A lot is going on in issue #2 of BATMAN: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT: THE KRYPTON AGE. Like…
- More of The Batman vs. Talia Al Ghul and the League of Shadows.
- Adam Strange — on a mission for Bruce Wayne — looking for something (i.e. advanced ancient civilizations) in the Antarctic.
- The team of John Constantine and Queen Victoria (I’m serious).
- Victorian age spiritualism.
- And the debut of a major DC character (not Superman) in a cameo at the very end.
This is an ambitious story, absolutely, and writer Andy Diggle is going for a narrative slow-burn as he continues to set up the big picture here in issue #2. However, the story does move quickly and involves a lot of action, so it never feels slow — even with the non-action parts with lots of dialogue. Clearly, the building of a DC Universe by Gaslight is at hand here (I have mixed feelings on this, but that’s a discussion for another day), but yet it feels very much “Batman” and that’s a good thing. This is a Batman story in a Batman comic book first and foremost. And not having seen this world’s Superman yet probably helps.
Good storytelling and artwork (by Leandro Fernandez channeling Mike Mignola a bit) are at hand here and I like it so far. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
