Monday, December 6, 2010

Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? by Neil Gaiman



I have had this comic book as a PDF-file since spring, as I got it as a part of Hugo-award voter's package. I didn't read it before voting as I really don't like to read things from a computer screen. Last week I bought an IPad, and decided to test how it works for reading comic books. It turns out that it works really beautifully in this purpose. The screen is clear, the colors are beautiful and it was very easy and comfortable to use.
I haven't read too many Batman comics, only a few of the most famous ones (The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke). I have read few of "normal" stories. This graphic novel was a really pleasant surprise. The Batman has died and there is a wake for him. His friends and enemies tell stories about him and about how he died. The stories are all different and contradictory. The story is excellent, moving and has some real surprises, is very creative, the drawings are excellent. If I had read this before voting, this well might have been my first choice.; even though I haven't read any of the other stories yet. This album had a few other unusual Batman stories in addition to the name story – but they really suffered in comparison. The first, black and white one, where Batman and Joker are "actors" acting in a comic strip was ok, others (I am not even sure if there were one of two others) weren't really impressing at all.

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