Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Dark Knight III #2
DC Comics
Miller, Azzarello, Kubert, Janson & Anderson
"DK III: The Master Race" moves to the second issue with more of a scattered approach to the story as it loops in other character arcs. The read is entertaining and answers a lot of the questions about this series that the first issue presented. The comic's presentation is fantastic and helps to justify the six-dollar cover charge. Overall, this is a good comic to check out as it appeals to Batman fans in general, fans of the original Dark Knight series or fans of broken down visions of the future.
The plot thread that might make the least sense provides the best visuals. Carrie's arrest and interrogation are good because they bring her face to face with the commissioner and they allow for an excellent chase scene. They also provide some tense scenes as the story line concludes. More importantly they allow the reader to find out what happened to Batman (if you believe what Carrie says). However, the motives make the scenes unclear. It seems obvious that Carrie was caught on purpose, but why?
The other two plot threads involve Lara (daughter of Wonder Woman and Superman) and Dr. Palmer. Lara is also the focus of the mini-comic and her involvement in the book seems to be related to setting up her issues with her heritage and her parents. Dr. Palmer is trying to free the miniature city of Kandor. This plot saw two major developments in this comic book.
There's a lot of good stuff in this comic book. The Dr. Palmer plot might be the best because of the surprises that it produces. However, the scenes with Carrie in middle of the comic are excellent. This may be because of the artwork.
The artwork and overall presentation is fantastic. The thick cover and heavy paper stock make the comic feel more important. The mini-comic in the middle adds some depth to Wonder Woman and Lara without intruding on the main story. The artwork has a darkness to it that highlights the evil, but also allows the bright spots to shine all the brighter. The best scene is the chase in the middle of the comic book as the artwork really expands the scope of the visuals. The comic is a very good visual story unto itself. Whether you are a fan of the pencil style or not the comic has a grand look to it.
"DK III: The Master Race" is a very good read. The comic answers some questions about what happened to Batman and it brings the master race aspect of the story into clearer focus. The comic does a good job balancing the three character's story lines as they start to come together. The artwork and the comic's presentation are fantastic as everything from the weight of the paper to the mini-comic are of the highest quality. The third installment of the Dark Knight saga is shaping up to be worthy of the hype. I definitely recommend checking this out.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles
