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Batman: Black and White (2020) (Single Issues) #2
Batman: Black and White (2020) #2
The all-new anthology series continues with new tales of mystery, mayhem and madness from all levels of Gotham City by some of the finest talents in comics.
In this auspicious issue:
• Eisner Award-winning collaborators Tom King and Mitch Gerads (Mister Miracle, Strange Adventures) tell a tale of Batman administering a form of last rites to a dying priest. Or is it the other way around?
• Eisner-nominated storytellers Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko (Green Lantern: Earth One) find the Dark Knight facing certain death-with The Joker his last lifeline.
• Multiple award-winner for his innovative work on Hawkeye, David Aja writes and draws his first DC story, in which Batman is set on the trail of a deadly cult preying on Gotham City-and it’s one you’ll be talking about all year!
• The brilliant Sophie Campbell (Jem and the Holograms, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Wet Moon) returns to DC after a 10-year absence to follow Batman and Catwoman on one of their greatest chases ever.
• Celebrated artist of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Avengers and the creator of Paklis, Dustin Weaver makes his DC debut as Batman takes to the sky in a stunning aerial battle against one of the most unsettling foes he’s ever faced.
In this auspicious issue:
• Eisner Award-winning collaborators Tom King and Mitch Gerads (Mister Miracle, Strange Adventures) tell a tale of Batman administering a form of last rites to a dying priest. Or is it the other way around?
• Eisner-nominated storytellers Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko (Green Lantern: Earth One) find the Dark Knight facing certain death-with The Joker his last lifeline.
• Multiple award-winner for his innovative work on Hawkeye, David Aja writes and draws his first DC story, in which Batman is set on the trail of a deadly cult preying on Gotham City-and it’s one you’ll be talking about all year!
• The brilliant Sophie Campbell (Jem and the Holograms, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Wet Moon) returns to DC after a 10-year absence to follow Batman and Catwoman on one of their greatest chases ever.
• Celebrated artist of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Avengers and the creator of Paklis, Dustin Weaver makes his DC debut as Batman takes to the sky in a stunning aerial battle against one of the most unsettling foes he’s ever faced.
51 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 26, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 1, 2021
The second issue in this latest run of the award-winning Batman anthology series Black and White is thankfully better than the first - though it’s still not that great.
The best story is The Unjust Judge by frequent collaborators Tom King and Mitch Gerads where Batman is faced with being unable to save someone - and has to watch them die. It’s a quietly moving story as Bruce takes off the cowl and holds the hand of a dying preacher as the church trapping the man burns around them. It’s rare to see this kind of story that humanises the Dark Knight by showing his limitations so I appreciated that King took us there, albeit briefly. Gerads’ art too is excellent.
Dustin Weaver’s Dual sees a White Knight version of Batman appearing around Gotham - but who is he really? I liked the nightmare-like atmosphere of the story and Weaver’s art, though I don’t think Weaver’s a good enough writer to fully realise the intriguing concept, so the story comes off a bit muddled, probably in part due to the compressed nature of the format.
Husband and wife team Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko’s The Spill (about Batman being trapped under the Batmobile with Joker lording it over him as water threatens to drown him) and David Aja’s The Devil is in the Detail (Batman on the trail of Satanists) were both unremarkable stories with fantastic art. I especially liked Aja drawing his story sideways, mimicking the style and tone of 1940s newspaper strips. Sophie Campbell’s All Cats Are Grey is your average Bat chasing Cat story but her art too is really lovely, as is the Jock cover and the Stjepan Sejic pinup.
None of the stories are that particularly memorable, but neither are they that bad, and the artwork throughout is consistently impressive and gorgeous to look at - Batman: Black and White #2 is more for the art fans though the story quality has definitely improved on the previous issue. Here’s hoping that trend continues!
The best story is The Unjust Judge by frequent collaborators Tom King and Mitch Gerads where Batman is faced with being unable to save someone - and has to watch them die. It’s a quietly moving story as Bruce takes off the cowl and holds the hand of a dying preacher as the church trapping the man burns around them. It’s rare to see this kind of story that humanises the Dark Knight by showing his limitations so I appreciated that King took us there, albeit briefly. Gerads’ art too is excellent.
Dustin Weaver’s Dual sees a White Knight version of Batman appearing around Gotham - but who is he really? I liked the nightmare-like atmosphere of the story and Weaver’s art, though I don’t think Weaver’s a good enough writer to fully realise the intriguing concept, so the story comes off a bit muddled, probably in part due to the compressed nature of the format.
Husband and wife team Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko’s The Spill (about Batman being trapped under the Batmobile with Joker lording it over him as water threatens to drown him) and David Aja’s The Devil is in the Detail (Batman on the trail of Satanists) were both unremarkable stories with fantastic art. I especially liked Aja drawing his story sideways, mimicking the style and tone of 1940s newspaper strips. Sophie Campbell’s All Cats Are Grey is your average Bat chasing Cat story but her art too is really lovely, as is the Jock cover and the Stjepan Sejic pinup.
None of the stories are that particularly memorable, but neither are they that bad, and the artwork throughout is consistently impressive and gorgeous to look at - Batman: Black and White #2 is more for the art fans though the story quality has definitely improved on the previous issue. Here’s hoping that trend continues!
January 31, 2021
Tom King story: 1⭐. Usual whiney Batman with poems and quotes for dialogue.
Sophie Campbell story: 2⭐. Nicely illustrated silent strip. It's just a shame you literally flick through it in 5 seconds.
Gabriel Hardman story: 5⭐. Quite breathtaking actually. The best story of this run of B&W so far.
Dustin Weaver story: 2⭐. Looks beautiful but the story was kinda gibberish to me.
David Aja story: 3⭐. Had me reminiscing to a time I wasn't even born. Fun little story. The sideways art was sort of annoying to read as dialogue got lost in the gutter of the squarebound book.
Sophie Campbell story: 2⭐. Nicely illustrated silent strip. It's just a shame you literally flick through it in 5 seconds.
Gabriel Hardman story: 5⭐. Quite breathtaking actually. The best story of this run of B&W so far.
Dustin Weaver story: 2⭐. Looks beautiful but the story was kinda gibberish to me.
David Aja story: 3⭐. Had me reminiscing to a time I wasn't even born. Fun little story. The sideways art was sort of annoying to read as dialogue got lost in the gutter of the squarebound book.
February 4, 2021
These were some amazing stories! Everyone's art was great, and the stories themselves ranged from cute to creepy and all perfectly Batman.
June 1, 2021
Tom King, con su partner Mitch Gerads, presenta al Caballero Oscuro enfrentando las culpas de su juramento al tratar de salvar a un sacerdote de un incendio
Sophie Campbell nos recuerda un poco al Bat/Cat, que algunos odiaron, de King
Hardman y Bechko nos entregan la primera historia de este volumen que incluye al Principe Payaso del Crimen
Dustin Weaver nos da un teaser de lo que podría ser una muy buena historia del Caballero Oscuro con un luminoso doppelgänger. De verdad me interesaría mucho leer esta historia en extenso... aunque si otro toma el guion y deja a Weaver tranquilo dibujando, no me quejo
David Aja nos entrega una historia que no solo luce en su estilo grafico, imitando la tira cómica, sino con una historia bien potente
Segundo número que logra superar al primero, no por mucho, pero lo suficiente para hacerlo notar
Sophie Campbell nos recuerda un poco al Bat/Cat, que algunos odiaron, de King
Hardman y Bechko nos entregan la primera historia de este volumen que incluye al Principe Payaso del Crimen
Dustin Weaver nos da un teaser de lo que podría ser una muy buena historia del Caballero Oscuro con un luminoso doppelgänger. De verdad me interesaría mucho leer esta historia en extenso... aunque si otro toma el guion y deja a Weaver tranquilo dibujando, no me quejo
David Aja nos entrega una historia que no solo luce en su estilo grafico, imitando la tira cómica, sino con una historia bien potente
Segundo número que logra superar al primero, no por mucho, pero lo suficiente para hacerlo notar
May 10, 2022
These aren’t for me. It’s mind-numbing to jump around so much in literally every single aspect except lack of color: art style, Batman era, etc. The best was the faux newspaper strip. I only read the first three issues of the fifth volume and I won’t be seeking out anymore, although I may check out the highly-acclaimed original b&w shorts.
May 23, 2024
david aja's story is one of my favorite kinds of batman stories. it's simple, memorable, tightly written, creatively and beautifully drawn, and completely unconcerned with continuity. making a short batman story that manages to stand out both visually and narratively is genuinely amazing and difficult to pull off. it's really, really good.
August 30, 2021
Better than #1, but still not awesome. There are 2 pretty good short stories in here, and some pretty awesome art as you would expect. There's a typo where King writes 'Window' where he clearly meant widow, which I found amusing.
February 2, 2021
Definitely wasn't as good as the first, but there's still some good ones in here.
February 7, 2021
A nice range of styles. Aja's strip was my favorite.
February 10, 2021
Gorgeous, with terrific work from Tom King & Mitch Gerads, David Aja & Sophie Campbell.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews