DC COMICS/DC Black Label – @DCComics
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Brian Azzarello
ART: Lee Bermejo
COLORS: Lee Bermejo
LETTERS: Jared K. Fletcher
EDITOR: Mark Doyle
COVER: Lee Bermejo
VARIANT COVER: Jim Lee with Alex Sinclair
48pp, Color, $6.99 U.S. (November 2018)
Mature Readers
Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger
Batman: Damned is a 2018-19 three-issue comic book miniseries written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by Lee Bermejo. Published in an over-sized format, it is the inaugural series for DC Comics' new prestige and event publication imprint, “DC Black Label.” Letterer Jared K. Fletcher is the other member of Damned's creative team.
Batman: Damned #1 opens in an ambulance where we find Batman on a stretcher. He is dead or near death when he suddenly revives and makes his escape. The Joker is dead, and maybe Batman finally killed him. Or is it some sinister and thus far unknown force that done the deed?
The problem is that Batman can't remember, and what he does remember does not jibe with what information he can get. John Constantine and Deadman aren't helping. Now, Batman will have to go into the sordid and seedy underbelly of Gotham City to find the truth, and where he goes is dark... and maybe hot as hell.
I am a fan of artist Lee Bermejo. I particularly like the way he draws Batman's costume, which remind me of the World War I army uniforms that British “dough boys” wore. However, his art for Batman: Damned #1 looks like pieces for a portfolio or art exhibition as often as it looks like graphical storytelling. It does not help story matters that Brian Azzarello's script reads like something composed by a kid in a high school creative writing program to accompany pieces in an art show.
No one seems like a reliable narrator in this first issue, especially John Constantine who, if not the narrator, provides voice over narration, one that reads as if this comic book were an episode of a true crime television series. Honestly, the only interesting thing in Batman: Damned #1 are the four “shots” of Bruce Wayne's nicely shaped penis, which have caused quite a bit of consternation in various comic book corners of the Internet.
Once again, an event comic book does not live up to the hype, or, in this case, the hype delivers on controversy rather than on storytelling. Even if he or she were talented, an unknown or novice writer could not get an editor to accept a script like the one for Batman: Damned #1.
Keep humpin' that chicken, DC Comics; maybe, you can keep manufacturing high first issue sales before readers catch on to the fact that they should not believe the hype. Still, I hope the second and third issues of Batman: Damned (which will not make their original announced release dates) are better.
5 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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