Ted McKeever

Batman: Nosferatu, written by Randy & Jean-Marc Lofficier with art by Ted McKeever, is the middle book in DC's German expressionist Elseworlds trilogy. The first book is Superman's Metropolis and the third is Wonder Woman: The Blue Amazon. This volume draws upon Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. As the three are interconnected, there are certain plot elements in this book that only make sense if the reader has read the Superman volume. Further, despite borrowing elements from German expressionist cinema, the books are set in an unclear time period that seems to borrow from the times of those films and some uncertain future. While the concept is certainly interesting, the execution is rushed and the story jumbled. Worse, McKeever's art is less expressionistic than ugly. It looks like a poor imitation of Mike Mignola, who would certainly have done a better job with more visual consistency. Fans who are curious may find this an interesting experiment, but it lives up to the Elsewords description: "Heroes are taken from this usual settings and put into strange times and places - some that have existed or might have existed and other's that can't, couldn't, or shouldn't exist."… (more)