Batman Damned was released on March 19th by DC Comics. The limited edition of 3,000 prints started on September 19, 2018, and during its final run on May 25, 2019, Brian Azzzarello published his first book and illustrated the second. The recurring series experienced many delays during its run, resulting in five additional rescheduled issues in all. The first series of “Damned” was released through the DC Black Label – an imprint that allows authors to create a unique take on the DC character for mature audiences.
Overview
The Joker is dead. His killers are unknown. Batman has become an incredible criminal detective. What do you think happens when someone looks into his eyes and then looks at the other person? Batman doesn’t have memories of that day. What is the best method for a man to go straight to the right place? But he’ll always mess it up. With help from John Constantine, the couple will investigate Gotham’s sinister underbelly while searching for the shocking truth about who killed The Joker.
Pros of Batman Damned
When reading the story it was great to see John Constantine in his full not giving a crap glory. I mean Batman is half dead, the Joker is supposedly dead, Swamp thing along with many from the supernatural world are all around.
I really enjoyed seeing how Batman would react when he is mortally or nearly mortally injured. There is one section of the story when the EMTs are trying to remove his mask to check for injuries, well that doesn’t go very well….. for the EMTs.
Hmm if you wanted to see Bruce Wayne naked well yep that happens in this book I think it was book two. I left this right above the cons because I don’t know what you people are into 🙂 all joking aside it wasn’t needed and was kind of strange to see in a comic. Not as strange though as when Harley Quinn decided to not only beat the Dark Knight down but also well take advantage of him while he was down……not sure if this was a good direction for batman comics. Just made me say wow ok then now let me flip the page. Go ahead and put this paragraph under cons of batman damned.
Cons of Batman Damned
As you read the story it jumps around a lot. Most of it is to Bamans childhood which is interesting but it makes the story hard to keep up with. It could have been that I was reading it at midnight but there were times I wasn’t sure what was going on.
Other than the battle with Harley Quinn there were no real villain showdowns in the stories. It’s more of a Batman stumbling around trying to figure out what the heck is going on with John Constantine and some mystical beings trying to guide him.
It felt like the story could have been complete in one book or there could have been a much bigger storyline to explain how Batman got to where he was. It could have shown the fight with him and the Joker instead of just the very last piece of it.
What happens at the end of Batman damned?
At the end of Batman: Damned he finds himself standing in front of the place that the Joker’s body is supposedly laying. He has to playback the end of what really happened on the bridge with him and the Joker during their final fight.
Did he kill the Joker or did the Joker kill him? Someone will keep walking while the other will not. Read the story to find out who is really damned.
It does put the dark knight in an interesting position. Batman has to decide if he is a killer or will he let the Joker live. The stab to his side is a mortal wound and if he doesn’t kill the Joker then who will be here to stop him. This question was a good concept for the story. It’s a much darker side to fighting crime in Gotham city.
Is Batman Damned Standalone
Batman Damned is a limited series that has three books. It is not tied into the normal DC universe and instead is published by DC Black Label which allows writers to go a little more dark and adult with the stories.
It has been said that this series is a sequel to the Joker graphic novel comic books but nothing in the story relies on the Joker graphic novel. So in general if it is a sequel or a stand along makes no difference. You can read this story without any other reference or knowledge of other DC comics.
Conclusion
In conclusion on our review of batman damned the question comes do we recommend reading it or does it go down as one of our hated horror stories or attempted stories from this new Dc’s black label comics. In truth, I really enjoyed seeing some classic dc characters including some justice league dark cast. Any story with John Constantine, swamp thing, harley quinn, and of course Bruce Wayne is worth a quick read. There was some amazing art in this graphic novel comic book.
I am always glad to read stories that are outside of the normal dc universe. This stand alone story is no different. You get to see a batman story where you are questioning if batman finally snapped or if there is some other sinister force at work.
We would rate this one as a 5 out of 10 if we were trying to give it a rating on a 10 point system. Although it has some awesome art work, showing Gotham city in all its dark glory. It was nice to see Bruce Waynes childhood flashbacks even if it isn’t the batman story I knew. I am glad I finished it and now look forward to going check out some old swamp thing comic books. You forget about some characters until you see them helping the Dark Knight with his mystery.