Batman: Knightfall Vol. 2: Knightquest [Anglais] [Broché]

With The Dark Knight Rises coming out this year, DC has been pumping out as much work on Bane as they could deem possible. The most prominent aspect of this is the introduction of Bane in Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 1. This new version of the famous opening arc was pitch perfect in my opinion. It truly has all of the "Broken Bat" and "Who Rules the Night" arcs, as well as the fabulous "Vengeance of Bane" story for a perfect start of making a truly complete collection of the entire Knightfall saga. Now comes the ever-sought after Knightsquest arc, because none of the issues have ever been collected before--until now. The second volume of these new 2012 Knightfall saga editions offers up just about all of the entire arc, but misses out on some aspects from Knightfall and even Knightsend.

BATMAN KNIGHTFALL VOL.2: KNIGHTSQUEST collects all of "The Crusade" arc.

DETECTIVE COMICS #667-675
SHADOW OF THE BAT #19-20, 24-28
BATMAN #501-508
CATWOMAN #6-7

This also collects ROBIN #7 from "The Search" arc.

Vol.2 picks up after the events of Vol.1 which talks about the new Batman in charge of Gotham, Jean-Paul Valley, which defeated Bane, while Bruce Wayne is off in the other side of the world trying to heal his broken back. Much of Gotham's gangs under Bane have disbanded now and are fighting each other for power desperately, since the "new" Batman has gotten a new brutal reputation among the Gothmites. Knightsquest's focuses predominantly on Jean-Paul's exploits as Batman for the time being, as he takes on the ideals of the Batman, fighting numerous rouges (new and old), and is fighting his old assassin-brain washed ways of "The System."

Since Jean-Paul's introduction, he's been shown as a bad replacement of Bruce Wayne, having little regard of the ideals of the Batman like showing brute force, arrogance, disregard for others, and even the idea of killing. He's always been portrayed as dislikable, but finally, we sort of get a better idea of Jean-Paul's ideology that's never been seen before thanks to these new issues. Jean-Paul starts out with many negative things about Bruce and his ideals, but after taking on the a brain-washed assassin from the mob (a scenario similar to his own), facing Catwoman (feeling many of the same provocative feelings as Bruce), Joker (seeing first hand why he's Batman's greatest foe), and many other new villains...Jean starts questioning his abilities and comparing them to Bruce as Batman, he's slowly acknowledging his old predecessor as well as being Batman is far more harder then it looks. Added to the workload, Gotham Police department is slowly seeing this Batman is "not there" Batman, as well as a changing of Jean's "System" brainwashing is being fought off, all of which ends on an impactful ending where Jean finally snaps to the idea of murder. This all makes Jean-Paul far more captivating as a character that you sort of understand and empathize for now.

As for complaints, I have a few. First off: Knightsquest is NOT ALL COMPLETE. We all hoped we'd get the entire Knightfall saga completed in these 2012 editions, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. It's missing 8-issues from "The Search" arc including Justice League Task Force 5-6, Shadow of the Bat 21-23, and Legends of the Dark Knight 59-61. These issues help explain Bruce's recover, but since there not collected here, Bruce just shows up completely recovered for no reason and it hurts the narrative, transition, and setup for Knightsend. Hopefully after all the editions are released, DC will have the decency to release the rest of these unreleased issues, as well as any other Knightfall related material not released. The other issue is the regarding the legacy of this collection. This book is almost entirely about Jean-Paul and his exploits as Batman, and although it's good and interesting, it's not quite up to par as Knightfall or Knightsend in terms of legacy or interest. I sort of see why DC wouldn't collect these issues for those reasons. And thirdly, Jean-Paul is meant to not be likable. So even with many of the little glimpses he gets to show a possible redeeming character, he almost always ends up going back to being a jerk. So if you're someone who openly hates Jean-Paul, this collection might not make you change your opinion about him at all. But the idea is that with seeing Jean-Paul as batman after 26 issues, your supposed to get so tired of him, that you want Bruce back as Batman again (which is the idea of Knightsend).

As for art, this is art from 1994, so this might seem old and archaic for today's art, but I enjoy it. Anyone more accustomed to this time period might appreciate it more, so I understand if it's not your thing.

And oddly enough, there are no extras at all in this edition compared to Vol.1. None. But considering the amount of content, it's no big deal.

BATMAN KNIGHTFALL VOL.2: KNIGHTSQUEST is not complete (that's  off the score) and it's not quite as good as Knightsfall and Knightsend (another  the score), but it still has a ton of content, great price, and a good majority of the arc finally collected for the first time. So even if it's not the true collection we want, this is as good as it's probably going to get, as well as the last release Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 3 - KnightsEnd. Recommended for Knightfall enthusiast.

Another review mentioned that there are several issues missing from this paperback. I'm giving this three stars because having read the book, this information is vital. As it is, you read the last issue in the set and all of the sudden, Wayne is back! There is another issue where they mention him healing, show him, that is, but aside from that, it seriously disrupts the overall narrative.

What I like: Jean Paul Valley (JPV) is struggling with what justice is all about. His brainwashing from the System has him conflicted and he begins to hallucinate, to the point of costing people their lives because of his inability to judge right from wrong. He is also wondering how Wayne was able to put up with all the crime and violence and still maintain his sanity. Throughout it all, he grows indifferent, only focusing on his view of righteousness, to the point of literally armoring the Bat-suit far beyond anything Wayne had ever developed.

What I don't like: the missing info. I want this and the book would be more complete with it. I'm not sure if they plan on including the missing issues in the Knight's End segment, which would not make much sense, but at least give us the info we need.

To bad DC decided to leave them out, what with this being the first time they created a paperback for Knightquest. If you're going to set out the story, do so. Don't leave missing information.

After months of debating whether or not to buy this volume I decided to finally give it a shot and I'm glad I did. I knew going in that this would be Jean Paul Valley focused and that "Knightquest: The Search" had been excluded. Last night I read this volume in one sitting and overall I enjoyed it, especially the chapters written by Chuck Dixon. The book does have a consistent tone but there is definitely filler here, especially the Catwoman 4-parter, the Three Stooges, and the Clayface story... basically almost half the book LOL. I think with a few cuts DC probably could have included essential chapters from "The Search", especially "Quarry" which explained how Bruce recovered from his broken back. But in the end missing gaps can easily be filled elsewhere; after all I don't hear anyone complaining about the loose end from Vol. 1 involving Catwoman hitching a ride on Bruce Wayne's private jet (which was followed up in her own series). In the end this book is very entertaining and with a few trims could have been just as essential as Vol. 1.

DC still has the opportunity to wrap up the loose ends by releasing a Knightfall Companion... which would include some of the issues leading up to Knightfall (namely the Azrael intro, Bane vs Killer Croc Round 1, and Riddler on venom), Knightquest: The Search, Batman: Troika (the aftermath of Batman: Prodigal), and Vengeance of Bane II, which would serve as a nice bookend to the series. But all in all I'm satisfied with what we have.