Batman #626 - 630 "As The Crow Flies" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Clayface]

Part 1 of the 5-issue thriller “As the Crow Flies,” written by Judd Winick with art by WILDCATS VERSION 3.0’s Dustin Nguyen & Richard Friend and painted covers by Matt Wagner!


BATMAN #262
http://comics.toonzone.net/solicitations/2004-04/batman-superman/t-batman626.jpg (http://comics.toonzone.net/solicitations/2004-04/batman-superman/batman626.jpg)


Written by: Judd Winick
Art by: Dustin Nguyen and Richard Friend
Painted cover by: Matt Wagner

Gotham’s underworld is thrown into turmoil as its crimelords slip into a rabid — and murderous — frenzy. Is it coincidence, or part of an elaborate and sinister powerplay? Join a hot new creative team for an unforgettable soon-to-be classic! For more information, see the TZ feature article (http://comics.toonzone.net/solicitations/2004-04/index.php#batman).

Comments?

[EJill34]

I guess no one is reading this. Can't blame them, considering a lot of people's distaste for Judd Winick. I picked it up and thought it was pretty good. The art was nice and the story wasn't too bad either.

[Venom]

I thought this was a pretty good Batman story... nothing that hasn't been done before, but at the same time it was still enjoyable. It was typical Batman action with him taking down two drug crazed criminals... all the while trying to figure out who is behind it. I was a little disappointed that Batman hasn't come to the conclusion that Scarecrow is behind this...I mean it involves some chemical agent causing hallucinations, with the first guy being terrified. I even guessed it was Scarecrow without knowing anything about this story beforehand. The scene with Robin in disguise was funny and an interesting look at some undercover work. The art was good at conveying at a dark atmosphere and served its purpose well. I hope this story turns into something a little more deeper than Batman just tracking down and fighting Scarecrow and Penguin. A pretty good start though.

[Robin]

I liked this issue. The set-up is pretty basic, but I think it has real potential to explode over the next few issue. Batman should have deduced right away that Scarecrow was behind the gassing, though. This does seem like the typical M.O. for the Scarecrow. The art was great to look at, too. I thought his version of Batman was very cool to look at. His Penguin looks a bit monstrous, though.

[Thanos]

I really enjoyed this issue. I don't have much more to add to this talkback other than the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Spider-Man]

The new storyline continues!

BATMAN #627

http://comics.toonzone.net/solicitations/2004-05/batman-superman/t-batman627.jpg

Written by Judd Winick; art by Dustin Nguyen and Richard Friend; painted cover by Matt Wagner.

The Penguin has teamed up with the Scarecrow to slice off a big piece of Gotham’s underworld. Can Batman and Robin possibly stop this unholy alliance?

Comments? What are your thoughts?

[Robin]

This story is moving along really nicely. The ending even came as a nice twist. The art really sold it, too. I haven't read any of Winnick's work outside his Batman stuff, but I am really liking it. I also like the twist in the Penguin/Scarecrow relationship. Usually in stories like this the villian team-up is on the same level and utterly cliched. But Winnick throughs in a great twist with these characters.

[Spider-Man]

BATMAN #628

http://comics.toonzone.net/solicitations/2004-05/batman-superman/t-batman628.jpg

Written by Judd Winick; art by Dustin Nguyen and Richard Friend; painted cover by Matt Wagner

The Penguin’s alliance with the Scarecrow seems to be more lethal than even the Penguin expected. What sort of horrors are being unleashed on an unsuspecting Gotham City — and does Batman have a prayer of stopping them?

Thoughts? What are your comments?

[Robin]

Is anyone else reading Batman? I forgot about this thread as I don't visit this board very often. I really like how this storyline is going. The writer has made Scarecrow really interesting, and I'm curious how this is going to lead to the inevitable big showdown between him and the Penguin. The art is great, much better than the previous arc. Batman has been really surprising me lately with this solid storyline although I plan to drop the book when the crossovers comes.

[Spider-Man]

BATMAN #629

http://comics.toonzone.net/solicitations/2004-06/batman-superman/t-batman629.jpg


Written by: Judd Winick
Art by: Dustin Nguyen and Richard Friend
Painted cover by: Matt Wagner

Part 4 of the 5-issue “As the Crow Flies,” Batman has been gassed by the nightmarish Scarebeast! What effects will the toxin have on the Dark Knight? Will he be able to escape the monster? Even if he escapes, how will Batman ever regain his sanity?

Comments? What are your thoughts?

[EJill34]

This issue was good, but the Jason Todd thing and the "Batman is just like his enemies" thing have been done to death. This storyline has been decent so far, but I'm not that interested in it. The scarebeast has a good design, though. Some of Batman's inner thoughts seemed a bit out of character, maybe a little too panicky. Overall, ***

EDIT: I read through the entire arc so far and realized that this is the worst issue so far. I had kind of forgotten the events that took place beforehand, because I really have no interest in it. I don't want to say the arc is bad, because its not, but it doesn't really have a very memorable plot and the art is only a litte above average. I think I'm going to lower my rating to ***. Its a pity too, as I was looking forward to this issue.

[Thanos]

Yuck. I've really been enjoying this arc so far but this issue was just not one of my favorites. There were just too many pages of Batman's thoughts trying to resist the toxin. Then I had to suffer through the rest of the issue with Batman going crazy from fright. It was cool and entertaining, but got boring after I read the same dreck throughout the entire issue. One positive part of this issue, and of the entire arc, is Nguyen's art. I like how he captures the dark tone of Gotham City and I enjoy his character designs. It's so good in fact, that I wish I could pronounce his name. Also, this was one of those rare Matt Wagner covers that didn't make me vomit. It does, however, look like next month's horrible cover will bring me back to my naseous ways. I could produce better art by urinating in the snow. It wasn't terrible, but I was in a critical mood while reading it so I give it a lowly 2 stars.

[Robin]

I agree! This was the poorest installment yet. It fel tlike alot could have been trimmed and was just padding. While the issue could have been trimmed, I was very impressed with the artwork. Robin looked great in this issue as did Alfred. I hope to see alot more Batman from Dustin Nguyen. The cliffhanger was a great one though! I can't wait to see how it's going to end next month. I want to find out where this monster is coming from!

[Clayface]

My first reaction when I heard Winick would be writing on Batman was...disappointment. I've never liked the man or his writing. I swore I would drop the title while he was on it. But, because I'm such a completist, I ended up picking up his issues anyway. And, to my surprise, I found the first issue to be rather interesting. I thought there was some real potential there. But now, I've gotta say, I should have gone with my initial reaction. This story is crap - bad characterization, bad writing, bad dialogue, almost nonexistent plot. This was a waste of my money, and DC's printing paper. And Nguyen's art just makes it so much worse to muddle through. His Robin looks like a friggin' 6 year old for god's sake. And Alfred look like the friggin' elephant man. Terrible, terrible. This is exactly how the Batman books shouldn't be. I wouldn't wish this book on my worst enemy. 0 stars from me.

[PaQ]

I'm actually going against the majority with this one, I thought this was a decent issue. Of course that might have something to do with this being my first Batman issue in a long time.

I liked the cover a lot, it's what attracted me to the issue in the first place, I liked this design of an "older" Jason might've looked like. It's unfortunate that somehow he couldn't miracuolously be alive, but it was a nice thought, although the paranoia of him being alive doesn't seem original. Too much time was spent on Batman struggling with the Toxin, that was pretty much the whole issue. And what was up with Robin (Tim) looking so young?! He looked like 13/14.. I didn't like that, but I thought the issue was good as a single, it probably brought down the arc they're in, but I haven't seen the other issues.

[Spider-Man]

The final issue of Winnick's storyline before the Batman: War Games crossover begins.

BATMAN #630
http://comics.toonzone.net/solicitations/2004-07/batman-superman/t-batman630.jpg

Written by: Judd Winick
Art by: Dustin Nguyen and Richard Friend
Painted Cover by: Matt Wagner

The thrilling conclusion to “As the Crow Flies.” The secret of the Scarebeast is revealed — and no one is safe! Has the Penguin’s master plan ensured the demise of the Dark Knight and the city of Gotham?

Comments? What are your thoughts?

[Mattdotcom]

A few interesting twists wrap up a storyline I enjoyed from beginning to end, so I'm happy. Hopefully we'll get some answers soon.

[Clayface]

I hope no one minds, but I added one more choice to the poll: 0 stars. Because that's what I gave this issue. My initial reaction is up over in the "This Week In Comics" thread. I'll come in here and post some more comments when I get a little more time.

[Robin]

I'm a bit letdown by this arc. Scarecrow turned out to be the Scarebeast? Well I wish there was some sort of different outcome. I wonder how they will use this revelation in future arcs. I just wish there was more too this. It seems like some stuff was let out and other stuff left unanswered. The art still looks really nice. The whole arc has had some great looking artwork. I'm going to re-read the entire storyline to post a better review.

[Icer]

2/5

Not much to say, except the last panel is such a tease

[PaQ]

An alright issue, it wasn't exactly a thrilling conclusion. The fight througout the manor was ok, as was when the momentum changed once the fight led to the batcave. Interesting to see that Crane was the scarebeast and this woman that wants to be called Fright, who I'm sure we haven't seen the last of. Looks like Pengy knows what to do, and an interesting discovery by Alfred in the batmobile. I wonder what that's all about.

[Mattdotcom]

You know, after a few days of digesting the arc and the end, the whole "Jason Todd is alive...PSYCHE~! or DOUBLE PSYCHE~!" is wearing on my nerves.

[Thanos]

Well, this arc turned out to be astonishingly bad. It started off with some potential, but was soon destroyed by its utterly moronic story. Parts meant to be cool were turned out to be sheer idiocy. Batman in a metal suit? Cool concept; terrible execution. If the suit gives the wearer the speed of a monster who can practically keep up with the batmobile and the strength of a creature that can break through walls; why not wear it all the time? Alas, there is no explanation in this issue where explanations are a rarity. Linda Fritawa is a stupid character and I hope she dies immediately after this arc. I refuse to call her Fright and I refuse to believe she went from a quiet, appreciative scientist to a scantily clad, wannabe rogue.

I might have considered giving this abomination two stars, but any issue that causes me to contemplate gouging my eyes out inevitably loses a star. 1 star.

[Clayface]

I couldn't agree more, Thanos. Well, except I don't think it even deserves the one star, but that's just me. ;)

I thought the introduction of "Fright" was probably one of the most awkward and poorly written introductions I've seen to a character in years. Heck, even the way she announces her name was terrible.

I hate what Winick's done with the Scarecrow here. Don't we have enough Jekyl/Hyde comparisons in Batman's villian gallery already (Two-Face, Man-Bat, etc)? The first time we're shown the new female character, the first thing in my head was "please don't let the Scarebeast just be a cheap rip-off of the Man-bat". Disappointingly, that's exactly what we were given. Predictable. And poorly written to boot. The sad thing is, reading recent interviews with Winick, it appears he plans to do this sort of things to many more of Batman's villians - "updating" them to something "cooler" and more "modern". He's going to ruin a bunch of great characters, and its all going to have to be retconned after he's off the title. What a waste.

[Robin]

I thought the introduction of "Fright" was probably one of the most awkward and poorly written introductions I've seen to a character in years. Heck, even the way she announces her name was terrible. I actually didn't know it was Scarecrow's lab assistant until I re-read the whole arc. Winnick writing wasn't good in that scene and it made it hard to figure her out. I don't think he's a terrible writer but it just seemed to let this arc fall. He's not as bad as Larry Hama when he wrote this book but he should be doing better. I think Winnick is a good writer but I don't think he fits Batman.