A “new” version of Batman was released recently, and it soared high, in my opinion!
WHAT HAPPENED?
Recently, DC released yet another Batman Black Label title, and boy, did it exceed even my expectations!
Here’s how The Bat-Man: First Knight #1 is described on the DC website:
“The year is 1939. The world, still reeling from the horrors of the First World War, is on the brink of tipping into an even more gruesome conflict, as fascism is on the march-and gathering strength in America’s darkest corners. Against this backdrop, a series of violent murders has begun in Gotham, and the recent emergence of the mysterious vigilante known as The Bat-Man has the power brokers of the city living in fear of institutional collapse. All of the evidence in the murder investigation defies logic: the perpetrators are all men who died in the electric chair. But when the Bat- Man comes face to face with one of these sickening anomalies, he barely escapes with his life-throwing into question his ability to survive in a world that is brutally evolving around him! Legendary writer Dan Jurgens and superstar artist Mike Perkins return to the earliest days of the Dark Knight, retelling one of his most infamous cases through an acutely modern lens, depicting a world paralyzed by anxiety and a desperate populace crying out for release!”
The writer is Dan Jurgens, probably best known for his work on Superman and Teen Titans both as an artist and a scripter. He delivers quite a great, engaging story!
The artist is Mike Perkins, who literally transports the reader back to this formative era for Bruce Wayne and company, and it is visually a sight to behold! It’s some of the best art I’ve seen depicting that era!
This book is one of the reasons I love the Black Label imprint so much—it goes where “regular” DC books really can’t go, and it does that with skill!
IT’S STILL BATMAN
I have long been a fan of the Dark Knight, as I’ve mentioned previously in this column. One of the things that fascinates me about Batman is that he can be skulking around in the shadows or facing aliens in space ships or have a colorful sidekick spouting witty remarks, and it all works for me!
For example, one of the great debates about this character online is: Which actor is your favorite Batman? There are fans who make arguments for pretty much every actor, including Adam West, Kevin Conroy, Robert Pattinson, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, and George Clooney, just to name a few. Personally, I think they ALL represent the Dark Knight, just different aspects of him. Some are the “brighter” knights while others are much darker. However, each carries the character that is necessary for the story being told.
So, which one is my favorite? I really didn’t want him to play Batman when I first heard the announcement that he would be, but his performance on the big screen really won me over! Of course, I’m referring to Ben Affleck, who I fretted over the fact that he had already played a superhero in a film (Marvel’s Daredevil), so I was really unhappy with his choice… that was, until I saw him in the movies. He looked like Bruce Wayne and Batman, he made me believe he was Batman, and that’s why I really enjoy every time he’s the Dark Knight.
I know others disagree, and that’s fine. I do think every fan will have his or her favorite, and that just shows how big Batman actually is. He can be a Lego version of himself voiced by Will Arnett, and that’s okay with me, or he can be George Clooney, and it’s all Batman to me. I understand that not everyone buys into that, but it just shows how great a creation Bob Kane and Bill Finger made back in the day.
BACK TO HIS ROOTS
I was reading an interview with Mr. Jurgens on DC.com about the comic, and I was interested in how accurate this title is. For instance, he says:
“This story takes place during the Bat-Man’s first few appearances in Detective Comics, so I really focused on those. The Bat-Man first appeared in Detective Comics #27 and Robin doesn’t show up until Detective Comics #38, almost a year later. Even Alfred doesn’t debut for several more years. For the purposes of our stories, Bruce Wayne has only been the Bat-Man for a few weeks. It’s very new for him and he’s questioning himself throughout the process. Is this something that’s totally crazy to do? Something reasonable? Can he even survive? So, we use the era and environment of the time, as well as the tone of his earliest stories in Detective Comics, as our inspiration.”
Why go back to this era? Jurgens says, “We have gotten to the point where Batman is incredibly, almost impossibly capable. The array of devices, tech, and weaponry he has access to is second-to-none. For him, even space travel is easily achieved. Our Bat-Man is just the opposite. He has several cars, a garage, and ad-hoc lab as well as a grasp of criminal science as it existed at the time. When I first explained this to Mike, I used the phrase ‘Batman unplugged.’”
I also particularly enjoy the use of language and jargon that was prevalent back in the late 1930s, so I liked that. I hate when people impose current trends and popular opinions on top of different time periods when that was NOT possible.
I truly love a Batman who is just beginning, trying to figure out his way when solving crimes just as much as I enjoy a Batman who is ultra-confident and able to plan ahead so he can win the day.
As I like to say, they’re ALL Batman to me.
NOW WHAT?
I’m really hoping this version of the Bat-Man continues to take off, as it were, so we can enjoy not only this story, but more in the future. If this team wants to do other Black Label tales when this is done, I’m on board! Sign me up today!
Granted, I know that DC is constantly derided for the sheer number of Batman titles coming out each month, but here’s the thing—they work! They sell! They’re almost always a great read!
I will confess that there is one book with Batman in it that I do NOT buy, and that’s his monthly team-up with Scooby-Doo. I have never been a fan of Scooby since his early days, and I can’t even take him with an Adam West-like Batman to bounce off of. Sorry!
As a long-time Bat-fan, though, I’m ecstatic! DC keeps coming out with different and creative takes on the Dark Knight, so I’m a happy guy!
So, I’ll watch the next Bat-film with Robert Pattinson (who I think should be Dick Grayson and not Bruce Wayne) as the star because, for the current trilogy of movies, he IS Batman. Then we’ll get another actor to play Batman after that. It’s a win-win for me, so I’m nearly all in.
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