Batman is too big for DC Comics to let one creative team delay the entire publishing line. Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee have learned that as DC Comics did not wait around for whenever they finished their H2SH story to start the Dark Knight’s new era. This new era brings on writer Matt Fraction along with long time Batman artist Jorge Jimenez as the new creative team for the series. Fraction has had legendary runs on Iron Man, Iron Fist, and Hawkeye along with his well-regarded, award winning creator owned work. How will Fraction begin his run writing the Dark Knight? Let’s find out with Batman #1.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
BATMAN #1 SOLICITATION
“A BOLD NEW ERA OF BATMAN STARTS HERE! A new day dawns for the Dark Knight Detective as Eisner Award-winning writer Matt Fraction (Hawkeye, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen) joins forces with superstar artist Jorge Jiménez (Batman, Summer of Superman Special) for an unforgettable new era of Batman! The best superhero in comics gets a brand-new first issue to kick off this new era that will test Batman and Bruce Wayne like never before!” – DC Comics
HIGHLIGHTS OF BATMAN #1
Batman is Human
There are many aspects about Batman that Matt Fraction taps into. The biggest one that stands out is how Fraction delves into Batman being human. For all the amazing things he does at the end of the day Batman is Bruce Wayne, and vice versa. We see that in multiple ways. The biggest may be the most controversial for some Batman fans with how Bruce chooses to deal with a mentally broken Killer Croc. Bruce drops his fist to instead show great care for Killer Croc’s state. He even takes off his cowl to drive home his understanding of what is needed in this moment.
Bruce Wayne Using Alfred Pennyworth as Coping Device
How Bruce deals with Killer Croc circles back to the other big decision he has made. That decision is to create his own AI assistant, similar to Iron Man, and uses Alfred Pennyworth as its visualization and voice. While H2SH isn’t brought up, for good reason, it is clear that Bruce is dealing with a lot personally. In order to cope with that he has created this AI assistant not just to help him as Batman but also for a sense of comfort. Where Fraction goes with this development in examining Bruce Wayne’s character will be interesting to see.
Batman No Longer a Hero of the Dark
It certainly stands out that Bruce did not wait until nighttime to operate as Batman. We see Batman working as the sun sets. It is a subtle thing to do but speaks to Bruce looking to do more with how he helps Gotham City as Batman. It plays into how Gotham City is in a state of evolution. That includes major things going on during the day that will force Bruce to operate as the Dark Knight outside his normal hours.
Officer Jim Gordon Starting Over
Bruce isn’t the only character that is taking new steps. We see Jim Gordon also becoming active in Gotham City. Though he does this by taking steps back professionally by becoming a beat cop in the GCPD again. This move indicates that we will be seeing the GCPD taking greater importance. Which makes sense with Vandal Savage being the current GCPD Commissioner. This was a big development that Chip Zdarsky introduced during the latter part of his creative run. It is good to see Fraction isn’t simply resetting things and will be using the current continuity to enhance his plans.
Killer Croc Hints at New Depth for Batman Rogues Gallery
It is sad to see the state Killer Croc has degraded to. It did show Fraction is looking to write a Batman that solves problems in ways that don’t involve his fists. This also hints that Fraction will be looking to explore Batman’s rogues gallery in new ways that push characters forward. Hopefully we do see other classic Batman villains being utilized by Fraction as many have gone underutilized in favor of heavy reliance on Joker.
Jorge Jimenez Continues Gotham City’s Progression
One of the interesting aspects of Jorge Jimenez sticking around as the artist for this series is what he does with Gotham City. Over the last few years, we’ve seen a running sub-plot of Gotham City moving forward. This has meant that Gotham City has been in a transition period as the city changes to embrace its future. That continues here as we see how there are more pops of color that indicate the city is moving towards its Neo Gotham future.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK IN BATMAN #1
Hush-Size Elephant in the Room
As much as Fraction and Jimenez do their best to ignore H2SH being a thing it is tough to completely forget. There are aspects with how Batman is written that show there is some impact that H2SH had on the franchise. But because of the delays that impact has to be ignored. It’s unfortunate because there could’ve been more depth to Bruce’s choice to create the Alfred AI assistant due to his relationship with the rest of the Batman Family.
Batman Cowl Lowering Not for Everyone
There will no doubt be some that don’t vibe with Bruce taking of his cowl when talking with Killer Croc. To some this will be a very un-Batman move. That is certainly understandable as we don’t see Bruce take off his cowl to one of his villains. This move could be seen in a better light by those fans depending on how Fraction continues to write and progress the character in future issues.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Batman #1 does everything right for a debut for a new creative team. Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez make it clear they are aiming to move the Dark Knight and the world of Gotham City forward. How that is communicated sets the groundwork for a lot of intriguing developments to happen in the future. It leads to a much-needed fresh creative start for Batman.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
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