Batman: Bloodstorm

"Batman: Bloodstorm" is so satisfying as a sequel it makes "Red Rain" a much more satisfying read. One review really hits the nail on the head when asserting that the vampire plot and characters such as Catwoman and the Joker are really device to explore Batman's struggle with his fallen condition. He is more powerful physically, but the inner struggle of his nature is a fight between the will and the "condition" of who he now is. The line of demarcation is the drinking of blood - it calls, but he wills against it for it is wrong. The dialogue is much cleverer in this book as well and helps the reader ask his or her own questions: "Are we looking for hope or answers?" Probably like Batman, we are looking for "both."

In a pitch meeting, this might sound like one of the dumbest ideas ever: What if Batman turned into a vampire? [A vampire *bat*, get it?!] But writer Doug Moench actually manages to create a powerful and affecting tale from this premise - one whose Edgar Allan Poe-like meditation on guilt and monstrousness ends up rivalling "Arkham Asylum" and "The Killing Joke" as one of the most penetrating psychological studies ever drawn of the Dark Knight. And if there has ever been more dynamic and expressive pencilling in a Batman story than Kelley Jones's outstanding work here, I haven't seen it.

This is the best book of the trilogy (I bought the other books because of this one). This book summarizes the personal hell of one man, addicted and alone, unable not to bring death to those he loves. It is about conflict, guilt, isolation, alienation ...about heroism in its rawest, truest form.I first read this over five years ago, and it continues to fascinate me to this day. I don't care about the vampire monsters, per se, for to me they are only a necessary plot device. The same can be said for Selina's character. They only exist to further the true story, which is Batman's struggle with his own nature ...the horror of recognizing we receive pleasure from another's harm, the helplessness of an addiction to things we've not necessarily even experienced -- the overwhelming urge to satiate a thirst at the cost of our own soul. That is the heart and soul and core of this book for me.What would we do, given his power, his isolation, and his horrible thirst? At one point he narrates this for us: "Thirst haunts me, Life tempts me, Death mocks me. Together, the three, they curse me."That moment for me, sitting in that bookstore, galvanized an experience I had never been able to put words to ...his isolation, his thirst, his utter loneliness and despondency -- they were so real! Deep calls out to deep, as I've read elsewhere, and in spite of this book's gore and melodrama, that moment called out to me and still does to this day. I felt connected to his guilt, his shame, to his sinful pleasure and self-disgust in a way that no media ever has before or since. Selina's character, the strength and nobility she provides, and the heartbreak of her loss, bring the entire story to an unstoppable head between the maniacal Joker and a Batman now drenched in the blood of his lover.The authors deserve top credit for making a Batman that is, ironically, more human as an undead vampire than he ever was in life. May he rest in peace...Get this if such things interest you.

In many ways, Bloodstorm is superior to the book that is continues, Red Rain. Whereas Red Rain was bogged down by the need to introduce the concepts of vampire lore, character reaction and setup, and other formalities, this book can leap right into things and get to the important business of telling the story.In this Elseworld's tale, Batman is now a vampire. In many ways it is a vindication of his self image as a creature of the night apart from normal humans. At the same time, Batman is built on the one thing that separates him from the monsters he fights- he will not kill. As the vampiric urge to kill grows, however, he must go to extraordinary measures to fight it or lose all that he is.Great storytelling with an ending that even shocked the hell out of me. If you liked Red Rain, you'll love Bloodstorm.

This book explores all the dark side of batman. The Catwoman is also great, and the game of the Joker is great.