When Artistic Quality isn’t Enough…

Last updated on: December 4, 2020 at 8:00 am by Coyle Neal

When Artistic Quality isn’t Enough… 2020-12-01T15:17:20-07:00 Coyle Neal

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Image: DC

Great artwork can certainly enhance a mediocre storyline–just like well-done special effects can complement the story a movie is trying to tell. With that said, high-quality artwork cannot carry a narrative on its own. Exhibit A: Batman: Damned by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo.

What is this book about? Well, in some sense it’s an incoherent story without a resolution and, possibly, without a point or even much of a theme. In another sense, it’s a pretty straightforward supernatural/horror/superhero story. We begin with Batman waking up in an ambulance after falling off a bridge fighting Joker. He is is helped by John Constantine, who functions as a sort of Virgil to Batman’s Dante (along with Deadman). The two begin to investigate the death of Joker as a result of the fight with Batman, and try to find out whether or not the Joker is in fact actually dead. Along the way they encounter Etrigan, Harley Quinn, Swamp Thing, Zatanna, and Enchantress. We also get a series of flashbacks which reveals that Bruce Wayne’s father was having an affair, thus suggesting that perhaps they weren’t quite the innocent martyrs Bruce remembers, or that his feelings of guilt over their murder may in part have been based on some sense that his knowledge that there were problems in the marriage.

To make this even more difficult [spoiler alert–if something like this can be spoiled] while it’s unclear exactly what happens at the end, my read of it is that while Batman and Joker were fighting on the bridge the Joker fatally stabbed Batman. Batman, realizing he was going to die, beat the Joker, knocked him off the side of the bridge, and intentionally didn’t save him from falling to his death because as Batman himself was about to die no one would be around to protect Gotham from the Joker. What we have through the book is either the last few minutes of Batman’s life flashing before his eyes, or a post-death evaluation and judgment of Batman’s actions at the end of his life.

Or, given that in the last panels we see Batman vanishing into the morgue and the Joker climbing out of the river Batman had let him fall into, maybe all of this was in the Joker’s mind and Batman was the one who was killed. Either the Joker was playing Batman in his mind or the Joker was in the person of Constantine or the Joker was the reading observing the whole thing.

Image: Amazon

Sometimes, not knowing the answer to these sorts of questions can be a sign of a great work of literature. Other times, it can be the sign of muddled storytelling. I suspect more the latter than the former in this case. Which is unfortunate, because again the art here is really, really well done.

Also, kind of a dumb side-note: there was a minor controversy with the first printing of this volume in which Bruce Wayne was completely naked. Second printings of the book cast the offending member into shadow (or ‘censored’ it, if we prefer that language). If this were a better book either no one would have cared or DC would have been praised for their ‘edgy’ boldness in showing male nudity. Since, again, it was a fairly muddled story, this is what people latched on to for something to argue about.

At the end of the day the poor storytelling here is unfortunate given that most of the themes the book was going for are worth working out. The world is kind of scary. We don’t always know what’s going on. Sin is pervasive. Redemption is something we all need. Judgement is coming. And so on. These are all Biblical themes that we know apply to our lives, even if we’re not always sure how. Batman is a uniquely qualified superhero for getting into these themes. Batman: Damned just drops the ball in its attempt to do so.

Dr. Coyle Neal is co-host of the City of Man Podcast and an Associate Professor of Political Science at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO

Previous Post

December 1, 2020

Common Grace, 2.12

Next Post

December 8, 2020 Common Grace, 2.13

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Action AFI Top 100 Animation Best Picture Winner BFI Top 250 Biography Biopic Books Childrens Christian Classics Classics Comedy Crime Documentary Drama Editor's Choice Family Fantasy Fantasy Films Foreign Historical Historical Fiction History Horror Horror IMDB Top 250 Indie Memoir Modern Novel Musical Mystery Non-Fiction Oscars Philosophy Poetry Popular Literature Reading and Writing Reality Romance Science Fiction Science Fiction Silent Sports Thriller TV Show Uncategorized Western Westerns Young Adult

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 June 2017 January 2017 December 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE