Batman has been due for a fresh start for a while now. The character’s last new main title #1 was all the way back in 2016, 9 years ago, under Tom King, David Finch, and company. The new Batman #1, out today, contrasts the darker nature of that book by putting Gotham City at the front of the story, asking us to grow with it. It’s been a while since the dark and broody main themes of the character have been contested, and so this new story from writer Matt Fraction, artist Jorge Jiménez, colorist Tomeu Morey, and letterer Clayton Cowles is a much welcome jumping on point for one of DC’s most iconic characters.
The issue starts with beat cop Jim Gordon getting coffee with his partner, Officer Espinoza. Suddenly, a large green creature leaps from a tall building and lands in a meat truck. The two officers call it in. The issue cuts to Batman with a Dr. Zeller. Batman says that he’s getting tired of the constant criminal breakouts. Zeller explains that the large monster on the loose is Killer Croc, and how he actually self-reported for treatment at the facility. Batman dismisses this mostly, insinuating that all criminals return to their roots one way or another, never changing. Zeller tells Batman that he can’t be so close-minded about people. Just like that, Batman is out and on the hunt for Killer Croc.
WRITING
Bats are pollinators. Pollinators help our environment, and we probably wouldn’t be around anymore without them. That’s exactly how Fraction sets up Batman in his beautiful and lively Gotham. He protects the environment, the city, the people. Gotham doesn’t stand without him. He is their pollinator, their heart and soul. Something Fraction does for the majority of the back half of this issue is have Bruce and Killer Croc in an area teeming with beautiful butterflies. Bruce identifies one as a Morpho Menelaus. The Morpho Menelaus is a shining blue butterfly that matches the color pattern of Bruce’s new suit perfectly. Butterflies are also pollinators, but mostly are active during the daytime. The reason for this was so they could stay away from bats, one of their many predators.
Fraction knows this, and the two meeting and acknowledging each other provides us with a thesis for the issue as a whole. Predator and prey may co-exist. Gotham City does not have to be such a kill or be killed hostile environment. There’s beauty in empathy, balance, and growth, and Fraction explores that idea very well. The butterflies surround Croc later in the issue as he’s lost, sad, and confused. Butterflies are also known to sometimes feed on crocodile tears, giving them the salt they need to survive in harsher conditions. Gotham symbolizes the harsher conditions, and Batman uses Waylon’s sadness to remember how to talk to those that are perceived to threaten the city. It’s equally interesting that Fraction chose Waylon Jones as the issue’s “villain.” Empathy is a lost art, and Fraction used that idea to show us that appearances can be deceiving. Things aren’t always as bad as you expect them to be.
This isn’t the Batman that we’ve grown accustomed to the past few years. He’s pessimistic, but he doesn’t jump to conclusions about people. He has less now, but what little he has is now so impactful and sentimental that it’s worth so much more. The value trumps the size this time around, and it’s a really good way to summarize the issue as a whole. Batman is big, bold, and fantastical. He protects Gotham and its people, going on these mysterious and crazy gothic adventures to keep everyone safe. Sometimes, he doesn’t need to do all of that. Fraction helps Batman, as well as us, remember who he is. He is hope for a city on the brink. He helps those in need. He puts away the bad guys when he has to, but he will never stop trying to help them. This is Batman, and this is how Fraction portrays him. He brings the character back to a heartfelt world of understanding and care through something as simple as an honest conversation. It’s the most heartfelt Batman story in a long time.
ART
Jiménez takes the foundation Fraction lays and expands on it beautifully. The artist helps in the Croc metaphor right off the bat with Croc leaping from a tall building into a meat truck. He’s not detailed at all and appears in front of a terrifying lightning bolt, only to land in meat like a ferocious beast. Even we’re to assume that Croc is the enemy because of this. When we see Croc later, he’s more detailed. He’s obviously a giant scary crocodile, but he seems softer. Like he’s not angry, just confused and sad. Jiménez controls us well with this lack of interest from Croc. We get as much from him here as we do from Fraction.
There are some incredible double pages present here as well. There’s one that has Bruce gliding through a vibrant Gotham, taking us away from its usual grime and dourness. He’s fully detailed. We’re seeing the city from his perspective, and a lot of information is thrown at us through news reports in smaller panels. What’s interesting though is the very double page being a contrast of this. There’s no dialogue whatsoever. We see Batman from a different perspective now. Still gliding, but he’s hardly visible and not detailed whatsoever. It’s how the people of Gotham see him. He’s right there in the sky of the setting sun, protecting them. Jiménez wants us to really feel like we are Gotham. He wants us seen, and to see Batman how he should be.
COLORS
We’re instantly greeted with a different kind of setting this issue. Rather than a dark Gotham at night, we see the city at sunset. People are ready to go home, they’re out and about. The sky only first gets dark when Croc appears, a lightning bolt behind him. It helps to show how he should already be seen as an enemy, that he is the classic Gotham atrocity. As the sun sets, Batman rises. When he glides through the panel in that double page spread, the sky behind him is a mix of orange and a darker purple. Morey lets us know instantly that it’s time for Batman to go to work, and that he’s less uncomfortable in a little more light as well.
Back to the Morpho Menelaus, Morey really makes sure your jaw is on the ground at all times. They’re a bright glowing blue, overpowering every other color on the page they’re a part of. At a certain point in the issue, Batman powers up his blue gauntlets. They glow the same blue light as the butterflies, but the butterflies fade away slightly when he does this. They move over to Croc instead, showing Bruce the way. You can’t keep the city going, protecting it through instant violence constantly. The coloring in that segment specifically really tugs at the heartstrings; it’s amazing work from Morey.
LETTERS
Cowles has a lot of fun with this one. Whenever we’re introduced to a new or familiar bat gadget, there’s a small box of text that appears on the page telling us exactly what it is as well as its functionality. They’re these unique lighter blue boxes with a small silhouette image of whatever the gadget is just off to the side of the box. It’s a unique sort of cartoony feel that makes Batman feel innovative and explained again rather than just chalking everything up to prep-time.
Cowles does something really interesting with Croc when he’s initially rampaging: The villain doesn’t get his own speech bubbles. It’s just loud roars that cover his area on the page. When he and Bruce actually talk though, he does get his own bubbles. They’re rigid and messy, but they’re not extremely pronounced. He’s a big animal that sounds monstrous, but it’s not the same cadence in which he speaks here. It’s a really tough to nail differentiation that Cowles gets down really well here.
CONCLUSION
Batman #1 is one of the most promising single issues featuring the character in a very long time. It brings new life to Gotham while Fraction, Jiménez, Morey, and Cowles work hard to fill the city with hope. Batman is pessimistic, but he’s understanding. After everything he’s been through and done, he shouldn’t be tired of what he does or against the world around him. He learns to coexist and to empathize, and this team really excels at having him do that. It’s a fresh new start for both Batman and Gotham that has so much heart at display it’s almost impossible to not love this take on the character.
