Trade Issues- Batman: Knightfall-The Broken Bat

Normally, I try to read EVERYTHING before I see the movie. Read all the Harry Potters, all of the Lord Of The Rings, read The Hunger Games. I just like to be one of those nitpicky people that can say in a nice, dour voice "Well, the book was better". I also do this for comic movies! I try to find whatever arc the comic is being based off of and compare. Nolan's Batmans have always been easy to pinpoint. While Batman Begins was based off of Batman: Year One, The Dark Knight was based off of The Man Who Laughs and The Long Halloween. 

When I heard that Rises was based off of The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Knightfall, I was pretty excited. I'd read Miller's magnum opus and knew it well. I had once attempted Knightfall but was turned off by the art and never moved more than a few pages (The odd homoerotic panels of Azrael working out mostly nude while Tim Drake cuts his hair didn't help either). This isn't to say the art was bad. It was just drawn in a homage to classic comics sort of way and I'm much more partial to the sleek works of modern artists like John Cassaday or Jim Lee.

But the art isn't the point here. This is an entirely story driven comic with a fairly simple premise. Bane orchestrates a break out at Arkham Asylum to set loose Gotham's many incarcerated maniacs. The Batman begins his journey to attempt to return as many psychopaths to where they belong as quickly as possible. What really struck me about this story's take on Batman was his solitude. Despite the surrounding Bat-Family, Bruce refuses help as he continues to take more and more of the criminals on alone. Even with Robin in tow, he constantly orders Tim to remain behind.

Going alone is Batman's style sometimes, so this isn't that bad. At first, when he's fighting and dealing with the likes of The Mad Hatter, Amygdala, The  Ventriloquist, and Film Freak (Who?). But then the big guns begin to come out. I count the turning point as when Firefly begins torching half of Gotham and escaping capture. It's at this point that Batman begins asking for help from Robin. Also, at this time, is when the dream duo of evil forms as The Joker and Scarecrow partner up and abduct the mayor to wreak havoc across the city.

If you like fighting, then this is a comic for you. Like a Steven Segall flick, this is just straight up brawling for the most part. Unlike Senor Segall, this comic actually has substance. After each fight, the reader finds the usually unflappable Batman more and more shaken from the constant onslaught of destruction, the lack of sleep, and the mental manipulation from the masked man that caused all this. 

Of course, this trade ends with the ultimate climactic fight between Bane and Batman throughout Wayne Manor and The Batcave. I read this last issue without stopping, breathing, or blinking due to how drawn in I was. Rather it being the fight itself or Alfred frantically trying to contact Robin, this was just one of the most tense comics I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Everyone who saw The Dark Knight Rises probably knows how this fight ends.

Spoiler alert?

But that doesn't matter. In this case, it's the story that makes this trade. Not the ending. Seeing Batman battle baddie after baddie is just exhilarating. I haven't been this into a Batman comic since I first read Batman: Hush (which I easily classify as the best Batman comic ever). 

My only qualms with this story was the lack of my favorite villain, Two-Face. Despite this failing, the destruction from The Joker and Scarecrow was more than enough to make up for it. 

For a true character study on the breaking point of man(even if it is The Batman), give this trade a look. I need to get a hold of Knightsquest and Knightsend, the comics that cover Bruce Wayne's recovery, Azrael's time as Batman, and Bruce's eventual return to the cowl.