Legends of the Dark Knight #82 Review

Written by: Ron Marz
Art by: Derec Donovan
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date: December 19, 2014

(never)More

Before I get into the meat of this review, I'd like to talk a little about reviewing digital comics.  Being a huge fan and supporter of DC's digital line, I try my best to review each chapter as it comes out.  While each chapter is only around ten pages, I usually can give it a score that I'm satisfied with.  However, there are times when not enough happens to give it an accurate score.  Of course, I could just bash it for that, but when that same chapter feels like it will play well when the it is collected with the others for print, I find myself in a bit of a dilemma.  This chapter is one of those situations.



I have really enjoyed Ron Marz's Edgar Allan Poe story arc "Nevermore" and commend DC for using it to relaunch the Legends of the Dark Knight book.  It has been smart, quirky and thrilling and while I wish it ended stronger, it did end fittingly.  Edgar has been playing Dr.Updin for his own fun throughout this arc, but now it's Edgar, himself, that is being played.  But by whom?

Using Edgar Allan Poe as a Batman villain was a stroke of genius by Ron Marz.  Poe's fiction fits Batman and Gotham to a tee and never once felt out of place in this entire arc.  This ending actually takes it and throws the entire arc on it's ear.  Is this actually Poe?  Is Edgar truly insane?  Was any of this real?  In this issue, Edgar becomes an unfortunate protagonist in his own fiction and while he tries to make things right, it feels like he's too far gone.  The story comes to a fitting "Nevermore" conclusion with Batman on top as always.

This is the type of story that Legends of the Dark Knight exists for.  As a whole, it was one of the more enjoyable Batman stories I've read recently.  However, this finale chapter was a bit thin and even felt a bit rushed.  I still enjoyed it, but it was underwhelming compared to the first two.

Another disappointment was the change of artists.  I'm not saying that Derec Donovann did a bad job because he didn't.  Actually, the art in this issue was fantastic, it's just that you would think that Cully Hamner would finish the arc.  While the story will benefit from being collected later, I think this change of artists will feel strange.

Bits and Pieces:

While this final chapter was the weakest of this three story arc, I can't recommend the whole story enough.  Ron Marz's Edgar Allan Poe story was so good and I can only hope this series continues on such a high note.  While it's odd that Derec Donovan jumped on for the finale, he did a really good job.  If you read this digitally, you'll still enjoy it, but if you are waiting for the collected issue, you are in for a real treat.

8.0/10