Saturday, November 10, 2012

QUICK LOOK: Neal Adam's 'Batman Odyssey'


Neal Adams is reknowned as one of the best comic career artists since the 60s for his work on Batman, Deadman, Green Lantern & Green Arrow! He was especially acclaimed for his work on the caped crusader. After a long while fans of Batman can finally see this master return to the character he had defined for decades!

The epic 'Batman Odyssey' opens with a direct face-to-face conversation between the reader and Bruce Wayne, who is recalling a story of his past experiences. Beginning from the early adventurous days of an inexperienced Batman, we discover Bruce Wayne's delimma over the use of guns, and the necessity and temptation to kill for the sake of justice and protecting the innocent.

The story then forwards to a more recent time where Batman is again faced with the possibility that he wishes to kill. The question then begins to haunt Bruce Wayne as to whether there ever should be times when Batman must kill in order to save...

Have his life-saving efforts really been of any use? Have they really made a difference? Or has his refusal to kill instead put more lives at risk? What good is it to throw criminals into Arkham Asylum if they are only going to inevitably escape? Now what if there was a shadowy villian who learnt to make use of this 'weakness' of the Batman; where every time they needed Batman to be distracted, they'd loose another villian from Arkham so that his attention is diverted elsewhere? Is Batman unwittingly being led by the nose while elsewhere something much larger was building?

What other secrets are there? What was the relationship between his father Thomas Wayne and Ra's Al Ghul? Why is the Deadman involved? For that matter, what revelations lie in store for Robin? Can the Batman kill, even in the face of an all-out war where there are no prisoners taken? This search for discovery will lead Batman from the streets of Gotham to deep below the Earth's surface towards a land he scarsely knew existed. A land of new beings, old creatures, and lost gods.



The story of Batman odyssey is a real page-truner. Quickly paced with mystery and action, Neal Adams takes us back to an era where Batman isn't grounded in the realism of the Nolan films, but is a man who must live and work work amidst magic, wonder and the fantastical! It's a tale of detective noir mixed with pulp adventure, super beings exist in the skies and in the sea. Amongst the living and the dead. Where the heroes are bold and the villians lovingly ludicrous! And yet everything old is new again! Neal Adams manages to bring modern readers to love the wonder of the classic Batman tales, where the hero was unrestricted from having to stick only to plausible settings and scenarios.

Adam's artwork is excellent from start to finish! As the quote by Newsarama on the cover states is, "...the work of a man who has mastered the craft, and isn't afraid to show it!" Incredible detail, and epicly illustrated moments of action and character! There's a surprise around every page! He brings color to a character you never knew was capable of it!


Especially insightful is the dialogue and narration. We get to see the thought processes of Batman. How he thinks, how he fights, where he is confident and what he regrets, and his sense of humor; giving readers and insightful view of Batman that is seldom attempted and rarely with as much success as Neal Adams brings to the table.

'Batman Odyssey' is a momentous return of the Batman of old, a must-have for fans, and a title that newcomers will want to experience! A lengthy read in hardcover and beautifully rendered pages!
Drop by our store and get it for the U.S. Cover price! It's a fantastic journey worth taking!