The end is nigh! The end of Batman: Full Moon, that is. Bruce Wayne is a werewolf, Zatanna and Constantine are here, and now they’re going to search for a cure. There have been some up and down moments for me in this book but I’d say I’ve enjoyed it overall. Let’s hope this last issue delivers a worthy finale!
More of a Wayning moon than a full one
I believe that I must preface this book by saying something very important: I am a big fan of Stevan Subic’s art. I remember picking up the first issue of The Riddler: Year One and off the bat (no pun intended), thinking how interesting and original his art style was. This continues to be the case with this book for the most part.
The reason I bring this up is that if you do not enjoy his artwork, I find it a bit difficult to recommend this book to you. This book is at its best when it goes full on horror comic. Subic’s art suits the genre wonderfully, as evidenced by some really lovely full page spreads. The book stumbles when it tries to enter other territory. For example, Christian Talbot’s origins.
Early on in the story, we see Talbot visit a fortune teller for help in removing his curse. His time as a soldier in a war has been brought up a few times but is now revealed to be the cause of his curse. This ends up feeling somewhat… underwhelming, which I think sums up this book. It feels like less of a proper conclusion and more a systematic checking off of a “loose ends we need to wrap up” list. It gets a little frustrating. I’ll finally get to see some more horror-related action, only for it to get immediately cut off.
Richie Rich
From the beginning, there have ben some vague “Bruce Wayne has too much/does nothing with his money” comments made by various characters. Much to my chagrin, this is still the case here. Now, I’m all for critiques of Bruce Wayne’s wealth or social standing. However, I find that recently, it has happened far too much. Not to mention that a lot of these insights are relatively shallow, which is definitely the case here.
A scene that particularly comes to mind is one in which Alfred pays a visit to Sister Weeks in the hospital. Andre questions Alfred, asking him why Bruce Wayne only steps in when things get especially bad and why he doesn’t try to provide more in general to the underprivileged. Alfred has no apparent response to this and doesn’t even mention it to Bruce. This is instead resolved on the very last page, with Bruce setting up a soup kitchen of sorts.
With no discussion leading up to it, this gesture and the ideas leading up to it all feel very half-baked. As I’ve said, Stevan Subic is a great horror artist, so why waste precious pages on an underdone critique of billionaires? I want to see more werewolves, man! This element of the story is not the only part that under-delivers, as the curing of Bruce Wayne and talbot’s defeat also feel very rushed and cliché.
Recommended If…
- Stevan Subic’s art continues to draw you in
- Christian Talbot’s backstory intrigues you
- You want to see the conclusion to the story
Overall
I was really hoping for more. Maybe another fight, or maybe even some more of Bruce and Zatanna not that they’re away from Constantine. For a series about werewolfs and Batman, this issue doesn’t contain much of either of them.
Score: 4/10
Small message from me: Time sure flies huh? One year ago I posted my first reviews on this site. You can say they a year isn’t that long, but it’s had its fill of excitement! I’d just like to say thank you all for reading and commenting, chatting with you guys is the best part of the job. So, here’s to you guys, and my awesome coworkers who are always a pleasure to read. I’ve had a great year, looking forward to the next one!
DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.
English (US) · 