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Batman: The Dark Knight, Volume 4: Clay

Batman: The Dark Knight, Volume 4: Clay

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-23 13:56:28
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Gregg Andrew Hurwitz
  • ISBN：1401249302
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Summary

The shape-shifting Clayface—formerly the disgraced actor Basil Karlo—is on a rampage， and Batman must battle his way through a network of his deadliest enemies to uncover the truth。 But how do you stop a killer who can be anywhere—and anyone？ And soaring above Gotham is another threat in the form of the Man-Bat， whose unstable serum has made his predatory plans much more deadly！

In BATMAN - THE DARK KNIGHT: CLAY， writer Gregg Hurwitz （DETECTIVE COMICS， Wolverine） teams with superstar artists Alex Maleev （BATMAN， Daredevil）， Ethan Van Sciver （GREEN LANTERN， THE FLASH）， and Alberto Ponticelli （DIAL H） for tales of Gotham City's greatest villains！

Collecting: Batman: The Dark Knight #22-29

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Reviews

Ben Truong ，

Batman: The Dark Knight: Clay picks up where the previous volume left off， collecting the last eight issues （Batman: The Dark Knight #22–29） of the 2011 on-going series。This trade paperback has Bruce Wayne as Batman taking on various of villains Basil Karlo as Clayface is reintroduced with a new origin story for the New 52 （Batman: The Dark Knight #22–25）， Oswald Cobblepot as the Penguin （Batman: The Dark Knight #26–27）， and Abraham Langstrom and a modified Man-Bat serum （Batman: The Dark Knight Batman: The Dark Knight: Clay picks up where the previous volume left off， collecting the last eight issues （Batman: The Dark Knight #22–29） of the 2011 on-going series。This trade paperback has Bruce Wayne as Batman taking on various of villains Basil Karlo as Clayface is reintroduced with a new origin story for the New 52 （Batman: The Dark Knight #22–25）， Oswald Cobblepot as the Penguin （Batman: The Dark Knight #26–27）， and Abraham Langstrom and a modified Man-Bat serum （Batman: The Dark Knight #28–29）。Gregg Hurwitz penned the entire trade paperback。 For the most part， it was written moderately well。 Unlike the previous trade paperbacks， where Hurwitz intimately explores and recreates classical villains from the Batman’s Rouges Gallery and give them new life and origin stories for the New 52， it seems that he crammed a tad too much for the last eight issues。 He covers Basil Karlo as Clyaface， somewhat with Oswald Cobblepot as the Penguin and the state of the Man-Bat serum。 In short， it just felt too hectic and divided – a hodgepodge of stories collected together。Alex Maleev （Batman: The Dark Knight #22–25）， Alberto Ponticelli （Batman: The Dark Knight #26–27）， Ethan Van Sciver （Batman: The Dark Knight #28–29） and Jorge Lucas （Batman: The Dark Knight #29） penciled the trade paperback。 For the most part， their penciling styles complemented somewhat well with each other， as their penciling styles are slightly different and noticeable， this makes the artistic flow rather rough。Overall， this series of Batman: The Dark Knight is a rather mix bag。 It started out and ended rather mediocre with a safe and predictable breakout at Arkham Asylum and ending with a multiple of short comics of various Batman villains。 The core of the series is best where Hurwitz explores the origin stories of Jonathan Crane as the Scarecrow and Jervis Tetch as the Mad Hatter。All in all， Batman: The Dark Knight: Clay is a mediocre conclusion to an uneven series。 。。。more

Andy Green ，

Clayface was a fun story and Alex Maleev should have been the only artist on this book。 His take on Batman is a natural fit。 There seems to be an editor issue in the fact that Detective Comics was doing a Man-Bat story around the same time。 Ethan Van Sciver is a Nazi。

Cameron Scott ，

Gregg Hurwitz knows how to pull a reader in。 One of the best Batman stories featuring Clayface， one of my favorite Batman villains。 A fast-paced and thrilling read with excellent artwork。

Robin ，

J'ai beaucoup aimé les deux dernières parties avec man-bat。 La partie avec clayface est sympa également， deux méchants qui méritaient d'apparaître dans la new 52 ！ J'ai beaucoup aimé les deux dernières parties avec man-bat。 La partie avec clayface est sympa également， deux méchants qui méritaient d'apparaître dans la new 52 ！ 。。。more

Andy Dainty ，

These stories focus more on the villains than on Batman's pursuit。 They again rewrite the character origins， this time for Clayface and a new Man-bat whilst Penguin continues to appear as a supporting villain。 I prefer this collection to the preceding Mad， but I am not going to be rushing to read any more Hurwitz。 It is also not made easy by the murky artwork， that I assume is supposed to reflect the souls of those involved， but just makes it harder to see what is going on。 These stories focus more on the villains than on Batman's pursuit。 They again rewrite the character origins， this time for Clayface and a new Man-bat whilst Penguin continues to appear as a supporting villain。 I prefer this collection to the preceding Mad， but I am not going to be rushing to read any more Hurwitz。 It is also not made easy by the murky artwork， that I assume is supposed to reflect the souls of those involved， but just makes it harder to see what is going on。 。。。more

Jayson ，

（B+） 78% | GoodNotes: Perfectly passable and proficient， it's a patchy and pedestrian petering: poor in previously present punch and pathos。 （B+） 78% | GoodNotes: Perfectly passable and proficient， it's a patchy and pedestrian petering: poor in previously present punch and pathos。 。。。more

Blindzider ，

Once again， Hurwitz takes one of the lesser villains and flashes back to their past to show exactly what was driving them to make the choices leading to crime。 This origin is coupled with a new plan by Clayface。 This time the art chores are handled by Maleev who’s art style really fits the story。 Next there is a two party story dealing with human trafficking and sweatshops。 The interesting thing is there are no captions or dialogue throughout。 Lastly， a story that attempts to create a “new” Man- Once again， Hurwitz takes one of the lesser villains and flashes back to their past to show exactly what was driving them to make the choices leading to crime。 This origin is coupled with a new plan by Clayface。 This time the art chores are handled by Maleev who’s art style really fits the story。 Next there is a two party story dealing with human trafficking and sweatshops。 The interesting thing is there are no captions or dialogue throughout。 Lastly， a story that attempts to create a “new” Man-Bat。 It’s not as inventive as the other redos but it is drawn by Van Sciver。 Hurwitz has a fantastic run in this series and he was lucky enough to be coupled with outstanding artists。 。。。more

Scott ，

Barely half is about clay face， then some weird silent story featuring penguin and a pretty dismal manbat one to pad the book out。

Krzysztof Grabowski ，

Bardzo "średniawa" produkcja， choć mająca swoje momenty， aczkolwiek bez już takiego wow， jak w przypadku dwóch zeszytów， gdzie fabuła została poprowadzona bez dialogowo （coś takiego widziałem ostatnio w czwartym tomie Batman and Robin， ale tam było bardziej sugestywne） i co wyglądało naprawdę fajnie。 Tym bardziej， że na syndrom bycia przeciętnym czy nijakim cierpi sama fabuła， bowiem mamy tutaj najpierw mały origin Clayface'a， a potem mamy ponownie wałkowaną historię powiązaną z Man-Batem。 Stano Bardzo "średniawa" produkcja， choć mająca swoje momenty， aczkolwiek bez już takiego wow， jak w przypadku dwóch zeszytów， gdzie fabuła została poprowadzona bez dialogowo （coś takiego widziałem ostatnio w czwartym tomie Batman and Robin， ale tam było bardziej sugestywne） i co wyglądało naprawdę fajnie。 Tym bardziej， że na syndrom bycia przeciętnym czy nijakim cierpi sama fabuła， bowiem mamy tutaj najpierw mały origin Clayface'a， a potem mamy ponownie wałkowaną historię powiązaną z Man-Batem。 Stanowczo za dużo， tym bardziej， że lepsze story o przerośniętym nietoperzu już mieliśmy w czwartym tomie Detective Comics w ramach New 52。Pierwsza część tomu jest niezła， aczkolwiek w mojej opinii to jak została zilustrowana to już inna para kaloszy， bo wygląd postaci jest czasami okropny， choć nie wiem czy to nie było zamierzone。 Niemniej Clayface jako narcyz szukający publiki， który na dodatek bardzo łatwo ucieka z więzienia， do mnie przemówił。 Sposób w jaki sobie z nim poradził Batman był pomysłowy i całość przez to może się podobać。 Potem mamy "niemą historię" o handlu uchodźcami， w które swoje paluchy maczał Pingwin。 Jak mówiłem na wstępie， nieźle zobrazowane i klarowne （a można było to przekombinować， dobrze że tego nie zrobiono）。Man-Bat to z kolei nuda。 Bardzo szybko wychodzi na jaw kto za wszystkim stoi i mamy sekwencję pościgów i krótkich bijatyk Batka z przerośniętym Nietoperzem， która kończy się w zasadzie gorzko， co jest jedynym plusem。 Ta część komiksu wyglądała już dużo lepiej。 Dziwna proporcja， niemniej mimo negatywnego przyjęcia całej serii przez rodzime media， ja twierdzę że seria The Dark Knight nie jest stracona， choć kończy się na czwartym tomie。 Warto dać jej szansę， zwłaszcza że mamy tu nieco "mroczniejszą" atmosferę。 3/5 。。。more

superhero fan ，

I finished this recently and I loved it！！！

Cale ，

（Read as Single Issues）This is a very different Clayface （made all the more obvious if you've read the Monsters Unleashed Clayface issue that happened in the midst of the story and presents a much less intelligent version of the character）。 Clayface here is an unstoppable force and utter escape artist。 Batman is somehow thrown off by this， which is a little weird。 The art is dark and grim （the coloring especially）， and the back story is a little weak。 Not much action takes place。 The collection （Read as Single Issues）This is a very different Clayface （made all the more obvious if you've read the Monsters Unleashed Clayface issue that happened in the midst of the story and presents a much less intelligent version of the character）。 Clayface here is an unstoppable force and utter escape artist。 Batman is somehow thrown off by this， which is a little weird。 The art is dark and grim （the coloring especially）， and the back story is a little weak。 Not much action takes place。 The collection also includes Voiceless， a 'timely' issue about slave labor in Christmas toy factories that is notable only by its lack of text （and minimal presence of Batman）。 It's decent， but its attempt at topicality ends up overwhelming its story。The final two issues offer up a variation of ManBat that was pretty stupid。 The new ManBat is a corporate raider and relative of Langstrom who murders homeless because 'nobody will miss them。' It's another political story that doesn't meet the mark of quality。So all told， you've got three different stories here， none of which are wonderful， and one of which is actually pretty bad。 The art is consistently good throughout， but unless you're trying to keep up with every Batman story， it's not something worth picking up。 。。。more

James DeSantis ，

Not as good as volume 2-3 but a nice close up。 So we have Clayface for this volume。 Don't get me wrong， I always found him kind of a scary villain。 I mean his powerset is pretty insane。 But on top of that I just came from detective comics run in rebirth， which made Clayface good， so was a bit jarring the character change but Gregg does a great job of making him a villain with a sound pity story。 The 2nd half of this book， or later half， is mostly just one shot adventures for the Batman。 Good: I Not as good as volume 2-3 but a nice close up。 So we have Clayface for this volume。 Don't get me wrong， I always found him kind of a scary villain。 I mean his powerset is pretty insane。 But on top of that I just came from detective comics run in rebirth， which made Clayface good， so was a bit jarring the character change but Gregg does a great job of making him a villain with a sound pity story。 The 2nd half of this book， or later half， is mostly just one shot adventures for the Batman。 Good: I really enjoyed Clayface story and take。 Showed how scary he could be and how pitiful is reasoning is for becoming a villain。 I thought that showing him being semi-smart was a nice change， and I liked the first few pages SO much I thought it might be the best story ever for Clayface。 Oh， and I liked the art throughout。 Bad: The clayface story came to a end a little to quick for my liking。 Also， the side stories or one/two shots at the end were just okay。 I don't think they were even written by Gregg。 Overall， a decent conclusion to a otherwise great run （still gotta read volume 1） But Gregg really gave some love to Batman's villains and they are indeed scary。 A 3 out of 5。 。。。more

Aaron ，

Well， Hurwitz returns to the same extremely dry well once again， this time telling a flat， rote story about Clayface's past and how it turned him into a monster。 This has been the case with Hurwitz's previous three stories， all shining a light on a Batman villain's supposed trauma that made them who they are， and the more he does it the more it becomes clear that he only really has one idea。 It also feels thoroughly unbelievable。 To boil characters down into one or two defining moments in their Well， Hurwitz returns to the same extremely dry well once again， this time telling a flat， rote story about Clayface's past and how it turned him into a monster。 This has been the case with Hurwitz's previous three stories， all shining a light on a Batman villain's supposed trauma that made them who they are， and the more he does it the more it becomes clear that he only really has one idea。 It also feels thoroughly unbelievable。 To boil characters down into one or two defining moments in their lives is a very TV/movie thing to do， and doesn't actually humanize them the way he seems to be trying to。Even the repetitiveness aside， I also just can't handle how on the nose everything is here。 Everyone says exactly how they're feeling， tells the reader exactly what they should be taking away from a given scene。 I mean， look at what Bruce Wayne says to his dog:What kind of character is so aware of their own foibles that they express them in secret to an animal？ It's just nuts。Once we get past the Clayface nonsense， Hurwitz finally moves into some slightly different territory， starting with a two-issue story that is completely without dialogue。 I thought this might be one to turn me around （I love creative approaches to comic storytelling）。 However， there's just no reason for the story to be silent。 There are myriad instances of someone pointing or "mouthing" something that they should really just be saying out loud， and the only reason they aren't speaking is because the writer has decided they aren't going to。 It doesn't work。And lastly， we return to the weak characterizations and on-the-nose storytelling of the previous arcs。 This time it's a story about Man-Bat， and in case you were wondering if the story was about the dueling natures of Man-Bat and Batman， here are two separate instances within as many pages where a character just flatout explains it:With dialogue like this， I just can't keep reading this series。 It's unfortunate， because Hurwitz has been paired with some truly great artists。 Alex Maleev does great work in this volume， as does Ethan Van Sciver。 Previously even David Finch worked on this title。 Sadly， there just aren't stories that can match the art。 Oh well。 。。。more

SarahKat ，

I love this series。 The art is a bit different and I loved it。 There was more humor in this than in a lot of Batman graphic novels。 Clayface's backstory is interesting。 Man-bat， who has always been a bit of a doofus bad guy for me was actually okay in this as well。 I love this series。 The art is a bit different and I loved it。 There was more humor in this than in a lot of Batman graphic novels。 Clayface's backstory is interesting。 Man-bat， who has always been a bit of a doofus bad guy for me was actually okay in this as well。 。。。more

Javi ，

Me gustan las revisiones que cuentan el origen de los villanos de Batman。 Suelen tener un pasado tan duro y complicado que， por momentos， acabas empatizando más con ellos que con el propio cruzado de la capa。 La historia que transcurre en el presente es lo más típico， pero no se excede en diálogos innecesarios。 La segunda obra que venía incluida， "Escalofrío"， es una aceptable revisión del origen de Batman。 Me gustan las revisiones que cuentan el origen de los villanos de Batman。 Suelen tener un pasado tan duro y complicado que， por momentos， acabas empatizando más con ellos que con el propio cruzado de la capa。 La historia que transcurre en el presente es lo más típico， pero no se excede en diálogos innecesarios。 La segunda obra que venía incluida， "Escalofrío"， es una aceptable revisión del origen de Batman。 。。。more

Andrea ，

I especially like the silent story。 It's very rare that those come out well， but they managed it。 I especially like the silent story。 It's very rare that those come out well， but they managed it。 。。。more

Ryan Monson ，

The 4-star rating is for Voiceless， a 2 part story in the middle。 That story is excellent。 The rest of the book gets 3 stars like much of the rest of the New 52 Dark Knight series。 These books do an excellent job creating a back story for the villains that Batman is facing and weaving those backstories into the main story。 The problem I have is them main stories these backstories are attached to are just not great。 They are ok， over the top， not very well thought out and require Batman to do stu The 4-star rating is for Voiceless， a 2 part story in the middle。 That story is excellent。 The rest of the book gets 3 stars like much of the rest of the New 52 Dark Knight series。 These books do an excellent job creating a back story for the villains that Batman is facing and weaving those backstories into the main story。 The problem I have is them main stories these backstories are attached to are just not great。 They are ok， over the top， not very well thought out and require Batman to do stupid things in order to move the story along。 If your story needs the world's greatest detective to do stupid things to make it work， it isn't a very good story。 。。。more

Scott ，

2 out of the 3 stories were great。 I loved Clayface。 He has always been one of my favorites。 Voiceless was pretty awesome too。 The Man-Bat story started off well， but fizzled。

Nicolas ，

I actually really liked the Clayface story。 Giving him depth like that made for a different kind of story。 It was a nice change the of pace。 The wordless holiday tale was also pretty solid。 The Man-Bat finale felt pretty lame in comparison。

Rebecca ，

Ďalšííí Batmaaan a je to megaaa <3Takže， čo to tu máme 。。。Čitateľa čaká naozaj， že naozaj temný rytier - Kresba je celá lietrally dark， že mi to miestami až trošku vadilo。 Ale zas na atmošku je to veľmi dobré ;） :）。Prvý príbeh sa sústredí hlavne na postavu Clayfacesa。 Čo si budeme hovoriť， Clayface je veľmi zaujímavý egocentrický charakter， ktorý je schopný ukecať Jokera， aby mu predal nariedenú dávku svojho toxinu， aby mal večne usmievavé publiku。„。。。že na můj vkus je to trochu zvrácené。”Zdá sa Ďalšííí Batmaaan a je to megaaa <3Takže， čo to tu máme 。。。Čitateľa čaká naozaj， že naozaj temný rytier - Kresba je celá lietrally dark， že mi to miestami až trošku vadilo。 Ale zas na atmošku je to veľmi dobré ;） :）。Prvý príbeh sa sústredí hlavne na postavu Clayfacesa。 Čo si budeme hovoriť， Clayface je veľmi zaujímavý egocentrický charakter， ktorý je schopný ukecať Jokera， aby mu predal nariedenú dávku svojho toxinu， aby mal večne usmievavé publiku。„。。。že na můj vkus je to trochu zvrácené。”Zdá sa však， že Clayface tentokrát pracuje inak。 Akoby zmenil taktiku。 Akoby poznal a vedel o Batmanovi viac vecí， než Bruce tuší 。。。 Lenže odkiaľ？ Ako？ A tu už na scénu nastupuje samotný malý-veľký Penguin， ktorý si necháva takto Clayfaceom platiť starý dlh。 Lenže aj tomuto nemilému kschtíku z hlíny raz rupnú nervy a rozohrá svoje vlastné predstavenie。Niekto písal， že mu je aj ľúto osudu Clayfacesa 。。。 Ale mne teda určiet nie。 Vždy chcel iba pozornosť a zaujať a bolo mu v podsatate jedno ako。 A zaujal ani nie vlastným pričinením， skôr vďaka "inteligentnej plastelíne" ale to je asi tak celé。 Potom nasleduje véééľmi páčivá vsuvka， ktorá nám rozpráva príbeh bez slov。 Tu môže čitateľ oceniť krásu a prepracovanosť kresby。 Veľmi silný príbeh， ktorý sa dotýka aj stále aktuálnych problémov ako je chudoba， obchodovanie s ľuďmi， detská práca atď 。。。 Škoda len， že nemáme takého Batmana， ktorý by zachránil všetky tie nevinné obete 。。。 （Ale tomu tímu právnikov a hnusnému vtáčiemu krpcovi by som hneď najradšej skočila do úsmevu -_-）Do tretice všetko dobré - Nekoná sa síce Twilight， ale Langstrom starší si chce dokazovať svoju úžasnosť a genialitu， tak sa zmení na obrosvkého vyciciavača krvi。Lenže tento komiks mal svoj vrchol v druhom príbehu a od tohto tretieho až nebezečne rýchlo strácal na kvalite a zaujímaosti。 Bolo to také - ok， rýchlo záporak， letom-svetom vyriešené， spacifikovanie a koniec。 Možno je ten tretí až zbytočný， ja by som osobne to kľudne ukončila po druhom príbehu。Tak či tak tolo to supeeer počteníčko a ja sa teším na ďalšie Bat-stories ;） :） 。。。more

Paweł ，

Pogoń za Clayface'm jest ciekawa i stawia go w głównym świetle historii。 Dwa zeszyty z niemą opowieścią nieźle przerywają schemat przygód， a starcie z Man-batem seniorem to już słabizna。 Pogoń za Clayface'm jest ciekawa i stawia go w głównym świetle historii。 Dwa zeszyty z niemą opowieścią nieźle przerywają schemat przygód， a starcie z Man-batem seniorem to już słabizna。 。。。more

Morgan Chalfant ，

Really great and emotional sections involving villain， Clayface。 The writing really worked here。

Josh McInnis ，

Story - 5/5Art story #1 - 3/5Art story #2&3 - 4/5

Jean-Pierre Vidrine ，

Here are three great stories。 The greatest thing about them is that they are not major game-changing events nor tales that need a whole lot of knowledge of continuity。 They are simply fun dark tales pitting the Batman against his foes。 It's good to see comics embracing shorter stories again。 I have no problem with long sprawling epics in comics， but sometimes I just want to enjoy a couple of issues with familiar characters。 Here are three great stories。 The greatest thing about them is that they are not major game-changing events nor tales that need a whole lot of knowledge of continuity。 They are simply fun dark tales pitting the Batman against his foes。 It's good to see comics embracing shorter stories again。 I have no problem with long sprawling epics in comics， but sometimes I just want to enjoy a couple of issues with familiar characters。 。。。more

Štěpán ，

3，8*

Maximiliano Vardé ，

Hay demasiadas historias de Batman y ésta quizá peque de prescindible。 Hurwitz hace un buen laburo y se rodea de buenos dibujantes。 Maleev para el primer arco de 4 números de Clayface， Van Sciver para el último de 2 números de Man—Bat y un muy buen Ponticelli en un arco mudo de dos números más。 Es el final de esta colección de los New 52。 Solo para completistas o si te gusta alguno de estos villanos。

Brent ，

Great talent on display， with some stories better than others， and much fine comics art by Maleev， Van Sciver， et。 al。

Ivy ，

5 starsNice to see Clayface again。 Also nice to know how he got his gift。 Not sure how to explain it。 Abraham Langstrom didn't seem like a very nice man。 Poor Kirk。 Hope the elder Langstrom will not become a Man-Bat again。 Always nice to see the dynamic between Bruce and Alfred。 Can't wait to read more Batman and Bat family comics！！！Batman and the Bat family are my favorite DC superheroes。 5 starsNice to see Clayface again。 Also nice to know how he got his gift。 Not sure how to explain it。 Abraham Langstrom didn't seem like a very nice man。 Poor Kirk。 Hope the elder Langstrom will not become a Man-Bat again。 Always nice to see the dynamic between Bruce and Alfred。 Can't wait to read more Batman and Bat family comics！！！Batman and the Bat family are my favorite DC superheroes。 。。。more

Samantha ，

Snarky Batman is fun。

Sarospice ，

I liked that this series gave a study on one of Batman's rogues each trade but obviously they ran out of story。 Plus the art got very dark and rough， most likely the inkers fault。 I liked that this series gave a study on one of Batman's rogues each trade but obviously they ran out of story。 Plus the art got very dark and rough， most likely the inkers fault。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Batman: The Dark Knight, Volume 4: Clay

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Batman: The Dark Knight, Volume 4: Clay&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Batman: The Dark Knight, Volume 4: Clay&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0