Legends of the Dark Knight (Digital)

[Paul (ral)]

Discussion on the new weekly digital Batman comic

[Paul (ral)]

Issue 1 was released today.

I wasn't sure how I felt about this one after the first read, so I gave it a few more reads. One of the things I worry about with this new trend of releasing digital comics on a weekly basis is that quality will suffer...maybe stories and art will be trashed out without the usual care and attention. I wasn't overly impressed with the recent Smallville Season 11 (well of the first 3 issues I purchased).

I don't want to give anything away about the story...but the title "The Butler Did It" sort of gives it away. It's a fairly short story...almost poetic in it's nature - set 6 months into Batman's quest.
Bruce is written as an arrogant character. His attitude towards Alfred isn't something I was at ease with, but then again it is vital to the story. I found some of Batman's dialogue a little cumbersome.
The art by Jeff Lemire is his usual off-beat style and suitably bleak.

Definitely a memorable short story, and one that ran at odds with my established perception of the characters. A challenging piece, you could say and I'm eager to read more.
4 out of 5.

[Silver Nemesis]

I finally got around to reading the first issue. At first I thought it was going to be another predictable retread of "Batman relives the night of his parent's murder". But it pleasantly surprised me.

I agree about Bruce – he comes off as an arrogant boor in this. It's a side of his character comic writers don't usually show, but one that reflects the arrogance of some of his fans when they assert "Batman can beat anyone".  This story proves otherwise.

And I don't know if it was intended, but I've got to admit I found the ending quite funny. There's something hilarious about the idea of SPOILERS Alfred hiring some kid to beat the snot out of Batman just to teach him a lesson SPOILERS. I think it was meant to be poignant, but it made me chuckle.

As you say, ral, it's a different take on the characters from what we're used to. But I think that's a good thing. And the bite size format reminds me of old Batman newspaper strips from the past. I'll look forward to checking out the 2nd issue.

[Paul (ral)]

Issue 2 is actually quite fun. As you say these bite-size issues are good...something different. And issue 2 shows that it's free to explore every aspect of Batman's past interpretations.