Review Category: Reviews

BY FORCE ALONE

AUTHOR: LAVIE TIDHAR | PUBLISHER: HEAD OF ZEUS | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

The legend of King Arthur has been told and retold for hundreds of years. The tale of a noble King and his trusted and incredibly powerful companions have been done endlessly and in pretty much every possible way, to limited success. Enter Lavie Tidhar, an accomplished master of the narrative remix. Tidhar’s previous work is filled to the brim with new and interesting takes on history and myth, and the results are always mesmerising. And of course, he’s taken something that’s been done way too many times and found a way to make it look new and interesting while still keeping its classic appeal.

By Force Alone is the version of the Arthurian myth that imagines every single one of these heroes as absolute bastards. The Sopranos meets Excalibur, by way of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The main characters are vicious gangsters, and Camelot is not some miraculous paradise, rather it’s a grimy dive that people love to tell tall tales about once they’ve left the place.

However, this isn’t a tawdry grim-dark remix of the well-known stories; rather, it’s a refreshingly honest and brutal look at human nature and power. Just one that has some rather memorable bits of fantasy action mixed in. It would easy to dismiss By Force Alone as a modern political allegory, but it’s certainly there if you want it; Arthur is presented as a thoroughly unlikeable chap who gets away with horror by playing to the crowd and telling them what they want to hear. He’s a pure demagogue, but also a sword-wielding bravo and maniac. Merlin is both a cunning master of magic but also a skilled spin-doctor and weaver of lies. He’s also a mystical parasite of sorts. Myth serves to amplify the commentary on the human condition.

Both Guinevere and Lancelot get a similar merciless treatment, with the latter being a blend of crime-boss and master social-manipulator, while Lancelot feels more parody than man, being something of a ninja-assassin maniac than anything else. The incredibly hyped nature of these characters leads to some explosive scenes and some truly staggering writing.

The narrative does tend to flit around a lot. Tidhar clearly wants to get as much of the myth into one volume as he can, and so the story does tend to bounce around a bit. We flash from one moment of brooding monarchy to incredible violence to crime-powered shenanigans quite rapidly. As such, this isn’t the sort of book that’s great for a single-sitting read.

By Force Alone isn’t for everyone; if you haven’t enjoyed Tidhar’s previous work, then this won’t appeal. But if you’re looking for a new take on King Arthur and chums, then check this out.

EXTRATERRESTIALS

AUTHOR: WADE ROUSH | PUBLISHER: THE MIT PRESS | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Given the size of our galaxy and the Universe beyond, there should be hundreds or even thousands of advanced civilisations out there trying to communicate with us. After World War II, the new science of radio astronomy inspired Cornell University physicists Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison to write a paper on ‘Searching for Interstellar Communications’. They believed that radio technology would be capable of detecting and joining in with the galactic community. Since then, except for a few false alarms, no sign of extraterrestrials has been discovered.

As Wade Roush observes, the famous Drake Equation was formulated to take into account all the factors that determine how many alien communicators might be out there. This considers the number of stars and planets that might support life, the fraction of planets where life might emerge, those that might evolve into intelligent organisms and develop technology, and the length of time an intelligent civilisation might exist. The result very much depends on our current expectations, on the one hand we can be more optimistic due to the discovery of exoplanets and organisms that can live in extreme habitats, yet our thinking about life-expectancy of civilisations might be coloured by the current Covid-19 pandemic (whereas in the past nuclear annihilation was a bigger influence on this equation).

Even the most pessimistic calculations indicate that our Milky Way galaxy should be rife with civilisations, giving rise to the Fermi Paradox that begs the question ‘why are we seemingly alone’? One brutal answer is that we are so rare there is no one else, or that the aliens are ignoring us, or we do not have the right technology to detect their signals.

Wade entertainingly provides chapters that look at the history of ideas and beliefs about the existence of aliens, how SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) became a scientific endeavour, where primitive alien life forms might exist in our Solar System or on exoplanets, and the various reasons why there is the ‘great silence’.

We found ourselves agreeing with his conclusion that, ‘There isn’t a single example of a UFO or an alleged alien visitation or abduction for which an unbiased scientist would resort to an extraterrestrial explanation sooner than a terrestrial or psychological one.’ That is fair enough, but Wade then goes on to note that SETI research has persisted very much in the style pioneered in the 1960s and that we should try to sidestep our anthropocentric assumptions about how aliens might think and cast our net wider. It would be ironic that flying saucers and the madness surrounding them really are ET visitors that blindside our scientists because they do not conform to their expectations.

Whatever your viewpoint, this is an excellent guide and introduction to SETI with plenty of insightful anecdotes, glossary, notes, further reading list, and index.

THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES

FORMAT: BLU-RAY | DIRECTOR: ROGER CORMAN | STARRING: RAY MILLAND, DIANA VAN DER VLIS | RELEASE DATE: MAY 4TH

Ray Milland stars as Dr James Xavier, a scientist who develops a formula that can expand the human limits of sight beyond the visible spectrum. Despite warnings from his colleagues, Xavier uses himself as a test subject. The results exceeded his wildest expectations when he gains the ability to see through solid objects. Events soon spiral out of control, threatening his sanity, when his vision is extended beyond the realms of human comprehension.

After the success of AIP’s Poe adaptations, director Roger Corman wanted to do something different. He decided the project would be a contemporary set science-fiction picture. The result was the officially titled ‘X’. Interestingly the title The Man with the X-Ray Eyes was used in the film’s advertising.

Milland had worked with Corman before, and he is perfectly cast as Dr Xavier. Despite the film’s low budget, Milland brings a gravitas to the role-playing the part seriously and with an earnest intensity. This is not a mad scientist; rather, he is a scientist that made the mistake of being his own test subject. This allows the audience to empathise with Xavier’s plight. The film is not without humour though: during a party scene, Xavier bemusedly watches the partygoers dancing away in their naked glory. As this was 1963, it is naturally very coyly done.

Second Sight Films have created an exceptionally gorgeous blu-ray. The transfer is a visual treat for the eyes. The colours are vibrant, and the sound is clear and distinctive. There is not a single grain to be seen, nor a pop or crackle to be heard.

There’s also a cornucopia of extras that are as compelling as the main feature. Director Roger Corman reminisces about the making of the film. He describes how X was comedian Don Rickles’ first film, and how Rickles was so nervous he initially underplayed his role as a sideshow barker. He also describes how he allowed three or four takes to be done, and that he had a rehearsal schedule which was a luxury for an AIP movie.

Author Kat Ellinger describes how many of the film’s themes have a religious allegory, being cast out of society, forced to wander the wasteland, which makes for illuminating viewing. Joe Dante waxes lyrical about the film and even goes as far to say that The Man with the X-Ray Eyes is a film that would benefit from a remake, in terms of the themes that could be explored more fully, and how modern CGI could really do justice to the sights seen beyond the visible spectrum. Also included is a Trailers from Hell with Mick Garris who states that The Man with the X-Ray Eyes is his favourite Roger Corman film.

If you like commentaries, then you are well catered for as Roger Corman does a deep dive into the making of the film, casting, filming in Spectarama, and there are plenty of anecdotes. Tim Lucas’ commentary is more scholarly but no less interesting as he compares literary works to the film. Graham Humphrey’s new artwork for the film must also be mentioned as it is simply gorgeous.

Modern audiences may find some of the scenes anachronistic (here’s a lot of smoking in labs) but there’s a power to this film that even after nearly six decades since its release, time has not been able to diminish. There’s no hiding from The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, he’ll see right through you.

TROLLS WORLD TOUR

FORMAT: VOD RENTAL | DIRECTOR: WALT DOHRN | SCREENPLAY: JONATHAN AIBEL, GLENN BERGER, ELIZABETH TIPPET, MAYA FORBES, WALLACE WOLODARSKY / STARRING: ANNA KENDRICK, JUSTIN TIMBERLINE, RACHEL BLOOM, JAMES CORDEN, ANDERSON PAAK, RON FUNCHES, KELLY CLARKSON, SAM ROCKWELL | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

It isn’t being too harsh to say that the idea of a sequel to DreamWorks’ all singing all dancing Trolls was not exactly what everyone really really wanted. And yet here we are playing that funky music… and it isn’t bad. The film catches up with the trolls as optimistic Queen Poppy (Kendrick) and her friends find that their world is bigger than they ever thought. Split into different kingdoms, based around genres of music, Poppy realises this once-united world is now divided, as each realm faces the threat of invasion from Queen Barb (Bloom) of the Rock Trolls, who aims to rock them like a hurricane! But is Poppy taking this threat seriously enough?

Trolls World Tour re-covers some old ground (finding love in unexpected places, the power of music comes from within) and some lines of dialogue are seriously creaky, with the odd jokes worthy of an “oh no you didn’t”. However the film successfully widens the onscreen lore of Trolls, incorporating everything from Rock and Classical to Yodelling and K-Pop and everything in-between. Like the LSD-taking lesser cousin of Zootropolis, this one is a rather visually creative crazy train and commendably determined in the pursuit of its message’s good vibrations. World Tour’s message of embracing and celebrating our differences is obvious from the start but that doesn’t make it unimportant. The film says that we all have a heart and the sweet emotion that comes from that heart can unites us: our passions, our interests, our cultures and most crucially our identities because if we are all forced to be the same, how can we come together and harmonise?

It’s an inoffensive film and a few adults may get a kick out of the film’s ‘pop ruins everything’ sly gag. Not to sound toxic here but by the end you have had your fill of glittery relentless cheer but it keeps you watching, if for no other reason than its wild animation. The visuals are amplified by 11 from the first movie. Constantly crazy and assuredly colourful, although adults be warned: do not watch this film after partaking in lots of alcohol (or any substance – tsk tsk) because hells bells this is seriously trippy stuff, man! A glitter troll giving birth from his head, live-action newspaper clippings, intoxicated Jazz fever dreams… it’s madness.

For a film about music, some of its soundtrack is fleeting and while there are tunes here to get your toe-tapping and a few twists on classic earworms, there is not a bunch of new tracks that will rule the world. Probably won’t stop some youngsters feeling happy though.

While there are fun characters, aside from Anna Kendrick’s Poppy and Timberlake’s Branch, we can’t say that you’ll come away remembering your Biggie from your Delta Dawn but Ozzy Osbourne’s delightful self-deprecating rock bad guy dad King Thrash certainly stands out, as do some other star voices like Sam Rockwell and Jamie Dornan.

Trolls World Tour won’t win over many who are set to avoid it like the plague but in these trying times, the kids might get a kick out of this visual feast which celebrates our differences and promotes a crazy little thing called love at a point when many folks just might need a positive boost.

BUSTER KEATON: 3 FILMS [VOL. 2]

FORMAT: BLU-RAY | DIRECTORS: BUSTER KEATON, DONALD CRISP | STARRING: BUSTER KEATON | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Well what do you know, those sparkling fine folk at Eureka! have proffered up a new 3-disc selection of films on Blu-ray by the slapstick OG, BK (as no one is calling him).

Let’s start from the off by saying that each film looks glorious. Taken, as they are, from 4K restorations, each film looks crisp. Indeed, one could be forgiven for thinking each film was a modern, shot-for-shot remake based on the depth of the visual information. While there may be small dips in quality regarding narrative and comedy across the three films, the transfers are a sight to behold and a huge nod to the restoration team behind this release. Each restoration is taken from various A and B negatives from the Cohen archives and a sweet touch about the presentation is the two paragraphs at the start of each film explaining which elements were used and how. This adds to the overall feeling of watching a cinematic historical document that needs, nay, should be kept for future posterity.

There is little that can be said of the man himself that hasn’t been said before, however, his run of films as actor and director between 1920 and 1929 elevate him to the status of God. Alongside Chaplin and Lloyd, Keaton sits squarely in the middle of the two. Not quite the dramatic derring-do of Lloyd and sadly not nearly as narratively timeless as Chaplin, Keaton’s oft-repeated themes of marriage and wealthy inheritance may stick in the craw of some viewers, as will the racial stereotyping (though blessedly, Keaton did use actors of colour to fill these roles).

The Navigator is a tale of unrequited love that becomes, well, requited after Rollo and Betsy (Keaton and Kathryn McGuire) spend weeks marooned on a ship-that-is-not-wrecked. The two highlights are a long ‘opening opposite doors’ scene while the two try to find each other – something seen every week in Scooby-Doo, and the other is the underwater sequence. It is a well-known fact that underwater scenes often slow a film to a sea-snail’s pace (Thunderball anyone?), but this cracks along at a great pace with brilliant sight gags.

Battling Butler is a classic mistaken identity story that has been rolled out so many times, that it’s hard to see the genius of its early (cinematic) genius. Perhaps the most startling element of this film is the way Keaton’s character, a rich and spoiled dandy, decides to marry a very young-looking country girl without so much as consulting her in the matter. Aside from that, imbibe yourself in the glorious wash of sepia it is presented in.

Seven Chances is the old ‘inheritance with a catch’ plotline, that the viewer should let wash over them and instead bathe in the escalating set-pieces that Keaton excelled in.

Come for the films and stay for the brilliance of the restoration work, a rare release for all ages – so let’s hear it for the SS OG, BK, OK?

TALES FROM THE LOOP

REVIEWED: SEASON 1 (ALL EPISODES) | WHERE TO WATCH: AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

Anthology shows are back in fashion big style these days thanks largely to the success of Charlie Brooker’s ground-breaking Black Mirror and, more recently, heritage titles like The Twilight Zone and Amazing Stories have been pressed back into service with varying degrees of success. Tales from the Loop, Amazon Prime’s latest foray into the anthology genre, is something a little different, a curious beast which is destined either to find an appreciative cult audience or be dismissed as a run of turgid, pretentious stories often only tangentially related to its high concept genre backdrop.

Based on an art book by Swedish artist Simon Stalenhag (who serves as an executive producer on the series), Tales from the Loop is set in and around the fictional Ohio town of Mercer which is home to ‘the Loop’ an underground research station whose work with a hadron collider-type device has peculiar and unusual side effects on the town above and its citizens. ‘The Loop’ is the brainchild of a benign scientist (Jonathan Pryce) whose daughter (Rebecca Hall) and her family live in the town. Across its eight vaguely-interlocking episodes (characters drift in and out of the assorted narratives and timelines) the series explores how one extraordinary or remarkable incident impacts upon and influences the people of the town. In the first episode, a young girl looking for her mother, who works at the Loop, discovers an older version of herself, and in the second episode two teens stumble across an abandoned device (the whole landscape around Mercer is dotted with odd bits of half-forgotten technology and huge deactivated robots which stand as silent sentinels about the town) that allows them to swap their personalities. The thrust of these episodes isn’t about the idea, the sci-fi MacGuffin, it’s about how the people touched by these ‘miracles’ deal with them and work to accommodate them into the circumstances of their lives. So while, in episode six, for example, a lonely gay security guard at the Loop finds himself shifted into an alternative Universe where ‘he’ is locked into a slightly-fractious relationship, the episode isn’t much concerned about the mechanics of how he travels to this new world but rather what happens when he gets there.

Tales from the Loop is, by its nature, not interested in sci-fi spectacle and the concepts that power its stories are, in many ways, bedrock genre ideas dating back decades. The series is sometimes achingly slow, ponderous to the point that it often looks as if nothing is happening at all and yet, if you have the patience to bear with the series for an episode or two, you may find that you are staring to become strangely fascinated by it. It’s a fine-looking show, beautifully photographed (reflecting its origin in a series of intricate paintings), and often filmed in long shot to emphasise the stark otherworldliness of Mercer and its quietly-spoken inhabitants. Often the camera will linger for what seems like an age on one remote image; the guttering of a house, a darkening skyline, the three forbidding towers of the Loop which loom across the landscape. This is a show all about the visuals rather than the words – dialogue is often perfunctory – and despite the presence of both Hall and Pryce in understated ‘lead’ roles, this is a show unconcerned with ‘star’ performances; it’s an ensemble show in the loosest sense with the lives of many of the ‘supporting’ characters explored in the wake of the strange metaphysical journey they have found themselves embarking upon.

Tales from the Loop won’t be to everyone’s taste, and a sense of exasperation is entirely understandable. But there’s no denying the wealth of talent involved here – Matt Reeves and Mark Romanek are executive producers, and the likes of Ti West and Jodie Foster have taken on directing duties – and it’s clear that everyone has worked hard to create the show’s dislocating sense of unreality. The series does run out of whatever head of steam it had by the time its last couple of episodes roll around, and it is, ultimately, a slightly frustrating experience because of its willful ambiguity. Yet it’s also a hauntingly-seductive and undeniably beautiful series that will get inside your head and drive you through its narrative insouciance if you disregard your expectations of anthology television and allow it to cast its hypnotic, unearthly spell.

ZU WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN (1983)

ZU WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN (1983) / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: HARK TSUI / SCREENPLAY: CHEUK-HON SZETO / STARRING: BIAO YUEN, HOI MANG, ADAM CHENG / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Starting at a frenetic pace and building from there to delirious heights, Tsui Hark’s incredible Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain arrives in a new Blu-ray edition from Eureka Classics. It tells the story of young soldier Dik Ming-kei, one of many soldiers fighting for supremacy during the Tang dynasty, as he is separated from his army and finds himself lost in a cave in the titular mountain. Here he is attacked by strange creatures and survives only thanks to Master Ding Yan coming to his rescue. From then on, Ming-kei is thrown into a dangerous battle between near-godlike warriors that will decide the fate of the world.

Based on a novel and inspired by Hark’s childhood love of such stories, Zu Warriors throws everything into the mix, from martial arts to fantasy to horror, comedy (much of which works), apocalyptic drama, and unrelenting action. It’s all delivered at a heightened, unrelentingly loud pitch and could be wearisome as a result, but Hark displays a deft hand and is ably supported by a game cast. There’s so much invention on display as well, from innovative special effects to gorgeous costumes, sets and production design. It all goes to make Zu Warriors thoroughly enjoyable, and it’s easy to understand how it could be an influence on John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China amongst others. The new 2K restoration of the film presented here complements all this, displaying sharp colours and plenty of detail.

There’s a good selection of extras here to make this a disc worth picking up, particularly for fans, starting with the export cut of the film that has present-day wraparound segments making it a kind of time travel film. A scene-specific commentary from expert Tony Rayns provides a lot of information on aspects of the production. There’s a brand-new interview with Tsui Hark as well as archive interviews with three of the central cast. Also included is a segment from an episode of Son of the Incredibly Strange Film Show from 1989 that reminds you that Jonathan Ross wasn’t always insufferable and has always been possessed of a great love and affection for genre film that makes this piece, including another interview with Hark, a valuable archival celebration. In addition, there’s the expected round of trailers as well as for early purchasers a new collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film.

If you already love this film getting this release should be an easy decision to make. For anyone else interested, there’s an abundance of invention and entertainment in the feature and a solid range of supplements to help enhance your enjoyment. Highly recommended.

ROOTWOOD

ROOTWOOD / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: MARCEL WALZ / SCREENPLAY: MARIO VON CZAPIEWSKI / STARRING: TYLER GALLANT, ELISSA DOWLING, SARAH FRENCH / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Another trio of foolhardy youngsters take an ill-advised trip into the woods to uncover the truth behind an ancient curse, in California-set folk horror Rootwood. Hosts of the small-time podcast The Spooky Hour, William and Jessica, celebrate their big break when a Hollywood producer hires the pair to shoot a documentary on the mythology of ‘The Wooden Devil’.

The pair pack up their RV (motor home), pick up their airhead friend Erin (who has the hots for Will) and head out to begin their investigation. As the trio set up for their first night, it’s not difficult to tick off the list of films from which screenwriter Von Czapiewski has drawn inspiration. It’s a pretty derivative mash-up of the familiar, but it all supports what is a serviceable premise.

Stylistically, matters are complicated by the way that director Walz flips between different storytelling techniques. ‘Found footage’ and ‘point of view’ horror needs consistency if it is to draw in the viewer convincingly. But the way that Walz shifts the perspective between the ‘first-hand’ and the ‘observed’ feels careless and undermines narrative tension. Malibu Creek State Park provides a rugged, isolated setting, but its forests and valleys look stunning and sun-drenched on screen rather than foreboding. That juxtaposition between the beautiful and the threatening should underscore the mounting tension of a camping trip horror, but here the drone camera often just lingers on impressive scenery.

The night-time scenes of Rootwood are much more atmospheric and tense. As the characters make the requisite dumb decisions, the chase sequences through the pitch-black woods deliver the film’s most successful moments. Elissa Dowling puts in a spirited and committed performance as the increasingly terrified Jessica, whose plight is given extra impact by a surprisingly well-scored soundtrack.

Revelations tumble one after another in the finale, in a series of twists that are perhaps not quite so surprising as they are presented. But they do at least attempt to answer the film’s hanging questions.

Walz is an enthusiastic screen-horror aficionado. Rootwood is itself based on his 2012 German fright-flick Raw – The Curse of Grete Müller. The film-shoot-within-a-film dynamic of Rootwood allows him to include some knowing references to the filmmakers’ craft and the realities of no-budget movie making. But this is not a particularly notable example of the genre and at risk of finding itself rootless in the fertile but overcrowded field of horror VOD.

HARLEY QUINN

REVIEWED: SEASON 1 (ALL EPISODES) | WHERE TO WATCH: ALL 4

Let me lay my cards on the table: this writer hates Harley Quinn. Or rather I hate what she’s become; when Paul Dini introduced her into Batman: The Animated Series she was a delightful foil for the Joker, a Robin to his Batman. But then Suicide Squad happened and Harley Quinn was everywhere, and there just wasn’t enough to her to support all that. Fundamentally, Harley Quinn is a murderer, and at the very least she is an accomplice to acts of terrorism on a scale that would dwarf 9/11 or the Aum Shinrikyo attack on the Tokyo underground. To succeed as the lead of her own story, Harley has to be sympathetic, an anti-hero, the same fate which befell her Marvel counterpart Deadpool, and that should make fans of comic books, raised on Spider-Man and Superman, very uncomfortable.

With all that in mind, Harley Quinn was all set to be the first DC Universe offering that I had zero plans to watch, but then a funny thing happened; people said it was really good… and it is! This is a show that doesn’t shy away from the fact that Harley – and the other villains she pals around with – kill people without a second thought. It’s gory and brutal and very, very funny.

The show opens with Harley still under the yoke of The Joker, but beginning to grow tired of his shtick. When he sacrifices her again to make a getaway, even Batman is questioning the health of their relationship, ensuring that Harley has plenty of time to consider her status with another stay in Arkham. Still, The Joker will break her out soon, right?

The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco is perfect as Harley, and her friendship with Lake Bell’s Poison Ivy is the heart of the show. But this is also a show about Harley wanting to be taken seriously – ironically – as a villain in her own right, and yearning for the membership of the Legion of Doom that will prove it. To achieve her aims, Harley recruits some henchmen in the shape of failed actor Clayface, tech genius King Shark, and Doctor Psycho, who even the Legion of Doom disowned after he called Wonder Woman the ‘C’ word.

Harley’s crew – and the other villains they encounter, such as a ridiculous Bane obsessed with explosions, and a Casanova Kite Man – are hilariously written, and brilliantly voiced, with top-notch work from Alan Tudyk, Ron Funches, Tony Hale, and JB Smoove hitting the majority of the jokes for a home run.

The planned first season of twenty-six episodes was split into two thirteen-episode seasons, with the second having recently begun on DC Universe in the States, and the split works, with a natural story beat finishing out the thirteenth episode in spectacular fashion. Along the way, Harley gets trapped in her own mind, crashes a Bar Mitzvah, gets a highway built in her name, and visits her very dysfunctional family, and we see her throw down not only with Batman and the Damian version of Robin, but also Aquaman, Batgirl, and even Superman; while the tone of the show may not pass muster with the usual DC animated fare, this is a show very much set in the DC universe.

Harley Quinn is a great example of what DC Universe has been doing well. The vast majority of their original programming so far has been smart and accomplished, a whole world away from their inconsistent and fractured cinematic offerings. An animated show for adults, but without taking some of the usual, lazy shortcuts, it’s genuinely funny, and a must-watch for anybody who likes comics. And violence. And swearing. Lots of violence and swearing.

BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH

WRITER: SCOTT SNYDER | ARTIST: GREG CAPULLO | PUBLISHER: DC BLACK LABEL | FORMAT: HARDCOVER | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Twenty years in the future a young Bruce Wayne awakes in Arkham Asylum. Batman does not, nor has he ever existed, and Bruce is responsible for the death of his parents. So begins Batman: The Last Knight on Earth, writer Scott Snyder’s and artist Greg Capullo’s Dark Knight swan song. Snyder’s and Capullo’s near-decade run chronicling Batman’s adventures have undeniably proved to be immensely popular, but readers who aren’t familiar with this duo’s Bat oeuvre need not worry. Being a DC Black Label tale this falls outside of the main line’s continuity and is very much standalone. However, established fans will find pleasing references to what has come before, and to what is currently occurring in the Justice League comic book.

Snyder has created DC’s version of A Boy and His Dog. Whereas Harlan Ellison’s tales featured Blood, a telepathic dog, accompanying Vic through a post-apocalyptic wasteland, Snyder gives us Joker’s decapitated head as Batman’s companion. He also serves as the story’s narrator on Batman’s quest to piece together the mystery of his past through a devastated world, and what a surreal tale it is, as Batman encounters futuristic versions of old friends, comrades, and enemies, travels the River of the Dead in Limbo, battles mindless Superman clones, and narrowly escapes the Speed Force Storm. It’s a shame that after all the inventiveness, the fantastically bizarre shenanigans, the final chapter is really quite generic.

However, Capullo’s art has lost none of its edge. A decomposing body found in an alley is genuinely creepy, having a black and white horror film aesthetic thanks to the expert colouring of FCO Plascencia, and inking of Jonathan Glapion. The River of the Dead is also eerily striking with it being a nebulous grey, punctuated by the colourful costumes of the heroes that have died in battle.

For their final Batman story together Snyder and Capullo have done a more that admirable job. It’s unfortunate that, just as with most of DC’s films, the ending is somewhat lacklustre.