Written by Matt Fraction, Brian Michael Bendis,
Peter J. Tomasi, Grant Morrison, Dan Jurgens,
Mariko Tamaki, Greg Rucka, Scott Snyder,
Marv Wolfman, Kelly Sue Deconnick, Tom King
Art by Jim Cheung, José Luis García-López, Lee Bermejo,
Dan Jurgens, Jamal Campbell, Dan Mora, Ivan Reis,
Emanuela Lupacchino, Riley Rossmo, Eduardo Risso,
Chip Zdarsky, David Marquez, Chris Burnham
Published by DC Comics
I love these big anniversary issues when they come out.
DC Comics has been doing a great job of making these milestone issues mean something by putting easy to digest stories in them. They also recruit top talent to work on them and the results are spectacular!
The opening story of this comic is by writer Peter J. Tomasi and Illustrated by Brad Walker.
It is the perfect story to open up an anniversary issue with.
It shows Batman struggling with an underwater trap. It also shows Batman and his relationship with a few of the supporting characters and villains. It sets the stage for the rest of the issue perfectly.
The second story of this issue is by writer Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by David Marquez.
It features all of Batman’s former sidekicks as they are put to a “test” of sorts from Bruce. The creative team gets a lot of mileage off a simple concept and the art is very good here.
Next up, we have a very unique story written by Matt Fraction and drawn by Chip Zdarsky. It shows Batman through the various “years” of his crimefighting career. It is very quirky and it even has a moment where Batman demands that the Joker gives him his birthday present, which was pretty hilarious.
The next story is written by writer Greg Rucka and it is beautifully drawn by artist Eduardo Risso.
The story features a woman named Lynne Baker and it shows her as a rookie cop in the Gotham City Police Department. It shows her going through basic training all the way to her first encounter with Batman. It Is very well done and well handled.
The fifth story in this book is written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Riley Rossmo.
I love Rossmo’s art but the story is very slight. It basically shows Batman, Robin and Deadman teaming up for an adventure. It is pretty basic and it follows all the usual predictable beats.
The next story, however, is awesome. It is written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and it is drawn by John Romita Jr.
It takes place at the Eastlake Harbor Private Resort and it has Bruce playing golf against another man. This man is a criminal and this story shows how Bruce takes him down while playing golf against him!
Writer Marv Wolfman and artist Emanuela Luppachino are up next.
Their story is a little basic. A ship sinks in 1937. We cut over to present day and Bruce has to find the treasure that is buried within it. It is a pretty standard story but it does have some decent art in it at least.
Next up is one of the best stories in the issue. Writer Grant Morrison teams up once again with artist Chris Burnham.
It is called “Detective 26.” This story basically is a riff on Batman’s first appearance and it is very interesting and it is well done. Kudos to the creative team on this one.
Writer Tom King and artist Walter Simonson are up next and they bring us one of the best stories about Doctor Phosphorus ever!
It is only a few pages but Batman confronts the villain and it is almost poetic. This is a wonderful story by the creative team and it is so good to see Simonson draw Batman again. Well done!
Leave it to writer Scott Snyder. He writes a completely emotional story for the next tale. It starts off small and it really feels like a coda to his work on the character. The awesome art by Ivan Reis is great here too. This is a great short story and It spans the entire history of the character very well indeed and what he stands for.
Dan Jurgens writes and draws the next tale which was originally slated for the aborted G5 reboot. It is easy to see why DC scrapped it as it seemed to be another time spanning, time jumping tale filled with nonsense. Oh, well. At least the art is nice, especially with the Kevin Nowlan finishes.
The last story is written by Mariko Tamaki and is drawn by Dan Mora.
It is a fitting tale to end the book as it deals with Bruce Wayne and a gift that he has to decipher. The story is good and Mora’s art is the true gift.
Actually, this whole issue is. DC did another spot on job with this anniversary issue and I can’t wait for the next one!
RATING: A
