The stories in this volume are entertaining and trot along at a nice clip. The stories are a sci-fi/superhero hybrid, similiar to the campy Batman stories of the 50’s and 60’s and the Adam West television show. Not exactly realistic, but who cares? I like the villains, whose ranks include a super-intelligent gorilla and manga versions of Clay Face and Two Face. My favorite is ‘Lord Death Man,’ who uses the power of yoga to cheat death!
My only complaint is that some of the stories end in cliffhangers and are not continued; other stories start in the second chapter. This is somewhat annoying, and I’m not sure what the designers of the book were thinking. The book looks nice and all, but I’m in it for the stories not the design of the book!
Bottom line: If they ever release more Bat-Manga I will read it.
Abandoned Places 