I view Batman as the darkest of the DC
heroes – a man who can be hurt, who deals in the grime and filth of
humanity and whose mission is to help not just the innocent, but the
not-as-guilty. It's Batman and Daredevil who are the greatest
triumphs for human stories in the line.
Broken City, written by Brian Azzerello reaches to those roots of the man behind the mask. He's no friend of the establishment in this book because establishments are cesspools for corruption whether criminal or city. He's on a mission to find truths about himself and to rescue the mind of a little boy in shock after the brutal murders of his parents. The artwork, illustrated by Eduardo Risso isn't the focus, but instead the atmosphere of a well-told story. It's dark and angry and dangerous.
The traditional villians come back to
earth in this story, running criminal organizations with very
personal effects – drugs, theft, murder, prostitution, etc. It's a
story where the detective works his way up to the truth by beating
the streets, turning informants and taking wrong trails. Noir,
gritty and real. I loved seeing Batman making mistakes and feeling
slighted by it, taking it personally, then working new angles. He's
alone, and lonely, and can't trust anyone else with the information
he's got because the trail might grow as cold as the next victim he
stumbles upon in a rain-drenched alley.
For my taste there are too many loose
ends, but it's comics and perhaps there are stories to be told later
from each thread left dangling. The dialogue is intentionally
simplistic and some of it could have been chopped. One of the
villians had too much build-up for too simple a fight. Those are my
nits. I still recommend it.
- CV Rick
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