Wednesday is Comic Day!

Writer: Kevin Smith Artist: Walt Flanagan Publisher: DC Comics Kevin Smith can write. He's done it before - on his films, and in comics such as Green Arrow and Daredevil. He doesn't do it here - at least, not well. This was a truly awful and stupid story. The only thing keeping it from a straight-out "F" is the art. Walt Flanagan could have a big career in comics, if he wanted it. He is a longtime friend of Kevin Smith and actually works in a comic book store, sporadically drawing comics. The story starts by using a truly creative character that Smith created for his run on Green Arrow. That character is Onomatopoeia - a villain that can bring sounds to life. For example, holding up his hand in the shape of a gun and saying "BLAM!" causes a real gunshot. It's a character than can only work on the page. But the story turns out to not really be about that character.

Instead it is just a ruse to lead to an absolutely ridiculous confrontation between Batman and the Joker. There is a long running debate amongst Batman fans over whether or not Batman is doing the right thing by not killing the Joker. Batman's code is that he doesn't kill. But by not killing the Joker, Batman is essentially responsible for each additional innocent person the Joker kills. It's a complex issue that can make great stories - but here it becomes an absurd hospital room discussion between Batman and the Joker where Batman opens up his heart and discusses all his vulnerabilities with the Joker. I usually hate when people use (or misuse) the phrase "out of character", but here, that phrase works.

Kevin Smith usually knows how to make crude potty humor work, but here his attempts fall flat and just don't fit. The story also has several ludicrously cliched scenes involving things like "helmet armor". Gah. Awful.

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone for any other reason that to flip through the pages and look at the art.