"Batman: Damned" is the first of DC Comics 'black label' series, featuring their well known characters in situations which would not appear in their usual 'universe.' A well written, deftly illustrated story, it explores far less heroic scenes of the Batman that vary greatly from the classic adventures. Readers new to the series will not easily follow the lesser known characters appearing, and the violence and adult themes will make the book a difficult choice for parents. Interesting for older readers and long time fans, this is not a starting point for new readers.

I was not a fan of this. To start with, I couldn't read parts of it. Who approved that lettering?! The artwork is gorgeous but honestly, this book is almost unreadable. I don't think I would recommend this book unless you are a hardcore Batman fan.

ARC from Netgalley.
Talk about hype ruining a book... Ugh...
Damned, first book in the Black Label line of DC for Batman, got a lot of controversy for showing Bruce full frontal when it was originally published. They have removed that for this Volume, but it's obvious where it was.
The basic plot is that "someone" killed the Joker.... maybe it was Batman, but maybe not. John Constantine gets in on the investigation, and there is a battle against a Joker-ized version of Harley Quinn... but the story is weird and convoluted. The art is the reason to check this out. Unlike most things you've seen before... it's somewhat realistic, but also over the top... judge for yourself.
Art - Good
Story - Blah
If you must, read it. Otherwise, skip it. Try again Black Label...

I am admittedly a casual graphic novel reader, and really haven't delved into the DC Universe; I had to google many of the cameo characters who show up in this story. I say this so serious fans will know to take my review with a grain of salt, because I don't really know what I'm talking about. At least I admit it, right?
The artwork, omg! It's dark, it's gritty, it's detailed, and perfectly sets the tone of the story. It made me feel tense, anxious, claustrophobic, and wow. Just, wow. The story was decent, I mostly enjoyed it, but it wasn't exactly satisfying. I liked that it explored some darker things in Batman's psyche, but the bit with his dad cheating on his mom seemed gratuitous, just thrown in to be edgy or something. Also, it kinda felt like the author sat down and thought "How can I squeeze as many cameos into this as I can?" Some of the cameos worked well, like Constantine; others, not so much. If you look at this story as a near death hallucinatory dream, it's not so bad, but it's a bit confusing otherwise. 5 stars, for the art, 3 for the story, 4 stars overall.

#BatmanDamned #NetGalley

I was a bit underwhelmed by Azzarello's take on the Dark Knight. Plot-wise, it was as if Azzarello's assignment was to include as many unusual supernatural DC character as possible, introducing Zatana, John Constantine, Etrigian, Deadman, and Enchantress. Had there been a better reason for Bruce to explore the magical/demonic underworld in his search for the Joker's killer, perhaps the cast of characters would have made more sense, but as it was, it really just felt like this was a mish-mash of traditional Batman lore as filtered through characters more commonly found on the Vertigo side of the DC Universe. Azzarello penned Constantine for several years in Hellblazer, and as such is no stranger to the character. Likewise, Azzarello's hard-boiled 100 Bullets showed he's able to tell a compelling criminal noir story. But Batman:Damned just doesn't ever flesh out it's cameos in a compelling fashion. And his contribution to the batman mythology, that Thomas Wayne was cheating on Martha, just seems like an excuse to add "adult themes" to Bruce's backstory. Bermejo's beautiful and grim artwork is wasted on the exercise; Damned is all looks and little substance. That said, the color palate and gorgeous character designs are outstanding, and had they been in service of a better story, might be enough to redeem this book. As it stands, they don't.

Batman Damned is perfection. It is a mystery involving not only Batman, but Constantine. The art is phenomenal and the story is engaging. You follow the mystery of who killed the joker. Was it Batman? Being narrated by Constantine gives the story a creative twist. Constantine warns us right away, calling himself an unreliable narrator. One of my favorite Batman stories.

This graphic novel is a darker take on Batman, as he seems to have carried out the murder of the Joker. This tells the story of Batman as he tries to come to grips with what happened, aided by characters such as John Constantine. I was not a fan of this story. It was too dark for me, and there was unnecessary language and themes. This is NOT a family-friendly Batman story. However, the art was creatively done.

The Joker is dead... and Batman has no memory of the night of his demise. The opening pages show Batman struggling inside an ambulance with EMTs and policemen trying to subdue him to stop the bleeding. He escapes and gets to the skyline, his haven... One person may have the answers that will help Batman through this: John Constantine.

I was given a 23-page preview of this comic, and if the rest of this book is anything like the start, it will be great. Azzarello's writing and Bermejo's art. A grimy and sinister Gotham is detailed perfectly in the panels and the dialogue gets to the heart of Batman's paranoia and fear.

I'm excited for this book to be released!

Thank you to NetGalley, DC Comics, and the authors for this preview.

This preview was intriguing, but not really enough for a full review. Looking forward to the Batman/John Constantine team up.

It's hard to review something that is only a 23 page preview, but I will say that it does a successful job of making me want to read the rest of the story. It seems like an interesting premise where the Joker is killed, but Batman isn't sure if he's the one that did it. The artwork is amazing in this. I'll definitely be looking for the full book when it's released.

Always a great addition to a library reaching out to multiple age groups. Batman manages to capture readers of all ages, but this one is clearly geared towards adults. I, for one, appreciate a comic that calls to a specific crowd and makes leaps in that direction. This was a gripping comic and so well done. The art style was gorgeous and the story was driving.

This was a 23 page preview of what is a much longer work. I really liked the graphic style but was not a huge fan of the intro to how it was written. Once the narrator, Constantine, was introduced, it seemed to flow a little better. The most confusing parts were the childhood flashbacks Batman had... They do not seem to line up with his past as we have known it previously. May have made more sense if it was more complete.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this excerpt.

Because this preview was only 23 pages out of a (probably) 100-170 volume, it is hard to review. I like the art style, and the narrative. I really enjoyed the sort-of double cross with Constantine being the actual narrator. That being said we didn't really get to see him in these pages.

This Batman story from DC Black Label features high-quality, completely detailed illustrations from Lee Bermejo and a dark, gritty mystery written by Brian Azzarello. It opens with Batman in an ambulance, and even though he quickly goes out into the city, he doesn't remember everything about the night--and learns the next morning that the Joker is dead. Flashbacks give the story even more depth, and it feels more like a horror story than an action-adventure. This series looks promising.

**Received samplers from NetGalley and DC Black Label at ALA annual conference, so I did not read the full volume yet.

Batman, John Constantine and Joker! What more could you ask for? It's an interesting start to what should be a good series. Quite worth the read.

Well it was over way/to quickly can’t wait to read the rest . Artwork is absolutely stunning . Batman is in a crisis and joker is dead . My favorite Constantine is in this . Looks to be amazing story

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.. it was over almost before I started. 23 pages of a story began with the Dark Night severely injured, don’t know why, and struggling with his inner demons. Great graphics and uncomplicated writing. Seemed more of a chapter to a bigger graphic novel.

"Batman: Damned" is another interesting take on the Batman legacy. It was a little too short as it was only a sample. But it was enjoyable all the same.

Realistic art style really pops in some of the panels. The story is intriguing and the addition of Constantine is sure to make things interesting. Overall, seems like a good side story in the Batman mythos.