I'm back home from visiting friends and have just finished reading Batman & The Monster Men issue 1 by Matt Wagner. It is a six issue series that tells the story of Batman's first confrontation with the paranormal or super-powered villains. Up until this point in his career as the caped crusader Batman has only faced organized criminal thugs, normal people that exist in the real world. It appears to take place two or three years into his career. He has made enough progress against the organized crime in Gothem City to believe he is on the verge of eridicating the criminal underworld and even has a girlfriend. Now it's no spoiler to say anyone who knows Batman knows he is far from ending crime and even further away from ever having a stable relationship with a woman. Despite knowing how the book will likely end in regards to his relationship the basic premise sounds interesting and fun to see how a young Batman will deal with his first super-powered villains.
Issue one is all set up for the next five issues. This of course is no real surprise, first issues need to establish a motive and a plot. It does a good job of introducing all the characters of the story and establishes a clear motive for Batman. My main issue with the book is I feel it is going to be far too predictable. Now I don't know if this could be considered a spoiler or not but I think it is pretty clear the story will ultimately be about a damsel (Batmans girlfriend) in distress, with a knight, being Batman, who will ultimately have to be saved from a monster, in this case Hugo Strange, and ultimately forcing Batman to give up on romantic relationships in order to protect those he cares for now and in the future. Now there is nothing wrong with this type of story but it shouldn't be quite this predictable. Perhaps I will be wrong and it will totally go another direction. How do I rate Batman & The Monster Men issue one? It is COMPELLING. I'm not entirely sure if it will be worth your time or a must read but it is possible my rating may change after reading the next five issues. Come back tomorrow to find out how I feel about issue 2.
N. S.
P. S. Images coming soon, I'm having technical difficulties uploading from my iPad.
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