The Journey Begins
Let me start off by saying that I have not use for legends. Yes, Neil Adams has cultivated quite a following, and rightly so. But, for me, coming into this book I had no preconceived ideas of what to expect good or bad. What I wanted was a good Batman story filled with mysteries to be unraveled, and fast paced action, and for the most part I got what I wanted.
Adams art style is great mix of old and new that serves to create a unique look that is super crisp and detailed without compromising on atmosphere. Adams fills the pages with highly emotive close ups of the characters that help clearly convey the character's emotions behind their dialogue.
The story begins with Bruce retelling the the story of why he does not use guns to a young Dick Grayson. The scene is fast paced and filled with tension, ultimately climaxing with the inexperienced Batman shot in the arm and the mysterious Maniaco appearing to save the day, er night. Here Batman goes into a long diatribe about how statically if you go into a room of armed men unarmed you are statistically more likely to come out unharmed. This lecture is juxtaposed with the arrival of Man-Bat and Robin's subsequent sparring with the mutated Kirk Langstrom. This interaction helps keep the action high, but ultimately comes across as distracting and unnecessary. The most intriguing thing to come out of the incident is the unabated cruelty and callousness that Batman shows to the poor serum addicted Kirk. His coldness is quite jarring, but it continues on as the commissioner calls out about an attack on the pier, Batman knows it is a diversion for the Riddler's raid on the Mint, but decides to go to the pier anyway. When Robin calls him out on this we get a harsh, "I know what I am doing and don't give a damn about what you think" response from Batman. In some ways Batman has always been this way, a loner keeping his plans close to the belt, but Adams presents it in a way that shows how cruel and alienating it can be to those close to him. It is these emotional button pushes that help balance out the disjointed storytelling.
It is at this point that I would like to draw special attention to the "number 2" batmobile, which has just come back from the shop looking super sexy, and upgraded with Back to the Future style flying capabilities. Cause let's face it that is just 100% bad ass.
So overall, yes there is a strong disjointedness as the story moves from one event to the next, but there is something going on here. Not only the mysteries of the Man-Bat and what is so important about the pier, but with Batman himself, and I am excited to see where Mr. Adams takes us.
