The force of nature that is, BATMAN!!!
Note - This review in on both parts of Engines, issues 74 and 75.
The Good
When both the writing and the art is done by the same person you either get great results or terrible ones. There isn't really a middle ground, I don't really know why that is, it just seems to be that way from all of the comics I have read that fall under that specific category. This particular story falls under that "great" category and if I was forced to make a top 25 Batman stories I would probably put it on it.
Because I am a sucker for stories that end up being stories that don't really give characters development but rather just define them, see my It's a Bird review. There's a huge difference in those two stories though, this one is told via a new villain's POV who is kind of bat-sh*t crazy. (Pun intended) He works in a slaughterhouse in Gotham and one day he witnesses Batman do what he does best. He starts working out and getting in shape and starts to dispense his own brand of justice because, and I quote "I want to give people the choice to decompose the way they chose." So, by the end of the story you get to realize that he's kind of an unreliable narrator. I won't spoil the ending but by the end of it you realize he was just kind of out of his mind during his fight with Batman. That point is driven home in the second to last page.
McKeever's art is kind of an experience. It's really chaotic and you really have to pour over it to see what he's trying to convey to you, which to me isn't necessarily a bad thing since I really dig his style.
The Bad
If this was a review only on the first issue I would point out some questionable choices at the end of it but if you read them both in one sitting you understand why that was done and it works well. So, no complaint from me.
The Verdict
I would totally kill for a Mckeever Batman collection that collected this, his batman Black and white stuff, a cover gallery of his various batman covers andBatman: Nosferatu (Yes I know that's part of a trilogy but I don't see the need for all of it honestly)
Do recommend tracking these issues down if DC doesn't decide to do a collection after all.