Two-Face vs. a Werewolf. Okay, then!
Dec. 15th, 2010 03:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
about_facesI was all ready to finally write about the Two-Face story from Batman 80-Page Giant 2010 when I remembered that the author, Brad Desnoyer, had actually written *another* Harvey short story for another anthology: THE 2008 DC UNIVERSE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL.
You know... the story where Harvey fights a werewolf. Yeah, that one.
From what I can tell, it was his very first comic work, while the story from the 80-Page Giant 2010 was his second! It's not a great story, seemingly based around a single punchline concept, but I think the recent story has revealed a common threat of earnest appreciation for Harvey as a character. As such, it's worth revisiting Desnoyer's first work, 2008's Scarred and Scared:
(Note: the delightful ghost-detective duo of Ralph and Sue Dibny are playing Crypt-Keeper hosts in this issue, which is what they're doing here).
The Jervis voice could use a bit more work, but I'm glad to see someone writing him not as constantly quoting Alice, but rather like the whimsical gentleman who could snap into a murderous rage any second.
I love the humorless resignation in Harvey's whole demeanor here. Really, Harvey's the only character who's written well, even if a bit on the dry side. Sometimes he really does work well as the stoic straight man to the wild, huge personalities in Arkham.
Yes, Harvey Dent kills a werewolf armed only with his coin. That walks the magical border between ridiculous and badass only seen in superhero comics. God, I love 'em so.
And really, that's what I mean by the punchline. I can just think of Desnoyer going, "Hey, silver kills werewolves, and Two-Face has a Silver Dollar. I'll build a story around that!" Which, of course, is perfectly fine for a short story, but it's hindered by the tone-deaf voices of all the other rogues. These characters sound nothing like Joker, Scarecrow, nor Zsasz, and is that supposed to be Calendar Man or Humpty Dumpty?
And speaking of punchlines, how will Desnoyer wrap this up?
Hrm. That last line feels a bit like they're shoehorning in the themes, particularly since the werewolf didn't actually have scars. Am I missing something here?
From the very title, the themes are fear and scars--physical and psychological--and they're played out in a situation where a horror monster encounters the human monsters of Gotham City. But I feel like these themes were explored without much in the way of subtlety or poignancy.
Then again, what else could he have done? Is there anything else that could be said on these themes? Again, I think what it comes back down to is the depiction of the Rogues themselves. If they had been written more in character and been given more to do, say, or react to, this simple idea and the themes it explores could have been fleshed out into something more interesting.
But again, it's his first work, so I'm happy to cut him some slack. Man, god help me if my first and only published comic work (damn, I'm not even listed as one of the authors on Amazon? Harsh!) gets rediscovered down the line.
I'd actually be interested in speaking with Mr. Desnoyer, as I think he might be approachable at this point in his early career. But he seems to have absolutely zero presence online. He's so new, he doesn't even have a profile on comicvine.com, nor even a Twitter account from what I can see!
So for now, we have only to judge Desnoyer by his three (the third being the Question back-up story he wrote in the latest Detective Comics Annual) short works at DC. In my view, they're all rough--this one especially--very much feeling like the awkward first stories of someone new to writing comics.
And yet, I also get the great sense of love for these characters, that he's earnestly enjoying the chance to write the Bat-Rogues. Really, it's exactly how I felt about the first couple years of Geoff Johns' output, so who knows what's in store for Desnoyer's career?
His 80-Page Giant 2010 story is definitely a step in the right direction, and I'll finally be looking at that one soon enough. But I'll only be posting a page or two, so you're encouraged to check it out for yourselves, as copies should still be available.
You know... the story where Harvey fights a werewolf. Yeah, that one.
From what I can tell, it was his very first comic work, while the story from the 80-Page Giant 2010 was his second! It's not a great story, seemingly based around a single punchline concept, but I think the recent story has revealed a common threat of earnest appreciation for Harvey as a character. As such, it's worth revisiting Desnoyer's first work, 2008's Scarred and Scared:
(Note: the delightful ghost-detective duo of Ralph and Sue Dibny are playing Crypt-Keeper hosts in this issue, which is what they're doing here).
The Jervis voice could use a bit more work, but I'm glad to see someone writing him not as constantly quoting Alice, but rather like the whimsical gentleman who could snap into a murderous rage any second.
I love the humorless resignation in Harvey's whole demeanor here. Really, Harvey's the only character who's written well, even if a bit on the dry side. Sometimes he really does work well as the stoic straight man to the wild, huge personalities in Arkham.
Yes, Harvey Dent kills a werewolf armed only with his coin. That walks the magical border between ridiculous and badass only seen in superhero comics. God, I love 'em so.
And really, that's what I mean by the punchline. I can just think of Desnoyer going, "Hey, silver kills werewolves, and Two-Face has a Silver Dollar. I'll build a story around that!" Which, of course, is perfectly fine for a short story, but it's hindered by the tone-deaf voices of all the other rogues. These characters sound nothing like Joker, Scarecrow, nor Zsasz, and is that supposed to be Calendar Man or Humpty Dumpty?
And speaking of punchlines, how will Desnoyer wrap this up?
Hrm. That last line feels a bit like they're shoehorning in the themes, particularly since the werewolf didn't actually have scars. Am I missing something here?
From the very title, the themes are fear and scars--physical and psychological--and they're played out in a situation where a horror monster encounters the human monsters of Gotham City. But I feel like these themes were explored without much in the way of subtlety or poignancy.
Then again, what else could he have done? Is there anything else that could be said on these themes? Again, I think what it comes back down to is the depiction of the Rogues themselves. If they had been written more in character and been given more to do, say, or react to, this simple idea and the themes it explores could have been fleshed out into something more interesting.
But again, it's his first work, so I'm happy to cut him some slack. Man, god help me if my first and only published comic work (damn, I'm not even listed as one of the authors on Amazon? Harsh!) gets rediscovered down the line.
I'd actually be interested in speaking with Mr. Desnoyer, as I think he might be approachable at this point in his early career. But he seems to have absolutely zero presence online. He's so new, he doesn't even have a profile on comicvine.com, nor even a Twitter account from what I can see!
So for now, we have only to judge Desnoyer by his three (the third being the Question back-up story he wrote in the latest Detective Comics Annual) short works at DC. In my view, they're all rough--this one especially--very much feeling like the awkward first stories of someone new to writing comics.
And yet, I also get the great sense of love for these characters, that he's earnestly enjoying the chance to write the Bat-Rogues. Really, it's exactly how I felt about the first couple years of Geoff Johns' output, so who knows what's in store for Desnoyer's career?
His 80-Page Giant 2010 story is definitely a step in the right direction, and I'll finally be looking at that one soon enough. But I'll only be posting a page or two, so you're encouraged to check it out for yourselves, as copies should still be available.
