Ryan North approaches the Fantastic Four with the same sensibility Paul Dini approached Batman: The Animated Series. He gets what makes Marvel's First Family fun, and he zeroes in on that month after month.

This issue, coupled with Carlos Gomez's delicate line work, is a clever elseworlds film noir take on the Four that reminds me why I love comics.

Most of this was fine, but I want to talk about the final story, by Azzarello. I haven't seen anyone discussing this for what it clearly is: a self-insert for Azzarello as Joker about his time at DC. There's even an extremely poor taste batd*ck joke!

It's wild this made it past editorial, and that no one in the reviews seems to be calling it for what it is.

Ever played a first person shooter game? You know, the one that looks so beautiful with top notch graphics, the most realistic shaders and highest res textures? One designed to trick you into thinking after the first glance it's an overall good product, but in reality being shallow as a pond? Offering no actual engaging story, set in closed, linear and repetitive levels, with no side activities and secrets to discover. Pretending to feature any "intelligent" commentary and shock value that's not just empty shock value for the sake of shock value? These are the worst games out there - Bioshock serving as the prime example, except being even worse, since it contradicts itself every 5 minutes and it's so nonsensical, it makes X-Men movies look logical and consistent.
That's exactly what Batman: Damned reminds me of.

It's beautiful, and there's no denying Lee Bermejo put a lot of work, time and heart into making this comic. Too bad his art was wasted by terrible story and even worse characterization. Let me put it this way - if Etrigan being a bloody rapper and Harley Quinn having an autopsy chest incision scar are not instant red lights to you, I don't know what would be. It's just insultingly bad, the more, the more you realize how important this entire short series was meant to be. It's literally one step from featuring Batman being raped in prison, which would not only fulfill Zack Snyder's infamous vision from few years ago, but also declass him, and Tom King, as DC's leading deconstructionist pseudointelligent edgelords.

It's bad. Really bad. What a caravan of garbage, and DC should be ashamed of it. Black Label supposed to be "the best of" reprints for DC, featuring all time classics like Watchmen, as well as modern classics like Batman White Knight. Azzarello getting a free pass proven you can't craft a masterpiece just because you have a guaranteed place next to other masters and their masterpieces. It's like taking an average driver from the streets and telling him to race with the best formula 1 or group B drivers out there, and giving him keys to a 1000HP Audi Quattro. Well good riddance.

The comic is terrible, and outstanding art doesn't save it. It really is a comic equivalent of an pseudointellectual garbage FPS game. I'd call it Bioshock of comics, if only it was equally nonsensical and self contradictory. As I said - it's not. Yet. But it's terrible nonetheless. more