A 40 Year Reader's Profile

Perhaps overly dark and arguably out of character with some hard-to-believe elements, but this was a truly amazing and memorable read. Enough so that I felt compelled to create this account to review it and tell someone, "Wow, that was really great!" I don't know if I'll be collecting many of these, but this has me thinking I should.

A great detective novel set in the early days of Batman, much like the recent "The Batman" movie. It was a great page turner, but I must say I watched the Animated adaption afterwards and - while similar and faithfully adapted - the animated movie's story is even better! So this almost comes across as an original movie script for the animated movie.

I pulled this thinking kind of hmmm...might be interesting, but I'll probably regret it. I mean, is this series even necessary? Who even decided these were the two best fighters to even square off for this ad-hoc championship? But the series does not waste time even trying to answer that question. It is just known. Sure, Batman will come by to acknowledge this fact and give it credence but the confidence of the title characters is already unmistakeable - they know it already. They are the Best of the Best. Shiva and Black Canary - often background characters in a multitude of Batman-universe related stories I've read over the decades - take front and center as first-rate characters and do not waste a second of the spotlight. Shiva serves as the impossibly unbeatable villainous foil that defines the hero, Black Canary - who is pushed to her best literally dragged by her own hair. Turns out I latched on to a masterpiece. This isn't some elseworlds one off - this is a true legendary epic DC Universe battle that could end up as one of the best of this decade! I'm sure if you pick it up or the graphic novel, you will be equally pleased.

This is a review of the whole series. I don't think it is hyperbole to call this a masterpiece by Cliff Chiang. It has the feel of a life's milestone work. I feel this can stand alongside of Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns just fine. In the 4 books, Chiang succeeds in creating a new world spawned by an alternative path: Fools' Night.

Most of the time, these kind of one-off teamups are pretty silly and throwaway. But this was actually a well-executed, entertaining and sometimes funny story that was worth the cover price! I was pleased to find myself really enjoying the series and not wondering why I had pulled it in the first place.