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Wednesday 4 October 2017

Batman: Son of the Demon Review (Mike W. Barr, Jerry Bingham)


Son of the Demon is another episode of Batman and his mad in-laws, the Al-Ghul’s. He may get to plow the mega-hawt Talia but he’s gotta put up with his mental father-in-law’s ravings about wiping out humanity over dinner – the things we do to wet our beaks, eh? And what’s that – the pitter-patter of tiny feet? Will Batman finally cheer up?? 

This one’s actually not a bad comic. The more I read of Mike Barr’s Batman, the more surprised I am that it’s not the absolute garbage I keep expecting. I think I just got off on the wrong foot with him by starting with one of the worst Batman books ever written, Year Poo Two!

Son of the Demon definitely has its flaws. Batman and Ra’s are forced into a contrived alliance because of a forgettable one-dimensional and disposable villain called Qayin (pronounced “Cain”), whose origin was corny and silly. The plot is like a weak James Bond knockoff with the elaborate lairs, squads of hired goons and the doomsday weather machine, while the dead scientist murder mystery subplot was plain crap and pointless. But Batman’s antics make this fairly readable and it was interesting to read the book that years later inspired Grant Morrison to create Damian Wayne.

Jerry Bingham’s art was so impressive and made the book for me. The lines are precise, the pictures are detailed, the layouts are eye-catching, the colours are subtle but effective – Bingham is an enormously talented and skilful artist whose pages are really beautiful. And Talia’s never looked more smokin’ than she does here, all thanks to this dude! The art is by far this comic’s best feature.

Son of the Demon is a decent Batman book, in large part thanks to Jerry Bingham’s exceptional art rather than Mike Barr’s shaky writing. It’s no must-read but not intolerable and might be worth checking out for fans who see it in the liberry.

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