Batman Reptilian #1

Batman Reptilian #1

DC Comics Black Label 2021

Written by Garth Ennis

Illustrated by Liam Sharp

Lettered by Rob Steen

What strikes fear into the hearts of those who terrorize Gotham? It used to be Batman, but something far more frightening than a mere man stalks the shadows-and it’s after Gotham’s villains. How savage must a monster be to haunt the dreams of monsters?

I love me a good horror story and to have one set in Gotham where crazy is just another day that ends in Y is a great setting to have one. Even better since not even Batman is aware of what’s entered his city as this point. Heck even we aren’t fully aware of what’s going on yet and I really hope that we don’t learn anything until the Batman does because honestly I feel this is the way that we keep tensions high and the fear real. Plus there’s nothing quite like ones own imagination to come with the scariest thing around so until this monster is revealed well the readers left to their own devices and I can assure you that’s more than enough. This issue really does a magnificent job in setting up the story and the events leading up to when Batman learns what’s currently happening.

I’m loving every moment of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see is phenomenal thanks to how we see the dialogue, the character interaction and how they act and react to the situations and circumstances that they encounter. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story it captures the readers attention, imagination and oozes creepiness in all the best ways.

I appreciate the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within start to emerge and grow. These layers are where some incredible moments of characterisation happens as well as just information learned that affects how we see the main story. All this manages to add some great depth and complexity to the story as it becomes richer and fuller. The way that everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is beautifully achieved.

The interiors here are bloody gorgeous! How we see the linework being utilised and through its varying weights and techniques to create this amazing detail work is really extraordinary to see. There is some excellent usage of backgrounds here too and they enhance the moments while also bringing us depth perception, a sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a masterful eye for storytelling. Now its the colour work that makes this book what it is. The painting is glorious and how we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show such a mastery of skill and talent. The overall feel is so archetype Batman and yet its amped to a level that really makes it even more dark and creepy befitting this story.

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I think this as a setup issue is incredibly perfect to see. To start off with Batman where we see him and then learning what he does and recruiting a stool-pigeon in Konstantin to find out who is responsible for the recent attacks. Its bloody perfect writing and how we see it come to life is beyond anything I could have hoped for. I may not be the biggest fan of the Bat but this is going to rock everyone’s world fan or not. It is so intelligently written and so mindbogglingly beautifully illustrated there’s no way that this isn’t going to take you by surprise and become a must have reading experience.