Review: Batman Universe #1 (of 6)

Just when you thought that DC had finally hit the ceiling with the sheer amount of Bat-books published, they go and re-issue that series that you could only get in Walmart, so no joy for a whole host of non-American Batfans out there.Â Now, there are two ways you could look at this reprinted “available in comic book shops for the first time” event; either it’s an incredible gesture byÂ company who recognised that it effectively ostracized a large portion of it’s fan base or they are cashing in on a book that was so poorly distributed, it failed to get any traction in the first place.Â Which ever is the correct reason, the result is an almost new Bat book.

“When is the Riddler, not the Riddler?” is the clue that drags Batman out into the night, away from Bruce Wayne’s dinner party.Â Of course,with the Riddler, nothing is quite as simple as you think they are, a fact that Batman and Alfred kind of take for granted as the pair follow the trail of a FabergÃ© egg to Jonah Hex’s descendant, Jinny Hex.

With the Walmart plan, DC switched around their biggest names on their biggest books.Â So, Tom King took on the Man of Steel and Brian Michael Bendis took on the Dark Knight, a character people thought Bendis would take on following his defection from Marvel.Â This then is the result, and to be fair, we are along way from the Gotham that you would come to expect.Â Bendis is known for stories that pack a punch or have a darkness to them.Â This is a far cry from that type of affair.Â Here, we get reiterations of facts that we already know and the inclusion of a character that features in Bendis’ own Young Justice book.Â I don’t necessarily have a problem with that to be honest.Â In fact,its a gentle reminder that every age group, every fan base has their Batman, be it the staple book, the Black Label book or this, almost nearly all ages book.

The art is provided by Nick Derington, whose art exemplifies the whole all ages vibe.Â Simple lines allow for some strong heroic poses and splashes pages that drop into a cartoony caricature style that does help to draw the reader through the book.Â Don’t get me wrong, there are some quirks that kind of tests older fans resolve; Batman walking around in the daylight for one thing.Â Again, like the writing, its not that the art is bad, it’s just different to what a Batfan would expect.Â Colorist Dave Stewart remains one of the best colorists in the business whether its on Hellboy or mainstream DC.Â Finally, letterer Josh Reed gets to have some fun with different fonts and word balloons, adding to the overall look of the book.

You don’t last 80 years without enjoying different version of self.Â Batman is one of the greatest characters who has successfully charted the ever changing trends of expectations.Â Unfortunately, with Bendis involved, I expected more from this book, than something that feels watered down with little or no tie into current continuity.Â Granted, as this is essentially a reprint book, I understand that continuity would have been a hard thing to manage, yet manage it does with Jinny Hex.Â Batman Universe is a book that hardly whelms for me, but for others, especially younger readers, there will be more than enough to bring them into a lighter version of the Dark Knight, maybe a Twilight Knight?

Writing – 3 Stars
Art – 3 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Written by; Brian Michael Bendis
Art by; Nick Derington
Colors by; Dave Stewart
Letters by; Josh Reed
Published by; DC Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network