Written by Tom King, David Aja, Sophie Campbell,,
Gabriel Hardman & Corinna Bechko, Dustin Weaver
Art by Mitch Gerads, David Aja, Sophie Campbell,
Gabriel Hardman, Dustin Weaver
Published by DC Comics
So much of Batman is rooted in pulp heroes, noir comics and fantasmagorical tales of the time when he first arrived in 1939, and that noir influence often shows up in Batman: Black and White as a franchise.
This second issue really drives that point home, as this collection of short stories shows us a Batman steeped in stories where victory of fleeting, if present at all, and where justice and peace come at great cost.
Is that not when you expect when you hire Tom King and Mitch Gerads as your leadoff hitters?
The issue puts all the stories and creative teams up from like a table of contents, and seeing the King and Gerads team listed made me giddily prepared to read this latest of their trademark grim-heart stories.
“The Unjust Judge,” illustrated in Gerads’ famous nine-panel grid, opens on a priest carrying a child, and then running back into a burning church. As Batman arrives at the scene, the church crumbles.
One masterful page keeps flipping perspective from panel to panel – looking down on the priest, then looking up through the ruins – until Batman appears at the priest’s side in the rubble.
King, as usual, spins connection between the title, referring to a parable in Christianity’s gospel of Luke, to the critically injured priest and Batman’s war on crime and oath to save the innocent. And, like all tales of faith, the power of said faith must be tested.
And this Batman is tested even harder in “The Spill,” illustrated by Gabriel Hardman and written by Hardman and Corinna Bechko. The Batmobile loses a wheel, the Joker gets away, and Batman is trapped in the wreck as a spillway is about to burst and drown him in the river.
Hardman plays for keeps, making propulsive, detailed, clear art that exploits every dramatic bit of what you’d want in a black and white comic. It’s what you’d expect from someone who was a storyboard artist on Logan, The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar, among many other films.
The storyboard quality is strong in this story, with wide panels, zoom-in accents and then big, splashy illustrations full of perspective and angles. Luckily, Hardman doesn’t entirely lean on the full widescreen ratio for panels all the time. (That move in a lot of panel art still rattles this comics reader.)
Bechko and Hardman’s script also hits that Batman: Black and White sweet spot of meta-commentary on Batman stories. We meet a Joker who isn’t here to analyze his relationship with Batman for the millionth time. He just wants to watch the Bat die. Or doth the lady protest too much? I’ll leave that to you.
It’s fitting that I was playing Danny Elfman’s score to the 1989 Batman film while reading Dustin Weaver’s entry “Dual,” written and drawn himself. Weaver’s take on the Dark Knight opens with him flying a Batwing through Gotham, and the Batsuit strongly resembles a mix of Batman and Batman Forever.
Oh, did I mention “Dual” is lettered by the titanic Todd Klein? We get the classic trope of Batman’s narration in cursive, as if we’re reading Bruce Wayne’s journal. We get Klein’s usually top-notch economy of space, pacing, bolt and italics – no small feat here, amid Weaver’s strongly Jim Lee-like, high-definition draftsmanship.
And we get some white text on black speech balloons! You don’t hire Todd Klein if that’s not what you want.
That speech style is attached to the mysterious White Bat, appearing as a negative reflection of our hero. The story drops out on a cliffhanger before we learn what the White Bat is, but the implication is chilling nonetheless.
But don’t think this issue is without its fun, too.
“All Cats Are Grey” comes as a delight from Sophie Campbell, famous for her work on IDW’s Jem and the Holograms.
Carrying heavy Brian Stelfreeze vibes, Campbell draws one frisky Catwoman in a wordless tale that crystallizing all the great essentials of her relationship with the Caped Crusader. It also pays homage to some iconic moments between the pair.
The fun continues with “The Devil Is in the Detail,” written and illustrated by David Aja. This one takes us all the way back to Batman’s early days as a character, uncovering horrific cults and battling unseen armies. It takes us to a young Batman looking right out of Year One, with a Captain Jim Gordon and corrupt police department.
And, perhaps in its most fun, Aja draws the entire story in the format of a newspaper comic strip from 1949. Remember those, where one storyline was told, three panels at a time?
Oh yeah. This is primo stuff.
