BATMAN: THE ULTIMATE EVIL

BATMAN: THE ULTIMATE EVIL offers a surreal mix of hypersuperficiality and gritty realism. Here, the Caped Crusader battles, not super-villains, but all too real child molesters and purveyors of kiddie porn. Vachss's hard-bitten prose well suits the Dark Knight. While the comic book conventions employed tend to draw away from the underlying seriousness of the subject, this is a highly visible vehicle with which to convey this message. Tony Roberts deftly strikes the tricky balance between fiction and realism. Incidental music sets the ominous tone and allows for lightening-quick scene changes. S.J.L. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPT 96]