I don’t often link to reviews, but I’m not sure this is so much a “review” as a “blustery rant” in the vein of “You kids and your rock and/or roll.” In any case, the Portland Oregonian‘s Steve Duin doesn’t like Batman/The Spirit #1, and he’s not about to suffer in silence. Some highlights:
- “It’s a comic book, you remind yourself. It’s not putting on airs. It doesn’t aspire to poetry or permanence. It feels no obligation to honor the icons that have allowed the art form to survive for more than 70 years.”
- “The credits for this loopy disaster include a ‘special thanks to Denis Kitchen,’ presumably for the proverbial sink.”
- “The storyline is asinine, the artwork pedestrian, the page layouts uninspired and the dialogue juvenile. The mystery is why I’m surprised and disappointed. It’s a comic book. It doesn’t aspire to greatness. Isn’t that what all the snobs and critics say?”
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen Darwyn Cooke’s artwork described as “pedestrian.” I certainly enjoyed the art, and liked the writing more than I thought I would. Johanna Draper Carlson posted her reaction to the comic last night.
December 18th, 2006 at 10:28 am
I don’t just disagree with his review, but I have to think it’s also WRONG. I’d hate to think of what this critic throught of SPIRIT #1, which might just be the best comic I’ve read in months. . .
December 18th, 2006 at 10:42 am
another black mark against the local rag. At least there was a GOOD Batman retrospective featured before Batman Begins, but that was by the Oregonian movie reviewer.
December 18th, 2006 at 10:48 am
“Feels no obligation to honor”? A book by two of the most obsequious to the Silver Age creators in the business? Is he HIGH?
That said, The Spirit #1 was pretty good.
December 18th, 2006 at 11:06 am
Maybe it’s because I had a bad cold when I read it, but Batman/The Spirit just didn’t grab me like I thought it would. The art was great, but Loeb’s story was weak. I am a fan of Darwyn Cooke, and did pick up The Spirit #1 last week. We’ll see.
December 18th, 2006 at 11:24 am
Oh! Woozy head…brain falling out from reading review. To me, the guy missed the point of the book. And, honestly, I hear a lot of people talking about Loeb’s writing on the book. I neither hate nor love him, but I do think that it worked for this particular book. Writing in the Golden Age was more broad and that gave the book some charm. Whether that was intentional or not is another story…
December 18th, 2006 at 11:38 am
Well, as someone who has never really understood the love for Darwyn Cooke’s art, I find it sort of nice to see that someone agrees with me. Pity the agreeable person in question comes off as such a monumental jackass.
December 18th, 2006 at 2:05 pm
i really liked that book. and anything cooke draws is awesome. there’s just so much in the characters expressions, body language, and environments they exist in. pedestrian? please…
December 18th, 2006 at 3:59 pm
Steve Duin is and has always been an idiot. Generally his dislike for something is a very high endorsement. His job at the Oregonian for years has been to be cranky and obtuse. I havent lived in Oregon for seven years but his name attached to this is still enough to send me to the comic shop tonight and buy this issue.