Books like Batman/Judge Dredd: Vendetta in Gotham

Batman, Judge Dredd, and Scarface are all rolled into one in: Vendetta in Gotham. Featuring art that (surprisingly enough) is similar in style (and title) to another comic legend: V for Vendetta, we get a story that is quite pleasing visually. However, the same cannot be said of the story which is more meh than ah.And just for the record, I'll admit I'm pretty biased toward any story involving Scarface. He's my least favorite Batman villain and has (as far as I'm concerned) the most asinine back-story/powers. Come on, you mean to tell me your psyche can be transferred to a goddamn marionette? And now evidently he can act on his own? Anyways back to the review.Since the premise is OK more than anything, I'd like to focus on the art which is real nice in this one. Well applied zoom outs are utilized to stunning effect throughout. Even when we're seeing the unbelievable before our eyes, highly realistic illustrations retain an extremely high level of verisimilitude. Toss in some inventive onomatopoetics deployed alongside the tried and true sound effects, the sacred and the profane are gleefully meshed together. Back to the plot, which has more holes than a wedge of swiss cheese. Scarface is up to the predictable bad-guy hi-jinks befitting of any cape-centric comic. However, it's not another villain that steps in Batman's path to save the day but our otherworldly power-tripper, the fascist (inspired?) Judge Dredd. They duke it out over 2/3 of the narrative until a good ol' fashioned plot twist is unceremoniously dropped in. A climax ensues (that I'll let you discover) and we get a cool little foreshadowing for the next cross-over in the series.To sum up simply: Great art. Not so great story.One more thumb up in The Coliseum.