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Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 2: Knightquest (Batman: Knightfall)
Mentally defeated and physically broken, Bruce Wayne suffered a crippling blow while battling the brutal Bane. Now, the mantle of the Bat must be passed on to another, and Jean Paul Valley answers the call! But as the new Caped Crusader slowly loses his grip on sanity, his idea of justice takes a violent and deadly turn. Witnessing this dangerous behavior firsthand, Nightw...more
Paperback, 656 pages
Published
May 29th 2012
by DC Comics
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Jean Paul Valley as Batman is such a mess. And reading this is like just waiting for him to implode and Bruce to come back (and wondering why anybody puts up with this freak). I don't recall if ever there was a sense that Bruce might not be back--that Azrael was taking over permanently, but in retrospect it's impossible to imagine anyone would think he was worthy (which kinda makes Bruce an idiot).
No comment on the cowboy twins (ugh), and other sundry plotlines (most of which are just so-so). T...more
No comment on the cowboy twins (ugh), and other sundry plotlines (most of which are just so-so). T...more
The Knightfall story arc is the ambitious undertaking of writers Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, and Alan Grant. The arc, consisted of three parts: Knightfall, Knightquest, and KnightsEnd, and while the storyline was supposed to take place over the course of six months, the publication lasted a year. The storyline is infamous for its bloated content and long-term ramifications for the Batman Universe. It introduces the characters of Bane and Azrael, and continually questions whether Bruce is physicall...more
Jean-Paul Valley, as Azrael the Avenger, is an interesting hero. He's been mind-programmed without his knowledge, all through his childhood, by something called the System, which compels him to 'avenge' when things have gone wrong around him. The problem, of course, is that the System decides what 'wrong' actually means, and Jean-Paul doesn't have much say in the matter.
In this installment of the Knightfall world, Batman is recovering from a broken back thanks to Bane (yep, you've heard that be...more
In this installment of the Knightfall world, Batman is recovering from a broken back thanks to Bane (yep, you've heard that be...more
This is the Batman Knightfall volume that received completely newly collected content in this revision of the Knightfall collected editions. If you already have the original 3-volume Batman Knightfall collection (1993-1995) and Batman Prodigal (1998), this collection fills in the gap between the 1st two Knightall books and Knightsend/Prodigal. (If you also have the "Batman versus Bane", you'd have most everything from the Knightfall volume 1 reprint, so I'd suggest skipping that one and going st...more
At this point, Knightfall gets most of its worth as an historical artifact. By which I mean that it isn't really very good, but it is an important even in Batman's history. (Which, post-Flashpoint, may never have happened after all.) The whole Knightfall storyline (Bane breaks Batman, Batman comes back) was the starting point for The Dark Knight Rises, and this volume covers what the movie (thankfully) chose to ignore: Bruce Wayne's less-than-worth successor to the cowl, Jean Paul Valley.
The th...more
The th...more
In this volume we exclusively follow Jean Paul Valley who has currently assumed the mantle of Batman. The issues in this collection are uneven in quality, with some great arcs involving Joker, Catwoman, and The Tally Man mixed in with stories following, frankly, badly written second tier villains or newly created mobsters, assassins, gangs, etc.
The best part of the story was the interior breakdown of Jean Paul. The constant pressure of being Batman, the terrible inhumanity he witnesses on a nigh...more
The best part of the story was the interior breakdown of Jean Paul. The constant pressure of being Batman, the terrible inhumanity he witnesses on a nigh...more
(Exasperated sigh) I need a minute here folks, this was a rough one. This book contains only half of the Knightquest Saga: Which is The Crusade half, and this focuses on Jean Paul Valley, who has become the new Batman in Bruce's absence and is now acting like a Psychotic dick. The other half that the producers choose not to include? Well that included a tragic Bruce Wayne, the search for Tim Drake's(Robin) missing father, and Bruce's recovery of his injury...WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU DC!?...more
The story picks up after the new Batman, Jean-Paul Valley defeated Bane and is now the new dark defender of Gotham. He is a far more brutal crime fighter and driven by a need to prove himself. The System, brainwashing programmed into him by the Order of St. Dumas proves to be both a blessing and a curse. It helps him focus in battle and create ever more powerful weapons. It also pushes him to become an assassin. Valley struggles with the legacy of his father, his desire to be a hero, and the dar...more
All in all, not bad. This was more Jean Paul's story & less Bruce's exploits. In fact, they barely touched on Bruce at all. There was a brief moment in the late middle of the book & then the very end of the book in issue #7 of Robin. There is a hole in the story. And it nags at me.
In Volume One of Knightfall, Bruce was crippled by Bane & had set out to rescue Tim's father & his private doctor (Kinsolving) who had been kidnapped. Next, we see Bruce & Alfred on a private jet he...more
In Volume One of Knightfall, Bruce was crippled by Bane & had set out to rescue Tim's father & his private doctor (Kinsolving) who had been kidnapped. Next, we see Bruce & Alfred on a private jet he...more
Oh man, how I cannot stand Azrael as Batman...which was the entirety of this, unfortunately. There are a few little neat things in here, particularly people noticing the disconnect between the new Batman and the old Bruce Wayne Batman, but holy crap I just do not care about the homicidal asshole that is Jean Paul. I can do an unhinged and violent Bruce Wayne, but the whole holy crusader thing is some that's bound to put me off in basically anything (Michael from the Dresden Files gets a pass, th...more
Actually pretty damned disappointed with this. With size of it and "completeness" it was supposed to have I thought it have "KightSearch" (which I have as individual issues that I don't like to open), instead the extras were more boring gun battles with az-bat and increasingly stupid human tank / supernatural villains and would be heroes.
But I guess it also suffers for being book ended by the 2 most awsome batman archs ever (Broken Bat and Knightsend).
But I guess it also suffers for being book ended by the 2 most awsome batman archs ever (Broken Bat and Knightsend).
For the most part I really enjoyed this but it annoys me that some of the issues didn't seem properly grouped, so a new story would start before a previous one had been wrapped up. And of course some issues from the whole arc (mostly those concerning Bruce Wayne) are not in here, but at 656 pages I guess they felt it was already too long. Still glad I finally got a chance to read these issues; about time DC put them in a somewhat convenient paperback like the rest of the Knightfall/Knightsend st...more
Volume 2 didn't quite grab me the way the first did. Perhaps because Bruce Wayne is missing the whole time! He shows up at the end, somehow recovered from his battle with Bane. Jean-Paul is an interesting character however, and seeing his strange turn as the Batman is pretty fun to read. But I read batman for Bruce Wayne, and his absence puts a damper on the whole collection
3/4+ of the book focuses on Azreal/Jean Paul Valley as Batman, with little pieces of Catwoman and a glimpse or two of Tim Drake's Robin. Bruce and Alfred aren't seen until page 453.
The Joker is perhaps the most well-known foe faced in the pages of this lengthy volume. Clayface is also featured near the end.
The Joker is perhaps the most well-known foe faced in the pages of this lengthy volume. Clayface is also featured near the end.
This is where the whole Knightfall series falls apart. Jean-Paul isn't someone many can relate to. Grayson was great when Batman died and even in Prodigal because he is a well rounded character. I fault a lot of this on the whole anti-hero trend in the 90s and DC's lame attempt at it.
I really didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed the first volume. Bruce Wayne will always be Batman, and I can understand the motifs and psychological standpoints they were going for, but I just wasn't sold. Hopefully volume three will redeem itself for me, it certainly looked that way towards the end.
Didn't enjoy this as much as the broken bat. Azrael is really annoying, preferred the search part with Bruce looking for dr kinsolving . The only character in the series who has been consistently enjoyable to read was robin.
Much like Vol 1, there seem to be key parts of the story missing. More than than, though, this is not a particularly interesting arc and when collected together the tedium starts to shine more than Batman's new armour.
They're re-releasing the entire "breaking the bat" series, with all the background issues into three volumes of about 650 pages each? Holy crap!
Not as good as the first volume because of some of the middle episodes (Why Clayface? Why small fry? Why a few boring arcs?), but made up for with Jean-Paul's conflict with The System and the choice between being Azrael and being Batman. The ending of this volume was fantastic, but "The Crusade" arc really didn't have to be as long as the "Knightfall" ar...more
Not as good as the first volume because of some of the middle episodes (Why Clayface? Why small fry? Why a few boring arcs?), but made up for with Jean-Paul's conflict with The System and the choice between being Azrael and being Batman. The ending of this volume was fantastic, but "The Crusade" arc really didn't have to be as long as the "Knightfall" ar...more
I got bored with it pretty quickly. I personally thought the story and artwork was fine, I just couldn't get into the "new" Batman with Jean-Paul donning the cowl.
I didn't like this one as much as the first volume, mainly because I hated Jean Paul with a passion. I didn't like how Bruce only showed up once before the end, or how we really didn't hear much about Drake's father until the end as well. Regardless, it was still a pretty cool read. Hopefully the third volume is a little better.
So...this volume's a little much. There's a LOT of the new Batman getting angry, Robin wringing his hands over the increasing violence, so on and so forth, and...it gets a little monotonous. And, if you know (or can guess, which isn't hard) the ending, a lot of the reading turns out to be marking time. So...it's not that good. But! I can't wait to read KnightsEnd, because man, I can just eat '90s event comics right up, for whatever reason.
Definately not near as good as Vol. 1 and of course the library doesn't carry Vol. 3, so I am just stuck in limbo for now. The only story plot that was interesting to me was Robin's and what Bruce was really doing out of the country. But they totally skipped over all of that. Although, I think I would only read Vol. 3, in the hopes that it gets better and more of Robin of course.
Ugh. Dreadfully boring, uninteresting, and bland. Easily the worst Batman book/collection that I've read.
Comic retelling of the novel...and frankly, its a little boring at times in comparison. If you've never read the arc, though, its worth checking out.
The Azrael storyline just isn't very good. Although the whole point may be "it's not really Batman," it's also got examples of everything wrong with comics in the mid 90's. I nearly quit when the "punk" Three Stooges showed up. 600 pages of filler with a mildly amusing Joker arc in the middle.
Great tale about a new Batman taking over the Cowl, and then going crazy. Would have given it a 5 stars if it had included "The Search" aspect of the Knightquest story.
Not as intense as Knightfall Vol1, but still a very good collection.
May 19, 2013
Zeinab
marked it as batman
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Charles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, perhaps best-known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to w...more
More about Chuck Dixon...
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to w...more
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