Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Batman Confidential #1

By Al Kratina
December 18, 2006 - 10:00

Grim. Dark. Brooding. Gothic. These are all words used to describe Gotham's vigilante crime-fighter, the Batman. They are also words I keep saved in my notepad in case I ever need to assemble a Batman review on short notice. It would be nice if someone wrote a story arc that had Bruce Wayne's vigilante alter-ego solving crimes in a petting zoo, or a Chuck E. Cheese or inside a birthday balloon, or something. Anything. But, I suppose clichés are clichés for a reason, and it's safest not to rock the boat when it comes to one of DC's most iconic characters. Let's just see if I can get through this review without using the above words. I hope the Microsoft Word Thesaurus and I are up to the task.

Batman Confidential is a new addition to the Bat books, written by Andy Diggle ( Swamp Thing, The Losers) and penciled by Image pseudo-founder Whilce ( Wetworks) Portacio. Taking place shortly after Batman first dons the mask, I'm not sure what the need for this ongoing title is. Perhaps there are elements in the story that required it to be set in the past, like the aching freshness to Batman’s wound surrounding the death of his parents, but in the first issue, there isn't time to develop them enough to make a new monthly series seem necessary. This is a flaw inherent to the 32-page format, perhaps, not the writing, but unfortunately for Diggle, in the end it comes down to the same thing. Nevertheless, the story has some promise and interest, and though the beginning of the story gets bogged down in the standard self-consciously dark and, uh, I mean shadowed and gloomy fist person narration, the dialogue really picks up near the end of the issue, especially in some exchanges between Wayne and Luthor that occur while both are bidding for government defense contracts. While all this is going on, Batman investigates a brutal murder by a hitman who appears to be either Jason Voorhees or Eminem circa The Slim Shady EP, while spending a lot of time glowering over the gun that killed his parents. Diggle has a good feel for the opposing polarities of Wayne/Batman's personalities, and handles the dialogue well once he gets a full head of steam going.

 
Portacio, on the other hand, is a little more uneven. He's always had a tendency to draw like a meaner version of Jim Lee, and while he's had great success in the past working at Marvel and Image, his characters tend to look simultaneously blocky and haggard, like the Crypt Keeper after a month at Gold's Gym. There are a couple of panels where Bruce Wayne looks quite ill, and Luthor has a tendency to appear like the Master from Buffy with better skin. The cover art, however, is astounding, and some of the layouts convey information with enough subtlety to deserve a second read. But then again, some of the art feels rushed, perspectives skewed by looming deadlines, perhaps. Still, the heavily shadowed and cross-hatched pencils do convey a certain Gothic, uh, I mean, gloomy atmosphere. While I'm not convinced that the story thus far justifies the existence of another Batman comic, it's certainly worth a read, if not the purchase of a new thesaurus.

Rating: 6 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12