Batman: Noir- Eduardo Risso (Deluxe Edition)

 

Yes- Frank Miller has tackled the Dark Knight many times. But imagine if Frank Miller set the Caped Crusader in the Sin City universe. If he had, then you’d get Batman: Noir. Gritty crime drama mixed with stark black & white artwork set in a world where things are anything but.

 

Batman: Noir isn’t a series or a set storyline Instead it’s a collection of works by scribe Brian Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso. The following stories are collected in this work:

 

“BATMAN #620-625, FLASHPOINT: BATMAN - KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE #1-3 and stories from WEDNESDAY COMICS #1-12 and BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #8.” (Amazon.com)

 

The Batman tale, titled “Broken City” has the Dark Knight accidently targeting the wrong man for a murder. That mistake now has the accused on the run from just about every major player in Gotham including Penguin, Killer Croc, Scarface, and the Crown Prince of Crime himself- The Joker. Gotham Knights #8 involves a face to face conversation between Batman and Mr. Zsasz after the serial killer has unleashed his own version of hell on some former associates.

 

The Flashpoint tale is an alternate reality tale set in a universe where Superman doesn’t exist. Here, Bruce Wayne is killed on that fateful night while Thomas and Martha Wayne escaped an assassin’s bullet. The trauma has turned Thomas into a different version of the Batman while Martha has gone over the deep end. That story was fantastic and was a great teaser for when I finalize collection all of the Flashpoint issues soon.

 

Lastly, we’ve got the Wednesday Comics reprint. This story involves an heiress whose being targeted for death as he late husband recently was. This story was good, but I think it was cheating as this tale was reprinted in the B&W format but was originally a full color tale.

 

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. It was like reading a pulp detective novel filled with colorful characters set in a bleak world. The team-up of Azzarello and Risso is a fantastic one. They’re also been paired in a number of works such as 100 Bullets. I’ve never read that series before but it’s got me inspired to do so.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.