Batman Terror

Rating:
Summary: Needlessly overdramatic
Review: This collection is a sequel to Batman: Prey published druing the early days of the Legends of the Dark Knights. Prey was superbly written and beautifully drawn. The same team returned on TERROR which was as far as sequels go is worse than the original.

The story is lackluster and predictable. Hugo Strange has returned from the dead and has procured Scarecrow do destroy the Batman, physically and mentally. That's pretty much it as far as the plot goes. Sure, there is murder, intrigue and betrayal but nothing too spectacular. There is also Catwoman who at one point becomes an annoyance. Her constant games of "catch me" with Batman quickly grows tedious and boring. It has been done before (i.e. in Hush, Long Halloween, Dark Victory). The writer (Doug Moench) also goes terribly out of his way to make the story dark and disturbing. For example, he had Dr. Strange french kissing a mannequin, painting bats with the blood of his victims. The conversation between the characters (especially Batman and Gordon) are drawn out and almost seems like they are not talking to each other, but talking for the sake of hearing themselves talk. All these add up to the story being needlessly oversdramatic.

And as far as the art goes, Paul Gulacy does a superb job. His action scenes read like a storyboard. He also does a couple of great splash pages. The art is the saving grace for this book and the reason why I gave it three stars. While, some fans might enjoy the story, others (like me) may not.