final chapter of this long saga, Bruce Wayne is fully recovered from his severe spinal injuries and now has to re-train himself to reclaim the mantle of Batman from the now mentally unhinged Jean Paul. If you are confused, that's because DC never bothered to reprint the second story arc, Knightsquest, which put Bruce Wayne on the road to recovery (in a very convaluted and unconvincing way) and sent Jean paul Valley into a mental breakdown after he murders one of Abbatoir, one of Batman's minor rogues. This book reprints the 10 part storyline which ran in the monthly Batman, Detective Comics, Shadow of the Bat, Legends of the Dark knight and Catwoman comics. The writing on this one is fairly consistant and simple; Batman runs a gaunlet set up by Lady Shiva to ensure his retraining is complete so he can tackle his imposter, and after proving his abilities, Batman, along with Nightwing, Robin and Catwoman face down the rampaging faux Batman all over Gotham City. Not very profound, but this is the comic book equivelent of a summer action movie. The artwork may be where readers will feel let down. Although Graham Nolan (On Detective Comics) and Barry Kitson (on the final Legends chapter) do their usual great job, Ron Wagner (Legends) and Brett Blevins (Shadow of the Bat) are irritatingly bad. Mike Manley's (Batman comics) work is competent, but that's it. Overall, there are more well drawn chapters than badly drawn, but the book still suffers from "Crossover Syndrome", where each chapter doesn't quite fit with the one before due to the severe change in style between artists. The climax, or anticlimax, is outstanding. Dennis O'Neil proves he is one of the best Batman writers in the character's history with Batman using his brains rather than fist to defeat his far stronger foe, but as then Group Editor of the Batman books at DC Comics, he really should have paid more attention to the artwork.
Great Story! ^ This is one of my favourite Batman G/N
The Batman has returned. Stronger then ever!
A must!
Maybe I missed something.. ^ Firstly, I should say that the Knightfall collections are great. Watching Bane wear down Bruce Wayne systematically in the first volume or seeing Bruce Wayne's slow return to recovery in the second were well done. Then we come to volume 3. My biggest gripe with the third volume is how disjointed it is from the second. Plot lines started in the second volume are never picked up again. The transition from the first volume to the second is very clean. It's almost as though you're turning a page. The end of the second volume sees Bruce Wayne in South America attempting to rescue two people close to him who have been kidnapped. Jean Paul Valley is spiraling out of control but volume 2 still ends on a high note wherein he refuses to kill Bane. One opens volume 3 to discover that Bruce is walking again, training with lady Shiva, and Jean Paul Valley has gone completely insane and has, at some point, become murderous. It seems like the series would have been better served by having a volume 2.5. Now, none of this is to say that this volume is a poor book. As it is, it satisfyingly completes the storyline as Bruce attempts to reclaim the mantle of the bat.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
