Writer: Dennis O'Neil
Artists: Trevor Von Eeden, Russell Braun, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez
Collects: Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight #16-20
Welcome to another edition of Deciphering DC. This once, in anticipation of the upcoming movie, The Dark Knight Rises, which features Bane, DC Comics has decided to release a few Bane centric trades in the hopes of cashing on. This is one, the others are Batman Vs Bane (collects Batman: Vengeance of Bane 1 and Batman: Bane of the Demon 1 - 4) and a remastered edition of Batman: Knightfall, again in three (huge) volumes but this time complete with KnightsQuest and Prodigal.
Of them, Batman: Venom is perhaps the most peripherally related to Bane, as it just details the creation of the designer drug Venom, which Bane is dependent upon. Storywise, it might be the best of the crop, and would sell, irrespective of whatever movie it is being released to tie in with. (Side note: Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench and Graham Nolan are listed as creators of Bane. Bane is a prisoner from the island of Santa Prisca who was experimented on with Venom. Venom, as well as the locale of Santa Prisca were created by Dennis O'Neil. Add him to the list, shouldn't you?)
Batman tracks a young girl kidnapped for ransom to a tunnel. A cave-in occurs and Batman is unable to move the rocks between him and the girl and by the time he finds another way to reach the girl, she has suffocated. Batman broods over this a lot and holds himself personally responsible for this failure and starts over exerting himself to become better physically.
When he meets Dr Randolph Porter, father of the young girl, he acts nonchalant about her death and shows Batman the performance enhancement drugs he has been working on, and offers him some. He hesitates at first, but after another defeat, he finally succumbs to the lure.
Venom brings about a lot of changes in Batman. For all practical purposes, he becomes a grinning maniac. Alfred is not happy with this and leaves his service. Meanwhile, Randolph is looking to supply General Timothy Slaycroft with drugs to create an army of mind controlled slaves.
We all know what is going to be the outcome of the story, so no point saying that it's predictable. Most superhero franchises are predictable - the hero usually wins, if someone important dies he eventually is brought back and somesuch. But if you are reading this, I guess you have to consider the execution. Dennis O'Neil offers a very convincing reason for Batman's use of the drug, a convincing portrayal of Batman as a maniac and at last, a definitive portrayal of a man made stronger by the sheer power of his resolve.
The layouts are by Trevor Von Eeden while pencils are by Russell Braun and inks by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez. I can't make out what is what, but all of them come together and make a few very very pretty and effective pictures.
The trade has been out of print for quite some time, the new edition has glossy paper and the cover used is that of Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight 17. It has been featured as one of IGN's Twenty Five Greatest Batman Graphic Novels of all time. Grab it before it disappears again.
My Rating: 10 on 10
Contains full covers, US$ 14.99 (new printing), US$ 9.99 (old printing)
Coming Next Week: Prelude to Knightfall
Artists: Trevor Von Eeden, Russell Braun, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez
Collects: Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight #16-20
Welcome to another edition of Deciphering DC. This once, in anticipation of the upcoming movie, The Dark Knight Rises, which features Bane, DC Comics has decided to release a few Bane centric trades in the hopes of cashing on. This is one, the others are Batman Vs Bane (collects Batman: Vengeance of Bane 1 and Batman: Bane of the Demon 1 - 4) and a remastered edition of Batman: Knightfall, again in three (huge) volumes but this time complete with KnightsQuest and Prodigal.
Of them, Batman: Venom is perhaps the most peripherally related to Bane, as it just details the creation of the designer drug Venom, which Bane is dependent upon. Storywise, it might be the best of the crop, and would sell, irrespective of whatever movie it is being released to tie in with. (Side note: Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench and Graham Nolan are listed as creators of Bane. Bane is a prisoner from the island of Santa Prisca who was experimented on with Venom. Venom, as well as the locale of Santa Prisca were created by Dennis O'Neil. Add him to the list, shouldn't you?)
Batman tracks a young girl kidnapped for ransom to a tunnel. A cave-in occurs and Batman is unable to move the rocks between him and the girl and by the time he finds another way to reach the girl, she has suffocated. Batman broods over this a lot and holds himself personally responsible for this failure and starts over exerting himself to become better physically.
When he meets Dr Randolph Porter, father of the young girl, he acts nonchalant about her death and shows Batman the performance enhancement drugs he has been working on, and offers him some. He hesitates at first, but after another defeat, he finally succumbs to the lure.
Venom brings about a lot of changes in Batman. For all practical purposes, he becomes a grinning maniac. Alfred is not happy with this and leaves his service. Meanwhile, Randolph is looking to supply General Timothy Slaycroft with drugs to create an army of mind controlled slaves.
We all know what is going to be the outcome of the story, so no point saying that it's predictable. Most superhero franchises are predictable - the hero usually wins, if someone important dies he eventually is brought back and somesuch. But if you are reading this, I guess you have to consider the execution. Dennis O'Neil offers a very convincing reason for Batman's use of the drug, a convincing portrayal of Batman as a maniac and at last, a definitive portrayal of a man made stronger by the sheer power of his resolve.
The layouts are by Trevor Von Eeden while pencils are by Russell Braun and inks by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez. I can't make out what is what, but all of them come together and make a few very very pretty and effective pictures.
The trade has been out of print for quite some time, the new edition has glossy paper and the cover used is that of Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight 17. It has been featured as one of IGN's Twenty Five Greatest Batman Graphic Novels of all time. Grab it before it disappears again.
My Rating: 10 on 10
Contains full covers, US$ 14.99 (new printing), US$ 9.99 (old printing)
Coming Next Week: Prelude to Knightfall
No comments:
Post a Comment