Following up on yesterday’s feature review of Batman and the Monster Men by Matt Wagner.

The blogger who signs his work “Jeb D.” over at RackRaids.com liked the story more than I did (I liked the book, but pretty much only for the artwork). Here’s some of what had to say:

Wagner has an excellent grasp of story structure, and even though this series was originally released as four issues, the story unfolds in a nice three-act arc, reminiscent less of modern comics writing than a good action movie or mystery novel—and action and mystery are both elements that this story delivers big-time. It’s pretty rare for a comic to give us a sense that Batman’s truly in over his head—too many writers make him impossibly smug and ridiculously over-prepared. Wagner plays on Batman’s inexperience at this point in his career to make his eventual meeting with the Monster Men as gripping a fight as I’ve seen Batman get into in many years. …more

One of the Jones Boys didn’t like the book much. But it’s not Wagner’s fault. It’s Frank Miller’s. Apparently. See here:

Since [Miller's Batman: Year One], we’ve seen the early days of Robin, the early days of Batman and Robin, the early days of Commissioner Gordon, the early days of Catwoman, the early days of the Joker, the early days of Two-Face, and no doubt also the early days of Bat-Mite, Ace the Bat-Hound, the utility belt, and the aftershave Batman uses when he’s out on “patrol”.

And now, thanks to Matt Wagner, the early days story we’ve all been waiting for in Batman and the Monster Men, the early days of Hugo Strange.

Hugo who? …more

And … that’s all I found for Batman and the Monster Men reviews. I’ll bet there were more, and I just didn’t look hard enough. Surely.

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