The Azzarello Superhero Facts of Life Part 1 - You Take The Good

Brian Azzarello's big superhero debut work came in a very high profile project, "Broken City," which was a six-part follow-up to the super successful "Hush" storyline of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee. The most interesting aspect of "Broken City" is that it used the entire creative team of 100 Bullets - everyone from Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso to cover artist Dave Johnson, letterer Clem Robins, colorist Patricia Mulvihill and even editor Will Dennis! The end result was a very enjoyable (and very different) Batman storyline.

The covers by Dave Johnson are striking, and Eduardo Risso delivers the goods inside the storyline, but the real star of "Broken City" is Azzarello. Risso does a great job drawing whatever Azzarello gives him to draw, but, for the most part, he takes a back-seat to Azzarello on the story.

Plot-wise, Broken City is interesting, as some small-time hood is wanted for killing his sister, and in the process, the parents of a young boy are killed in an alley. This transforms the case from a standard deal to one in which Batman is heavily emotionally invested. Similar to Hush, Azzarello makes the rounds around Gotham, working in a number of familiar faces like Killer Croc, Penguin, Scarface and The Ventriloquist and The Joker. Unlike Hush, they are worked in in a mostly coherent manner (I will admit that Joker's sequences seem a bit of stretch to get him into the story...almost a bit of "Damn, I really wanted to have him in this story - screw it, I will just add him!"). In an especially nice touch, Azzarello also uses Crispus Allen (the Gotham Central star who has just become the new Spectre), and uses him well. Azzarello also introduces two new rogues, who aren't all that interesting (Fat Man and Little Boy), but they serve the plot of the story well. However, while the plot works well, that is not what makes this story shine - no, the story shines due to Azzarello's charisma.

The work is embued with such style and panache that it is almost overwhelming, but in the end, it works perfectly. This is not a Batman we have ever seen before (even in Miller's work), but Azzarello makes it work. This is a Batman who flirts with dames, who makes morbid jokes, who actually COOKS - it is a side that we never see of Batman, but, again, Azzarello makes it work.

"Now, Lonely Hearts and Sunday School teachers like to say that rain is the tears of God. But God doesn't bother to cry on Gotham. This rain? If it comes from him...it's not his tears."

How cool is that turn of phrase?

So grim, so noir-ish, so 100 Bullets, so NOT Batman - yet it works.

Or when Batman meets the dame in question (while she is wearing the skimpiest of lingerie), the exchange goes:

Batman - I'm looking for Angel.

Dame - Guess I'm not doing my job.

Batman - You are, trust me.

Dame -It's hard to tell.

Batman - Sure is, but you didn't hear that from me.

How cool is that?

In any event, the whole story goes basically like that. Batman is searching for Angel, then there are enough twists and turns (including a really messed up one involving the kid who lost his parents) to make The Big Sleep look like a Where's Waldo book, in terms of complexity (that is an exagerration, The Big Sleep still rules when it comes to complexity).

So, while not the deepest of Batman storylines, Broken City is certainly one of the funnest.

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