"BATMAN JEKYLL AND HYDE " Worth the money?

[suttercain]

Hi guys,

I am about to place my monthly order for trades and was debating on buying "BATMAN JEKYLL AND HYDE". I hated Face the Face so I am a little skeptical about buying this book. Is it worth the $10.00?

Thanks in advance.

[Greg Anderson]

I enjoyed it when it was coming out monthly, but reading it in one setting it's actually pretty boring. I did like some parts into the story where Harvey was mentally breaking Batman down, showing how a like they could be due to duality, etc. Harvey's plan for Gotham was interesting. The art was fantastic. But i do know there were a few people who enjoyed the story overall. Me, I'm planning to buy the trade anyway to complete my Two-Face collection, but as I said it can get to be a pretty boring read, but it's not a bad story.

[matthewaos]

Actually I am one of those that loved the story. It was back then when Jenkins could do no wrong for me. You should check it out.

[brundlefly]

Originally Posted by suttercain

I am about to place my monthly order for trades and was debating on buying "BATMAN JEKYLL AND HYDE". I hated Face the Face so I am a little skeptical about buying this book. Is it worth the $10.00?

I really liked Jekyll & Hyde, but then I also like Face the Face, too, so not sure if my opinion is much help to you here. Like Greg noted, Jekyll & Hyde is more of a slower-paced, psychological story than an action-packed one, plus it has some great artwork from Jae Lee. If that sounds like something you'd be into, I'd say it's worth the $10.

[matthewaos]

It's Jae Lee and Sean Philips if I remember right.

[Greg Anderson]

I'm going to attempt to re-read it today. See how it holds up.

[brundlefly]

Originally Posted by matthewaos

It's Jae Lee and Sean Philips if I remember right.

You did; my mistake there.

[matthewaos]

I remember the solicitation was saying that it will be by two artists (each one of them drawing three issues), to show Two Face's duality, and that was one of the reasons I wanted to read it.

[earl]

I thought it was a pretty good read with some nice artwork. I think he goes a bit far on making Two-Face such a mass killer, but hey that is modern comics.

[suttercain]

Originally Posted by Greg Anderson

I'm going to attempt to re-read it today. See how it holds up.

How was it the second go around?

[Greg Anderson]

Originally Posted by suttercain

How was it the second go around?

Well, it was a much better read this time around then last time I tried reading it in one setting. Last time, I was pretty bored throughout and didn't finish it. This time, I was able to get into it a little. I really liked how Jenkins wrote Harvey and Two-Face talking and debating to each other, etc, but there were points where it seemed as if the Harvey side was a little out of character, but there are parts near the end where it starts to make a little sense as to why the Harvey side was doing what he was doing.

The parts that try to dig deep into the psychology of Dent and Batman were really damn interesting, but I felt as they got interesting, the plots for it just basically dropped to advance the plot and go into Harvey's scheme. Batman breaking down was one of the best parts of the story, but could have just been explored a little more, imo. There's also some development to Two-Face that sort of goes deep into the "bad" side and we learn some interesting stuff. At this point, I'm not too sure if I'd even want that development to be in continuity or not, but for this story itself, it was an okay setup. Added some good intense scenes, though, that's for sure.

Overall, it wasn't a great read. Some really good stuff most definitely. I don't see it being a top of favorite Two-face stories but if you're a Two-Face fan I'd say it's worth a read. You never know, you may really like it. Thus far a few posters here said they loved it, so just check it out for yourself. Keep in mind, it's a really low-key type of story. There's no fantastic action, etc, it's really a story trying to dig into the minds of the characters. There are times it starts to drag, but seeing how it affects Batman is pretty fun.