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Batman The Imposter #1

DC Black Label

By Steven LeitmanPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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Batman The Imposter #1

DC Black Label 2021

Written by Mattson Tomlin

Illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino

Coloured by Jordie Bellaire

Bruce Wayne’s mission as the Batman has only been underway for a year or so, but he can tell he’s making a difference. Unfortunately, he’s made some powerful enemies. All the traditional power brokers of Gotham resent the disruption the Batman has brought to town…and it seems one of them has a plan to neutralize him. There’s a second Batman haunting Gotham’s rooftops and alleys-and this one has no qualms about murdering criminals, live and on tape. With the entire might of the Gotham City Police Department and Gotham’s rich and powerful coming down on his head, Batman must find this imposter and somehow clear his name…but how can you prove your innocence from behind a mask?

I’m not sure what DC is putting in their Kool-Aid but I’m drinking it at the moment that’s for sure. Maybe it’s really the Black Label’s appeal when it comes to taking familiar characters and putting a different slant on them; that's where the real desire to read these comes from. While this Dr. Thompson is unlike what we’re used to seeing; she is a fierce rendition of Bruce’s longtime ally and the dynamic we see placed between them is where a large part of the story’s giant appeal comes from.

I am quite enamoured with 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 through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter do a marvellous job in establishing their baseline personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages introducing us to the story, the characters and the world at this time the more we want to see and learn.

I greatly appreciate the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story begin to emerge and grow. The layers open up these avenues to be explored and these avenues add so much depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably achieved.

Oh are these interiors here immaculately rendered! Andrea has a decidedly horror slant to his work and this works towards Batman’s favour here as he is still fairly new to this, three years in, and utilises fear to intimidate the criminal element. The linework is sensational and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail within the work is astonishingly well rendered. I love how we see backgrounds being utilised to enhance and expand the moments as well as how they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, 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 a masterful eye for storytelling. The creativity and imagination we see whether it’s the imagery itself or the page layouts are remarkable to see. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised or create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows such a brilliant eye for how colour works. I mean to see the gradation, the bricks or the depth in the clothing it’s just impeccably rendered.

I am really rather impressed with this issue. The sheer chutzpah that is on display from a myriad of different characters is extraordinarily portrayed. Whether it’s a member of the GCPD, Bats or Leslie, heck even some of Gotham’s private citizens all have roles to play in this and they are defined exceptionally well. With some utterly amazing writing and stellar, strong characterisation and these brilliantly rendered interiors bring us to a point in time when Bruce didn’t have all the answers.

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About the Creator

Steven Leitman

Just me talking about the comics I enjoy reading, ones that you might not know exist and spotlighting the indie creators that excite me.

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