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turret's review
5.0
+9 Once again, another knockout standalone Batman story by Loeb and Sale.
The Mad Hatter and his Alice in Wonderland gimmick/obsession is a great way to make the reader uncomfortable - he’s perfectly aware of his actions, but still chooses to speak lines from the classic 1865 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Additionally, the font of his dialogue switches between upper and lower case consistently, making him even more unsettling. I’m really glad the creative team decided on this lettering technique since it really makes the Hatter stand out from other Batman villains.
The plot is entertaining enough, but what really takes the cake here is Bruce reminiscing about memories of his mother through the thought of Alice in Wonderland, and the evolving relationship between James Gordon and his niece, Barbara. Loved seeing both of these play out, change, and affect the characters by the end as they came to an understanding.
The art by Sale is a little closer to his newer work compared to Fears, with a black and white limited colour palette being used several times to convey different emotions and tone. The best pages are those that have several smaller panels on one page, it really broke up the pacing quite well here, allowing for plenty of dialogue and set-up for locations that didn’t need a massive art spread.
A definite recommendation!
Alongside this Batman Halloween special, two others were published in a collected edition called Batman: Haunted Knight, which I've also reviewed.
[Read in February, read and reviewed in May 2023]
The Mad Hatter and his Alice in Wonderland gimmick/obsession is a great way to make the reader uncomfortable - he’s perfectly aware of his actions, but still chooses to speak lines from the classic 1865 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Additionally, the font of his dialogue switches between upper and lower case consistently, making him even more unsettling. I’m really glad the creative team decided on this lettering technique since it really makes the Hatter stand out from other Batman villains.
The plot is entertaining enough, but what really takes the cake here is Bruce reminiscing about memories of his mother through the thought of Alice in Wonderland, and the evolving relationship between James Gordon and his niece, Barbara. Loved seeing both of these play out, change, and affect the characters by the end as they came to an understanding.
The art by Sale is a little closer to his newer work compared to Fears, with a black and white limited colour palette being used several times to convey different emotions and tone. The best pages are those that have several smaller panels on one page, it really broke up the pacing quite well here, allowing for plenty of dialogue and set-up for locations that didn’t need a massive art spread.
A definite recommendation!
Alongside this Batman Halloween special, two others were published in a collected edition called Batman: Haunted Knight, which I've also reviewed.
[Read in February, read and reviewed in May 2023]
mauro_german's review
4.0
Lectura adicional después de ver el film "The Batman".
Muy buen cross-over con "Alicia en el Pais de las Maravillas" , explorando los sentimientos más arraigados del murciélago con sus padres e infancia.
Muy buen cross-over con "Alicia en el Pais de las Maravillas" , explorando los sentimientos más arraigados del murciélago con sus padres e infancia.
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