The Bat-Man: Second Knight #1 – Dan Jurgens, Writer; Mike Perkins, Artist; Mike Spicer, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: One of my favorite recent Elseworlds, Dan Jurgens’ deep dive into the world of Gotham 1939 was a fantastic tribute to the very earliest Bat-comics and to the complex political scene of the time. One of the most impressive things was how faithful it was, in its own way – no Alfred, Bruce is more of a recluse, Julie Madison is the primary love interest. It was a huge divergence from Jurgens’ usual bright, heroic, continuity-dense work – and I also deeply appreciated its Jewish content and the friendship Batman found with a local Rabbi as Nazis infiltrated Gotham. The first mini dealt with a Nazi plot to unleash monsters, but this second volume brings in more classic supervillains – starting with a hulking brute dressed as a medieval executioner, who targets people in deeply brutal, painful, and public ways. But there’s one piece of common DNA about all the victims – they all seem to be humanitarians without a single ethical blemish.
These gruesome spectacles are throwing Gotham into a panic, and it’s all Commissioner Gordon can do to keep order. Batman himself seems to be at a loss as the killer seems to strike at will – and I loved seeing the character get a dressing-down from the Rabbi, who doesn’t appreciate Batman bursting in out of nowhere and scaring his wife. But this issue doesn’t just feature this one executioner villain – it also features the first iconic supervillain from Gotham lore in this universe, who sees something he likes in the other villain and wants to take his game up to the next level of terror. Mike Perkins’ art is brilliant, noir-inspired, and detailed as always, and there’s a surprise guest-star in this issue that hints for the first time at a much larger DCU hiding right outside Gotham. Jurgens is a writer I’ve been following for over thirty years, and he’s delivering work just as strong as it was in 1992.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
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