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Batman: Noel (Batman)

3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 · rating details · 1,438 ratings · 166 reviews

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BestsellerInspired by Charles Dickens' immortal classic A Christmas Carol, BATMAN: NOEL features different interpretations of The Dark Knight, along with his enemies and allies, in different eras.

Along the way, Batman must come to terms with his past, present and future as he battles villains from the campy 1960s to dark and brooding menaces of today, whi...more

Hardcover, 112 pages

Published November 2nd 2011 by DC Comics

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Mar 21, 2013 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars

What it lacks in length, it makes up for in artwork. I received this as a birthday present from my older brother last year. He said he thought the illustrations were some of the best he'd seen in a while, and I'd have to agree. Lee Bremejo's realistic take on his character illustrations, as well as the backgrounds and scenery, are amazingly detailed, and make for good eye candy. Granted, Superman looks a bit goofy with his button nose, but this can be overlooked, given the overall quality of the...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Bookworm Amir rated it 3 of 5 stars

I thought the story was a bit short. Biggest drawback. Also they could have emphasized more on what was Batman's past, present, and future thoughts. I also realized that when the Ghost of Christmas Future comes - we stop hearing Batman. Weird. The way Batman speaks reminds me of All-Star Batman - which is to say gruff and terrible, in my opinion.

The narrative, a bit (a lot actually) on the informal side, kept me from enjoying the book, from giving it a more old-English (Charles Dickens style En...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Fizzgig76 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels-and-trade-paperbacks

It’s Christmas Eve and Batman is hunting the Joker. A boy named Tim whose father Bob has told him the story of Scrooge and his visits from the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future remembers the tale as Batman questions his methods and if he’s making a difference. Batman’s encounters with Catwoman, Superman, and the Joker are about to make this a Christmas Eve that Batman, Tim, and Bob will remember forever.

Written and illustrated by Lee Bermejo, Batman: Noel is DC Comic's adaptation of C...more It’s Christmas Eve and Batman is hunting the Joker. A boy named Tim whose father Bob has told him the story of Scrooge and his visits from the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future remembers the tale as Batman questions his methods and if he’s making a difference. Batman’s encounters with Catwoman, Superman, and the Joker are about to make this a Christmas Eve that Batman, Tim, and Bob will remember forever.

Written and illustrated by Lee Bermejo, Batman: Noel is DC Comic's adaptation of Charles Dickens’ often told 1843 story of A Christmas Carol. The story was mostly praised, but there was some criticism of the art.

Batman: Noel is kind of frustrating. I think it was a clever use of A Christmas Carol, and its application to Bruce Wayne was a smart move. Despite this, I don't know that I really enjoyed the story much. In addition, while good, the art is kind of distracting to me.

A Christmas Carol is a rather sugary-sweet tale when it comes down to the relationships between the characters, and it just doesn't seem to apply as much to Bruce and this unknown WayneTech employee named Bob. It would have been better if it were a more one-on-one relationship with the Bob character or an establishing shot to reveal that Bob works for Wayne. Catwoman’s use as the Ghost of Christmas Past doesn’t feel as developed as the use of Superman as the Ghost of Christmas Present (the best “ghost”). The Joker as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come was good…I just think it should have really put more focus on these characters as “ghosts” rather than implying it since it feels like an Elseworlds tale anyway with the holiday ties.

I feel that the story would have worked better if it were more whimsical. Lee Bermejo’s art is very real but someone like Darwyn Cooke or even a Chris Bachalo might have brought out the fairy tale aspect better. I'm not going to take the story seriously, so why should the art be serious?

Batman: Noel is a quick read so not much of a commitment. If you want something different to read around the holidays, this could be fun. It isn't the best Batman story ever, but there aren’t many full-story holiday based comics that don't feel gimmicky so this is above average in that respect.
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Oct 23, 2012 Dorothee Lang rated it 5 of 5 stars

Just in tune with the upcoming Christmas Season, "Noel" was released here in Germany - i read it recently and was amazed by it. Great graphics, but even more so: great story, which is inspired by Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol", but with a modern set of characters. The main character is Batman, only that he isn't your helpful superhero in this story but rather the Dark Knight he has turned into in his recent movies and comic stories, scarred by his past and his fight against villain...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

Batman Noel's most remarkable quality is, of course, the art, blending realism, elements of a modern setting, and noir together seamlessly. Lee Bermejo is easily in the top 5 artists working in comics today, and after reading the comic I wanted to go back through and just look at the layout and the art. The comic is so detailed and expansive that it actually gets quite overwhelming at times. And a few of the page layouts took a moment of thought to recognize what the reading order should be, whe...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Ottery StCatchpole rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. To begin with, no I do not hate Batman or Bruce Wayne as Batman. The reason I gave this book such a poor review is many faceted. Lee Bermejo is a competent and brilliant artist, and a lot of times in this book his artwork is truly beautiful, but its a bit too unoriginal. Lets begin at the beginning and start with the story. To say I was expecting something original or new would be to have been setting myself up for disappointment as I already knew the premise of the story to be A Christmas Carol...more To begin with, no I do not hate Batman or Bruce Wayne as Batman. The reason I gave this book such a poor review is many faceted. Lee Bermejo is a competent and brilliant artist, and a lot of times in this book his artwork is truly beautiful, but its a bit too unoriginal. Lets begin at the beginning and start with the story. To say I was expecting something original or new would be to have been setting myself up for disappointment as I already knew the premise of the story to be A Christmas Carol a la Batman. Batman has been adapted and presented and reinterpreted in so many multivariagated ways that to say I saw this coming would be a lie, so there was that element at least of surprise. Was I expecting something original? By no means, though I did hope that it would at least amuse me or entertain me.
Unlike Dickens writing, and I apologize here but Bermejo did choose to borrow the most famous plot of the man's books so he leaves himself open to comparison, Mr. Bermejo's narrator is rife with cliches, boring, and downright uninteresting as a storyteller. Where Dickens can go pages without dialogue and still amuse us and keep our attentions Mr. Bermejo cannot keep me from dreading his narrator speaking for a single page. Granted Lee Bermejo is an artist first and not a writer this being I believe his first foray into the writer's chair. That said, the characters themselves lack any kind of distinction in their speech, even the Joker's dialogue which is missing his constant humor and jokes could just as easily have been spoken by Batman or Catwoman. The different characters do not have unique and different voices. With the exception of Superman, perhaps, who is only different in his speech because he speaks optimistically in what is essentially another dull and dark dreary trek though a dystopian hell that could never exist in any America that wasn't itself dystopian, Gotham. It is a tired note that keeps replaying in the hands of weak authors giving us the same boring dark take on Batman in his dark city. But the ending is cheery and optimistic you say? Only if you don't wonder that Batman didn't do the right thing and give this guy and his kid bus tickets to Metropolis where everything would surely be better. We will forgive the gaping plot hole that is the Joker's inevitable escape, the likelihood of his demented mind fixating on vengeance and Mr. Cratchit's desire to continue at his old residence despite the previous Joker break-in. Batman is just that scary and the Joker never really killed Jason Todd and became the Ayatollah or something please see the New52.
Particularly disturbing examples of not understanding the characters but instead merely the movie and media made cliches would be, the scene where Batman meets Commissioner Gordon, the scene with Batman and Catwoman, and the scene with Batman and Superman. All of these play off like any episode of the original Batman cartoon only not as well written and by now tired and redone. Perhaps I've read too many comic books (which is like saying I've read too much science fiction) but these scenes always seem to play out the same way. The scene with Catwoman is devoid of any sexiness and that back and forth you'd come to expect from a sex kitten and her mouse. These scenes usually go, Catwoman flirts with Batman but he tries to make her go straight. Here Batman is just bored of her leaving you to wonder why he bothered to show up at all. Then apparently because Batman hurt her feelings Catwoman turns into a hysterical woman and makes him chase her. This only serves as yet another excuse to illustrate the only reason (other than to make the WB loads of cash) for the existence of Batman. Which must be referenced repeatedly even though Batman's origin like Spider-man's and Superman's origins are a part of the collective knowledge of the western world and the media savvy generation. Serving simply as an excuse by yet another artist to portray the tragic and commonly known reason for Batman's existence.
If I became editor in chief of DC comics tomorrow I would ban any portrayals of said scene. I can still assure you, you would see it come up in every other trade as there are not many Bruce Wayne Batman books that do not at some point or another show the death of his parents. Seriously, please stop people, it is the equivalent of saying ice is cold, and one of the many signs of why Mr. Bermejo is a poor author, at least in so far as this story goes.
Moving on to the artwork. It is at times beautiful, which is why it is so painful to look at when it is not. There are scenes, and facial expressions that just seemingly defy description. The kid when he's working on his Christmas tree, or when he first sees his dad. Truly unrealistic and odd faces. The ridiculously happy expression the child makes when he shows his father the tree. No. Simply not done. Though this might have something to do with the way the kid is drawn in this annoyingly unrealistic though it tries to be cherubic face. Then there is the face Alfred is making like he's having a seizure having just picked up Batman's dirty laundry. Just about every other panel that has Catwoman in it, though that might have something to do with her very unsexy portrayal wearing those ridiculous goggles. But especially in the face Catwoman makes when she's just made it over the building's edge with Batman behind her. I thought this was someone who was in it for the fun, not just to commit crimes. One would think jumping across rooftops was old hat. Also, Commissioner Gordon talking about how he's a prescription ... seriously no, wasn't that Groucho Marx's schtick when he made a joke?
The point is the art like the story borrows heavily from what came before it. Everything looks like it was borrowed from a Batman movie, such as the texture of his costumes or the design of the Batmobile, or the Joker's face, and Catwoman's costume. All of it looks like it was inspired not by the countless stories that came before of Batman and his adventures but rather like someone whose watched the movies and thinks he understands the characters but in reality only achieves in portraying the cardboard versions of who they are and what they represent.
Mr. Bermejo is indeed a talent, a lot of this book is brilliantly illustrated, but the art does not serve to enhance the story or in any way tell anything that the writing doesn't. The writing doesn't need to be there. You can read the story and still understand most of it without the narrator speaking. Granted you can say the same of most comics, but of good comics you can say that the narration adds color, thoughts, and dimension to what the pictures illustrate. Here the pictures show us a story but the narrator dulls us with his painful use of cliche. I wanted to like this book but I did not. I may give Luthor a try as that was written by a more experienced author. (less)

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Apr 14, 2012 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

I really enjoyed this retelling of A Christmas Carol. I loved the original Dickens but am frequently disappointed by retellings and re-imaginings. They always seem ham-handed and too light-hearted. A Christmas Carol is in fact a very serious story with very real applications and implications. As such, I was initially wary of how Batman as a medium for the story would come across. Surprisingly well! The story is clearly treated with love, respect, and a true understanding of the real essence of t...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Kathleen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, fiction, read-in-2012

While this is a very good retelling of A Christmas Carol with Batman as Scrooge and a street level hood as Bob Cratchit, I now want a dozen versions of this story. I want Tim or Steph or Cass or Babs or Dick or Damien to be Cratchit. I want the one where the Red Hood actually shows up instead of a flash vision of Jason-as-the-Robin that was. Because he's naturally the partner that is dead and gone, but he isn't really dead and gone. It could be fun. I want the one where Doctor Fate or Zatana act...more

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Dec 24, 2011 Sam Quixote rated it 5 of 5 stars

After so many Batman books how can one man, the brilliant Lee Bermejo, rejuvenate the character for another book? Take the ultimate Christmas story ever written, Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and cast the Dark Knight as Scrooge, of course! Robin, Catwoman, Superman, and Joker all put in appearances in the role of the other characters in the Carol, showing how well that story fits the DC Universe like a glove.

The story focuses on how Batman has changed over the years, from the fun loving and some...more

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Dec 22, 2011 James rated it 5 of 5 stars

OK, you want me to tell you a story?

Batman: Noel is quite a graphic novel. It takes a tip from Charles Dickens and creates its own version of "A Christmas Carol," minus the ghosts. It is a commentary on the Dark Knight, a vigilante who tends to cross the line that others would fear to cross (Gordon said that).

It's a narrative piece, where someone (we find out who at the end) is telling his kid a story, about Scrooge (Batman) and how he meets three people who make him take a look at his life an...more

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Nov 01, 2011 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

Lee Bermejo, who has illustrated such fascinating character tellings as Joker and Lex Luthor: Man of Steel, sets down his brush long enough to try his hand at writing. His storytelling is, incredulously, as amazing and dedicated as his artwork. In Batman: Noel, he cleverly infuses Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol with the superhero icon Batman and his city of Gotham, assigning Barbara Ciardo the role of colorist. Bermejo still provides visuals that will take your breath away, but this time he...more

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Dec 27, 2011 Tim Pendry rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: cultural-studies, graphic-novels, heroic-fantasy, literature-general, north-american, popular-culture

This is a reworking of Dickens' 'Christmas Carol' for the Dark Knight Batman mythos.

Apart from a clumsy confusion at the beginning as to who precisely is Bob Cratchit's 'boss' (either an egregious failure of continuity or a too-clever-by-half attempt to give the now somewhat cliched message of the Joker and Batman as two sides of the same coin), this works well.

But the book is not best read for the script which is fairly predictable (though well drafted and, as we will see, with a message) and...more This is a reworking of Dickens' 'Christmas Carol' for the Dark Knight Batman mythos.

Apart from a clumsy confusion at the beginning as to who precisely is Bob Cratchit's 'boss' (either an egregious failure of continuity or a too-clever-by-half attempt to give the now somewhat cliched message of the Joker and Batman as two sides of the same coin), this works well.

But the book is not best read for the script which is fairly predictable (though well drafted and, as we will see, with a message) and really an opportunity to give star appearances to Cat Woman, SuperMan and The Joker for the fans but the art work which is dark, Gothic, precise and magnificent.

It opens with an atmospheric evocation of Gotham City in which you can see and hear (a remarkable achievement, here) the crunch of Batman's boots as he walks across a snowy roof. There is also a useful contemporary reworking of Dickens' moral which give nothing away to state here.

Whereas Dickens was castigating lack of generosity and miserly disregard for others, Bermejo is castigating the blind hunt for justice that stereotypes those on the margin as a-social regardless of their circumstances and which uses people as mere tools to some greater 'good'.

Batman is presented as on the very edge of psychopathy and drifting into the territory of Judge Dredd in a world where police and petty criminals are simply trying to make the best of a bad system. Wayne Enterprises is not pictured precisely in its standard context of beneficence.

This comic book is slight but it expresses a turn of sorts in the mind-set of a nation, away from simplistic notions of good and evil and (if tentatively) towards criticism of a world that has a place for vigilante superheroes with a cold attitude to the weak and vulnerable.

The vigilante trope was a creation of the Wild West and was urbanised first briefly by Dashiell Hammett (from a Leftish perspective) in the 1920s and then in Hollywood cinema during the 1970s with violent protagonists like those in 'Death Wish' or the Dirty Harry films.

The justice trope is standard American 'beacon on a hill stuff' and Batman was originally a fairly innocent figure until the tormented 'Dark Knight' figure appeared, while Judge Dredd always was a satire on America (a fact Sylvester Stallone may have missed).

To see both tropes now critiqued through a Victorian reformer's message by a relatively young graphic artist and writer is yet another sign that the younger generation of Americans are questioning cultural assumptions, even if at one remove.(less)

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Dec 27, 2011 Dave Brown rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, paperback

Batman:Noel is a one-shot graphic novel making its debut for this Holiday season. Essentially, the novel is a re-imagining of Dicken's A Christmas Carol, casting Batman/Bruce Wayne as Scrooge, justifying his willingness to use a man named Bob, a man who is stuck in a dead-end job and chooses to carry packages for the Joker in order to handle the expenses of the medical bills for his son, Tim (see the parallels?). Batman weaves a plan to exploit Bob and use him as bait to bring the Joker out of h...more Batman:Noel is a one-shot graphic novel making its debut for this Holiday season. Essentially, the novel is a re-imagining of Dicken's A Christmas Carol, casting Batman/Bruce Wayne as Scrooge, justifying his willingness to use a man named Bob, a man who is stuck in a dead-end job and chooses to carry packages for the Joker in order to handle the expenses of the medical bills for his son, Tim (see the parallels?). Batman weaves a plan to exploit Bob and use him as bait to bring the Joker out of hiding, despite the fact that this will endanger Tim, as well as Bob. Batman sees this as a valid tactic, because the goal of taking villainy off the streets of his city justifies any method, including risking those he sees as guilty, and their families.

And thus, from the beginning, Bermejo presents the reader with a bitter Batman, a hero lost and consumed in his passion to defeat evil at any cost, including potential harm to innocents. We see a Batman who has permitted his own tragic history to place his soul at risk. We see Scrooge in the Dark Knight, placing his plan in motion on Christmas Eve, because its just another day, a day like any other.

Of course, staying true to the classic story line, Batman is thus visited by three people who attempt to show him where he has gone off track, and who attempt to win him back over to being the hero he once was at this most sacred time of year, the Christmas Holiday. Catwoman appears as the Ghost of Christmas Past, leading Batman to re-live the passion, optimism, and principles that he once held. Superman appears as the Ghost of Christmas Present, gently breaking the Batman's self-perception of being the respected bringer of justice who is beyond question by permitting him to overhear the true concerns about how he is about to go over the edge that are voiced by Commissioner Gordon and members of his police force. Lastly, the Joker finally appears, drawn in beautifully terrifying and hideous form, as the Ghost of Christmas Future, attacking Batman and leading him to imagine, in an unconscious state, the future as it might play out should he continue down the path that he is traveling. This sequence takes place in a hellish dream state that is in marked contrast to the cool, dark, and foreboding art that makes up the rest of the novel.

Bermejo hints at a love for Dicken's work in his dedications, and this feels like a expertly-crafted homage to the author he seems to identify as such a huge influence on him. He captures the essence of Dicken's story here, making it all the more poignant by presenting Scrooge's tragically flawed nature in one we have come to know as a hero. He encapsulates his story of redemption in a statement from the narrator in the beginning of the novel, a statement that is the thesis of Bermejo's work here:

"'Cuz for this story to make sense...for it to mean anything...you have to believe in something. Something very important. You have to believe that people can change."

This is particularly fascinating as we see Batman drifting in danger of becoming an anti-hero. Bermejo is presenting us with the hero who has always seen every human being, even the worst of villains, as being candidates for redemption , now desperately needing that redemption himself. Watching the Dark Night Detective move through the journey to that redemption is powerful, and complete with a theological statement of re-birth in a striking half-page panel as Batman rises from the grave in which the Joker has left him, returning to a new life and purpose from the death that his bitterness has brought about, resurrected, as it were, to a clearer...and more heroic...purpose.

The art throughout the novel is pristine and brilliant, with floating fonts superimposed over the panels as the unseen narrator moves us through the story. Bermejo's dialogue shines as much as his overall storyline, making a graphic novel that is difficult to put down.

For any superhero fan, and certainly for any Batman fan, Batman:Noel is an exploration of redemption in the truest Christmas fashion. In fact, if you're new to graphic novels altogether, this would be a great place to start. (less)

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Jun 17, 2012 Jonathan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels, favourites

I don't normally give graphic novels five stars. Those which are near among the best for me often receive four stars at most. However this was so superiorly superb that I had to give it five stars.

The storyline was a clever twist on the typical Batman storyline. It featured an overlying narration of the story of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (view spoiler), tying the story into the Batman plot. (view spoiler)...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, young-adult, reviewed

Is there really a difference between Batman: Noel and Batman: Noël? There is a tiny difference in the e, but not that it really matters, right? When you search Batman: Noel on Goodreads, you won't get any results which I find frustrating because I don't know how to get those 2 little dots on top of my e. But of course this has nothing to do with the book itself. It's just something I found annoying.

The real review:
I have never read or seen A Christmas Carol before so I only understand the basics...more

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Dec 22, 2011 Shara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed

The premise: ganked from BN.com: Inspired by Charles Dickens' immortal classic A Christmas Carol, BATMAN: NOEL features different interpretations of The Dark Knight, along with his enemies and allies, in different eras.

Along the way, Batman must come to terms with his past, present and future as he battles villains from the campy 1960s to dark and brooding menaces of today, while exploring what it means to be the hero that he is. Members of Batman's supporting cast enact roles analogous to those...more

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Dec 25, 2012 Boots rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels, batman, christmas-stories

saved this as a Christmas Eve bonbon and it was delicious.

bermejo outdoes himself on the art in this one. the opening splash pages of gotham alone were worth the read; just astonishing work. credit also to the colorist barbara ciardo who makes the pages glow ridiculously.

and okay, this is just sort of "batman does the Christmas carol", but it's genuinely clever ~ robin fills the role of marley, with catwoman, superman, and the joker playing the "three spirits". the cameo from superman is especia...more

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Dec 03, 2011 Slayermel rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who loves Batman

Shelves: batman, own, 21st-century, american, christmas, graphic-novels, male-authors, 2011, favorites, fiction, superman, young-adult

This is the Charles Dickens “Christmas Carol” set into the world of Batman, featuring Batman as Scrooge. I really enjoyed this tale and loved how they made it more realistic to fit into this world by leaving out the ghosts and instead making them three visitors who have a great impact on how Batman’s day went. Trying to help him regain his focus on the bigger picture as somewhere along the line of being the hard character that he is and the amount of loss he has seen, he drifted from the path.

T...more

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Jan 17, 2012 Andrew Shafer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow, very rarely do I borrow something from my library and think " I must own this." this book did that to me. First off I'm a huge fan of Charles Dickens " A Christmas Carol" and while this isn't an actual adaption of that it does come close to being one. the story in here is great and the way they pay homage to the source material without having Batman actually deal with ghosts and spirits is awesome. the story part of the book is probably a 4 star by itself but even if the story had been abso...more

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Dec 25, 2011 Derek Royal rated it 3 of 5 stars

Nothing heavy, but okay. I look at this as a nice piece of confection for the holidays. But reading back over that last sentence, I feel that tone is one of condescension. That couldn't be further from the truth. Perhaps a better way of putting it is that this is a nicely executed Christmas story, a variation on Dickens, as it was intended to be. Henry James said that we should "grant the artist his subject, his idea"...in other words, his donnée, And for that, Bermejo success spectacularly. Ret...more

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Dec 07, 2011 Robert Frost rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have been a big fan of Lee Bermejo since he and writer Brian Azzarello published Lex Luthor: Man of Steel, a story focusing on Superman’s nemesis. Bermejo has a very distinctive and striking art style. It is gorgeous. I’m also a sucker for Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, so the merger of the two is definitely a product I pre-ordered on Amazon.

As everyone knows, A Christmas Carol is about a man that has lost his humanity until he is visited by a series of ghosts on Christmas eve. The ghosts restore...more I have been a big fan of Lee Bermejo since he and writer Brian Azzarello published Lex Luthor: Man of Steel, a story focusing on Superman’s nemesis. Bermejo has a very distinctive and striking art style. It is gorgeous. I’m also a sucker for Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, so the merger of the two is definitely a product I pre-ordered on Amazon.

As everyone knows, A Christmas Carol is about a man that has lost his humanity until he is visited by a series of ghosts on Christmas eve. The ghosts restore his spirit and appreciation for the people around him. Now what if that man were Batman? He’s a man so immersed in the seedy underworld that he can’t but help to be overcome by cynicism. Now what if the ghosts of Christmases past, present, and future were replaced with Catwoman, Superman, and the Joker, respectively? What if Bob Cratchit were a petty thief trying to take care of his infirm son, Tim? It’s a clever idea and very well executed.

Although Bermejo is a well established comic book artist, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time he has written a comic. If so, he’s a natural. The first sign is the narration. The story is narrated by Bob Cratchit. Bermejo gives him a blue collar voice that clearly takes the eminently Victorian story and establishes it in the United States and provides some level of empathy for this petty thief. He also adeptly provides the voices for the characters we all know and love (Batman, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, Catwoman, Superman, and the Joker).

There is one amusing note that will be recognizable to long-time Batman fans. So many readers expect Batman to be near perfect – smarter and quicker than everyone. He doesn’t make mistakes. So what does a writer do when they want to put Batman into a position where he needs to learn a lesson or needs to be temporarily defeated (As in the Nightfall story where Bane broke Batman’s back) – they give him a cold.

And of course the art works perfectly. Bermejo is a master of light, shadows, and folds, but he also manages to provide, in this story, backgrounds that feel like a combination of Norman Rockwell and Thomas Kincaid, providing a snowy Christmas backdrop, with hints of the Victorian origin of the story. Barbara Ciardo provides a wonderful color palette that doesn’t violate the perpetual night of Gotham but manages to provide bursts of color and warm tones like a Tuscan sunset.

Batman Noël deserves to be a Christmas perennial for all fans of Batman and Dickens.(less)

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May 26, 2012 Ryan Billings rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was left an unbelieving mess after reading this. I could not manage how expertly the blending of A Christmas Carol and the entire Batman mythos was done. Nothing was reconstituted or altered. That's the amazing thing. On top of that, this is the very first story to convince me that Batman is not his best when brutally obsessed. The recent Grant Morrison run (with Batman's "death" and "finding") has all been an attempt to reinterpret Batman as this nicer, more superhero-like, guy. Grant Morriso...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Ms. Library rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

Lee Bermejo sets out to recreate A Christmas Carol in Gotham. What I thought was interesting about this one was that Batman, himself, was the Scrooge. I thought it made a lot of sense.
Batman has always had one of the darker senses of what justice is. He doesn't kill bad guys, but he feels that things are very black and white, and he doesn't tend to feel sympathy or love for individuals. He is motivated by his driving need to ride evil of Gotham, and often that can rob him of the smaller nuances...more

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Nov 03, 2011 Bookstorequeer rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed, superhero

I picked this up on the behest of one of the guys at Paradise Comics (who hadn't read it yet), because he wanted to know what I thought. First impressions: The art is amazing, of course, but the idea is terribly cliched. This is a Christmas Carol with Batman in it. And, unfortunately, that's all that the story is.

There were a few pages where I got lost in terms of what panel to read next, because they seemed to be full page spreads but weren't, or they seemed like single pages but they were actu...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Ubalstecha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: christmas-carole-adaptations

Batman goes through his version of Dicken's Christmas Carole, complete with Ghosts of Christmas Past, Bob Cratchet and a Tiny Tim. Of course there is also the redemption of Batman at the end.

Let's be blunt. Almost everyone has adapted A Christmas Carole to one situation or another. Every TV show does this at some point, as do most ongoing literary series. The novelty in doing this is watching the writer adapt the classic tale to a new environs, in this case Batman's Gotham. Choices for the diffe...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Eric Klee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Let me start by saying that the artwork in BATMAN: NOEL is phenomenal. Lee Bermejo is so talented when it comes to illustrating. Batman looks so realistic down to the last detail; it's amazing. Guest appearances by Robin, Superman, Catwoman, and the Joker are equally astounding.

Less exciting is the story itself. Is there anyone who hasn't read and/or seen Dickens' A Christmas Carol in some variation? Is anyone as tired as me of seeing it tweaked and redone for the millionth time? If not for the...more

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Jan 04, 2012 David Stewart rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: super-heroic

Well drawn and interestingly written. It's a Dark Knightlian version of Dickens' Christmas Carol. The narrator tells old Scrooge's story, for the most part, while Batman runs around Gotham doing things that mostly line up with the three spirits of Christmas that Scrooge deals with. It's well done, if forced, and a good read for the season or just as an alternative to the same tired story you've been reading about or watching for the last decade(s). The art style is very clean and realistic, thou...more

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Dec 04, 2011 Aubrey Tate rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

A graphic novel has it tougher sometimes, when it comes to pleasing the reader, for the art must be appropriate for the story and the story must be a rich one. Then they must meet to work in unison.

Batman: Noel is an example of a graphic novel that does really well on one end but suffers on the other. Let me begin with the good, the art. Lee Bermejo is a phenomenal artist! I was completely memorized by the artwork in this book. Normally you only see such artwork on the cover and if you look at t...more

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Dec 13, 2011 Artur Coelho rated it 3 of 5 stars

Outra graphic novel. Com Batman no papel principal. Verdadeiramente raro, digo eu com um tom de ironia. O que não falta por aí são livros destes a explorar o lado tenebroso da personagem mais problemática da DC Comics. E o que nos trás de novo este Noel? Uma mistura do conto clássico de Natal de Dickens com as constantes introspecções do herói corroído pela obsessão. No lugar dos fantasmas das eras temos um Robin, um Super-homem e um Joker a interferir física e moralmente numa caça ao homem em q...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Michael Foley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-batman, fiction-dark-fantasy, fiction-graphic-novel, fiction-christmas, fiction-dickens

Batman meets A Christmas Carol. The artwork and coloring are simply top notch. This is my first experience with Bermejo (pencils) and Ciardo (coloring) and I am duly impressed. I hope that they team up more often in the future. My primary issue was with the storytelling. Although Bermejo attempts to bring Dickens and Batman together, the work comes across more as a showcase for the art than anything else. The framework dialogue felt clunky and occasionally made reading the panels somewhat diffic...more

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About Lee Bermejo

Lee Bermejo is a professional illustrator and comic book artist. He has done work for Marvel and DC Comics, Men's Health, Max Mara, Top Cow productions, Wizard Entertainment, and a crappy film called Ultraviolet (hey,whaddayagonnado). Talking about himself in the third person makes him feel more important than he really is. Anyway, enough about the blogger, let's talk art!

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