The sequel to the first volume(obviously), which had won the Eisner award, so we might be forgiven for having high expectations, might we?
It’s a collection of short stories, most of them too short to properly showcase the talents of the writer, though the artist’s skills can be gleamed(all in B&W). This volume has many great (famous) artists and writers, by the way, though not all of the stories are of very high caliber.
1. Case Study: An origin story of our favourite clown of Gotham City. BEFORE he became the joker. Gorgeously painted by the amazing Alex Ross. Written by the talented Paul Dini. Of course, the first story had to be the best.
2. Swarming scourge of the underworld: A parody of the dark knight. I’m not much for satires or parodies, unless they’re really good, and this one isn’t.
3. A matter of Trust: Bruce Wayne is called to babysit Robbin Carnahan’s kids, who are also his godchildren(I was surprised there). Didn’t have much expectations from this theme, an over-used study in contrasts, but it surprised me at the end with its heart. By Chris Claremont & Steve Rude.
4. Night after night: Bruce in the batcave. Alone, as always. Pensive panels. Good art, as expected by Tim Sale. Not such a great story though. Tries to show his inner drive.
5. Fortunes: The bat teams up with another detective to solve a case. Kind of interesting.
6. To become the bat: Details of how the detective works. Tools of the trade. Origins and training. Written by Warren Ellis.
7. Batman with Robin The boy wonder: John Byrne as writer & artist. A throwback to vintage Batman. Nothing special here.
8. Broken Nose: Paul Pope is an amazing artist, I just love his style. Very unique.
thThe villain in this story is named Mabuse, like Fritz Lang's criminal mastermind. Paul Pope likes Germany.
9. Greetings from Gotham city: Again, nothing too good.
10. Hide & Seek: All it has going for it is the mediocre surprise ending.
11. The Riddle: E. Nigma breaks into the Mad Hatter’s mansion for the answer to the famous riddle from Alice in Wonderland, “Why is a Raven like a Writing desk?”. Throwbacks to Lewis Carroll’s Novella. Written by Walter Simonson.
12. Untitled: Art by John Buscema.
13. Untitled: Eduardo Risso’s style is instantly recognizable from 100 Bullets.
14. Blackout: Gotham City in 1943, blackouts, Nazi’s and an encounter with Catwoman(in vintage costume).
15. Guardian: Encounter with Green Lantern(Alan Scott). Kind of nice.
16. Snow Job: Pfft.
17. The Black & White bandit: Something I thought was specifically suited for B&W. Clever wordplay. By Dave Gibbons.
18. Funny Money: On Counterfeiting Dollars. Gene Ha is a good illustrator.
19. The Bet: Again, a good story from Paul Dini. Nice ‘cartoony’ style of drawing by Ronnie Del Carmen.
20. Stormy weather: A fight.
21. The Bat no more…?: Scarecrow vs. the bat. Nice art by Enrique Breccia.
IIf If I haven't written much about some of them, it's probably because they're not worth the virtual ink. Some good ones in there, though.
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