Now THIS is a Batman story!

books:

	• Batman: Rules of Engagement Andy Diggle DC Comics, 2007 - 160 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Bats vs Lex

"Batman: Rules of Engagement" collected the first six issues of the new Batman Confidential series that explores untold stories set in the early years of the Batman's career. The first storyarc explores the first meeting between Batman and Lex Luthor, the partnership of Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox as well as the first Bat-plane. The story is written by up-and-coming Brit-writer, Andy Diggle and drawn by Whilce Portacio. Diggle was the editor of 2000A.D. in the year 2000 and is the current "Hellblazer" writer. Thankfully, he did not write in that obnoxious Brit-style here in "Rules of Engagement". In fact, the story read like a very straightforward US comic - full of over-the-top action, smart dialogue, fun character interplay, etc. It's an interesting enough story that I'll be rereading. In fact, it's downright brilliant. I loved the conflict between Batman and Lex Luthor in the final parts of "No Man's Land". This story is about their first meeting. Honestly, it's funny that it took DC so long to produce this story. Batman vs Lex is 1,000 times more interesting than Superman vs Lex. In a way, the two are equals. They come from the same world of superscience, privilege, industry and business that the super-farmboy from Kansas will never understand. They are both human beings who work to realize the best in their human potential. Luthor is written in a very Blofeld manner (complete with a Hair Treatment Institute in the Swiss Alps even) and his motivations are explored in an even more interesting way than Brian Azzarello did in his pompous miniseries ("Lex Luthor: Man of Steel"). It's been said that a good writer explores his characters by finding out WHAT THEY REALLY WANT. Diggle understands Lex Luthor. He wants a world of MAN - not Supermen. In fact, Diggle captures the essence of Lex in four words of exasperated dialogue from the man - "God, I hate superheroes!" Lex then proceeds to take over the US in true "Big Brother" fashion by taking over the military. Enter: Batman on his new Bat-plane and the rest is pure comicbook goodness. As for the art by Whilce Portacio, well, if you're familiar with the man's work (Punisher, Heroes Reborn: Iron Man, Wetworks), it's nothing new here. He still can't draw faces or cheeks. His characters come with funny hair and eyes. But he's damn good with the action scenes. Portacio's work is never beautiful (although in the early Image days, a lot of his faults were covered up by the studio's inkers - in the generic Scott Williams manner). What is good about his art are the layouts and perspectives. For instance, he deliberately draws Bruce's and Lex's first confrontation from the top-down view to show their antagonism. The two are chatting and smiling but it's obvious from the art that they are rivals - equals perhaps but antagonistic rivals nonetheless. Then there are the action scenes. I've never been a big fan of the Bat-plane but here, Portacio made me fall in love with it. His Bat-plane is awesome and dangerous - whether in the scene where it was taken over by Lex's programming to destroy the Bat-Cave or when Bruce pilots it into Lex's lair to destroy his robotic army. All in all, this is a really good, straightforward, fun comicbook that I'll be rereading again and again over the years.

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Now THIS is a Batman story!

Set approximately one year after Bruce Wayne takes on the cowl of Batman, this story pits our hero against Lex Luthor--a match-up so brilliant it's hard to imagine why it hasn't been done a thousand times over. I mean, the Joker is a great crazy, but for sheer brilliance it's hard to figure why Lex isn't in the book more often.

Though they've clashed in the "No Man's Land" storyline, this is considered their first meeting, and what a clash it is. Bruce and Lex go after a government defense contract, and of course, it all goes wrong. Lex eventually decides it's time to rule the U.S. again, and it's up to Batman to stop him. Batman's choice of stealth and cunning over the usual brute force attack of Lex's usual foil Superman presents a great contrast for the villain to face. Lex's line, "I hate superheroes" is hilarious in context.

We see the introduction of the Bat-plane here (called the Batwing), and it's origin makes sense. I love the sinister undertones we get from Bruce's character as he seethes at Lex's twisted win of the government contract.

There is a LOT of action here in every form, and it's great to see Batman have this entire adventure to himself. There's no teen sidekick or guest appearance by Superman here. And even facing the impossible (an entire army of robot soldiers), Batman finds an incredibly creative way to turn things around at the end.

As I said before, I really think Luthor would make a better villain for Batman than he does for Superman (after all, he's the evil version of Bruce), but I'm glad they space out his appearances so they don't become cheap and repetitive like the rest of his normal stable of baddies. This is a great story!

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Logical

Always weird that a fat bald guy would be Superman's greatest foe. Makes lots of sense for Batman to face off against LL. The twist at the end of this book was so surprising and so touching that you will forget that you are reading a comic book.

Half a story

Andy Diggle has written some of my favorite stories, among them Silent Dragon and Planet Heist. After reading and thoroughly enjoying Heist, which played out like a whodunit, the thought occurred to me that he would make an excellent choice for a Batman tale. Lo and behold, my wish came true. Unfortunately, reality doesn't always live up to one's dreams, or in this case, Diggle's stellar standards. The first half of the story sets up an intriguing scenario involving Lex Luthor, who is both a natural fit and a much overdue match for Bruce/Batman. Lex is portrayed as the devious and cunning businessman, which is the ideal characterization for him anyways, and most certainly is in this particular situation. Regrettably the second half of the story degenerates into a decompressed disappointment of lengthy action scenes and overall silliness, with Lex reverting once again back to his staid "madman ruling the world" persona. One of the few bright spots is the apparent origin of the Batplane. It almost appears as if Diggle wasn't quite sure how to finish the story, and thus ended it with a trite James Bondish over the top finale. If this were a movie, one could walk out during intermission without missing a thing. Just feel free to conceive your own ending; it couldn't be any worse than this. Combined with the painful to look at artwork, and the end result is a missed opportunity, a perfect example of a good idea ruined by poor execution. Andy, what happened?

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