Batman, #14

[CBR News]

"Batman" #14 has Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo continue "Death of the Family" with a dip into the chemicals that created the Joker and other past encounters, but the Joker is changing the rules this time.


Full article here.

[Phelpzy]

Would you be willing to part with the digital code if you bought it in print?

[Scott M Davis]

Would you be willing to part with the digital code if you bought it in print?

No one buys the digital combo cause its a buck more then the regular version...

[Phelpzy]

Well on comixology its3.99 regardless

[Karl O'Neill]

Go Snyder !!!!!!!!

[Infestor]

It was better than #13 but I don't think I'd give it 5 stars.

[nosocialize100]

It was better than #13 but I don't think I'd give it 5 stars.

I agree. It's pacing is wonky. There's too much talking not enough action. This is a medium between a book and a movie right? So show don't tell is still true. Oh well. I still liked it.

If anyone is curious I wrote a review as well with pictures here.

[Conway]

Ha, that is a review written by someone that wasn't very excited about what he was reviewing. Poor guy even tried to change something that annoyed him into a positive. Oh well at least the fans are still honest.

[nosocialize100]

Ha, that is a review written by someone that wasn't very excited about what he was reviewing. Poor guy even tried to change something that annoyed him into a positive. Oh well at least the fans are still honest.

I'm sure Snyder and Capulla appreciate the honest reviews.

[Darknet]

At least we know why Joker took off his face and taped it to his head. Or, at least you can figure out why. But couldn't he of just wore a mask instead of cutting his face off?

Oh wait, this is Joker we are talking about.


Also it explains why he is dressed up like a mechanic. He's trying to "fix" Batman

Here is the thing with me and this current arc: it's a retread of past Joker stuff and even The Dark Knight movie. Joker's plans work out, he knows how to play everyone, he knows how to hide, he gets his way till the very end, blah blah blah. People complain about Batman being a deus ex machima, with him pulling stuff out his ass to save the day. But Joker is the exact same, which probably what makes him such a perfect villain for Batman. I mean, really? Giant mechanical teeth jumping out of nowhere to ensnare him? Or the big mallet that he never saw that hit him in to that vat? Ugh.

In my mind, I feel like it's the same story but with different makeup. You'd think by now that Batman would just stop and say "Okay, I would do this. So I'm NOT going to do that because Joker knows I will do it"

[ultraaman]

OK, I'm going to be anal and nit-picky here because this is something that has annoyed me this past year with reviews on this site.

I'm not sure what 5 stars means in your book, but in mine it means that a comic is about as near perfect in every way that is possible (and maybe even then some) with no drawback or missteps, with amazing art and story that go hand-in-hand to deliver a compelling and memorable book. That happens maybe 1-2x a year. Maybe. I've lost count of how many 4 1/2 and 5 stars I've seen on books this year on here that, while good, seem to fit more in line with what the reviewer is expecting the book to be rather than what it really is.

This book is not 5 out 5 stars - (you want a 5 star Snyder story, the finale to Court of Owls was on the mark. Also go back to Dick's final story in 'Tec last year; chapter 2 is 5-star worthy). It's good, quite good in fact, but it's not a 5. Here's one major reason why I don't think it deserves a 5 - the panel placement and perspectives for Joker's speech do not really convey anything compelling and it's the ramp-up to the climax so that is exactly what it is supposed to be. The story talks when it should be showing and the story looses impetus. It doesn't quite drag but the scene just doesn't fit into the overall thrust that the book led up to it with. There's also a second story that while decent and entertaining, is most certainly not a 5 - not even on the most liberal of scales. This book is a solid 4.

[PastePotPete]

Guys, I want to love this, I really do. I love Snyder's work generally. Enjoyed Court of Owls.

But here we go with more Joker Porn. The Joker gets to go on and on and on in endless monologues. He describes the entire thematic underpinnings of the story ad nauseum, explaining his every move. And he doesn't even have a new and interesting plan. Snyder is just recycling Joker's greatest hits. (This time there's a twist! yeah, right). So much of this is so on-the-nose. I can't enjoy it.

The five star review is ridiculous. And it's part of the problem. People love the Joker so much they're like "Please! Please feed me more of the same stuff I've been fed a thousand times."

I want something new from the Joker. I'd like to see him have a motivation other than "revenge on batman". I'd like to see him in a story that has an actual plot other than "Joker revisits an earlier, better story."

There's a reason The Killing Joke gets brought up over and over and over and over in current Batman stories. Moore actually had something to SAY about the Joker.

[PastePotPete]

Oh, and, the back-up story...

Is it just me or do all of the heads of Gotham's major crime families get murdered in about every fourth or fifth issue of Batman??

How many crime lords deep are we at this point? We've got to be scraping the bottom of the barrel on these crime families. No wonder these "top lieutenants" are so easy to kill. They're recruiting the second cousin twice-removed to lead the organization at this point.

How about a story where Batman fights a criminal and puts him in jail? At this point that would be novel. No? We're just going to slaughter every crime boss all over again? Well, that should prove how tough and dangerous the current villain is. IT NEVER GETS OLD!

[xxTK421xx]

Can someone tell me what was going on with some of the imagery with Joker and Batman on the bridge? When Batman looks over the edge and sees the dead bodies, why was that area lit up? And then what was the big explosion near the end that looked like a some Vegas water show? I liked the issue overall but there were definitely times where the story wasn't told well through the visuals. I shouldn't have to ask what was going on in a panel after I've read it.

[PastePotPete]

At least we know why Joker took off his face and taped it to his head. Or, at least you can figure out why. But couldn't he of just wore a mask instead of cutting his face off?

Oh wait, this is Joker we are talking about.


Also it explains why he is dressed up like a mechanic. He's trying to "fix" Batman

Here is the thing with me and this current arc: it's a retread of past Joker stuff and even The Dark Knight movie. Joker's plans work out, he knows how to play everyone, he knows how to hide, he gets his way till the very end, blah blah blah. People complain about Batman being a deus ex machima, with him pulling stuff out his ass to save the day. But Joker is the exact same, which probably what makes him such a perfect villain for Batman. I mean, really? Giant mechanical teeth jumping out of nowhere to ensnare him? Or the big mallet that he never saw that hit him in to that vat? Ugh.

In my mind, I feel like it's the same story but with different makeup. You'd think by now that Batman would just stop and say "Okay, I would do this. So I'm NOT going to do that because Joker knows I will do it"

All of this. Agree with all of this. yes.