Book Review: Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham by M. Mignola et al.

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham written by Mike Mignola and Richard Pace, pencilled by Troy Nixey, inked by Dennis Janke, and colored by Dave Stewart

In this Elseworlds tale, Batman is transported to a Lovecraftian 1920 where Gotham is just as corrupt as any other Gotham, but with Eldritch horrors above and below. The story starts in Antarctica, where Bruce Wayne is on a rescue mission for Oswald Cobblepot's polar exploration. Cobblepot's boat is frozen in a bay. Not far inland, an ice cave has one or two survivors, including a transformed Cobblebot (into a penguin-like humanoid, naturally). An elder creature is frozen in the ice and they are trying to release it. Wayne decides to seal the cave, taking Cobblepot's associate who still seems savable. They go back to Gotham where the associate (who is given an ice suit much like Mister Freeze) is babbling about "The Thing That Is Coming." As Bruce Wayne/Batman investigates, he discovers a lot of unpleasant history, including the underground city that was populated by lizard men millennia ago. There's a lot more physical and moral corruptions that happen before the horrific conclusion of the story.

The story melds the Batman mythology with the Cthulhu mythology. Some fits are natural, like Cobblepot's transformation or Harvey Dent being half-infected with horror. The arctic scene and the subterranean ancient culture are typical Lovecraft. I enjoyed that creative part. But most of it felt off. Batman's dialogue is a lot more blue-collar, more like he's Hellboy than the Dark Knight. The fights are less believable since Batman does not have any appropriate tricks or gadgets to deal with Lovecraftian monsters and horrors. Talia and Ra's al Ghul feature prominently but are too far from their original characters to be satisfying. Herbert West and Poison Ivy have brief cameos than seem more like fan-service than legitimate characters. 

Not recommended--this combination is a great idea but I found the execution lacking.

Book Review: Lobster Johnson Vol. 6 by M. Mignola et al.

Lobster Johnson Volume 6: A Chain Forged in Life stories by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi with art by Troy Nixey, Peter Snejbjerg, Toni Fejzula, Stephen Gree, and Ben Stenbeck

Five one-shot stories in one volume!

A Chain Forged in Life--An inebriated donation-collecting Santa is found in a snowy rural area of New Jersey. The cops that find him get quite a story. The sodden Santa was collecting toy gifts from patrons at one of New York City's department stories. His shift ended when the store closed, which is also the time a trio of robbers burst out with the Christmas Eve sales money. Lobster Johnson appears out of nowhere and tries to stop the thieves. They kidnap the Santa and hightail it to Jersey with the loot and the hostage. Even with all that effort, the Lobster is still after them. The story is exciting and focused on the Santa character (he's narrating, so it makes sense). It follows in the Christmas-action-story tradition of Die Hard and works quite well.

The Forgotten Man--Some pretty massive plot holes ruin an otherwise interesting story of homeless people disappearing in 1935 New York City. The Lobster is drawn in when no one else (the cops or the papers) will help the indigent who face danger from the sewers and a fake preacher. The action is also standard and less interesting than it could be.

The Glass Mantis--The cops and the Lobster are tipped off about a hit happening at an art museum. Someone is supposed to kill a visiting Turkish artist who has made many beautiful glass sculptures for a visiting exhibit. The best is a glass mantis; a lot of other ones are much lesser works. The assassin turns out to be a Turkish woman who shouts "Imposter!" as she shoots. The cops have dressed up one of their own as the artist, but wearing a bulletproof vest and beard keeps him alive. The woman surrenders and escapes from the cops. When the Lobster catches up with her, she tells the story of what's really going on. The mystery of the story works really well along with the action. This is my favorite in this collection.

Garden of Bones--Lobster Johnson investigates a graveyard (the titular garden of bones) with his assistant Harry, hunting down a cop-killer who has an M.O. very similar to mob enforcer Big Benny Jeunot. The only problem is Benny is supposed to be six feet under and voodoo magic doesn't work on consecrated ground. They do have a run-in with Benny, leading to a small cult of Fimbakonu, which is not voodoo. The cult follows all the voodoo rules, leading Harry to save the day at the end. It's a fun story but pretty short.

Mangekyo--The Lobster and his crew stop a prison break set up for a German spy. A bunch of monkeys in kabuki masks tried to dynamite the prison wall. The crew follows the monkeys back into the forest where they confront the Crimson Lotus, a Japanese magic-weaving woman who lays traps for them, some psychological or mystical. The story is a lot of fun.

Recommended.

Book Review: Jenny Finn by M. Mignola et al.

Jenny Finn story by Mike Mignola and Troy Nixey, art by Troy Nixey and Farel Dalrymple, and colors by Dave Stewart

In Victorian London, a murderer is going around killing women. A woman is going around infecting men with a plague that causes them to have scales and tentacles and fish growing out of their skin. Joe from the country is sure he's pegged the murderer and eggs a mob on to lynch him. The guy he thinks is the murderer was harassing a young girl named Jenny Finn, who was in a brothel and seems to have infected one of the customers with the fish plague. She's not such an innocent little girl after all. Joe winds up at an occult society that summons the spirit of the lynched man, only to find out he's innocent and Jenny has a very sinister past which will probably lead to a very sinister future (as if the present wasn't sinister enough).

The story has a squalid Victorian setting with heavy Lovecraftian elements. Readers see mostly the filthy and noxious parts of the city. Joe keeps thinking he should head back to the country but something always holds him back. He isn't quite smart enough to figure out what's going on till the horrifying end--the reader is always a step or two ahead of him.

The images are graphic and bizarre, so this book is definitely not kid-friendly. It is a horror story. I found it interesting but didn't enjoy it that much.

Mildly recommended--more for Mignola completists or Lovecraft fans.