Graham Nolan

I'll get a few negatives out of the way. The art style isn't nearly as impressive as Hush, Court of Owls or a few of the other Batman Graphic Novels I've been reading. The writing is pretty campy and classic, lots of stuff that would fit right in with the campy 1960s Batman, so if you're not down wit that, I don't blame you.

With that said, this was really compelling. The tension keeps going, and Batman's inner monologue makes you want him to go take a 3 month nap and immediate medical show more attention. Bane's plan really wears Batman down, and you along with him. The end 20 pages are just incredible, iconic and classic for a reason. I would say the overall structure is really strong and easy to follow. There's a reason they adapted this for Dark Knight Rises, Bane is a fun, intimidating villain. show less

This is an oddly conceived collection for a pair of reasons. Firstly, Batman is barely in it. Sneeze and you'll miss the few panels he's in. Obviously they stuck his name on the cover in hopes to sell more copies. Second, we start with the origin story of Bane; a dark, gripping story based almost entirely in a fictional South (or is it Central?) American jail, and then the second half of the book jumps to a time *much* later in Bane's history with a multitude of references to what came show more in-between. Yes, the in-between that's not in this book. So unless you're up on your Bane continuity, prepare to be confused, as I was. show less

A very taunt & fast paced story line tells the first part of the loss of the mantle of the Bat, from Bruce Wayne to Jean Paul Valley. Old fashioned art & colouring doesn't distract from a seminal Batman story arc. Good roles for some of the Bat family but others have lesser roles. Really a key work for anyone interested in the character.

I read this because the new Batman movie is coming soon (Dark Knight Rises) and I'm excited about it. Also, being new to comics, I didn't know anything about the character, Bane, featured in the new movie so I thought I'd read through his story arc to see which moral grey areas Christopher Nolan intends to straighten out in his latest. At first, Bane's story was full of interesting philosophical potential but this potential was quickly undermined by the exaggerated dramas and manufactured show more perils of comic book story time, complete with goofy side characters and cheesy dialogue. I will probably still read volumes 2 and 3 because I'm crazy weird about thoroughness but understand that I'm embarrassed about it and that where before I was hoping these could be slotted into my quirky-but-vastly-intelligent-reads category I see now they are only guilty pleasures. show less