Saturday, December 29, 2012

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #14 -- The Crusades

14. The Crusades
by Steve Seagle and Kelley Jones
Published by Vertigo Comics

In The Crusades, Seagle and Jones build a better Batman.

No, seriously.

Take a generic dark knight, make him an actual knight -- on a horse, with the lance, the whole nine yards -- and set him loose in a dark and depraved city much like Gotham. Then make the poor deluded fool think he's actually a time-weary knight of the round table (or maybe he is?!). Then add a Bettie Page look-alike reporter assigned to the story. Mix and pour.

There you have it, one of the bleakest and coolest adult vigilante fantasies ever. Toss in a few sprinkles of Jones odd (in a good way) and creepy art, and Seagle's ear for offbeat dialog and unexpected story curves, and this one is truly one of the best comic book series collections ever.

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