Sorry I’m tardy on this one. We adopted a rescue dog over the weekend and have been dealing with our new family member. On to the review…
Yes, I know this is a maxiseries, but man, this thing is moving s-l-o-w. Like, it makes turtles look like world-class sprinters. But that’s just one of the problems I’m finding with this new installment in the BATMAN: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT saga.
The bottom line here — and I’ve pointed out/complained about this in preview issue reviews — is that it’s essentially a JUSTICE LEAGUE BY GASLIGHT origin story. We’ve already seen Wonder Woman — Diana from Lost Themyscara — introduced and in this issue, it’s Alan Scott becoming a Green Lantern. Also, some more Superman mythos are injected into the story with the introduction of Metropolis, THE DAILY PLANET, Perry White, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olson. Of course, we’ve barely seen the Victorian Superman yet- I assume that’s coming relatively soon…unless it isn’t.
On the Batman front, he shows up and is still involved with the League of Shadows/Talia storyline. Essentially, Batman has only been making cameos in a comic book series that’s under the Batman banner. So far, it’s been “Batman” more in name only.
I’ll fully admit that my negativity is largely based on my personal Batman sensibilities. Despite being slow, both the writing and art are good. But, I’d rather this had been a true successor to BATMAN: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT (and its first sequel, MASTER OF THE FUTURE) than what it actually is: a Victorian-era Justice League/DCU story. If the latter is your cup of tea, this is likely a story you’ll dig. If you expected/wanted a Batman-centric story leaning heavily into the Batman mythos, I’d recommend saving your money. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
GRADE: C-ish