marksutherland reviewed Batman's Grave by Warren Ellis
Review of "Batman's Grave" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Of the various Batman stories I've read, this is the one I've probably enjoyed most. I think that's probably down to the bromance between Alfred and Bruce, where the former is given free reign to point out obvious critiques of the whole enterprise that are usually left unsaid or danced around. And yet somehow the underwear fetishist who spends half the book engaged in confusing krav maga action sequences comes out as the more humane of the two. It's also fairly critical of the police force which possibly reflects popular sentiments during its writing period. There's some actual detective work, although it relies on the usual inscrutable deduction there's no point thinking too hard about. In some ways it feels like an attempt to salvage the mess of The Dark Knight Returns.
The art is of the usual high calibre you'd expect from Hitch, he seems to have given himself …
Of the various Batman stories I've read, this is the one I've probably enjoyed most. I think that's probably down to the bromance between Alfred and Bruce, where the former is given free reign to point out obvious critiques of the whole enterprise that are usually left unsaid or danced around. And yet somehow the underwear fetishist who spends half the book engaged in confusing krav maga action sequences comes out as the more humane of the two. It's also fairly critical of the police force which possibly reflects popular sentiments during its writing period. There's some actual detective work, although it relies on the usual inscrutable deduction there's no point thinking too hard about. In some ways it feels like an attempt to salvage the mess of The Dark Knight Returns.
The art is of the usual high calibre you'd expect from Hitch, he seems to have given himself an unbelievable number of lines and fiddly details to draw, and the inks and colours all deliver the grim rainy mood that is expected.
It's a shame this was getting published while the SMOU scandal broke as it seems like a strong addition to the Batman canon that's about as unrelated to the details of Ellis's misdemeanors as it could be, but then it's simply a shame SMOU was necessary at all. That said you could read this one just for the pictures and be very satisfied.