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This comic, like Superman: Peace On Earth changed comics in a sense. The comic is HUGE and by huge I don't mean thick, but H-U-G-E. Batman is not full of gadgets and a fast car, but rather watered down to a man with some rope and a grappling hook as he fights crime in the ghettos of Gotham. He comes to terms with what he might have been after his parents were murdered when he meets a young boy who's parents were murdered in front of him. Batman realizes after his parents death he could have turned to a life of crime instead of crime fighting.
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This second of the Alex Ross/ Paul Dini deluxe graphic novels loses none of impact of the first (Superman: Peace on Earth.) There is emotional power here that is contributed by both the text and the paintings. But together, WOW, it is overwhelming.
There is a moral power to these books that jumps out you. Indeed, it is an inspiring moral fable. There is no blurred line between right or wrong, good and evil, yet, they are not simplistic. Nor are they watered down- Bruce Wayne lets you know exactly what he thinks about those with wealth and power that prey on the poor and weak.... In fact, Wayne comes across as perhaps a greater hero than his alter ego. You get a feeling of the central importance of redemption to Batman, and how to believe in his own personal redemption he must believe that everyone has the capacity to be redeemed, every child, every criminal, every neighborhood.
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Better than photorealistic artwork fills every oversized page of this incredible graphic novel! The story is pleasantly focused on our hero, rather than a overglorification of villians, which is very easy to do. (The villians are usually the more interesting ones, aren't they? Rather than going up against super villians, this time we see Batsy going after your much more realstic white-collar and blue-collar criminals.
The whole time, Batman is struggiling with a question. If things were different, and he had not been wealthy, would he have turned twoard a life of crime instead of becoming a crime fighter? We see Bruce Wayne incognito, both in the world of the very poor and the very rich, which is a unqiue perspective. It is short, but well written, and Alex Ross is an truly incredible artist.
Rating:  -
This book is rather different than the comic books. In that Batman, painted by Alex Ross, is portrayed as if he were real. In the comic book Batman/Bruce Wayne is supposed to be in his mid 30's yet he looks as if he were carved by the hands of Michelangelo. Whereas in this book he looks more in synch with a large man in his mid 30's with thinning hair, portly physique etc. The costume is also more realistic in the comic book (as in all comic books) the fabric seems to mould every muscle of the body. In this book the costume envelops the body more the way that clothes usually do.
The story appears to fall more realistically than the comic book too. I still prefert to read the comic books, but if you are a Batman fan this will make a nice addition to your collection.
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The amazing craftsmanship of art truly does transcend words. a piece of art can speak volumes and in many different languages all together. The little subtle details truly makes the difference between that kind of art and that which is in truth can be rightfully called a masterpiece. Batman: war on Crime, albeit not a literary wonder, is a gem of a work of art.
Alex Ross popped into the comic world with MARVELS. A project so ambitious that it catapulted Ross into comic book stardom and helped bring in the world of realistic painted art and that of comic book storytelling. Ross became a very crucial and influential player in the comic book scene, where comic book fans would purchase a whole comic just to look at a cover he had painted without caring who really is drawing or writing the comic itself. His approach to characters was one of a kind and his take on certain heroes truly helped define them into the mainstream.
With this work, Ross teams up Paul Dini, the producer of the critically acclaimed animated Batman show. Though the story and plot is not thought-provoking and searing as one might want it to be, the art compensates for that. Here you look at Batman, with the most human of all attributes. He never looked more human, even in his movies. The physique is drawn just right with no bulging muscles ready to tear apart from the skin. The detail works into such that you can actually feel what the cape's material is even, which is more of a polyester, nylon look rather than the rubber associated with the movies. Ross excels in bringing out the right facial expressions with the right kind of actions. Any reader would feel he or she is reading through a photography book of a man wearing a Halloween costume of a large Bat, patrolling the streets of Gotham.
All in all, the book truly reads like a graphic novel. No dialogue bubbles to ruin the artwork which is a plus. Dini tries hard making the reader notice his story and what he's trying to say by it, but in the end, it is Ross who manages to pull things together and creates magic with painting brush.
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