Let’s take a step back, shall we?
Before DC Comics’ re-launch of their line of publications nearly five years ago, the affectionately titled “New 52”, Batman had gone missing for the better part of a year. Well, in the pages of his main two monthly comics he had: Detective Comics and Batman.
You see, he had travelled back in time at the hands of the villainous Darkseid, making everyone in the present believe he was actually dead. And that left a vacuum in Gotham City – one that Dick Grayson, the original Robin, decided to fill. As the new Batman.
Under writer Scott Snyder and artists Jock and Francesco Francavilla, that change of character – similar yet oh-so-different – gave way to a whole host of…possibilities. What followed in the pages of Detective Comics was sheer brilliance.
Follow me after the jump for all the info on the hardcover collection that is Batman Noir: The Black Mirror!
Batman Noir: The Black Mirror
Written by: Scott Snyder
Illustrated by: Francesco Francavilla, Jock
Published by: DC Comics
First things first.
The Noir series of collections is DC’s way of compiling great stories full of great art – while subtracting the colour.
It’s specifically an artful intent – a new way of looking at a piece of work with new eyes. What you get is a comic infused with shadow and mystery and atmosphere. With Batman, its all the things that make the character so appealing.
Of course, only certain artists can lose colour and still add drama to their visual storytelling. Having the right story to accompany those visuals is an added plus, as well. Batman Noir: The Black Mirror has it all.
Here is the story of Dick Grayson, learning to be Batman in Gotham City. He’s learning what it’s like to wear the cape and cowl, battling criminals, corresponding with the GCPD and unraveling the most difficult of mysteries. Of course, he’s still Dick Grayson, the shorter, light-hearted, altogether friendlier hero. But this is still Gotham City – and Gotham has a way of turning a man dark.
In Batman Noir: The Black Mirror, an old and powerful evil rises – a story that would seed the New52 version of the Batman monthly comic book, also written by Snyder. Of course, there’s also personal drama here and Commissioner Gordon’s family history takes center stage in an engrossing tale of love, madness and crime. These are indisputably some of the freshest and most engaging Batman stories ever written – high praise I know.
Batman Noir: The Black Mirror collects Detective Comics #871-877 in full, glorious black and white. It’s a story that once read, you’ll always remember with full-colour thoughts.
Make the run to your local comic book shop today and pick it up!
