[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Nick Derington
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letters: Josh Reed
Summary
“BATMAN UNIVERSE” PART 1 – The Riddler is at it again, but what Batman uncovers when he solves this particular crime puzzle sets off a whole new globe-spanning adventure! This brand-new Batman story comes from creative team Brian Michael Bendis and Nick Derrington!
Positives
In this issue, we start a brand new story by the prolific Brian Michael Bendis. We start off with Batman crashing a robbery by the Riddler, but it’s not what he expected.
Seeing Batman interact with various Gotham citizens throughout the issue was really entertaining. It gave a sense of humor that was subtle, and not super overt, which is totally Batman’s style. He’s funny when he’s not even trying to be. It’s one of the great ways writers are able to break the heavy tension in his books from time to time.
Not only did he have some fun interactions with random people, his back and forth with Alfred over their comms was classic. And Alfred’s lettering and speech bubbles by Josh Reed are wonderful. They really convey the fact that he’s talking over a piece of technology, and does a great job of separating it from that of Bruce’s speech bubbles. Most people overlook this aspect of a comic book, but it’s a very important part, and it you get a letterer who is top notch, like Josh Reed, it can really enhance what you’re reading.
Nick Derington’s art is spectacular and is only enhanced greatly by Dave Stewart’s beautiful colors. A story my be great, but if the art is lacking, it can ruin the experience. I’ve stopped reading books because I just couldn’t get past the bad artwork, but this is the opposite case as when I opened this issue to the first page, I was sucked in by the art. I wanted to keep going before even reading the first words. And THAT is the sign of a great artist.
Negatives
As with all of these Giant-Sized issues that have been coming out, my only real complaint here is that it’s not long enough. It’s essentially half a standard issue, clocking in at 12 pages. But, luckily, the story is engaging enough to make it not too overt.
Verdict
Overall, this is a great start to a this new storyarc, and I can’t wait to see where Bendis takes the Dark Knight.
