REVIEW: Batman Rebirth #3

“I AM GOTHAM”“ Chapter 3

The recent chapter of Batman“s Rebirth finally gives us a glimpse into the origin of Gotham and Gotham Girl and mixes old familiar foe, Hugo Strange.

Tom King and David Finch bring familiar tropes to this issue but add enough new elements to keep this issue from being a mere recycle of Batman“s own origin. The inclusion of Batman“s role in the new heroes development was one of the highlights of the book.

As the group sets out to determine who the Monster Men are and how they are responsible for the multiple attacks in Gotham we also get to see a familiar Matches Malone digging into Gotham“s new heroes past.

I quite liked this book although I felt it read rather fast. The art team of Finch, Bellaire and Workman are still holding my fascination along with Kings storytelling.

I do have a couple minor quibbles. First the lack of attention to Gotham Girl troubles me a bit. She was merely glazed over in the origin flashback and yes I understand it was narrated from Gotham“s POV; however, I am interested in both of these new heroes. I also am not a huge fan of the duos costumes, particularly Gotham Girls. I don“t have to see a scantily clad female character, just show her some attention. If these characters are to be a long-term part of the ongoing mythos I hope we see a greater character development and detail. Finally, and this returns to the overall pace of the issue, is the treatment of Hugo Strange. Such a historic Batman villain certainly deserved to be given an earlier panel or two given the final reveal in issue 2.

In the end, I AM GOTHAM as well and my aforementioned gripes are outweighed by the blend of familiar with new in Mr. King“s current run. Batman will continue to be one of the first books I page through every NCBD!

Writing: 4
Art: 4

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

STORY BYÂ Tom King
ART BYÂ David Finch, Danny Miki
COLORS BYÂ Jordie Bellaire
LETTERS BYÂ John Workman
COVER BYÂ David Finch, Matt Banning, Jordie Bellaire, Tim Sale