Greetings Comic lovers welcome back to Casually comics I’m Sasha and it’s time to look
at a comic that garnered tons of attention but not for the reasons people wanted, it’s
Batman Damned or as it is better known in some circles the comic where Batman’s Goes
full frontal.
I’ve got some great headlines to read you later so stick around for that.
If you’re already thinking up hilarious headlines of your own hit that like button.
So Batman Damned was the first comic to launch DC’s Black Label imprint which as the name
connotes was meant to be more adult and mature.
Words that people tend to have very different definitions of, now it’s a bit more confusing
cause vertigo is shutting down so Black Label is more like an age rating now but none of
that matters what matters is Batman Damned by Brian Azzerllo and Lee Bermejo.
A Duo who had teamed up two times prior for alternate verse not quite elseworlds but au
limited series fair with books on the joker and lex luthor respectively.
Both of which had been well received and were definitely edgy/adult.
Azzarello is also just known by some for being edgy he called a fan a pussy (incident here)
The thing is whatever this comic was about which is actually a lot, and it has some new
takes on characters and some truly evocative art that all was swallowed up by the penis.
So lt’s take a look at Batman damned and also spoilers just in case you want to go
into this series blind, but I’ll explain at the end why I don’t think spoilers matter
as much in this case.
Batman damned opens with melodramatic narration extremely melodramatic.
Batman’s injured badly and in an ambulance with attendants who clearly don’t know the
Gotham code cause they try to look under his mask and well get what’s coming to them.
The art from the start is lovely even if at times it will be a bit much I’ll show you
where.
The narration waxes poetic for a bit with lines that seem really odd until it’s revealed
who the narrator is things like forget about the lad from Krypton.
Cause this story despite being about Batman is not narrated by him but instead by John
Constantine.
Who can be an interesting foil for Batman to bounce off of what with his sleazy crass
personality that is on full display here.
It’s here the comic starts intercutting with flashbacks to Bruce’s childhood and
glimpses of a mysterious figure who if you’re fresh off of suicide squad for some reason.
No judgement I’ve seen that movie more than twice.
It’s clearly the enchantress.
Also it;s on the kids faces that the art can get a bit much sometimes on purpose for atmosphere
other times just cause that’s a lot of detail on a kid face.
Upon awakening it’s revealed that the Joker is dead dying in the confrontation with Batman
at the issues start but Bruce is torn between not being sold and worrying that he killed
him.
Constantine decides to attempt to help him for reasons.
But before he can do that Bruce has a flashback that reveals that his childhood in this universe
was far from idyllic that his father was cheating on his mother and that Bruce was aware of
it.
Bruce in the present chances down leads only for the world around him to get increasingly
surreal still injured he returns to the Batcave.
And this is it people it’s happening the nudity that I can’t show you ta daaa.
If you want the real panel look it up it lives forever despite DC censoring the digital version
and blacking out all future imprints so that only 115,000 remain in circulation which has
ultimately turned the Batman exposure issue into a collectors item.
Honestly the nudity and perfect rear you can bounce a coin off of are less interesting
than the visceral hallucination he suffers where he envisions his suit coming to grab
him or the utter despair of the panel after.
So here’s the thing this panel launched a whole discussion about nudity in comics
and whether this was for shock value or not.
The author did state DC set up this imprint.
'Take our characters, do something mature.'
When that opportunity was given to us, we decided, let's not half-ass this.
Let's go all the way.
We'll either go down in a blaze of glory or we hit the ball.
So in short go hard or go home.
However, this shifted the focus from the story which is actually trying to be a deep introspective
exploration of Batman and his past traumas to his penis.
And let me share with you some of the glorious headlines and honestly their much better taglines.
Because of all of this DC actually changed some rules surrounding nudity and some other
imagery with artist Jim Lee stating and Editor Dan Didio stating now this started an argument
as to whether or this was gratuitous that’s a mileage varies thing however it must be
said there was no need for him to be naked but equally it doesn’t matter that he wasn’t.
Some feel this was for pure shock value ooh look we’re mature a penis.
Even some writers in the industry have thrown some shade Sean Gordon Murphy specifically.
While others feel it was natural and meant to convey vulnerability and why shouldn’t
batman be able to let it all hang out.
Either way the story is the same so DC could either have doubled down or backtracked and
they chose the latter.
Also that weird excuse about it being a printing error with the exposure too high...sure Jan
why draw it in the first place if it wasn’t going to be a thing you coulda just drawn
some black shading.
Delete the peen if you must but don’t lie to me DC.
We’re friends.
After some uncomfortable Deadman possession and scary childhood flashbacks with amazing
imagery, Bruce is more convinced than ever that the Joker is alive even more so after
seeing this vandalised jesus statue which to me is far more shocking than Batman’s
wang, but that’s just me.
Or not cause they made this issue returnable you know if it made you have to clutch your
pearls.
Issue 2 we’re hitting spoiler territory people, After Bruce stands way to close to
constantine on the rooftop while Constantine waxes poetic seriously Bruce too close.
There’s also a really traumatizing sequence where young bruce after witnessing his father
storming out goes into the house and points his toy gun at his mother’s head and pulls
the trigger.
And it;s from here that his vow to not use guns develops.
It’s really dark and you really feel it.
Back to the present It looks like the Joker is attacking the city.
And we get this really sick jokerized bat signal.
However when Batman gets there it’s not the Joker but Harley driven mad with grief
not wanting to live in a world without her puddin’.
The panel of her missing him is devastating just the raw pain that the art conveys is
amazing.
So get ready for emotional whiplash when she then drugs Batman and tries to him cause Black
label mature go hard or go home.
I need an adult oh wait this is DC Black Label I am the adult.
They try to tie it back to the joker and how he would force the world to be what he wanted
mileage will vary hard on whether this works for you or for if it’s more gratuitious
than the Batdick.
But then he manages to fight her off and trough influence by the enchantress which it took
me a couple of glances to realize was happening, strangles her….
Issue 3.
- Batman wakes up inside a coffin that’s not me skipping things we go from strangle
end in issue two to cool bat enfolding a heart imagery inside a coffin.
Until Swamp Thing breaks him out.
There’s some banter between swamp thing and Constantine, and then Batman encounters
the enchantress and seemingly defeats her.
This one is the most surreal of the bunch people.
Constantine then takes Bruce to see Zatana so that he can uncover the truth he’s been
hiding from himself this entire series which of course takes him back to his parents deaths
only this time he;s being cuddled by the enchantress who Constantine shoots along with Bruce as
a child but he reassures him it’s just his past self so he went full Kylo ren . Then
the issue finally builds to the series climax that some of you may have already gleaned.
Bruce died in that fight on that bridge stabbed in a way he knew was fatal so he opted to
go as hard as he could to try and take the joker with him and when the chance to save
him came as it always does.
He didn't try to help him up.
Bruce lifts the morgue covers and cryptically says.
I wish he were still alive and then vanishes only for the final panels to reveal that the
Joker did indeed survive.
This comic is a ride supernatural horror indeed.
It is a very visceral experience mostly because of the at which in my opinion eclipses the
story, and elevates the parts that work.
You just want to keep looking at it or at least I do.
Honestly the penis panel is one of the least interesting things about this comic, and now
for why I feel spoilers are less of a downer for this one.
Even when you know what happens this one warrants re-reading to see the little clues, to take
in the different interpretations of characters like deadman with his sinewy appearance and
newfound detriment of only being able to possess bodies for a shortime.
Or rapper ertrigan aka j blood.
There’s a lot I didn’t touch on so if you’re interested pick it up for yourself.
I’ve read
it
several times now and there are some things I feel could be interpreted multiple ways
and a couple of tiny sections I’m still not sure I’ve fully absorbed they’re kinda
slippery.
The one thing that I didn’t like personally was Constantine’s narration, it was a lot
of a lot and it kept making me want to argue with him instead of pay attention to what
was happening to batman for me the strongest segments had no narration.
The choice of an outside narrator and constantine specifically was deliberate the duo wanted
to take batman back to a more human vulnerable state.
Less mr contingency I did it 35 minutes ago and more hurt man.
Which I think they did but I don;t think it was cause of Constantine I get the choice
he's meant to be out guide as well as batman’s and to get us to look at batman a different
way because he does.
But so much of the tale was Bruce's personal one and his family history that for me it
felt odd to have Constantine narrating over it.
Especially as they’re not that close.
That's just a me thing though a lot of people really liked it.
Different strokes for different folks it’s ok to have varied opinions and discuss them
or at least it is here on Casually comics.
So yeah Batman damned come for the scandal stay for the comic.
Thanks so much for taking some time out of your day to chat about comics with me I always
appreciate it.
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Have you read this comic?
If you own it do you have the peen or no peen edition?
Do you agree with them censoring it?
Tell me all your thoughts down below.
I’m Sasha and I’ll see you all again real soon and definitely on friday 1 pm est.
Hint hint lol buh bye.