The beginning of the amazing Dustin Nguyen art duties on Batman.

SPOILERS I like that the solution to the mystery of "who is this giant monster that looks like Scarecrow" turns out to be "a monster version of Scarecrow."

B

Judd Winick did an awesome job with this book and Dustin Nguyen’s artwork was the perfect fit. A Scarecrow story that fits the character perfectly with help from the Penguin.

A short prelude to Judd Winick's "Under the Red Hood". Not a must read but definitely interesting and worth it.

Wow... between art and story, this one really struck me for some reason. I kind of saw who the villain was, behind the monster, but not quite. Rather scary...

Penguin’s recruited Scarecrow to help corral his mob captains – and then suddenly a 10-foot tall Scarecrow monster begins murdering them! Sounds like a mystery for Scooby-Bat and the gang to solve!

Batman: As the Crow Flies isn’t a great Batman book. It reads like a Scooby-Doo cartoon where the monster terrorises everyone for the duration with the story hinging on the reveal of who it really is. And they would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for the meddlin’ Bat-family!

While Penguin’s Machiavellian plan was kinda clever and Dustin Nguyen’s art was decent, the story is spread thinly over five issues, is largely forgettable and ultimately inconsequential – are any readers keeping tabs on the Gotham underworld power structure? Exactly.

Just a few issues after this, Judd Winick would go on to write one of the most significant and brilliant Batman books of the last ten years with Under the Red Hood where Jason Todd was resurrected and reintroduced to the DC Universe (there are a couple of scenes foreshadowing this event here too). As the Crow Flies though? Pointless and uninteresting!

A pretty decent turn of events for Penguin (who is much more effective as a mastermind who is more involved in gambling and such rackets than trying any other bigger schemes) and an evolution of the Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow character. With the addition of some decent, again-non-realistic art that is expressive without being corny or sleazy. Batman is not some grotesque muscle bound chiseled out character, but just a guy in a cape which is far less distracting than the beefcake presentation we're often given.

Jesus, why are comic books so weirdly pervy about bodies anyway? Have many artists never seen a human naked before?

Judd Winick and Dustin Nguyen always do good work in Gotham, and this book is no exception. As Penguin consolidates his hold on Gotham City, the Scarebeast is killing his underlings - but Jonathan Crane insists it isn’t him, and his lab aide can vouch for him. Great art, good concept, and a clever twist. Winick writes a very human Batman, and Nguyen’s art is fascinating as always - the Scarebeast is genuinely freaky!

Nice stand-alone horror/mystery/crime hybrid (I would agree with the other reviewers that at times it was too much in the vein of a vintage Scooby-Doo episode) that requires only a superficial knowledge of the characters and their back-stories. Penguin is formidable and savvy in this one.

Written by Judd Winick, As the Crow Flies is rather an average Batman story. I didn't really appreciate Dustin Nguyen's art. A bit too messy for my tastes. I liked some of the ideas in this story  such as Penguin teaming up with the Scarecrow . However, overall, the story didn't work for me. A bit of forgettable filler between Hush and the War Games event.

This book collects Judd Winick's first storyline during his run on Batman. This is a good build up to the return of Jason Todd stuff to come later, and manages to make the Scarecrow a formidable baddy, while showing why one should never turn his back on the Penguin. Solid work.

A perfectly executed Scarecrow/Penguin Team-up with bonus Cross-Dressing-For-Justice!Tim.