Review: Batman-Giant 100 Page Special #4

Who would have believed the best Batman story would not be found in your local comic book shop, but in the not so hallowed halls of the evil empire known as Walmart? It’s certainly strange and definitely true, sorry Tom King.
The second installment of the Brian Michael Bendis/ Nick Derington Batman collaboration has finally hit the stores after a line-wide delay. This dynamic duo have Bat-fans clamoring for more and in my opinion have eclipsed the on-going Batman title with sheer storytelling brilliance. However, this is not a competition and there is always room for more Batman narratives, especially of this caliber.

The story began in issue #3 of the Walmart exclusive Batman book and continues for a total of twelve in all. This issue kicks off with Batman on the trail of a mysterious jeweled egg, quite similar to a Faberge Egg in appearance, but vastly more valuable with a fifteen million dollar price tag. The egg has been donated to a museum by its’ owner the great-great granddaughter of Jonah Hex, Jinny. Bendis does an extremely fine job of crafting what is essentially a mystery. This Batman relies more on his storied ability as the “World’s Greatest Detective” than the Caped Crusader we see in the King on-going title. That is what makes this such a wonderful treat, Bendis calls to mind a much earlier iteration of the Dark Knight Detective, there is a Silver Age sensibility at work here that reduces all of the dour themed narratives currently running through the Bat books to a far more sublime tale of an agent of justice on the trail of a villain at large, a tale that begins in a small town and takes us on a global chase that will pull in several other A-list characters. Remaining spoiler-free forbids me from dropping the names of said characters, suffice to say both have turned up on the CW.

The Riddler as written by Bendis also takes on a more nuanced persona than we have seen recently, particularly in Tom King’s disappointing War of Jokes and Riddles. This is a Riddler who respects Batman and that respect is evident in the adversarial relationship Bendis so precisely creates in this narrative. I have read both of the available chapters of this story several times each and it is just mind-blowing how much quality storytelling these two guys pack into twelve pages. The story unfolds at an extremely fast pace while taking enough time to hit major beats with just enough force. Bendis has found the voice of these characters with an impressive quickness, never missing a step in dialog or action. These characters have an authenticity that comes with a deep knowledge of continuity and history. It is obvious that Bendis has found a home at DC. His work on both Superman and Action Comics has been some of the best work of his legendary career, that sets the bar pretty high for his take on Batman and let me tell you folks BMB delivers in spades. This is classic Batman leading a cast of equally well written characters in an engrossing story that keeps you wanting more.

Nick Derington’s Batman is so spot on that his is the Batman I see when I think of Batman. That’s huge praise coming from someone who has been reading Batman since Neal Adams, Jim Aparo and Norm Breyfogle to name a very few, have all worked on the character. His staging and body language convey a dynamic that feels so much more human than a lot of the more bombastic takes on Batman we have seen. There is a kind of “realness” to Derington’s character designs that transcend the superhero genre and ground them in reality. The logic he employs when rendering the anatomy of Batman is just one example of this quality, but its more than that. The acting and interacting of the characters within a scene is full of heart and moments of real human intercommunication. The synergy between Derington and Bendis comes through in the way these characters relate to one another and that kind of chemistry cannot be manufactured. It is a naturally occurring process that is nurtured within the best collaborations. Likewise, Dave Stewart’s colors bring a kind of vintage appearance to the book that really works so well with Derington’s visuals and Bendis’ subject matter.

Overall this is an example of not just a great Batman story, but great storytelling period. If you are, like me, not a regular Walmart shopper, you should be for the duration of this collaborative effort. The thought of a collected version of the completed work is the stuff of comic book fans’ dreams and of course I will be one of the first to purchase such a volume when it reaches the racks of the local comic shops, but until then I will be braving the pajama-panted patrons of the Walmart nation to get my copy of this book. I whole-heartedly suggest everyone reading this to do the same. 5/5

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Writer- Brian Michael Bendis
Artist- Nick Derington
Colors- Dave Stewart