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Broken City is the story arch covering Batman #30-32 in the current Gotham Comics run, the last issue ending the story that turns the Dark Knight over to Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso, the writer/artist team behind the series 100 Bullets.
Because it is Risso, it is genuinely eye-pleasing, but the story is no great shakes. The plot about a murder investigation among new and old villians, meanders a lot and culminates in a sort of mayhem, all set to Bats’ voiceover musings—a hard-boiled noir like narration that seems forced after a while.

There are predictable replays of his parents’ murder all through the story, though the tough as nails Bats smoothly investigating through Gotham City are kind of fun. What is NOT fun is the Spider-man-ization of Batman. Gone is the loathing he had for the Gotham’s corrupt and gone is his dark brooding manner. He is all jokes and puns and being pally with the riff raff, albeit in a rough way, so’s to get some information.

Azzarello ignores Batman’s larger-than-life, brooding persona; he turns him into a sadistic vigilante. Risso’s art, however, as brilliant as in 100 bullets. The images are sharp and crisp, the page flow dynamic, and the pencil work is masterful, mirroring Tim Sale’s earlier work on the Dark Knight. This gives the book a very distinctive european flavor, rarely seen in mainstream DC.

The plot in itself, meanders, as well as confuses the reader a fair bit. But as any body who has read Azzarello’s work knows, he takes a long time talkin about something, but he delivers a sucker punch in the end. The end, however, is a bit of a let down here, the shocker only lasting a page or two, and offering no explanations.

To sum it up: Visually great, confusing to read, but worth it if you’ve ever thought Killer Croc was one dimensional.