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pmileham's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Police brutality, Grief, Death, and Violence
rnbhargava's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really like the older aged twists on Poison Ivy, Killer Croc and Riddler. The older Two-Face isn’t that different. Barbara Gordon older aged is kind of similar to other older aged depictions of the character.
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, Misogyny, Police brutality, Self harm, Classism, Gaslighting, Murder, Blood, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
How some people might think of some of the deaths and how they happen could be controversial. Please note potential for suicide vs mercy killing murder discussion.livlamentloathe's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
But I have more questions than I think were answered! The ending and the details were what lost me.
Did Harley die or just leave? Why is Ivy suddenly a springy, excitable lady?? I think some of the characters weren’t considered properly in the story building—she was entirely OOC. I can’t see a world, still so corrupt, where Ivy becomes as giggly as she was in this book. Also what about the other supers?? Gotham is one city. How did the entire country seemingly turn on all of them based on one city. Especially when the supers/vigilantes didn’t cause Fool’s Night. The Joker and the cops did! And beyond that, the Batfamily are vigilantes. But most of the JLA members of superheroes or aliens or magic-users. Why were those with powers judged based on the actions of those without??
I liked the idea of the story, and the build-up. But the ending felt a bit flat. There was so much build-up only for the end result to be a let-down. I also wish there’d been acknowledgment of Dick’s death beyond a shot at the gravestone. I love Cliff Chiang’s art and coloring. The book itself was gorgeous. And the idea of it was very crafty. But I didn’t like the details.
Also!! Not super into Selina/Eddie! I don’t think it was necessary to include a love interest for her. She’s strong enough on her own. And it added nothing. She had bonds with all the gang without needing the extra weight of a relationship.
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder
jessereadsthings's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
Moderate: Police brutality
akswhy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder and Police brutality
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual harassment
billyjepma's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I don't think Chiang's interpretation of these characters is all that surprising, but I consider that a positive, especially considering how many of these Black Label miniseries' have struggled. Having four issues to work with versus the usual three also helps and should definitely be the standard the label uses moving forward. I respect that Chiang kept his iterations subtler, as it allows him to piggyback off what we know of these characters, which also helps his characterizations feel more organic. That's a lot of words to say that I loved a lot of what Chiang did here.
His art is also reliably excellent, the coloring especially. His illustrations strike a good balance between playful and mature, but the colors make the book's visuals soar. There's so much volume to the pages Chiang turns out, from the vibrantly dense environments to the specific expressions of the characters—this is a gorgeous book. Consider this a 4.5-star book and one I can absolutely see myself revisiting.
Moderate: Blood, Police brutality, Violence, Cursing, and Death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury