Just a warning, this whole 4-issue series is going to be a "meh" for me.

In this first installment, we see a Batman who's been captured, and ultimately gets broken by, quite frankly, one of the most boring villains ever. Deacon Blackfire.

Along the way, we're treated to far too much backstory on the Deacon, and a relatively unnecessary skipping about in time to get the reader caught up to the present. Starlin doesn't even consider attempting to explain why Blackfire doesn't pull the Batman's mask off, despite having him held prisoner for over a week.

Starlin was pulling from the Frank Miller playbook of bringing in the news and supplying both commentary and the "man on the street" public opinion views, most of which is either unnecessary, or a lazy way of supplying some information.

Overall, Starlin isn't a bad writer, and his storytelling is okay, but the pacing throughout these four issues is draggy. Bernie Wrightson's art, while always a treat, seems a touch subdued in this series. And Bill Wray's colouring is absolutely terrible. It's actually distracting to the art.

I guess there's a reason I remember absolutely nothing from my first read of this limited series, 32 years ago. Not a great start. ( )

The first of a four-part "Batman" graphic novel, in which Batman is captured, tortured, drugged and starved by a near-immortal shaman intent on taking control of Gotham, with Batman as his willing minion. He succeeds in breaking Batman to his will in this first book. Good Bernie Wrightson artwork, and an intriguing look at what it might take to break Batman. Shaman Blackfire, however, is a little too base and cartoonish to lend believability to the story. ( )