If, like me, you enjoy your comic store’s back issue bins as much as fried sushi (yes, it exists), do yourself a favor and dig up Gotham Knights 1. It’s a fantastic single issue with a great cover and an even better bonus: the first of the Batman Black and White series.
Devin Grayson’s writing and storytelling are both excellent. The plot is chilling and sobering, and even if it weren’t, his use of language would be enough to propel the story foreward. There are plenty of great storytellers in comics, but not enough true writers, who know language is just as essential as art. Dale Eaglesham, the versatile virtuoso who’s currently penciling Justice Society of
America, turns in a characteristically detailed—and beautiful—issue.
The REAL treat of this issue, however, is the first of the Batman: Black and White vignettes, told by Warren Ellis and Jim Lee. I didn’t think Batman could be better than he was in Hush. I was dead wrong. This eight-page story is—and I understand I’m committing anathema when I say this—what Batman: Year One
should have been. With far fewer panels, Ellis and Lee give a far more intriguing, lyric account of Batman’s formation and unique approach. Sure, Year One is a classic, but I’ve always felt it was beneath Miller and Mazuchelli’s abilities. It was also a tad underwhelming. This issue’s Black and White tale, entitled “To Become the Bat,” proves that Warren Ellis should get first dibs on writing any bat-title whenever he wants to, and—more importantly—that Jim Lee is a genius in pretty much any format.
Worth the money?
I wouldn’t have written this review if it wasn’t.
