I fell in love with this comic when I first read it nearly a year ago. I was a few issues behind and I bought them up online. I really enjoy the artwork of this comic and the storyline is pretty wicked and a little what the fuck? But I mean that in a good way. The story is about a reformed serial killer who ends up helping the police figure out a series of gruesome murders happening in Bedlam. The main character is very interesting, very intriguing and a little bit out there. This is very enjoyable and I always look forward to the next issue. i'm pretty sure i should have hated this as being ridiculously derivative, but hoping that it's totally self-aware and trying to make a commentary on certain themes in modern comic books, i enjoyed it in spite of myself. the artwork is really hard on your eyes (scrawled, messy, with characters who are very little form and mostly just expression), but to be honest it kinda grew on me; by the end of the volume i was a fan. "the first", the mysterious shadowy analogue of batman is just a distant threat in a story that's about "madder red", the psychotic analogue for the joker. the torture of madder red at the hands of his psychiatric team is painful to get through but offers the most realistic representation of "extreme treatment" you can imagine. i don't buy that he's cured, but that's neither here nor there. the plot then revolves around the former madder red helping the police force unravel corruption and crime while continuing to battle his demons. it works for the duration of this volume, but i can't see it sustaining itself over time. mostly because it reads like a frustrated batman fan fiction written by someone with maybe a little too much empathy for the joker (not sure what that says about me reading it), but also because madder red will either hold it together and cement himself as a good guy or he'll lose it and wind up killing everyone. maybe that's what's compelling about this: it's just a time bomb ticking. just don't know if the tension will last.
Do You like book Bedlam, Vol. 1 (2013)?
4.5,it started off kind of slow but the slow burn was worth it.i love this series so far.
—Token
Would probably give it 3.5 stars if that was an option.
—dave
Brilliant but very very messed up, not for everyone.
—Anna
A new favorite of mine. I love love love this!
—SarahObah
