Storyline: Gotham After Midnight (part 1 of 12)
Date: May 28, 2008
Price: $2.99
Writer: Steve Niles
Artist: Kelley Jones

Synopsis: “There are things that go ‘bump’ in the night. Be thankful that one of those things is on our side…”

When the full moon rises and casts its eerie glow over the land, the creatures of the night come out to hunt and feast and prey on the innocent citizens of Gotham City, and only one man stands in their way: The Batman.

These are the bizarre and frightening case files of the Dark Knight Detective, featuring grave-robbers, men making monsters, night terrors, and the debut of an all-new moonlight monster known only as Midnight.

In this fatal first issue by the creative team of Steve Niles (30 Days of Night SIMON DARK) and Kelley Jones (BATMAN: RED RAIN), Batman will come face-to-face with the Master of Fear himself - but just what is the Scarecrow after? And what does it have to do with the Axeman? Could it be some elaborate scheme to trap the Bat? Be here at the beginning - and beware!

Opinion: Let me just say right now that this first issue is crazy. It has some good moments, but there are some ridiculous aspects to it. The writing is half good and half bad, but the storyline is interesting and bold. This comic ends with a big cliffhanger, and is totally worth picking up and continuing just to see where it goes (because right now, I actually have no idea).

Read my full review after the jump!

Let’s start with the down side of this new twelve-part series.

This definitely isn’t one of my favorite depictions of Batman out there, and I’m talking both artwork and characterization. His ears are way too long and pointy for my taste, and there are panels that leave me thinking, “Holy anatomy, Batman!” It just doesn’t seem proportionate at times, and considering some of the other Batman art out there right now (like Tony Daniel’s jaw-dropping pencils on the Batman comics or Jim Lee’s work on the new series All Star Batman and Robin), this really isn’t all that great. Not to mention the Batmobile looks pathetically like a go-cart.

The artwork isn’t even half the problem. Some of what Batman says in the narration made me roll my eyes. In this issue, the Scarecrow (Jonathan Crane) escapes from the sieve-like Arkham once again; Batman quickly tracks him down, catching him in the act of stealing an artifact called the Hand of Glory. Leaving him for the Gotham police, who are arriving on the scene, Batman muses over the sloppiness of the Scarecrow’s latest act. The thing that bugged me, though, was while Batman was trying to figure out why the Scarecrow seems to have changed his M.O., he make himself sound like an advocate for Arkham’s criminally insane. I understand that the writer’s intent was to point out that villains like the Scarecrow can be their own downfall, that their obsessions and egos are often their doom; instead, it came off like Batman felt bad for them because they couldn’t help the way they are.

I’m sorry, Bats, but when did you start excusing psychopathic behavior of your rogues? What the hell?

What is more, during Batman’s conversation with Gordon, his message that it is important for his enemies to know it’s him taking them down because of the fear it inspires and the power it adds to his reputation gets mixed up in what sounds like a demand for glory. That’s just not Batman. Obviously the writing isn’t communicated very well, and can leave the reader confused as to what in the name of Gotham Batman is really trying to say, and there are plenty of WTF? moments to go around.

Also, for some reason the comic is divided into chapters, when there’s really no point to it. It doesn’t hinder the story, so I can’t complain, but it’s just really weird.

On the other hand, despite the lack of clarity (and plot holes, too) in the writing, the storyline is surprisingly good. It definitely kept my interest throughout. The writer isn’t holding back, either, as the comic ends with a bang—literally. Highlight the text below to be spoiled:

It ends with a bunch of hired thugs shooting Batman a bunch of times and then kidnapping him. One checks for a heartbeat to no avail, and happily they exclaim how they’ve finally killed the Batman. Yeah, yeah, he’s not really dead, we can all figure that much out. But I mean, this is something most writers would take issues to build up to; I definitely like that Steve Niles doesn’t fall into the same cliché trap and is instead getting to the point so the story can progress.

The dialogue between Batman and Scarecrow is awesome, and this issue is built like it’s a story arc already in progress—which is definitely a good thing. The introduction is set up in a way that it’s short but still conveys everything you need to know to start off the storyline, and it’s actually pretty brilliant that it can be that simple.

There’s even some comic relief wedged in with Alfred, including a line about Batman not having time to eat that literally made me laugh. Good ol’ Alfred.

And even though there artwork isn’t my favorite, I can’t deny there are some truly awesome panels. Especially the ones where Batman turns Scarecrow’s fear toxin against him. Very scary and cool. I did like the way the shadows and gritty lights reflected over Batman, too.

Overall, I give this issue maybe a 3.5 out of 5. Go pick it up!

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