Book Review: Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight 100 page Super Spectacular #2

Book: Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight 100 page Super Spectacular #2 cover art by Ed Benes

(This book can also be found in the trade edition Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight volume #4)

Edition: Print

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

If you're looking for a good group of Batman stories then I think you might enjoy reading this. I found the stories and the writing to be rather exceptional. This book contains five stories with the last three connecting. I thought this was even better than Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight 100 page Super Spectacular #1. 


Story #1: "I Hate It When He Does That." by Joshua Williamson with illustrations by Wes Craig and color by Lee Loughridge and letters by Saida Temofonte

Even though I enjoyed all the stories in this book, this first story may be my favorite. In this story, a museum robbery has Batman reflecting on his time when young Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth were traveling in Thailand. That experience allowed him to meet a new friend and learn a new skill as they evaded a crooked police force. I really like this story it had the perfect blend of drama, humor and action with a touch of mystery. I love that you see Alfred's point of view and how it pertains to everything that both he and Bruce are going through.

Reading this story made me really wish there was a series that followed young Bruce and Alfred as they traveled around the world. Most of the stories that focus on Bruce's travels overseas is when he's a little older and traveling on his own. 



Story #2: "Riddler In The Dark" by Charles Soule with illustrations and color by Dennis Calero and letters by Deron Bennett

Oh, this was a very interesting story, The Riddler showed up at the police station and stabbed one of his henchmen in the leg. And of course he was immediately arrested. But what was his purpose in doing all of that? Well, that's what Batman intended to find out. A riddle sent him chasing down clues until he could piece together the mystery. Nightwing made an unexpected appearance in this story.

There was something about Batman's look that I couldn't place at first. But it dawned on me that he was drawn very retro inspired, his appearance is some what similar to when he was first introduced in Detective Comics #27 (see image below).

Story #3: "The Pain Cellar" by Frank Hannah with illustrations by Marco Turini and color by Leo Paciarotti and letters by Saida Temofonte

In this story, Bruce's excruciating back pain sent him to a very unique specialist, Mei Zhen. Mei was able to remove the pain but also brought out a memory Bruce had long forgotten about. In a backstory that took place some time before Bruce's parents were killed, Bruce remembered a friend who had gone missing and tried to find him. It was a nerve-racking ordeal for Bruce while searching for his friend especially when he did everything he could to find him.



Story #4: "Arm-Candy" by Frank Hannah with illustrations by Drew Edward Johnson and color by Kathryn Lano and letters by Saida Temofonte

This story follows Bruce as he tried to track down who murdered someone close to him. The clues led Batman back to someone he never thought could have committed the crime. Instead of Batman confronting the villain, Bruce went because he needed to try to make some kind of sense out of this horrific crime.



Story #5: "Reporter's Notebook" by Frank Hannah with illustrations and color by Dexter Soy and letters by Saida Temofonte

In this last story, Bruce allowed a reporter to follow a day in his life for a story. But it certainly wasn't for the publicity, no there was something that the reporter knew and it connected all three of these last stories. Selina Kyle has a nice cameo in this story.


These were a very well-written group of stories with a lot of drama and suspense. The writers did a good job showcasing how moments in Bruce's past help shape things in the present. I'm not in favor of a Batman who is ultra violent, I prefer when he uses his brain and his advanced detective skills. There is a reason why he's considered the World's Greatest Detective and these stories show that.