Sam Kieth returns with Scratch, a five issue miniseries that DC have decided to classify as a Batman book.  Batman completists should be warned - he's on the first page and he narrates the book, and that's it.  Presumably he turns up in a bigger role later in the story, but this isn't a Batman story.

Scratch is a teenage werewolf.  Kieth delivers a surprisingly straightforward story of him discovering his powers, running away from home, and eventually being taken in by a group of outcast freaks.  Of course, this being Sam Kieth, they don't look all that much more deformed than the other characters, but such is life.

There's nothing desperately new in terms of the story - it's really a bit of a stock plot thus far, even down to the lynch mob chucking rocks at the children.  It's perfectly okay as far as it goes.  But it doesn't have the demented invention that you normally expect from a Sam Kieth story, which is a bit disappointing.

The big selling point of the issue, then, is Kieth's art.  He's always been a bit of an acquired taste, but I really enjoy his work.  The ludicrously exaggerated monsters have a real sense of warped violence to them.  He's one of the few artists who can get away with drawing overmuscled werewolves fighting something that looks like an escapee from a Dr Seuss story gone horribly wrong.

On the strength of this first issue, this doesn't look like being one of Kieth's more notable efforts.  But it's got its virtues, notably the distinctive visuals.

Rating: B-

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