Batman & The Shadow mini-series

Matt

Is anyone else reading this? If not, save your $3.99 an issue. I'm halfway through issue 2 and can tell you this:

Positives:
- It's Batman AND the Shadow
- It's version of The Shadow is influenced by the movie
- It's 6 issues

Negatives:
- By page 2 the reveal of issue 1 was easy to figure out
- Apparently this version of Batman used the name "Bruce Wayne" when he traveled the world learning these skills (read 'The Many Deaths of Batman' to know why this is stupid to do)
- Batman uses this customized "Amazon Echos" to do all the detective work for him (I didn't realize Snyder's version of Batman became lazy)
- The established fact that "Lamont Cranston" wasn't the Shadow's actual identity is forgotten
- Darkman was birthed from Raimi's inability to get the movie rights to the Shadow, so the story decided to borrow a concept from a copy of the original idea (like the remake Knight Rider series)
- the dialogue is horrendous; I can only hope Scott Snyder lent his name to help sell the book, because if this is how he writes comics, Snyder is drastically overrated
- the cover of issue 1 shows BOTH ends of the Shadow's scarf. Obviously even the artist isn't doing character research
- the only thing that makes the writing passable is the art work. There is no other way to describe it; it sucks.
- it's 6 issues

I'm committed to this series, but I will at least warn others to save themselves.

M

bralinator

I knew you would check this out, and I thank you for your service/sacrifice, @Matt

[Deleted User]

Sort of related:

I just picked up the First Wave hardcover from a couple years back, which was SUPPOSED to have Batman, Doc Savage and the Shadow, but Shadow got replaced by the Spirit. It also features Rima the jungle girl, the Aventger, and the Blackhawks. How could you go wrong?

It is crap.

It is the greatest concept, ruined by the worst writing I have ever read. I have read through it twice, now, and could not tell you what the hell is going on. The Spirit sleeps in an open grave, Dolan is a crooked cop, Batman is a whiney gun-toting loser, and Doc Savage is... well... anyone but himself. Some random (using the word kindly) plot elements... the lost city of Atlantis, robots, Doc Savages father's dead body, 1940's clothing and cars, cell phones and computer discs.

Seriously... worst comic I have read in years. So disappointed.

nweathington

Tonebone said:

Sort of related:

I just picked up the First Wave hardcover from a couple years back, which was SUPPOSED to have Batman, Doc Savage and the Shadow, but Shadow got replaced by the Spirit. It also features Rima the jungle girl, the Aventger, and the Blackhawks. How could you go wrong?

It is crap.

It is the greatest concept, ruined by the worst writing I have ever read. I have read through it twice, now, and could not tell you what the hell is going on. The Spirit sleeps in an open grave, Dolan is a crooked cop, Batman is a whiney gun-toting loser, and Doc Savage is... well... anyone but himself. Some random (using the word kindly) plot elements... the lost city of Atlantis, robots, Doc Savages father's dead body, 1940's clothing and cars, cell phones and computer discs.

Seriously... worst comic I have read in years. So disappointed.

I'm not an Azarello fan, so I wasn’t expecting to like it even though I really wanted to, and boy, I sure didn't. Dropped it after the second issue. I gave The Spirit a chance, hoping Mark Schultz would be given a little more leeway, but it didn't turn out much better. I think I lasted three issues on The Spirit and Doc Savage.

aquatroy

Tonebone said:

Sort of related:

I just picked up the First Wave hardcover from a couple years back, which was SUPPOSED to have Batman, Doc Savage and the Shadow, but Shadow got replaced by the Spirit. It also features Rima the jungle girl, the Aventger, and the Blackhawks. How could you go wrong?

It is crap.

It is the greatest concept, ruined by the worst writing I have ever read. I have read through it twice, now, and could not tell you what the hell is going on. The Spirit sleeps in an open grave, Dolan is a crooked cop, Batman is a whiney gun-toting loser, and Doc Savage is... well... anyone but himself. Some random (using the word kindly) plot elements... the lost city of Atlantis, robots, Doc Savages father's dead body, 1940's clothing and cars, cell phones and computer discs.

Seriously... worst comic I have read in years. So disappointed.

I didn't read it. I just looked at Rags Morales illustrations.

Matt

I just don't get how they miss the mark with these characters. The writers for Dynamite Entertainment do a decent job, but it's typically when there's only a single character to focus upon instead of team ups.

nweathington

Hey, Matt, have you read any of the Lobster Johnson stuff? It's tied into the Hellboy universe, but it stands on its own, so you don't have to know anything else. He's a pulp-type character, probably closest to the Shadow in concept. It's good stuff.

Matt

nweathington said:

Hey, Matt, have you read any of the Lobster Johnson stuff? It's tied into the Hellboy universe, but it stands on its own, so you don't have to know anything else. He's a pulp-type character, probably closest to the Shadow in concept. It's good stuff.

I've heard of Lobster Johnson, but only because there was a rumor a decade ago Bruce Campbell was being considered to play the character in a movie or TV series.

I'll check the character out.

M