All a bunch of neat little extras and Sharp’s concepts show he was going to initially draw this in a different style, which just confirmed to me that the style he ended up going with in the final product was the perfect choice for it.

In a nutshell: If you want a grounded deep story that takes the character of waylon jones serious then ignore this book. I don’t stick with Batman’s theory on Croc’s origins and if you go to the bottom of it the main argument is a bit far-fetched if not totally dumb. I think there’s something perfect about the way Ennis is throwing all sorts of ideas at the wall here, and even if none of it really sticks, it’s a really fun ride, but it’s also a mess, and at times it feels like he’s using his irreverence as an excuse for lazy writing.Yes Batman is a dark character, yes he uses fear as a weapon, but in this book he comes across as much of an uncaring sociopath as the criminals he is chasing or "putting into traction". Inquiring the streets for clues to pin down the nature of this threat but also this unstable creature’s prime motive, Batman finds himself confronting Killer Croc only to discover a shocking truth that will require him to take drastic measures in solving the world’s strangest case. He brings a moody, atmospheric look to the city that shows just how grotesque and dreary this Gotham is.

At the time, this would’ve been in continuity in the Legends of the Dark Knight anthology series, with the main draw being the creative team behind Preacher was doing a Batman book around the same time the Preacher show was premiering, which would have meant easy publicity because let’s be honest, Batman books sell. Batman initially thinks this trope is in play, with a bigger, badder villain taking out all the other criminals in Gotham, but it soon becomes clear something else is going on. He combines a bold, graphic style that uses heavy black silhouettes with an obsessive attention to detail that really suits the mania of the story. Ennis and Sharp present a mystery/horror story that really highlights the versatility of the Batman character, and works as a page-turning whodunit.There are some humorous parts sprinkled throughout but I felt Ennis’s unempathetic Batman who would strangely just start spitting out random trivia was utterly bizarre. There is a fascination we feel towards Batman, both in what he represents (the pinnacle of humanity, a stoic symbol of progress, both biological and technological) and in where his adventures are set (Gotham as the worst city you’d want to live in, possessing the charm of decadence, a dystopia that functions as a caveat in regard to what chaotic – and corrupt – urbanization can lead to). Quando tomei conhecimento desta série achei que iria revolver sobre as lendas urbanas dos reptilianos na família real inglesa, mas não foi o caso, era algo muito mais simples. Then, when the baby was born, it hunted down everyone who was "marked" by the pheromone, attacking them when it turned out they weren't its real parent.

I think most Batman fans have a definitive version in their mind and Ennis' is a jarring change that doesn't come off as very heroic. The other thing that is obviously on my mind is what would this book have looked like if Dillon got to draw it? The book had a hidden funny vibe to it as everything that was happening was serious as hell yet, the way Batman was dealing with everything with this dry, deadpan approach like he wasn’t taking it serious was amusing to me. With only Alfred and a Russian thug with connections by his side, this mystery leads him to shocking crime scenes that further corroborate the sole fact he’s got: there’s a monster out there.We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. It's almost okay but crosses the line a few too many times with a gleefully sadistic Batman, gratuitous fat shaming, and the mutilation and maiming of Batman's entire rogue's gallery in ways that either make this an Elseworlds tale or a canon story that will be quickly ignored or retconned.