Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT # 179

By Koppy McFad
June 8, 2004 - 15:59

Someone's been watching too many Asian gangster "noir" movies. This issue follows all the conventions of such "triad-and-true" tales with Batman appearing in the end to somehow tie it into a larger plotline appearing in the other Bat-books. The story follows a Chinese boy in Hong Kong who murders the gangster who abused him in the orphanage. Naturally the mob sends a hit-woman after him, but complications arise when we discover she too was abused at the same gangster. But by far the biggest complication is the slow plot combined with the muddy art style that makes it difficult to tell the characters apart-- even the males and females. The surprises in the ending have no impact. The last-page appearance by Batman just highlights how minor this story is. It is a shame that LEGENDS... which used to showcase big name talent, is now being used as a supporting title to the rest of the Bat-family. It almost looks like the comics version of the worst of art house films-- indulgent, amateurish and aimed at a very narrow audience.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12