There's No Denying The Man Can Draw

Batman: Odyssey 1-6/Batman: Odyssey 2 1-7
DC Comics
Neal Adams, writer and artists

I was very eager to get my hands on this series when it was first announced. This was to be the triumphant return of one of the great Batman artists with his vision of the definitive Batman story. Neal Adams and Jim Aparo are probably the two most easily recognizable and iconic Batman artists out there. I already own all three hardcover volumes of Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams, so here was my chance to add a new Bat-tale to my collection by this luminary in the field.

And, of course, the art does NOT disappoint. Adams' Batman is muscled and powerful while retaining a realistic athletic appearance. His layouts allow the eye to easily follow the action across the page, and his graphic storytelling is also spot on. This story is rather complex, so it might be hard to literally follow everything without words, using just the pictures alone, but Adams' panels are not hard to figure out.

As I said, the story is pretty complex, epic even, taking Batman on a true odyssey that stretches the imagination. In fact, this story would almost have to be called an Elseworlds tale because of its scope. The epic moves from Gotham City to a number of underground, hidden societies and incorporates gnomes, trolls, dinosaurs, ancient godlings, henchmen and giant bats -- not your everyday Batman fare! At least not since the late golden age or early silver age!

The main villains of the story are Ra's al-Ghul (naturally, since Adams is the character's co-creator) and Ra's' son, the Sensei, the leader of the League of Assassins. It also involves a handful of other DC characters including Deadman, another character Adams is known for illustrating. Some of the lofty concepts the tale is woven around include Batman's staunch refusal to ever kill his adversaries and his aversion to guns. Another central concept is the theory that Ra's al-Ghul is really the only villain Batman ever faces, that many of the other famous Gotham rogues are merely obstacles occasionally thrown in the Dark Knight's path by Ra's to keep Batman occupied and less likely to uncover other, more sinister plots. This theory helps explain how so many of these rogues are locked in a revolving door of scheming, capture and escape, as well as playing off Batman's refusal to kill his opponents.

Like some of Adams' scientific theories, this story is deep and takes a little effort to unravel completely, but again, it is a very imaginative and highly entertaining journey.

Side note: One more reason this tale would likely be considered an Elseworlds story by most readers is a guest appearance by one of my favorite characters -- Aquaman, or at least, I believe that's Aquaman even though I don't recall anyone else ever drawing him even remotely this way before.