Batman Odyssey!

Batman rides a pterodactyl! Wow! What's not to like? Let me begin this by saying that I don't have the insatiable craving for Bat-stories that many in fandom seem to have. So, I haven't followed a regular Bat-book in decades. I say that to say that the continuity confusions which largely inform Batman Odyssey don't bother me in their own right maybe as much as they might someone more directly connected to the character. They still bother me, as much as I can detect them though. I bought this book because I'm a fan of Neal Adams and I like the way he draws the Batman. That said, this book is still a pretty big mess. But said I think there is a secret to reading it. More on that in a few moments. 

The decision to have Bruce Wayne/Batman narrate the story is a mistake despite the eventual and interesting reveal of who he is narrating the story to. It makes the Batman in these stories downright verbose, not the grim tight-lipped avenger of justice I expect. We also get a psychological play-by-play and that cuts across the impression Batman gives off that utter confidence might be his ultimate edge on criminals. Adams has attempted to humanize the Batman and it doesn't really work all that well. He mostly doesn't come off as competent and often seems merely cocky and often more than a bit dim. 

And then there's the plotting. Is it all a dream of some kind? A dream would explain some of the nonsensical twists and turns. I had a whale of time trying to stay on board as the story jackknifed all over the place. It was hard to follow in a trade and I can only imagine how difficult it was to keep track of month by month. Often, I didn't really know what I had read on some pages until I read the summary in the next installment.

All that said, there are some real virtues in this monstrous epic. Neal Adams is a damn fantastic artist, and it comes across here in spades. His Batman is powerful and exceedingly physical. There is almost a fetishistic concern with musculature at times, but it all works within the confines of the larger artwork. The action is detailed and at times seems specifically designed to demonstrate some particular tactic, and it often does it quite well.

The other thing I really liked was the extensive use of dinosaurs. I love dinosaurs and I love how Neal Adams draws dinosaurs, so it was a hoot to see this book full of people riding around on T-Rex broncos. In point of fact, it was these images which got me over on buying this one. I had to see how Batman came to be riding such an array of prehistoric monsters.

Now I've talked around it and criticized it, but I haven't really talked about the story. It's a tale that does live up to its name. Batman does indeed go on an odyssey. After much furious action atop trains and in the streets of Gotham where Bats battles gunmen and robbers and assassins he discovers that Arkham Asylum has secrets within secrets. The Sensei, leader of the League of Assassins, has taken control and there is a struggle between him and Ra's Al Ghul for vast resources found in a underground territory named "Underworld". Batman enters this Underworld accompanied not by Dick Grayson as Robin (yep) but by Bat-Man, a Neanderthal version of the Batman himself. There are also intelligent evolved dinosaurs and hideous trolls and such which this hidden land filled with giant bats and giant unevolved dinosaurs. This is a one wild ass roller coaster of a comic book yarn.

Many of the characters don't seem to behave as I'd expect, at least not as I sort of remember them. One example is Talia who goes from being a mysterious alluring and exotic but serious-minded vixen to a chatty and scatter-brained strumpet. Batman himself seems to lose control of himself and yell a lot. All of these things add up to some peculiar moments, which don't make sense overall nor inside the story itself. I did like the presence of Deadman who gets a surprising amount of action. Adams draws him very well and he looks good here. And talk, talk, talk. I complain that modern comics don't have enough words, and I stick by that. But this series, despite its bombastic visuals is also quite dense in words. The closest thing I can think of are Don McGregor's epics with Black Panther. 

It finally occurred to me that this was an elaborate rendition of a 1950's Batman story, one of those Dick Sprang classics filled with wacky sci-fi tropes but done in a modern style with overwrought characterization. On that level I can appreciate what Adams was trying to do, but sadly he just didn't demonstrate the writing chops to pull it off completely here. With a truly professional writer polishing this script and trimming it down in some places, this has the makings a really wild and wooly Bat-venture. But as it sits, it's a flawed and at times exhausting work for sure.

Below are the rather outstanding covers for this series. They are powerful!

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