Read this one back in sixth grade; couldn't put it down; intense. ( )

I borrowed this from the local public library. It was one of those I picked up on a whim while looking for something else. The book is a quick read; it was ok. While interesting to read Batman in prose, the story is pretty much what happens when a hero becomes overconfident and obsessed to the point he starts making mistakes. Once he does that, he is broken. Having said that, it is what the hero does after he is broken that defines him. And Batman perseveres to overcome his grave injuries and defeat his enemies. Overall, not the greatest reading (in terms of the writing; it's pretty plain), but it is a pretty good adventure story, even if after a while, you already know what's coming. If you are looking for something light, albeit with a very dark tone, this may be your book. ( )

Really liked it - it's got great insight into the character that the comics can't always give you.

I so wish there was an ebook version of this so I could read it again... (or an affordable copy in good condition that won't cost me a fortune, darned out of print book!) ( )

Knightfall is a book of two distinct halves, and the first is definitely better than the second. In the first, a gangster known as Bane decides he is going to prove himself by taking out Batman, and he enacts a massive scheme to deplete Batman's strength in order to do so. Bane himself is the best part of this; far from being the brute thug I'd imagined from the film versions of him, he's a fascinating, semi-heroic character, or at least a character who could easily become a hero with the right push.

The second half of the book tells the tale of Jean-Paul Valley's time as Batman, while Bruce Wayne recovers from his breaking at the hands of Bane. This is less successful, partly because there's so little overlap with the first. Bane is dispatched quickly and easily by the new Batman, who capitalizes a bizarrely small amount on his major accomplishment, and he stays in prison for the rest of the novel. And given how important a character Jean-Paul is in the second half of the book-- he's Bruce's first choice for a replacement!-- he's introduced really late, very shortly before the breaking of Batman. The effect is two halves that don't quite mesh; Jean-Paul should have been more important in the beginning, and Bane should have returned at the end. Without some source of cohesion, the ending is unsatisfying.

Part of the reason I started this project of reading superhero prose fiction was to see how writers rendered the interiority of superheroes in prose. O'Neil actually uses this as a plot point; Bruce thinks of himself as "Batman" up until his back is broken, and then he cannot anymore. But when he adopts other disguises, he also inhabits them completely-- as does Jean-Paul the identity of "Batman." When the narration dubs Bruce Wayne "Batman" again, you know the hero has made a comeback.

I read and loved this probably when it first came out, in the mid-90s, and with The Dark Knight Rises coming out this summer (looking suspiciously similar in theme and plot) I decided to snag it when I saw a copy for cheap.

To be clear, I have never read a superhero comic that I recall - what I know about Batman, I know from the movies and the old 60s TV show. And, I guess, from this book. It's grim, rather than campy, and focuses on the dangers of going too far and believing your own marketing - it portrays a Batman who's starting to lose touch with his humanity, and the lengths to which he has to go to recover it.

(This was also the first and only time I've seen reference to Batman's "trademark rasp" and I have to wonder if it's just been ignored in all the previous movies or if the current trilogy is just the first to decide to use it.) ( )