Review: Batman And The Monster Men

Matt Wagner is an odd creator to have found himself working so much with DC, considering his pedigree as the former wunderkind behind Grendel and Mage. For the last decade and a half, he’s been quietly putting out high-quality superhero work that focuses primarily (and perhaps unsurprisingly) on Batman as well as helming a revival of Doctor Midnight and making Sandman Mystery Theater one of the essential Vertigo reads of the 90s. His 2005-2006 series Batman And The Monster Men takes one of the earliest Bob Kane / Bill Finger collaborations and updates it to fit in with modern tastes and match Batman: Year One in tone, if not technique.

Batman And The Monster Men is an impressive bit of pulp fiction that manages to inspire the sheer glee of the Golden Age (“Oh my god, he’s fighting an army of giant mutated men at the command of Professor Hugo Strange!”) while being just grounded enough to give the reader the “comic book” realism that helps bind things together a bit tighter (“So, Bruce Wayne drugs Julie Madison and puts her in bed so he can go off and fight crime!”). Wagner’s skill as both writer and artist is obvious in this book – the plot is nailed down, with each beat perfectly placed for maximum reader impact and the art compliments the story perfectly, moody and dark without loosing that slightly cartoonish feel that helps propel the action along perfectly.

There are a few surprising choices and turns that work to the story’s benefit. Hugo Strange is distinctly less modern and more pulp-derived than the rather unfortunate version that appeared in Legends of the Dark Knight in the very early 90s, for instance, to the point of keeping an Asian manservant. Strange is also a slightly more relatable villain than prior versions while somehow managing to never lose his ruthlessness. There’s also the sublime use of Julie Madison, someone that has always been a paper-thin caricature in previous tales becomes fleshed out and you can see why Bruce Wayne falls in love with her.

With the serialized debut of the second title in the Dark Moon Rising line, Batman and The Mad Monk coming out this week, this purchase is a snap for anyone that likes their Batman stories with a distinctly bizarre touch while managing to make you believe that a billionaire can and would dress up as a Bat to punch evil.

A copy of Batman And The Monster Men was provided by DC Comics for the purposes of review.